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Fake luxury brands seized at shopping centre

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The Ministry of Public Security raided a trading centre in Quang Ninh Province on July 11, seizing a large number of fake luxury brand products.

The Criminal Police Department co-operated with Quang Ninh police and the Department of Market Management to inspect Hong Nguyen Shopping Centre in Mong Cai City. The police have found a large number of luxury handbags, wristwatches, and belts. However, the sellers were unable to provide the required papers to prove their origins.

Most of the products claimed Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada and Rolex products costing tens to hundreds of millions of VND. The authorities have filed a report and seized the fake products which worth nearly VND100bn (USD4.3m).

On June 12, the police in Quang Ninh Province also inspected Phuong Dong Shopping Centre on Hoa Binh Avenue, Mong Cai City. Products at Phuong Dong also didn’t have papers to prove their origins.

Transactions via POS machines, WeChat and AliPay apps weren’t monitored by the banks. Foreign employees at the shopping centre also didn’t have work permits.

Source: Dtinews

Millions of pigs destroyed as African swine fever spreads

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Some 3.3 million pigs have been destroyed as the African swine fever has spread to 62 out of 63 cities and provinces in Vietnam.

The report from the Department of Animal Health showed that African swine fever was initially only discovered at a few places and the number of sick pigs was small. The disease has disappeared in 854 communes in 226 districts of 40 provinces.

However, because there’s no vaccine for the African swine fever, the virus can survive in the environment and the transmission routes are very diverse, the disease continues to spread in many areas. From early February to July 8, the disease has spread to 5,422 communes in 513 districts of 62 provinces. Over 3.3 million pigs have been destroyed. Only Ninh Thuan Province hasn’t been infected with the African swine fever.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said there were problems with the destruction of sick pigs. In some areas with low-lying terrain, the burial sites became waterlogged. In other places, the sterilisation process hadn’t been carried out widely and frequently.

“Some authorities haven’t been able to monitor the slaughtering process. As a result, people collected the dead pigs and sold the meat to restaurants. Animals transportation work also left a lot to be desired,” he said.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said if preventive measures were applied and the pigs were given medicines to boost their immune systems, the disease would be controlled. Nguyen Trong Long, head of Hoang Long Co-operative agreed, saying that their 6,000 pigs were still safe amid the outbreak.

Que Lam Corporation also said they successfully protected their pigs thanks to the biosafety farming process. They upgraded the cages, mixed their own feed for the pigs and used lacto powder to boost the pigs’ immune system. Many other firms have followed the same process and found measures to prevent the virus being transmitted from dirt, water, air and host animals.

Cuong said we had to find ways to live with the disease for now. Both household and commercial farms must apply biosafety farming methods. “If preventive measures are carried out correctly, the virus will not be able to spread among the pigs,” he said.

The Department of Animal Health, Department of Livestock Production, and the National Agricultural Extension Centre were asked to work together to complete the procedure and promote biosafety farming among farmers.

Source: Dtinews

Google Translate adds Vietnamese to direct camera translation

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Google has added 60 more languages to the direct camera translation on its Translate app, including Vietnamese.
The tech giant has also updated the app to automatically detect the language and translate directly back and forth between different languages instead of just from English to others and vice versa as before.

Aside from Vietnamese, new languages supported in the update include Malay, Thai, Arabic, Greek, Hindi, Latin, Latvian, Mongolian, Nepali, Igbo, and Javanese.

In all, the app now supports 88 languages. To use it, one only needs to point the camera at the text and take a photo, and the app will take care of the rest.

The tool offers three options: instant translation, scanning, in which it scans the text and translates, and importing, in which it translates from a file already existing in the user’s device.

The app is yet to support instant translation from Vietnamese. Instant translation shows text in the target language when one points their camera over it and presses the “instant” icon.

For now Google Translate offers the updated version only to limited users, but by this month most users will be able to access it.

The new feature will be a boon to foreigners visiting Vietnam since a majority of the population does not speak English fluently.

Microsoft Translator added Vietnamese to its text-to-speech synthesizers last year.

