Vietnam Morning News For May 31

Vietnam runs trade deficit of $2.7 billion in five months
According to the Vietnam Customs, the total import-export turnover in the first five months of this year was estimated at 161.28 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 20.7 percent.
– VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam, Laos sign protocol on adjustment of good transit deal
A protocol adjusting the goods transit agreement between Vietnam and Laos has been signed, creating favourable conditions for transit of goods between the two countries.
– NNT

Government-backed fishing boats sink Vietnamese fishermen into debt
Modern steel vessels that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars are floundering just months after they were launched.
– VnExpress.net

VN industrial production grows 5.7% in five months
The country’s industrial production index (IIP) surged 5.7 per cent year-on-year in the first five months this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.
– Viet Nam News bizhub

People rush to invest in real estate, ignoring risks
In the first months of 2017, the number of real estate transactions at the Notary Public Office No 1 in HCMC increased by 17-27 percent compared with the same period last year.
– VietNamNet Bridge

Merger and acquisition activity raises total FDI
Despite a decrease in newly-registered capital, the significant growth in the value of mergers and acquisitions became a key element in raising Vietnam’s foreign direct investment in the first five months of 2017.
– VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam to sign deals for up to $17 bln in US goods, services: prime minister
‘Vietnam will increase the import of high technologies and services from the U.S., and many important deals will be made.’
– VnExpress.net

Time ripe for US firms to further engage in VN’s restructuring: PM
The time is ripe for US businesses to engage more strongly in the economic restructuring of Vietnam, especially in finance-banking and State-owned enterprise equitisation, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
– VietnamPlus

What benefits will Vietnam get from TPP without the US?
In a TPP without the US, powerful member countries will benefit most, according to economist Nguyen Tri Hieu.
– VietNamNet Bridge

About 10,000 new enterprises established in Hanoi in five months
Up to 9,725 new enterprises have been established in Hanoi during the first five months of this year, with a total registered capital of 73.4 trillion VND (3.23 billion USD), year-on-year rises of 13 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
– Hanoitimes

MoF makes Suntory Pepsi tax ruling
The branch of Suntory Pepsico Viet Nam Beverage Company in Can Tho City is subject to taxes as an expansion but not as a new investment, the Ministry of Finance has announced.
– Viet Nam News bizhub

US investment flow into Vietnam opens up new opportunities
The capital flow from the US is expected to open up a new chapter in investment cooperation with Vietnam, according to Dau tu (Investment) newspaper.
– VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam, EU discuss opportunities, challenges in agriculture
A seminar highlighting opportunities and challenges from the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement for the agricultural sector was held in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on May 30.
– VietnamPlus

EuroCham members expect more from business environment
EuroCham has released the results of its Business Climate Index (BCI) for Quarter 1, 2017, with Vietnam’s index at 78, down seven points from 85 in the fourth quarter of 2016.
– Vietnam EconomicTimes

Hanoi: promoting export in the integration period of 2020 – 2025
The Hanoi People’s Committee has just granted the Decision No. 2913/QD-UBND on approving the project “Promoting Hanoi’s export in the integration period up to 2020 with an orientation to 2025”.
– Hanoitimes

Hanoi aims to train more English teachers
Hanoi faces a shortage of high school teachers that can teach in English, requiring universities to train more students adept at the language to meet demand.
– Vietnam Times

Hoa Sen boosting EU exports
The Hoa Sen Group exported 12,000 tons of galvanized steel to the EU from Thanh Hoa’s Petroleum Technical Services Port on May 30.
– Vietnam EconomicTimes

BIDV introduces credit packages for startups, micro enterprises
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) launched preferential credit programs in mid-May worth a total of VND3 trillion ($132.1 million) for startups and micro enterprises, the bank has announced.
– Vietnam EconomicTimes

Vietnam ranks 8th among world’s top gold consumers
Viet Nam ranks eighth among the countries in the world with the highest gold consumption in the first quarter of 2017, shows a recent report by the World Gold Council.
– VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam Airlines increases over 4,700 flights during summer
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will increase the number of domestic flights to serve passengers’ travel demand during the peak time of summer 2017.
– NNT

Competition Law: has it fulfilled its purpose?
In 2014, the price of a bowl of instant noodle at Tan Son Nhat International Airport skyrocketed to VND160,000, while a package of instant noodle was sold at VND4,000-5,000. The prices of other kinds of food were also sky high.
– VietNamNet Bridge

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Vietnam Morning News For May 31 added by John Le Fevre on May 31, 2017
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.