Vietnam Morning News For February 26

Vietnam Economy: Robust 2017 Growth, International Challenges Ahead
Things got off to a bad start for the Vietnam economy in 2017 with the shock withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
— AEC News Today

Agriculture industry aims for US$40 billion export target
Agroforestry and seafood exports set a new trade record of US$36.37 billion in 2017, a rise of more than US$4 billion over the previous year and setting new milestones in the process, however, last year also brought losses in the pig-farming industry and the EU’s issuance of a yellow card to Vietnamese seafood.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Tax sector continues reforms to ease businesses
The tax sector will continuously intensify reforms to further ease the operation of businesses and improve the country’s paying tax index.
— The Hanoi Times

Reduced Australian tariff to boost Vietnam exports
Australia will cut 90 percent of import tariff lines in 2018 and 100 percent of them in 2020 under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) roadmap, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
— VietnamPlus

Vietcombank prepares to sell 10% stake to foreign investors
The Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, or Vietcombank, is planning to sell more than 350 million shares, or a 10% stake, to foreign investors in the first half of 2018, following a green light from the government.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Exporters focus on adding value to Vietnamese products
Vietnamese firms are investing significantly to processed and value-added products instead of just focusing on exporting large volumes of unprocessed goods as previously to increase their export value.
— The Hanoi Times

First Glimpse Into How Vietnam’s Home-Grown Cars Will Look Like
Vietnam is set to build up its own car industry, and it seems to have quite some good-looking designs in mind.
— Investvine

SBV urges property lending caution
State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has asked credit institutions to limit their lending to the real estate and construction sectors to better control bad debts.
— Bizhub

Vietnam targets effective, safe growth of stock market
The Government and the State Securities Commission plan to carry out key measures to develop the stock market in a rapid and effective but also a safe manner, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said.
— Nhan Dan Online

Foreign investors register to invest 1.25 billion USD in January
Foreign investors registered to invest nearly 1.25 billion USD in Vietnam in January, which will include funding for new projects, in addition to existing projects and buying stakes in projects, which will equal 75.9 percent, compared to the same period last year.
— VietnamPlus

Finance Ministry proposes environmental tax hike
The Ministry of Finance has proposed raising environmental protection taxes on oil and petroleum products from the current VND3,000 (13 US cents) to the ceiling level of VND4,000 (17 cents) per litre beginning July 1, 2018.
— Bizhub

Why foreign banks are turning tail and pulling out of Vietnam
Foreign banks concerned about poor risk management or faced with fierce competition in Vietnam have been withdrawing their investments.
— VnExpress

Vietnam Dealbook: Malaysia’s Yinson in JV with PTSC; State to sell VTRI stake
Malaysia’s Yinson Holdings and PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation are setting up a $111.6 million joint venture while the Vietnamese government will continue to pare its stake at Vietnam Textile Research Institute which will conduct its IPO on March 12.
— DealStreetAsia

Former Vietnamese banker misappropriating customer’s savings hunted worldwide
A former senior official of a Vietnamese bank has been internationally wanted by Vietnam’s police after he stole all the money in a customer’s accounts and fled to a foreign country.
— Tuoi Tre

Tra Vinh announces key projects and incentives for the year ahead
The Tra Vinh Provincial People`s Committee has announced the key projects with incentives to attract investment in 2018.
— The Hanoi Times

Setting up businesses to … transfer to Chinese
Many Vietnamese in Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province are registering businesses under their names and then transferring them to Chinese, allowing Chinese staff to work without a work permit, Khanh Hoa newspaper reported.
— VietNamNet Bridge

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