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Big Internet Companies and Their Real Time Stats

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The world is a rapidly changing place, with new kinds of way to entertain ourselves arriving all the time. One of the single biggest transformations in modern times, though, is that of the internet. The web has been a breeding ground for massive companies that have the power, influence and ability to grow far beyond anyone else.

You see, the world is a changing place and in a 24-hour timeframe the internet can produce billions of hugely results.
From social media sites getting billions of likes – in a single day, Facebook sees over 6-billion ‘likes’ for posts – to Twitter producing half a billion tweets, it’s easy to see why the internet is such a big part of our lives.

With so many people using the internet – often using multiple platform at once, it’s so easy to get lost in the maelstrom of information. If you want to know who some of the genuine market leaders are, though, we will take a look below. Do you want to know how much big name companies such as Facebook and Twitter are pulling in on a daily basis?

Then let’s take a look at their growth.

Facebook

As one of the biggest companies in the world, Facebook produces over six billion likes in a single day. That same day will produce over 430,000 new profiles, too, meaning that in a single week we could see the best part of 3m new users on Facebook – so that six billion likes per day number is likely to keep on growing.

With over 8 billion views of videos and the like in a single day, too, it’s easy to see why so many people can spend their whole day on Facebook chatting, commenting and having fun their own way.

YouTube

Another super popular online company is that of YouTube, the massive media platform. YouTube is massive, and brings in a whopping 5 billion views of its videos every single day. That, though, is only likely to continue growing thanks to 432,000 hours of video uploaded in a single day.

With more variety to pick from and even greater opportunity, it’s easy to see why this is only going to keep growing and changing. The world of YouTube is all about making sure we can have fun, and there is now more content on YouTube than you could watch!

AirBNB
Once upon a time, if you wanted to go for a trip, you would need to work out a place to stay that would cost you (often) more than you wanted to pay. If you want to avoid such an issue, then you should use AirBNB: with over 1 million bookings in a single day, they are the kind of company that makes it easy for you to find a friendly place or person to stay with a fraction of the cost of a hotel.

If you are on the go and want to really enjoy yourself, AirBNB makes that so much simpler.

Uber

Move aside taxi ranks – Uber is here to stay. With over 10m Uber riders captured every single day, there is not a tax firm in the world that can match their reach. This allows Uber to be in total control of the market, and is one of the main reasons why it has become one of the most powerful tools on the road.

It has changed and transformed the industry for those who take part within driving for a living, seeing as many as 1,600 new drivers sign up to be part of Uber every day.

Google

Of course, it would be wrong to make a list of the most powerful online platforms without mentioning Google. Google has quickly established itself as a powerhouse in the online world, and proudly holds its position of dominance across the search engine industry with an average of 2 billion searches in any given day.

For comparison, other popular search engines like Bing produce around 873m searches in a single day. this shows you just how big Google is – it’s more than double the size of its next best competitor on the market, and probably outstrips all of its competition combined.

WhatsApp

If you want to send someone a message today, you will probably find that they want you to do so through the use of WhatsApp. The powerful chat app produces over 60 billion messages through its server in a single day, showing you the immense scale and reach that they hold over the rest of the chat industry.

Indeed, over 4 billion photos are shared and over 4 billion voice messages are recorded, too. With the increased safety and security that WhatsApp offers, it’s so easy to see why so many use it as their chat app of choice.

PayPal

Of course, payment processing giant PayPal is easily among the biggest companies online. In a single day, PayPal can see as much as $1bn in total payments come through their listing. This shows you just how many people are buying, selling and paying things through PayPal.

They produce around $35m in revenue in a single day, too, another testament to their stratospheric growth over the years into one of the most reliable systems for safe, secure and highly protected online payments that the web is ever likely to see: it’s hard to see anyone ousting PayPal now.

Amazon

Lastly but not certainly not least, we have Amazon. Producing around $487m in revenue in one single day, the online giant is one of the most powerful companies on the planet. As you might expect with a company that brings in so much, they were among the first companies to become rated as being worth as much as $1bn.

For that reason, it’s easy to see why Amazon is among the global leaders in eCommerce and retail. With around 13.6m purchases in a single year, it’s easy to see why Amazon is among the most popular sites in the world.

So, what kind of web companies do you like to use – do you make us of any of the above? We’d be surprised if you don’t use at least one.

Best Veneers have created a live ticker called “Internet in Real Time” which shows just how big these internet companies are.

