Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on Saturday the government wanted to rapidly issue a licence for Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite internet in the country under a pilot scheme.
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Chinh, speaking with nearly 40 US businesses in Hanoi, also said that Vietnam was taking measures to rebalance its trade surplus with the US, citing potential imports of aircraft, arms, liquefied natural gas, agriculture goods and pharmaceutical products.
Hanoi is trying to avoid US duties on its ballooning exports, which contributed to a record trade surplus last year, making the Southeast Asian nation vulnerable to reciprocal tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump.
“The PM has directed the Ministry of Science and Technology to quickly issue a license to Starlink internet [services] on a trial basis,” the government said on its website, reporting on the discussions Chinh had with US businesses.
In February the Vietnamese parliament approved a temporary scheme to allow satellite internet companies to provide services in Vietnam while retaining full control on their local subsidiary – a precondition set by Musk.
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That represented a sudden shift in Vietnam’s stance about ownership of satellite internet providers, as the Communist-run country maintains strict limits on foreign control for multiple economic sectors it considers sensitive.
A US official who attended Saturday’s meeting said the discussion “will hopefully solve some pending issues” for US companies in Vietnam.