Vietnam Insider - Page 1260 of 1523

The highlights of the automobile market in 2018

Advertisements

In 2018, the automobile market was affected by Decree 116, which regulates manufacture, assembly and importing of cars.

1.Contrary to all predictions that the car prices would drop from January 1, 2018, when the import tariffs on ASEAN sourced products are cut to zero percent, car imports will not arrive in Vietnam in the first two months of the year because of the strict requirements stipulated in Decree 116 and Circular 03.

Only in March did the first imports begin arriving in Vietnam as only a few enterprises could satisfy the requirements.

2. The car import prices fluctuated in 2018 with the price gap of up to VND100 million.

In early 2018, Honda announced the price increase of Honda CR-V from VND1.136 billion to VND1.256 billion. It explained that the cars were imported in late 2017 and still bore the import tariff of 30 percent.

Even in the second half of 2018, when more enterprises could satisfy Decree 116, scarcity still existed which pushed prices up. The price of Honda CR-V alone rose three times and decreased one time in 2018.

3. Some models saw sales at zero. No Toyota Fortuner was sold in the months from March to July. In January and February, only three products were sold.

Similarly, Toyota Yaris, a favorite of Vietnamese, also reported zero sales in the months from February to July. When the supply resumed in August, 330 products were sold.

As for pick-ups, Toyota Hilux and Ford Rangers were also in short supply at times.

4. VinFast officially presented itself before the public in 2018. In late June 2018, VinFast announced the takeover of GM Vietnam.

The Vietnamese manufacturer also took authorized sale agents of Chevrolet, becoming the exclusive distributor of products and services bearing Chevrolet brand in the Vietnamese market.

With the deal, the US manufacturer became the technological partner of VinFast. VinFast can take full advantage of GM’s existing facilities to make small cars. The 22 Chevrolet sale agents will be a part of VinFast’s distribution network.

5. On November 20, VinFast officially introduced its first car models Lux A 2.0 and Lux SA 2.0 at Thong Nhat Park in Hanoi.

It also marketed the small model Fadil and smart electric motorbike Klara.

VinFast’s products are made in its 335 hectare factory in Hai Phong City.

VinFast’s cars are the first Vietnam-made automobile products. Vinaxuki, a 100 percent Vietnamese owned enterprise, also cherished the ‘made in Vietnam car’ dream, but it failed.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

3 dead, 3 injured in Hanoi, HCMC traffic mishaps

Advertisements

Two traffic accidents Sunday afternoon in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City killed three people and injured as many.

A five-seater Ford on the way to Thanh Oai District south of Hanoi center hit a taxi which was turning around and then crashed into three motorbikes which were going in the same direction.

Two of the four people on the motorbikes that were hit died on the way to the hospital. The deceased were a husband and wife, local authorities said. The other two are being treated at the local hospital.

The back of the taxi was distorted after the impact

In another accident in HCMC the same afternoon, a truck fell on three people on two motorbikes on route 22 from HCMC to the northwest province of Tay Ninh, killing one person immediately.

The other two victims were seriously injured and are being treated at a nearby hospital. All three victims are relatives.

The accident happened as the truck crossed the An Ha Bridge in Cu Chi District. The driver slammed the brake as he saw the motorbike drivers crossing, causing the truck to fall.

Local authorities had to use the crane to lift up the truck, which was carrying sand, to retrieve one crushed body. The two motorbikes were also crushed.

ocal residents said that motorbike drivers often cross the road at this area to save time. Five motorbikes were crossing the road at the time of the accident but only the first two motorbikes were hit.

The accident caused a traffic jam two kilometers long on the route.

Road crashes are a leading cause of deaths in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee. The country targets reducing road accident deaths to below 20 a day, or 7,300 a year.

Source: Vnexpress

Da Nang police probing death of deaf, mute man, allegedly linked to foreigner

Advertisements

Police in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang confirmed that they are investigating the death of a deaf and mute man who had been reported being beaten by a foreigner this week.

Da Nang police units are carrying out their investigation, Colonel Tran Phuoc, chief of Hai Chau District police, said.

Regarding the purported involvement of the foreigner, Col. Chan said police would announce whether it was true when they finish their probe, without elaborating.