Vietnam received 7.3 million foreign arrivals in January-May this year, up 8.8 percent from a year ago, putting the country on track to meet its annual target of 18 million visitors.

Source: Vnexpress

Wildfire erupts in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh Province as locals burn tree branches

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Wildfire spread across forests in the north-central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh on Thursday for the third time in less than two weeks, this time due to local residents burning tree branches to make space for new trees.

The flames broke out in Huong Son District, Ha Tinh Province at around 8:00 pm on Thursday, Nguyen Van Thanh, head of the district’s forest protection unit, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“It first started in an acacia tree forest in Son Truong Commune and quickly spread to Son Phuc Commune,” Thanh elaborated.

Hundreds of officers and local residents joined hands to battle the flames and subdue the blaze later that night, the official stated.

The wildfire was caused by local residents burning fallen branches to clear the area and plant new trees in the forest.

An investigation into the case will be carried out, Thanh said, adding that it is illegal to burn green vegetation at this time of the year.

Between June 28 and July 1, a total of 12 wildfires destroyed more than 267 hectares of forest in multiple districts in Ha Tinh, including Huong Son.

Thousands of people had to work relentlessly day and night to keep the situation under control.

Local authorities arrested a 46-year-old man for burning garbage that led to the wildfire in Nghi Xuan District, the most devastating of the 12 forest fires.

Another flame broke out in Huong Son District on the morning of July 8 and was intensified by the hot and dry weather.

The inferno was put out the following morning thanks to the relentless effort of competent authorities and locals.

Source: Tuoitrenews

S. Korean man breaks elevator control panel with angry kicks at Saigon apartment

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A South Korea man has recently been caught on CCTV kicking and damaging the control panel of an elevator inside an apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City.

The incident happened at around 1:55 am on Wednesday at Phu Hoang Anh Apartment Complex in Nha Be District.

According to the CCTV footage that went viral on social media on Thursday, the man dressed in a white T-shirt and cap walked into the elevator by himself.

He pressed the buttons and there was apparently something wrong with the system, leading to him kicking the control panel twice.

Even though the control panel was displaced following his kicks, the man was seen continuing his ride in the elevator until he reached his floor.

The management board of the apartment complex confirmed that the elevator is located at Block C.

The man seen in the footage was identified as Choi Yong Ho, a South Korean citizen who lives in the condo.

Choi has worked with the management board and apologized for his action.

He was also willing to compensate for the damage.

The control panel was replaced and the elevator resumed its normal operation as of Thursday.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Danang attracts $542 million of foreign investment in H1

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More than US$542 million of foreign capital was invested in the central city of Danang in the first half of this year.

Speaking at the 11th session of the 9th municipal People’s Council in Danang on Tuesday, Hồ Kỳ Minh, vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, attributed the results to investment attraction activities organised as part of the city’s policy to focus on investment this year.

He said Danang recently held a conference with investors in which investment registration certificates were granted for eight projects worth over $492 million.

Local authorities have also allowed research to proceed on 11 potential projects worth nearly $3.5 billion.

“Despite such positive outcomes, the city has failed to meet the targets in some aspects,” Minh said.

For the remaining six months, the city plans to improve its business-investment promotions and management of investment in construction.

It also will speed up the progress of major projects and enhance its urban and environmental management, among other tasks.

Participants at the 11th session also reviewed socio-economic plans for the first half of the year and outlined measures to carry out tasks for the remainder of the year, resolving pressing issues such as waste, pollution, water shortages and land acquisition.

According to a report on VNS

In Vietnam, local merchants charge extra fees to discourage noncash payments

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Thousands of Vietnam’s retail and service outlets charge an additional fee for customers who pay with credit card as a means of discouraging non-cash payments.

In order to cover the electronic transaction fees deducted by banks during credit card payments, many merchants in Vietnam are topping off bills paid by credit card with an additional charge of 1.5 to 5 percent of the total transaction value.

Retailers and service providers who are questioned by credit card users about the additional fee often explain it away as “collecting them on behalf of the banks.”

