In Vietnam, many business owners speak up to reassure employees and shareholders.
Panic erupted in Vietnam when Trump announced plans to impose 46% tariffs on the country’s exports. Shares of many companies sold off, leading to a sharp and generalised fall of over 200 points in the nation’s stock market. In an article for VN Express, journalist Trong Hieu shares how business leaders have tried to stem the wave of fear, buying shares in their own companies in a bid to regain public confidence.
Leaders of the nation’s top commercial enterprises have rushed to declare the US market is just a drop in the ocean. Addressing the public by open letter, retail tycoon Mr. Nguyen Dang Quang explained: “our business model is less affected by the new US tariff policies because it focuses mainly on the domestic market.” (The tycoon sits on the board of Masan Group, their most familiar venture may be WinCommerce, the country’s largest retail chain.) He promised that the price of essential items at WinCommerce will remain competitive. The chairman of the agricultural giant HAGL Group insisted US tariffs would not affect the company’s activities, after the company’s share price fell by more than 20%. Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc also opted for a public letter, stating: “the company’s banana products are mainly exported to China, South Korea and Japan, and absolutely no goods are exported to the US market”. Shortly afterwards, his daughter registered the purchase of 4 million shares of the company.
All businesses have expressed they will continue to monitor the impact of the tariff and employ a flexible pricing strategy.
Original article was written in Vietnamese by Trong Hieu and published in VN Express on 9 April 2025. It’s available here.
VN Express is an online newspaper, and the first newspaper in Vietnam that was not produced in paper format.
Summary by TMH.
