Vietnam has become the second largest exporter of lychees in the world, accounting for 19% of the global market share, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). The world’s largest exporter was Madagascar, accounting for 35% of the global exports despite a low area of plantations, said Sisir Kumar Mitra, an ISHS representative at the sixth international conference on longan and lychee in Hanoi late last week.
Following was China with 18%, Thailand with 10% and South Africa with 09%. According to consumers and companies on the global market, the quality of Vietnam’s lychees was much better than similar products from India and China, he said.
The ISHS representative said in terms of output, China ranked first with 2 million tonnes per year, followed by India with 677,000 tonnes and Vietnam with 380,000 tonnes. Despite having the second largest area of lychee plantations in the world after China, over 99 per cent of India’s lychees are consumed domestically.
Nguyen Quoc Hung, head of the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, said Vietnam had a smaller output of lychees against China and India but because of the harvest season and difference in seed quality, Vietnam had seen strong growth in lychee exports. Deputy Director of the Bac Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Viet Toan said Bac Giang Province had over 28,500 hectares of lychees trees, including more than 14,000 hectares produced under VietGAP and GlobalGap standards. The province’s output was estimated to reach 150,000 tonnes of lychees this year.
Besides domestic markets, Lục Ngạn lychees from Bac Giang are available in many countries, including China, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and the UK. Vietnamese lychees have brand protection in China, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia.
Vietnam has had 18 lychee growing regions receiving plantation region codes from the US Department of Agriculture while 36 other regions have reached export standards to ship to China this year.
Over the years, many scientific and technological advances have been applied in the production of longan and lychees. However, processed fruit account for only 10 per cent of total consumption volume.
Retailers in Vietnam are seeking opportunities on e-commerce platforms as omni-channel shopping is on the rise.
Southeast Asia’s leading e-commerce platform Lazada, which sells everything from household items to electronics and smartphones, last month struck deals with a raft of retailers in Vietnam such as FrieslandCampina, Bosch, Lock&Lock, and Realme, in a bid to distribute their products on its shopping platform. Amid an online shopping boom, Lazada’s partner businesses now range from dairy producers and household appliance manufacturers to smartphone brands, as part of their plans to expand their customer base via Lazada’s name and reputation.
Strategic moves
The cooperation between e-commerce platforms and retailers is emerging as a new trend in Vietnam, diversifying product categories for shopping platforms and in return promoting marketing and sales for retailers. “Pushing the expansion of online sales is essential for retailers to approach and attract a larger number of target customers,” said Mr. Jack Kwon, Online Sales Manager at Lock&Lock Vietnam. “The partnership with Lazada is therefore a crucial step for us, especially as Lazada facilitates retailers bringing their products to online buyers in a fast and convenient manner via major programs throughout the year and with sales support tools to help them increase revenue.”
Under its strategic partnerships, Lazada is also committed to distributing products at the most affordable prices on its online shopping mall LazMall. The cooperation between Lazada and FrieslandCampina Vietnam, meanwhile, is valid for three years from 2019-2021, with the former’s dairy brands such as Friso, Dutch Lady, Yomost, Fristi, Ovaltine, and Hoan Hao continuing to be sold on Lazada’s online shopping platform.
Sales of the Friso brand milk powder have grown nearly five-fold in the three years since 2016 and it was the best-selling powdered milk brand at Lazada’s year-end shopping campaign last December. “We want to provide consumers in Vietnam with a fast electronic shopping solution anytime, anywhere, as well as contribute to the development of Vietnam’s e-commerce market,” said Mr. Berend van Wel, General Director of FrieslandCampina Vietnam.
With these strategic moves as part of Lazada’s Joint Business Plan (JBP) campaign for amplifying product categories and customer segments, the e-commerce platform is moving towards its ambition of building an online supermarket model in Vietnam. “Our goal in the future is to develop a dynamic e-commerce ecosystem along with leading local and international partners, based on the ‘3E’ criteria: Empowering, Efficiency and Experience,” said Mr. Max Zhang, CEO of Lazada Vietnam. “We will continue signing cooperation agreement with more partners.”
The Vietnamese subsidiary of lifestyle and household item retailer Miniso also cooperated with Lazada last October to open an online store, LazMall. “Cooperation with Lazada has reaped positive results,” Mr. Ted, General Director of Miniso Vietnam, told VET. “Our products online are always among the best-sellers on Lazada. Lazada is also supporting us in expanding business on e-commerce channels. More attractive promotional programs and continually updating new products are the main keys to achieving solid results at our store on Lazada.”
Growth of 15 per cent between the last quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of this year in Lazada’s online store’s revenue is acceptable under its business strategy. Household products, cosmetics and beauty care, daily essentials, and fashion accessories hold the highest revenue share at the store. “To boost sales on the online channel to 30-40 per cent this year, together with our offline store chain, the store on Lazada is treated as an effective marketing channel in this era of digital technology,” said Mr. Ted. “It allows us to approach more customers in cities and provinces where we don’t have physical stores. Revenue from the online store remains a small part of overall revenue, but I expect it will increase given the online shopping trends of young Vietnamese consumers.”
E-commerce boost
Multi-channel shopping is on the rise and becoming a vital factor helping retail businesses expand sales channels, thereby expanding their reach to customers and enhancing their competitive edge given the online shopping boom in Vietnam. Realizing the trend towards digital transformation, Vietnam’s largest pharmacy store chain, Pharmacity, introduced its e-commerce platform and mobile app Extracare more than a year ago. “We reached 1 million Extracare members in April this year,” said Mr. Chris Bank, CEO of Pharmacity.
