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Love gives Vietnamese baby abandoned in plastic bag a new shot at life

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A newborn child found abandoned in a plastic bag in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong is now thriving, thanks to the love and care of the Buddhist nun who has taken her in and given her a shot at life.

Trieu Hoai An was found by a local farmer on March 29 in a plastic bag hanging from a tree in a coffee plantation in the province’s Duc Trong. When the farmer found her she was sunburned and covered in wounds, insect bites, and maggots.

Though he had little hope for her survival, the farmer rushed Hoai An to a local medical center where doctors said she was four to five days old.

She was also diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a brain condition caused by the buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. Fewer than one in 10,000 children are born with the condition.

Doctors estimated Hoai An wouldn’t make it past her first birthday.

The Venerable Minh Tai, the abbess of the Hue Quang monastery in Duc Trong known for mothering 12 orphans decided to adopt the abandoned child and name her Hoai An, which means “peaceful forever” in Vietnamese.

“I could barely sleep; It was so hard to decide whether I should adopt her,” Minh Tai told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The abbess explained in an interview with Channel News Asia that “when I first saw her, my heart ached when I thought about the pain and suffering she must have endured, and tears started flowing from my eyes.”

Venerable Minh Tai feeds baby Trieu Hoai An. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre

Love creates miracles

Minh Tai made it her mission to save Hoai An, but it was no easy task.

Hospitals throughout Vietnam told her they couldn’t treat the baby’s condition.

Unwilling to give up, the abbess began raising funders with her disciple Thien Ngo and Lu Bach Phung, a 28-year-old American-Vietnamese.

By April they had raised VND500 million (US$21,500) and brought the baby to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.

However, VND500 million was barely drop in the ocean given Hoai An’s extremely rare disease.

After just a few days in Singapore, the money had all be used and Minh Tai and Phung had to reach out to charity organizations for help.

“As word began to spread on social media, people started calling us up and the donations began pouring in,” said The Venerable Minh Tai.

With the aid of charity organizations and individuals alike, Hoai An’s health began to steadily improve after just ten days of treatment from neurosurgeon doctor Tang Kok Kee.

Dr. Tang cleaned An’s wound and drained her head of excess fluid, alleviating pressure in her skull and giving her much needed comfort.

The surgery, the first of its kind to be treated at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, typically requires about eight weeks for the incision to be fully healed.

A photo of baby Trieu Hoai An is provided to Tuoi Tre by Venerable Minh Tai

However, against all the odds, the little baby recovered in just three weeks and was cleared by doctors to return to Vietnam.

“She is sleeping better, crying louder and has more of an appetite,” Minh Tai told The Straits Times, adding that since the surgery the baby girl has gained about 700g in weight and her physical responses have improved.

On June 18, Mount Elizabeth Hospital’s Facebook page announced that baby Hoai An was going home.

“After months of care and recovery, baby Trieu Hoai An’s principal surgeon, Dr Tang Kok Kee, says her wounds have healed and she is now doing fine enough for discharge,” the Facebook post reads.

The hospital staff also collected well-wishes dedicated to Hoai An from the public and presented them to the baby and The Venerable Minh Tai “as a small parting gift as they make their way back to Vietnam.”

People hope that Hoai An will be healthy and live up to the nickname “Hoa sen da” (succulent plant) given to her by Minh Tai.

Venerable Minh Tai and other disciples at the Hue Quang monastery tutor the adopted children. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre

Source: Tuoitrenews

Dating app Tinder Lite readies for Vietnam launch

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U.S.-based Match Group plans to launch the Tinder Lite dating app in Vietnam as part of its ASEAN growth strategy.
As its name suggests, Tinder Lite is a lighter version of Tinder. The company said in a press release that it would run faster, take up less space, consume less power and reduce network usage.

The Lite version would make the app more accessible in areas where data access is limited and mobile app use is more costly, it added.

“Tinder Lite demonstrates our commitment to providing greater access to our expanding, global community and creating more moments for our users to connect with people they may have never met otherwise,” said Ellie Seidman, CEO of Tinder.

