For decades, Southeast Asia has been among the fastest growing economies in the world and a major magnet of foreign investment. The region is on course to become the world’s largest single market by 2030, propelled by a number of factors such as dynamic economic activity, favorable demographics, openness to international trade, relatively stable and pro-business government policies, bustling entrepreneurial activity, and a recently rising trend that should not go overlooked – a surging digital economy. It is this latter development that Access Asia Group is keenly following due to its immense impact on overall economic, social and even political […]

After months of some form of a lockdown, Vietnam’s largest city and epicenter of the country’s fourth Covid wave, Ho Chi Minh City, has lifted its “shelter-in-place” order and is allowing many businesses to resume operations. Finally, it seems that a sense of normalcy is returning, yet the city’s battle against Covid-19 is far from over. The following is Access Asia’s latest update on the situation in Vietnam in collaboration with Vietnam Weekly, a subscription-based publication covering current affairs in Vietnam. Starting today (Oct 1), businesses in Ho Chi Minh City except for bars, spas, karaoke and massage parlors, beauty […]

After weeks of reporting mostly negative developments about the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam, this week’s update is finally positive. Several key health indicators here have improved recently, while there has been a lot of official discussion of a ‘new normal’ beginning October 1 (Ho Chi Minh City’s strict “shelter-in-place” lockdown expires on September 30). The seven-day rolling national average of Covid cases has fallen to 9,938 – the lowest that number has been in about five weeks – and health officials said that Ho Chi Minh City has passed its peak. Large-scale testing in at-risk areas over the weekend returned a positivity […]