Vietnam Morning News For July 10

WB explores ways to maximize finance for Vietnam’s electricity and gas sectors
Private sector and commercial financing are among recommendations which the World Bank has made.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam’s medicine spending per capita to increase
Vietnam’s medicine spending per capita rose by 10.6 percent to 53.5 U.S. dollars in 2018, and is forecast to rise further in the near future, the Health Ministry said.
— Xinhua

Vietnam Airlines to raise carry-on weight limit to 12-18kg
Vietnam Airlines is raising the weight limit for carry-on bags from 7kg to 12-18kg starting August 2019, the national flag carrier said Monday.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam seafood exports could miss $10 bln target
Declining values of exported seafood could see Vietnam fall short of the $10 billion target set for the year.
— VnExpress

Vietnam fruit and veg exports rise 3.9 percent in H1 2019
According to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s vegetable and fruit exports hit US$2.06 billion in the first six months of 2019, up 3.9 percent year-on-year. The figure included the value of $298 million traded in June.
— Fresh Plaza

Will Vietnam loosen monetary policies?
Bloomberg reported that the US FED has decided to keep the reference interest rate unchanged at 2.25-2.5 percent after a meeting discussing the monetary policies last week.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam bank sector more vulnerable to shocks as leverage rises: Fitch Ratings
The consumer sector has benefited from Vietnam`s sustained strong economic growth and increasing affluence.
— The Hanoitimes

Go-Viet headhunts managers, set to launch online payment
Ride-hailing firm Go-Viet is looking for as many as 16 senior leaders for existing operations and a new online payment service.
— VnExpress

Việt Nam’s research-based pharmaceutical industry expects high growth
The European Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (Eurocham) highly values the potential of Việt Nam to become a centre for the research-based pharmaceutical industry including production, export and supplies of high quality healthcare services in the ASEAN region.
— Viet Nam News

UAE, Vietnam boosting cooperation
Ways of accelerating mutual cooperation were the main topic of discussions at a meeting Suhail Bin Mohammad Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, had with Trinh Dinh Dung, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, and his accompanying delegation, recently.
— Gulf News

Kuwaiti bloggers promote Vietnam as travel destination
Two well-known travel bloggers from Kuwait are exploring Vietnam in a campaign to woo big spenders from the Western Asian nation.
— VnExpress

Vietnam strengthens human resources for information security tasks
The Minister of Information and Communication (MIC), Nguyen Manh Hung, said that Vietnam would announce a national digital transformation strategy in 2019.
— OpenGovAsia

Why Vietnam is a big winner in the US-China trade war
The US-China trade war may have cast a pall of uncertainty over Asia’s business climate, but times are good for Vu Ngoc Khiem, a consultant who helps connect suppliers with buyers in Vietnam.
— Telegraph

Business Etiquette in Vietnam – Customs and Tips
Vietnam has one of the oldest cultures in Southeast Asia. While national identity can be complex given Vietnam’s history, locals are proud of their language and its complexities, as well as the distinctiveness of their society and culture. The expression dat viet (Vietnamese land), for example, encapsulates the notion that Vietnamese society have an organic relationship to their environment.
— Vietnam Briefing

Vietnam asks South Korea to protect women from domestic violence
The Vietnam Embassy in South Korea has asked local authorities to deal strictly with domestic assaults on Vietnamese women.
— VnExpress

Hyundai Merchant Marine advances into Vietnam’s logistics industry
South Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine is soon to advance into Vietnam’s logistics industry along with institutes such as Busan Port Authority. The company recently joined THE alliance, one of the three major maritime alliances, to expand its maritime networks. Its next strategy is to turn a profit faster by advancing into the logistics business.
— Hellenic Shipping News

Vietnam, RoK vow to continue with cooperation in crime combat
Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to continue their cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug, high-tech, economic and sex crimes, money laundering and trafficking.
— VietnamPlus

Bình Thuận dragon fruit week opens in Hà Nội
About 500 tonnes of dragon fruit from the southern province of Bình Thuận is expected to be sold at Big C supermarket and GO! Market chains nationwide until Sunday.
— Viet Nam News