While such small percentages can make a big difference in the bottom lines of small businesses, these fees often discourage customers from paying with cash and bottleneck the government’s efforts to transform Vietnam into a cashless society.

At a jewelry shop in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, customer Thanh Tu wanted to buy a bracelet for about VND4 million (US$170) but didn’t have enough cash on her.

Tu was surprised when the store owner told her she could pay by card, but would have to pay an addition fee to do so.

“The bank charges us [for this noncash payment] so we are just collecting the fee on its behalf,” the store owner told Tu.

But Tu refused to pay the fee and opted to search for an ATM and withdraw cash for the purchase.

Similarly, Duc Phuong, another Ho Chi Minh City resident, shared that a local computer shop told him that they charge customers an additional fee if they want to pay by card, saying that the store “is obligated to pay this fee to the bank.”

As Phuong did not have enough cash with him and didn’t know where the nearest ATM was, he chose to accept the fee and pay by credit card.

Don’t let the fees cloud benefits

From a merchant’s perspective, Nguyen Thi Thu Tra, the owner of a chain of seafood restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, said cashless payments might be convenient for customers, but they eat into profits.

“The banks fees can be quite high for business owners,” Tra said, explaining that the “fees for card payments can be as high as five percent of the total charge for visa and mastercard and up to two percent for domestic debit cards.”

This means a business could have to pay up to VND50,000 ($2.1) if a customer pays for a VND1 million ($43) purchase by card, Tra told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

“In the end, we’re the ones who get stuck paying the extra costs [as stipulated by the law],” she added.

However, credit card providers say merchants shouldn’t let added costs cloud the benefits of accepting cashless payments.

A representative of local lender Sacombank said banks often have promotional campaigns for cardholders, meaning people are more willing to pay by card and there is a wider pool of customers willing to spend money.

Businesses that refuse to accept non-cash payments could be missing out on these customers, the representative said.

The Sacombank representative also said banks are doing their best to make businesses understand the benefits and “will work with merchants who reject card payments by making such excuses as ‘the POS machines are broken’ or charging extra fees.”

According to a report on Tuoi Tre

One-third of online customers in Vietnam prefer Apple mobile devices

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34% of customers of online services providing personal financing in Vietnam prefer Apple mobile devices. Samsung takes second place with 27% of customers using its smartphones. OPPO follows with 17%. With the overall share of 78% split by these three companies, other brands are lagging significantly. These are the findings of the international holding Robocash Group after studying the data of more than 337 thousands unique customers who have used its financial service in Vietnam this year.

Remarkably, these findings stand in contrast with the figures in neighboring countries. For instance, most customers of the company in the Philippines and Indonesia prefer Chinese and South Korean brands attracted by extensive product lines at an appropriate quality-price ratio. iPhone owners comprise only 8.2% and 4.8%, respectively.

At the same time, it seems that Apple users in Vietnam try to be specific as much as possible when considering funding facilities. They usually visit 6.2 pages per session on average, which is one of the lowest figures among 50 most popular brands. It differs them significantly from Intex owners viewing the most number of pages – 10.3 pages per session. Customers using Obi (9.9), Nomu (9.7) and Pantech (9.7) are catching up with them.

In terms of the highest time spent per visit on average, Nomu owners take the first place using the opportunity to look through the website very carefully. Compared to them, Meizu and Spice users take the least amount of time for that.

Robocash Group is an international financial group operating in the segments of consumer alternative lending and marketplace funding in Europe and Asia. The company develops robotic financial services providing lending to customers in Vietnam, Russia, Kazakhstan, Spain, the Philippines, Indonesia and India and operates the own EU-based p2p investment platform. The group develops products completely in-house using artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven technologies to provide precise and comprehensive risk management, comfort and speed for customers and efficiency for business.
robocash.group

Vietnam coffee prices marginally lower as trade seen slow until next harvest

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Vietnamese domestic coffee prices were marginally lower on Thursday from a week earlier, with trading activity expected to remain muted until the next harvest that will begin in October.

