Vietnam Morning News For October 11

Vietnam To Remove Foreign Ownership Cap For Listed Companies
Vietnam’s government is considering lifting the foreign stake holding limit for listed companies from the current 49 to 100 per cent in a bid to attract more foreign stock investment, Vietnam Net reported.
— Investvine

Vietnamese banks expect profits to rise 18.6 percent
Vietnamese banks have reported good third quarter results, and expect this to continue in the final quarter of the year.
— VnExpress

Pig price hike headache for management bodies
The price hike of pork is causing a headache for management bodies as it poses a risk of increasing imported pork in the domestic market.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam’s economic growth is on track but risks for long-term prospect remain
The inflation target of under 4% in 2018 would be achievable if there is no major change in energy prices in the fourth quarter.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam’s Vietjet signs $1.24bn financing deal for 10 Airbus planes
Vietnam’s Vietjet Aviation signed a combined $1.24 billion worth of financing agreements to eventually purchase up to 10 Airbus planes, the company said on Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post

Anti-flooding works to be built first in Tan Son Nhat airport expansion
Priority will be given to building anti-flooding works first in the expansion project of Tan Son Nhat international airport in HCM City, under a new plan approved recently by the Ministry of Transport.
— Bizhub

Investment funds make modest gains
Most investment funds in Việt Nam’s equity market have recorded modest gains and were beaten by the growth of the benchmark VN-Index in the past three quarters.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnamese farmers victims of dragon fruit price drop
In Binh Thuan province, the largest farming area in the country, tens of tons of unsold dragon fruit are piling up in the streets and on riverbanks.
— Fresh Plaza

Nine-month trade surplus hits record of over US$6.3 billion
Vietnam’s nine-month trade surplus exceeded US$6 billion for the first time in many years, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, on October 9.
— Nhan Dan Online

Vietnam wants Japan to boost real estate, infrastructure investments
Vietnam has pledged to create ‘the best opportunities’ for Japan to increase investments in real estate and infrastructure.
— VnExpress

Japan Pledges Support To Laos For Vietnam War Bomb Removal
Japan on October 8 pledged to give 900 million yen ($8 million) towards removing unexploded bombs in Laos that were scattered there during the Vietnam War and continue to threaten locals.
— Investvine

September auto sales up, changing domestic market share
Sales of cars in September reached 25,351 units in the Vietnamese market, increasing by 19 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).
— Viet Nam News

Is Vietnam moving towards autocracy? The Nation
Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party appears to be undermining its “collective leadership” system by nominating its chief Nguyen Phu Trong as the country’s president, to replace Tran Dai Quang who died last month.
— The Straits Times

Exclusive – Vietnam cyber law set for tough enforcement despite Google, Facebook pleas
Vietnam is preparing to strictly enforce a new cybersecurity law requiring global technology companies to set up local offices and store data locally despite pleas from Facebook <FB.O>, Google and other firms, a government document showed.
— EuroNews

Vietnam will ignore Google and Facebook’s pleas and enforce tough cyber law
Vietnam is preparing to strictly enforce a new cybersecurity law requiring global technology companies to set up local offices and store data locally despite pleas from Facebook, Google and other firms, a government document showed.
— Business Live

Vietnam proactive in cutting GHG emissions: Deputy PM
Vietnam has been a proactive and responsible nation, committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, said Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung during a reception for Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Hoesung Lee in Hanoi on October 10.
— Nhan Dan Online

VinFast secures US$950 million credit facility
Credit Suisse AG and HSBC were the lead arrangers and the financing agreement was guaranteed by German export credit agency Euler Hermes.
— The Hanoi Times

Pricey land reveals HN planning faults
A billboard offering 5.3sq.m of land for VND20 billion (US$870,000) that hung on Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Cau Giay District, at the end of last month was yet more proof of Ha Noi’s urban planning problems.
— Bizhub

Lackluster interest in Military Bank shares offered by Vietcombank
At a starting price of VND19,641 (US$0.84) apiece, Vietcombank is expected to book proceeds of VND116.5 billion (US$5.01 million), much lower than the bank`s initial expectation of at least VND1.04 trillion (US$44.52 million), local media reported.
— The Hanoi Times

Sharp inaugurates 35-MW solar power plant in Vietnam
October 10 (Renewables Now) – Sharp Corporation (TYO:6753) announced today that a recently completed 48-MW DC/35-MW AC solar power plant in Vietnam has formally started commercial operations.
— Renewables Now

High tides strike southern Vietnam hard
High tides in rivers have inundated many areas in Vietnam’s southern localities over the past three days, with the tides reaching the record high of 2.23 meters in Can Tho city on Wednesday, said the Can Tho Climate Change Coordination Office.
— Xinhua

Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways first flight may take off only by year-end
Fledgling Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways failed to launch its first flight on Wednesday as it had not obtained the required licence from the government, an aviation official said.
— Reuters

Vietnamese men more into beauty products online than women
In Vietnam, more men buy beauty products, clothes, footwear and phones online than women, a new survey has found.
— VnExpress

Vietnam’s Defense Ministry to speed up SOE equitization
The ministry has been requested to downsize its wholly-owned companies to 17 by end-2020.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnamese cueists among biggest moneymakers in billiards
Two Vietnamese cueists who scripted a new chapter in Vietnam’s billiard history have cashed in on three-cushion billiards tournaments.
— VnExpress

Vietnam suffers high gastric cancer rates
Vietnam stands the 18th among countries with the highest rates of gastric cancer in the world, and most of gastric cancer patients in Vietnam are late diagnosed.
— Vietnam Insider

3rd generation of Vietnam’s Bphone unveiled; no home button
Vietnam’s cyber security firm BKAV unveiled the third generation of its Bphone on Wednesday without a home button, pricing it from $300.
— VnExpress

Feature photo USAID Vietnam

This week’s Vietnam morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day for Disaster Reduction, October 13.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Vietnam morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Vietnam news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies, not politics.