Two more officials of a state-run mobile carrier being arrested by Vietnam’s police, the latest sweep in nation’s graft crackdown that has already engulfed hundreds of government officials.
The arrests follow last month’s election of new President Nguyen Phu Trong, cum Vietnam’s party chief and architect of the crackdown, which saw a member of the powerful decision-making politburo among those arrested and jailed.
According to a report on Reuters, Cao Duy Hai, the former General Director and Pham Thi Phuong Anh, deputy director of MobiFone were accused of “violating regulations on the management and use of state capital,” the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday.
Police have accused the company of causing losses to the state budget by overpaying for a stake of 95% in a loss-making pay-TV provider, the ministry said in a statement
MobiFone, one of Vietnam’s three largest mobile carriers by subscribers, bought the controversial stake in Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) in 2015 for nearly US$386 million.
In July 2018, local police arrested a former chairman of MobiFone and a senior official of the Ministry of Information and Communications accused of involvement in the case.
The information minister of Vietnam was suspended that month and replaced in October over alleged ties to wrongdoing at the company. In an unrelated investigation, police arrested a former deputy labour minister last week over accusations of economic mismanagement.
In 2018, Vietnam has opened 427 corruption cases to investigate 889 officials, its chief government inspector, Le Minh Khai, said in a statement on Tuesday this week.
This year, Vietnam”s police have completed investigations into 212 other graft cases that involved misappropriation of more than US$200 million and 300,000 square metres (3.23 million sq ft) of land, Khai added.
“Preventing, and fighting against, corruption will continue to be a key task in 2019,” the statement said.
Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by James Pearson and Clarence Fernandez
Read full article on Reuters.com
More than half of German businesses wish to expand their business in Vietnam over the next 12 months and 52% want to hire more employees for their factories.
According to a survey conducted by the Network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs), through collecting feedback from over 3,500 German companies worldwide.
“The Vietnamese economy will continue to grow and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to further boost Vietnam’s growth” said Mr. Marko Walde, Chief representative of GIC/AHK Vietnam.
According to a report on NDO, a state-owned media channel, Vietnam has been considered as an important partner of Europe and Germany in ASEAN. In addition, due to the US-China trade tension, foreign companies are looking to relocate their manufacturing to China’s neighboring countries in order to avoid tax increases arising from the dispute.
However, the legal framework for investment and business and a lack of high-quality manpower in Vietnam are major challenges for German investors.
The survey also notes that, despite decent growth in Asia, the expectations of German businesses are not as high as in early 2018.
German companies expect the region’s economic growth to slow down as a result of the US rate increases and the impacts of the US-China trade dispute.
Vietnam E-Commerce Market Future Growth is Expected to be Led by Online Retail market followed by Demand for Travel and Entertainment Services Online: Ken Research
Vietnam is one of the Asia’s unexplored markets in terms of the compelling potential in E-Commerce.
E-commerce has managed to gain some attention in Vietnam only after 2011. The retail market in Vietnam has been considered as being one of the most dynamic markets in the South East Asia with such a high growth rate. Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City were ranked in the top 10 cities in the entire Asia for retail expansion. Ha Noi was ranked third after Beijing and Shanghai as the city with liveliest retail market.
Vietnam is one of the top three countries with the highest rate of growth of internet and mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam, with more than four million people using internet a day, offering great potential for online shopping development. In 2014, Vietnam had a total population of 90.7 million people out of which 35.4 million people have access to internet, making the internet penetration rate of 39%, amongst the highest in the region. Though the E-commerce market is not very old but still the country has many big players such as Lazada, Hotdeals, Vatgia and others which are driving the E-commerce in Vietnam. Vietnam E-Commerce is one of the fastest growing E-commerce markets in South East Asia. Cash on Delivery in Vietnam is the most preferred mode of making payments online.
