Vietnam Morning News For September 20

Vietnam’s car imports up 50 percent in August
Vietnamese businesses imported nearly 10,000 completely built cars in August, up 50 percent compared with the previous month, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
— VietnamPlus

Vietjet introduces Tet promotions
Millions of tickets available for flights during lunar new year 2019.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Minister wants to develop made-in-Vietnam social media
Vietnam needs a digital ecosystem with focus on made-in-Vietnam social media instead of foreign owned players such as Facebook and Google.
— Vietnam Insider

Việt Nam’s clean energy in need of a just transition
In two years time, Việt Nam could stop building new coal plants, while maintaining a safe, affordable and secure energy system.
— Viet Nam News

Tea producers lose big money because of weak cooperation
The lack of materials for processing and the unhealthy competition among tea producers are the consequence of the uncontrolled increase in the number of tea processing workshops.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam seafood exports to ASEAN expected to reach US$1 billion soon
With its continuous growth over the past 10 years, ASEAN has become an important market for Vietnamese seafood, and the prospect of US$1 billion worth of yearly seafood export revenue is reachable.
— Nhan Dan Online

Ministry works to implement SME support law effectively
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) held a workshop in Hanoi on September 19 to provide updates on the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises and its enforcement in order to solve some of the issues that have arisen during its implementation.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam expected to drop poverty rate
Vietnam’s poverty rate among households is expected to decrease to below 6 percent by the end of this year from 6.7 percent late last year, according to the country’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on Tuesday.
— Xinhua

VN needs to adapt to digitisation
Việt Nam needs to improve the quality of its technical and vocational education and training to meet the requirements of digitisation and industry 4.0, a conference heard in HCM City on Tuesday.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnamese Fighting Back on Plastic Pollution
For many Vietnamese people, it is a ritual as circadian as the sunrise: On the way to work, they pull over their motorbikes to grab an iced coffee from a street vendor, complete with a plastic cup, plastic lid, plastic straw, and plastic case to hang from the bikes as they drive.
— VOA News

Foreign investors rush to buy into Vietnamese businesses
Nearly 5,000 deals involving foreigners buying into Vietnamese businesses have been reported so far this year, an increase of 50 percent compared with 2017.
— Vietnam Insider

Number of firms in Việt Nam surges by over 50%
Nearly 517,900 businesses were operating in Việt Nam in 2017, an increase of 51.6 per cent from the figure recorded in 2012, according to the general economic census announced by the General Statistics Office of Việt Nam (GSO) on September 19.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam FDI sector contributes meagerly to state budget despite robust revenue
FDI sector`s return on asset (ROA) reached the highest among Vietnam`s economic groups in 2016 with 6.9%, followed by the state sector with 2.6% and the private sector with 1.4%.
— The Hanoi Times

HCM City encourages private investors to develop affordable housing
HCM City will adopt incentives to encourage the private sector to develop social housing for sale and rent to address the city’s shortage of affordable homes for low-income families and industrial park workers.
— Bizhub

Vietnam jails two Vietnamese-Americans for 14 years for attempting to overthrow the state
A Vietnamese court sentenced two Vietnamese-Americans to 14 years in prison on Wednesday (Sept 19) for “attempting to overthrow the state”, a court official told Reuters.
— The Straits Times

S Korea’s SK Group invests $470m in Vietnam-listed Masan Group
South Korea’s SK Group is investing $470 million in Vietnamese listed conglomerate Masan Group in a deal that will make it the largest shareholder in the company.
— DealStreetAsia

Vietnam to set foreign ownership limit in fintech sector
The central bank has proposed issuing detailed regulations on foreign shareholding limit in the country’s fintech firms to better manage the nascent financial services sector.
— The Hanoi Times

Japanese man accuses Hanoi taxi driver of fraud
A Japanese man was charged 10 times more than his trip should have cost in a taxi in Hanoi, Dtinews reported.
— Vietnam Insider

This Big Law Lateral Wants to Build a Colorado-Vietnam Business Pipeline
Chuong Le’s family escaped Vietnam in a boat. Now the former leader of Denver’s 3i Law is hoping to help U.S. businesses make inroads in the burgeoning Southeast Asian country at an Am Law 200 firm.
— The American Lawyer

Vietnam, Malaysia promote friendship, cooperation
The Vietnam – Malaysia Friendship Association (VMFA) under the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) hosted a friendship exchange in Hanoi on September 19 as part of activities to mark the 61st anniversary of Malaysia’s National Day.
— Nhan Dan Online

France and Vietnam deepen defence engagement
France and Vietnam have signed an agreement to frame expanded defence collaboration over the coming decade.
— Janes

China, Vietnam vow to enhance judicial cooperation
China and Vietnam on Wednesday pledged to further enhance the judicial cooperation between the two countries.
— Xinhua

US vows to deepen ties with Vietnam
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan affirmed his country’s commitment to deepening relations with Vietnam on September 18 (local time).
— Nhan Dan Online

Hong Kong-Vietnam symposium seeks to boost business ‘In Style’
A symposium in HCMC will highlight how Hong Kong firms can help Vietnamese businesses expand worldwide.
— VnExpress

Vietnam’s agro-aquatic products strive to penetrate Russian market
Vietnamese businesses are striving to promote agricultural and aquatic products in the Russia market at an international food fair and trade connection activities being held in Moscow, Russia.
— VietnamPlus

Vinasoy introduces new Fami Go soy drink
Vinasoy has officially launched a new soy product with the brand name Fami Go.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Poultry consumption growth to continue through 2022
Rabobank report sees continued growth in poultry consumption in Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Privatization of Vietnamese state firms requires greater transparency
SOEs have relied heavily on preferential treatments and pay little attention to the importance of investing in production and corporate governance for efficiency.
— The Hanoi Times

Transparency critical for SOEs
Transparency is critical to enhance the efficiency of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) as Viet Nam enters a new phase of equitisation which will focus on quality rather than quantity.
— Bizhub

Hotels face serious labor shortage
Half a year ago, N, the CEO of a four-star hotel in Khanh Hoa province, drew up a plan to resign from his post and return to HCMC for family reunion. But the plan failed.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Ha Noi steps up smart city development
The Vietnamese capital is speeding up efforts to become a smart city that offers convenience, safety and comfort to every citizen, applying key technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, said the municipal People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung.
— Bizhub

AIR NEW ZEALAND SUSPENDS VIETNAM AND TOKYO HANEDA SERVICES
Air New Zealand has announced several changes to it’s schedule in part due to the ongoing issues it faces due to the Rolls Royce Trent engines issues on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. These issues are expected to have an impact until at least late 2019.
— Travel Talk

VinTech, UTS ink MoU in tech RD
Vintech Technology Development JSC – an affiliate of the conglomerate Vingroup – and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will foster bilateral co-operation in technological research and development (R&D) in their areas of strength.
— Viet Nam News

Ace Products Group Expands in Vietnam, Offers Alternative to China
MI accessory manufacturer and distributor Ace Products Group has expanded its Vietnam based operations, in order to better provide comprehensive planning, project management, quality control and convenient logistics services for custom accessory manufacturing projects on demand.
— Benzinga

Vietnam’s FE Credit enables Samsung Pay for cardholders
Vietnam’s VPBank Finance Company Limited (FE Credit) has enabled the use of Samsung Pay for its cardholders.
— Fintech Innovation

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