With an e-commerce website focusing on selling pharmaceutical products as well as household necessities for all ages and genders, Extracare is a unique app where the company provides dedicated care to customers via a range of features. “Most of our online sales come from the website,” he added. “After eight years of operations, we’ve opened 200 outlets and our rapid expansion of physical stores nationwide is in line with our development strategy for a strong digital technology system.”
Meanwhile, providing technology solutions for many local retailers to transform their business model, Haravan helped dairy giant Vinamilk increase revenue by 10 per cent at its 400 stores around the country. Haravan has designed a system that connects the 400 stores with the online website in order to process online transactions and make delivery in under 24 hours when the customer is within a radius of 1-2 km. Major brands like Biti’s, Juno, The Coffee House, and Couple TX are using Haravan’s platform and have achieved good business results, according to Mr. Huynh Lam Ho, CEO of Haravan.
More than 60,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam are now using the Haravan omni-channel platform to transform their business, especially in operations and engagement with customers. In April, Havarvan and VP Bank cooperated to kick-off the “Empower 50,000 Vietnam Businesses” project, with two years free on the hararetail system to help businesses manage sales, inventory management, and customer management, together with support in flexible loan packages for local SMEs.
Identifying potential
The shift from traditional retail to e-commerce demands a new retail model that integrates the advantages of both: omni-channel. With the four main pillars of retail, e-commerce websites, customer care centers, and social networks in the same system, brands will capture many opportunities to approach, interact with, and retain customers. The effectiveness of this trend is shown by 93 per cent more consumers shopping via omni-channels than online shopping and 208 per cent more than in-store shopping, according to the Retail in Vietnam report released by Deloitte in February.
Joining the market quite late, in late March, local diaper brand Mamamy is actively launching its products on leading e-commerce platforms. The brand believes Vietnam is an attractive market for diapers as it is going through a “golden population” period, with a large number of young people. There are currently about 25 million people under 15 years old in the country. On average every day, Vietnam sees 4,300 babies born, and few families are without children under ten years of age. These figures reveal the potential of mother and baby products, including diapers, according to a company representative. Total revenue in this market is estimated at more than $7 billion, with a growth rate of 30-40 per cent.
Vietnamese e-commerce platform Tiki intends to boost mother and baby products through cooperating with partners to provide the products to Vietnamese moms more conveniently. As these products can be quite bulky, the company is also seeking solutions to help mothers shop more easily. Though Tiki declined to reveal its detailed plan, it has expressed a desire to penetrate deeply into segments of potential in Vietnam. Revenue from the diaper segment is only a small proportion of total monthly revenue but is expected to grow handily in the next few years.
After starting out with a focus on the male segment, Lazada Vietnam switched to the female segment last year. According to its sales report, 50 per cent of mom shoppers purchasing diapers and milk have decided to buy online in developed countries, especially in China. Many major brands in diapers and milk recognize this trend and have invested a great deal in Southeast Asia and Vietnam, according to Mr. Zhang.
As such, the two categories are the key factor in the mother and baby segment and part of Lazada Vietnam’s business strategy to develop its supermarket model LazMall, which now has 1,500 brands in Southeast Asia and aims to increase numbers by five-fold this year. Haravan believes the online store model for traditional retailers will bring them higher revenue in the future.
New opportunities will come to plastic and packaging producers in Vietnam ready to change their business strategies.
Vietnam’s leading retail chain Saigon Co.op recently announced it would stop selling plastic drinking straws in 600 supermarkets nationwide starting from May, in an initiative to reduce plastic waste. At the same time, other large supermarket chains like Big C and Lotte Mart have been among the first retailers in Vietnam to encourage the use of environmentally-friendly products instead of plastic alternatives. A wave of plastic boycotts has been seen all around the world and the movement saying “no” to disposable plastic products locally, especially plastic cups and straws, has forced plastic manufacturers in Vietnam to change their production strategies.
Essential change
Realizing the growing green trend, the An Phat Plastic and Green Environment JSC has invested in research and development (R&D) for many years to create environmentally-friendly products that meet the standards of developed countries, such as microbial bags and degradable cups, spoons, and forks. An Phat’s microbial bags are made entirely of corn starch, and biodegrade in the natural environment within six months to a year.
The eco-friendly biodegradable plastic product line under the AnEco brand last year accounted for about 10 per cent of the company’s revenue and this rate will increase when it expands its local market share, according to Mr. Pham Anh Duong, Chairman of An Phat Plastic and Green Environment. “AnEco microbial bags have been exported to many countries around the world since 2015 and began to be sold in Vietnam at the end of last year,” he said. “Export volumes currently account for a larger proportion than domestic sales. Our plan in the near future is to focus on the domestic market and push revenue higher, to encourage green consumption trends among Vietnamese people,” he told VET.
The company intends to continue exporting knives, spoons, forks, and straws of this type to Europe, at about 100 million products each year. An Phat is also investing in the construction of a US-based plant specializing in manufacturing environmentally-friendly packaging and plastic products, which is expected to go into operation in 2020.