Vietnam Ecommerce market, refer to the publication on “Vietnam E-Commerce Market Outlook to 2019 – Driven by Internet Penetration and Smartphone Usage” which is comprehensive analysis of the sector created after market mapping several industry veterans of ecommerce companies operating in each category. The report covers various aspects such as market size of E commerce market, online gaming market, segmentation by online retail market, online travel market, online Entertainment and service booking market, regional demand and on the basis of types of Goods sold and performance model. The report also provides competitive landscape and profile of major players operating in E-commerce market of Vietnam. The future analysis of overall E-commerce market and by segments has also been discussed in each of the sub segment. The report is useful for online retailers, large E-commerce companies and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in the future.
Vietnam has a great potential to grow its E-commerce business, especially after the shifted investors attention from China towards Vietnam for the next manufacturing hub in the east. Vietnamese are getting digitally sound, especially in urban parts of the country which is the main targeted audience of the E-commerce players at least in their initial and growing phase.
The online retail market of Vietnam is driven by major players such as Lazada and Amazon along with local players such as tiki, Vatiga, Zalora and others due to their focus on localized content. In 2014, the online retailing market contributed more than 65% in the overall B2C market of Vietnam. Constant innovation, launch of newer brands online, proliferation of affordable smartphones coupled with rise in broadband access have largely propelled the market growth. Online Retail market has been segmented into clothes, shoes & cosmetics, technology Kitchen and home appliances, books and stationary, CD’s & DVD’s, mother & baby products and others.
Vietnam gaming industry is the biggest in the entire South East Asia which gives its online gaming market an edge. Vietnam Online Entertainment & Services booking market has attained small but significant growth in overall e-commerce market. The concept of online entertainment has become prevalent since the rise in internet penetration in Vietnam, owing to the emergence of various websites offering online booking of movie and event tickets as well as booking several professional services online. The rising share of online entertainment and services booking is supported by the fact that more players are entering the market with different business models to tap the major share of customer base.
Key Companies Covered in the Report:
Global Players: Lazada; Zalora; Vatgia; MyTour; Expedia; Trip Advisor; Ogilvy
According to Dtinews, It is estimated that the government will have to cover losses from 10-12 years to operate the North-South Express Railway
During a conference on the final feasibility study on November 12, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong, reported the project would cost USD58.71bn and will face losses for 10 to 12 years after going into operation.
“The state will have to cover maintenance costs for about 10-12 years,” Dong said.
Research has been carried out since 2007 with the help of Korea International Cooperation Agency, Japan International Co-operation Agency and the consortium of consultants Tedi-Tricc-Tedisouth. The line will run from Hanoi’s Ngoc Hoi District to HCM City’s District 2.
The USD13.97bn Hanoi-Vinh and the USD13.37bn Nha Trang-HCM City sections are scheduled to be completed in 2032. The construction of Vinh-Nha Trang section will only start in 2035 and be completed in 2050.
The government will contribute 80% of the investment for this PPP project and the remainder will come from an investor.
In the first phase, the express railway will be connected and share the infrastructure with Hanoi Railway Station. The feasibility study report will be submitted to the National Assembly in August 2019
Only three days remain until the beginning of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, which allows local subscribers to switch to other mobile operators and retain their original phone number. Thus, the battle for mobile customers will gain a new edge.
This week, three domestic telecommunication giants – Viettel, Vinaphone, and Mobifone – will officially launch the MNP service, which enables users to change suppliers without losing their phone number.
In the first three months, the service will only be available for postpaid mobile subscribers during this period, the carriers will be able to test the service and fix any inadequacies on time.
After that, the service will be ready to be applied for prepaid users, noting that those with unpaid bills will not be allowed to change networks and each switch will be carried out with a service charge of VND120,000 ($5.2).
Gtel will not implement this service and Hong Kong-invested Vietnamobile will be ready by January 1, 2019.
Vice Minister of Information and Communications Pham Hong Hai stated during the working session between the Telecommunications Department and the telecommunications enterprises on August 23 that it is imperative that the MNP be conducted, since the country lags behind others.
