🥖 Electric Dreams, Tungsten Schemes, and Tax Nightmares

Good evening,

This is your weekly Bánh Mì Brief coming in hot.

On today‘s menu: Hanoi dangles record subsidies to nudge riders onto electric motorbikes, Huawei and ZTE quietly wire up Vietnam’s 5G future as US tariffs bite, and Berlin looks to a tungsten pit in Vietnam to keep Germany’s factories humming.

Enjoy the read!

Hanoi is dangling subsidies of up to VND5 million (about US$190) to convince residents to swap gasoline motorbikes for electric ones, with even larger support for poor and near-poor households. The package also includes cuts to registration fees and interest support on instalment loans, signalling that city leaders want cleaner air as much as quieter streets.

From July 1, 2026, gasoline bikes will be banned during certain hours in downtown districts inside Ring Road 1, with restrictions expanding to Ring Road 2 and 3 in later phases. Commercial operators such as ride-hailing and motorbike taxis face even stricter timelines, pushing them to electrify fleets before the end of the decade.

For everyday riders, the math is starting to tilt toward electric as fuel savings stack on top of subsidies. For Hanoi, the policy cocktail of bans, benefits, and better public transport is a bet that wallet-friendly carrots will make its upcoming sticks a lot easier to swallow.

Huawei and ZTE have landed new 5G equipment deals in Vietnam worth tens of millions of dollars just months after Washington slapped tariffs on key Vietnamese exports. A Huawei-led consortium secured a roughly US$23 million contract in April, while ZTE has won at least two antenna supply agreements valued above US$20 million.

US officials have quietly warned Hanoi that relying on Chinese kit could complicate access to advanced American technologies and risk sensitive data exposure. Vietnam is exploring ways to isolate certain networks if needed, trying to reassure partners while still pushing ahead with a fast, cost-effective 5G rollout.

The shift also reflects warmer political and economic ties with Beijing as frictions with Washington grow. For Vietnam’s operators, Chinese vendors bring proven gear at aggressive prices; for policymakers, the challenge is turning that advantage into leverage without getting caught in the crossfire of great-power tech rivalry.

Germany is eyeing Vietnam’s Nui Phao mine as it scrambles to diversify critical mineral supply away from China. A recent high-level visit by German officials to Masan High-Tech Materials highlighted tungsten’s importance for defense and high-tech manufacturing.

Nui Phao is one of the largest tungsten deposits outside China and also produces fluorspar, bismuth, and copper, giving Vietnam serious leverage in strategic materials. With Vietnam already supplying a meaningful share of US and European tungsten imports, deeper Berlin–Hanoi cooperation could turn the country into a key node in Europe’s raw-material security map.

For Vietnam, German interest offers not only new buyers but also the chance to move further up the value chain in refining and advanced materials. In an era where minerals can be as political as missiles, this partnership could prove as strategic as any trade deal.

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See you next week! 🥖