The death of Le Ngoc Chan, the 36-year-old man in question, has gone viral on Facebook, with thousands of shares and demands that whoever killed the man be brought to justice.

Reports said that multiple people from Golden Pine Pub and Simple Man Pub on Bach Dang Street, Hai Chau District were involved in a fight in the small hours of January 1.

Chan, who was deaf and mute and working for Golden Pine, was injured and taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

He hailed from Dai Loc District, located in the central province of Quang Nam.

Chan passed away at the hospital on January 5, survived by his pregnant wife and their child.

Initial information showed that Chan was repeatedly beaten in the head by the foreigner during the fight.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Fake condom production facility busted in Saigon

Advertisements

Saigon authorities busted a fake condom production facility at a private house Saturday and found hundreds of thousands of condoms and lubricants.
A raid by Saigon’s market management agency on the house in Dong Hung Thuan 23 Road, District 12, found over 120,000 condoms and lubricants meant to be packaged as popular brands and over 60kg of raw materials to make them.

House owner Truong Chi Thanh, 28, who admitted to carrying the operations for over a month, said he bought raw materials from Kim Bien market in District 5, produced fake condoms and lubricants and packaged them as Durex, OK or Sure to sell them.

It’s not clear whether they would sell the items in the market directly or to middlemen.

A raid on a house in Hoc Mon District last August also uncovered production of fake condoms.

They were meant to be packaged as some world-famous brands and distributed in the market. The workers said they produced thousands of cartons every day based on orders.

No more details have been released by authorities.

Below is a clip on the raid last August in Hoc Mon District.

Source: Vnexpress

The AFC Asian Cup All-Time Dream 11: Vietnam

Advertisements

Vietnam make their first appearance in the AFC Asian Cup after a gap of 12 years and we thought it an opportune moment to take a look at how an all-time Vietnamese dream team will look like!

Vietnam’s previous appearance in the Asian Cup came in the 2007 edition when the continental championship was held across Southeast Asia and they did not disappoint reaching the quarterfinals of the competitions.

However, they have failed to make it to the grand stage until the latest edition of the tournament set to kick off in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday (January 5).

And they head into the tournament high on confidence having won just their second regional football title defeating Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate in the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 last month.

So, here FOX Sports Vietnam’s Ty Dang lists out Vietnam’s all-time dream 11.

GOALKEEPER

DUONG HONG SON

Without doubt, Hong Son is one of the best goalkeepers in Vietnamese football history. Standing only 1.76 metres high, he was once disregarded as a defender and midfielder. But, Hong Son made up for the lack of stature with fast reflexes and excellent judgement to make himself one of the best goalkeepers in business and played an important role in the Golden Dragons winning their maiden AFF Suzuki Cup title back in 2008. He is also one of the two goalkeepers to win the Vietnamese Golden Ball.

DEFENDERS

CB: VU NHU THANH

With his natural talent and resilience, Vu Nhu Thanh has affirmed himself as one of the leading central defenders in Vietnamese football history. With a clever and modern play style, the centre-back was the mainstay of Vietnam’s backline that reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in 2007 and then went on to win the AFF Cup in 2008.

CB: QUE NGOC HAI

From being a talented but impulsive youngster and often making mistakes, Que Ngoc Hai has gone through an amazing journey become the leader of the national team that won the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018. His reckless tackle on Tran Anh Khoa in 2015 seemed to have brought curtains down on Ngoc Hai’s rising career, but since then, the Vietnamese football fans have witnessed the ceaseless maturity from the centre-back.

CB: DO KHAI

Although playing a short career, Do Khai was one of the best defenders Vietnam have produced. Being a part of Vietnam’s golden generation along with Nguyen Hong Son, Le Huynh Duc and Van Sy Hung, Do Khai was a defensive rock for both his club and country before an injury cut short his promising career.

RWB: TRAN CONG MINH

Tran Cong Minh is considered one of the best wing backs in Vietnamese football and was a mainstay in the Golden Dragons squad from 1995 to 2000.
Tran Cong Minh’s outstanding talent was confirmed by the title of Vietnam Golden Ball in 1999. Until now, he is the first and only defender to win this noble individual title. .

