Top 50 brands in Vietnam valued at US$9.3 billion

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The total value of the top 50 Vietnamese brands in 2019 unveiled by Forbes Vietnam is estimated at over US$9.3 billion, up US$1.2 billion from the figure announced last year.

The most value brand belongs to the dairy giant Vinamilk at US$2.2 billion, followed by the military-run telecommunications firm Viettel and beverage producer Sabeco. NDO reports.

Viettel was named the fastest-growing brand with its value rising from US$1.397 billion a year earlier to the current value of US$2.163.

The other brands in the top ten, which are worth US$6.9 billion in total, are Vinhomes, Masan, MobiFone, Vinaphone, Vietcombank, FPT and Vincom Retail.

With ten brands on the top 50 list, the food and beverage sector accounts for the largest share in terms of the number of brands while consumer, banking, telecommunications, property and retail make up the largest share in terms of value.

Other sectors such as agricultural support, securities, travel and accommodation have only one representatives each respectively.

The list was compiled based on the contributions of brands to the companies’ business performance.

According to NDO, a number of large state-owned and private companies are missing from the list because they did not disclose or declined to provide their financial data.

Vietnam received almost 10 million foreign visitors in arrivals in 7 months

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Vietnam hosts more int’l arrivals in 7 months, roughly 9.8 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of this year, posting a year-on-year rise of 7.9 percent, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism on Monday.

From January to July, over 7.6 million international arrivals to Vietnam are from Asia, up 8.8 percent; roughly 1.3 million from Europe, up 5.5 percent; 607,100 from the Americas, mainly from the United States, up 6.4 percent; 264,400 from Oceania, mostly from Australia, down 0.8 percent; and 26,300 from Africa, up 8.5 percent.

Specifically, Vietnam welcomed roughly 2.9 million Chinese visitors, or 29.5 percent of the total international arrivals in the seven-month period, said the administration.

Vietnam, which hosted roughly 15.5 million international arrivals, including nearly 5 million Chinese visitors, last year, expects to welcome 17.5-18 million foreign visitors and 85 million domestic travelers and to gain total tourism revenues of about 30.4 billion U.S. dollars this year.

In the second half of 2019, Vietnam will promote tourism with advertisement programs in many countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, said the administration.

Vietnam’s stocks dragged down by strong selling

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Vietnamese shares declined on Monday morning as large-cap companies began to suffer from profit-taking.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange fell 0.49 per cent to close at 988.48 points.

The benchmark index gained a total of 1.1 per cent last week.

More than 75 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ1.72 trillion (US$74 million).

Large-cap stocks fell as they were hit by increased selling pressure.

The large-cap VN30-Index was down 0.73 per cent to end at 881.36 points.

Twenty-one of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 basket declined while only six increased.

Among the decliners were steel producer Hòa Phát (HPG), property firm Vincom Retail (VRE), retailer Mobile World (MWG), Coteccons Construction (CTD), Sacombank (STB) and Vietinbank (CTG).

Investors are looking ahead to the Fed meeting and the US-China trade talks this week, the results of which will have a big impact on the movement of global markets.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 1.10 per cent to end at 105.23 points.

The northern market index fell a total of 0.62 per cent last week.

Only 15 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VNĐ187 billion.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.

Source: VNS

Unknown origin milk, beer confiscated in Phu Yen

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Authorities in the southern central province of Phu Yen have confiscated thousands of beer and fresh milk bottles and milk power boxes of unknown origin.

The products were transported by a truck was detected by the local market management board and police at around 3 am on July 28.

The goods contain 7,380 Heineken-branded fresh beer bottles, 15,000 Ensure bottles and 1,116 Ensure milk power boxes of 900 grams each. They were covered by egg boxes brought to HCM City for sale.

Particularly, on the brand of fresh milk bottles, there is a line of words saying that “Not to be sold in Vietnam or Mexico”.

The vehicle, driven by Hoang Hieu Nhan, 35, from the central province of Quang Tri. Hieu failed to provide the necessary documents. The case is under investigation.

Source: Dtinews

Grab to invest $2 billion in Indonesia using funds from SoftBank

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Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab on Monday said it will invest $2 billion into Indonesia over five years using capital received from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, which wants to increase its exposure to the region’s most populous market.