“This is a compulsory policy to shake up the telecom battlefield, boosting the enhancement of the carriers’ competitiveness and ensuring users’ benefits,” he emphasised.
According to economic expert Vu Dinh Anh, MNP will create direct competition among network suppliers.
“Competition between mobiles operators is getting intense. However, the race in prices and quality is overshadowed by providing convenient, diverse services,” An added.
It is estimated that around 10 per cent (10-13 million mobile users) will go for MNP, which is expected to make a great change in the market share of carriers, where the three giants currently hold 90 per cent.
In order not to confuse customers, the Ministry will issue more detailed instructions on the MNP protocol and service charge and networks suppliers have been preparing comprehensive plans and infrastructure.
With a series of locations in trade centers and large-scale urban areas, VinFa promises to become a heavy-weight competitor of Mobible World and FPT Retail in the pharmaceutical industry.
Last weekend, Vingroup has launched the chain of 11 VinFa pharmaceutical stores in Hanoi, located next to Vinmart supermarkets or convenience stores in urban areas and apartment buildings.
The local pharmaceutical retail market is large but has yet to saw the emergence of a dominant player. Perhaps this inspired Vingroup to launch VinFa right after the appearance of An Khang Pharma of Mobile World and Long Chau Pharma of FPT Retail at the end of 2017 and early this year.
Following the success of the Vinmec Medical System and realising its expansion plan in the healthcare sector, in April 2018 Vingroup announced entering the pharmaceutical industry with the establishment of VinFa JSC.
The conglomerate also invested into VinFa Drug Research and Production Centre in Gia Binh district, Bac Ninh province. With a total investment of VND2.2 trillion ($95.7 million), this project’s first phase will be built in an area of nearly 10ha following international standards, including research, production, logistics, and support works
Along with pharmaceutical research, manufacturing, trading, and export-import tasks, VinFa will focus on the preservation, research, and development of traditional Oriental medicines from Vietnamese herbs. VinFa will also focus on the production of healthy food, vaccines, and medical equipment of international standards to better meet the high demand for healthcare and treatment.
With investment from Vingroup, the entire production process at VinFa will be equipped with the latest and most advanced technologies to optimise the efficiency and quality of pharmaceutical products.
In addition to exploiting the country’s precious herbal resources, VinFa plans to promote co-operation with prestigious pharmaceutical production industries from the US, Europe, and Australia. The aim is to receive consultancy, technology, and technical expertise as well as facilitate the import of raw materials and products.
The State Bank of Viet Nam has issued a decree asking businesses to enhance customer information privacy after an alleged breach of mobile retail chain The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World) revealed personal information of more than five million customers.
The breach hit the headlines last week after a hacker posted three files including more than five million emails, 31,000 bank card numbers and transaction histories on RaidForums.
The Gioi Di Dong quickly denied it was the source of the stolen data.
The company said it did not store any information related to customers’ bank card numbers or transaction history, adding that banking information is processed by payment service providers, meaning the information could not have been stolen from The Gioi Di Dong. The company said its information system was safe and operating normally.
On Saturday, the Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications said it had found nothing to indicate The Gioi Di Dong’s system had been hacked.
After working with the company, the Authority of Information Security said the emails and bank numbers were likely collected from other sources and did not have anything to do with The Gioi Di Dong.
Still, the breach was alarming. The origin of more than five million emails and 31,000 bank card numbers has not been identified.
The State Bank of Viet Nam asked payment service providers and intermediaries to work with Thế Giới Di Động to identify the cause and monitor the transactions of cards involved in the breach to protect customers.
The central bank also asked payment service providers to comply with customers’ information privacy regulations.
The State Bank of Viet Nam said in a note on its website on Saturday that initial reports from banks had not found any cases of account appropriation of customers with cards exposed by the breach.
However, the breach caused security concerns among customers.