Tinder Lite is expected to be available on the Google Play Store in Vietnam in the “coming weeks,” before going on to other countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Information on possible future launches on other platforms like Apple’s Apple Store or Windows Phone’s Microsoft Store will be announced later, Kaye Tong, senior associate of public relations network MSLGROUP, told VnExpress International.

Current and new users can pre-register for the 18-plus app on the Google Play Store.

Tinder is not the only business trying to expand its influence in Vietnam’s dating app market. Facebook recently introduced its own dating function in the country, seeking to leverage its 58 million users, the seventh highest in the world.

The percentage of single person households in Vietnam has risen from 6.23 percent in 2004 to 9.1 percent in 2014, according to the General Statistics Office. The figure is expected to rise to 10.1 percent this year.

Source: Vnexpress

VN-Index rises to seven-week high

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Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index edged close to 980 points at the end of Thursday’s session, the highest in the last seven weeks.
The VN-Index, which represents shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), closed at 978.63 points, up 4.98 points or 0.51 percent over the previous session. The session closed with 169 gainers and 130 losers.

Commercial bank stocks led the market with the strongest rallies, with ACB stocks of private Asia Commercial Bank growing 2 percent. The group of three biggest state-owned lenders in Vietnam also recorded robust increases, with VietinBank (CTG) up 2.62 percent, Vietcombank (VCB) up 2.07 percent and BIDV (BID) up 3.24 percent.

The VN-30 Index, the basket of the highest market cap stocks, rose 0.34 percent this session, with most companies closing in the green. However, declines of 0.3 percent for both VIC shares of Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup and VHM shares of Vinhomes, the two biggest market cap companies on HoSE, prevented the index from rising further.

Other blue chips, including VNM of Vietnam’s biggest diary company Vinamilk, GAS of state-owned PetroVietnam Gas JSC, and SAB of leading brewer Sabeco recorded growth of around 1 percent.

Total trading volume and value in the session was 161.66 million units worth VND3.34 trillion ($143.35 million), up 4.59 percent in volume but down 13.68 percent in value compared to the previous session. Foreign investors continued to have a net buying session with a value of nearly VND140 billion ($6 million), focusing most of their investments on blue chips.

At the end of the session, the HNX-Index of the Hanoi Stock Exchange closed up 0.83 percent at 106.01 points and Upcom-Index of the Unlisted Public Companies Market increased by 0.6 percent to 56.64 points. The two floors combined account for just over 10 percent of market cap of companies trading on Vietnam’s stock exchanges.

Source: Vnexpress

Heavy rains caused landslides and traffic jam in mountainous provinces of Vietnam

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Heavy rains in last few days have caused landslides, especially on national highways, in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau.

Traffic on the national highway that runs through the province was interrupted from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning. Vietnam News reports.

Local authorities reported that on Thursday about 6,000cu.m of rocks suddenly swept onto Highway 4D, stalling traffic between Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces.

On Highway 12, which links Lai Chau Province to n Bien Province, at least two landslide sites were seen at the Km32 and Km46 points, with thousands of cubic metres of rocks falling on the road.

On Highway 4H, the soil collapsed and rocks fell at the Km336+900 point, accompanied by heavy rains, stopping traffic between Muong Te District and neighboring areas. Local forces have arrived to direct the remedial work. Road recovery is expected to be completed on late Thursday on highways 12 and 4D.

According to Vietnam News, at the landslide site on Highway 4H, construction workers are facing difficulties because heavy rain is still falling in the area and rocks and stones continue to fall.

Director of the provincial Department of Transport, Pham Ngoc Phuong said the provincial transport sector was working with district-level functional forces to direct rescuers at landslide sites and guide vehicles to ensure traffic flow.

After the landslides occurred, the department mobilised all equipment and human forces to resolve traffic interruptions and check all roads in the area to identify all landslide sites, focusing on repairing the most critical ones as soon as possible, the director of the department said.

Travel + Leisure named Hoi An, Vietnam as the world’s best city of 2019

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Readers of Travel + Leisure have pronounced Hoi An, Vietnam, the world’s best city of 2019.

Located on Vietnam’s central coast, Hoi An managed to knock defending, two-time chart-topper San Miguel de Allende in Mexico down to second spot in this year’s Top Cities in the World list. Rounding out the podium is Chiang Mai, Thailand.

