VietJet Air will be subjected to special monitoring

Advertisements

CAAV delves into VietJet after closed runway landing

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) will subject VietJet Air to special monitoring following an incident where an aircraft landed on a closed runway at Nha Trang’s Cam Ranh International Airport. flightglobal.com reports.

In a 25 December statement, the CAAV disclosed that the VietJet Airbus A320 was operating flight VJ689 on the Nha Trang-Ho Chi Minh City route. A few minutes into the flight the crew detected an unspecified “technical warning.”

The crew returned to Nha Trang and landed on a runway that has been completed but which has yet to open.

The flight occurred at midday. Meteorological data suggests that the sky was overcast, but visibility was good. The CAAV did not report any injuries or casualties among the passengers or crew.

According to a report on flightglobal.com, a similar incident occurred on 30 April, when a Vietnam Airlines A321 also landed on the same closed runway, which was then under construction.

In the Vietnam Airlines incident, the aircraft landed incorrectly on what will eventually become runway 02R, as opposed to runway 02, which will become runway 02L. Online pilot forums suggest that the VietJet crew made the same mistake, although the CAAV did not furnish details.

The CAAV has suspended “all VietJet staff involved in the operation of this flight.” In addition, the carrier will be placed under “special monitoring,” and temporarily forbid the introduction of new routes.

A subsequent CAAV statement on 27 December details the authority’s plans to monitor the airline from 28 December to 15 January 2019.

The investigation will examine areas such as flight preparation, ground servicing, maintenance, supplies, and the adherence to manuals. It will also include safety inspections on flights.

Should the agency be satisfied by 15 January, the regime will be lifted. If it is not satisfied VietJet will be subjected to what the CAAV refers to as a “special phase 2 supervision.”

The aircraft involved in the incident appears to bear registration VN-A695. Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the CFM56-powered aircraft was delivered new October 2008 and is managed by CIT Aerospace. It operated with Cebu Pacific until 2014 at which point it entered service with VietJet.

This is the second recent landing incident involving the carrier. On 29 November a two-week-old VietJet A321neo suffered major damage to its forward undercarriage when landing at Buon Ma Thuot. The Goshawk-managed aircraft is still listed as in storage

Vietnam loses 936 hectares of forest in 2018

Advertisements

Vietnam has lost over 936 hectares of forest in over 1,700 forest destruction cases this year, said acting head of the Forest Protection and Development Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.


 According to Tung, more than 12,900 forest violations were found so far this year, down 3,500 cases against 2017, including 1,727 forest destruction cases which harmed 936 hectares of forest, down 35% on-year.

Fines were issued for 10,900 forest violations, down 22% on-year.

Despite the lower forest destruction cases, the cases which were prosecuted sharply increased with 363 cases, up 16% against 2017.

Around 16,027 cubic metres of wood were confiscated, contributing VND143 billion (USD62.17 million) to the state budget.

Authorities also seized 4,967 illegal timber transportation incidents, down 25% on-year.

The Forest Protection and Development Department said that 33 provinces proposed reclassifying 122,851 hectares of forest for different usage. Among those, proposals by 22 localities were approved by the prime minister.

The department has tightened control over the origin of timber using modern technologies to ensure quality for export.

Source: Dtinews

Chinese purchases of housing in Vietnam soars

Advertisements

Reports about the real estate market in the last two years show a sharp increase in the number of Chinese buyers in Vietnam.

The latest report by CBRE Vietnam found that 31 percent of customers who bought houses in HCM City in the first nine months of 2018 were from China, while the number of Vietnamese buyers accounted for 24 percent.

The number of Chinese purchasing houses in HCM City has been soaring in the last three years. Only 2 percent of buyers in 2016 were Chinese, while the figure was double in 2017.

By the end of September 2018, Chinese jumped from sixth to the first position in the list of biggest buyers, surpassing Vietnam, South Korea and Hong Kong.

South China Morning Post last year reported that investors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China mainland were the leading property buyers in HCM City, where real estate price had increased by twofold within 10 years.

