On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed amendments to the Individual Income Tax Law, which will take effect on July 1, 2026.

The specific contents include:

(1) New scope of taxable income: income from the transfer of Vietnam’s national internet domain name “.vn”; income from the transfer of greenhouse gas emission reduction achievements and carbon credits; income from the transfer of digital assets; income from the transfer of gold bars (levied at 0.1% of the transfer price); income from agency, brokerage and business cooperation activities; income from e-commerce and digital platform operation activities;

(2) New types of personal income tax exemption: income from the transfer of emission reduction certificates; income from the first transfer of carbon credits; interest income from green bonds; initial transfer income after the issuance of green bonds; wages and salaries earned from scientific, technological and innovative work; copyright income from work related to science, technology and innovation (and the results of such work have been commercialized); income obtained by individual investors and experts from innovative start-up projects;

(3) Tax exemption for digital talents: high-quality talents in the digital technology industry who meet one of the following conditions can enjoy a 5-year personal income tax exemption on their wages and salaries: Firstly, income from digital technology industry projects within digital technology parks. ; secondly, income from R&D projects and the production of key digital technology products, semiconductor chips, and artificial intelligence systems; thirdly, income from human resource training activities; fourthly, personal income from R&D activities in fields listed in the High-Tech Law or the Strategic Technology List;

(4) Adjusting the taxable income threshold for individual businesses: The threshold for individual income tax for individual businesses is raised from 200 million VND to 500 million VND; those with annual income exceeding 500 million VND but not exceeding 3 billion VND may choose to apply a 15% tax rate; those with annual income exceeding 3 billion VND but not exceeding 50 billion VND are subject to a 17% tax rate; those with annual income exceeding 50 billion VND are subject to a 20% tax rate;

(5) Unified provisions for taxation of capital transfer income for residents and non-residents: For capital transfer income of residents and non-residents, if the purchase price and reasonable expenses related to the capital transfer income can be determined, individual income tax will be levied at 20% of each transfer income; if it cannot be determined, it will be levied at 2% of the transfer price; securities transfer income is taxed at a rate of 0.1%.

On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the Tax Administration Law No. 108/2025/QH15. This law will replace the Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14 promulgated on June 13, 2019, and the provisions amended and supplemented by Law No. 56/2024/QH15.

Most provisions of the new law will take effect on July 1, 2026. Articles 13 and 26, concerning the declaration, settlement, tax deduction, and use of electronic invoices for businesses and individual merchants, have already taken effect on January 1, 2026.

Main revisions include:

(1) Expanding the scope of taxpayers. Taxpayers include foreign organizations and individuals engaged in business activities or deriving income in Vietnam, as well as foreign organizations and individuals conducting business on e-commerce platforms and other digital platforms;

(2) Strengthening tax administration for e-commerce and digital platforms. E-commerce and digital platform operators are required to collect and pay taxes on behalf of overseas platform merchants. Merchants must independently calculate their income from the production and operation of tax-exempt or non-taxable goods and services in accordance with the regulations on value-added tax and individual income tax, and truthfully declare their annual income to the tax authorities;

(3) Shortening the period for correcting errors in tax returns. The period for taxpayers to correct errors or omissions in their submitted tax return materials after the tax return deadline is shortened from 10 years to 5 years;

(4) Clarifying transitional arrangements. Tax arrears that are not paid by June 30, 2026, will be handled in accordance with the new law; tax exemptions or reductions incurred before July 1, 2026, will continue to be handled in accordance with the old law; tax inspections that have been initiated before July 1, 2026, but for which no conclusion or decision has yet been issued, will continue to be carried out in accordance with the old law.

On the morning of January 26, the Fifth Session of the 14th Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress opened at the Century Hall of the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center. At the meeting, Governor Meng Fanli delivered the government work report to the Congress.

The government work report shows that in 2025, Guangdong’s GDP will reach 14.58 trillion yuan, a 3.9% increase, ranking first in the country for the 37th consecutive year. Local general public budget revenue will increase by 3%.

The total value of imports and exports of goods will reach 9.5 trillion yuan, a 4.4% increase, contributing 24.1% of China’s total GDP growth.

《International Business News》

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian held a regular press conference on the 5th. At the conference, a Russian media reporter asked about the consensus reached between Russia and China on issues related to Japan.

Lin Jian: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan and the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War. The heads of state of both countries attended commemorative activities this year and unanimously agreed to firmly safeguard the achievements of the victory in World War II, resolutely oppose any attempts to rewrite the history of colonial aggression, and send a strong message of upholding justice and fairness.

