Vietnam Insider - Page 1280 of 1523

Six killed in petrol tanker explosion in Binh Phuoc

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Rent-A-Car, the US’s biggest car rental company to enter Vietnam

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Enterprise Rent-A-Car will officially offer its services in Vietnam starting on November 29.

On the website of Rent-A-Car, the US’s biggest car rental company at https://enterprise.vn/en/ is now opening for rental services, with vehicles of five to 29 seats. The prices range from US$34.19 (VND800,000) a day for a Suzuki Vitara to US$111.33 (VND2.6 million) per day for a Samco bus.

Enterprise’s car rental services in Vietnam and Asia are licensed to MP Executives – a subsidiary of MP Group – which has more than 23 years of experience in the logistics industry in Vietnam. Vietnam is the first country in Asia to use Enterprise’s car rental service.

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car is also available in 84 different countries.

Now Is the Time to Buy Vietnam: Ashmore Group Plc Fund Manger

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Ashmore Group Plc, the London-based firm has doubled its exposure to Vietnamese stocks since the end of the first quarter, according to fund manager Andrew Brudenell. The firm, which managed $76.4 billion as of end-September, now sees the country’s banking sector and some consumer stocks as notably cheaper.

According to a report on Bloomberg, the global equity selloff has helped make Vietnam a lot more attractive to Ashmore Group Plc.

“We remained very lightly exposed to Vietnam through most of the last 12 months, up until maybe the last few months that we’ve seen the market derate,” Brudenell said in a phone interview. “We are now more positive than we were last year but more within specific sectors,” added the manager, who said at the end of last year that valuations in the southeast Asian nation were “too high.”

The VN Index has fallen 23 percent from its April 9 record high, battered by concern over the trade war between the U.S. and China. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has declined 13 percent over that same period, while the S&P 500 Index has gained more than 1 percent. Vietnam’s benchmark gauge is trading at 13.5 times 12-month expected earnings, down from over 20 in April.

Vietnam’s real estate stocks still look “very expensive,” and their possible collapse poses a risk for the market, Brudenell said. Another reason for caution is possibly faster inflation, including that tied to movements in the dong against the Chinese yuan.

Still, Ashmore is “positive” on Vietnamese stocks overall. The country’s gross-domestic product growth is strong, the currency is not under too much stress and corporate earnings growth “should be pretty decent,” Brudenell said.

Reporting by Nguyen Kieu Giang
Read full article on Bloomberg

Go-Jek pilots food-delivery service in Vietnam

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Go-Viet, the Vietnamese affiliate of Indonesian ride-hailing company Go-Jek, has started piloting its Go-Food food delivery services in the country.

The pilot, launched on November 20, started in Ho Chi Minh City and is expected to be officially rolled out across major cities in the country soon, according to Nguyen Bao Linh, deputy head of business development at Go-Viet.

According to a report on Deal Street Asia, Southeast Asia’s second ride-hailing unicorn expanded to Vietnam only a couple of months ago as part of a $500-million expansion plan to conquer international markets, including Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Vietnam as its first market outside Indonesia has so far witnessed the foray of Go-Bike and Go-Send.

In the food delivery segment, the current major players are Delivery Now, which is backed by Singapore-based Sea Limited, and GrabFood, which launched its service in June 2018. Small operating startups include Lala.vn and VietnammGom.

“Vietnamese customers are excited to try new things, and will choose a food delivery platform that offers the most dependable service providing the widest range of food offerings with best value-for-money and fastest speed of delivery,” Jerry Lim, country head of Grab in Vietnam, said at the GrabFood launch in Hanoi last month.

Meanwhile, Go-Jek founder Nadiem Makarim has previously said that Vietnam was its door to Southeast Asia expansion, thanks to the country’s large mobile phone users, massive population and high motorbike ownership.

After gaining a foothold in Vietnam, Go-Jek is working on the Thailand and Philippines markets and will kick off a beta launch in Singapore in December.

According to the latest report on Southeast Asia’s internet economy by Google and Temasek, the online food delivery market is projected to reach over $8 billion by 2025.

Reporting by Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

Vietnam looks to promote franchise market

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The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has licensed 17 foreign enterprises specialising in franchises to operate in Vietnam so far this year, according to statistics from the ministry.

The franchise market features both domestic and foreign enterprises. The ministry said there were 213 businesses with hundreds of trademarks licensed for franchising in Vietnam over the last decade.

A series of world-famous brands in the fields of fast food, hotel, restaurant, cosmetics and clothes have been rapidly entering the Vietnamese market, with expanding scale.