Tram Cao from Sunwah Group also said on Nha Dau Tu that 30 percent of buyers at Sunwah Pearl project were foreigners and most of them from China and Japan.

Local newspapers quoted experts as commenting that there is a ‘strong wave of Chinese flocking to HCM City to buy properties’, warning that this is an ‘abnormal phenomenon’. They said action needs to taken to prevent the excessive buying, or it will be too late.

Australia wants to impose additional taxes on foreigners who buy houses in the country, while New Zealand is considering prohibiting non-resident foreigners to buy houses there.

However, Can Van Luc, a respected economist, thinks there is no need to worry about the Chinese wave of purchasing Vietnam’s properties. He said Chinese are seeking to purchase houses all over the world, not only in Vietnam. Chinese have houses in the US, Canada and Japan.

Le Hoang Chau, chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HOREA), questioned the proportion of Chinese buyers reported by CBRE.

He said only several thousand apartments are distributed via CBRE each year, a small figure compared with thousands of transactions in the entire market. He said the figures released by CBRE do not truly reflect the city’s real estate market.

However, he thinks there is no need for concern as the State sets limits on the number of foreigners in every project.

The HCMC Construction Department does not have exact figures about the number of foreign buyers, because real estate developers are not required to report the data.

Source: VNN

Vietnam’s economy grows by 7.08% in 2018, highest in 11 years

Advertisements

The Vietnamese economy grew by 7.08% in 2018, the fastest rate in the past 11 years and beating the target of 6.7%, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced.

A breakdown of sectors shows that agriculture grew by 3.76% and contributed 8.7% to GDP growth, while industry and construction expanded by 8.85% and made a 48.6% contribution to the overall growth.

The services sector grew by 7.03% and contributed 42.7%, GSO Director Nguyen Bich Lam said on December 27.

Agriculture’s growth rate was the highest in seven years and came as a result of restructuring efforts in recent years, especially in plant cultivation and aquaculture.

Manufacturing continued to be the main growth driver of the Vietnamese economy, growing by a strong 12.98%, though lower than the figure of 2017 but still higher than during the 2012-2016 period.

Such figures demonstrate that the economy is no longer reliant on the extraction of natural resources when 2018 is the third consecutive year to witness a decline in the mining industry.

Services in 2018 also grew at a faster pace than during the 2012-2016 period with retail, wholesale, financial services, accommodation, catering services and transport all posting decent growth.

According to the GSO, Vietnam’s GDP in the fourth quarter expanded by 7.31% in comparison to the same quarter last year.

The country’s GDP in 2018 was estimated at VND5,535 trillion (US$238 billion), doubling the figure in 2011. The GDP per capita in 2018 rose by US$198 from the previous year to US$2,587.

In 2018 the consumer price index increased by 3.54%, below the target of 4% set by the National Assembly, thanks to the government’s efforts to curb prices.

The GSO said core inflation in 2018, which excludes food, energy and government-regulated goods, rose by 1.48% compared with the previous year.

Headline inflation outpacing core inflation indicates that price increases mainly came from higher food and energy prices and the government’s upward adjustment of medical and educational costs.

In 2019 Vietnam will continue to give priority to macroeconomic stability with inflation targeted at 40%.

Source: NDO

Grab eyes stake in Vinasun, taxi company refuses to play ball

Advertisements

Grab’s surprise offer to buy a $2.78-million stake in top taxi company Vinasun has failed, with the latter asking to end negotiations.
 The negotiations between the two firms began earlier this month for compensation claimed by Vinasun from the Malaysian ride-hailing firm after the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City yet again adjourned hearing of a suit Vinasun had filed last year.

A Vinasun spokesperson told the court following the latest resumption of the trial Wednesday that his firm had declined the offer since Grab had not made an appropriate offer. “We don’t want to continue the negotiations.”

But Grab does not want the lawsuit to continue.

