Vietnam Morning News For August 27

Locals boycott thermal power projects as electricity shortages loom
The electricity outages that occurred in the dry season may return and become even more serious as provincial authorities do not want to build more thermal power plants in their localities.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Forbes includes 8 banks among top 40 Vietnam valuable brands
Forbes Vietnam compiled the list based on the contribution of each brand to company`s business performance.
— The Hanoi Times

Chinese digital wallets pick Vietnamese tax pockets
Vietnamese tax and provincial authorities are concerned that Chinese digital wallet services are bypassing them, easily and illegally.
— VnExpress

Producers of oil & gas firms see drop in profits, but distributors’ earnings rise
The oil price fluctuations have had a big impact on the business performance of Vietnam’s oil and gas firms. While miners and producers have unsatisfactory business results, distributors have made make fat profits.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Domestic animal feed controlled by import and FDI businesses
Vietnam will produce more than 23 million tonnes of animal and poultry feed this year, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
— VietnamPlus

Gov’t aims to boost public service payment through banks
The Government will continuously fine-tune legal regulations to encourage and popularise the payment of public services through banks, deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) Nguyen Kim Anh said at a forum on accelerating the payment of public services via banks held in Ha Noi on Friday.
— Bizhub

NA to postpone consideration of special economic unit bill
The National Assembly will not review the draft law on special administrative economic units at the sixth National Assembly session in October to have more time for consolidating the bill.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Foreign investors gear capital to high-tech industries in Vietnam
The government’s plans to improve the quality of FDI inflows have brought initial results with more foreign investors targeting to set up high-tech projects in the country.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam Demands Monsanto Pay Its Dues For Agent Orange
Vietnam has demanded US chemical giant Monsanto pay compensation to the victims of Agent Orange, which the company supplied to the US military during the Vietnam War.
— Investvine

Vietnam pays tribute to John McCain at war crash site
Vietnam paid tribute to John McCain on Sunday, hailing him as a friend who “fought for peace.”
— New York Post

Vietnam detects transnational marijuana smuggling ring
The Customs Department of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City said Sunday that they have spotted a ring which transported marijuana from the United States to Vietnam via the city-based Tan Son Nhat international airport.
— Xinhua

Thais nabbed in Vietnam-based call-centre scam
Thai and Vietnamese police have together shut down a call-centre investment scam in Ho Chi Minh City.
— The Nation

Demand for affordable apartments on the rise
The affordable apartment segment will be the star of the property market in the coming years, but its supply is increasingly scarce while the demand for this type of apartment remains high, according to an analysis by property services firm CBRE Viet Nam.
— Bizhub

Life insurance sector pumps over 215 trillion VND in economy in H1
The life insurance sector pumped over 215 trillion VND (9.34 billion USD) into the economy in the first half of this year, according to the Insurance Association of Vietnam (IAV).
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam parliament not to discuss SEZ bill in October session
Vietnam’s National Assembly will not take up the controversial draft law on Special Economic Zones in October as previously scheduled.
— VnExpress

Foreign investors interested in wind power development
Foreign investors have shown considerable interest in developing wind power in Viet Nam.
— Bizhub

Vietnam’s Golden Bridge among Time’s top 100 destinations this year
Just months after it opened to public, Vietnam’s amazing Golden Bridge continues to grab the world’s attention.
— VnExpress

Global firms explore investment in City
Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCM City Nguyễn Thành Phong received entrepreneurs from some multinational groups on Friday to brief them on investment opportunities in the city.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam earns more Asiad medals from swimming, rowing
Vietnam bagged a silver for swimming and a bronze for rowing on Friday at the Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia.
— VnExpress

Brokerage predicts VND to devalue by around 3% in 2018
In order to maintain the competitiveness of export products, the exchange rate still needs an adjustment at a moderate level.
— The Hanoi Times

Central ramps up Viet Nam expansion
CENTRAL Group, Thailand’s largest retail conglomerate, plans to spend as much as US$500 million to expand its retail network in Viet Nam over the next five years.
— Bizhub

Mekong countries attend friendship border exchange program in Vietnam
Delegations from all six members of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the third friendship border exchange program in Vietnam’s Hanoi capital on Saturday evening.
— Xinhua

Vietnam: a 20 year growth story
Growth was particularly strong in 2017 at 6.8 per cent and ANZ Research forecasts this strong growth to be maintained in 2018 and 2019.
— Blue Notes

Smart Solutions Vietnam forum lays out visions for integrated security at record breaking year for Secutech Vietnam
Secutech Vietnam reached new heights as it closed its doors last week, having seen visitor numbers increase to an estimate of over 13,800 (2017: 12,097).
— Machining News

Feature photo Travis Hawk

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