These brands include McDonald’s, Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Swensen’s, Lotteria, Tous Les Jours, BBQ Chicken, Warehouse, Topshop and Coast London.

According to economic expert Le Dang Doanh, franchising helps businesses fully tap capital and human resources from their partners to expand, thus increasing sales and profits from franchise fees to improve the value of their brands and their position in the market.

This is a very smart way of mobilising capital and human resources from foreign investors, Doanh added.

Not only bringing great benefits to franchisors, this model also minimises the risk to franchisees, he noted.

Thanks to the prestige of big franchisors, products of small- and medium-sized enterprises are consumed a lot and known by consumers. Through the model, these businesses can save huge amounts of money that they would spend on advertising and promotions.

Experts said franchising in Vietnam will ramp up in the next three years, especially brands from the Southeast Asian countries as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines will have the advantage of logistics and transportation.

Representatives from Malaysia’s Franchise Association said foreign investors need to be aware of everything involved in the Vietnamese market.

Malaysia has a franchise law, and its businesses that bring their national brands abroad receive much support from the Malaysian government, they said.

Foreign businesses are investing to bring their brands abroad, however, this has not yet developed in Vietnam.

At present, Vietnamese brands that have or intend to apply the franchise include Hoa Huong Duong tea, Trung Nguyen coffee, Pho 24, Highlands Coffee, Tuan Map Bread, and Viva star coffee.

Statistics from the MoIT show the number of Vietnamese businesses involved in franchising, and those licensed to operate in the field abroad is modest at only three enterprises.

Nguyen Phi Van, founder and chairwoman of Retail & Franchise Asia, said with the increasing integration and the rapid progress of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, Vietnamese enterprises have no choice but to improve their operation and their products’ quality to compete with same brands in the region.

She said Vietnamese dishes using local materials have potential in the franchise industry for food.

Health services, salon and repair services will be the trend of franchise in the coming time, she noted, adding that the model requires enterprises to invest in plans and resources before the franchise progress.

Franchising began in Vietnam in the 1990s with the introduction of well-known fast food chains like KFC, Lotteria and Jollibee. It began in regional countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the 1980s.

The Vietnamese franchise market is still new, and local businesses do not have much understanding of or experience with it.

More Vietnamese businesses are exploring new business opportunities available via franchising. Nevertheless, there are risks a franchisor should investigate before engaging in business in Vietnam.

On the other hand, Vietnamese franchisees need to be knowledgeable about the business as well as seek consultancy from industry experts to avoid risks.

Doanh said Vietnamese businesses need to lift themselves through investing and use of technology to improve the quality so they can compete.

According to a report on VNA

V.League is Asia’s best developing league in 2018

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Vietnam’s V.League won the “Best Developing League of the Year” award from Asia’s Sports Industry Awards and Conference (SPIA Asia) at a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday.

The Southeast Asian league overcame nine entries to take the title, which is managed exclusively by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and evaluated against AFC catalogue of standards for professional leagues under the confederation’s criteria.

The Indian I-League came second and the Indonesian Go-Jek Liga 1 was third.

“Best Developing League of the Year” was open to professional leagues which had one automatic slot for participating in the AFC Cup or which did or did not participate in the AFC Cup qualifiers during the 2017-18 season under the AFC Club Competition Ranking for AFC Member Associations.

Nominees in this category have been initially screened and assessed through 11 categories such as management and administration, financial performance, competition, marketing and promotion, and media and communications.

This is the first continental award won by V.League in its 18 seasons. Ha Noi FC won the league trophy in 2018.

Other awards presented in Bangkok were Best Sports Digital Platform, Best Integrated Marketing Campaign for Sports Event and Best Sports Tourism Destination.

According to a report on VNS

Unlicensed fire therapy threatens safety

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While few healthcare centres in Vietnam have been licensed to use fire therapy in medical treatment, a number of spas and beauty salons in HCM City still advertise the dangerous service to cure thousands of illness.

Doctors and experts warn that undergoing the treatment at unlicensed or substandard facilities could threaten customers’ health and cause burns or asphyxiation.

In the clip, a person is seen to be covered with wet towels and a so-called therapist pours alcohol over the patient and sets them alight. The flames quickly spread all over the customer’s body. A few minutes later, the therapist places another towel over the customer and a man rubs his arm over the body.

Some salons in HCM City were offering similar treatments for about VND200,000-250,000.