LWB: HUYNH QUANG THANH

It is impossible not to mention the legendary Huynh Quang Thanh when we take a look at the best wing back in Vietnam’s history. He is a rare player who can play well on both the right and left backs and is known for his physicality on the pitch. Quang Thanh was also a member of Vietnam’s 2008 AFF Cup triumph and also scored against UAE in the Asian Cup 2007 helping the team reach the quarterfinals.

MIDFIELDERS

CM: NGUYEN MINH PHUONG

Nguyen Minh Phuong is considered the most talented midfielder of Vietnamese football. He possesses all the qualities of a leader at the middle of the park — a calm playing style, the ability to dictate matches, launch sharp attacks, good tactical vision and of course, a fine eye for goal. He too played a key role in Vietnam’s 2008 regional glory.

CM: LE QUOC VUONG

Although his career was marred with controversies, it is undeniable that Le Quoc Vuong was one of the best midfielders of his generation. The midfielder, born in 1982, was nominated for the Vietnamese Golden Ball as an ode to his exceptional skills with the ball.

FORWARDS

RF: NGUYEN QUANG HAI

The latest sensation in Vietnamese football, Quang Hai is the youngest player in the Dream Team at 21 but has already halted Vietnam win the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 and also luted the Golden Ball award last month.He has become an indispensable pillar of the Vietnamese team. The Hanoi FC attacker also played a key role in the AFC U23 Championship earlier last year when Vietnam finished runners-up.

LF: LE CONG VINH

It is impossible not to remember the name Le Cong Vinh when it comes to Vietnam’s greatest players. He wasn’t born much of a natural talent, but CV9 with hard work gradually asserted himself and become the top scorer in Vietnamese football history with 51 international goals. He guided Vietnam to the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup triumph with his goals.

CF: LE HUYNH DUC

Together with teammate Nguyen Hong Son, Le Huynh Duc was the most prominent face of Vietnam’s golden generation. With technical ability and speed, it can be said that Huynh Duc is the best striker in the history of Vietnamese football. In his career as a player, the striker born in 1972 won numerous individual and collective honours.

According to a report on Foxsportasia

Vietnam lacks IT workers despite higher salaries

Advertisements

Vietnam will lack from 70,000 to 90,000 information and technology (IT) workers this year despite increasing salary and welfare, according to a TopDev, a recruitment network and ecosystem in mobile and IT, reports on the IT market in Vietnam.

Many start-ups have developed projects related to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in the last five years in Vietnam, which has created extraordinary value for the technology industry.

Thanks to this, the salary of AI engineers is expected to increase sharply in the coming years. However, human resources are an issue for many businesses.

Although they offer salaries of 500 million VND (about 21,600 USD), per year many businesses said they could not find suitable personnel.

Recruitment depends heavily on unofficial relationships. According to TopDev’s statistics, up to 58 percent of employers seek candidates through referral recruitment and only 51 percent of employers recruit through official channels.

The rapid development of many new technology trends has opened up better opportunities for programmers in Vietnam, but also causes many obstacles for employers without proper recruitment methods.

Now many businesses are looking to new recruitment methods with a longer-term vision such as employer branding to create influence and spread their image to applicants.

One of the solutions to enhance IT human resources in general and AI in particular is the combination of university training and enterprise recruitment.

Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep (Business Forum) quoted Duong Trong Tan, an expert in the field of IT, as saying that in the era of rapid change like today, if a school was not associated with enterprises to improve their training programme and put in new content that businesses need or new technology, they could hardly keep up with the pace of economic changes.

According to a report on VNA

Facebook’s new move makes it impossible to buy fake likes

Advertisements

After Facebook launched a campaign to clear up fake accounts, many KOL (key opinion leaders) have suffered as the number of interactions has sharply decreased.

“All the like packages I sold to new stars last week could not activate and I have to refund money to sellers, totaling tens of million of dong,” complained K. Huy, who specializes in providing ‘Facebook make-up service’.

Not only Huy, but all the virtual nick systems which provide fake interactions on Facebook did not work last week.

According to Huy, on December 13, Facebook logged out many suspected accounts in Vietnam.

With the move, access tokens no longer exist. Tokens are collected by service providers when users run third-party apps. As all tokens have been lost, Facebook make-up service providers cannot control accounts and ‘order’ the accounts to give ‘likes’.