S. Korea to relax visa policy for Vietnamese applicants from major cities

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Vietnamese nationals who were born or are a registered permanent resident in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang will be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas to South Korea, starting December 3.

The news was announced on Monday by Jeong Woo-jin, Deputy Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Ho Chi Minh City, during a visit to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s headquarters in Phu Nhuan District.

Vietnamese applicants who have proof, either through a birth certificate or residence book, that they are from one of the three major cities will enjoy the extended visa benefits, starting next week.

Visa holders will be allowed multiple entries into South Korea during the five-year validity period of their visa, with each stay lasting no longer than 30 days, Jeong said.

The new visa policy is an initiative from South Korea’s foreign ministry to make traveling to South Korea easier for residents in Vietnam’s most developed cities.

South Korea has plans to expand this visa policy to other Vietnamese cities and provinces in the future based on the results of its implementation in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, the diplomat said.

In addition, all applicants from ASEAN member states, including Vietnam, who are professors, medical doctors, lawyers, or have earned a four-year undergraduate degree in South Korea or a graduate degree in a foreign country, will be eligible for ten-year multiple-entry visas to South Korea from December 3.

ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a socio-economic and political bloc consisting of ten countries in Southeast Asia, which are Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The new policy is the result of efforts from the Embassy and Consulate General of South Korea in Vietnam to improve the exchange of people between the two countries, the deputy consul general said.

In the first ten months of 2018, Vietnam welcomed over 2.6 million visitors from South Korea, more than the number of Korean visitors to India and any other ASEAN countries, he said.

Over 441,000 Vietnamese nationals visited South Korea in the same period.

Vietnam currently exempts visas for all South Korean nationals who intend to stay in the country for 15 days or less.

By Tuoitrenews

F88 raises capital from Granite Oak

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Pawn shop chain strikes deal with Irish investment firm.

The Mekong Capital-backed pawnshop chain F88 has raised growth capital from Granite Oak, a European investment firm, according an announcement on November 27.

“The new growth capital will be invested in our expansion in Ho Chi Minh City and to increase the loan book at 45 of our stores,” said F88’s CEO Mr. Phung Anh Tuan. “We also launched our first three stores in Ho Chi Minh City this week and are on track to have 300 stores nationwide by 2021.”

“F88 leads the consumer secured lending market in Vietnam, providing fast, smart, safe and friendly financial solutions to individual customers,” said Mr. Simon Wagner, CEO of Granite Oak. “F88 has good corporate governance, a strong management team, a strong company culture, and a robust IT platform. Vietnam’s consumer lending market is newly-developed and highly-fragmented and has large room for growth. We decided to invest in F88 to scale up the company and capture this growth.”

F88 has also officially signed partnership deals with Payoo and Momo to provide convenient financial services such as utility bill payments, e-wallet top ups, and withdrawals at all F88 stores.

F88 was established in 2013, pioneering the professionalization of pawn services in Vietnam, bringing fast, reliable and professional financial solutions to consumers, and disrupting the traditional pawn market. It received investment from Mekong Capital in 2016.

It currently provides loans based on collateral such as motor cars, motorbikes, mobile phones, and laptops. The company is also operating 45 stores in Hanoi and Vietnam’s north. Its competitive advantage lies in its professional management team with a strong commitment to bringing customers reliable, professional, friendly and fast financial services and changing social perceptions about the traditional pawn shop market.

Granite Oak is a Dublin-based investment firm operating across Europe with a wide variety of investments and actively providing senior debt funding for investment transactions. Over the years it has successfully invested in hotels, leisure facilities, commercial projects, and finance. The Granite Oak team has extensive expertise and market knowledge gained from working across multiple roles within the lending industry. Their debt advisory arm also specializes in raising money, with a strong network of financial institutions and debt funds.

Hai Van report on Vneconomictimes

November 27: VN-Index up 0.23%

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HNX & HNX30 the only losers.

On HSX on November 27 the VN-Index finished at 923.12 points, up 2.09 points (0.23 per cent), and the VN30-Index 895.30 points, up 0.25 points (0.03 per cent).

On HNX, the HNX-Index closed at 103.19 points, down 0.79 points (0.76 per cent), and the HNX30-Index 185.36 points, down 1.34 points (0.72 per cent), while the UPCoM-Index reached 52.14 points, up 0.03 points (0.06 per cent).

Liquidity on HSX was VND2.3 trillion ($98.7 billion) and on HNX was VND427 billion ($18.3 million).