The investment will go toward creating a next-generation transportation network and transforming how critical services, like healthcare, are delivered, Grab said in a statement.

“SoftBank will invest the US$2 billion into the country through Grab, to drive the digitization of crucial services and infrastructure,” said Singapore-headquartered Grab.

Earlier on Monday, SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son told reporters his company was investing $2 billion in Grab. A SoftBank spokeswoman later said Son was referring to capital already invested in Grab, and that he expressed his willingness to invest further funds in the ride-hailing firm.

Grab has raised nearly $3 billion so far from SoftBank and its Vision Fund.

SoftBank will help Grab build a second headquarters in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Son also said on Monday.

Grab said the two companies will invest to create a transport network for Indonesia based on electric vehicles. Grab will also use the money to launch e-healthcare services to improve access to doctors and medical services.

Doubling down on Indonesia will intensify Grab’s competition with home-grown rival Go-Jek. Both tech startups have evolved from ride-hailing app operators to becoming one-stop shops for services as varied as making payments and food delivery.

Son also said SoftBank would pump in more funds into Indonesia’s biggest online marketplace Tokopedia, and explore investment opportunities in areas including renewable energy and electric vehicles in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

“We will study the opportunities. We are interested in electronic vehicles, batteries and the charging systems,” Son told reporters at the presidential palace in Jakarta.

In its statement, Grab said it has invested over $1 billion in Indonesia since 2017. The firm has been on a fundraising drive since acquiring the regional operations of U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc last year.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Vietnamese American arrested for drug trade in Saigon bar

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Saigon police Sunday arrested a Vietnamese American bar owner whose employees sold banned substances to customers every night.
Le Van Tien, 54, owner of the 030-X8 bar on Nam Quoc Cang Street in HCMC’s District 1, and 15 of his employees have been under criminal investigation for “organizing illegal use of narcotics,” and “illegal possession of narcotic substances.”

On Wednesday, hundreds of police officers raided the bar near Saigon’s famous backpacker precinct and found over 300 people inside with signs of drug abuse.

Some tried to throw their drugs away and flee the bar, but were stopped and taken to the police station for tests. Over 200 people tested positive for banned substances.

Many packets of drugs, including ecstasy, were found on the dance floor.

According to investigators, the drug users admitted to the police that the bar staff provided them with ecstasy and trays of other drugs.

Upon checking the employees’ lockers, police discovered a lot of drugs. The staff said their boss knew that they sold banned substances to drug users and often reminded them “to be discreet.”

Police also discovered a large amount of drugs in Tien’s house.

Drug trafficking, trade and abuse seem to be widespread in the country despite Vietnam having some of the world’s toughest drug laws.

The use of synthetic drugs has been on the rise among partying youth in Vietnam, multiple reports have noted. Last September, seven people died of suspected drug overdose at a music concert in Hanoi.

23,500 known drug users were recorded by Saigon authorities last year, a 7 percent increase from 2017.

The city has become an increasingly used transit point for drugs, because of its well connected road, marine and air transport services, said Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the HCMC Police department.

Vietnamese authorities deal with around 20,000 drug cases every year and arrest around 30,000 people. The country has some 250,000 registered addicts, but the actual figures are thought to be much higher.

Drug addiction has long been considered a “social evil” in the country, and a controversial policy of forced abstinence and re-education has been adopted to deal with it.

Source: Vnexpress

State investment agency to auction stake in cooking oil giant

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State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will auction its entire 36.3 percent stake in the Vietnam Vegetable Oils Industry Corporation.
All 44.21 million shares in the leading producer of cooking oil, better known as Vocarimex, will be publicly auctioned on August 15 and ultimately sold to a single highest bidder, the SCIC announced.

Related: Company formation in Vietnam

Vocarimex’s shares (stock code: VOC) will have a starting price of VND22,300 (0.96 cents), which means SCIC could expect to receive a minimum of VND986 billion ($42.48 million). This starting price is 34 percent higher than the Monday’s opening price of VND16,600 ($0.72) for VOC shares traded on UPCoM, Vietnam’s exchange for unlisted public companies.