Other local plastics and packaging producers like Hung Hau Foods began developing rice flour-based straws in 2017, which are now available at Saigon Co-op. Although such products have been in the market for only a few months, they have won favor among many customers, according to Mr. Vo Minh Khang, General Director of Hung Hau Foods. “We have operated a second production line, increasing capacity by five-fold to 100,000 straws each day,” he said. “They will be exported to South Korea, Japan, and some European countries.”
Another biodegradable plastic bag producer, the General II Import – Export JSC, has in recent years changed its focus to the local market instead of exports because developed countries have policies for moving towards the use of degradable products or alternative packaging made from paper or cloth. “The local market now accounts for around 90-95 per cent of the company’s total revenue and we see great potential in Vietnam as local people are more aware of using eco-friendly products,” said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Director of General II.
It’s not easy for disposable plastic manufacturers, however, to shift their existing business models or change to alternative product lines. Some said they would stop making eco-friendly products if the market no longer accepts them because they’re just a “niche” product line. For example, a representative from Dong Tam Plastic said this product category only accounts for about 20 per cent of total revenue, and if local consumers don’t welcome them the company will continue to focus on its key products, which are plastic household items.
New opportunities
While plastic consumption per capita in Vietnam is far lower than in its Asian neighbors, the country is still among the leaders in the world in terms of producing plastic waste. Vietnam is also among countries discharging the largest amount of plastic waste into the ocean, according to a report released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in March. Around 60 per cent of plastic pollution found in the world’s oceans comes from just five countries, and Vietnam is unfortunately fourth on this list. “EuroCham welcomes the EU’s proposal to ban a range of single-use plastics across all EU member states,” said Mr. Nicolas Audier, Co-Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam. “This is a positive move towards reducing plastic pollution, which is becoming an increasingly serious problem. It is in the interests of all consumers, companies, and countries to reduce plastic pollution.”
Each Vietnamese now consumes approximately 45 kg of plastic each year, Mr. Ho Duc Lam, Chairman of Vietnam Plastics Association (VPA), told a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City in May. However, he went on, the amount of plastic waste produced by Vietnam is much larger, as households discharge 80,000 tons of waste into the environment each day. Of that amount, plastic waste makes up three to five per cent, equivalent to 2,400 to 4,000 tons, and only 20 per cent of plastic waste is recycled.
Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that growth in plastics export revenue has increased in recent years, from 1.5 per cent in 2015 to 14 per cent in 2017, reaching $2.5 billion, and was $807.33 million in the first quarter of this year, up 19.6 per cent year-on-year. At the current growth rate, Mr. Lam forecasts that the new EU regulations will have a major impact on the domestic plastics industry in the next three years.
The EU proposal would see a complete ban on single-use plastics like cutlery and plates, cotton buds, and straws. It also aims to reduce the use of other plastic items such as food and drink containers. Many of these products are made from non-biodegradable materials, breaking down over time to become micro-plastics, which can cause considerable harm to the environment and the food chain. “However, this EU directive will not come into force until 2021,” Mr. Audier noted. “So, companies in Vietnam who manufacture such items have time to adapt their business plans and make sure their companies are well-placed to take advantage of these new business opportunities.”
Indeed, some businesses are already taking advantage of the new trend towards environmentally-friendly, sustainable products. For example, biodegradable bags and packaging materials are slowly becoming popular, as are bamboo straws. And consumer demand for these products will only grow stronger. So, if Vietnamese companies can scale up production of these items, there are significant opportunities for growth in the future.
Addressing issues
The government is already taking steps to tackle the issue of plastic waste and is playing a leading role in raising awareness about plastic pollution in the country. Indeed, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment launched a nationwide campaign to reduce plastic pollution last October, and Decision No. 491 from the government aims to replace plastic bags with biodegradable alternatives by 2025.
Changing local consumers’ thinking has been seen as the greatest challenge for biodegradable plastics and packaging manufacturers. Mr. Cuong from General II sees that the company’s customers are still using regular plastic bags, instead of changing entirely to eco-friendly alternatives, due to their higher price. However, Mr. Duong from An Phat said the company has conducted targeted market research for a long time and recognized Vietnamese people’s increasing focus on environmentally-friendly products.
Consumer behavior in Europe is changing and, as the EU proposal shows, it is driving governments to introduce stricter environmental rules and regulations. However, if businesses can adapt to these changes, there are huge opportunities to take advantage of these changing consumer trends and grow their share in the eco-friendly product market.
Mr. Audier emphasized that companies in Vietnam are in a uniquely good position, since the country will soon have privileged access to Europe’s 500-million strong consumer market. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which should be ratified later this year, will phase out tariffs across a range of products and give Vietnamese companies greater access to Europe’s high-spending consumers. “In short, higher standards should be seen as an opportunity not only for increased environmental protection – both in Europe and Vietnam – but also for sustainable, environmentally-friendly Vietnamese products to access lucrative new markets.”
Vietnam is one of the three worst performing countries at half and full marathons and 10-kilometer races, a recent study has found.
The 2019 State of Running study by the International Association of Athletics Federations and running journal RunRepeat looked into 107.9 million race results of participants from 196 countries in 70,000 events since 1986.
In Asia, the preferred distance is 10 km, but Vietnam does not perform well. Vietnamese runners rank 194 out of 196 countries, clocking almost a minute faster than their neighbors, the Thais, at 01:25:01 to 01:24:17. Nigeria was 16 seconds slower than Thailand (01:25:17), ranked last on the list.