Food and beverage stocks to gain ground included VNM, SAB, BHN and VCF, by 2.8, 1.6, 1.2 and 0.3 per cent, as KDC lost 1.2 per cent and TLG 0.7 per cent. BBC closed at its opening price.

In banking, VCI gained 1.4 per cent, EIB 0.7 per cent, SSI 0.5 per cent, and TCB 0.2 per cent, as VPB lost 2.8 per cent, TPB 2.1 per cent, VCB 1.1 per cent, CTG 0.9 per cent, MBB 0.7 per cent, BID 0.6 per cent, BVH 0.3 per cent, and MSN 0.1 per cent.

In energy, PVD rose 1 per cent as PVT lost 2.4 per cent, GAS 0.2 per cent, and PGD 0.1 per cent. PLX, NT2 and PPC closed at their opening price.

The Top 5 shares bought by foreign investors were VNM, HPG, SSI, GMD and STB.

GAS was the largest net sold share on HSX, followed by NVL, CTD, VJC, PVD and DHG.

VGC was the largest net sold share on HNX, followed by VCG, MST, CEO and TCS.

On UPCoM, foreign investors bought 426,230 shares worth VND50.8 billion ($2.2 million).

They net brought on HSX by VND88.65 billion ($3.8 million) and on HNX by VND1.4 billion ($60,100).

Huyen Thanh report on Vneconomictimes

The perils of using your phone while driving

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Ford releases report on the dangers of being distracted when behind the wheel.

“Forty-three per cent of parents in Asia-Pacific admit to having had an accident or a near miss due to being distracted when driving,” according to a report released by Ford Vietnam on November 26, while “more than half of drivers in the region admit to using their phone while driving, even though they are aware of the dangers.”

The report revealed that more than half of all drivers in Asia-Pacific say they use a mobile phone even when “precious cargo” such as a child is onboard. Of those surveyed, mobile phone use topped the list of in-car distractions.

In an effort to raise public awareness over the use of electronics while driving, Ford delivers the message: “Texting while driving is like driving with your eyes closed!”

Every text or selfie that captures your attention limits your awareness while driving, putting you and those around you in unnecessary danger. Even “just one text” can cause an accident.

“You’ve heard it before, but the reality is that every time you pick up your phone while driving, you see less,” the report noted. “You stop looking around at your environment – in front, behind, to the right and to the left. Your field of vision shrinks. You don’t even see what’s in front of you. It’s unfortunate that having a phone while driving can lead to unexpected consequences, as the simultaneous operation of two separate tasks causes the brain to become overloaded.”

The brain can switch between tasks but performs each more slowly. Many people think they can do two things at once – like talking or texting on the phone while driving – but it’s just not possible to concentrate fully on both. Drivers stop monitoring their environment. And new drivers in particular aren’t in the habit of scanning the road for hazards, and with a phone in hand it’s even more dangerous.

Mr. Matt Gerlach is one of Ford’s most advanced driving instructors and has spent the past ten years training engineers to become expert drivers at Ford’s testing center in Australia.

“In my experience of training hundreds of drivers, I’d say that even normal, everyday driving uses around 85 per cent of your mental load,” he said. “When you’re using 85 per cent of your brainpower to drive, your mind isn’t capable of doing much else, regardless of whether you’re a professional or new to the road.”

Distractions while driving include visual, like looking at a phone, causing drivers to take their eyes off the road, auditory, such as loud music, causing drivers to miss important sounds, manual, such as eating, causing drivers to take one or more hands off the wheel, and cognitive, like tiredness, causing diminished concentration.

Jessica Nguyen Vneconomictimes

Two Vietnamese arrested in Malaysia for bomb threat

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Two Vietnamese women have been detained at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport after claiming that they were carrying bombs in their luggage.

The case occurred while the two were completing procedures for Vietnam Airlines flight VN680 from Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi last Thursday.

When asked by airport staff about the luggage, one of the women said that there were bombs in it. She even repeated the comment for the second time.

Airport authorities immediately isolated the passengers for questioning. No bombs were discovered.

The two women have been still detained and could face trial in Malaysia.

A representative from Vietnam Airlines said that the carrier has contacted the Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia to co-operate on the case.

Source: Dtinews

South Korean banks race into Vietnam

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KEB Hana tipped to buy BIDV stake, while Shinhan surpasses HSBC as top foreign bank

South Korean banks are scrambling to expand their presence in Vietnam, betting on the emerging country’s growth potential and its intent to loosen foreign ownership limits.