According analysts, SCIC names the high starting price for VOC shares because Vocarimex currently possesses major stakes in several leading cooking oil producers in Vietnam, as well as large plots of land in prime locations across the country.

For instance, Vocarimex has a 26.54 percent stake in the Tuong An Vegetable Oil (TAC), and a 40 percent stake in Golden Hope Nha Be (GHNB). As of the end of 2018, the two companies ranked second and third in terms of market share in Vietnam’s cooking oil industry, accounting for 20 and 11 percent respectively, according to market research firm Viet Analytics.

Vocarimex was established in 1976 and equitized in 2014, with an initial charter capital of VND1.22 trillion ($52.55 million). The company listed shares on UPCoM in 2016.

Vietnam’s leading food company Kido Corporation and SCIC are Vocarimex’s biggest shareholders, having 51 percent (nearly 62.12 million shares) and 36.3 percent (44.21 million shares) stakes respectively.

According to Vocarimex’s bi-annual business report, revenues fell to VND1.32 trillion ($56.86 million) in the first six months of the year, down 39 percent year-on-year, while profit after taxes fell to VND99 billion ($4.26 million), down 28 percent.

The auction of Vocarimex shares is one of 108 divestments planned by SCIC this year.

SCIC is a government agency set up to restructure state-owned enterprises to make them more efficient and to enable the state to consolidate capital in sectors it considers key.

Source: Vnexpress

Ha Long Bay has been named among top 10 best sunrises

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Ha Long Bay has been named among the world’s most beautiful sunrise spots in 2019 by the Microsoft Network (MSN).

MSN is an integrated website of internet services provided by Microsoft. Votes were based on user reviews of the most beautiful early morning skies around the world, from mountain tops to deserts, that are worth an early start to the day.

Ha Long Bay was praised for its great backdrop of emerald waters, limestone karsts, and surrounding rainforest at sunrise, MSN wrote.

Moreover, the best thing for visitors to the bay is that they don’t have to do anything to admire the sunrise, just wake up at around 5am in the summer.

Other places to see beautiful sunrises include Sydney Harbour in Australia, Monument Valley in the US, Ankor Wat in Cambodia, Snowdon in Wales, the Plain of Okavango in Botswana, Brooklyn Bridge in the US, Table Mountain in South Africa, London Bridge in the UK, and Bagan in Myanmar.

Covering an area of 43,400 ha and including over 1,600 islands and islets, most of Ha Long Bay is uninhabited and unaffected by humans and is a perfect example of a mature karst landscape developed in a warm and wet tropical climate. The limestone in the bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. Ha Long Bay has twice been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, in 1994 and 2000, and has also been named one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

This year, the bay had been labelled one of the most mentioned global cruise destinations on Instagram, by British magazine Woman and Home. It was also listed among the 25 most beautiful places around the world by CNN, among the most popular attractions in Asia by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, and ranked third on a list of the 29 Best Places to Visit in Southeast Asia last year by Touropia, an international travel website featuring the most amazing sights around the world divided into various “Best of” lists.

According to a report on VET

Local, international youths join hands to clean up garbage in Nha Trang Bay

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Several groups have been established and dedicated to cleaning up garbage in Vietnam’s Nha Trang Bay, where rubbish from fishing, tourism, and household activities is placing enormous pressure on the natural environment.

Nha Trang covers an area of more than 500 square kilometers in the namesake beach city of Nha Trang, located in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

The bay consists of 19 islands, with the largest being Tre Islet, which occupies 32.5 square kilometers, and the smallest being Noc Islet, which is only four hectares in area.

It was listed among the world’s top 29 bays by the Club of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World in June 2003.

The area, however, is being polluted by garbage, mainly plastic waste and used fishing nets, discharged by thousands of households and fishermen, as well as from tourism activities.

To curb the situation, the Nha Trang Urban Environment JSC has been operating multiple units specializing in collecting rubbish along local riverbanks, estuaries, and on all of the bay’s islands over the past few years.

The waste collected from the islets is brought to the mainland for appropriate treatment.

Two boats are tasked with scouting the islands as well as floating restaurants and aquaculture facilities for collecting waste on a daily basis, said Dinh Van Nghia, a member of the environmental unit.

This seems to be a never-ending task as a large number of people discharge a large amount of garbage every day, Nghia assessed.