The central bank said it would work closely with other management agencies to uncover the hackers and their motives and dole out punishments in accordance with established laws.
Other worries
Several days after The Gioi Di Dong’s alleged breach, a hacker posted data which was said to be stolen from baby product retailer Concung.com and threatened to publish data stolen from technology retail chain FPT Shop.
According to security forum WhiteHat, the data said to have been taken from Concung.com included names, positions and working addresses of more than 2,200 employees. More than 2,100 phone numbers, 1,130 emails, 2,200 identity card numbers and 1,390 portraits were also revealed.
According to the Authority of Information Security, cyber attacks designed to steal personal information of customers became more common in 2018.
In Document No 8511/NHNN-TT, the authority asked firms to enhance customer privacy and information security.
Data collection, storage, processing and transmitting must be encoded to comply with security regulations.
The authority urged customers to think carefully before providing personal information to online services and to regularly change passwords.
Ngo Anh Tuan from security company BKAV said enterprises should invest in security systems, especially firms with retail stores and online marketplaces.
An analysis conducted by online shopping aggregator iPrice found that Việt Nam’s interest in November 11 Singles’ Day sales skyrocketed this year.
According to internet traffic data, the company discovered a huge jump of 210 per cent in the number of customers participating in the Singles Day sales in Việt Nam compared to the same time last year.
By analysing Vietnamese search trends on Google, iPrice found that keyword searches for “November 11” began growing steadily nearly two weeks prior to the date, three times higher in search interest compared to the same period last year.
In addition, Vietnamese consumers were now much more familiar with the November 11 tradition which originated from China, and excitedly look forward to it as an important annual promotion period.
For the event, big merchants offered different promotions with discounts being the most popular, together with vouchers, flash deals, payment method promotions, free shipping promotions, in-app games, web-based games and a TV game show.
The report said that merchants in Việt Nam were paying more attention to interacting and entertaining their customers rather than just attracting them with discounts.
According to an expert from advertising platform Criteo, the year-end months were the opportunity for merchants to boost e-commerce sales and November 11 Singles’ Day was still not the occasion offering the highest revenue.
Criteo statistics showed e-commerce websites in Việt Nam saw an increase of 238 per cent in revenue and 78 per cent in traffic on November 11 last year compared to normal days.
Criteo forecast that December 12 would also be a popular day for e-commerce websites.
Nguyễn Hương Quỳnh, director of market research company Nielsen Việt Nam, said that e-commerce was a playground for merchants, adding that e-commerce platforms were offering a number of promotions to attract buyers on special occasions.
Quỳnh said Vietnamese shoppers were attracted to online promotions. She stressed that it was more important for e-commerce platforms to think about how to attract buyers after promotion programmes end.
The Singles’ Day sales hit another record of US$30.8 billion in China this year.
Vietnam’s stock market suffered losses all round on November 13.
On HSX, the VN-Index closed at 905.38 points, down 12.74 points (1.39 per cent), and the VN30-Index 873.87 points, down 14.33 points (1.61 per cent).
On HNX, the HNX-Index finished at 102.47 points, down 0.90 points (0.87 per cent), the HNX30-Index 184.1 points, down 2.18 points (1.17 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 51.46 points, down 0.20 points (0.39 per cent).
Liquidity on HSX was VND2.6 trillion ($111.4 million) and on HNX was VND481.9 billion ($20.6 million).
Food and beverage stocks to gain ground included TLG, SAB and BHN, by 3.8, 2 and 1.8 per cent, as VCF lost 4.1 per cent, VNM 0.9 per cent, and KDC 0.6 per cent.
In banking, BVH gained 1.4 per cent as MSN lost 5.5 per cent, BID 3.7 per cent, VCI 2.2 per cent, TCB 2.1 per cent, CTG 2 per cent, VCB 1.8 per cent, STB and SSI 1.6 per cent, VPB and MBB 1.2 per cent, and EIB and TPB 0.4 per cent.