For the ranking, readers were asked to rate cities based on criteria like sights, landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping and overall value — all categories that scored high among visitors to Hoi An.

According to AFP Relax news, in recent years, the port city has experienced a resurgence and revitalization, editors note, thanks to young and worldly locals who are opening regionally-focused restaurants, experimental cocktail bars, and trendy boutiques.

In a sign of the area’s growing popularity as a beach resort area, Four Seasons spearheaded a major renovation of its Nam Hai hotel in 2016, in anticipation of wealthier visitors.

Hoi An has experienced a resurgence and revitalisation thanks to young and worldly locals who are opening regionally-focused restaurants, experimental cocktail bars, and trendy boutiques.

Readers also laud the city for its friendly locals, rich culture and heritage, and food scene.

Between November 5, 2018 and March 4, 2019, readers were invited to rate cities, airlines, airports, cruise lines, spas, and hotels in online surveys.

Final scores (on 100-point scales) are indexed averages of overall responses.

Hoi An, for example, received a score of 90.39.

Here are Travel + Leisure’s Top 15 Cities in the World 2019:

1. Hoi An, Vietnam
2. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
3. Chiang Mai, Thailand
4. Mexico City, Mexico
5. Oaxaca, Mexico
6. Ubud, Indonesia
7. Tokyo, Japan
8. Kyoto, Japan
9. Florence, Italy
10. Udaipur, Indonesia
11. Rome, Italy
12. Charleston, South Carolina, USA
13. Seville, Spain
14. Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
15. Bangkok, Thailand

Vietnam ranks near last in e-commerce parcel shipping speed among Southeast Asian

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On average, an e-commerce parcel in Vietnam takes 5.6 days to reach its buyer – longer than in most other Southeast Asian countries and more than doubled that of Thailand, according to the latest research from iPrice Insights and Parcel Perform.

Researchers at iPrice Insights along with the delivery tracking software platform Parcel Perform have completed a survey of more than 80,000 e-commerce parcels from five Southeast Asian countries, namely Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The target was to provide a data-driven point of view on the region’s parcel shipping network and how it’s affecting e-commerce at a whole. Here are some of the most notable results.

Source: iPrice Insights & Parcel Perform

Speedy delivery is still a challenge

According to the survey results, 34.1% of e-commerce consumers in Southeast Asia are still unsatisfied with the quality of the parcel delivery services they’re getting. In Vietnam, this percentage is slightly lower at 33.7%, which is still higher than that of Thailand and Singapore.

The main reasons causing this unsatisfaction are related to delivery speed.

In particular, among the unhappy consumers, 37% complained that their parcels arrived late and another 33% thought the overall delivery time was too long. On the other hand, only 1.48% said that they were worried about parcel damages.

The researcher also noted that there is a clear correlation between delivery time and satisfaction rate. On average, if delivery time increase by three days, satisfaction rate will decrease by 10-15%.

These key results show that there is a very high demand among Southeast Asian e-commerce consumers for speedy and timely delivery. However, meeting this demand still proves to be a challenge for parcel shipping services.

Vietnam’s shipping speed ranks low

The research goes on to calculate the average delivery time for each of the five country. According to the analysis, in Vietnam, an e-commerce parcel takes 5.6 days to reach its buyer. This is higher than most of the remaining four countries, bar Malaysia, and more than doubled that of Thailand, where consumers only have to wait 2.5 days for their parcels on average.

Moreover, parcels in Vietnam arrive late by up to 24 hours on average, which is the highest among the five countries and far exceeds even the one ranking second, which is Thailand with 7 hours on average.

Surprisingly, even with such a low delivery speed, Vietnam still has 51.4% consumers saying they were completely happy with the country’s e-commerce delivery. This result speaks for the general positive outlook that Vietnamese consumers have for the country’s e-commerce industry.

The researchers at iPrice Insights also noted that such bad parcel delivery service might soon be a thing of the past for Vietnam as more and more delivery services and e-commerce platforms are coming up with their own solutions. Among the notable movements are Tiki’s 2-hour delivery program and logistics company Ninja Van’s new partnership with Grab.