Vice head of HCM City’s Traditional Medicine Institute Truong Thi Ngoc Lan told the newspaper that until now, the Health Ministry has allowed only the Ha Noi-based National Hospital of Acupuncture to implement a pilot programme on fire therapy.

In HCM City, 53 doctors and nurses of Lan’s institute have been trained to perform the therapy, Lan said, adding that the institute was treating 200 patients with the fire treatment.

She said the fire therapy helps prevent and cure headaches, sleeplessness, as well as muscular pain. It was also used in treating obesity or digestive diseases like dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis or gastritis.

After the pilot programme, Lan’s institute would report back to the city’s Health Department about its effectiveness.

“Until the department approves wider use, only the HCM City Traditional Medicine Institute can officially offer the fire therapy treatment,” Lan said.

Vice director of HCM City’s Health Department said that the department had not granted any licences for the fire therapy treatment.

This means it’s illegal for any spa or beauty salon to offer such treatment.

“However, it’s a fact that unlicensed spas and beauty salons have advertised they could treat a lot of illnesses with fire therapy,” Lan said.

“It’s risky,” Lan said.

Besides trained qualified staff, proper facilities played a decisive role in ensuring the fire therapy is conducted safely, Lan said.

For example, the space where the treatment takes place must be large and airy enough to prevent asphyxiation for both patients and therapists, especially when alcohol is used during the treatment.

She also noted that fire therapy should not be performed on pregnant women or patients who have metal medical equipment inside their body due to earlier surgeries or those who suffer heart-related diseases, diabetes or even those who are hungry or tired.

According to a report on VNS

Vietnam’s blockchain development plan still up in the air

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With five to seven events organized each month, blockchain experts are trying to change the mindset of Vietnamese businesses about blockchain technology.

The Blockchain Innovation Tour (BIT) was organized in HCMC on November 6. Vietnam was the second destination in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia, that BIT visited in the first half of the month.

Many blockchain firms, mostly from Singapore, introduced their new apps in the fields of healthcare, microfinance and non-aggregate distribution. Ken Nizam, the founder and CEO of Block Asia, said the demand for connecting the projects utilizing the technology and investors in Southeast Asia is relatively high.

“We see the region as an emerging market among blockchain markets. More blockchain communities in developing countries have been set up and want to approach potential projects from all over the world,” he said.

At the same time when BIT was taking place, another blockchain tour sourced from Europe announced it would arrive in Vietnam. Named Blockchain for SDGs Tour/Summit, the event is expected to take place later this month.

The annual event of the web developer community, Vietnam Web Summit 2018, early next month is another example. The organizing board said AI and Blockchain will be important topics for discussion.

Terry O’Hearn, an expert from Canada, predicted that there would be 30 million blockchain users in Vietnam in the next 10 years.

According to Doan Kieu My, the representative of EUBC HUB in Vietnam, about five to seven events related to Blockchain have been organized each month in the last three months.

Blockchain technology has become a hot topic in Vietnam over the last two years. However, most of the organized events have focused on general perceptions, while evidence about the efficiency of its use in real life in other countries was not mentioned.

My said the upcoming event will spend time presenting solutions which have been applied in business fields, but it will not discuss topics unrecognized by Vietnamese laws such as cryptocurrency.

Analysts say that Vietnamese tend to equate blockchain with cryptocurrency, and that most businesses still have vague knowledge about the new technology.

A study by Infinity Blockchain Labs pointed out that there are challenges for blockchain industry in Vietnam, including weak awareness, insufficient education, legal barriers, and the lack of an ecosystem.

According to Kimble Ngo, CEO of NEM Vietnam, there are two blockchain fields in Vietnam, including outsourcing of solutions for foreign partners, and R&D to use the technology in agriculture, food and e-government.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Facebook’s ad platform goes down at a horrible time for Black Friday retailers

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Facebook’s ad manager platform was not working for a critical period on Tuesday, leaving brands unable to place key Black Friday and Cyber Monday ads.

Both Facebook and Instagram were down on Tuesday for users. But the problems also affected media buyers, who were trying to buy ads for their clients. Buyers were unable to see data about how ads were performing, edit live ad campaigns, or start new ad campaigns. Some people had issues for an hour, while others said they had been dealing with issues for seven or eight hours. The problems affected ads running on any of Facebook’s apps, including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.

“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Ads Manager,” a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. “We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

Current ad campaigns that are live and running should not be affected, but brands trying to create new campaigns or tweak existing ones may have difficulties, a Facebook spokesperson added.