In energy, GAS lost 2.8 per cent, PVT 2.7 per cent, PVD 2.5 per cent, PLX 2.2 per cent, NT2 1.6 per cent, and PPC and PGD 0.3 per cent.
The Top 5 shares bought by foreign investors were SBT, GMD, HPG, VHM and DXG.
VIC was the largest net sold share on HSX, followed by HDB, MSN, HCM and BID.
VCG was the largest net sold share on HNX, followed by VGC, SHB, THT and PVX.
On UPCoM, foreign investors bought 54,070 shares worth VND551.9 million ($23,645).
They net sold on HSX by VND77.1 billion ($3.3 million) and on HNX by VND3.4 billion ($145,610).
Travellers entering Vietnam need passports or valid passport-substitute papers and an entry visa issued by Vietnamese authorities except, of course, in cases where Vietnam visa exemption is granted.
Visa exemption is, naturally, the mechanism a country has in place for foreign nationals to enter and stay, for a certain period of time, without having to complete the visa procedures and pay fees related to it.
Spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens living overseas are exempt from entry visas for Vietnam along with a temporary residence duration of no more than six months for each entry, when carrying a valid passport, with one full year remaining and documents pertaining to visa exemption status.
The visa exemption period is up to five years and shorter than the expiry date of the passport or international travel document of the grantee for at least six months.
Those exempt from Vietnam visa under bilateral and unilateral visa exemption agreements. Citizens of up to 24 countries are exempt from Vietnam visa. However, the duration and conditions for these are not the same. Click here for details about who does and who does not need a visa for Vietnam.
How to get a Vietnam visa
Those who are not subject to or do not qualify for visa exemption have to apply for a visa to enter the country. Currently, there are three ways to get a visa for Vietnam:
Foreigners entering Vietnam may apply for an e-visa in the following steps:
Visit the electronic visa information page to submit electronic visa applications, photo uploads and personal identification pages in a standardised form.
Receive the electronic file code and pay the visa fee to the account specified in the electronic visa information page.
Within three working days from the date of fully receiving information on Vietnam visa applications and visa fees, the Exit and Entry Management Department (the Ministry of Public Security) shall consider, settle and reply the applicants at the electronic visa information page.
Foreigners applying for the electronic visa must use the electronic dossier code to check whether they have been successful in their application at the electronic visa information page — the electronic dossier code is used for printing the visa.
However, not everybody who needs an entry visa can use the e-visa system. Countries included in the e-visa scheme include citizens from 46 countries including Argentina, Australia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Applying at Vietnam embassies
Foreigners can apply for a Vietnam visa at the embassy for travelling from 1 month to up to 3 months. Vietnam visa for travelling is symbolised as DL to distinguish it with other types of visa. In order to apply for a tourist visa for foreigners in Vietnam, the following steps and procedures are required:
Foreigners will need to go to the website of the Vietnam embassy that they wish to apply with and download the Vietnam visa application form.
They then will need to print out the form, complete it, glue it with a photo and then sign it.
They then need to submit the form together with the original passport and other required documents to the Vietnam embassy together with visa fee. The documents can be submitted by post or directly depending on the embassy.
They then wait to take the passport with visa (normally 3-5 working days). The passport can be sent back via post or they need to get it directly at the embassy.
Apply for Vietnam visa on arrival.
What is Visa On Arrival?
To enter any country, the first thing is to apply for a visa of that country (except for visa exemptions). The visa application process often includes too many steps and quite time-consuming. Visa on arrival, also known as airport-based visa, is the best option for those who are away from the embassy or have unexpected visits without having enough time to apply for a visa as normal.
Vietnam visa on arrival allows you to obtain an entry visa at the airport upon arrival in Vietnam, provided that you have a visa approval letter applied online in advance. This visa procedure is very simple, which does not cost you time.
Visit the website of the company providing the visa on arrival service to fill the application form. After that, you pay the service fee through your bank account.
After two or three working days, you will receive the approval letter via the registered email.