Switzerland has the fastest runners in this category (52:42 minutes).
In half marathons (21 km), Thailand beats Vietnam by several minutes, rolling in at an average of 02:24:56 to 02:30:20. In this category, Vietnam is the second slowest in the world (195th), while Malaysia is at the bottom with 2:36:20. The three countries are the slowest at this distance.
European countries make up the list three fastest.
In the study of slowest nations in full marathons (42.195 km), Vietnam (5:19:34) ranks 194th, with the Philippines (5:25:35) and Malaysia (5:46:24) bringing up the bottom. Spain leads the world in three hours, 53 minutes and 59 seconds, followed by Switzerland and Portugal.
But the study admitted that its dataset covers “96 percent of the United States race results, 91 percent of the race results from the European Union, Canada, and Australia and a smaller sample from Asia, Africa and South America.”
Vietnamese are motivated to run because the activity is more social and psychological rather than achievement-focused, the study said.
Vietnamese women are not much into distance running, with only 14.59 percent running in marathons, 24.53 percent in half marathons and 45.4 percent in 10km races.
Vietnam is among the youngest running nations, with the average age of marathon runners being 31.6 years old.
Jens Jakob Andersen, founder of RunRepeat told VnExpress International: “Being slow isn’t necessarily bad.” One has to decide the purpose of running, he said. If it’s for health reasons, being fast or slow does not matter.
A Vietnamese border guard opened fire on his colleagues on Saturday, June 15, injuring at least two before holing himself up in his border post, in a rare case of gun violence in Vietnam.
According to a report on Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the shooter remained armed and locked himself inside the Binh Hiep post – near the Cambodian border – as police evacuated the area, according to state media.
“The scene is very chaotic… functional forces are negotiating with the person inside (the station),” local official Nguyen Van Vu was quoted as saying in state-run news site VnExpress.
The shooter was identified as second lieutenant Ta Quang Dat, according to VNA.
Some media reported he had attempted suicide.
A local official told the AFP “authorities were working at the scene”, without providing further details and requesting anonymity.
Dangerous crimes are extremely uncommon in Vietnam, though in recent years a small number of high-profile incidents have chilled the country.
In 2016 a forest ranger shot and killed two provincial officials in northern Yen Bai province before turning the gun on himself.
And last year, a pipe bomb tore through a police station in southern Ho Chi Minh City, which officials later said was a politically motivated crime carried out by “terrorists.
Civilians are banned from owning guns in Vietnam, a one-party state where a vast police force and army are among the few officials with access to weapons.
During the month of May alone, there were on average 23 cyber-attacks on governments computers every single day.
Figures released by the Việt Nam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) under the Ministry of Information and Communications revealed 739 intrusions during the month. Vietnam News Agency reports.
Most were attacks to interface change, accounting for more than 57 per cent of the total.
It discovered 28 warning emails to State administrative agencies to require them to resolve incidents and act fast.
Most attacks tried to collect information, violate information security policy, and attacks related to malicious code.
Another report from Authority of Information Security (AIS) revealed many Vietnamese websites in network space (including website using servers in foreign countries) were attacked affecting information security such as spam, service denial, install and distributing malicious codes, taking advantage of gaps in web browsers.
According to Vietnam News, as of May 20, there were 287 phishing cases – the form of attacking websites, phishing emails, impersonating organisations or reputable companies to trick users into stealing sensitive information, such as account, password or information about users’ credit card types.
AIS said the number of IP addresses in Việt Nam located in ghost computer networks was 857,927 in May, a 37.57 per cent compared to previous months.
With the number of addresses located in networks, computers connected to the internet are compromised by hackers, viruses, trojan software and remotely controlled by hackers, as well as being used for other dangerous purposes.
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has implemented Directive No 14 /CT-TTg on strengthening network security to improve Việt Nam’s ranking index.
The directive said that in the past, the legal corridor of network security in Việt Nam has been gradually improved. However, the guidance on the implementation of laws on network security, protection of personal information, child protection in the network environment and sanctions for handling violations has still been incomplete. The construction and issuance of standards and technical regulations in the field of network information security have not met practical needs.
It was the reason that in 2018 and early 2019, there were some intentional cyber-attacks, stealing State secrets, causing serious consequences. Therefore, Việt Nam’s ranking in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) of the International Telecommunication Union was not high. According to the unofficial ranking in March 2019 (for the period 2017-18), Việt Nam ranked 50 out of 194 countries and territories and 5 out of 11 in Southeast Asia.
The PM requested that in the future, State agencies, organisations and enterprises should find solutions to ensure overall network security and contribute to improving Việt Nam’s ranking.
He asked to prioritise the use of domestic enterprises’ products, solutions and services to meet requirements on network security according to law provisions for grade 3 or higher information systems for e-Government service.
Functional agencies must also ensure the percentage of funding for network information security products and services reaches at least 10 per cent of the total budget for the implementation of annual information technology application plans.
Even if you have installed from the internet or you have purchased a genuine copy of Windows 8.1, it still needs to be activated so that you can use it continuously and for it to function properly. Repeated prompts asking you to update your OS or something that says it is not genuine may be a red flag that the version you are using is counterfeited.
Fortunately, for those users who have been running Windows 8 on your computers, upgrading the operating system to Windows 8.1 is easier and free of charge directly through the Windows Store. This means that the copy is legitimate. Although, Microsoft announced that the Store will only support the upgrading of the OS version until July 2019.