Its spokesperson said: “We have become very tired during the 17 months of this trial for damages we did not cause. We do not want Vinasun to waste its time on this meaningless lawsuit. We consider the proposal to buy Vinasun’s stake an investment activity, and we expect to cooperate with Vinasun to end the case in a good way.”

Vinasun filed the suit against Grab in June last year, accusing it of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) worth of losses it had suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

The trial began last February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab had protested against the value of Vinasun’s losses.

Last October prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion, rejecting Grab’s claim it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.

Grab responded by writing to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to say that identifying it as a taxi firm would be “a step backward from Industry 4.0.”

The latest draft of a transport ministry decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technologies.

This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

Source: Vnexpress

Two tourists die, one injured in Nha Trang boat accident

Advertisements

Two tourists have died and another left injured when a boat overturned in Nha Trang Bay.

Vice head of the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, Dinh Vinh Tien confirmed on Wednesday evening that the accident occurred at 4 pm near Tri Nguyen Island.

“A group of 23 Chinese tourists were touring the bay by a boat when it suddenly overturned,” Tien said. “Some tourist boats operating near the site rushed in to help rescue the passengers and local rescue forces also arrived soon but two drowned.”

According to reports from local authorities, the victims were identified as a 30-year-old female Chinese tourist, Liu Yuling and a 25-year-old female Vietnamese tourist guide, Ngo Thi Huong. Another Chinese tourist, Liu Zhirui, 4, was injured and being treated at Khanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital.

Director of Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Transport, Nguyen Van Dan, said that the boat has capacity of 25 passengers and was operated by Phi Long Company.

Initial investigation showed that the boat had a valid operating permit and all the passengers were wearing life jackets,” Dan said. “It did not collide with something. We’re still investigating the cause of the accident.”

A Chinese tourist who joined the tour told Dan Tri/Dtinews on December 26 that as they were going to visit a fishing village, the boat overturned and sank very quickly.

“Some nearby boats and local authorities arrived very soon to save us,” she said.

Covering some 570 square kilometres, Nha Trang Bay has 19 islands with a diverse marine ecosystem.

Source: Dtinews

Search for absconded tourists in Taiwan underway

Advertisements

Around 150 Vietnamese tourists who were part of an organised tour by an unlicensed tourism company continue to remain missing after they absconded.

On December 21, a group of Vietnamese tourists started the 4-day trip to Taiwan organised by Golden Travel Trade and Tourism Company. On December 24, the tour guide said no one came to the agreed meeting location. A similar situation occurred with three tourist groups who started the trip to Taiwan on December 23 organised by Twin Bright Company who also failed to meet with their guide on December 26.

Taiwanese travel agency, ETholiday, quickly reported the case to Taiwanese Tourism Bureau.

Phan Ngoc Hanh, director of International Holidays Trading Travel Company, said they were only asked by ETholiday to help the tourists to apply for visas and weren’t involved in the organization of the trip. However, HCM City Department of Tourism said they had violated the law when processing tourist visas without arranging any tours or tour guides.

One of the two companies that organised the trips, Twin Bright Company, doesn’t have a licence for organising overseas trips. Golden Travel was only given the licence two months ago.

Ngo Hoai Chung, deputy director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told Tuoi Tre Online that he suspected that this might be a human trafficking ring for illegal workers. This is the first time such a huge number Vietnamese nationals have tried to disappear in another country.

Chung worried that this case may badly affect the image of Vietnam and visa policy toward Vietnamese citizens. Taiwan has already suspended the granting of tourist group visas for those from Vietnam.

The Taiwanese National Immigration Agency announced that they had found three of the missing people on December 26. The tourists are accused of violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, the Immigration Law, and the Employment Services Act.

The agency has set up a task force to investigate and search for the missing people after being informed about the case. They had established contact with one who was previously reported missing, while three others are said to have already left the country.

The tourists arrived in Taiwan under a special programme that allows convenient visa applications for tourist groups from south and southeast asia, if they are organised by supposedly good-quality travel agencies. The Taiwanese authorities said they would revise the programme after this incident.