According to a report on Nikkei, KEB Hana Bank, South Korea’s second-largest lender by assets, is in talks with Vietnam’s central bank to buy a 17.65% stake in Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, a source said. The deal price is expected to reach 30 billion won ($26.6 million).

State Bank of Vietnam, the central bank, owns a 95.28% share of BIDV, the second-largest state-owned bank by assets in the communist-led country.

The central bank “proposed to sell” the stake to KEB Hana, said the source, who requested anonymity.

In January, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue invited KEB Hana to participate in the process of reforming the country’s banking sector.

“The Vietnamese government takes 2018 as a year of banking reform escalation, creating chances for financial institutions such as KEB Hana to invest in the finance sector,” Hue said to Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai at a meeting in Hanoi.

KEB Hana, part of Hana Financial Group, declined to comment.

The discussions come as South Korean banks are already making significant inroads. Shinhan Bank, a commercial banking unit under Seoul-based Shinhan Financial Group, recently surpassed HSBC to become the No. 1 foreign bank in Vietnam with $3.3 billion in assets and 900,000 customers.

Shinhan’s acquisition of ANZ Vietnam’s retail unit last year helped to boost the South Korean bank’s position, bringing in the Australian bank’s 95,000 credit card customers.

Analysts say Vietnam’s growth potential and deregulation plans make it an attractive market for South Korean banks.

“Vietnam is the most desirable market among emerging countries,” said Seo Young-soo, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “It has more advanced urbanization, and its market is more concentrated compared to Indonesia. Its government-driven economic development model is also familiar [to] South Korean banks, which have grown under the same strategy.”

Total assets held by South Korean banks in Vietnam increased 18.9% in 2017 to $5.7 billion, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, a regulator based in Seoul. The ratio is higher than that of foreign lenders overall, whose combined total assets increased 12.9% to $42 billion during the same period.

Shinhan Vietnam, a subsidiary of Shinhan Bank, accounts for 59.7% of those assets, followed by Woori Bank affiliate Woori Vietnam with 15.5%. Industrial Bank of Korea, KEB Hana and KB Kookmin Bank share the rest.

South Korean lenders’ combined net profit in Vietnam also jumped 28.9% last year to $61 million. Its profits from interests soared 25.6% in 2017 to $135 million.

However, in terms of profitability, South Korean lenders lagged their European counterparts. Shinhan Vietnam’s return on assets was 1.7% in 2017, down from 1.9% a year ago. HSBC’s return was 2.0% in 2017, the same as the previous year, according to FSS data.

More opportunities are expected for financial groups from South Korea and elsewhere as Hanoi plans to loosen regulations on foreign ownership in local banks. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said that Vietnam is working to ease the foreign ownership limit to attract overseas capital. Vietnam currently caps foreign ownership in banking at 30%, with any single foreign investor restricted to 20%.

The government wants to sell Ocean Bank, one of three lenders nationalized in 2015 due to financial problems. Hanoi also plans to sell a 35% share in Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development through an initial public offering by 2020.

South Korea is not alone in seizing these opportunities. Japan’s Mizuho Bank owns a 15% stake in Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, or Vietcombank. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. holds a 15% share in Vietnam Export Import Bank. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a 20% stake in Vietnam International Bank.

Analysts say that South Korean banks still have better edge in Vietnam compared to rivals thanks to technology-based services.

“South Korean banks have the upper hand in retail services. They offer convenient mobile banking services based on high technology,” said Seo at Kiwoom.

South Korean banks race into Vietnam, drawn by deregulation @ Nikkei

This article was first posted on Nikkei

Foreign investors pour nearly US$ 31 billion into Vietnam

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As of late November 2018, Viet Nam absorbed US 30.8 billion of FDI, equivalent to 93.2% against the same period last year.

As of November 20, 2,714 projects got business licenses worth US$ 15.78 billion, accounting for 79.7% against the same period last year.

Meanwhile, 954 projects got additional capital with a total registered capital of US$ 7.4 billion, accounting for 92.6% against the same period last year.

As of November 20, the amount of FDI disbursement hit US$ 16.5 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 3.1%.

Overseas shipment of the FDI sector increased by 13.4% against 2017 and made up 71.7% of total export turnover. The sector imported US$ 130.1 billion, up 12.3% against the same period in 2017 and 60% of export turnover.

Generally, the FDI sector gained a trade surplus of US$ 30.1 billion including crude oil, or US$ 28.1 billion excluding crude oil.

