A Vietnamese oil tanker caught fire off the coast of Hong Kong on Tuesday morning, killing one crew member and leaving two others unaccounted for, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
The Aulac Fortune vessel was carrying 25 Vietnamese crew members prior to the incident, the Vietnam News Agency said, citing the foreign ministry.
The fire broke out when the 17,500 metric ton tanker was being refueled by an oil barge about one nautical mile south of Lamma Island off southern Hong Kong at around 11:30 am.
One sailor died and two remained nowhere to be found, while three others were injured.
Hong Kong authorities deployed three rescue vessels and three high-speed canoes to the scene to put out the flame.
The Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao has asked Hong Kong authorities to conduct urgent search for the missing crewmen and offer medical treatment to the injured.
The foreign ministry assigned the consulate general to maintain close contact with local authorities to update information and take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of crew members.
A representative of Ho Chi Minh City-based Au Lac JSC, which specializes in maritime transport, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the afternoon of the same day that the tanker belongs to the firm.
The company is working closely with Hong Kong authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
The ship was built in South Korea in 2010, measuring more than 144 meters long and 22.6 meters wide.
Prior to the accident, the Aulac Fortune docked in Dongguan port in Guangdong, China before leaving at 6:00 pm on Monday.
2018 was described as a fearful year for cryptocurrency investors.
After booming in price in 2017, bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies all tumbled in 2018. By January 1, 2019, the price of one bitcoin had dropped to $3,700, a dramatic fall from the peak of $19,665 per bitcoin seen on December 16, 2018.
With the decrease, investors incurred big losses and sold cryptocurrency mining machines.
T.H.L, an amateur investor in HCMC, told reporters that he bought 1 BTC in 2018 for $14,000. The BTC price began plummeting and he had to sell bitcoin in October at a loss of $7,000.
Minh, an officer of a BTC trading floor, said in late 2017, when BTC was priced at $20,000, the trading floor was always full of investors and transactions took a long time.
Meanwhile, it takes investors two seconds to complete a transaction. As the BTC price has dropped dramatically, most investors have left trading floors.
Nguyen, an investor on remitano.com, also said there are few investors these days as many investors have lost all of their money. As there is no sign of BTC price recovery, BTC holders have to sell BTC to stop losses.
Not only BTC investors but cryptocurrency mining machine holders said their machines remain unsold.
“With the current BTC price, the profit investors expect from bitcoin mining will not be high enough to cover electricity bills,” said N.X. Hieu, a BTC miner in HCMC.
In such a chaotic cryptocurrency market, the biggest sufferers are investors who poured real money into ICOs (initial coin offering) organized by ‘bogus’ companies.
A member of a group of 40 investors who invested in BNC and BEC issued by BNI Group admitted that he has lost 2 billion in these two cryptocurrencies because there has been no transaction in the last six months.
Similarly, iLuck, another group of 400 investors, specializing in investing in cryptocurrencies issued by foreign firms, have lost their money.
In April 2018, thousands of people denounced Modern Tech for swindling investors to appropriate VND15 trillion. At that moment, iFan and Pincoin attracted thousands of investors because of the sky-high promised interest rate of up to 576 percent.
The State Bank of Vietnam has many times affirmed that cryptocurrencies are not legal currencies which are legally accepted in payment, and that the issuance, distribution and use of BTC and similar cryptocurrencies as means of payment are prohibited in Vietnam.
Though continuing investment in their production bases, foreign-invested automobile manufacturers in Vietnam are placing high expectations on car imports.
Ford Vietnam, for example, stopped assembling Fiesta cars after eight years in Vietnam. Fiesta, together with EcoSport and Focus, is a well-invested small model. Hitting the market in mid-2011 with a sedan and hatchback, the B-class model is equipped with many new technologies.
Over 1,800 products were sold within six months, amounting to 18 percent of the sales of small automobiles.