Farmers in the Central Highlands sold coffee at 34,500-35,000 dong ($1.49-$1.51) per kg on Thursday, compared with 35,000 dong from a week ago.

“There are virtually no transactions now,” said a trader based in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing area.

Another trader said the baby cherries of the new harvest are growing well with sufficient rainfall.

Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta at a $90 per tonne premium to the September contract.

September robusta coffee settled down $6, or 0.4%, at $1,430 per tonne on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, some coffee producers from around the world met in Brazil to discuss the economic sustainability of coffee production.

Vietnam did not attend the meeting, but Luong Van Tu, chairman of Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, said on Thursday Vietnam supported the idea of forming an association of coffee producers.

“Vietnam proposed the formation of such an association even before 2000 but no progress has been made,” Tu told Reuters. “We still support the idea and are monitoring outcome of the meeting in Brazil.”

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s grade 4 defect 80 robusta beans were offered at $150-$200 premium to the September contract, compared with a $180 premium last week, traders in the Sumatran province of Lampung said.

They said coffee supplies in Sumatra are rising amid an ongoing harvest, but demand for the beans have not yet picked up.

According to a report on Reuters

Vinasun appeals VCC’s conclusion on Grab-Uber merger

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Vinasun has voiced its opposition to the conclusion of the Vietnam Competition Council (VCC) that the merger between ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber in the country showed no signs of economic concentration.

VCC had earlier concluded that the merger did not violate the Competition Law, which is contrary to both Singapore’s and the Philippines’ rulings for the same case.

Singapore’s competition watchdog in September last year fined Grab and Uber a combined 13 million Singapore dollars (US$9.6 million) for their merger. Meanwhile, they faced a fine of 16 million pesos (US$0.3 million) in the Philippines.

These two countries’ competition watchdogs also took steps to supervise and control Grab’s operations, to prevent it from ruling the market.

Vinasun Deputy General Director Truong Dinh Quy said that VCC’s conclusion had bucked the trend. The conclusion that the merger did not affect the Vietnamese under-nine-seat automobile passenger market as Uber Vietnam has not registered to provide ride-hailing services or directly manage the Uber app is unreasonable, he said.

According to Vinasun, the Grab-Uber deal has affected the competition in the local market as Grab is now serving a quarter of Vietnam’s population. Grab’s holding of data of a quarter of the population and the right to transfer that data to a third party poses a high risk to the local economy, national defense and social order.

In addition, in the first-instance hearing of Vinasun’s lawsuit against Grab, demanding noncontractual compensation, on December 28 last year, the HCMC People’s Court concluded that Grab had operated as a taxi company but had violated regulations on providing taxi services.

The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority had earlier launched an investigation into the merger of Grab and Uber and found that the deal had violated the economic concentration rules of the Competition Law.

The combined market share of Grab and Uber in Vietnam at the time was over 50%, instead of less than 30% as claimed by Grab. Meanwhile, the law prohibits economic concentration where the combined market share of the participating enterprises in the relevant market is more than 50%.

Besides this, the Grab-Uber merger deal violated the rule on prohibited mergers, and authorities were not informed of the merger as required by law.

Therefore, Vinasun proposed the VCC chairman revoke the ruling on the Grab-Uber merger and open another public hearing with the participation of the relevant parties.

According to a report on SGT

How are foreign retail giants performing in Vietnam?

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Auchan has left the Vietnamese market. MM Mega Market and Big C have seen revenue decrease. But Aeon Mall and Lotte Mart continue to expand.

The only giant that reports profit

Arriving in Vietnam in 2009, Aeon five years later opened its two first shopping centers – Aeon Mall Celadon in Tan Phu district in HCMC, and Aeon Mall Canary in Binh Duong province. In the same year, it reported revenue of VND1.3 trillion and loss of VND112 billion.

The revenue hit VND3.883 trillion in 2016 and the pre-tax profit was VND54 billion, and it soared to VND5.136 trillion in 2017 and the profit to VND234 billion, or four times bigger than the year before.