The number of interactions such as likes, comments and video watching, is one of the indicators that measure the value of celebrities. It is also a figure that business brands will refer to when paying for advertisements. The higher number of interactions that KOLs have, the more famous they are.

In many cases, some video clips posted on Facebook personal pages have the number of views that are only 25 percent of the number of likes. This means that at least 75 percent of likes are fake.

“Brands and advertisers all know about the make-up service. However, they have their own solutions to measure the real numbers of interactions,” said Thanh Hung in Tan Binh district, an ad service provider.
T.N, 24, is a fitness trainer in HCM City. She also sometimes advertises for functional food shops that target bodybuilders. Her real number of interactions is 400-700 for each post.

T.N admitted that to embellish the personal page, she bought a fake like package from a service provider (VND3 million for each post which has 300 likes at least). On average, she has 10-20 posts each day.

However, she complained that the service was interrupted recently and that service providers said the system was in maintenance.

The move taken by Facebook shows its efforts to eliminate fake accounts and interactions. However, it has affected authentic accounts as well.

Some Facebook users complained that they could not give likes and make comments for seven days. Facebook explained that the social network had discovered unusual activities of the accounts.

Binh Minh in Go Vap district complained that errors have occurred on Facebook regularly for several months. His accounts often log out suddenly and some functions are inactive.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

HCM City partners with UK in building smart city

Advertisements

The HCM City People’s Committee and the Consulate General of the UK in the city on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation in implementing the future global city programme.

Its aim is to turn the city into a smart city, in the 2019-22 period.

The signing ceremony, held in HCM City, was attended by Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen and UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field.

Under the MoU, the two sides will launch a project to apply smart tickets in public transportation vehicles in the city and develop a geographical information system for the drainage network.

At a meeting with the UK official prior to the signing, Tuyen thanked the UK Consulate General in the city for promoting the partnership, especially in co-operation programmes supported by the UK’s Commonwealth Fund.

He said HCM City is calling for investment in sub-projects of a project to develop smart city, and hopes to gather financial support and consultations from the UK.

The city is also implementing technological solution packages to deal with urgent matters in transport, health care, and urban environment, he said, expressing his hope to learn from the UK’s experience.

Praising education and training in the UK, the city official proposed Field help encourage UK universities to collaborate with their peers in Vietnam and increase scholarships for students.

Field showed his impression at the development of the city, reaffirming the UK Government’s wish to strengthen affiliation with Vietnam and HCM City, especially in trade, investment and people-to-people exchange.

He said the British Business Group in Vietnam based in HCM City is a good linkage for the UK and the city to promote their bilateral trade and investment ties.

Congratulating the city on finishing the first phase of the smart city project, he pledged the UK will continue to work with the city in the field, especially in technological solutions to responding to flooding and smart urban transportation.

He expressed his hope that HCM City will make it easy for the British Business Group in Vietnam to set up a centre to support small- and medium-sized enterprises and start-up firms of the UK to invest in the city.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

What are investors looking forward to in 2019?

Advertisements

With a 10-year high growth rate of 7.02 percent in 2018 and macroeconomic stability, Vietnam is expected to continue to be an attractive stock market in 2019.

2018 was a year of full ups and downs for securities investors. After becoming one of the fastest growing markets in 2017, the stock index continued gearing up in the first months of 2018, exceeding the historic peak of 1,170 points on March 21.

The VN Index later climbed to the new peak of 1,204 points on April 9.

However, the bullish market was then followed by a succession of correction days in May. The downward trend continued in the second quarter, and the third and early fourth quarters, before falling to the lowest ever 880 points on October 30.

Not only small investors, but investment funds and institutional investors also suffered from misleading investments.

On December 21, the VN Index closed at 912 points, a decrease of 72 points compared with earlier this year, or 7.3 percent. However, compared with the peak of 1,204 points, the VN Index dropped by 24.2 percent.

The downward trend was seen in nearly all markets over the globe. The Chinese market, for example, fell so dramatically that it needed the government’s intervention.

The biggest positive factor in Vietnam was that, while other emerging and developing markets had to face foreign capital outflow, Vietnam still saw net capital inflow.

A report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that the foreign portfolio investment capital to Vietnam in the first 11 months reached $7.64 billion, a sharp rise of 44.4 percent in comparison with the same period of 2017.