However, the sales of Fiesta saw a dramatic decline in 2012 in the context of the gloomy market with only 900 cars sold. In the following years, the sales continued falling with 847 cars sold in 2013, 829 in 2015 and 949 in 2016. Less than 400 products were sold in 2018.
After 20 years of development in Vietnam, most automobile joint ventures are not focusing on car assembling, but they are importing cars for domestic sale.
In 2017, Toyota stopped assembling Fortuner, a favorite model in Vietnam, shifting to importing Fortuner from Indonesia for domestic sales.
In early 2018, Toyota continued importing three new models – Wigo, Rush and Avanza. Of its 10 car models available in Vietnam, six are imports.
Similarly, among Honda’s seven car models available in Vietnam, six are imported from Thailand. Toshio Kuwahara, CEO of Honda Vietnam, explained that it is impossible to assemble all car models in Vietnam because the domestic market remains small.
Foreign invested enterprises are still pouring more money into their facilities here even though they have scaled back production .
Ford Vietnam’s CEO Pham Van Dung confirmed that despite the big changes in business strategies, Ford has invested millions of dollars more in the production line in Hai Duong province.
The company has equipped its bodywork division with robots to improve the stability and aesthetics of bodywork. It has also spent money on 20 welding machines using high technology to improve the welding point quality.
One reason cited by automobile manufacturers to explain their decision to strengthen imports is the weak supporting industries in Vietnam. As they have to import the majority of car parts needed for domestic assembling, the production cost is high and competitiveness weak.
There are 300 enterprises in the automobile supporting industries in Vietnam. Of these, only 84 enterprises are first-class vendors, and 145 are second- and third-class vendors.
The number of enterprises is not enough to provide car parts to 20 automobile manufacturers.
An automobile is assembled from 30,000-40,000 car parts. About 90 percent of car parts in the country are imports.
Vietnam’s start-up Bamboo Airways has secured a license from the local authorities, opening the way for its maiden flight in January after a string of delays, said the company in a statement.
According to a report on Reuter, Bamboo, owned by hotel and leisure firm FLC Group will operate 37 routes connecting major cities and tourist destinations in Vietnam to “reduce pressure on aviation infrastructure,” the airline said in a statement.
“In 2019, Bamboo Airways will also launch international air flights to Asian countries, starting with Japan, Korea and Singapore,” it said, adding that it also intended to operate flights to Europe, without elaborating.
Vietnam’s fifth airline signed a provisional deal in July to buy 20 Boeing 787-9 wide-body jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and a memorandum of understanding in March with Airbus for up to 24 A320neo narrow-bodied aircraft.
Vietnam, one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, has recorded double-digit expansion in domestic and inbound passenger numbers. The government aims to spur on tourism with visa exemptions and by promoting investment in the industry.
The granting of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam marks the end of a series of stalled launches for Bamboo.
Bamboo Chairman Trinh Van Quyet, also head of FLC, told Reuters in November he aimed to launch the first domestic flight in December after a delay from October. But that date was pushed back due a further delay in the issuing an AOC. Reuter reports.
The airline said in December it planned its first flight in mid-January.
Tuesday’s statement did not mention a more specific date.
The Golden Dragons have been impressive – they lead at the first half.
Tuesday saw perhaps the most entertaining group stage match of UAE 2019 thus far. Iraq came from behind twice and ultimately grabbed all three points thanks to Adnan’s superb free-kick at the death.
Vietnam took the lead through an own goal by Ali Faez Atiyah in the 24th minute only for Mohanad Ali Kadhim to bring Iraq level just over ten minutes later. Nguyen Cong Phuong then put the AFF Championship winners back in front right before the break, showing his quick instincts to bundle home a rebound.
Humam Tareq Faraj brought Iraq level 15 minutes into the second half with a close-range deflected shot, setting the stage for Adnan to complete Lions of Mesopotamia’s impressive comeback in style with a well-placed, curling free-kick beyond the reach of keeper Dang Van Lam.