Foreign investors engaged in 18 sectors of which the processing and manufacturing sector attracted the most attention by absorbing US$ 14.2 billion (accounting for 46.2% of total registered capital).

Real estate ranked second with a total investment of US$ 6.5 billion, or 21.3% of total registered capital; followed by whole and retail sales with US$ 3.1 billion or 10%.

Out of 108 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, Japan was the biggest FDI provider with US$ 8 billion (accounting for 25.9% of total registered capital); followed by the Republic of Korea with US$ 6.8 billion (22.3%); Singapore with US$ 4.1 billion (13.4%).

Foreign players invested in 59 cities and provinces of which Ha Noi was the most attractive destination with US$ 6.3 billion (20.4%); HCMC ranked second with US$ 5.6 billion (18.1%); and Hai Phong with US$ 2.49 billion (8%).

Source: Dtinews

VNPT to auction Viteco shares

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Telecom operator Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) will auction 765,000 shares of Viteco Vietnam Telecommunications Technology Joint Stock Company on December 14.

The auction will be held at the Saigon-Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company. The number of shares put up for sale is equivalent to 49 per cent of Viteco’s charter capital. The starting price will be VND40,789, four times higher than the par value.

The total accumulated loss for the company by the end of 2017 was VND10.3 billion (US$440,300). The owner’s equity was estimated at VND8 billion.

Viteco owns two valuable plots of land in Hanoi. The first covers 1,046 metres at Lane 61, Lac Trung Street. The latter spans 516.4 metres at Lane 250, Khuong Trung Street.

Source: VNA

Vietnam visa hassles could deter long holidayers

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Vietnam could lose long holiday tourists to Indonesia and Thailand because of its complicated visa procedures, industry insiders say.

Frenchman Thomas and Thai girlfriend Araya had big plans for Vietnam.

Their first visit to the country in August had impressed them so much that they wanted to return for a much longer trip.

Related: How to apply for Vietnam visa?

The first trip happened after they’d traveled from France to Bangkok to visit Araya’s parents. As they socialized with Vietnamese people and learnt about different places in the country, they regretted not visiting Vietnam sooner.

After the trip, Thomas researched more information about other travel destinations in Vietnam. Fond of motorbikes, he planned to enjoy exploring the northern mountains on one, apart from a leisure trip to Nha Trang, a resort town in central Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City for Araya.

The plan was to spend the entire month of November exploring Vietnam, before Thomas starting a new job in December back home.

All their plans came to naught, however, as Thomas ran into visa hassles. He found that he no longer had the visa exemption that had been applied to his first visit.

The policy is that citizens of those countries that are exempted from visas can only use the exemption 30 days after the date of their last departure from Vietnam

Furthermore, French citizens only enjoy a 15-day visa exemption.

Therefore, if Thomas and Araya wanted to spend November in Vietnam, he would have to go through the visa process and pay the visa fees. Thomas was none too pleased by a barrier he rarely encountered when traveling through Asia.

“I planned to go to Vietnam for a whole month, but within this time, I also have to fly to Pattaya (Thailand) for a wedding. If this is the case, I won’t have a visa exemption and have to go through all the procedures. I find this costly and time-consuming and am afraid that it will create issues for my trip.”

Eventually, Thomas and Araya decided on a vacation in Bali, Indonesia, a place they’d already visited.

“Bali has many fun spots, convenient and exotic resort facilities, there are many beautiful routes to drive on. Not only that, the entry procedures are easy so if we feel like it we can just pack and be on our way,” said Thomas. Indonesia grants a 30 day visa exemption for citizens from the European Union.

Open visa policy impacts

Vu The Binh, vice chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association, said visa procedures were one of the most important factors for tourism industry as it demonstrates the country’s openness. Having an open visa policy can by itself lead to a significant increase in the number of visitors, he said.

In 2017, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was nearly 13 million. This was a result of favorable policies, including visa exemptions for 24 countries, including Russia, Japan, South Korea and five Western European countries; and acceptance of electronic visas from citizens of 46 countries.

However, the number of visitors coming to Vietnam is still quite low compared to other countries in the region. Each year, Thailand has 35 about million international visitors, while Malaysia gets 25 million.

The benefits of a more relaxed visa policy have been obvious since Vietnam began to offer unilateral visa exemptions more than 10 years ago. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of South Korean visitors rose 10 times, from 230,000 in 2004 to 2.4 million in 2017. In the same period, Japanese visitors increased from 267,000 to 700,000.