During the recent China-Russia strategic security consultations, China and Russia conducted strategic alignment on issues related to Japan and reached a high-level consensus. They agreed to firmly safeguard the achievements of the victory in World War II, won with lives and blood, resolutely resist any erroneous words and deeds that attempt to rewrite the history of colonial aggression, resolutely counter any attempts by fascism and Japanese militarism to make a comeback, and shoulder the shared responsibilities of China and Russia as major powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council to safeguard world peace and security, and uphold historical truth and international justice.

China is willing to continue coordinating and cooperating with Russia to resolutely curb the provocative actions of Japan’s far-right forces that undermine regional peace and stability and attempt to remilitarize the region.

source:《International Business News》

Canon’s Zhongshan factory has confirmed that it will cease production on November 21, 2025. The main reasons are the shrinking laser printer market and intensified competition from domestic brands. Employee compensation is being processed concurrently.

Latest Developments Regarding the Canon Zhongshan Factory Production Ceasedown

Cessation Confirmation: Canon (China) officially confirmed that the Zhongshan factory ceased production on November 21, and employees are temporarily on leave until the 28th.

Core Reasons:

The global laser printer market continues to shrink, and the rapid rise of domestic brands is squeezing market share.

The popularization of paperless offices is accelerating industry transformation, leading to a sharp decline in demand for traditional office printers.

Operating Data: Established in 2001, the factory has produced a cumulative total of 110 million laser printers, with a total industrial output value of approximately 3.2 billion yuan in 2022. At its peak, it employed 10,000 people, but by 2024, the number of employees had decreased to 3,372. Employee Placement: As of November 30th, some employees have received compensation under their confidentiality agreements. The specific plan includes economic compensation and re-employment support.

The gold market experienced a dramatic plunge this week. Just one day after reaching a record high of $4,381 per ounce, spot gold prices（金価格）abruptly changed course on the evening of October 21, plummeting and breaking through the $4,100 mark, marking the largest single-day drop since April 2013.

This violent fluctuation caught many investors off guard. In fact, every rise and fall in gold prices is closely related to its unique pricing mechanism and multiple influencing factors.

The “London Gold,” considered the global benchmark, has undergone a century-long evolution in its pricing mechanism. In its inception in 1919, “London Gold” was jointly determined by five major gold dealers, including the Rothschild family, through telephone negotiations within the “Gold Room.” This system relied on London’s position as the world’s gold trading center and operated through an over-the-counter trading model. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), established in 1987, integrated the fragmented trading markets and established a unique delivery system based on 400-ounce gold bars, making London the global gold distribution center. In 2015, the pricing mechanism was reformed again. Through a modern electronic auction system, pricing meetings were held in the mornings and afternoons of weekdays in London, with the participation of several designated international banks, including HSBC and JPMorgan Chase.

The pricing meetings resembled a digital “gold auction”: banks collected buy and sell orders from global clients, continuously submitting bids on an electronic platform until a balance price was found that matched the most buy and sell orders. This final price became the LBMA gold benchmark price, immediately becoming the authoritative basis for pricing global spot gold trading and derivatives.

Factors Affecting Gold Prices

As a safe-haven asset that transcends economic cycles, gold price fluctuations are always closely related to core variables such as the global economic landscape, geopolitical risks, and monetary policy trends.

“Gold and silver are not naturally money, but money is naturally gold and silver.” This classic statement by Marx reveals the special status of gold in the monetary system.

During the gold standard era, the key to whether a country’s currency was accepted by other countries lay in the strength of its gold reserves. After World War II, leveraging its nearly 75% global gold reserves, the United States established the Bretton Woods system, centered on the dollar’s peg to gold, laying the foundation for the dollar’s credibility as the international reserve currency.

However, the decoupling of the dollar from gold in 1971 marked a significant turning point in modern monetary history. Subsequently, US Treasury bonds gradually replaced gold as the primary reserve asset for central banks worldwide. In recent years, with occasional signs of US Treasury default risk, cracks have begun to appear in the dollar’s credit system, prompting global central banks and investors to increase their gold holdings as a crucial tool for hedging against dollar credit risk—the underlying logic behind the sustained rise in gold prices since last year.

Beyond the changes in the dollar’s credit system, multiple factors are influencing the balance of gold: geopolitical tensions ignite investors’ safe-haven demand; unprecedented increases in global central bank holdings, coupled with continued accumulation by institutional investors, provide solid structural support for gold prices; and capital flows and market sentiment act as amplifiers, amplifying every subtle change in price fluctuations.

Returning to the recent “gold price plunge” that has attracted market attention, its direct trigger is precisely the imbalance in the short-term trading structure. The sustained rise in gold prices since September has led to a crowded gold bull market, accumulating substantial profits. When prices reached key levels, the concentrated profit-taking and exit of these positions ultimately triggered this technical correction.