Iraq clinched a 2-0 win in the sides’ only previous Asian Cup encounter in 2007, the tournament they went on to lift the trophy.
The Vietnamese now face the uphill task of facing IR Iran on 11 January, while Iraq will play Yemen on the same day.
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could meet in Vietnam’s capital for their second summit on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo said, denuclearization talks have sputtered since Trump and Kim held an unprecedented June meeting in Singapore, with Washington and Pyongyang each calling on the other to take action. A second summit could address concerns to global security after Kim piled pressure on Trump by threatening in his annual New Year’s address to take a “new path,” if the U.S. didn’t relax economic sanctions.
According to a report by Jihye Lee on Bloomberg, U.S. officials have met their North Korean counterparts in Hanoi for discussions to adjust scheduling for the talks, the newspaper said, citing high-level diplomatic sources in Seoul and Washington it did not identify. Government officials haven’t commented on the report.
Such a summit would be certain to grab global attention and help boost the profile of the host nation. But it also presents enormous security challenges for Trump, the leader of the world’s biggest economy, and Kim, head of arguably one of the world’s most paranoid states.
Vietnam is a long-standing ally of Pyongyang that has good relations with Washington. Speculation about the country’s prospects as a summit site grew following North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho’s visit there from Nov. 29-Dec. 2.
The South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo previously reported that Mark Lambert, a senior U.S. State Department official handling North Korea issues, visited Vietnam in December. It was unclear whether he was in Vietnam at the same time as North Korea’s foreign minister.
Vietnam’s capital, the Hanoi — about a four-hour flight from Pyongyang and in airspace over countries friendly to North Korea — boasts top-class hotels. Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party also has the security apparatus to squelch protests and keep curious onlookers far away from Trump and Kim.
Vietnam Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media Market Research Report: Ken Research
Mobile Broadband Driving Vietnam’s Internet Growth
After peaking in 2009 Vietnam’s fixed line market in Vietnam has seen a significant decline. Market penetration has fallen from 20.1% in 2009 to 10.5% in 2012 and 5.7% in 2016.
In the meantime, having come late to the internet, Vietnam is finally embracing the higher access speeds offered by the various broadband platforms. Although there has been a surge in subscriber numbers, fixed broadband remains a relatively small but expanding market segment. Most significantly, the arrival of mobile broadband has seen widespread access to faster internet speeds.
Vietnam’s mobile market has grown strongly over the last decade, evidence that the competition model the government has put in place, although with some limitations, has been working. At the same time, demand for new mobile services appeared to have dropped and growth had generally slowed. There has been a gradual shift to value added services, with the arrival of 3G and 3G+ and ahead of the launch of 4G.
The highly competitive nature of Vietnam’s mobile segment is due in no small part to it being opened up to new players, importantly including some with no involvement of the state-owned VNPT. As with most other Asian mobile markets, growth in Vietnam was boosted by the early introduction of prepaid mobile services and prepaid remains a vital component of the business today.
Viettel is the largest mobile operator in Vietnam with over 40% market share, followed by MobiFone VTNL-Vinaphone and Vietnamobile. The Vietnamese mobile market has shown moderate growth over the past few years, increasing from mobile penetration of 135% in 2013 to 147% in 2016. However over the past two years the market has reached a saturation point, as mobile growth slow significantly. Further slow growth is expected to continue over the next five years to 2021. By that time penetration is expected to reach over 150%.
The initial roll-out of fixed broadband services win Vietnam as followed by a strong surge in growth; however, broadband remained a small but expanding market segment. It needed a stronger market focus by the providers; this seemed to have finally happened with the arrival of mobile broadband. As with other developing markets in Asia, there has been major shift in Vietnam’s broadband market with the widespread adoption of mobile broadband, with lower tariffs, ready availability and the convenience of mobility being the big attractions. Mobile broadband has been growing strongly in Vietnam over the past five years. Penetration has increased from 14% in 2011 to 31% in 2014 and 43% in 2016. Further strong growth is predicted over the next five years to 2021.