Print the approval letter and bring it along with your suitcases, take the plane to Vietnam as planned.
At the airport, you submit the approval letter, passport, photos and pay the stamping fee. That’s it!
Vietnam visa on arrival is the most convenient way to apply for a Vietnam visa. You do not have to spend a lot of time to go to the embassy many times and especially, it is useful if you need a visa in a quick way.
Vietnam’s immense potential in information technology, cloud computing and big smartphone coverage are serving as key propellants for the country to materialize its dream to successfully develop its digital economy.
Quint Simon, head of Public Policy in Southeast Asia of Amazon Web Services (AWS, a subsidiary of Amazon) last week had a discussion in Vietnam for the potential to develop digital economy in the context of Industry 4.0.
At a workshop themed “Unlocking the full potential of Vietnam’s digital economy”, she surprised hundreds of participants by citing an AWS study which stated that Vietnam is one of the countries in the world that has the highest rise in expenditure for cloud computing, at 64% per year.
“I believe that Vietnam will soon become a nation with a digital economy. Cloud computing is a favorite in Vietnam where many enterprises are using cloud for their performance,” said Simon, “Using cloud means firms can completely protect their information without being stolen, For example, Amanotes, a fast-growing app publisher, currently has hundreds of millions of users. It is typical of Vietnamese firms with cloud computing,” she continued. “In another case, Masan is also using cloud to manage its stores in Vietnam. It has been a big trend that many Vietnamese agencies and enterprises are seeking our support in cloud applications.”
Jake Jennings, executive director of International and Regulatory Affairs of AT&T, an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in the US’ Texas, also said that he saw Vietnam’s great potential in developing a digital economy as the country’s bright landscape for IT, cloud computing and wide smartphone coverage.
“This will help Vietnam create many new jobs in the near future,” Jennings said.
Since 2007, AT&T has been boosting its presence in Vietnam. Currently it is co-operating with many firms in the country, including VNPT and Viettel. It is now exploring opportunities to expand its partner networks in the country.
Harnessing disruption for further development
As of June 2018, Vietnam had about 136 million mobile phone subscribers. Some 54.2 percent of the country’s population are using internet. Still, in terms of digital adoption, Vietnam currently shows both strengths and shortcomings.
Internet penetration is 54 percent, and 40 percent of Vietnam’s population are social media users. These numbers are impressive, according to the World Bank in Vietnam.
“In order to forge ahead, or even leapfrog regional peers, Vietnam must upgrade the way its government functions” said Ousmane Dione, World Bank country director. “Three types of government relationships are critical: government-to-government, government-to-business, and government-to-citizens. Technologies can help in many ways if we can embrace them strategically to reverse potential disruptions to these relationships.”
Dione expressed his belief that a three-factor formula, or a tripod, is necessary for Industry 4.0 to really help Vietnam achieve its development aspirations: technologies, institutions, and people. Investing in research and development will be critical for Vietnam to join the frontiers of Industry 4.0. “Made in Vietnam” should be replaced with “Researched and developed in Vietnam”, Dione stressed.
According to the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eurocham), Vietnam is catching the eyes of the world, with a strong inflow of foreign direct investment. Many foreign investors wish to invest in digital solutions in the country, which is now beginning to develop smart cities amid an expansion of urbanization.
Currently Vietnam, which is among the top 20 countries in the world having the most stable political climate, is ranked one of the top 10 nations in the world using Facebook the most. In the near future, Vietnam will deploy its 5G internet service and digitize many sectors in the economy.
“ICT and digital technology have been helping Vietnam develop strongly,” said Eurocham’s co-chair Denis Brunetti, who is also president and head of Vietnam and Myanmar at Ericsson.
“For Vietnam, we estimate that 5G addressable revenues for operators can increase by up to US$1.1 billion by the year 2026, depending on where they are in the value chain. It’s no surprise that 18% of this opportunity is coming from manufacturing,” he said.