In order to authenticate your OS, you will need the product key to activate it on your device. This article will help you find the product keys and take you through the process of activating your Windows 8.1.
What is the product key?
A product key is a combination of 25 characters separated with dash lines in this way: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. It is known by many names like a serial key, activation key, among others. This is used to verify that you are using an authentic copy of Windows and that has not been used beyond the allowed number of devices as stated in the Microsoft Software License Terms.
Where can we find it?
The product keys are required in the activation of OS and other applications so knowing where to look for it comes in handy. The location of the product key is usually written at the label or a card inside the box of the installer or must be given to you by the authorized seller.
For computers that have already been installed with the OS upon purchase, the product key can be found on the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) or at the sticker underneath the computer. If you bought it online, it is normally sent through your confirmation email. More information on this link.
How to Activate Your Windows 8.1?
Now that you already have the product key, you are ready to begin the installation or upgrade. First is to go to PC Settings by toggling your computer’s Start button. Look for PC Settings on the search bar and after opening it, click the “Activate Windows”. This time, the product key will be asked of you before you can proceed. After that, click Next and just follow the directions.
You can also access the Activation Window where you can put the product key. Open it by pressing the Windows Icon and R on your computer keys. On the Run search bar that will show, type “slui 2” or “slui 3” and press Enter. The Activation Window will then appear with a space intended for the product. It will start the activation process once you have provided the keys.
How to Retrieve Lost or Forgotten Product Keys
When the trial version of Windows 8.1 expires, it would keep on asking you to activate it. In times that you cannot do it because you have forgotten or lost the keys, there are several ways to retrieve it.
One is going through the Windows Registry. It is where vital information needed for the software and applications to function are stored. It is a setting on every computer. You can go to the registry by searching the Run bar (Windows logo + R) and type “regedit”.
It looks like a dropdown list and folders. Just go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion”, and find the “ProductId”, right-click and choose “Modify”. After copying the characters that will be shown, press Cancel to avoid alteration of the data.
Aside from tinkering your device, you can also access the registry by downloading key retrieval programs such as the ProductKey and Key Finder. All you have to do is to install, run it on your computer and search over the entry “Windows”. Your product key is named “Product Key” or “CD Key”.
Another option is the Command Prompt. Press Windows Icon and X at the same time and click on “Command Prompt (Admin)”. Enter “slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX” with dash lines. After pressing Enter Bar, the Xs will become the letter combinations.
The words “Installed product key XXXXX successfully” will then show. Then type slmgr.vbs /ato, press Enter until the words “Activating Windows(R) Your Edition” will reflect on the screen. The activation is considered successful when the screen says “Product activated successfully” after a while.
You can also get product keys to try from blogs and internet sites. They are usually listed and categorized depending on the version of Windows OS that you wish to activate.
Few More Things to Consider Before Activating Windows 8.1
Before going through the activation process, check if your device meets the system requirements for Windows 8.1. Prepare your PC by copying or transferring your files into another location so it will not be affected during the update. Also, make sure you have enough disk space.
You need 3000 MB for the 32-bit version and 3,850 MB for the 64-bit version. Plug your laptop on a stable power and have a good internet connection. Finally, disable your antivirus programs temporarily.
Petr Kudlacek is tech entrepreneur and CEO of Apro Software, itechgyan.com and softwarebattle.com. Aside from showing great interest in areas of technology, gaming, and business, he is also interested in biohacking and meditation. When not blogging, he spends his time doing the latter.
Two pilots were killed in Vietnam Friday, June 14 after their military plane crashed during a training session, AFP reports.
Though Vietnam has a good civilian aviation record, airplane and helicopter crashes are regularly reported in the military, which relies on an arsenal of imported equipment – mostly from longtime ally Russia.
According to AFP, the two pilots in central Khanh Hoa province died when their Russian two-seater training aircraft Yakovlev Yak-52 crashed near a mountain, killing one of them instantly.
“One was found dead while the other one died on the way to hospital,” said Nguyen Ngoc Khue, the head of the local commune where the accident occurred.
The crash site was blocked off for investigation, Khue added, and photos in state media showed plumes of smoke billowing from the downed plane.
The Yak-52 took its first flight in 1976 in Russia and was later manufactured in Romania by Aerostar. It was designed to train civilian sport pilots and military pilots in the former Soviet Union.
Friday’s crash follows several similar accidents in the communist country in recent years.
In July 2018, two pilots were killed when training in central Nghe An province in a Sukhoi Su-22 that belonged to Vietnam’s Air Defence Force.
At least 14 people were reported killed in military crashes in 2016.
Vietnam is seeking to modernize its military equipment by purchasing more equipment from partners beyond old Soviet ally Russia, including from France, Germany and Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump has also encouraged Hanoi to buy more American equipment to narrow a trade gap.
Observers say Vietnam is willing to do so, but could struggle to afford US military hardware.
VinFast wants to be first local auto brand to be successful
Carmaker also launching a sedan, SUV and electric motorbikes
Vietnam is getting into the car business with its own brand.
Real-estate conglomerate Vingroup JSC’s auto unit VinFast marked the rollout of its first vehicles from its assembly line on Friday, embodying the aspirations of the fast-developing country’s government to build a modern manufacturing sector. Nguyen Kieu Giang and John Boudreau reported on Bloomberg.
