Vietnam Insider - Page 1297 of 1523

Pollution and noise torment urbanites

Advertisements

Scientists and physicians have released new reports about air pollution in HCMC, warning that air quality is worsening.

Nguyen Canh Loc from the HCMC Natural Resources and the Environment Monitoring Center, said that the city, with 13 million residents and many industrial zones, is facing serious air and noise pollution.

The monitoring in 12 spots in the city in 2017 showed that air pollution caused by suspended dust was up to 68 percent, and by noise to 100 percent. Both factors exceeded Vietnamese standards.

There are three causes. First, the air gets polluted because of transport activities. About 7.6 million motorbikes and 796,000 cars were in circulation in 2017, not including vehicles from other localities. The number of vehicles is expected to increase by 30 percent by 2020.

The monitoring in 12 spots in the city in 2017 showed that air pollution caused by suspended dust was up to 68 percent, and by noise to 100 percent. Both factors exceeded Vietnamese standards.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Budget and zero-dong tours in need of tighter control

Advertisements

Budget and zero-dong tours in Vietnam are in need of tighter control from local authorities and relevant agencies as they are showing signs of fraud, tax evasion and sales of products without clear origins to tourists.

Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), mentioned this measure in Lao Dong newspaper. Such tours could adversely affect the image of popular destinations across the country as well as visitors’ interests in the long run, he noted.

Addressing a regular press briefing of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, held on October 16, Tuan voiced concerns over the drawbacks of zero-dong tours, such as selling fake goods, overcharging and fraud.

These budget or zero-dong tours remain in operation because of self-contained retail stores that are inclined toward committing fraud. Aside from low-cost tours, these stores are secretly backed by foreigners working in cooperation with local partners, including tour operators and tour guides, according to the head of VNAT.

Apart from this, tourists accepting zero-dong tours make payments through online transactions using point of sales machines, by scanning QR codes or by using payment apps on smartphones, bypassing the Vietnamese banking system. Thus, these payment forms violate the prevailing laws on management of and payment using foreign currency in the country.

Due to the free-of-charge tours, travel agencies have struggled to earn more revenue to set off tour operation costs by offering relevant extra services that are excluded from tour packages. Incomes from services are not properly managed, allowing sales and tax contributions to become uncontrollable as a consequence, stated Tuan.

To prevent and address fraudulent low-cost or zero-dong tours, Tuan suggested local authorities pay more attention, conduct regular inspections of retail stores to check product quality and origin and prohibit them from carrying out illegal transactions, evading tax contributions or illegally transferring money overseas.

Further, the competent agencies should impose heavy fines or withdraw the business licenses of travel firms or tour guides caught committing violations in the travel business and negatively affecting visitors’ interests, Tuan added.

VNAT’s job is to cooperate with the competent agencies to address violations, but it does not have the authority to tackle these problems alone, Tuan said.

The latest data showed that international tourists to Vietnam in January-September totaled nearly 11.7 million, up 22.9% year-on-year, while local visitors accounted for an estimated 62 million arrivals. Local and foreign tourists have helped the country earn more than VND450 trillion in revenue, up 20% versus last year.

According to a report on SGT

Vietnam’s per capita GDP up 17.3 pct in 3 years: PM

Advertisements

This year’s estimated per capita GDP of $2,540 marks a $440 increase over 2015, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc informed the National Assembly Monday.
In term of purchasing power parity (PPP), the per capita income in 2018 is estimated at $7,640, and expected to rise annually by six percent to reach $8,580 in 2020, the prime minister said.

“Many international organizations said that Vietnam has good prospects, and is one of the fastest growing economies in the region and in the world,” Phuc noted.

Vietnam is likely to achieve GDP growth of 6.7 percent in 2018, he said, adding that despite complex fluctuations in the domestic and global economies, caused in particular by the US-China trade war, as well as financial and currency market risks, Vietnam has managed to pull through 2018 with several positive economic signs.

GDP growth reached 6.98 percent between January and September, and foreign direct investment inflows into Vietnam this year will likely reach a record $18 billion, Phuc said.

It is expected that inflation will be kept at below 4 percent for the year, the third year in a row that the government has maintained this level, he added.

Vietnam is aiming to post economic growth of between 6.6-6.8 percent in 2019, the PM said, adding that the target of keeping inflation below 4 percent will also be applied.

However, he conceded that there was pressure on Vietnam’s inflation rate due to higher crude and electricity prices as well as costlier education and healthcare services.

To speed up economic development, the Government plans to push ahead with the state-owned enterprise restructuring plan, Phuc said.

“We want to restructure public investment more effectively and improve the efficiency of capital use. Furthermore, the privatization and divestment of state-owned enterprises will ensure publicity, transparency and maximization of the State’s interests,” the PM said.

He emphasized the need for strong development of the private sector and the creation of a favourable and competitive environment that maximizes resources and improves all economic sectors.

The Government will also focus on public investment, speeding up implementation of projects like the North-South expressway and the Long Thanh International Airport in southern Dong Nai Province, the PM said.

Source: Vnexpress

October 22: Indexes up in early trade

Advertisements

Morning session positive as regional markets do well.

The first trading session of the week on Vietnam’s stock market opened amid positive signs from regional markets. The Shanghai Composite Index and Hangsheng Index rose sharply, while the Kospi and Nikkei225 rebounded to their reference level after a sharp fall early on, which gave domestic investors confidence and provided momentum.

Petroleum stocks such as GAS, PVS, PVD, BSR and PVB attracted good cash flows thanks to a recovery in oil prices after more than a week of corrections, in addition to good third quarter business results.

Textile stocks like TNG, EVE, GIL and VGT also gained quite well, while TCM was sold aggressively and fell to its floor due to concerns among investors about US customers going bankrupt.