Parcel Perform is the leading carrier-independent parcel tracking software platform for e-commerce merchants covering 600 logistics carriers worldwide. Established in 2016, Parcel Perform offers the most comprehensive parcel tracking data for e-commerce businesses to track, analyse and optimize their e-commerce delivery experience. Parcel Perform is based in Singapore, Vietnam, and Germany and serves thousands of customers globally.

In addition to its core B2B business, the company also offers a tracking service for end-consumers called Parcel Monitor (www.parcelmonitor.com). Accessible to the general public, users can subscribe to delivery updates, see results in multiple languages and save their parcels for future reference. For more information, visit www.parcelperform.com

iPrice Group is a meta-search website operating in seven countries across Southeast Asia namely in; Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. Currently, iPrice compares and catalogues more than 500 million products and receives about 20 million monthly visits across the region. iPrice currently operates three business lines: price comparison for electronics and health & beauty; product discovery for fashion and home & living; and coupons across all verticals. For more information, visit https://iprice.vn

Vietnam may spend 26 billion U.S. dollars to build North-South high-speed railway

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Construction of Vietnam’s North-South high-speed railway, which allows passengers to travel between capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in about eight hours, will cost about 26 billion U.S. dollars, local media reported on July 10, 2019.

Citing analysis by experts from Germany and the Netherlands, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said that with the span of thousands of kilometers, a running speed of 200 kilometers per hour would be cost-effective, the Vietnam News daily reported.

Previously, the Ministry of Transport proposed a plan on constructing a new high-speed railway, which allows trains to run at 320 kilometers per hour, with the tentative investment of some 58.7 billion U.S. dollars over 30 years from 2020 to 2050.

According to the ministry, the railway project will be implemented under the public-private partnership model, with 80 percent of the investment allocated from the state budget and the rest funded by the private sector.

However, former deputy minister of transport La Ngoc Khue said the tentative investment of 58.7 billion U.S. dollars will place a burden on Vietnam’s economy since it is 50 times higher than the total state funding for transport infrastructure development in one fiscal year.

If the Vietnamese prime minister approves the North-South high-speed plan, the country’s top legislature will vote on whether it will move forward or not.

Vietnam’s railway sector transported 4.2 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of cargoes in the first half of this year, seeing respective year-on-year decreases of 6.8 percent and 10.4 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

Vietnamese traffic police officer knocked over trying to stop speeding motorcyclist

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A traffic police officer in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong has been seriously injured after being hit by a speeding motorcyclist whom he attempted to stop.

The incident happened along a street in My Duc Commune, An Lao District at around 11:10 am on Tuesday, a police official in An Lao confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The officer, Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Trong Quy, was knocked unconscious following the collision and admitted to the hospital with severe injuries.

The motorcyclist, a local resident named Thang, was slightly wounded and has been apprehended by police officers.

Sen. Lt. Quy and two other officers were patrolling in the area at the time when they spotted Thang riding his motorbike at a high speed without wearing a safety helmet from afar.

Quy then came to the middle of the roadway with an attempt to stop the traffic violator, who did not seem to slow down.

The officer did not have time to dodge the incoming vehicle and was eventually hit by Thang.

The force of the collision knocked Quy off his feet, according to dashcam footage from a car traveling on the road.

The video was uploaded to social media on the same day and attracted a lot of attention from Internet users.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Vietnam’s automobile market to be flooded with zero-tariff ASEAN cars

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The car sales in Vietnam are forecast to reach 500,000 units per year in 2020 and 1 million per year by 2030, with a turnover of US$12 billion each year.

Thailand and Indonesia could earn billions of dollars each year as their cars shipped to Vietnam make up 80% of the total car imports in the country so far this year thanks to the zero-tariff policy under the ASEAN Free Trade Area since 2018.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs’ statistics revealed that in the first five months of 2019, Vietnam spent some US$1.42 billion to import completely built-up (CBU) automobiles from overseas, a robust rise compared to the previous year.

Thailand ranked first in the list of CBU cars exporters to Vietnam with 38,386 units, earning US$726 million, followed by Indonesia with 19,477 cars worth US$276 million.

Thanks to the removal of tariff on autos among ASEAN members, the CBU cars from these neighboring countries have taken the upper hand in the market and fiercely compete with domestic automobiles.

