Kevin R. Soltani

Vietnam’s macro picture is tightening into a very clear signal window. The State Bank of Vietnam fixed the reference rate at 25,108 VND/USD, with the commercial ceiling at 26,363 and spot already hovering near that upper bound around 26,340. Meanwhile, the street market—after peaking near 28,000—has cooled slightly but remains elevated, reflecting persistent underlying dollar demand. This pressure is not accidental. The SBV pulled nearly VND115 trillion out of the system in March—the most aggressive liquidity drain since late 2024—while forward dollar pricing around 26,850 signals that managed depreciation is not only expected, but already being guided. At the same time, Vietnam has flipped into a $3.64B trade deficit through Q1, adding structural demand for USD just as domestic liquidity tightens. Yet the story is not one-sided. Foreign direct investment surged to $15.2B in Q1, up nearly 43% YoY, with manufacturing absorbing over 80% of deployed capital. Singapore alone accounted for more than half of new inflows. This is not hot money—it is long-duration positioning into Vietnam’s industrial base, reinforcing the underlying strength beneath short-term currency stress. Politically, the system has just consolidated at the highest level. To Lam now holds both party and state leadership, while Le Minh Hung assumes the premiership with unanimous backing, alongside Tran Thanh Man continuing legislative leadership. This alignment removes internal fragmentation and sends a clear signal of policy continuity to global capital. Externally, new friction is forming. The Office of the United States Trade Representative has launched a Section 301 investigation that could reintroduce tariff pressure, adding another layer of uncertainty just as Vietnam navigates currency and trade imbalances. Domestically, gold premiums of 12–15%—driven by import controls—are quietly amplifying unofficial dollar demand, reinforcing depreciation pressure beneath the surface. Overlay all of this with today’s catalyst: the FTSE Russell interim review. This is the binary switch. Confirmation of an emerging market upgrade roadmap could unlock $5–10B in inflows and shift sentiment rapidly. Delay or ambiguity extends the current phase of foreign outflows and cautious positioning. The setup is now fully defined. On one side: tightening liquidity, trade deficit, tariff risk, and controlled currency depreciation. On the other: record FDI, unified leadership, and a potential re-rating catalyst. The thesis remains intact—but the next 90 days will determine direction. Melaniastasia Romanov

Back to the Stone Age.

Arrived in Da Nang! 🇻🇳 I think we arrived with too high expectations 😬 It honestly feels like Bali but ordered on Wish but in a good way… let me explain. So after three days here my pros and cons: Pros: - ☀️ Amazing weather early in the year (not too cold not too hot, way better than Bali/BKK/CNX. Think T-Shirt during the day but light wind jacket at night.) - 💸 Affordable (you def. feel it’s much cheaper than most „Nomad“ places but it does come with a cost I‘ll share below) - 👨🏽‍💻 Community (there’s a lot of cool Indiehackers here and you’ll def never feel alone) - ☕️ Coffee shops (this came to a surprise! I’d dare to say the the work-from-a-cafe culture here is the best I have seen from all the places I have been too. Big, spacious, natural light, great coffee, decent WiFi and power plags everywhere) Now to the cons: - 🏠 Accommodation (this is a personal one but I just can’t seem to find a nice looking apartment or house here for short term rental. Da Nang seems amazing if you are conscious about your run rate and want basic amenities (think 200-500$ for a basic one bedroom condo) But if you are used to accommodation from Bali or Bangkok it just doesn’t deliver. A good amount of places seem to be riddled with either mold or noise issues. We’ve been on countless visits today with various agents, checked all the booking sites and… nada. There seems to be some nicer high end stuff but it’s all not possible to rent on a monthly basis and seems to avg. $2-4000/m which suddenly doesn’t seem appealing at all anymore given the other options in SEA and beyond. This is actually also the most frustrating and likely what won’t keep us here for long. Still scouting but my initial optimism to find something decent is fading fast. - Driving style 🛵 (I’m sorry to say this but after having driven a lot of vehicles around South East Asia, Vietnam seems to have the worst drivers of all countries I have ever been to with India coming close second) Initially I thought „oh nice people drive quite slowly here most of time like 40km/h max and there’s no traffic“ so it was refreshing to the traffic craze of Bali but fuak me do people here drive dangerously! People not only drive on the wrong side of the street (typical SEA behaviour I can handle) but they corner you with acceleration on the wrong side of the street 😅🤯 It’s absolutely nuts. We almost had a horrific accident today. My girlfriend cried because it was so sketchy.) So ye… to summarize Da Nang seems to be THE place if you are starting out your Indiehacker journey and/or want to save money. If you care a lot about the quality of your accom or plan to ride a bike while having little to no experience I’m not sure it’s the best place to go. I think Da Nang didn’t start out or ever want to be a nomad hub but it’s slowly turning into it so maybe it’s also not fair to compare it with a place like Bali. I’m writing this because I really want Da Nang to work for us (given the pros I mentioned) but it seems like a rough start. I’ll update y’all in a few weeks with how it’s going 😉 Curious, what’s your experience about Da Nang?