One media buyer said they’ve never seen errors this bad on the Facebook ad platform before. They said if ads can’t be placed, it could affect sales, because customers won’t know about the deals.

Another buyer said the timing was “unfortunate,” and it could leave all Facebook buyers scrambling with less than a day to prepare, launch and manage ads that they were supposed to handle this week. It’s also possible that some small businesses will miss the window to create new ads, the buyer added.

Both media buyers sent CNBC screenshots showing the errors on Facebook’s ad platform.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are traditionally the biggest shopping days in the U.S. Last Cyber Monday was the largest online shopping day in U.S. history, accounting for $6.59 billion in sales, according to Adobe Insights.

According to a report on CNBC

VFF vows to deal with illegal entry into stadium

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The Vietnamese Football Federation said a security guard at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi had been fired for letting fans without tickets climb the fence into the stadium.

A group of men had co-operated with the security team to let fans without tickets get inside the stadium during the match between Vietnam and Malaysia on November 16. The fans had to pay VND300,000 each for the group. It is said that such activities have been going on for years.

Le Hoai Anh, secretary of the VFF, said, “We’ll work with the security firm and the guards must be strictly punished.”

VFF leaders, Hanoi police, representatives of My Dinh Stadium and KTC Security Company discussed the problem on November 19. KTC admitted that one of the guards let some people in when the second half of the match started. The guard has been sacked.

The match organisers said they recognised the efforts from all parties and said it was the actions of a single security team member.

Hanoi police will have plans to detect banned objects for the Vietnam-Cambodia match at Hang Day Stadium on November 24. The organisers will use loudspeakers and leaflets to direct people to their seats.

The public are advised to go to the stadium early to avoid congestion and stop using flares.

Source: Dtinews

Floating restaurants abandoned on the West Lake

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Many boats have been left to deteriorate at Hanoi’s West Lake while owners are still waiting for decisions from local authorities.

Hanoi authorities asked Tay Ho People’s Committee to shut down businesses and farming activities on the West Lake and relocated floating restaurants to Nhat Tan Ward by February 15, 2017 following a spate of fish deaths. Tay Ho District authorities were also asked to remove all boats from the lake in the first quarter of 2017 to protect the environment.

However, even though many businesses had to shut down, most of the boats have been abandoned on the lake and are rusting.

A business owner claimed they had suffered several billions of VND in losses since the boat was still good for use. They filed a report to the local authorities in mid-2017 to ask about the decision over the boats but received no feedback.

During a meeting with Hanoi Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung, he had asked the business owners to report on their boat and condition. Most of the business owners expressed the desire to be able to keep working on West Lake and promised to follow all regulations.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the West Lake Management Board said they were working on the solution and would make report to the district authorities.

Source: Dtinews

Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation Company Analysis – Gaining Market Penetration in Power Tillers Market

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Surging Market Penetration in Power Tiller Market and Rising Dealer Network will Boost Agri Machines Sales of VEAM Corporation: Ken Research

Ken Research announced its latest publication on “Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation Company Analysis – Gaining Market Penetration in Power Tillers Market” provides a comprehensive analysis regarding the performance of the company and its agricultural machinery products in Vietnam. The report covers aspects such as the market size on the basis of revenue generated from the sale of agricultural equipments under various product categories. The revenues of the company has been segmented based on various product categories including two wheel tractors/ power tillers, four wheel tractors, combine harvesters and rice transplanters.. The revenues of the company have also been segmented on the basis of regional sales and distribution channel. The publication also covers the working model, best sellers of VEAM corporation products. In addition to this, a comparative analysis of best selling VEAM Corporation products in power tillers, four wheel tractors, rice transplanters, and others with other Agri machine companies has been showcased in order to understand the market share. The financial performance of the company along with the expected future performance of the company has also been showcased in the report. This report will help industry consultants, agri machines manufacturers, dealers, potential entrants into the agri machines segment and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.

VEAM has the largest and the most diverse network of dealers in Vietnam. VEAM has deployed around 300 dealers all across Vietnam. VEAM with almost equal focus on all the three regions (south, north and central). VEAM is using a large dealer network with equal presence in all the three regions to increase its share in the market.

Over 60% of farming machinery being used within the Vietnamese domestic marketplace was from China in 2012, largely because of the possible lack of Government financial support to local producers. Market for agricultural machinery in Vietnam has enhanced by a CAGR of 6.8% over the period 2010-2015. Amplifying sales of tractors along with implements, combine harvesters and rice transplanters have propelled the market for agricultural machinery in Vietnam over the period 2010-2015. VEAM has a stronghold in two wheel tractor category. It sells powerful two wheel Iseki tractors from 16 HP to 26 HP.