Despite having debuted in Vietnam only almost a year ago, some SUV-cum-MPV models, including Mitsubishi Xpander and Toyota Rush (or Honda BR-V), have dominated the market in this new segment with thousands of vehicles sold every month and demand for these models continues to rise.

In the small-sized car market, the A-class segment has seen a cutthroat competition between the imported Toyota Wigo and Honda Brio and the domestically assembled Hyundai i10 and Kia Morning.

Vietnamese demand for cars still rises steadily, however, the cars assembled in Vietnam are in the disadvantageous position. According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA)’s reports, the total car sales in the first five months of 2019 reached 111,497 vehicles, up 18% year-on-year, of which passenger cars amounted to 89,591 cars, up 33% year-on-year.

However, the sales of cars assembled in Vietnam fell by 14% while imported car sales jumped by 210% year-on-year.

Might Thailand and Indonesia reap benefits?

The rising number of imported cars prevents domestic automakers from raising output. The Thaco-Mazda factory in Quang Nam province opened in 2018 with an expected capacity of 50,000 cars per year in its first phase. However, its output only reached 30,000 cars last year.

Mazda has not yet proceeded with the second phase to increase its capacity to 120,000 vehicles per year as planned.

According to the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT), the localization rate of the domestic automobile industry averaged only about 7-10%, so the target of reaching localization rate of 40% in 2005 and 60% in 2010 definitely failed due to weak supporting industries and low technologies. Still 80 to 90% of input materials to make auto parts have to be imported.

The automobile market is predicted to thrive when Vietnam’s GDP per capita reaches US$3,000 from US$2,600 in 2018.

Car sales are forecast to reach 500,000 per year from 2020 and 1 million cars per year by 2030, with a turnover of US$12 billion each year.

In order to develop the automobile industry in Vietnam in line with the goal of increasing the localization rate, the MoIT will focus on accelerating some projects of the large domestic car makers to boost the domestic production and assembly of cars in the upcoming time.

However, the opportunities for domestic market may diminish and eventually be lost to the hands of neighboring countries if some breakthrough policies were not soon issued.

Source: VNN

Hanoi buses struggle to compete with ride-hailing services

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Hanoi is struggling to get the public to use buses amid the boom in ride-hailing services and the congestion on the streets.
Nguyen Hoang Hai, director of the Hanoi Urban Transport Management and Operation Centre (TRAMOC), said Wednesday that public buses only carry 12 percent of the total number of commuters.

“The figure was 10 percent five years ago. It has been growing slowly, while the city targets to increase bus market share to 20 percent by next year.”

One of the reasons for the slow growth is the rapid expansion in ride-hailing services, making the 2020 target a big challenge.

Ride-hailing services like Grab, Go-Viet and Be are flexible and priced competitively. A bus ticket costs VND5,000-6,000 (21-26 cents). But a Go-Viet motorbike ride costs less than VND5,000 (21 cents) for short distances when there are promotions while a GrabBike for two kilometers costs only VND12,000 (51 cents) after discounts.

Another is the declining speed of buses due to the crowded streets. The average speed was 23 kilometers per hour in 2010, but has fallen to 20 kilometers this year, Hai said.

Most roads do not have a dedicated bus lane, making it difficult for these vehicles amid the city’s congestion, he added. “Hanoi needs to have a dedicated lane for buses to separate it from other vehicles. But this needs to be done with public approval.”

Hanoi’s 2,000 buses carry 1.2 million passengers a day. Of the 123 routes, 100 are subsidized by the city.

A similar situation is also seen in Ho Chi Minh City. In May authorities said public buses are losing passengers to ride-hailing services, which are offering competitive prices.

Last year the city Department of Transport said ride-hailing motorbikes had affected the revenues of bus companies after the number of passengers fell by 3 percent to 571 million to miss the year’s target by 10 percent. Seven bus routes were discontinued due to heavy losses, they added.

Source: Vnexpress

Bus river route proposed for Hanoi

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A Hanoi district official has proposed opening a river bus on the Red River route to help spur the city’s tourism development and ease traffic jams.
Nguyen Tien Minh, party secretary of Thuong Tin District, made the suggestion at a seminar on the city’s public transport development.

According to Minh, Hanoi shouldn’t launch more bus routes in the context of its limited infrastructure.