Foreign doctors learn thyroid laparoscopy technique in Vietnam
An advanced technique devised by a Vietnamese doctor for thyroid laparoscopy is bringing doctors from other countries to Vietnam.
— VnExpress

The capital city strives to 30 industrial clusters in 2019
Hà Nội is now home to 70 operational ICs, covering a total area of more than 1,300ha. They have attracted 3,100 businesses.
— Viet Nam News

Hanoi to have 30 new industrial clusters in 2019
The capital city of Hanoi has set a target of having 30 new industrial clusters (ICs) by the end of this year, said Le Hong Thang, Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.
— VietnamPlus

Ministries need to complete regulations for equitisation of SOEs
Ministries and sectors by the end of the year need to complete legal documents relating to the equitisation of state-owned enterprises, Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ said at a meeting of the Steering Committee for Innovation and Development of Businesses held in Hà Nội on July 8.
— Viet Nam News

Hanoi: 80 percent of new landed property supply located in the east
The east of Hanoi leads the new supply of landed property, covering 80 percent of the total new launch in the first half of 2019, property consultancy CRBE Vietnam announced in an event to review the capital city’s real estate market from January to June and the future trends.
— VietnamPlus

Việt Nam’s research-based pharmaceutical industry expects high growth
The European Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (Eurocham) highly values the potential of Việt Nam to become a centre for the research-based pharmaceutical industry including production, export and supplies of high quality healthcare services in the ASEAN region.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnamese brands sail into global markets
Vietnamese businesses are further participating in the global value chain and reaching out to the world market.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam, Philippines’ top diplomats discuss South China Sea issues in Hanoi
Locsin Jr. and Minh emphasized the need of boosting trust among parties and addressed a series of measures for maritime solutions.
— The Hanoitimes

Lá Lành brand of safe vegetables enters market
The Lá Lành brand of vegetables grown to Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices standards in the central province of Bình Định has hit the market.
— Viet Nam News

Central region faces water shortages amid drought
Prolonged hot weather in the central region has caused low water levels in reservoirs and dams, seriously affecting agricultural production and the daily lives of local residents.
— Viet Nam Net

Rising FDI calls for better supporting industry: experts
The domestic supporting industry needs to improve to take advantage of foreign direct investment pouring into Việt Nam, experts have urged.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam to host Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team C’ship
The 2019 Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship will be held in Vietnam’s northern Vinh Phuc province from July 24 to 27, with participants from 12 countries and regions, the Vietnam Golf Association said on Tuesday.
— Xinhua

Nintendo to move Switch production to Vietnam on tariff fears
Japan’s Nintendo will shift some of the production of its popular Switch gaming consoles to Vietnam from China.
— VnExpress

Why Vietnam ranked among best countries for expats?
As Vietnam has recently been listed among the world’s ten best countries for expatriates in a survey by HSBC, several expats and local experts have shared their thoughts to explain why the Southeast Asian country deserves its spot.
— Vietnam Insider

HSBC: Vietnam inflation to moderate to 2.7% in 2019
After recording its slowest pace in more than three year last month, Vietnam’s inflation is forecast to hit only 2.7 per cent this year after standing at 3.5 per cent last year.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Securities firms warn listed businesses may struggle to meet EVFTA standards
Việt Nam’s benchmark VN-Index has risen since the ratification of the EU-Việt Nam trade agreement on the back of listed firms whose exports would be boosted by the deal.
— Viet Nam News

Quang Tri: over 1.7 bln USD poured into economic, industrial zones
Economic zones and industrial parks in the central province of Quang Tri attracted over 40 trillion VND (over 1.7 billion USD) from 150 investment projects as of July this year.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam gov’t urges faster SOE privatization
As of present, only 35 out of 127 SOEs subject to privatization have completed the process.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam’s indie hit ‘The Third Wife’ honored at Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival
Vietnam’s multiple award-winning indie hit The Third Wife has won yet another international recognition at the annual Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival (BAFF) 2019.
— Vietnam Insider

Feature photo LINCZ

This week’s Vietnam morning news feature photo focuses on Asean’s endangered species, here, the Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri)

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.