Your weekly business update on Vietnam.
Sharp, crisp, well-crafted - like your favorite bánh mì sandwich.
Happy Sunday,
Your weekly Bánh Mì Brief lands fresh from the grill.
Today's feast: Dragon Capital's blockbuster UpCom IPO, Grab + Charge+ plotting 5,000 EV chargers nationwide, and Vietnam's bold blueprint for 10 free trade zones by 2045.
Enjoy the read!
BUSINESS
Dragon Capital going public
Vietnam's investment kingpin just announced its IPO. Dragon Capital Vietfund Management, the powerhouse managing billions in Vietnam's most successful investment strategies, plans to list all 31.2 million of its shares on UpCom in Q1 2026, targeting a market cap of at least $150 million.
This move comes after the company officially qualified as a public company in November and adds fresh wind to Vietnam's IPO momentum. Think of it as the fund manager equivalent of "I've made it", except they're doing it on the right stage, ahead of what analysts expect will be a roaring IPO wave bringing in over $40 billion between 2026 and 2028 as Vietnam's economy and stock market continue their bull run.
BUSINESS
Grab and Charge+ expand EV charging in Vietnam
Grab, Charge+
In a move that signals Vietnam's EV ambitions are getting serious, Grab and Charge+ just signed a major partnership agreement to expand Vietnam's EV charging network. The deal, signed December 11, aims to deploy approximately 5,000 charging and battery-swapping stations across the country by 2030.
The beauty? Integration right into the Grab app, so driver-partners get real-time charging locations and preferential rates to keep earnings steady. No more "will-I-make-it-to-the-charger" anxiety. With Charge+ already operating 5,000+ points across Southeast Asia and aiming for 30,000 globally by 2030, this isn't just feel-good green energy talk, it's infrastructure-meets-commerce at scale. Vietnam's net-zero ambitions just got a practical boost.
QUICK BITES
Have you heard…
MCH shares are officially listing on HSX in December 2025 - Masan Consumer's FMCG empire (think fish sauce, instant noodles, chili sauce on every table) is graduating from UPCom, bringing a $1.2 billion revenue juggernaut to the big board.
Trump's $1.5 billion golf resort won't print money until 2030 - KB Securities Vietnam estimates the Khoai Chau ecotourism and golf complex in Hung Yen will take five years just to sort legal procedures and infrastructure before the resort complex starts generating actual revenue.
Vietnam just raised the asset declaration bar for officials, to $6,000 - The National Assembly bumped up the minimum asset declaration threshold from 50 million VND (~$2,000) to 150 million VND (~$6,000), and officials must now explain any asset jumps over 1 billion VND ($40,000) annually.
Samsung's Vietnam phone exports just hit their lowest level since 2020 - November saw US imports of telephones and parts from Vietnam plummet to under $410 million, the lowest since May 2020, as trade tariff uncertainty and slowing consumer demand hit Samsung's massive Vietnam operations.
Vietnam's locking down rare earth exports, again - Parliament just approved a revised minerals law that restricts refined rare earth exports and reaffirms the ban on ore exports to protect the domestic industry. Catch: Vietnam has virtually no refining capacity today, so don't expect immediate global market shock.
OUTLOOK
Vietnam’s plan of 10 free trade zones by 2045
Vietnam's government just unveiled one of its most ambitious economic bets: building up to 10 internationally competitive free trade zones by 2045, contributing an estimated 15 to 20% of national GDP.
The timeline? Three pilot zones launching in 2026 (Da Nang, Hai Phong, and Ho Chi Minh City), scaling to 6 to 8 zones by 2030, then ramping to the full 10 by 2045. Why now? Because the global FTZ playbook works. Over 7,000 special economic and trade zones operate worldwide as multi-functional hubs for industry, services, finance, and innovation. PM Pham Minh Chinh made clear these zones aren't just export hopefuls; they're testbeds for breakthrough policies that could reshape Vietnam's competitiveness.
For investors, manufacturers, and logistics players betting on Vietnam for the next two decades, this is the signal: the infrastructure and policy guardrails for serious growth are being laid down now. Watch the 2026 pilots closely; they'll define which regions and industries get preferential treatment in the years ahead.
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See you next week! 🥖