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Hoa Phat Group (HoSE: HPG) has doubled the designed capacity of its steel plant in the southern province of Tay Ninh, underscoring its expansion ambitions amid rising domestic steel demand.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment has granted an environmental permit to Hoa Phat Long An Steel Products JSC for its steel manufacturing facility located in the expanded Thuan Dao Industrial Park in Long Cang commune. The new permit, which has a validity of seven years, replaces an environmental licence issued in late 2025.

Accordingly, the factory covers nearly 147,000 square meters and is classified as a Group A investment project under Vietnam’s public investment criteria and a Group I project under the Law on Environmental Protection.

The revised licence allows the plant to raise its designed capacity to 810,000 tons of steel products annually, more than double the original capacity of 400,000 tons announced when the facility was inaugurated in April.

The expanded capacity includes 400,000 tons of galvanized steel sheets and steel coils; 350,000 tons of black steel pipes and galvanized steel pipes per year; and 60,000 tons of hot-dip galvanized pipes per year.

Hoa Phat inaugurated the Tay Ninh steel pipe plant in April with a total investment of VND2 trillion ($75.6 million). The 15-hectare factory focuses on manufacturing black steel pipes, galvanized steel pipes, hot-dip galvanized products, and large-diameter pipes, with products meeting international standards such as ASTM, BS EN and JIS to serve infrastructure projects and export markets.

Hoa Phat’s steel products have already been supplied to major infrastructure projects, including Long Thanh International Airport (Dong Nai city) and Terminal T3 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HCMC).

The capacity expansion comes as Hoa Phat continues to report strong production growth.

In the second quarter of 2026, the group produced more than 3.6 million tons of crude steel, up 48% from a year earlier and 9% higher than the previous quarter. Sales of construction steel, high-quality steel, hot-rolled coil (HRC), and steel billets reached 3.5 million tons during Q2, a 35% increase from the same period last year.

In the first six months of 2026, Hoa Phat produced nearly seven million tons of crude steel, up 36% year-on-year, while sales of HRC, construction steel, high-quality steel and billets climbed 32% to 6.5 million tons.

The group also sold 453,000 tons of steel pipes in the first half of the year, up 13% from the same period of 2025, while sales of galvanized steel products fell 5% to 189,000 tons.

The lending consortium includes Vietcombank as the lead arranger, alongside VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank, TPBank, and VPBank.

​The Saigon - My Thuan Expressway BOT Co., Ltd (the project enterprise) and a consortium of six banks have officially signed a syndicated credit agreement to fund the Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway expansion project.

The credit facility, totaling VND27.094 trillion (approx. $1.03 billion), secures the necessary capital to ensure the project stays on schedule.

The lending consortium includes Vietcombank as the lead arranger, alongside VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank, TPBank, and VPBank. According to the participating parties, this represents the largest credit financing ever granted to a transport project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in Vietnam.

Speaking at the signing ceremony on July 16, Deputy Minister of Construction Bui Xuan Dung emphasized that the completion of the credit agreement is a major milestone, providing the financial foundation to move the project forward according to the planned timeline.

The Deputy Minister noted that expanding the HCMC – Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway is an urgent requirement to alleviate severe congestion on the route. The expansion aims to enhance traffic safety, reduce logistics costs, improve regional competitiveness, and create more development opportunities for the Mekong Delta.

Since Phase 1 of the Trung Luong – My Thuan section was put into operation, traffic volume has peaked at over 60,000 vehicles per day. This significantly exceeds the original design capacity, making the expansion an immediate priority.

The HCMC – Trung Luong – My Thuan Expressway expansion project has a total investment of VND36.125 trillion (nearly $1.4 billion). It is being implemented via the PPP model and notably involves no state budget funding.

VOV.VN - Vietnam's exports to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Latvia posted strong year-on-year growth in the first half of 2026, supported by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

According to Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, which also covers Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Latvia, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the Nordic markets continued to obtained positive results during the six-month period of the year.

Vietnam Customs data showed that exports to all four markets increased from a year earlier, led by Norway with growth of 47.2%, followed by Latvia at 36.9%, Denmark at 29.9% and Sweden at 19.6%. Imports from Denmark and Latvia also rose, while imports from Sweden and Norway declined.

EVFTA has continued to deliver practical benefits by reducing tariffs and trade barriers, improving market access and providing a more stable framework for economic cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU).

The agreement enables a wide range of Vietnamese products, including garments, footwear, wood products, seafood, coffee, electronics, machinery and processed industrial goods, to benefit from preferential tariffs when they meet rules of origin. It has also helped strengthen importers' confidence, support long-term business relationships, diversify supply sources and deepen Vietnamese companies' participation in supply chains.

To meet the stringent standards of the Nordic market, many Vietnamese companies have accelerated their green transition.

Cao Huu Hieu, Director General of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said the group is investing in textile and dyeing production, green and circular manufacturing, and digital technologies to meet environmental, traceability and sustainability requirements. These efforts are expected to become one of Vinatex's new growth drivers for 2026-2030 while helping the group remain competitive in demanding markets, including the Nordic region, he added.

In investment, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Latvia had a combined 359 valid foreign direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of about US$4.44 billion as of the end of the first half of 2026, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden.

Denmark and Sweden remained the two largest investors among the five countries, while Norway, Iceland and Latvia also maintained investment projects in Vietnam.

Alongside these positive developments, a series of new EU regulations taking effect from 2026, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and the Digital Product Passport, will require exporters to meet higher standards.

Experts said EVFTA is entering a new phase of competition as the EU expands trade ties with other partners. In the coming years, Vietnam's ability to maintain and expand its market share in the EU, including the Nordic region, will depend increasingly on supply chain management, data transparency, compliance with sustainability standards and strict control of product origin.

The results recorded in the first half of 2026 provide a solid foundation for Vietnam and its Nordic partners to enhance business links, pursue new business opportunities and expand commercial cooperation.