History has repeatedly shown that gold’s long-term value coexists with the risk of short-term high-level volatility. In a noisy market, remaining calm and resisting the temptation to chase high prices is key to protecting wealth.

On October 31st, the Nikkei （日経平均株価）average continued its upward trend in Tokyo, closing at 52,411.34 points, a gain of 1,085.73 points (2.12%) from the previous day, breaking through the 52,000-point mark for the first time.

Despite a decline in US stocks the previous day and a sharp drop in US Meta shares, buying remained strong, supported by the yen’s depreciation following the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting, the dollar’s appreciation, and strong earnings reports from Japanese and US companies. The Nikkei average ultimately closed at its highest point of the day.

On October 30th, Apple released its financial report for July-September 2025, showing sales up 8% year-over-year to $102.466 billion and net profit up 86% to $27.466 billion. Sales of the new iPhone were strong. Due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China, tariff costs for October-December are expected to increase by 30% compared to July-September, reaching $1.4 billion.

The newly released iPhone 17 in September proved effective, with sales reaching a record high for the July-September period. Earnings per share were $1.85, exceeding market expectations for both sales and earnings per share. The stock price rose by approximately 4% in pre- and after-hours trading on the US stock market.

In the same period last year, Apple incurred $10.2 billion in tax payments to Ireland, resulting in a significant increase in net profit this year.

Data compiled by the US research firm Descartes Datamyne shows that in September, the number of container ships shipped from Asia to the US was 1,696,044 (converted to 20-foot equivalent units), a 10% decrease year-on-year. This is the first time in three months that shipments have fallen below the previous year’s levels, with the decline in shipments originating from China widening.

Container shipments originating from mainland China to the US decreased by 18% year-on-year, a significant increase from the 6% decline in August. The US-China tariff conflict has brought cargo transportation to a standstill.

Normally, July to September is a period when businesses stock up for the year-end trade war in the US, leading to a surge in goods shipments. However, due to the uncertainty surrounding tariff negotiations, some businesses have shipped Chinese goods ahead of schedule or shifted their sourcing to countries outside of China, resulting in a significant decrease in shipments originating from China.

Cargo shipments originating from Southeast Asia and South Asia, however, continued to grow. Vietnam, which ranks second only to China in container shipments to the US after China, saw a 19% year-on-year increase in September. Shipments from India increased by 2%, and those from Malaysia increased by 86%. Shipments from Thailand decreased by only 1%, a relatively small drop.

On the other hand, container shipments from South Korea to the US decreased by 18%, from Taiwan by 19%, and from Japan by 11%.

By commodity category, furniture, the largest category in terms of shipment volume, decreased by 9%. Shipments of consumer-related goods such as toys and sporting goods (down 20%) also declined. Electronic and electrical products (down 18%) and automotive-related products (down 16%) also performed poorly.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) released its container import forecast on October 8th, showing that US container imports are expected to decrease by 12% year-on-year in October and by 19% in November. Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s head of supply chain and tariff policy, pointed out, “Because retailers had already stocked up on imports before the tariffs took effect, the peak season for this year is effectively over.”

Following the Myanmar government’s large-scale crackdown on KK rings, locals reported that many KK ring workers moved to nearby rings, which continue to operate normally.

According to Thai media reports, another 100-acre (40-hectare) ring near Mae Thao Talai Village, not far from the KK ring, is still operating normally. Locals say at least a dozen rings between Myawaddy and Mae Thao Talai are operating normally, and that scammers who fled the KK rings have relocated to these rings.

With the ASEAN summit expected to discuss the crackdown on scams, Myanmar is under pressure to take a tougher stance against the rings. From October 24th to 27th, the Myanmar military carried out daily demolitions at the KK rings. The explosions were so powerful that they could be heard in Mae Sot, Thailand, and thick smoke filled the air for several minutes. Thailand stated that Myanmar had informed the Thai side of the crackdown in advance, and Thai officials used loudspeakers to warn residents near the border to exercise caution. The explosions reportedly did not affect Thai territory.

Reports indicate that while the KK campus was subjected to continuous blasting, operations at other nearby campuses were not affected. A staff member at a scam campus in Myawaddy stated that operations remained normal and employees were still able to access the company-provided internet. SpaceX previously announced it had cut service to over 2,500 Starlink devices at the KK campus, but the campus still had access to Mytel Telecom in Myanmar and fiber optic lines from Thailand.

Currently, due to the Myanmar government’s crackdown on scam campuses, the number of people leaving Myanmar and entering Thailand has risen to 1,525. Thai authorities expect the number of foreigners entering the country to increase further in the coming days. Authorities will discuss the issue with the National Security Council to determine the management protocols, legal procedures, and funding needed to handle the influx.