Meanwhile, members of a volunteer group named Trashpackers have also been contributing to the efforts by cleaning up beaches in Nha Trang Bay.

Trashpackers consists of young people coming from Vietnam, the United Kingdom, France, Argentina, and South Africa.

Their most recent activity took place at Vinh Luong Beach.

“We all love the ocean and will do our best to keep it clean and beautiful,” said Giang Thi Kim Yen, a member of the group.

According to a report on Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese officer injured as driver slams illegal timber van into police truck

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A traffic police officer in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been injured after a speeding van carrying contraband wood crashed into a police truck in an attempt to escape.

Three suspects in the van have been arrested after deliberately slamming their vehicle into the police vehicle, Colonel Phan Thanh Tam, director of the Department of Police in Gia Lai Province, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday morning.

The incident happened on Saturday afternoon, when officers detected a 12-seater automobile suspected of transporting illicit pine wood in Kong Chro Town.

The van was driven by 33-year-old Nguyen Thanh Hung. Dinh H Bap, 15, and Pham Minh Khanh, 29, were also in the vehicle at the time.

Law enforcement officers first signaled for the vehicle to pull over, but the suspects did not comply with the request and sped away.

A team of traffic policemen was then tasked with blocking the road with a specialized truck.

The van, however, did not slow down and ended up crashing into the police vehicle.

Two officers managed to dodge the speeding car, but their comrade, Captain Nguyen Dinh Nha, who was standing behind the police truck, was thrown to the side of the street by the force of the collision.

Nha suffered a back injury and was admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The van was on its side following the crash, and the three suspects, who were not injured, were apprehended on the spot.

Preliminary information showed that Hung, the driver, had tested positive for drugs.

According to Col. Tam, Hung can be charged for attempted murder if investigators are able to gather sufficient evidence.

According to a report on Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City installs more traffic surveillance and security cameras

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Ninety more traffic surveillance and security cameras in Ho Chi Minh City’s districts will be connected to the Traffic Surveillance and Control Centre, according to the city’s Department of Transport.

Since last year, the city has installed 131 traffic surveillance cameras and another 100 to measure the number of vehicles in traffic hot spots.

The ccentre has connected 713 traffic surveillance cameras to the system.

Since the beginning of this year, the department has shared data recorded from cameras with the centre.

The data is also shared with the city’s Command Centre, Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, and Tan Son Nhat Airport Command Centre.

From now until the end of the year, the city will use fees from traffic violations to install more than 90 traffic surveillance cameras.

In addition, city workers will upgrade the city’s traffic portal and digitise the database and management information system of the centre.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, has directed agencies to connect security cameras at office buildings and residential area to the Traffic Control and Monitoring Centre.

According to the city’s Traffic Safety Committee, the locality has 21 “black spots” for traffic accidents, an increase of five sites compared to last year.

In the first six months of the year, the city had 1,669 traffic accidents, a decrease of 115 against the same period last year.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, has directed departments to come up with solutions to solve black spots.

They were also told to review 28 congestion sites in the city and eliminate two or three of them by the end of the year, especially those at Tan Son Nhat airport and Cat Lai Port.

According to a report on VNS

Korean, Japanese firms eye Vietnam’s real estate market

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The real estate sector has announced a number of joint venture projects with the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan in the past three years.

According to Reatimes – a real estate online magazine in Vietnam, Korean construction and property investors are considering Vietnam the second biggest market to boost investment.

Related: Company formation in Vietnam

The latest data from the Bank of Korea show that Korean investors poured 56.1 million USD into Vietnam last year. This figure was only after the US with 155.2 million USD.

At present, a series of well-known businesses from the RoK such as Lotte E&C, SK, and GS E&C are busy operating across Vietnam.

They collaborate with Vietnamese partners to develop many housing and infrastructure projects.

Director General of the GS E&C Cho Sung Yol said his company pays special attention to the future of the Vietnamese market, especially building smart supermarkets and landing investment in infrastructure.

Apart from the RoK, Japanese construction businesses are particularly interested in infrastructure in Vietnam besides residential property products.

According to a report on VNA, one of the advantages of Japanese construction real estate firms is pursuing official development assistance (ODA) programmes.