“According to Research Analyst at Ken Research, “the company is focused on the market by developing a sales network, reducing costs and improving information shared between the producer and customers. The company foresees an increase in the competitive pressure and thus aims to develop customer-oriented services and products at competitive prices”.

It is expected that VEAM will continue to invest more in their core sectors such as manufacturing agricultural machinery, auxiliary industry and truck production to boost production, fabrication and machining of parts and components for the automobile industry.

Key Topics Covered in the Report:

Company Overview of VEAM Corporation, Manufacturing Facilities and Product Lines, and Competition
Value Chain Analysis and Working Model for VEAM Corporation Agri Machines, 2015
Financial and Operating Performance and Market Size of VEAM Corporation, 2010-2015
VEAM Corporation Revenue Segmentation by Product Category, 2015
VEAM Revenue Segmentation on the basis of Regional Sales, 2015
VEAM Segmentation on the basis of Distribution Channel, 2015
Market Size of Vietnam Agricultural Machinery including Four wheel tractors, 2 wheel tractors, rice transplanters, combine harvesters and tractor implements, on the basis of Sales Volume, 2015
Market Share of Players in Agricultural Machinery Industry in Vietnam and VEAM Contribution.
Competitive Landscape of VEAM Corporation vis a viz other Agricultural Machinery Companies, 2016
Financial Performance for VEAM Corporation
Expected Financial Performance of VEAM Corporation including Business Plans and Future Strategies

Key Products Mentioned in the Report:
Four wheel Tractors, Two wheel Tractors/ Power Tillers, Rice Transplanters, Combine Harvesters, Auto Components

Companies Covered in the Report:
Kubota Vietnam Co. Ltd, Yanmar Vietnam, Vikyno and Vinappro (SVEAM), Phan Tan Agricultural Machinery
For more information click on the link below:-
https://www.kenresearch.com/agriculture-and-animal-care/agriculture-equipment/veam-corporation/49302-104.html

Contact
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
Sales@kenresearch.com | +91-9015378249

115 plastic cups, sandals inside the dead whale’s stomach

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In just the latest reminder of the dangers of pollution in our oceans, a dead whale in Indonesia has been found with 13.2 pounds (six kilograms) of plastic waste in its stomach.

The 31.17-foot sperm whale was found near Kapota Island in the Wakatobi National Park, southeast of Sulawesi.

Park officials found bags, plastic bottles, sandals and 115 plastic cups in the whale’s stomach, as well as a sack containing more than 1,000 pieces of string.

More than 1,000 pieces of plastic were found inside the whale’s stomach.

“Although we have not been able to deduce the cause of death, the facts that we see are truly awful,” said Dwi Suprapti, marine species conservation coordinator at WWF-Indonesia, in a statement to CNN.

The macabre discovery was made in an area popular with tourists and comes at a time of increasing concern over the impact of plastic pollution on marine life.

In June a short-fin male pilot whale died in southern Thailand and was later found to have ingested more than 17 pounds of plastic bags and packaging.
During an autopsy veterinarians found more than 80 plastic bags in the whale’s stomach.

A 2015 report by Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment found that over 50% of the plastic leaking into world oceans comes from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, suggesting that the two whales died in dangerous waters for marine life. The report claims that a 65% reduction in plastic waste leakage in those five countries would lead to a 45% reduction globally.

Without intervention, the amount of plastic cluttering the Earth’s oceans will triple within a decade, according to a recent study by the UK government. However, there is evidence that lawmakers are taking notice of the threat, as the European Parliament voted to ban single-use plastics in October.

The proposal covers items such as straws, cotton swabs and cutlery, in addition to obliging EU states to recycle 90% of plastic bottles by 2025.

In October, the dangers of plastic were underlined when a decades-old bottle washed up almost intact on a UK beach.

The plastic bottle of dishwashing liquid was at least 47 years old, with its branding still clearly visible.

Read full article on CNN.
Rob Picheta, Marilia Brocchetto, Kocha Olarn and Bard Wilkinson contributed to this report.

HCM City approves new housing plan to 2020

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A new housing plan to 2020 that will improve city landscapes and quality of life for its residents has been approved by HCM City authorities.

Under the plan, at least 50% of 474 apartment buildings built before 1975 will be replaced. No new housing projects in districts 1 and 3 will be allowed.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen said the two districts would select investors to replace four apartment buildings now in disrepair.