The fixed broadband subscriber market in Vietnam has been growing moderately over the past few years from a relatively small base. Penetration has increased from 6% in 2013 to 8% in 2015 and 9% in 2016. Fixed broadband penetration is predicted to grow moderately over the next five years, reaching between 14% and 17% by 2021. Incumbent operator VNPT has been leading Vietnam’s charge into the broadband market. It has doing this largely as part of its Next Generation Network (NGN) development.
In the meantime, the digital economy in Vietnam has been flourishing, although its reach may not be as great as government policy would wish.
The government has been the driving force behind the country’s move into the age of the digital economy. It has been constantly emphasising the need to use e-commerce to improve the country’s economic competitiveness. The government has also been particularly active in the development of cyber laws, no doubt because of its deeply ingrained political culture of central control. On another related front, Vietnam is moving quickly towards the digitalisation of TV broadcasting. A strategy plan for conversion to digital TV should see the country’s television stations broadcasting completely digital by 2020.
Key developments:
Vietnam’s broadband market is growing strongly, on the back of the mobile broadband sector;
Fibre-based broadband subscribers continue to grow strongly.
The MIC has set 2017 as the target date for introducing Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
Viettel Telecom announced plans to launch its 4G LTE network.
Vietnamobile, announced plans to expand the coverage of its 3G network nationwide.
After a long period of low fixed broadband penetration, the market has started to grow strongly;
Most significantly, fibre-based broadband (FttH) subscribers have been growing rapidly;
DSL technology continues to support the majority of fixed broadband services;
The MIC issued a set of digital TV standards ahead of the planned digitalisation.
Youngsters lead Vietnam’s start-up scene as well-educated, young entrepreneurs are expected to improve the country’s position on the global start-up map.
There are no official statistics on start-ups in Vietnam, but according to some regional tech sources, as many as 3,000 are operating in the country, making it the third largest start-up ecosystem in Asia.
According to a report on VNS, the country jumped 12 places to 47th among 127 economies on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2017 Global Innovation Index, its highest ranking in the past 10 years. In Southeast Asia, it sits behind only Singapore and Malaysia.
This progress is believed to be driven by young entrepreneurs who are tech savvy and well educated.
About 70 per cent of the country’s population of more than 90 million is under 35 years old. Thousands of new young innovators, including Vietnamese talents from overseas, are joining the startup community every year.
According to the tech platform Asean Post, more than US$290 million was invested in Vietnamese startups in 2017, double investment levels from the previous year. Investments concentrated on fintech, food tech and e-commerce startups, along with logistics and online travel services.
There are no official figures yet for 2018’s deal value, but last year saw two major fundraisings for e-commerce platforms in Vietnam – $50 million was invested in Tiki by China’s JD.com and Japanese SoftBank invested $50 million in Sendo.
More than 70 venture capital funds are operating in Vietnam. More than two thirds are from overseas including CyberAgent Venture, Incubate Fund, SoftBank Capital, Crystal Horse Investments and Asia Venture Groups.
Entrepreneurs and investors have bet big on Vietnam’s boom economy, which has risen by an annual average of 6 per cent over the past 10 years.
Vietnam is an attractive destination for start-ups thanks to its growing tech scene and its large pool of low-cost, highly skilled tech talent. According to Binh Tran, a partner at 500 Startups and co-founder of Klout, Inc., the country’s engineers are able to build and develop products just as well as their rivals in Silicon Valley – at a cheaper cost.
Many Vietnamese talents from around the world who have rich experience working for multinational companies have returned to Vietnam and launched their own start-ups. Apart from capital, Vietnamese returnees bring fresh ideas, business knowledge and connections.
Eddi Thai, general partner at 500 Startups, argued Vietnam has a competitive advantage over other emerging markets.
“In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia have well-developed start-up ecosystems,” Thai was quoted as saying on ictnews.vn “In contrast, Vietnam has been emerging thanks to rapid economic expansion, favorable demographics and talents.”
