In this report, we will look at major research findings on foreign direct investment (FDI), SMEs, micro-credit programs, financial inclusion, and IFRS adoption. These topics are of increasing importance, and they have gradually become critical for academia, policymakers, and corporate sectors if they are set to investigate Vietnam’s fast-expanding economy.

This paper endeavors to understand the research landscape of finance research in Vietnam during the period 2008 to 2020 and predict the key defining future research directions. Using the comprehensive database of Vietnam’s international publications in social sciences and humanities, we extract a dataset of 314 papers on finance topics in Vietnam from 2008 to 2020. Then, we apply a systematic approach to analyze four important themes: Structural issues, Banking system, Firm issues, and Financial psychology and behavior. Overall, there have been three noticeable trends within finance research in Vietnam: (1) assessment of financial policies or financial regulation, (2) deciphering the correlates of firms’ financial performances, and (3) opportunities and challenges in adopting innovations and ideas from foreign financial market systems. Our analysis identifies several fertile areas for future research, including financial market analysis in the post-COVID-19 eras, fintech, and green finance.

Vietnam's Cyber Security Law, which officially came into effect on the first day of 2019, is considered by the Vietnamese authorities to be an important advance of the Vietnamese legal system in catching up with new information technology issues and addressing the challenges of the Revolution 4.0. The legislation, however, did not come without opposition. Specifically, international dissatisfaction with the law was clearly articulated in January 2019 in the Universal Periodic Review—a major human rights protection mechanism under the management of the UN Human Rights Council; and also, in the Human Rights Committee hearing on Vietnam's implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in March of that year. Within its limited resources, this article first tries to identify and evaluate recommendations and comments during the two events in relation to the Cyber Security Law, made by international actors including states, non-governmental organizations, and authoritative United Nations institutions. With the data, the article can then categorize three vital human rights concerns regarding the law, according to international perception. They comprise (1) the legal philosophy of ‘national security’; (2) obligations imposed on internet businesses; and (3) judicial review/remedy. Finally, the research engages in an extensive comparative analysis between these concerns and international practices to reach different conclusions on their compatibility and possible solutions. The authors believe that constructive criticisms from the international community can be carefully garnered in order to contribute to the refinement of Vietnam’s cyber-security laws in the future.