Japanese Yen Forecast: Sticky Tokyo Inflation Clash With Fed Cut Bets

China's leading telecommunication firms Huawei and ZTE,have won a string of contracts this year to supply 5G equipment in Vietnam, in another sign of Hanoi's strengthening bonds with Beijing, stirring concern among Western officials, seven people with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

For years, Vietnam was seen as reluctant to use Chinese technology in sensitive infrastructure, but in recent months it has embraced Chinese tech companies as sometimes frosty relations with its northern neighbour have warmed while ties with Washington have soured over tariffs on Vietnamese goods.

While Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST), opens new tab and Finland's Nokia (NOKIA.HE), opens new tab secured contracts for Vietnam's 5G core infrastructure, with U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab providing network equipment, Chinese companies have begun winning smaller tenders with state-owned operators, so far unreported public procurement data shows.

A consortium including Huawei was awarded a $23 million contract for 5G equipment in April, weeks after the White House announced tariffs on Vietnamese goods. ZTE has won at least two contracts, one last week, totalling more than $20 million for 5G antennas. The first publicly disclosed deal came in September, a month after U.S. tariffs took effect.

Reuters could not establish whether the timing of these wins was linked to U.S. tariffs, but the deals raised concerns among Western officials.

The exclusion of Chinese contractors from Vietnam's digital infrastructure, including undersea fibre-optic cables, has long been identified by Washington as a key condition for support in advanced technologies.

Huawei and ZTE are banned from U.S. telecom networks as an "unacceptable risk" to national security. Sweden and other European countries have similar restrictions.

Ericsson declined to comment on Chinese companies, but said it was "fully committed to support its customers in Vietnam."

Huawei, ZTE, Nokia, Qualcomm, the U.S. embassy in Vietnam, China's embassy, Sweden's foreign ministry or Vietnam's tech ministry responded to requests for comment.

VIETNAM-CHINA TIES WARM

The unaligned Southeast Asian nation is a crucial battleground in the competition for global influence. Its proximity to China has made it a major industrial hub for multinationals such as Apple, Samsung and Nike, which rely on Chinese components and Western consumers.

Under Western pressure, Vietnam long took "a wait-and-see approach" to Chinese technology, said Nguyen Hung, a specialist in supply chains at RMIT University Vietnam. But "Vietnam has its own priorities," he added, noting the new deals could spur deeper economic integration with China.

Hanoi and Beijing have made progress recently on other sensitive projects, including cross-border rail links and special economic zones close to the Chinese border, which Vietnam had previously discarded as security risks.

Huawei lost multiple bids this year on 5G equipment in Vietnam, according to tender data. But it has cooperated on technical services, and signed an agreement in June on 5G technology transfers with Viettel, Vietnam's army-owned main telecom operator, according to Vietnam's defence ministry.

Viettel did not respond to a request for comment. One person at the company said Chinese technology was cheaper. The sources declined to be named because the information they shared was not public.

WESTERN CONCERNS

The Chinese contracts have been discussed in at least two meetings of senior Western officials in Hanoi in recent weeks, diplomatic sources said. In one meeting, a U.S. official warned they could undermine trust in Vietnam's networks and jeopardise access to U.S. advanced technology.

In a meeting this month officials explored whether areas using Chinese technology could be sealed off from the rest of the network to prevent data leaks, one of the sources said.

But suppliers of antennas and equipment could still gain access to network data, said Innocenzo Genna, a telecommunications lawyer, noting "Western contractors may face the awkward prospect of working alongside firms they do not trust."

Source: Reuters

The Trump administration is reviewing permanent residency status of immigrants from 19 countries

The Trump administration has ordered a full review of permanent residency status — so-called "Green Cards" — of immigrants from 19 countries, in the wake of the attack on two US National Guard personnel in Washington, DC.

An Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 after working with American military and intelligence services in Afghanistan has been arrested in connection with Wednesday's shooting near the White House.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed the death of one of the two National Guard members who was shot.

In response to the shooting, Joseph Edlow, director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said on X: "I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern."

Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela among countries listed

The full-scale review of residency status, at the behest of President Donald Trump and carried out by the USCIS, comes after the suspect from Wednesday's shooting was identified as Afghan national Rahmanullah L.

The 19 countries under scrutiny were named in a June proclamation, which had initially imposed entry restrictions on nationals from states deemed deficient in screening and vetting protocols.

Among the countries listed are Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, as well as Cuba, Venezuela, Chad, and Eritrea.

Critics warn the policy risks penalizing hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents based solely on nationality.

Whether the review will lead to revocations or deportations remains unclear.

For now, the administration frames it as a protective measure aimed at national security in light of the DC attack.

Source: DW

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, exceeding the central bank's 2% target and keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike.

The increase in the Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs, compared with a median market forecast for a 2.7% rise. It followed a 2.8% gain in October.

A separate index for Tokyo that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs - closely watched by the Bank of Japan as a measure of demand-driven prices - rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier after a 2.8% increase in October.

The BOJ exited a decade-long, radical stimulus programme last year and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably hitting its 2% inflation target.

While consumer inflation has exceeded the BOJ's 2% target for well over three years, Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in further rate hikes on uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan's economy.

Source: Investing

Tokyo consumer price index inflation remained unexpectedly steady in November amid high food prices, with underlying inflation also remaining well ahead of the Bank of Japan's annual target.

Tokyo core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, grew 2.8% year-on-year in November, government data showed on Friday. The print was slightly above expectations of 2.7% and remained steady from the prior month's reading.

A core CPI reading that excludes both fresh food and energy prices remained steady at 2.8% in November, above the BOJ's 2% annual target. The print is closely watched as a gauge of underlying inflation by the central bank.

Headline Tokyo CPI inflation read flat at 2.7%.

Friday's print showed Japanese food price inflation remained mostly upbeat, with rice prices continuing to increase at an outsized pace. Dairy prices also increased sharply in the month.

The country is grappling with a prolonged rice shortage due to a mix of poor harvests, an aging farming population, and some policies against importing the grain, which pushed up food prices. Higher food prices were in turn a major driver of CPI inflation this year.

Tokyo CPI inflation usually acts as a bellwether for national inflation, with November's print indicating that Japanese inflation is likely to remain sticky. It also comes after a series of firm inflation prints through the second half of 2025.

Sticky inflation gives the BOJ more impetus to hike interest rates, with the central bank having recently signaled it will consider raising rates in its December meeting.

But rate hikes by the BOJ put it at odds with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government, which has broadly called for looser monetary conditions and more fiscal spending to support economic growth.

Source: Investing

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Source: investing

Source: investing