Authorities would also limit new housing projects in districts 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, Binh Thanh, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh and Tan Phu, if those districts did not have infrastructure development plans.

Under the plan, districts 2, 7, 9, 12, Binh Tan and Thu Duc will give priority to new housing projects and apartment buildings along metro routes or areas with new or upgraded traffic infrastructure.

Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be, Cu Chi, and Can Gio have been told to withdraw investment licences of delayed projects.

They will give priority to housing projects in towns, rural residential areas, and areas with infrastructure linked with key traffic routes. New tourism areas and urban satellite areas will also be developed.

In addition, the city will continue to remove makeshift houses on or along canals. More than 21,000 of these houses still exist, following removal of nearly 40,000 of them.

The city needs VND50 trillion (US$2.1 billion) to help these households move and resettle.

The city also will upgrade existing residential areas as part of urban renovation and development, and will continue developing new modern urban areas.

Commercial (or privately built) housing projects will also be developed to meet increasing demand.

More social housing projects will also be built to ensure that people under social housing coverage have a place to live.

The social housing areas will increase by 2.2 million sq.m of floor space, with 10,000 more accommodations for low-income people and 10,000 for people who have had to move due to construction projects and resettle.

As many as 35,000 new rental accommodations with a total of 350,000 sq.m of floor space will be built for workers.

In addition, 6,750 accommodations with a total of 74,000 sq.m of floor space will be built for students to rent.

The city plans to raise the minimum average floor space per person to 16.3 sq.m in urban areas and 20.9 sq.m in rural areas.

Capital needed for social and commercial housing will amount to VND316.8 trillion (US$13.6 billion).

Part of the capital for public social housing projects will be from the city’s budget, while capital for commercial housing will be raised from enterprises and credit institutions, including banks.

The People’s Committee has instructed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to resolve housing projects that have been delayed for three years or more.

The committee has also asked local authorities to improve management and stop people from illegally taking land, and misusing the land purpose.

It also ordered inspectors to closely oversee state organisations’ land management and impose severe punishment on violators at these organisations.

According to a report on VNS

500 Startups Vietnam grabs $14M to invest in local companies

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500 Startups has set its sights on Vietnam, a historically dormant market that’s recently emerged as one of the most rapidly-expanding tech ecosystems in Southeast Asia.

The Silicon Valley startup accelerator and venture capital fund has raised $14 million for 500 Startups Vietnam, it’s Ho Chi Minh City-based micro-fund focused on Vietnam-headquartered startups or companies catering to the Vietnamese market. The fund launched in March 2016 with a $10 million target to capitalize on a new cohort of internet-era startups.

500 Startups partners Eddie Thai and Binh Tran manage the fund. Thai is the former director of CJ CGV Vietnam, a cinema and film distribution company; and Tran is the co-founder and former chief technology officer of the social influence tool Klout, which sold to Lithium Technologies for $200 million in 2014.

“Several years ago, Vietnam was not an obvious tech investment destination: the country was poor … fraught with bureaucracy, and struggling to create an ecosystem for the few, disconnected founders and even fewer active angels and VCs,” Thai wrote in a blog post. “But entrepreneurial folks did see elements of something special: a fast-growing economy; a substantial supply of low-cost, high-tech talent; and a broad & experienced Vietnamese diaspora increasingly interested to reconnect with and contribute to the country. A new wave of tech founders decided to take the plunge.”

500 Startups Vietnam has funneled a total of $3 million in 36 companies to date. It invests across industries, including e-commerce, edtech and blockchain. The partners plan to back up to 64 more companies, writing checks sized between $100,000 and $250,000.

Investment in Southeast Asia (SEA) has picked up significantly in 2018. According to PitchBook, companies based in SEA have raked in more than 4x capital this year than last. Vietnam, in particular, has become a buzzy destination for VCs. In addition to 500 Startups raise, several new funds have cropped up in the country, like ESP Capital, VinaCapital Ventures, Startup Viet Partners and Zone Startups Vietnam, helping to accelerate investment.

Growth in Vietnam is showing no signs of slowing. The nation’s digital economy is expected to triple in size, accumulating a value of some $33 billion by 2025, according to Google’s third “e-Conomy SEA” report. YoY, its e-commerce market has doubled and the digital advertising, gaming industry, online media and online travel market have seen tremendous development.

“In Vietnam, the internet economy is akin to a dragon being unleashed,” the report states.

According to a report on TechCrunch