Aeon’s representative, at a meeting with Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue on February 25, reported that in 2018, Aeon had revenue of $800 million and generated 6,000 jobs.

The revenue hit VND3.883 trillion in 2016 and the pre-tax profit was VND54 billion, and it soared to VND5.136 trillion in 2017 and the profit to VND234 billion, or four times bigger than the year before.

Aeon’s Masaki Suzuki said Aeon considers Vietnam the key investment point in Southeast Asia and the retailer plans to open 30 shopping malls with total capital of $5 billion in Vietnam.

Despite losses, Lotte still expands

Lotte reported revenue of VND5.793 trillion in 2018 from 11 supermarkets and two hypermarkets, which meant a 7.9 percent growth rate over the year before.

Compared with revenue of VND30 billion in the first two years of operation, 2007-2008, the operation scale of the retail group from South Korea increased by 200 times after 10 years.

However, despite the high growth rate, the giant had incurred an accumulative loss of VND800 billion as of the end of 2017, according to the finance report audited by PwC.

Explaining the figures, Seong Won, finance director of Lotte Vietnam, cited a number of reasons, including unsatisfactory performance of some shopping centers.

He went on to say that the retailer is expanding its operation scale, and each shopping center needs 5-8 years to break even. It plans to open 60 shopping centers throughout the country by 2020.

Others go downhill

Auchan did not do well with its business during the five years it was in Vietnam. The revenue was modest, just 45 million euros in 2018.

In the latest news, it has been transferred to Saigon Co-op, a big Vietnamese retail chain.

After taking over Metro, TCC Group changed the brand to MM Mega Market.

In 2016, MM Mega Market reported modest revenue of VND11.7 trillion, or 20 percent lower than that before the transfer in 2013. The revenue was just equal to that of 2010, when the number of Metro supermarkets was half of the current figure.

In 2016, MM Mega Market reported a loss of VND110 billion.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Store-based Retail to Lead Global Beauty Devices Market till 2024

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Growing beauty consciousness along with rising awareness about beauty devices to drive global beauty devices market through 2024

According to TechSci Research report, “Global Beauty Devices Market By Purpose, By Distribution Channel, By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024”, global beauty devices market is projected to grow at a steady pace during 2019-2024, on the back of rapid innovations in the skin care and hair care related industry. Moreover, growing consumer demand for portable devices with high battery backup is further positively impacting the growth of the beauty devices market. Additionally, increasing demand for high-quality skin care and hair care devices and the speedily growing online stores are some other factors that are anticipated to contributing to the growth of beauty devices market during the forecast period. Also, the increasing demand for devices used in the treatment of skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis has been crucial in expanding the market’s operation.

Browse market data Tables and Figures spread through 110 Pages and an in-depth TOC on “Global Beauty Devices Market”

In terms of distribution channel, the beauty devices market is categorized into store-based retail and non-store-based retail. Store-based retail accounted for the majority share of global beauty devices market in 2018. Non-store-based retail is also witnessing a healthy growth owing to growing popularity of the e-commerce market. Moreover, e-commerce and technology are transforming this category with new user experiences, where luxury brands and small start-ups alike are racing to embrace e-commerce, making this channel even stronger.

In terms of region, the global beauty devices market is categorized into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Asia and Latin America. The market for beauty devices in North America was the largest in 2018 on account of presence of major manufacturers in the region and availability of a greater number of products in the region. Among the countries in the North America, US beauty devices market accounted for more than half of the North America beauty devices market in 2018. The growth US beauty devices market is majorly due to the wide acceptance of technologically advanced products and the presence of major industry players in the country. Download Sample Report Here. Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report.

“In Vietnam, with tax reductions for beauty industry products included in free trade agreements (FTAs), Vietnam is seen as a promising market for cosmetics firms and foreign suppliers of beauty-care machines and equipment”. said Sophie Dao, Partner at GBS business law firm, who supports many foreign invested companies started their business in Vietnam.