Vietnam currently has about 250,000 tech engineers, double the number it had three years ago, Thai said. The salary for IT engineers in Vietnam was still 40 percent lower than in China and India.
He said many of the start-ups he has invested in provide financial solutions to the Vietnamese market, including Productify and Detexian. He expects significant advances in fintech, e-commerce, logistics, education and health in the next few years.
The start-up community is also strongly supported by the Government. Three major high-tech parks are being built in the country’s three main tech hubs of Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang.
An $85 million start-up fund is also expected to launch this year. Projects, incubator programs and financial support will help local entrepreneurs build their companies and expand within Vietnam and internationally.
At the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technology and innovation are a key driver of growth. With a rising number of young and talented entrepreneurs, Vietnam stands a chance of becoming a key spot on the global start-up map.
A recent foreign policy consultation put the focus on the opportunities and challenges for ties in the new year.
According to a report on Diplomat, Mark Field, the minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the U.K.’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, paid a visit to Vietnam last week. The interaction spotlighted the ongoing activity in the U.K.-Vietnam relationship and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for both sides into 2019 and beyond.
As I have noted before in these pages, Vietnam and the United Kingdom upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership back in 2010. The past few years have seen some additional boosts for ties due to the continuing strategic rationale for collaboration for both parties as Britain looks to boost ties with Southeast Asian states post-Brexit and Hanoi makes efforts to engage with a range of powers to deal with a host of economic and strategic issues.
2019 offers a mix of opportunities and challenges for the relationship. Both sides have signaled a desire to deepen collaboration on areas including education, trade, and investment, and the development of smart cities, and Vietnam’s desire to expand ties with regional and international actors is set to be in the spotlight even more with its membership in the UN Security Council and its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2020. But Britain’s continued management of its Brexit challenge, Vietnam’s lingering issues with human rights, and stresses to the rules-based international order also weigh heavily for both countries.
Last week, U.K.-Vietnam relations were in the headlines again with the visit of Mark Field to Vietnam. Field was on the first leg of a wider trip that included both Vietnam and South Korea. His visit to Vietnam was his third visit to the country in about a year and tied to the convening of a deputy foreign minister-level political consultation between the two sides held on January 2.
The consultation was co-chaired by Field and Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. Vietnamese state media reported that the talks covered a wide range of political, security, economic, and people-to-people issues, with both sides also discussing ways to enhance the relationship in areas including delegation exchanges, education, economics, combating wildlife trafficking and corruption, and collaboration at multilateral fora such as the United Nations.
Apart from the consultation itself, Field’s visit also saw him undertake a series of engagements that covered Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and tied to the objective of advancing the strategic partnership between the two sides, with a series of focus issues including trade and investment, education, defense, and human rights. The British government noted that the interactions included meetings with Vietnamese officials, addresses on corporate governance and anti-corruption, consultations with representatives from civil society, and other interactions meant to emphasize aspects of economic and people-to-people ties such as a visit to a clothing factory for U.K. brands and a trip to a Vietnamese university that has joint degrees with a British university.
The visit produced outcomes that both sides were keen to highlight, with examples including the signing of an agreement on smart cities in Ho Chi Minh City. But Field’s visit also saw some criticism about him not going far enough in addressing human rights considerations in spite of efforts by the U.K. to emphasize those as part of the wider agenda. Though part of this was tied to the timing of his visit, which came just as Vietnam’s cybersecurity law had come into effect, it also reflected the ongoing challenge that Britain and other external actors face when balancing efforts to advance ties with certain Asian states while also addressing democracy and human rights.
The first goal of Vietnam – the AFF Suzuki Cup champions – is to qualify for the knockout stages at the AFC Asian Cup 2019, coach Park Hang-Seo said in a recent interview to Tasnim News Agency of Iran.
Vietnam are pooled with Iran, Iraq and Yemen in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup which will begin in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 5.