Vietnam vs Philippines in the AFF U15 Boys’ Championship will kick off at 7:00PM HKT today

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Vietnam will take on Philippines in their second match of the AFF U15 Championship 2019, the regional youth championship featuring ASEAN sides, on Monday.

Vietnam had suffered a 2-0 defeat to defending champions Indonesia in their opening match of the campaign on Saturday and will be looking to put that defeat behind them when they face Philippines in their second encounter. Meanwhile, Philippines also had a Saturday to forget as they were thrashed 7-1 by Timor-Leste in their opener.

In other Group A matches of Monday, Indonesia will take on Singapore while Myanmar face the East Timorese.

As many as 12 nations will take part in the 14th edition of the youth tournament which is taking place in Chonburi, Thailand from July 27 to August 9. Indonesia are the reigning champions of the U-15 tournament having won the title defeating Thailand in the final held last year.

Defending champs Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Singapore and Philippines are in Group A of the 2019 tournament while hosts and 2018 runners-up Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam and Australia make up Group B.

Winners from each group as well as the two runners-up will qualify for the semifinals of the championship to be held on August 7. The final is slated to be held on August 9.

Vietnam vs Philippines in the AFF U15 Boys’ Championship will kick off at 7:00PM HKT. You can watch the match LIVE on Foxsport Asia here!

Vietnam on alert for budding tropical storm this week

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Impacts can begin as early as midweek as a tropical storm or typhoon is likely to form across the South China Sea (East Sea) this week.

An area of low pressure is expected to form over the East Sea early this week with a window of opportunity for further development. Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather meteorologist reports.

Warm ocean water and low wind shear will allow for gradual strengthening as it moves west-northwestward throughout the week. However, the length of time for strengthening over water may be limited to only 36-48 hours.

Vietnam and China on alert for budding tropical system this week |
By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather meteorologist

Should this system strengthen into a tropical storm, it will be given the name Wipha.

Bands of rain will batter western areas of Luzon in the Philippines into midweek, including Manila.

Locations from southern China into Indochina will want to be on alert for potential tropical impacts from mid- to late week as the storm approaches. Hainan Island may take a direct hit from this storm.

Regardless of the storm’s strength, enough rain can fall to lead to flash flooding and mudslides. Rough seas will also be stirred and create dangers for boaters and swimmers.

The extent of wind damage will depend on the storm’s track and peak intensity.

According to AccuWeather, the worst impacts from this storm are likely to bypass Hong Kong to the south and west. Regardless, rain bands from this storm can impact the city during midweek.

The time to prepare for this storm is right now. Those waiting until the middle of the week could run out of time.

Heed all advice from local government officials and evacuate if asked. Keep gas tanks filled and cell phones charged.

Additional tropical development will be possible into the beginning of August across the West Pacific.

More than 380 Chinese nationals were detained during a raid on a gambling ring in Vietnam

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Chinese and Taiwanese groups use Vietnam as a venue for online betting rings in recent years

Nearly 400 Chinese detained in record Vietnam gambling bust, state media reported Sunday, July 28, in what police claim is the biggest-ever betting operation run by foreigners. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

Most forms of gambling are illegal for locals in Vietnam, but the country has in recent years been used as a venue for online betting rings run by gangs from China and Taiwan.

Some 500 police officers in the northern port city of Hai Phong broke up the Chinese-run network in a raid late Saturday, July 27, on a gated community called Our City where rooms were used to transact online bets worth more than $400 million, state-run Vietnam Television said.

“This case is considered the biggest ever in terms of scale and the number of foreigners breaking laws on Vietnam’s soil,” VTV reported.

The 380 Chinese nationals fielded online wagers from Chinese punters on sports betting and ran an illegal lottery, it added.

According to the report, police also confiscated nearly 2,000 smartphones, 530 computers, bank cards and cash.

Police declined to provide additional details when asked for comment by Agence France-Presse.

Vietnam’s one-party state has started loosening its rules on domestic gambling, allowing its citizens to bet in casinos on a trial basis and opening up some sports betting.

But lucrative illegal operations have mushroomed, prompting a crackdown on domestic gambling rings.

Dozens of people were convicted in Vietnam last year in connection with an online gambling ring run by a senior official in charge of policing internet betting

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