“This makes a great contribution to the national economy,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a speech during a ceremony at VinFast’s complex of six automated factories constructed in 21 months in the northern port city of Haiphong. “It affirms the Communist Party’s policy that the private sector is a very important driver of the economy. I want VinFast to go to the regional and global markets.”
VinFast, which will start delivering cars to customers Monday, wants to be the first Vietnamese company to succeed at challenging foreign competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Xuan Kien Automobile, known as Vinaxuki, failed to win over brand-conscious Vietnamese with its local car models before folding in 2015.
Hatchback Named Fadil
The first VinFast rollout, a hatchback named Fadil, is initially priced at 394.5 million dong ($16,900). Vingroup said in 2017 it planned to invest up to $3.5 billion in its auto business. The company will also produce a sedan, sport utility vehicle and electric motorbikes.
Hatchback Named Fadil
The new automaker, though, faces challenges in Vietnam’s aspirational culture.
“Product quality is a concern” among consumers, said Truc Pham, a senior analyst at ACB Securities JSC in Ho Chi Minh City. “Vietnamese people favor foreign brands for high-value products. It will take years for customers to accept a new local brand.”
VinFast plans to make 250,000 vehicles during a first stage of operations, with projected production increasing to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2025. Last year, the company said it expects to begin exports in mid-2020.
The company said it received 10,000 vehicle pre-orders a year ago. Vietnamese purchased 119,497 new vehicles in the first five months of the year, an 18% jump from the year-earlier period, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Employees work on a VinFast car on the assembly line. Photographer: Yen Duong/Bloomberg
The vehicles aren’t completely made in Vietnam. The Fadil uses the chassis of the Karl Rocks model by PSA Group’s Opel. The sedan and SUV are built on frames from BMW AG, designed by Italian design house Pininfarina and have components engineered by Magna Steyr. Jim Deluca, the former vice president of global manufacturing for General Motors Co., was hired as VinFast’s chief executive officer.
Vingroup embraced the government’s aspirations to see domestic manufacturers make high-value products for the nation’s growing middle class in an economy that has expanded at an average clip of 6.6% since 2000 — boosting annual incomes to almost $2,600 from about $400.
The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange plans to introduce covered warrants trading on June 28, Bloomberg reports. The move is widely seen as an effort by the Vietnamese government to encourage foreign investment and boost the market’s liquidity.
The liquidity of the Vietnam’s stock market is still “very small,” according to Nguyen Duc Thong, director of derivatives at SSI Securities Corp., the country’s largest brokerage. Mr Nguyen sees this as a step in the right direction, signaling Vietnam’s willingness to try new products.
SSI is among fewer than ten securities firms that have registered to issue covered warrants so far. Others include VNDirect Securities and HSC Securities. Twenty-six stocks can be used as underlying equities for covered warrants, including SSI Securities Corp, FPT Corp, and Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp.
According to Bloomberg, Vietnam is set to see net inflows from foreign investors for the third consecutive year in 2019. Despite this, the stock market is still dominated by local retail investors. Officials hope expanding Vietnam’s product offerings would help boost foreign investment.
The move to introduce covered warrants trading is also expected to diversify investment products in the stock market, provide tools to prevent risks for investors, and help Vietnam gain an MSCI Inc. upgrade from frontier level to emerging-market status.
Vietnam has previously taken steps towards further market liberalization, such as reducing limits on foreign ownership and reducing government stakes in companies. Last month, the government announced it has completed amending its Securities Law, to take effect January 2021.
The Hà Nội People’s Court on Wednesday sentenced four former leaders of State-run Vietnam Shipping Industry Corporation (Vinashin), now the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) for abusing their positions and power to appropriate assets at the first instance trial in Hà Nội.
Nguyễn Ngọc Sự, former chairman of Vinashin’s member council was given 13 years in jail.
Trần Đức Chính, ex-chief accountant, was sentenced 17 years in jail while former general director Trương Văn Tuyến and former deputy general director Phạm Thanh Sơn were jailed for seven and six years, respectively.
In addition to prison sentence, the court also requested the defendants to pay back the money they illegally appropriated.
Chính and Sơn were banned to undertake management positions in State-owned enterprises for three years after their sentences.
From 2008 to 2010, Vinashin, now known as the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, encountered many difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy, prompting the Party and State to restructure the group.
Vinashin received VNĐ2.2 trillion (US$94.8 million) from the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and VNĐ4.19 trillion from the Central Corporate Restructuring and Supporting Fund.
According to the indictment, the four defendants agreed to make fixed-term deposits at OceanBank to gain extra interest that was not stated in deposit contracts.
Investigators found that from 2010 to June 2014, Vinashin made more than 2,300 fixed-term deposit contracts involving nearly VNĐ104 trillion (US$4.45 billion) and some $181 million with OceanBank.
From March 2011 to August 2014, Chính received more than VNĐ105 billion ($4.5 million) in extra interest from OceanBank. As agreed by the four, Chinh was assigned to receive and manage the extra interest to use for the firm’s activities and divide up the money among them.
Sự initiated the depositing, signed 12 deposit contracts and gained VNĐ8 billion himself. Authorised by Tuyến, Chính also signed many deposit contracts at OceanBank and appropriated VNĐ10 billion, while Tuyến pocketed VNĐ3.5 billion and Sơn bagged VNĐ1.2 billion.