According to TechSci Research report “Global beauty devices market is anticipated to register a steady growth during forecast period. The growth in the market is led by technological advancements and rising beauty consciousness among women across the globe. Moreover, increasing air pollution levels along with rising concentration of pollutants in the air is resulting in various skin problems such as skin ageing, pigmentation, etc., which would further steer growth in global beauty devices market.” said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

“Global Beauty Devices Market By Purpose, By Distribution Channel, By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024”, has evaluated the future growth potential of global beauty devices market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in global beauty devices market.

TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. TechSci Research’s workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends.

Vinpearl Air, a member of Vingroup will enter Vietnam aviation market soon

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The Department of Planning and Investment in Hanoi has just granted a business licence to Vinpearl Air Company, a member of Vingroup.

Vinpearl Air, formerly known as VinAsia Trade Development and Services company, was established on April 22 with headquarters in Hanoi’s Vinhomes Riverside Long Bien with registered capital of VND1.3 trillion. Vietnam News Agency reports.

The airline, which will have international routes and use 30 aircraft or more, must have minimum capital of VND1.3 trillion, according to a local regulation.

According to Vietnam News, the airline’s three founding shareholders are VinAsia Tourism Development JSC, which holds 45 per cent of the company, with the remainder held by two individual investors. The legal representative of the company is also the chairman of Vinpearl Air’s board of directors.

Vingroup and Canada’s CAE Oxford Aviation Academy recently signed a co-operation agreement to train pilots, flight technicians and other personnel in the field of aviation, providing high-tech resources for Việt Nam and the world.

Under the agreement, the VinAviation School and Vinpearl Air Training Centre will be established in Vietnam.

It is expected that 400 pilots and mechanics will qualify each year under the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

VinAviation School will train pilots and basic mechanics according to CAAV standards and international standards of the FAA and EASA.

Vinpearl Air will offer upgraded courses for pilots, mechanics, operators, crews and other aviation personnel.

VinUni will be responsible for aviation administration, the economics of air transport, and aircraft engineers.

Nguyễn Việt Quang Vingroup CEO said the scarcity of pilots was occurring not only in Việt Nam but all over the world.

“The salary in this industry is very high, ranging from VNĐ100 million and more per month for commercial flight pilots and VNĐ200 million per month or more for the captain – teacher. The training time is only 18-21 months,” Quang said.

Vingroup aims to help reduce the shortage of pilots in the domestic market and to also export pilots to the rest of the world, creating opportunities for the young generation and contributing foreign currency to the country, he added.

Al Contrino, representative of CAE, said that Vingroup’s willingness and the experience of CAE would help the project achieve success within a short time.

‘Hot’ aviation development

Insiders said the race for aviation market share in the Vietnamese market became specially competitive after Bamboo Airways received permission in the beginning of the year from the Ministry of Transport to operate.

With the participation of Vinpearl Air, Vietnam’s aviation industry will have six airlines: Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, Vasco and Vinpearl Air.

The Transport Ministry targets an average growth rate of 16 per cent per year in the 2015-20 period for the aviation sector and 8 per cent in the 2020-30.period, according to the ministry’s plan for aviation transport development until 2020 and vision to 2030, approved by the Prime Minister.

Việt Nam has been one of the most developed global aviation markets in the past decade, with an average revenue growth of 17.4 per cent, two times higher than the 7.9 per cent average of Asia, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Data from the CAAV showed that in 2018 the total output of national carrier Vietnam Airlines and its members reached over 28 million passengers, accounting for 56 per cent of market share. Meanwhile, Vietjet Air’s transport volume reached over 21 million passengers, accounting for 44 per cent of market share.

Trần Quang Châu, the chairman of the Vietnam Association on Aviation Science and Technology, said that aviation’s rapid growth has revealed urgent problems that need to be resolved immediately.

“These problems are inadequacies in infrastructure and management capabilities,” he said. “Human resources are ‘bottlenecks’ of domestic airlines. The main reason is that the training does not keep pace with development, so the shortage of manpower is not only in the pilot force but also in other aviation forces such as flight supervision, air traffic management and aircraft engineers.”