A similar upward trend has also been observed in visitors from countries like Britain, Germany and Spain. This marks an increase of 15 percent after the visa exemption took effect.

Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, deputy general director of Vietravel, said that the visa exemption helps international visitors save time and money, and enhances the attractiveness of Vietnam’s tourism. Studies have shown that countries can attract more than 20 million visitors each year with a visa-free policy, he said.

“If we have oriented tourism to be a leading economic sector and also want to bring in a large amount of foreign currency to Vietnam, shouldn’t we open doors to visitors?” The number of international visitors and their spending on services will be much higher than the visa fees paid to us,” Hoang added.

Policy hiccups

Thomas would be able to travel in Vietnam without paperwork and visa fees as long as he only spends 15 days in Vietnam. But many citizens of other European countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal still have to apply for visas at Vietnam’s representative offices abroad, or register online for an on-arrival visa.

Vietnam offers visa exemption to 24 countries, while it is 61 for Thailand, 158 for Singapore, 155 for Malaysia and 169 for Indonesia. The competitiveness index of Vietnam in the category of visa requirements is very low: 116 out of 136 surveyed countries.

Lack of incentives

In addition, visitors who are typically big spenders from Europe or America do not enjoy significant incentives.

With several Southeast Asian countries sharing similar characteristics including long coastlines, mountain scenery and affordable prices, foreign visitors can easily switch to other destinations that offer more convenient entry and exit procedures.

Meanwhile, South Korea, Japan, China and other Southeast Asian nations who have long enjoyed preferential visa treatment from Vietnam typically make short trips and are not big spenders.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), feels Vietnam should focus on attracting foreign visitors from Europe, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand who tend to travel longer and spend more on holidays.

The TAB has been proposing visa policy changes for many years so that the tourism industry can achieve its goal of welcoming 18.5 million visitors and earning $35 billion by 2020.

It has asked that the visa exemption period be increased to 30 days and that the rule about having to wait for 30 days after the last date of departure from Vietnam to enjoy the exemption again be removed.

TAB has also proposed that more countries are added to the visa exemption list, like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium, and that citizens of more nationalities are allowed to apply for electronic visas.

It hopes by 2020, Vietnam will exempt visas for 60 countries and allow electronic visa applications for 80 countries.

By An Yen @ Vnexpress

November 26: VN-Index loses ground

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Investors cautious amid unpredictable movements.

The stock market opened the new week with slow movements on November 26. The lack of support information and unpredictable developments are making investors become more cautious.

At 10am, the VN-Index had fallen 2.22 points (0.24 per cent) to 915.75 points, the HNX-Index 0.25 per cent to 104.01 points, and the UPCoM-Index 0.01 per cent to 51.86 points.

Market liquidity was low, with a total matching value of just VND550 billion ($23.5 million). Foreigners were net buyers, but only slightly.

Except for garments (TCM, TNG, and GIL), there were positive movements in most sectors, such as securities, banking, real estate, and oil and gas.

Among bluechips, VHM, MWG, HPG and MSN rose, but gains were weak.

At the close of the morning session, the VN-Index was down 0.64 points (0.07 per cent) to 917.33 points and the HNX-Index 0.43 points (0.41 per cent) to 103.84 points, while the UPCoM-Index increased 0.11 points (0.21 per cent) to 51.98 points.

Total order matching value was only VND1.4 trillion ($60.01 million), of which VND1.03 trillion ($44.15 million) came from HSX.

VNM was the most active stock, rising VND3,000 ($0.12) to VND120,900 ($5.18).

Sectors such as securities, real estate, banking, and oil and gas saw slow trade.

My Van report on Vneconomictimes

HCM City parking lots submerged after torrential rains

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Parking lots at a range of apartment buildings in HCM City have been seriously inundated following heavy rains.
By the midday of November 26, many parking lots at apartment buildings in District 5 and Phu Nhuan District were still put under water, affecting hundreds of vehicles, including cars.

Around 50 motorbikes and two cars at Ngoc Khanh apartment building in District 5 were flooded.

Fire prevention and control police of District 5 have been trying to pump water out of the parking lot to protect the vehicles.

Nguyen Bieu apartment building in District 5 has been also in the same situation with dozens of vehicles submerged.

After water was pumped from the parking lot, people took their vehicles to repair shops.

Ground floors of some apartment buildings in Phu Nhuan District were also flooded.

Le Dinh Quyet, deputy director of the Southern Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting’s Forecast Department, said tropical typhoon Usagi brought the record heavy rains for HCM City.