Source: Dtinews

A new wave of investments in aviation infrastructure in Vietnam

Advertisements

A significant wave of private investments are flying into aviation infrastructure on the back of improvements in long-term development planning for the sector in Vietnam.

With the master plan to operate 28 airports by 2030, including 15 domestic and 13 international ones, in which Noi Bai, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh are key international gates, Vietnam is attracting investors to pour money into aviation infrastructure projects.

According to a report on Vietnam News, the Imex Pan-Pacific Trading Group, chaired by Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, has recently sent a document to Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The proposing to join the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to invest in Passenger Terminal (T3) at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

This is the second time this year Johnathan has expressed such a desire.

Meanwhile, the real estate developer FLC Group of Trinh Van Quyet is also interested in investing in the aviation sector. The group has received approval in principle from authorities in the central province of Quang Binh to invest in and upgrade Dong Hoi to an international airport.

The provincial People’s Committee said the project would be implemented under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

Quang Binh authorities and FLC Group have jointly asked the transport ministry to approve the project, which is expected to raise capacity from 500,000 passengers to ten million by 2020.

One of the typical examples of increased private investment is Van Don International Airport. The airport is the first private one in Vietnam invested in the form of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer), with investment capital of VND7.5 trillion (USD321.4 million).

The airport is directly invested and operated by Sun Group.

The aviation services at the airport are still managed by the State in accordance with law.

Van Don is approved by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) as an airport of grade 4E (according to ICAO standard code). It is modern with a 3.6km long, 45m wide landing strip and is capable of accommodating large cargo and passenger aircraft. Van Don Airport is scheduled to begin operation this Sunday.

In their latest report, experts from Vietcombank Securities (VCBS) said they witnessed a trend of privatisation in infrastructure investment.

“This trend on one hand reduces pressure on the state budget and improves service quality, on the other hand, it creates a less positive sign for businesses with a large market share in the industry when the market is shared,” said experts fromVCBS.

VCBS experts also assessed that aviation infrastructure had not caught up with the industry’s development. The total passenger transport market of Vietnamese airlines is predicted to increase by an average of 16 per cent per year by 2020 and 8 per cent in the period 2020-30.

The passenger transport volume in 2020 and 2030 is 64 million and 131 million, respectively, according to the transport ministry’s forecast.

Meanwhile, this year witnessed the five biggest airports of Vietnam, Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc, all serving passengers exceeding their designed capacity. In particular, Tan Son Nhat Airport exceeded the figure by 40.7 per cent.

“Despite improvements in technology, the process partially meets the increasing number of passengers each year, the expansion and upgrades to these airports is still an indispensable requirement,” VCBS stressed.

According to ACV, in the period 2018-25, there will be 15 key airports that will receive upgrades. Construction works will also be undertaken on Long Thanh International Airport in phase 1 and new passenger terminals for Dien Bien, Na San and Lao Cai airports.

It is expected that the total investment of terminal and apron projects (excluding Long Thành Airport) amounted to more than VNÐ56.7 trillion with capital accumulated from ACV’s business activities. In addition, it needs more than VNÐ20.7 trillion to invest in the airfield projects, with capital accumulated from this area.

In the above projects, investment priority will belong to Tan Son Nhat Airport.

According to Deputy General Director of Vietstar Airlines Luong Hoai Nam, quoted by online newspaper vnexpress.vn at the Vietnam Travel and Tourism Summit held early this month in Hanoi, since 1975, Vietnam has only really built completely and put into operation Phú Quoc Airport and most recently Van Don Airport, the rest are mostly upgraded from military airports with limited land funds, making the ability to expand very slight.

Vietnam has 21 airports, while Thailand has 38. The capacity of all Vietnam’s airports is 75 million passengers per year, which is just one-third of Thailand’s. The combined capacity of all airports in Vietnam is that of Changi Airport of Singapore or Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia.