The Golden Dragons will open their campaign against Iraq on January 8.
Vietnam will face Asian heavyweights Iran on January 12 before wrapping up their group stage commitments with a match against Asian Cup debutants Yemen on January 16.
“After winning the AFF Suzuki Cup, the fans’ expectations are high at the Asian Cup. The first goal of the Vietnamese team is to qualify for the next round,” the Korean tactician said.
“To advance to the Round of 16, you have to earn at least four points. It’s very difficult to beat Iran but we will progress if we can overcome Yemen and Iraq,” he added.
The State Bank of Vietnam is targeting a 14 percent increase in banks’ total lending in 2019, in line with the credit growth seen previous year, state media reported on Monday, Jan 07.
New loans will be funnelled to prioritized sectors, the central bank’s deputy governor Nguyen Thi Hong as saying, referring to areas such as manufacturing, agriculture and small and medium enterprises, BizLIVE – an online newspaper cited.
Deputy Governor of State Bank of Viet Nam Nguyen Thi Hong. — Photo SBV
According to a report on Reuters, Vietnam’s economic growth traditionally relies heavily on increased credit, though the authorities have been trying to reduce this reliance.
The ratio of bad debt on total loans stood at 1.89 percent at the end of last year, down from 1.99 percent at end-2017, it added.
Despite being seen as a potential blockchain development nation, Vietnam lacks a proper legal framework which may prevent the country maximise benefits from the emerging industry.
Vietnamese business man Vuong Quang Long runs Tomochain but is headquartered in Singapore because he said the government there has better policies to attract international investment.
“When it came to initial coin offering (ICO), Tomochain needed lawyers understanding the country where the company is headquartered and registered. We could not find that in Vietnam,” Long told baodautu.vn.
He said he expects Vietnam to soon develop a legal framework that allows local firms to draw foreign investment and develop their business.
Long suggested government agencies recognise the valuation of digital assets, set up a cross-sector committee to track the development of the industry and issue policies on the establishment of an investment pool.
A large number of Vietnamese people are not fully aware of blockchain and crytocurrency bitcoin and often mistake them, according to Nguyen Van Vung, founder of tech firm Bigbom.
Blockchain tech experts said the use of technology could help users save 30-50 percent of their expenses as those apps would help them improve the quality of production and transparency in finance and management.
For example, if Uber and its partner drivers run the app on blockchain technologies, it would be easier for regulators to monitor the market and the information of both drivers and trips would be more transparent.
QNET is developing a system to manage lending portfolios for commercial banks, according to the firm’s head of blockchain development centre Dang Minh Tuan.
“When developing the programme, we have to make sure each portfolio is unique, and no one is authorised to edit the profile,” Tuan said.
“So the banking system’s transparency is guaranteed and it minimises the chance of risks such as a lending profile is used at different banks or a banker can switch the profile for one another for illegal transactions.”
But there is plenty of room for the industry in other countries to further develop, even though applications are still in the early stage. Japan issued a law on payment services, which was amended in 2016, saying digital currencies are considered payment instruments for necessities, not large-scale deals.
That may be the reasons why Vietnamese lawmakers have remained hesitant developing a legal framework that suits the needs of the companies using blockchain technologies and applications.
Nguyen Thanh Tu, Director of the Economic and Civil Legislation at the Ministry of Justice, said the ministry started developing a regulation on cryptocurrency management in 2016-2017. The ministry is reviewing all digital assets and legal practices to propose the best solutions to the Prime Minister.
Long at Tomochain said the issue of digital assets was determined by the market, not the regulator. This is a trend and if Vietnam fully develops its own legal framework to support blockchain firms, the industry will grow strongly and attract big support from the private sector in both local and international markets.
Vietnam will enhance its telecommunications infrastructure, expand its broadband network and develop 5G mobile connectivity this year.
The latter is a key component of the Government’s Resolution 01, in which the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) will grant test 5G frequencies to operators this year and expand them in 2020.