He added that Hanoi is carrying out the planning project of the Red River’s two banks, so it was a suitable time for opening the river bus route which offers visitors a chance to see the capital city from the river.

At the meeting, many delegates mentioned the necessity to build more parking lots in inner-city districts.

Vu Van Vien, director of the Hanoi Department of Transport, said that Hanoi was implementing the transport planning approved by the government. The city would consider new kinds of transport to meet real demand.

Regarding the parking lot proposal, Vien admitted that the city centre lacked land for these projects. So only underground parking lots would be feasible.

The first river bus route in HCM City was launched this morning in August 2017, and was expected to cut travel time for passengers by a third compared to using a bus.

The 11-kilometre route was officially put into operation after the pilot run between June 30 and July 30. It starts at Bach Dang wharf in District 1, follows the Saigon River through Thanh Da Canal then ends at the crossing station on Binh Quoi River in Thu Duc District’s Linh Dong Ward.

Source: Dtinews

Vietnam dairy producers prosper in CPTPP era

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Vietnam-made dairy products, which have certain advantages in the home market, continue to be prosperous.

In 2010-2018, the industry gained an average growth rate of 12.7 percent per annum, the highest growth rate among the sectors of the livestock industry.

Vietnam’s dairy products are exported to 43 markets, including choosy ones such as the US, France, Canada, Poland, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with value of $250-300 million a year in the last three years.

Domestic dairy producers have been scaling up their production and business over the last two years, despite the warning that the industry would be under pressure in the context of CPTPP.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China last April signed a protocol, considered a legal framework for Vietnam’s dairy producers to export products to China.

The representatives of the two sides are discussing procedures on code granting and veterinary quarantine form to implement the protocol.

Vietnam plans to invite Chinese officials to visit and examine the operation at Vietnam’s dairy factories before exporting the first consignments of products.

Tran Quang Trung, chair of the Vietnam Milk Association, revealed that the first consignments of products may go to China this October.

Trung is optimistic about the 1.4 billion consumer market. In fact, Vietnam’s dairy products have been exported to China, but through unofficial channels, to explore the market.

Vietnam’s enterprises realized that Chinese consumers like Vietnamese products, especially yoghurt. Meanwhile, the geographical position saves transportation cost.

Trung believes exporting dairy products to China is feasible.

Vinamilk now exports its products to 50 markets. Besides the factories in Vietnam, it has begun making products at factories in Cambodia and Laos, with products mostly sold in ASEAN markets, especially Thailand.

Meanwhile, Nutifood exports products to the Philippines. It has recently negotiated with US partners on exporting formula milk products for children.

Nutifood, together with billionaire Erick Paulsson who contributes 25 percent of capital, and the Swedish cow cooperative Skånemejerier Ekonomisk Förening, which also contributes 25 percent of capital, is building a factory in Sweden. The products from the factory, bearing Nutifood, would be available in the European market.

Trung affirmed that CPTPP will pose a big challenge for Vietnam’s dairy industry, because dairy products from New Zealand, Singapore and Japan will bear the zero percent tariff.

However, he believes that Vietnam’s dairy producers will still prosper. Foreign powder milk products of Abbott, Mead Johnson and Nestle target high-income earners.

Meanwhile, foreign yoghurt will not be competitive because of problems in preservation and transportation.

Source: VNN

HBO Asia to launch Go in Vietnam

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Viewers in Vietnam can now watch series such as Game of Thrones

HBO Go, which provides subscribers with access to both US and Asian content, launched on Vietnam’s FPT Play app last week. IT allows subscribers in the country to access US content on the same day it is released for US viewers.

“It will be the first time young Vietnamese audiences have a chance to enjoy Band of Brothers, the latest season of Game of Thrones and thousands of blockbusters and action programming on platforms including smartphone, tablet, smart TV, the web and FPT Play Box,” said Vu Anh Tu, deputy general director of FPT Telecom.

Elsewhere in Asia, HBO Go is also available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, with plans for launches in further territories in the region.

Tinder Lite to arrive in Vietnam in the ‘coming weeks’

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Tinder – the popular dating and hookup-facilitating smartphone app – has already publicized its plans to expand around the world, specifically in Asia, but today, it’s taking the next logical step in that journey and introducing a smaller version of its Android app — called Tinder Lite.

