Vietnam Economic Slowdown Seen in Cobweb-Covered Crates

Nguyen Thi Ha sighs as she looks at the dust and cobwebs covering crates full of colorful, enameled tiles in her factory by Hanoi’s Red River.

“We’re struggling to keep our business alive,” said Ha, who laid off more than half of her 60 employees this year as luxury hotels in the beach resort of Danang halted orders. “If the situation doesn’t improve, it will be hard for us to hold out beyond this year.”