Ha Tinh residents have had to drastically change their daily life routine to avoid extremely hot weather.
“Never before have we experienced such hot weather. My house feels like an oven, everything I touch feels burning hot,” said Nguyen Cong Duc, 70, a resident of Huong Khe District in the central province of Ha Tinh.
Duc said that Huong Khe District has always been one of the hottest spots in the central area of Vietnam, but the extreme weather has caused chaos in the routine of Duc and his family.
Duc cannot sleep at night. He has to go outside and sit under a tree’s shade. The family still have their daily meals, but they are unable to eat much due to dehydration. They have resorted to having bean soup to reduce the heat inside their body.
Duc has bought a misting fan to try to condition the air, but it is of no use against the heat. He finally had to install an air-conditioner in the bedroom, despite the recent rise in electricity costs in Vietnam.
The district is always the hottest place in Ha Tinh because it is affected by the Foehn wind from Laos, Duc explained. “But I have never seen such hot weather before. I have been able to stand the hot weather until now, but for the last one week it has become unbearable.”
Nguyen Thi Man is in the same boat. No one in her family had been able to sleep properly in the last few days.
“Every morning I wake up at around 2 a.m. and when I look at my children, they are all sweating. The electric fans work at full capacity, but it only blows hot wind on us,” she said.
Man’s work schedule has been overturned by the harsh weather
“At about 4 a.m., the weather gets more pleasant so the children start to sleep well. That is when we have to leave the house to work to avoid the sun, and work until 8 a.m.,” said Man.
The extreme weather has made it all but impossible for Tran Thi Tam’s one year old son to sleep and eat. She can’t afford to install an air conditioner, so before going to bed she places a bucket of water in front of the electric fan to get the cooling steam. Her family members use mats to sleep on the floor.
The heat has also drained water sources, leading to difficulties in farming and daily life.
“The wells of many households in the commune have dried up, so we have to carry water (from far away) to use for daily activities,” said Tam. “Without water for the last farming season, many people have given up planting rice.”
The fruit gardens in the area also show signs of distress, greatly worrying local farmers. For the last one week, farmers in Phuc Trach and Huong Do communes have been waking up at 3 a.m. to water their plants to avoid the blazing sun.
Nguyen Cong Duc places an insulation sheet on the ground in a bid to reduce heat absorption in his front yard. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Hung
Ha Tinh residents have had to drastically change their daily life routine to avoid extremely hot weather.
“Never before have we experienced such hot weather. My house feels like an oven, everything I touch feels burning hot,” said Nguyen Cong Duc, 70, a resident of Huong Khe District in the central province of Ha Tinh.
Duc said that Huong Khe District has always been one of the hottest spots in the central area of Vietnam, but the extreme weather has caused chaos in the routine of Duc and his family.
Duc cannot sleep at night. He has to go outside and sit under a tree’s shade. The family still have their daily meals, but they are unable to eat much due to dehydration. They have resorted to having bean soup to reduce the heat inside their body.
Duc has bought a misting fan to try to condition the air, but it is of no use against the heat. He finally had to install an air-conditioner in the bedroom, despite the recent rise in electricity costs in Vietnam.
Beads of sweat on a worker’s face in Huong Khe District. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Hung
The district is always the hottest place in Ha Tinh because it is affected by the Foehn wind from Laos, Duc explained. “But I have never seen such hot weather before. I have been able to stand the hot weather until now, but for the last one week it has become unbearable.”
Nguyen Thi Man is in the same boat. No one in her family had been able to sleep properly in the last few days.
“Every morning I wake up at around 2 a.m. and when I look at my children, they are all sweating. The electric fans work at full capacity, but it only blows hot wind on us,” she said.
Man’s work schedule has been overturned by the harsh weather
“At about 4 a.m., the weather gets more pleasant so the children start to sleep well. That is when we have to leave the house to work to avoid the sun, and work until 8 a.m.,” said Man.
The extreme weather has made it all but impossible for Tran Thi Tam’s one year old son to sleep and eat. She can’t afford to install an air conditioner, so before going to bed she places a bucket of water in front of the electric fan to get the cooling steam. Her family members use mats to sleep on the floor.
The heat has also drained water sources, leading to difficulties in farming and daily life.
“The wells of many households in the commune have dried up, so we have to carry water (from far away) to use for daily activities,” said Tam. “Without water for the last farming season, many people have given up planting rice.”
The fruit gardens in the area also show signs of distress, greatly worrying local farmers. For the last one week, farmers in Phuc Trach and Huong Do communes have been waking up at 3 a.m. to water their plants to avoid the blazing sun.
“If the hot weather continues, my family’s pomelo garden will lose the crop because of its poor tolerance against drought,” said a local resident.
Le Quang Vinh, head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department in Huong Khe District, said the government has instructed local people on how to prevent drought for plants and crops, warned that people should not go out to avoid thermal shocks and be alert to fire risks.
“Last April, the temperature reached 43.4 degrees Celsius in Huong Khe District,” Vinh said. “This period of hot weather in June is approximately the same.”
The hot spell in the northwest area, northern delta and central provinces started June 4 and will last until June 13, weather experts have said. It could be prolonged in central Vietnam. In Ha Tinh Province, the mercury has stayed high at 38 to 40 degrees Celsius for many days now.
The Philippines on Wednesday condemned the “cowardly action” of a suspected Chinese fishing vessel accused of abandoning a Filipino fishing crew after a collision in the East Vietnam Sea, while thanking a Vietnamese ship for coming to the fishermen’s aid.