Meanwhile, the net purchase of foreign investors as of December 21, 2018 had reached VND43 trillion. In the last trading session of 2018, foreign investors’ net purchase was reported at VND500 billion.

The decision by FTSE Russel to add Vietnam to the watchlist to upgrade from frontier to emerging market in late September was an important milestone for Vietnam in 2018.

The last trading session of 2018 closed with the VN Index falling by 9.3 percent compared with earlier in the year.

However, analysts say there are reasons to be optimistic about investment opportunities in 2019.

The latest report of the National Finance Supervision Council showed optimistic prospects about the economy with the exchange rate stability, reasonable inflation rate of below 4 percent, and predicted high GDP growth rate of 7 percent.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Vietnam’s new international airport just 50 km away from Halong Bay

Advertisements

Vietnam just opened a new airport on the island of Van Don, very close to Halong Bay. Previously, travelers had to reach the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site via the capital, Hanoi, a four-hour drive away.

While the Vietnamese authorities have extended visa exemption for nationals of certain countries for stays of up to 15 days until 2021, the country has also opened a new airport, billed as Vietnam’s most modern, located close to the popular tourist destination of Halong Bay. The Jakarta Post reports.

Business looks good for the junk boat cruises at this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site, as Van Don International Airport, which cost around $350 million and is managed by a private company, will allow visitors to travel directly to Halong Bay, without traveling via Hanoi.

According to Jakarta Post, visitors will be able to reach the port in one hour’s drive, thanks to a new highway, compared to previous travel times of three to four hours, depending on the route. Note that domestic flights to and from Hanoi are operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietjetAir.

Vietnam was aiming for 17 million foreign tourists in 2018. In the end, it welcomed some 15.5 million visitors, up 19.9 percent on the previous year. For 2019, the country’s goal is 18 million international arrivals. The Halong site is just one of the destinations set to help draw visitors, as the country also aims to develop tourism in the wider Quang Ninh province, which has 250km of coastline. Perhaps the beaches of Minh Chau and Ngoc Vung will one day become as popular as those of Phuket or Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. These new facilities, which took barely three years to create, were also envisaged to boost tourism and trade with Taiwan, South Korea, Cambodia and Singapore.

Van Don International Airport expects to see two million annual passengers by 2020 and some five million by 2030.

As well as the airport, Vietnam opened its first international cruise port, specially designed for cruise ships, located in Halong. This new infrastructure, designed by architect Bill Bensley, can accommodate up to 8,460 passengers at once.

Over 8,200 people killed on the road in 2018

Advertisements

50 traffic accidents with 23 deaths per day on average in 2018.

A total of 18.700 traffic accidents have occurred in Vietnam, causing at least 8,200 deaths and 14,800 injuries in 2018, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

Compared to 2017, traffic accidents fell 9.2% and deaths declined 0.99%; both serious injuries and light injuries dropped.

According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, most of the accidents this year were road crashes caused by speeding, driving in the wrong lane, changing direction without watching the traffic and drunk driving.

The figures show an improvement in Vietnam’s efforts to reduce traffic accidents as well as the number of deaths and injuries.

Among the total number of traffic accidents in 2018, 80% of the cases occurred on roads. It was followed by railway accidents and waterway accidents. General Statistics Office of Vietnam reports.

VDSC: 2019 Vietnam Strategy Report – Be Cautious, Not Pessimistic.

Advertisements

Under the current global context, it will be hard for Vietnam to “swim against the tide”. The positive point is that the market valuation reversed to a relatively more reasonable level after the correction in 2018. VNIndex’s is now trading at 16x, 25% lower than its peak in March 2018 to reflect the slower growth expected in 2019.
VDSC

However, VDSC believe there is room for growth for Vietnamese industries. The country is going into a restructuring and upgrading phase which focuses on (1) Fighting corruption and institutional reforms, (2) Stabilizing the economy and attracting FDI capital, and (3) Encouraging the development of the private sector and start-ups.

In its base case, the Government expects Vietnam’s GDP growth can be maintained at 6.8-6.9% per annum throughout 2020. The expansion of the middle-class and a young population will bring opportunities to many sectors in the long-term.