Head of the Policy and Planning Division under the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Authority of Communications Tran Tuan Anh said Vietnam defined 5G as network infrastructure for all sectors of the economy, not just for communication. It would be expanded, raising the working capacity of all sectors based on radiocommunication infrastructure.
Under the vision of Qualcomm, Nokia, Samsung and other companies developing 5G services and technology, the 5G mobile network will boost self-driving cars, IoT and cloud computing.
Anh told enternews.vn that there were currently very few terminals supporting 5G networks, so this technology did not yet have the capability to reach everyone. With the needs of users today, 4G still met their demands.
“The implementation of 5G in Vietnam will depend on the role of network operators and ICT enterprises. Vietnam also needs to build research centres on technology for 5G, in addition to corresponding legal documents,” Anh said.
Worldwide, there are 18 5G networks deployed by more than 20 suppliers. There are also 134 5G networks being tested in 62 countries around the world. By 2019, the world will officially adopt 5G standard at the World Radiocommunication Conference of the ITU, a specialised UN agency for information and communication technologies.
The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group is aggressively completing work to prepare infrastructure and human resources for 5G technology with the expectation of becoming the first operator in Vietnam to deploy a 5G network.
With a number of positive results in preparing 5G, Viettel aims to complete a 5G broadcasting station version 1 in 2019, test 5G station network by 2020 and be ready to trade in 2021.
Viettel Deputy General Director Cao Duc Thang said Viettel was ready to participate in the 5G test in 2019.
“We hope that there will be information on frequencies soon for Viettel and other operators to prepare appropriate design and equipment, in order to meet the frequency that the MIC is expected to use for 5G,” said Thang.
In an interview with ictnews.vn, CEO of Huawei Vietnam Fan Jun said that Vietnam was the most dynamic emerging market in Southeast Asia.
He said the Prime Minister and Minister of MIC had repeatedly mentioned the development of 5G in Vietnam, and Vietnamese operators were willing to test 5G.
He said the realisation of 5G required four basic conditions including national industry policy, frequency planning, preparation of application infrastructure and training of talents.
These four basic conditions are indispensable. Different areas will have different difficulties and challenges, thus it’s necessary to have the participation of many parties working together, he added.
In this regard, Jun said his firm was ready to strengthen dialogue with the Government and other network operators and partners related to 5G to promote the development of the technology in Vietnam.
The Hanoi ranked 3rd while Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) ranked 8th among the world’s 20 most dynamic cities by World Economic Forum.
Although momentum in the global economy appears to have peaked, there are still many cities in the world where real estate and economic growth continue to be robust.
According to a report by At the time when the World Economic Forum is examining globalization 4.0, JLL’s City Momentum Index, now in its sixth iteration, focuses on momentum for the world’s most commercially active cities.
Tracking a range of socioeconomic and commercial real-estate indicators to identify attributes for success over the short term, the City Momentum Index ranked 131 major established and emerging business hubs across the globe to identify the urban economies and real-estate markets that are currently undergoing the most rapid expansion.
This year’s rankings find the fastest urban growth continuing to shift away from the West to the East. Asia Pacific is home to 19 of the top 20 cities in this year’s index, and overall, Indian and Chinese cities dominate the rankings, accounting for three-quarters of the top 20, following by Vietnam with 2 cities.
Only one city outside of Asia Pacific, Nairobi, ranks in the top 20 most dynamic cities in the globe – and even in Nairobi there is a strong Asian influence, with significant amounts of investment from China, particularly focused on infrastructure projects.
JLL City Momentum Index 2018: The world’s top 20 most dynamic cities
Strong growth brings great opportunities for economic and social development, but equally creates challenges that emerging markets must address to ensure that short-term growth transitions into longer-term momentum.
Cities that are growing rapidly tend to punch above their weight in attracting companies and people; however, this can often lead to social inequality, congestion and environmental degradation.