The rainfall was measured at 301mm in District 1, 345mm in Nha Be District and 407.6mm in Tan Binh District and at 293 mm in Can Gio District.

Source: Dtinews

Teacher orders pupils to slap classmate to deliver punishment

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According to Dtinews, the Ministry of Education and Training has asked local authorities in Quang Binh Province to strictly punish a local teacher who ordered 23 pupils to slap a classmate 231 times.

The 11-year-old pupil was admitted to hospital after the order of Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy, a teacher at Duy Ninh Secondary School, was carried out. The Ministry of Education and Training said this was a violation of the code of ethics for teachers and badly affected the local education sector.

On November 19, Thuy ordered 23 pupils of Class 6.2 to slap Hoang after hearing he used foul language in class. Thuy and the pupils slapped the boy a total 231 times. The boy has been released from hospital. Doctors said he wasn’t seriously injured but the incident had traumatised him.

Hoang’s family said they didn’t want to let him stay in Thuy’s class anymore. Thuy is the school’s Maths and Technology teacher. She used to work at Hai Ninh Secondary School and has just been transferred to Duy Ninh Secondary School a few months ago. She has been suspended for 15 days for investigation.

Thuy admitted that she was wrong. According to Thuy, she was too angry and was under pressure since her class is always ranked in the bottom.

However, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia said that no matter the reason, it was unacceptable to order pupils to attack a classmate and Thuy must be strictly punished.

Vietnam police probe three men for attacking airline employee

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Officers in the north-central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa have initiated legal proceedings against three men who assaulted a female employee at a local airport last week.

According to Tuoitrenews, the three suspects are Le Van Nhi, 41, Le Trung Dung, 34, and Pham Huu An, 28, who all reside in Thanh Hoa Province.

They are being investigated for “disturbing public order” after attacking a female ground service staff of low-cost carrier Vietjet at Tho Xuan Airport, located in the namesake district in Thanh Hoa, on November 23.

At around 2:20 pm that day, Nhi, Dung, and An took their friend to the airdrome, who was scheduled to board a flight to Ho Chi Minh City at 3:05 pm.

The three then asked Le Thi Giang, the Vietjet employee, to take a photo of them.

They went on to invite Giang to join them for a group photo, but the woman refused.

The men started verbally abusing the victim before attacking her.

Le Thi Hien, a representative of the airline attempted to interfere and also received a slap in her face and a kick to her abdomen.

Dung also hit two airport security officers.

The attackers were eventually arrested when airport security was reinforced by police from Tho Xuan District.

The Civil Aviation Authorities of Vietnam previously announced they had imposed a 12-month flight ban upon the men.

The ban starts from November 26, 2018 to November 25, 2019.

Flowing the period, they will be put under compulsory visual inspection whenever they use services at Vietnamese airports for another 10 months.

Property firms wary of bubble, set sights low

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Chu Anh Tuan, deputy general director of property developer Hà Đô Group, said recently his company expects consolidated profit after tax to be VNĐ700 billion (over US$30.43 million) this year.

But its target for next year is only VNĐ800 billion ($34.9 million), a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, he said.

The Development Investment Construction Joint Stock Corporation (DIG)’s leadership has also been very cautious in setting business targets for next year.

A company spokesperson said the growth target for 2019 would only be 10 per cent higher than for this year.

The targets are rather modest when seen against the real estate industry’s performance this year. In the first nine months the profits of many enterprises grew by more than 100 per cent year-on-year.

DIG for instance reported VNĐ178.6 billion in pre-tax profit, 167 per cent up.

Asked about his company’s modest profit target for 2019, a Ha Do spokesman said it would be very difficult for not only the real estate sector but also others to sustain high growth rates year after year.

Besides, the sector’s growth peaked in 2017-18 period and so this success would not be easy to replicate in the coming years, especially in 2019.

Market observers said property companies’caution was due to many reasons, including the instability in the sector.

There is a supply-demand imbalance, especially in the high-end, tourism and resort property segments, they warned.

The number of transactions in the first six months of this year fell sharply yet the number of developments and supply has continued to increase, causing an oversupply, particularly in the high-end segment, they said.

In 2015-18, a significant number of high-end projects have been developed by well-known names creating the imbalance, they explained.

They cited the example of HCMC where 65 projects brought 23,756 houses into the market, including 22,684 apartments.

Luxury units accounted for 31.3 per cent, mid-priced ones for 49.4 per cent, and low-end ones for only 19.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, demand for cheap apartments was highest.

