Vietnam Morning News For September 13

Education in Vietnam: Opportunities and Challenges for Investment
Vietnam is currently one of the best destination for foreign investment in Southeast Asia. The country’s GDP is forecast to grow by 6.5 percent in 2017 and, among a variety of sectors, the demand for a high-quality education is reaching new heights, providing favorable opportunities for foreign investors to enter the market.
— Vietnam Briefing

Domestic gold prices fall sharply
On the Hà Nội market, selling price of one tael, or 1.205 ounces, of State-owned SJC’s gold declined by VNĐ190,000 (US$8.3) to VNĐ36.75 million.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam To Introduce Customs Bond To Facilitate Customs Clearance
Vietnam will be introducing a customs bond system to facilitate customs clearance and reform import and export procedures.
— Vietnam Briefing

Solving trouble brewing in the Vietnam tea industry
The report found that the global tea market had grown at a CAGR of more than 5% during 2009-2016, reaching a production volume of roughly 5.6 million tons in 2016, which is expected to hit 7.2 million by 2022.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Vietnam’s FPT sells stake in trading arm, continues IT push
Information technology group FPT agreed Tuesday to sell a 47% stake in its trading arm to Synnex Technology International, the latest move by the Vietnamese conglomerate to scale back trading activities in order to focus on high-value IT services.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Vietnamese products introduced at World Food Moscow 2017
Eight Vietnamese businesses are showcasing their products such as spices, tea, coffee, fruits and dairy products at the World Food Moscow 2017, which kicked off at the Expocentre in Moscow, Russia, on September 11.
— VietnamPlus

Vietinbank becomes Diners Club card issuer
Việt Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) on Monday signed a partnership agreement to become the only issuer of Diners Club (DC) cards in Việt Nam.
— Viet Nam News

Australia extends VN’s wind towers investigation
The Anti-Dumping Commission of Australia (ADC) has issued an announcement to extend the deadline of publishing the Statement of Essential Facts (SEF) and the final report in the dumping investigation of wind towers imported from Việt Nam.
— Bizhub

Vietnam’s Dropfoods launches initial coin offering to grow vending machine business
Dropfoods, the largest smart vending machine operator in Vietnam, is launching an initial coin offering (ICO) on Sept 21 to raise US$9 million (S$12 million), the company said on Tuesday (Sept 12).
— The Strait Times

Vietnam cashew exports grow 25% to $2.2B
Vietnam’s cashew nut exports in the first eight months of this year rose 24.9 percent year-on-year to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Monday.
— Fresh Plaza

August sales up for Toyota Vietnam
Toyota Vietnam (TMV) recorded impressive sales growth in August, with total sales of 5,794 units, up 48 per cent compared to August 2016.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Mondelez Kinh Do accelerates its presence rapidly after M&A deal
For the confectionery business, the deal was indeed a game-changer, as Mondelez Kinh Do’s diverse product range is now available across Vietnam, with its factories boosting their capacities to export to other ASEAN countries, China, and Japan.
— VietnamNet Bridge

VNR seeks loans to improve its operation
The Việt Nam Railways (VNR) has submitted to the Ministry of Transport an investment plan with credit loans worth nearly VNĐ4.7 trillion (US$208 million) to purchase and build new locomotives and wagons from now till 2020.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnamese workers end 5-day strike after company scraps draconian death leave rule
Thousands of workers will no longer have their salaries slashed if they take time off when a family member dies.
— VnExpress

Automobile sales dips 6 percent in eight months
Members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) sold more than 177,000 cars in the first eight months of the year, down 6 percent from the same time last year.
— VietnamPlus

Exports to Algeria up 26 percent
Exports to Algeria earned Vietnam 227,86 million USD this year to early September, up 26 percent on a yearly basis, according to the Vietnamese trade mission in the African country.
— VietnamPlus

Tra Vinh will support private economic development
This southern province will support the development of 15,000 private enterprises by 2030, officials have said.
— Bizhub

State budget collection up 13 percent
Total State budget collection in the first eight months of this year was estimated at 762.8 trillion VND (33.4 billion USD), an increase of 12.8 percent over the same period last year.
— VietnamPlus

Synnex buys 47% stake in FPT Trading
The FPT Corporation has signed an investment agreement with strategic partner the Synnex Technology International Corporation (Synnex), the largest value-added distribution group for IT, telecom and IC components in Asia and the third-largest in the world, under which Synnex will purchase a 47 per cent holding in FPT Trading.
— Vietnam Economic Times

BMW Group Asia chooses Thaco as new dealer of BMW, MINI in Vietnam
The BMW Group Asia said on September 12 that it signed a letter of intent with Vietnamese automaker Truong Hai Automobile JSC (Thaco), delivering its intention to choose Thaco as a new dealer of its BMW and MINI models in Vietnam from January 1, 2018.
— VietnamPlus

Feature photo ADB Photo/Tran Viet Tuan
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