For the 61 companies under our coverage (equivalent to 61% market cap in HSX and HNX) VDSC forecasts, for 2019, a 14% average revenue growth and expect net income to increase by 21%.

This year, VDSC focus our stock-picking strategies on three key themes:

Strong fundamentals, characterized by strong cash positions and low leverage ratios,
Taking advantage of global trade agreements and disputes, and
The old story: the SOEs equitization and State divestment.

VDSC statements in the report, “We think the index will fluctuate around the 900-1000 points. In that context, stock picking is what matters. Some stocks are pricier than others”.

In the 129-page Strategy Report, VDSC assesses the Vietnam macro and stock market outlook for 2019, including its main investment themes, our sector preferences and individual analysis of 40+ companies.

2019 Strategy Webinar Invitation

On the back of VDSC’s latest Strategy Report it’s organizing the 2019 Strategy Webinar on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (GMT +7).

VDSC’s research department will present their 2019 Vietnam outlook, their main investment themes, present some of their favorite stocks and answer investors’ questions.

Topics will include:

Vietnam Macro and Stock Market Outlook 2019
Investment Strategy and Themes 2019
Sector and Company Outlook 2019
Stock Picks for 2019

There will be a Q&A session. A recording will be available if you cannot dial in for the live Webinar.

Join the event to receive our top investment ideas and to learn how VDSC’s strategy will help your investment decisions.

Registration URL: https://goo.gl/xtnJHf

Apple cuts outlook, sees ‘challenges’ in China and emerging markets

Advertisements

The rare revenue warnings from Apple suggested weaker-than-anticipated sales of iPhones and other gadgetry, in part because of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

Apple cut its revenue outlook for the latest quarter on Wednesday (Jan 2), citing steeper-than-expected “economic deceleration” in China and emerging markets.

The rare revenue warnings from Apple suggested weaker-than-anticipated sales of iPhones and other gadgetry, in part because of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

Apple shares slid some 7.6 per cent in after-hours trade on the news.

The company slashed its revenue guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2019, ended Dec 29, to US$84 billion – sharply lower than analyst forecasts averaging US$91 billion.

“While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a letter to investors.

“We believe the economic environment in China has been further impacted by rising trade tensions with the United States.”

Apple is the target of nationalist sentiment over the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada at the behest of the United States on alleged Iran sanctions violations.

Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada on Dec 1 on a US extradition request linked to sanctions-breaking business dealings with Iran.

The Chinese government has condemned the arrest and demanded her release.

Some Chinese netizens and companies have also turned against Apple.

Several companies have offered employees subsidies for Huawei phone purchases, while others have even warned staff against buying Apple products.

“When the US went after the Huawei founder’s daughter, the Chinese government made Apple the target of the day, so sales should be way off,” independent technology analyst Rob Enderle told AFP.

“This is more political than it is Apple execution.”

Nationalistic sentiment was likely intensified by Apple apparently ignoring a Chinese court-ordered ban on iPhone sales in a case involving US chipmaker Qualcomm, according to the analyst.

Qualcomm, which requested the ban, said last month that the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court ordered four Apple subsidiaries to stop selling older models of the iPhone, including the 7, 7 Plus, 8, and 8 Plus.

But Apple stores contacted by AFP in Beijing, Shanghai and Fuzhou in early December said they were still selling those older models – confirming a company statement that all remain available.

“It looks like Apple is flouting Chinese law, which helps promote a boycott,” Endlerle said.

TIMING OFF

Apple breaks down its revenues into a “Greater China” that includes the People’s Republic of China as well as Taiwan.

Cook said other factors will also pull down Apple’s revenue, including the timing of its iPhone launches last year and a strong dollar that means lower revenues when converted to US currency.

Apple also cited supply “constraints” for some products, including its latest Apple Watch and iPad Pro.

The update suggested a disappointing figure for iPhone sales, the key driver of revenue and profit for the California tech giant.

“While Greater China and other emerging markets accounted for the vast majority of the year-over-year iPhone revenue decline, in some developed markets, iPhone upgrades also were not as strong as we thought they would be,” the statement said.

“While macroeconomic challenges in some markets were a key contributor to this trend, we believe there are other factors broadly impacting our iPhone performance, including consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases and some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements.”

