Vietnam Morning News For September 14

Grab, Moca to promote cashless payment in Vietnam
Grab Company (Grab) and MOCA Technology and Service Joint Stock Company (Moca), a digital payments service in Vietnam, have partnered to promote cashless payment on Grab platform and in Vietnam.
— Telecom Asia

Dog meat trading to be banned in central Hanoi by 2021
Dog meat selling will be banned in the inner districts of Hanoi from 2021 according to the local Department of Animal Health.
— Vietnam Insider

H&M, Zara earn big money in Vietnam
H&M has been open in Vietnam for one year, while Zara celebrated its two-year presence in Vietnam recently. Both fashion brands have prospered here thanks to the number of Vietnamese fashion fans.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam wants to speed up digital economy development: Deputy PM
Vietnam will soon complete the ecosystem for digital economy in terms of human resources and legal framework, according to Deputey Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.
— The Hanoi Times

Will China use Vietnamese origin to export woodwork to US?
The massive arrival of Chinese enterprises to Vietnam to set up woodwork processing workshops has raised concern that China may exploit Vietnamese origin to export products to the US and avoid high taxes.
— Vietnam Insider

Why McDonald’s and Burger King flopped in Vietnam
The fast food industry thrives in most of the world. Chains like McDonald’s and Burger King typically come out on top in the $651 billion fast food industry.
— CNBC

Vietnam among top 10 remittance recipients: UNDP
Remittances contribute significantly to supporting the country`s economic development, increasing its foreign exchange reserves and balancing its current account.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam needs overall strategy to attract, manage and use ODA
After 20 years of receiving a fairly large and steady flow of official development assistance (ODA) from international donors, the ratio of ODA to Vietnam’s total income is falling and currently accounts for just under 2% of the GDP.
— Nhan Dan Online

Consumers gain most from FTA tax reforms
While the state budget and domestic producers can suffer from lower import taxes, consumers will benefit handsomely, economists say.
— VnExpress

Go-Jek and Grab begin race for regional dominance in Vietnam
The fierce competition between Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing service Grab and its Indonesian rival Go-Jek is set to explode across borders as the latter rolls into Vietnam with plans for further regional expansion.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Japan, Vietnam urge U.S. to rejoin Pacific trade deal
Japan and Vietnam on Thursday, September 13, urged the United States to rejoin a sprawling Pacific trade deal, almost two years after President Donald Trump’s withdrawal dealt a major blow to what would have been the world’s largest free trade pact.
— Rappler

Vietnam PM urges Carlsberg to raise stake in Vietnam brewer Habeco
Vietnam’s prime minister has urged Danish brewer Carlsberg <CARLb.CO> to raise its 17 percent in beermaker Habeco <BHN.HM>, the government said on Thursday as it seeks to step up the privatisation of state assets.
— Euronews

Vietnam court jails activist for 12 years
A court in central Vietnam has jailed an activist for 12 years, on an accusation of trying to overthrow the state, his lawyer said on Thursday (Sep 13), days after two rights campaigners were barred from attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Hanoi.
— Channel NewsAsia

Vietnam aspires to become a prosperous nation: PM
Vietnam holds aspirations to become a country with prosperous development, inferior to no other countries’ in the world, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the Vietnam Business Summit in Hanoi on September 13.
— Nhan Dan Online

Province to prioritises hi-tech
The northern province of Ninh Binh will focus its investment in projects with high value and welcome investors with new ideas or breakthroughs in technology to promote its vast development potential.
— Bizhub

Seizing opportunities from Industry 4.0
The World Economic Forum on ASEAN in 2018 (WEF ASEAN 2018), hosted by Vietnam, is taking place in Hanoi from September 11-13. More than 1,000 participants joined the open forum: ‘ASEAN 4.0 for All?’ and shared their ideas on solutions to help the ASEAN countries to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
— Nhan Dan Online

Asia Rice: India rates tumble; Vietnam hopes to clinch Philippines deal
In top exporter India, rates for the 5 percent broken parboiled variety fell by $5 to $371-$375 per tonne this week, the lowest in 17 months.
— Money Control

Vietnam extends provincial FiT scheme – with caveats
The government has extended the payment system in Ninh Thuan by 12 months. But with a 2 GW cap and 1.9 GW in place already, new entrants may have to move fast.
— PV Magazine

MRC official hails Vietnam’s contributions
CEO of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat Pham Tuan Phan has appreciated Vietnam’s contributions to and cooperation with the commission while being received by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on September 13.
— Nhan Dan Online

Blockchain technology benefits SMEs, developing countries: report
Blockchain could bring a commercial benefit of 1 trillion USD, mostly for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as for some newly-emerged markets which suffer most from a lack of access to credit and have ample room to grow trade, including Vietnam, according to a new report jointly released by Bain & Company and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
— VietnamPlus

Asia Coffee-Vietnam prices edge higher on scarce supplies, further gains seen limited
Coffee prices in Vietnam edged up this week on scarce supplies, but traders said they would not climb further ahead of the new harvest next month.
— Business Recorder

PM hosts gala popularising Vietnamese culture
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse hosted a gala popularising Vietnamese culture in Hanoi on September 12, a special event to welcome the heads of state, country leaders and corporate executives to the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) 2018.
— Nhan Dan Online

Trident, Other Seafood Firms Eye Vietnam as China Levies Tariffs
U.S. companies trundled their scallops and tuna to Vietnam this week, seeking new buyers at a time when Chinese tariffs threaten to choke off U.S. seafood exports.
— BNA

Cambodian Prime Minister returns home after Vietnam visits
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen returned home yesterday after attending the 15th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning City in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Vietnam’s Hanoi.
— Borneo Bulletin

Asian developers find booming Vietnam property market irresistible
Asian property developers are looking at Vietnam with great interest, according to industry insiders, both Vietnamese and foreign.
— VnExpress

Vietnamese, Russian firms ink deal of light metro line
The signing took place in Moscow within the framework of an official visit of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng to Russia.
— The Hanoi Times

Americans lead visits to world’s largest cave in Vietnam
Americans have comprised the largest continent of visitors to the Son Doong Cave in 2018.
— Vietnam Insider

RoK firms interested in doing business in HCM City: official
A line-up of businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK) hope to land investment in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the sectors of high technology and IT, said Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (KDI) Huh Chang-soo on September 13.
— VietnamPlus

VNAT and VnTrip sign deal to build database of Vietnamese tourism
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and VnTrip Joint Stock Company on September 12 signed an agreement on building a database of 360 degree pictures of tourism destinations.
— The Hanoi Times

A Vietnam resort pays tribute to traditional hats with these incredible roofs
A resort has created unique structures that echo the heritage of Vietnam with a roof design that looks like traditional dress.
— Lonely Planet

Feature photo Travis Hawk

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.