Vietnam is striving for sustainable growth on the basis of improving the quality of growth and taking advantage of the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to increase its labour productivity and competitiveness and move up the ladder in the global value chain.
“Vietnam is working to be one of the world’s top 10 biggest software and digital content outsourcing service nations, with about one million employees in the IT field by 2020,” said Mr. Bui Thanh Son, the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Vietnam’s lawmaking body, the National Assembly, on Monday unanimously ratified a landmark 11-country deal that will slash tariffs across much of the Asia-Pacific.
According to local media report, Vietnam yesterday became the seventh country to ratify a Pacific trade pact set to take effect next month.
Eleven countries revived a slimmed-down version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the US, though the new pact keeps the door open in case of a change of heart – or government – in the world’s largest economy.
Australia last month became the sixth country to ratify the now-renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), paving the way for the pact to come into force at the end of December with more than half of its members officially signed on. AFP reports.
Vietnam followed suit with a unanimous vote by lawmakers to approve the deal. Mr Nguyen Van Giau, head of the National Assembly’s external relations unit talk to the media .”This is an important political decision, affirming our country’s active role in international integration”
Vietnam’s fast-growing export economy stood to gain enormously from open access to US markets, a key outlet for cheap manufactured goods such as Adidas shoes and Gap T-shirts, before Mr Trump pulled the plug on the US’ participation, he decried it as a “job killer”.
The protectionist President called the deal a “death blow for American manufacturing” and singled out Vietnam for taking jobs he would rather see on his home turf.
The trade pact was spearheaded by former US president Barack Obama who dubbed it a “gold standard” for 21st-century trade rules – and a crucial counter to China’s rising global economic might.
The deal will bind members to a tougher legal framework for trade, lower tariffs and open markets. It will also introduce new labour standards – a sticking point for communist Vietnam, where all labour unions are controlled by the one-party state. The establishment of independent unions “may bring about some challenges”, Mr Giau said, but added Hanoi was open to making the necessary reforms.
Even without the US in the mix, the CPTPP has been described as a game changer. It covers many rapidly growing economies that account for around 14 per cent of world trade.
Members have said the US would be welcome to rejoin any time, and have even opened the doors for non-Pacific countries like Britain to join.
The Hanoi Tourism Association has been working to promote a smoke-free environment in restaurants, hotels and tourism spots in the capital city.
The initiative is meaningful as it adds to the sector’s effort to protect scenery in the city’s attractions while creating a clean and attractive tourism environment for tourists.
At a conference held recently, travel agencies agreed upon measures to develop a smoke-free tourism environment such as no purchasing and advertising tobacco under any form.
They also committed to regularly advise tourists not to smoke in non-smoking areas.
“We support the initiative in promoting a smoke-free tourism environment as up to 80 percent of tourists do not smoke,” said Trinh Thi My Nghe, Deputy Chairwoman of the Hanoi Tourism Association.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Trung Quan, Director of Avitour Company pointed out that it will be a very difficult task.
“Through many ways, I will try to consult, advise, and talk with tourists and ask them not to smoke in tourism spots,” he said.
Travel agencies and hotels at the event have signed an agreement to abide by the Law on Tobacco harm Prevention, aiming to develop smoke-free unit model.
As of the end of September 2018, Hanoi welcomed nearly 20 million tourists, including 4.45 million foreigners.
Most of the foreign holidaymakers to the city come from Asia countries, particularly the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as those in Europe such as the UK, France, Germany and Norway, among others.
A farm supervisor who allegedly put needles in strawberries did so out of spite, a Brisbane court has heard.
Key points:
The 50-year-old has been charged with seven counts of contaminating goods
The charges are understood to relate to one of the original cases
Strawberry growers say the impact of the contamination scare “crippled” the industry
My Ut Trinh, 50, will remain in custody after her lawyer withdrew an application for bail in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
She was arrested in Brisbane on Sunday, two months after Queensland Police fronted the media to warn about punnets being contaminated with needles.