The Chinese ship on Sunday hit a Filipino craft anchored near Reed Bank causing it to sink and leaving 22 crewmen “to the mercy of the elements,” Philippine defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana was quoted by AFP as saying in a statement on Wednesday.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly action of the suspected Chinese fishing vessel and its crew for abandoning the Filipino crew,” Lorenzana said.
“This is not the expected action from a responsible and friendly people.”
Lorenzana called for an investigation into the collision, and for “diplomatic steps” to be taken toward preventing a repeat of the incident.
However, Philippine defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP the agency had yet to confirm whether the vessel was Chinese-registered, adding it was the Filipino fishermen who identified it as such.
The defense chief also thanked the crew of a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the vicinity which he said brought the Filipinos to safety.
Members of Philippine Marines are pictured in the East Vietnam Sea on March 29, 2014. Photo: Reuters
Like the Philippines, Vietnam has partial claims over the East Vietnam Sea, where Beijing has illegally built artificial islands with military facilities and airstrips.
Reed Bank is about 150 kilometers off the Philippine island of Palawan.
Although Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has largely set aside the bitter dispute with Beijing over the resource-rich waterway, Manila does sometimes protest against Chinese action in the East Vietnam Sea.
Competing claims over the East Vietnam Sea is a point of regional contention because trillions of dollars of goods passes through it, and rich petroleum reserves are thought to sit deep beneath its waters.
In recent months, the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels near Thitu Island, part of Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago but illegally occupied by the Philippines, is stirring disquiet in the region.
An aerial photo of Thitu Island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea taken on April 21, 2017. Photo: Reuters
Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said in March that Vietnam has sufficient legal bases and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagoes in accordance with international law.
“Relevant parties need to behave responsibly and make practical and positive contributions toward peace and stability in the region,” Hang said regarding China’s actions.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2016 that there was no legal basis for China’s to claim historic rights to resources within much of the East Vietnam Sea, marking a clear win for Vietnam in maritime territorial disputes with neighboring China.
China, which boycotted the hearings at the court, vowed to ignore the ruling and said its armed forces would defend its sovereignty and maritime interests.
Dozens of construction projects have been illegally built around the Tuyen Lam Lake in Dalat City.
Lam Dong Province authorities have asked Thien Nhan Company to stop the construction of a tourism project. Lan Anh Company was found to have violated several regulations involving a 30-metre-long embankment and two villas that cover hundreds of square metres. All of them haven’t been given building permits.
Other violating companies including Sao Da Lat, Lac Nam Eco-Tourism, Ly Khuong and Tra Vuon Thuong companies. Dozens of constructions have been built without a permit, out of the rental land or encroached on the protected area around Tuyen Lam Lake.
Ly Khuong Company started illegal construction on a 28,000-square-metre land. However, of which 23,000 square metres are outside of the leased land. Over 43 constructions of Sao Da Lat Company also encroached upon other land.
Lam Dong authorities asked investors to quickly remove the constructions in June. Forced removal will be applied if investors fail to obey the regulations. Lam Dong People’s Committee will also review individual responsibilities in state agencies for letting such mass violations to occur.
The violations around Tuyen Lam Lake has been reported by the media in the past. Most of the violations occurred long ago but have never been handled properly. In April, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh asked Lam Dong People’s Committee to deal with the violations, review individual responsibilities and report back to the prime minister by August 1.
Vietnam’s domestic coffee prices rose about 2.1% on Thursday from a week earlier, mainly on exchange rate fluctuations which prompted some farmers to refrain from selling.
Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing area, sold coffee COFVN-DAK at 33,400-33,700 ($1.42-1.46) dong per kg on Thursday, slightly higher than last week’s price of 33,000 dong.
“Because of the low prices, farmers don’t want to sell robusta for under 34,000 dong per kilogramme,” coffee trader Nguyen Thi Thu told Reuters.
The modest gains were mainly because of a slight strengthening of the dong, which rose 100 dong against the dollar, and did not necessarily reflect a change in the market, according to Thu and other analysts.
Both market analysts and traders said they expected the price to improve and become more stable from August or September, before the harvest season gets underway.
July robusta coffee settled down $27, or 1.9%, at $1,388 per tonne on Wednesday.
Traders in Vietnam offered 5% black and broken grade 2 robusta COFVN-G25-SAI at a $60-$90 per tonne premium to the September contract, compared with a $100 premium a week ago.
Vietnam exported 146,000 tonnes, or 2.44 million 60-kg bags of coffee in May, up 2% from April, customs data released on Tuesday showed.
For the first five months of this year, Vietnam exported 777,758 tonnes of coffee, down 11.8% from a year earlier, the customs department said.
In Indonesia, grade 4 defect 80 robusta beans COFID-G4-USD were being offered with $170 to $200 premium to July contract this week, narrowing from up to $240 premium last week, said a trader in Sumatran province of Lampung.
Demands were slow as coffee buyers still consider the premium high.
“Buyers are few since prices of beans are still expensive,” the trader said.
Meanwhile, traders expect more supply of beans this month as the harvest starts to pick up pace.
In May, coffee exports from Lampung rose 38% on a monthly basis as the area started to enter the harvest period, although shipments fell compared to the same month last year. ($1 = 23,310.0000 dong)