Tiki among HR Asia Awards’ best places to work in Asia 2019

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Tiki the only Vietnamese e-commerce company on this year’s list.

A list of the best places to work for in Asia 2019 was announced by HR Asia magazine on July 10 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Tiki was the only Vietnamese e-commerce company to be honored, joining reputable names such as ACB, Bao Viet, Deloitte, L’oréal, Manulife, Jetstar, and Nestle, among others. From an initial list of 265 companies from 24 major industries in Vietnam, this year the HR Asia Awards shortlisted companies with the best working environment in Asia in 2019.

Having been in the market for nine years, besides its technology platform, infrastructure, and operations system, etc., Tiki has always focused on building human resources (HR) and corporate culture. It currently has offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with over 3,000 employees around the country, who are talented Vietnamese employees as well as global veterans who previously worked at leading world companies such as Amazon, Coupang (South Korea), and Macmillion (India), etc.

“We not only attract and develop young Vietnamese talent but also recruit international experts to join Tiki, which helps create world-class products and services for over 95 million Vietnamese people,” said Mr. Tran Ngoc Thai Son, Founder and Chairman of Tiki’s Board of Directors. “As the world becomes flat, with cutting-edge technology crossing borders, Tiki is able to seek talent from all over the world.”

“We believe in fostering a culture of happiness across our organization, because happy employees build happy products and services which ultimately leads to happy customers,” said Ms. Sakshi Jawa, Chief People Officer at Tiki. “An award like this is especially encouraging to us at Tiki because it is recognition that the effort we are putting in to build a happy culture is working.”

Tiki was also named the leading e-commerce company and among the top 20 Vietnam best places to work in 2018 by Anphabe and Intage.

The HR Asia Awards are prestigious in Asia and held by HR Asia, the most authoritative publication for senior HR professionals, and honor companies with the best working environment across Asia. The awards are organized in many countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and in Vietnam since 2018.

Source: Vneconomictimes

Banks rush to buy back bad debts

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Many banks have bought back the bad debts that they had sold before to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), taking a new step forward in bad debt settlement.

Vietcombank, Techcombank, MB Bank, OCB, VIB and ACB are pioneering the movement.

Other banks, Eximbank, TP Bank, Kien Long Bank, VP Bank, BIDV, Eximbank and SHB, are also moving ahead with the plan to buy back bad debts and finalize special bonds in 2019.

VP Bank said it set the profit target of VND9.5 trillion this year, a modest increase of 3 percent over 2018.

Explaining why the bank was cautious when setting a profit target, its managers said the bank wants to gather strength to settle bad debts it sold to VAMC, about VND3.16 trillion, right in 2019.

Analysts said buying back bad debts to settle the debts completely is a growing tendency among banks which began earlier this year.

In previous years, banks had to sell bad debts to VAMC for special bonds. By doing this, they took bad debts out of the balance sheet and continued their operations as normal banks.

Instead of money, banks received 5-year special bonds from VAMC. During the five years, banks had to make provision of 20 percent for special bonds each year. In principle, this affects banks’ annual profits.

Truong Thi Duc Giang said by selling bad debts to VAMC, the bad debts won’t disappear. This is just a technical accounting method which extends the time for provisioning.

This is why, after taking over the debts, VAMC has still authorized banks to continue the process of collecting debts and dealing with mortgaged assets.

Now, when buying back bad debts, banks can take the initiative in settling debts. As the profits in 2018 were satisfactory and the balance-sheet bad debt ratio is at low level (2.02 percent), now is the right time to settle bad debts.

It is foreseeable that the buying back of bad debts for settlement will have big effects on the profits of many banks in 2019. Therefore, banks will have to calculate thoroughly the amount of debt they can buy this year to ensure reasonable profits and bad debt ratios.

Nguyen Hung, CEO of VP Bank, also said if the bank buys back all the bad debts or buys VND500 billion only will depend on the business performance and profit.

Sources said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is drafting a new regulation to replace Circular 19/2013, stipulating that the banks which sold debts to VAMC won’t be allowed to pay dividends in cash until the special bonds are finalized.

Source: VNN