Ladies Make a Bull Case for Vietnam

Advertisements

By Shuli Ren, sren38@bloomberg.net

Communist China’s founding father Mao Zedong liked to say “Women hold up half of the sky”. These days, that’s certainly the case in Vietnam.

A high female workforce-participation rate, a vestige of the war, helps the country exploit its demographic dividend. That’s good news for foreign money.

According to Bloomberg, throughout the country, many well-known businesses are run by women. There’s Mai Kieu Lien, who captured the rising middle class’s thirst for protein-rich milk drinks and built Vietnam Dairy Products JSC into a $10 billion empire. Then there’s Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, founder of budget airline VietJet Aviation JSC, who became Vietnam’s first female billionaire – and not just because of its bikini-clad flight attendants. Vietnam’s hourglass Hanoi-to-Ho Chi Minh City geography makes flying an efficient option in a nation that’s yet to build a high-speed rail line between the two megacities.

Riding the consumer-spending wave lifted Cao Thi Ngoc Dung’s Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC. And if you’re seeking an industrialist, look no further than Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp.

At 73 percent, Vietnam’s female labor-participation rate is among the highest in the world. The country’s women are also avid business pioneers: For every male early-stage entrepreneur, there are 1.4 female ones, estimates Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Women contribute 40 percent of the nation’s wealth, nearly on par with China.

There’s a historical reason for this. With so many men killed during the Vietnam War, women had to fill the void. In 1976, there were only 95 men for every 100 women between the ages of 25 and 64. By 1986, when Doi Moi reform launched, women still comprised the majority of society and got a nice ride out of the move toward capitalism. You might say the spirit behind Rosie the Riveter, the symbol of American women who worked in U.S. factories during World War II, is very much alive in Vietnam.

Even as Vietnam recovers from a bruising war and its gender ratio converges back to parity, women aren’t dropping out of the labor force. The government has working moms’ backs: Maternity leave mandated by law is a generous six months.

This is all music to foreign investors’ ears.

Consider why global investors prefer one developing country over another. With fresh memories of the billions of dollars in wealth created in China, many are looking for China 2.0. They’re seeking countries with the right demographics – young, eager workers building manufacturing hubs, and in turn, using fatter pay checks to buy their first cars or designer handbags.

Looking at the overall population, Vietnam is only the world’s 15th largest country, smaller than Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. But most of its rivals come with demographic dividend discounts. The women labor-force participation rate in Pakistan and Bangladesh, for instance, is a paltry 25 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Taking that into account, the real working age population (between 15 and 64) would be only 37 percent and 45 percent, instead of the official 61 percent and 67 percent.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. When a country starts replicating China’s manufacturing model, it often has to export low value-added products first, such as apparel and shoes. While Vietnam is quickly moving up the ladder into smartphones and semiconductors, the biggest chunk of its exports to the U.S. last year remained textiles. Who stitches clothes and sews shoes? Women.

The strong Rosie culture is one reason why Vietnam is the only emerging Asian nation outside of China that received net foreign portfolio inflows in this bear-market year. Many investors are betting Vietnam will be the big winner as the trade war between the U.S. and China drags on. And even before the sparring started, Chinese companies, such as textile manufacturing giant Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd., had already opened factories there.

To be sure, it’s not all blue skies. According to McKinsey Global Institute, the perceived wage gap for similar work is much higher in Vietnam than in neighboring Malaysia or the Philippines. Unfortunately, just like China and India, boys are seen as the better sex – the sex ratio at birth is a stubbornly high 1.10 as women abort female babies. As the middle class becomes wealthier, women may be discouraged by gender income inequality and prefer to stay at home.

For the time being, though, Vietnam is still the hot destination for foreign investments, and it has its strong, capable women to thank.

Eight Vietnamese illegal immigrants missing in UK

Advertisements

Eight out of the 13 Vietnamese teenagers who disappeared from a county council’s care more than a year ago are still at large, police have confirmed.