Different cities take different development paths, but we know that the provision of smart, efficient and productive real estate and increased transparency are key factors in driving the long-term, sustainable growth they seek.
Real estate is pivotal to sustainable momentum
Regeneration projects can dramatically transform the trajectory of a rapidly growing city. New neighborhoods and mixed-use developments can help nurture new businesses and improve lives. In parallel, large-scale infrastructure projects can combat problems such as congestion, while smart technology embedded within a city’s infrastructure can help improve the flow of people.
Saigon, Vietnam, which ranked 8th among the world’s 20 most dynamic cities
Nairobi (ranked 6th in the index) is projected to have one of the fastest-growing populations in the world over the next five years. The authorities there are turning to smart technologies to help cope with overcrowding, traffic congestion and inefficiency in transportation around the city.
Technological innovation in the form of greener and smarter buildings plays an important role in answering the environmental challenges brought about by rapid growth. The Chinese city of Xi’an, (ranked 9th) struggles with severe air pollution, a common plight for developing cities. The installation of an innovative 100-metre-tall air purifying tower to reduce smog and improve air quality is one of the developments helping the city meet the challenges of growth.
Strong growth and rapid urbanization can lead to many challenges, but through thoughtful and innovative development many of these challenges can be met.
Increase transparency to bring foreign direct investment
Sustainable long-term momentum and a maturing economy require long-term foreign direct investment, and this comes when investors can see transparent governance in markets – including real estate.
India’s fastest-growing cities have been successful over recent years in attracting high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), with structural reforms, including the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, encouraging more real-estate investment from foreign buyers.
A similar story is playing out in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, which are both on the cusp of joining the ranks of the world’s ‘Transparent’ real-estate markets according to JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2018, published earlier this year.
Transparency is vital in securing the long-term investment that leads to sustainable growth. By working with city governments, the private sector can help lead this change and bring benefits not only to the real-estate market but also to the wider commerciality of a city.
Against a backdrop of rapid change, the World Economic Forum will examine globalization 4.0 and the Fourth Industrial Revolution with a definitive call to make global growth inclusive and sustainable. For growth to be both sustainable and inclusive, it must be long-term. The City Momentum Index shows how businesses and governments can work together to make this happen.
Vietnam closed 2018 almost spot on its target accumulating 15,497,791 international visitors that represented an increase of 19.9% over 2017.
According to data collected by the Government Statistics Organization, December 2018 closed with an estimated 1,374,235 arrivals, up 7.7% over the same month of previous year.
The official target for the year was set at 15.5 million.
Arrivals data confirmed the dominance of Asia credited with Vietnam’s four top markets. The region supplied 12,075,466 visits, led by China totaling 4,966,468 visits and representing a substantial climb of 23.9%.
Only second placed Korea achieved a stronger growth rate of 44.3% on a respectable score of 3,485,406 visits.
The other two were Japan in third place with 826,674 visits representing an improvement of just 3.6% and Taiwan with 714,112 visits, up 15.9%
In fifth place, the USA supplied 687,226 visits an increase of 11.9%, the only market outside of Asia in the top five suppliers.
Russia was a notable high ranker in sixth place with 606,6387 visits, up 5.7%, just ahead of Malaysia that supplied 540,119 visits up 12.4%.
Travel from Malaysia increased to Vietnam following new services introduced by the AirAsia group.
Vietnam is hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Halong Bay, 14 to 18 January, which should boost travel bookings due to a strong delegation of travel buyers from Europe.
It is also understood that Hong Kong will be a prime target for promotions this year. The market is underperforming with just 60,208 visits in 2018, but the growth rate of 30.4% was described as encouraging.
Another encouraging market is Finland with 22,785 visits in 2018 representing an improvement of 24.9%.
On the downside, neighbors with land borders, Cambodia and Laos, both recorded declines in travel to Vietnam in 2018. Registering 202,954 visits, Cambodia was down 8.8%, while Laos supplying 120,009 visits declined by 15.2%. They were only two markets that deteriorated.