A representative of the Ho Chí Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) said the city is facing a serious shortage of low-priced commercial apartments, social housing and particularly low-rent apartments for workers and low income earners.

This would create instability in the market and society, he warned.

Another cause of instability is the “land fever” occurring at many places around the country, with HoREA experts saying this involved mainly agricultural lands being illegally divided into plots and used for unauthorised purposes.

This was distorting the real estate market, they warned.

Real estate companies’ caution in setting growth targets for next year has also been due to fears of a possible real estate bubble.

Analysts said a bubble occurred 10 years ago and the industry is afraid the next one is due based on 10-year cycles.

Underlying risks

The real estate market began a recovery in 2014 after a bubble burst a few years earlier, and since then there has been an unprecedented supply of new projects and with a good net absorption rate.

Besides traditional products, many new ones too have been introduced, such as second-home villas, condotels and officetels. In 2015 the Government began to allow foreigners to buy and own properties in Viet Nam, and they have duly obliged.

Nonetheless, analysts and investors are wary of the pace of growth, and point to underlying risks.

They include an oversupply of high-end housing projects, the return of speculators and declining market demand.

Their biggest concern is the formation of a bubble like the one that burst in 2007 and kept the market in limbo until 2013. The market is still paying the price.

By next year people are sure to be on the lookout for the first worrying signs.

Vo Huynh Tuan Kiet, head of residential project marketing at CBRE Vietnam, spoke to Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) about the prospects of a bubble forming.

He listed the factors that contributed to the formation and bursting of the last bubble.

The first was the overheating of the economy: In 2007, Viet Nam’s GDP growth rate had reached 8.5 per cent, with HCMCity reporting a rate of 12.6 per cent, a decade high.

Needless to say incomes were rising tremendously. The stock market reached a historic high of 1170.67 points on March 12, 2007. A huge amount of money made its way into the housing market, which has always been a favoured asset class in Viet Nam.

Kiet pointed to the easy credit policies then, saying that was a direct cause of the bubble.

In 2007, credit grew at more than 37 per cent, with a large amount of money pouring into real estate.

The lax control over credit and its use for inappropriate purposes brought the market down, Kiệt said.

The third reason Kiet mentioned was the rampant speculation and secondary market boom, which saw relentless price increases and people buying to flip properties and real estate agents ruling the roost.

The final reason he said was lack of government control and a failure to adopt timely fiscal policies, which led to the quick formation and growth of the bubble.

How are things now? Are these factors still in play?

Based on the factors Kiet listed, analysts said a bubble seems unlikely in 2019.

After the last one, the Government has put in place a number of policies to monitor the real estate market, they said.

In 2016, the State Bank of Viet Nam adjusted the loan ratio and increased the credit risk weightage for real estate loans to closely monitor and control capital flows into the property market. In 2018, regulating the market remains a priority on the Government’s agenda.

GDP growth is expected to be 6.5-6.7 per cent this year, in other words not in overheated territory.

Credit growth in 2018 is expected to be no more than 17 per cent, with the central bank sticking firmly to its policy of not increasing the credit quotas of many banks in the middle of the year.

In recent years property developers have been increasingly targeting the mid-priced segment.

This segment accounted for 58 per cent of new launches in HCM City last year and 62 per cent in Hanoi. It also accounted for 56 per cent and 53 per cent of the units sold in the two cities, according to VIR.

Its growth topped 35 per cent, higher than the market average.

This is easing concerns over the earlier skew towards high-end products.

One of the main factors contributing to a property bubble is the large number of speculators.

According to CBRE, in 2007-08 half of all transactions were by short-term speculators. This drove housing prices out of control in the secondary market as properties were constantly flipped.

In 2017, however speculators’transactions have only accounted for 10-15 per cent of the total number and been mostly focused on certain areas.

The low level of speculation in recent years has helped decrease the risk of price bubbles.

Besides, the secondary market in the condominium sector has not been very active in 2015-17. In 2017 only a small number of good locations and good projects fetched premiums of 15-25 per cent above the primary market price.

The sluggish secondary market reduces the risk of a bubble.

Kiet said the real estate market is now on a more sustainable growth path compared to the past, and a bubble, as feared by many, is not likely to occur in the short run.

Nevertheless, constant monitoring is important for making suitable policy tweaks since certain segments such as land and shophouses have indeed seen rapid growth in some areas, he said.

Such signals should not be ignored because they could have a significant impact on the market if not addressed properly, he said.

According to a report on VNS