Due to scheduling issues, there isn’t a new guest today, so I’m taking this opportunity to revisit two previous episodes in the context of a pair of recently passed regulations.

The first is the amended Law on Social Insurance, which goes into effect on July 1, 2025. I discussed Vietnam’s social insurance system with Tu Phuong Nguyen, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne, in February.

Today, I’m sharing the context she provided on previous social insurance reform efforts, options the government was considering earlier this year, and what needs to be done beyond national laws to ensure a sustainable system.

On a different note, last week the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a long-awaited decree on direct power purchase agreements, or DPPA.

In May, Giles Cooper, a Partner at the international law firm Allens based in Hanoi, explained what a DPPA is, the dramatic change it heralds for Vietnam’s energy market, and its potential impact.

That section of today’s episode starts at the 11:06 mark.

The full previous episodes are available here:

Vietnam's Social Insurance Dilemma

Vietnam's Energy Plans & Reality

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