The group absconded after they were discovered in the back of a lorry in Corby, Northamptonshire, in June 2017, having entered the UK illegally. BBC reports.

A year after police issued an appeal, only five of the young people, aged between 15 and 18, have been located.

Northamptonshire County Council said it was “very concerned” for their welfare.

A spokesman for the authority said: “There are particular concerns about these young people due to the circumstances of their arrival, given the fact that we had very little time to assess their needs when they came into our care before they went missing.”

According to BBC, The three girls and 10 males were looked after by Northamptonshire social services after they were found in the lorry on a Corby industrial estate on 17 June, 2017.

They then disappeared “one after the other” from accommodation in Northampton and Corby where they had been safeguarded, police added.

Eight boys remain at large after leaving properties separately in June, July and September 2017.

Police have not commented on whether the youngsters were trafficked or entered the UK of their own free will.

The eight teenagers left Northamptonshire County Council care in June, July and September 2017 | @ NORTHAMPTONSHIRE POLICE

The teenagers, who are all missing from addresses in Northampton, are:

Quang Dang Le, 16, 5ft 5in (1.65m)
Ha Van Le, 18, 5ft 7in (1.70m)
Ha Van Nguyen, 17, 5ft 6in (1.66m)
Trong Nguyen, 17, 5ft 4in (1.62m)
Binh Van Hoang, 18
Khoa Anh Yu, 15
Lihn Van Nguyen, 16
Quang Trong Nguyen, 17, 5ft 1in (1.55m)

Male passenger caught with weapons at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport

Advertisements

A male passenger was caught carrying illegal weapons at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City on Tuesday.

Airport customs officers found three handguns, two daggers and a pair of handcuffs hidden in the luggage of the passenger, who hails from the southern province of Long An.

The 48-year-old man arrived on flight NH833 from the US to Vietnam via Tokyo (Japan).

The Tân Sơn Nhất customs office is coordinating with relevant agencies to investigate the case.

Source: Dtinews

Vietnam football coach named Asian of the Year

Advertisements

Vietnam’s South Korean football coach Park Hang-seo has been voted one of the four Asians of the Year by the Asia Journalist Association.
 He was honored in the society and culture category for his contribution to Vietnamese football this year.

Egyptian thoracic surgeon Magdi Habib Yacoub was also chosen in the society and culture category, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the politics category and LG Group’s late former chairman Koo Bon-moo in the economy category.

“Those people were selected after final deliberation by the AJA leaders and each country’s representatives’ evaluation,” Ashraf Dali, president of the AJA, said. “I send my greatest respect to those selected.”

Park was named among South Korea’s 12 “Persons of the Year” by the Journalists Association of Korea earlier this month for his contributions to Vietnamese football and for raising South Korea’s profile in Vietnam.

Park, 59, became the head coach of the Vietnamese senior and U23 football teams in November last year and just two months later helped the latter to the runner-up spot at the AFC U23 Championship for the first time ever.

In August this year he led Vietnam to the semi-finals of the Asian Games for the first time in history. The team finished fourth.

His latest success came earlier this month when the national team won the AFF Championship by beating Malaysia 3-2 in the two-legged finals. It was the country’s second AFF victory after the first in 2008.

Park is preparing the team for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup next month, where they face Iran, Iraq and Yemen in the group stage.

Source: Vnexpress

Three students killed in China university lab explosion

Advertisements

Three students were killed in a laboratory blast at a Beijing university on Wednesday, the city’s fire department said.

“There was an explosion at the experimental site during a scientific research experiment” on wastewater treatment in the Environmental Engineering Laboratory, the Beijing Fire Department said.

“The accident caused three students to die,” it added in a statement posted on its social media account.

The incident happened just after 9:30am (0130 GMT) at the Beijing Jiaotong University in the western part of the city.

Some 30 fire engines were sent to the scene, and took nearly an hour to get the blaze under control. Local authorities are launching an investigation into the cause of the incident.

