Vietnam Morning News For September 29

MoIT removes regulations on steel quality management
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has promulgated Circular 18/2-17/TT-BCT to remove some regulations on managing the quality of locally produced and imported steel.
— Bizhub

Hau Giang urged to improve business environment to attract investment
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang to make stronger efforts in administrative procedure reforms and improve the business climate in order to attract investment.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam expects record breaking fruit & veg exports, forecast at $3.6B
Vietnam vegetable and fruit export revenue is hoped to hit a new record of 3.6 billion USD in 2017, with bumper crops forecast for the rest of the year.
— Fresh Plaza

FedEx Trade Networks opens new HCMC office
FedEx Trade Networks, the integrated international freight forwarding arm of the FedEx Corporation, has officially announced the opening of a Ho Chi Minh City office in Tan Binh district.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Reference exchange rate up by 6 VND
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,470 VND/USD on September 28, up by 6 VND from the previous day.
— VietnamPlus

Ho Chi Minh City proposes plan to control motorbike exhaust in 2018
The Ho Chi Minh City administration is urging the central government to approve measures aimed at controling motorcycle exhaust emissions in the city from the beginning of next year.
— Tuoi Tre

SE VN needs better links: forum
The south-eastern region has grown rapidly and enjoys a number of advantages, but also faces many hurdles, especially to inter-provincial connectivity, a forum heard in HCM City on Tuesday.
— Bizhub

South Korean brokerage houses eye Vietnamese market
South Korean brokerage houses are entering the Vietnamese market by acquiring local players, attracted by the Southeast Asian country’s booming stock market.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Vietnam launches action month for elderly
Vietnam on Thursday held here a ceremony to celebrate the International Day of Older Persons (Oct. 1) and to launch the Action Month for the Vietnamese Elderly.
— Xinhua

Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL.L) Holds Steady Above Rising Trendline
In the latest session, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL.L) moved 0.80%, touching a recent bid of 393.00. Current price levels place the shares above the rising trendline.
— Financial Newsweek

Vietnam considers fivefold gallop in plastic bag tax
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is weighing an amendment to its environmental protection laws that would call for a 400 percent rise in its plastic bag tax, worrying locals who say plastic bags are essential to their businesses.
— Tuoi Tre

US businesses seek suppliers, but are Vietnamese firms ready?
At the 2017 Supplier Day organized by AmCham Vietnam, US manufacturers and retailers looked for Vietnamese suppliers in order to increase the localization ratio in products and services, and put more made-in-Vietnam products into their distribution networks.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Foreign investment to Vietnam up 34 pct in 9 months
Vietnam lured 25.4 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment in the first nine months of 2017, up 34.3 percent year-on-year, the country’s Foreign Investment Agency said on Thursday.
— Xinhua

Vietnam’s Real Estate Industry: Poised for a Major Structural Funding Shift
Contrary to other nations, Vietnam is primarily reliant on bank loans and associated bank guarantees.
— Vietnam Briefing

Vietnamese, Mozambique firms seek closer partnership
More than 100 representatives of Vietnamese, Mozambican and Swazi enterprises have gathered at a recent meeting in Mozambique’s capital of Maputo to seek closer partnership, especially in import-export, mining, agro-forestry product processing, telecommunications and civil construction.
— VietnamPlus

Nation’s cooperatives must be strengthened
Nguyen Van Doan, director general of the Department of Co-operatives, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, talks to Vietnam New Agency about the role of the collective economy in national economic development.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Quang Nam to spend 5 million USD upgrading fishing port
Central Quang Nam province will spend 120 billion VND (5.28 million USD) renovating Tam Quang Fishing Port in Nui Thanh district to improve logistics services for fishermen.
— VietnamPlus

Conference highlights indicators for green economy in Vietnam
Green growth is a path to achieving sustainable development in the context of climate change, Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Danh Son from the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences said at a conference on green growth in Vietnam on September 27.
— VietnamPlus

Danish sportswear producer Spectre opens new factory in Vietnam
A new $5 million factory from Spectre, a Danish company with many years of experience in manufacturing functional garments for the international outdoor sports industry, was officially opened in northern Nam Dinh province on September 28.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Developing “agriculture 4.0”
Agriculture is a foundation, a development axis, and a strong pillar of the economy. Over the years, the sector has recorded continuous growth with important achievements, contributing to nationwide economic stability, reducing poverty and improving the standard of living for rural residents.
— Vietnam Times

Full moon cake market no longer fertile business segment
Three years ago, the market saw over 50 brand names and hundreds of types of high class to popular cakes. Companies overwhelming the market share included Kinh Do, Bibica, Givral, Brodard, Dai Phat and Nhu Lan.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Asia Coffee -Markets stay muted in Vietnam, Indonesia on low supply
Asian coffee markets remained subdued this week due to low supplies at the end the crop season in Vietnam and the harvest period in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.
— Kitco

Man steals over $8,700 in armed bank heist in Vietnam
Police in Vinh Long Province, located in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, are hunting for the potentially armed suspect of an over-US$8,700 bank robbery in Vietnam.
— Tuoi Tre

Feature photo World Bank/ Le Thi Xuan Nghiem
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