According to a report by Ashley Carman on theverge.com, the app is 25 times smaller than the main app, and while it maintains the core functionality, like swiping, it nixes more data-heavy ones, like the Feed. The idea is that Tinder Lite is faster, requires less battery life, and reduces data usage. For now, Tinder Lite users can’t upgrade to a Tinder Plus or Gold subscription within the app, but the company says it plans to do so over time. (A critical feature for making money off users, of course.)

Related: Dating site profile

The app will be available through Google Play in Vietnam in the “coming weeks” and will subsequently come to other areas in Southeast Asia and South America. As is typically the case with the lighter versions of apps, users can use the same account across both the main Tinder app and Tinder Lite.

This app release particularly makes sense for Tinder, as Match Group has mentioned its plans to focus its efforts on expanding Tinder’s reach to newer markets, especially in Asia. Last month, Bloomberg pointed out Tinder’s marketing efforts abroad and how it’s adjusting to various cultures. Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg said earlier this year that the company is spending more money on marketing in Korea, India, and Japan than anywhere else in the world. A lighter app could make the app more appealing to people who are using older Android phones or have slower connections with less data allotment.

VIB announces first luxury cruise award winner

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Ms Nguyen Thi Theu, a customer of VIB in Hanoi has become the first winner of special prize – a luxury cruise around Asia for two, in the first lottery round of the promotion “Experience the Asia luxury cruise with VIB credit card.” The results were announced July 5, 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the same day, as part of the lucky draw in which customers have 100% chance of winning cash-back awards, thousands of VIB cardholders logged into http://www.vib.com.vn and won hundreds of millions of VND.

“Experience the Asia luxury cruise with VIB credit card” continues with three more rounds of lucky draw and lottery on August 2, September 6, and September 20. All customers who open a new card by August 15 and spend at least 1 million VND by September 13 are eligible. At the end of the promotion period, three new cardholders with highest total spending over the duration of the promotion also win tickets to the luxury cruise.

Cardholders who satisfy the requirements but have not participated in the lucky draw on Friday can do so in the next three rounds.

With high demand for summer traveling and generous cash-back awards, the promotion “Experience the Asia luxury cruise with VIB credit card” not only attracts new cardholders but also promotes the use of cards for daily transactions. VIB’s highly competitive cards – VIB Cash-back, VIB Happy Drive, and VIB Travel Elite – offer powerful incentives in cash-back, reward points, and reward mileage. Its newest card, VIB Zero Interest, eliminates interest on card expenses for the card’s entire lifespan. Thanks to these outstanding features, VIB has been recognized by the global payment company MasterCard as one of the leading banks on card transaction and digital transaction.

VIB Credit Card leads e-commerce transactions in Vietnam. Source: VIB

VIB is also currently offering other promotions, including 0% interest on installments and 50% off prices at hundreds of VIB’s partners all over the country. VIB cardholders also enjoy unique deals such as 30% off at Hoàng Yến Group restaurants, The Pizza Company, San Fu Lou, Dì Mai, and Sorae Sushi every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 300,000 VND off Shopee bills over 1.5 million VND every Sunday; 15% off every Wednesday at Agoda.com/vib and 7% off the rest of the week; 30% an English class at TOPICAl and 0% installments at Tiki, Adayroi, Sendo, Edena, and PNJ.

From now until the end of August, VIB cardholders can double their card rewards with transactions over the weekend (up to 12% cashback with VIB Cashback, 10 reward points for VIB Reward Unlimited, double the mileage for VIB Travel Elite, and 10 liters of gasoline for every 10 million VND in spending on VIB Happy Drive). Cardholders with the highest number of transactions every month will receive a Singapore trip for two.

Six tickets for a luxury cruise ship around Asia for two and three more lucky draws remain as part of this promotion until September 20. With income from 7 million VND per month, customers can open a credit card with VIB and enjoy the attractive promotions listed above. Go to www.vib.com.vn, call 18008192, find VIB on Facebook, or visit any VIB branch around the country to receive consultation on how to proceed. Customers already using MyVIB can also apply for a credit card on the app.