Vietnam has doubled its number of billionaires from last year to four in Forbes magazine's recently released 2018 list of world's richest people.
Pham Nhat Vuong, owner of real estate conglomerate Vingroup and Vietnam's first billionaire, enjoyed his sixth consecutive appearance on the list, being the world's 499th richest person this year. Vuong also retained his position as Vietnam's richest man with a net worth of US$4.3 billion, a US$1.9 billion increase compared to last year.
CEO of budget carrier VietJet Air Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao also had her second appearance on the list as the 766th richest person in the world. Vietnam's richest woman had an estimated net worth of US$3.1 billion, nearly three times her wealth when she made her debut appearance last year with US$1.2 billion.
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| From left to right: VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, Hoa Phat chairman Tran Dinh Long, Thaco chairman Tran Ba Duong. Photo by VnExpress. |
Forbes magazine's list this year also sees the debut appearance of two other Vietnamese: Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) and Tran Dinh Long, chairman of Hoa Phat Corporation.
Duong, 57, was ranked 1339th in the list with a net worth of US$1.8 billion. He founded Thaco to sell cars in 1997 and the company later started assembling cars for foreign brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot, as well as producing its own buses and trucks. Thaco became the biggest car company in Vietnam with a 32% share in the automobile market by 2016, according to Forbes.
Meanwhile Long, 57, was listed as world's 1756th richest person with a net worth of US$1.3 billion. He founded Hoa Phat as an equipment and parts distributor in Hanoi in 1992. The company is currently considered the biggest steel maker in Vietnam, providing the market with office equipment, steel pipes and construction steel.
Vietnam's fish sauce magnet Nguyen Dang Quang, who was named Vietnam's third billionaire in January by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, didn't make the Forbes list. Bloombeg estimated the chairman and founder of Masan Group's total assets at US$1.2 billion.
Topping the Forbes list this year was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who became world's first centi-billionaire with a net worth of US$112 billion, up US$39.2 billion from 2017. Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and last year's richest person, dropped to second place with a net worth of US$90 billion.
Gates is followed by Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett (US$84 billion), CEO and chairman of luxury goods empire LVMH Bernard Arnault (US$72 billion) and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (US$71 billion) rounded out the top five.
This is the 32nd year Forbes magazine has compiled its list of world's billionaires. This year's list sees a record 2,208 billionaires with a combined wealth of US$9.1 trillion, an 18% increase from last year.
The US still had the most billionaires with 585, followed by China with 476.
Under Document No. 10065/VPCP-KGVX, the Deputy PM agreed with proposals by the Ministry of Home Affairs for a one-day holiday for Vietnamese Culture Day in 2026, and a seven-day Tet holiday and a four-day National Day holiday in 2027.
By 2030, Vietnam aims to rank among the world’s top 40 in the GII; raise total social investment in R&D to at least 2% of GDP, with non-State funding accounting for over 60%; increase international scientific publications by an average of 10% annually; and raise the number of patent applications and granted patents by an average of 16-18% annually.
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 25,624 VND/USD on October1, down 3 VND from the previous day.
Quang Ninh's GRDP grew 15.04% in the third quarter, also leading the country.
Vietnam needs flexible incentives and specialised green financial instruments, stronger inter-sectoral coordination, improved local governance capacity and a more complete MRV data system, said Ramla Khalidi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam.
As the country enters a new development phase with greater demands for stronger marine-economy growth, institutional bottlenecks have emerged and need to be addressed.
Experts from the Institute of Vietnam and World Economy under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences noted the quality of recent growth as the high growth rate has been recorded against an increasingly higher comparative base.
Vietnam's Halal exports remain modest at around 900 million USD a year, accounting for less than 1% of the global market. Most exports are still raw agricultural and seafood products. Only around 1,000–1,300 Vietnamese businesses obtained or maintained Halal certification during 2024–2026.
Vietnam needs a comprehensive policy framework to remove legal and procedural bottlenecks and create conditions for offshore wind power projects to access long-term investment capital, helping to unlock the country’s substantial offshore wind potential, said insiders.
Under a decision of the municipal People’s Committee on establishing an inter-agency working group, departments and agencies are responsible for identifying facilities subject to greenhouse gas inventories, developing emissions-reduction plans and studying projects capable of generating carbon credits.
According to data from the Vietnam Customs cited by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), shrimp exports reached 478.5 million USD in August, up 4.2% from the same month last year. The eight-month total stood at 3.3 billion USD, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%.
Vietnam is seen as a potential market, with considerable room for growth in real estate, particularly commercial property, compared with some regional markets. Strong Vietnam-Russia ties and opportunities to establish foreign-invested enterprises are also considered favourable for Russian investors.
For 2021-2030, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposed bringing forward the investment in a parallel taxiway system and a connecting taxiway north of Runway No. 2 at Phu Quoc International Airport, in order to connect with the aircraft maintenance and repair facility (hangar) planned for the northern area of the airport.
For LNG-fired power to fulfill its role in Vietnam’s energy transition, bottlenecks in institutions, infrastructure, electricity pricing, PPAs, power dispatch and financing must be addressed together.
From policy and infrastructure to industrial real estate, Vietnam’s FDI advantages are broadening towards a more integrated production ecosystem, offering investors a stronger combination of conditions for high-value, technology-intensive and long-term projects.
As trade expands, systemic bottlenecks across transport networks, warehousing, ports, border gates, and industrial zones are becoming more apparent. Experts emphasise the need to shift from a fragmented, project-by-project approach toward strategic management structured around trade corridors and integrated supply chains.
The company will buy non-performing loans from credit institutions and foreign bank branches, recover and dispose of debts and collateral, restructure loans and support lenders in resolving bad debts.
Do Ngoc Hung, Trade Counsellor and head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, said what stands out is not only the growth in trade volume but also the increasingly deep economic ties between the two countries.
According to the Ministry of Finance, State budget revenue in the first eight months of 2026 was estimated at 2.02 quadrillion VND (77.7 billion USD), equivalent to 80% of the annual estimate and up 16% year-on-year. Domestic revenue reached 1.75 quadrillion VND, accounting for 86.6% of total revenue and rising 16.6%.
Hanoi aims to achieve average annual export growth of at least 12% during 2026-30, with the city seeking to diversify export markets, boost high-tech and value-added products and reduce reliance on traditional markets.