Ms Trinh worked as a supervisor at the Berry Licious farm, but her lawyer said she did not work picking strawberries or in the packing sheds.
The court heard the woman was allegedly acting out of spite and that it was an act of sabotage.
“The case that is put is that it is motivated by some spite or revenge,” Magistrate Christine Roney said.
“She has embarked on a course over several months of putting a metal object into fruit.”
Prosecutor Cheryl Tesch opposed bail as there was “an unacceptable risk of witnesses being interfered with”.
But Ms Trinh’s lawyer Michael Cridland said police had “not articulated” an actual alleged grievance.
The prosecution told the court the woman should also be kept behind bars for her own safety.
“There may be retribution from people seeking to locate her,” Prosecutor Tesch said.
However, Mr Cridland said there had been no evidence of direct threats towards his client.
Police have charged Ms Trinh with seven counts of contamination of goods with intent to cause economic loss.
The offence normally carries a three-year maximum penalty.
However, police allege there is a circumstance of “aggravation”, meaning the maximum jail term is increased to 10 years.
The court heard the woman’s DNA was found in a punnet of strawberries in Victoria.
Superintendent Jon Wacker, from the Queensland Police Drug and Serious Crime Group, said the investigation “was far from over”.
“DNA evidence will be part of the brief of evidence that will be submitted to the court,” he said.
Superintendent Wacker said items seized in Victoria had played an important role.
“This is a major and unprecedented police investigation with a lot of complexities involved,” Superintendent Wacker said in a statement.
“The Queensland Police Service has allocated a significant amount of resources to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
The contamination saga spread from Queensland across the country.
Superintendent Wacker said there were 186 reports of sewing needles being found, 77 of which were in Queensland.
He said 15 of those were found to be hoaxes.
Sixty-eight strawberry brands were affected, including 49 in Queensland.
The contamination scares resulted in supermarkets pulling strawberries off the shelves, and tonnes of the fruit was dumped at the peak of the growing season.
Picture of a needle found inside strawberries in Queensland and published by Queensland Police on September 13, 2018
The Queensland and West Australian governments both offered $100,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced tougher fruit-tampering laws that would see those convicted face greater jail time.
‘I had to put 100 staff off’: Industry still reeling from crisis
Suncoast Harvest managing director Di West said her business had to leave more than one million punnets of strawberries on the ground, after the original and a number of copycat cases sent prices crashing.
“We had to finish our season very early, by nearly six weeks, in our peak season because of the crisis in September,” she told ABC Radio Brisbane.
“We had at least a million punnets of strawberries out there and we had to cease production straight away.
“There was so much copycatting and pranking going on that other farms, including ours, was being dragged into it.”
She said there were still a lot of unknowns for her business moving into the future.
“I had two separate agronomists tell us we had lost $1 million worth of fruit and that meant that $300,000 or $400,000 of that would have gone to workers’ wages — and now that money hasn’t been spent in the local economy,” she said.
“There’s flow-on effects — I had to put 100 staff off.”
Ms West said Australian customers had been very supportive, but she feared the industry’s reputation had been damaged internationally.
She had fruit stuck in New Zealand and Singapore at the peak of the crisis, which she was unable to sell.
“We had it X-rayed and everything to prove it was perfectly good, but the way this thing just escalated into basically a nuclear bomb going off … we just got caught up in it. So we’ve lost a lot of money.”
Grower Gavin Scurr from Pinata Farms at Wamuran said the arrest provided relief and peace of mind for fruit producers.
“It’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride for us and hopefully something we don’t see again in our industry,” Mr Scurr said.
Queensland Strawberry Growers Association vice president Adrian Schultz thanked police for their work.
“We’re just grateful that they pursued and continued to pursue their lines of inquiry and have come up with this result,” he said.
He said he hoped the industry could move on.
“This should put a full stop to this situation,” he said.