Apple has been seeking to diversify its revenue stream in the face of a largely saturated global smartphone market, with new products and services.

Cook said there were some bright spots for Apple in some parts of the world and that the company expects “all-time revenue records in several developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and (South) Korea.”

He added that Apple was performing well in a few emerging markets and could see record revenues in Malaysia, Mexico, Poland and Vietnam.

Source: AFP

Vietnam rideshare platform FastGo goes to Myanmar

Advertisements

FastGo, Vietnam’s first ride-hailing service, has kicked off operations in Myanmar as part of its Southeast Asia expansion plans.
Its joint venture with Myanmarese conglomerate Asia Sun Group began offering services on December 28.

CEO Nguyen Huu Tuat said at the launch that Myanmar is a promising market with the e-commerce, travel and retail sectors all growing rapidly. With a population of 50 million, transport demand in the country is expected to rise, he said.

FastGo targets major cities and provinces and expects to sign up two million users and 100,000 drivers.

It pursues the same business model as in Vietnam, only taking a fixed service cost from drivers and not commissions on each ride and guaranteeing them higher fares during rush hour and bad weather.

It allows users to tip drivers, and offers a priority service for certain customers.

Tuat said FastGo has tied up with Asia Sun because the group has experience in various sectors, deep pockets and an understanding of the local market and culture.

He expected the venture to benefit Myanmar’s digital economy.

FastGo was launched in Vietnam last June and now has over 40,000 partner drivers in 10 provinces and cities.

It aims to be more than just a ride hailing app, offering other services such as food delivery.

FastGo Vietnam Joint Stock Company was established in April 2018 with its headquarters in Hanoi. The company belongs to a wide network of services provided by Nextech, a leading tech firm in Vietnam.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported that the company hopes to make its service available in 20 cities in Vietnam and five other Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand, by the end of 2019.

Source: Vnexpress

Vietnamese banks look towards digitization

Advertisements

Vietnam’s banks are racing to invest in new technology, infrastructure, and marketing schemes meant to put them on par with evolving global standards for personal banking.

The country’s financial institutions are racing to catch up with banks in developed countries who have been allowing customers to access cashless banking platforms for quite some time.

Techombank was one of Vietnam’s first banks to develop cashless options for its customers, investing US$300 million in 2015 towards technology infrastructure that allowed customers to make transactions via e-banking and mobile platforms, as well as allowing account holders to make ATM withdrawals using an OTP (one-time password) sent via text message in lieu of a bank card, according to CEO Nguyen Le Quoc Anh.

In addition, the Hanoi-based lender also made heavy investments in its marketing, including promotions that allowed customers to make free transactions both inside and outside the bank using E-banking, and providing refunds on goods and services purchased nationwide using a Techcombank card.

As a result, about 42 percent of Techcombank’s 2018 pre-tax profit came from service revenue.

Following the tech-banking trend, Vietcombank, one of Vietnam’s “big five” state-owned banks, introduced VCB QRPAY in 2018, an option which allows its customers to make payments by simply scanning a QR.

With strong telecommunication infrastructure, high rate of Internet penetration and smartphone ownership, Vietnam’s tip toe towards a cash-free economy is expected to hasten over the next few years, according to Dao Minh Tuan, Vietcombank’s deputy general director and president of the Vietnam Bank Card Association.

Digital banking platforms which allow customers access to the exact same services they might find at a bank’s head office are quickly become the norm in Vietnam.

Hanoi-based lender TPBank officially launched its 24/7 online banking platform LiveBank in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2016.

Two years later, on September 14, 2018, nationwide lender VPBank launched its own digital platform, YOLO, to compete.

At the recent opening of a new branch of Malaysia-headquartered CIMB Bank in Ho Chi Minh City, Zafrul Aziz, Executive Director of CIMB Group, surprised attendees by announcing that the bank will pilot its Southeast Asian digital banking platform in Vietnam.

The investments each of these banks are making in technology, infrastructure, and marketing seem to be paying off.

The number of products purchased using mobile payment options increased 30 percent from Q1 to Q3 in 2017 compared to the same period in 2016 while the number of goods and services bought via Internet surged by 33 percent and products purchased using electronic wallets soared by 21 percent, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Source: Tuoitrenews