Source: VNA

$376mn invested overseas this year

Advertisements

Vietnamese enterprises began 149 new projects overseas in 2018 with capital of $376.1 million.

Vietnamese companies kicked off 149 new projects overseas in 2018, with total capital of $376.1 million, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) released on December 24.

Thirty-five existing projects also added capital, totaling $56 million. New and additional capital therefore stood at $432.1 million for the year.

Banking and finance ranked first, with total new and additional capital of 105.7 million, accounting for 24.4 per cent of the total. The wholesale and retail industry ranked second, with $82.9 million, or 19.1 per cent, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, with $52.3 million, or 12.1 per cent, and processing and manufacturing with $50.9 million, or 14.2 per cent.

Thirty-eight countries and territories received investment from Vietnam, led by Laos with $81.5 million, or 18.8 per cent of total. Australia ranked second, with $55.5 million, or 12.8 per cent, followed by the US with $52.9 million, or 12.2 per cent, then Cambodia, Slovakia, and Cuba.

Overseas investment over the last 30 years has helped Vietnam strengthen international economic cooperation. Vietnamese companies have also had the opportunity to expand their products in foreign markets in the context of a saturated local market and avoid trade protection barriers in recipient countries.

Outward investment will continue to increase strongly in the future, according to local analysts, and relevant agencies need to strengthen administrative procedure reform for such investment, increasing the autonomy and self-responsibility of investors. Agencies also need to enhance investment promotion, strengthen support and consultation, and provide useful information on FDI activities.

Close cooperation with the governments of host countries also needs to be improved upon, in regard to information exchange, policy and mechanism building, and the effective exploitation of resources to create a transparent and stable investment and business environment. Periodic and non-periodic contacts between the government and Vietnamese entrepreneurs and businesses and Vietnamese embassies, consulates, and overseas missions need to be processed more quickly, while any pressing issues must be promptly and effectively dealt with.

Source: Vneconomictimes

Miss Universe Vietnam destroys the competition and poverty after donating her winnings

Advertisements

BY DANIEL KISH, The Epoch Times

Miss Vietnam H’hen Niê, who is a Miss Universe top 5 finisher, decided to donate all of her prize money valued at 1,000,000,000 VND (approx. US $43,000) for social activities

“The perfect woman doesn’t exist” is a reply that those with, by comparison, exceptionally high standards are intimately familiar with, but what’s wrong with wanting a partner who’s as generous, caring, and charitable as they are beautiful? Good things come to those that wait because it looks like the perfect woman has finally arrived.

H’hen Niê, a Miss Universe Top 5 finisher, caught the attention of bachelors across the globe as graced headlines with her wholesome backstory, distinct look, and winning mindset while climbing over racist remarks hurled at her by other competitors. She’s an impressive lady, but that only scratches the surface.

According to the official Miss Universe Instagram page, H’hen Niê “decided to donate 100% of her prize for social activities. She wants to complete her promise with her village to provide scholarships for poor students and complete her social project, Room to Read (build more libraries in rural areas, support schoolgirls around the world). Such an amazing act of her.”

Anyone familiar with H’hen knows she isn’t a stranger to making hefty donations. Earlier this year, she used money won from Vietnam’s national pageant to open a library in the countryside in the hopes it’ll help the local children learn how to read. The Epoch Times reports

Judging by a post made last week, she doesn’t have any intention of slowing down her mission to give back to those in need.

I highly appreciate the sponsors accompanying me in the community projects. Especially, when I came back from Miss Universe 2018, I could feel deeply your love. With the prize award valued at 1,000,000,000 VND [approx. $43,000] from: Nam A Bank, VIFON, Unicorp, Doi Dep…. It is the highest amount of money I got so far. However, my mom said that in case I didn’t have to earn it hard, I should give this money to others.

Her mother must be so proud of her daughter’s amazing attitude and gracefulness when faced with controversy. Best of luck to H’hen in her next competition where she will, undoubtedly, make her mother, and country, proud.

Exit mobile version