Bank stocks such as ACB, BID, CTG, MBB, VPB, HDB and TPB also performed well, helping the market become stronger. SKG rose after three consecutive sessions of decline.

At 10am, the VN-Index had increased 4.17 points (0.44 per cent) to 962.49 points, the HNX-Index 0.54 points (0.5 per cent) to 108.65 points, and UPCoM-Index 0.541 per cent to 52.69 points. Market liquidity remained low, however, with an order matching value of VND850 billion ($3.4 million), indicating that investors remain cautious.

This week will continue to see third quarter business results released. According to local securities companies, such results will be largely positive though uneven. Businesses not posting positive results will be under pressure, as VCS and SKG were last week.

The stock market has been greatly influenced by events in international market in recent times. Strained relations such as those between the US and China make it difficult to determine if or by how much the local market will fluctuate. Vietnam’s macroeconomic indicators are still positive, which together with major businesses announcing good third quarter results should provide support to the market.

Van Hai report on Vneconomictimes

Stocks could fall 40% to 50% to reach fair value, with recession in first half of 2019: Morgan Creek Capital

Advertisements

Investors should brace themselves for a significant stock market correction, as well as a recession in the first half of next year, investor Mark Yusko warned on Thursday.

In fact, he says, fair value for equities would be down about 40 percent to 50 percent. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the stock market will have to go to fair value, Yusko said.

“If interest rates keep normalizing, if liquidity keeps falling, if earnings go to where I think they are going to go, which is lower, I think we are going to have a meaningful correction,” the founder and chief investment officer at Morgan Creek Capital said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”

Yusko, a noted stock picker who took first place in Portfolios with Purpose’s fantasy stock-picking contest in 2016, predicts a recession in the first or second quarter of 2019.

“Things are paying out now just like they did in 2000, 2001, 2002,” he said. In the back part of 2000, the stock market went down, 2001 brought a recession, and in 2002 the stock market took a big turn down.

“It’s just going to be painful for a while to adjust this overvaluation,” Yusko added.

Stocks seesawed in the red in volatile trading on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by more than 650 points in afternoon trading, a day after the blue-chip index plunged nearly 832 points, or 3.15 percent. The recent rapid rise in bond yields has been weighing on equities, adding to concerns about the future for Federal Reserve monetary policy. On Thursday, Treasury yields fell from multiyear highs after weaker-than-expected inflation data.

Yusko also questioned whether the economy is really strong.

“We had one good quarter. We’ve been sub 2 percent [economic growth] for six years,” he said.

Plus, forecasts are that gross domestic product is going to be lower than expectations in the third quarter and even lower in the fourth quarter, and there are bad demographics and bad debt, he added.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group, told “Power Lunch” he doesn’t see a recession and doesn’t necessarily believe this is the start of a bear market.

If things get bad enough, there could even be a chance for one more rally in this bull market, he said.

“We maybe could refresh values, refresh sentiment — that is, gut-check sentiment — and then maybe there’s going to be a great opportunity,” he added. “I don’t know if it’s here today, but I think if this keeps up, maybe in the not too much distant future it might be time to get aggressive again for one last run in this bull.”

Bitcoin over US stocks
Instead of U.S. stocks, Yusko said he likes bitcoin, which he thinks will outperform equities over the next couple of years.

The cryptocurrency was hit along with the stock market, despite being seen as a “safe haven” asset.

“People do get nervous about liquidity panics, and if you look at the holders of bitcoin there are whole bunch of people who bought in at the wrong time in December,” he said. “Those weak hands are folding.”

Therefore, he said, it is a great time to buy it.

Source: CNBC

Due to prices dropping, coffee companies coming back to home market

Advertisements

Coffee exporters have been told to exploit the home market as the export price is on the decrease

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has predicted that the coffee price in the world market is not likely to increase as Vietnam enters the new harvesting crop in a couple of weeks.

A report from the Farm Produce Processing and Market Development Department showed that in the first nine months of 2018, the coffee price in the domestic market dropped sharply by VND2,400 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the average coffee export price in the first eight months of the year was $1,913 per ton, which means a 15.5 percent fall compared with the same period last year. The global coffee market is witnessing oversupply and low demand.

The coffee output continues to increase because of bountiful crops in Brazil, Vietnam and other major coffee producing countries such as Colombia, India and Indonesia.

The domestic market has also been fluctuating in line with the world market. Robusta coffee in Central Highlands has seen the price decrease by VND700 per kilogram compared with the month before to VND32,500 per kilogram.

The pressure on coffee price is also coming from dollar appreciation. The US FED’s decision to raise the interest rate has made the greenback stronger than currencies of major coffee export countries.

Opportunities in home market

As it is more difficult to export products, coffee companies have been trying to seek new and niche markets.

Phuc Sinh JSC, for example, has announced the plan to exploit the domestic market with the strategy to sell 100 percent pure coffee products.

Phuc Sinh’s CEO Phan Minh Thong said that it is not easy to conquer the home market, even though Phuc Sinh exports 70,000 tons of coffee each year that meet the US and European standards.

“In order to have high-quality products at reasonable prices, we have to make heavy investments,” Thong said.

The 10-year experience in exporting coffee may not help Phuc Sinh much in accessing the home market. The company only began distributing its products via supermarkets two years ago and its domestic sales are just equal to 1 percent of exports.

According to MARD and the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, Vietnam has 150 coffee export companies and 3,000 coffee collection agents, but only one-third of them have coffee processing workshops.

Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter. Only 10 percent of its coffee output is reserved for domestic processing and consumption, while the other 90 percent of output is exported as raw materials.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

Malaysia’s RHB Bank bags approval to buy Vietnam Securities Corp

Advertisements

Malaysia’s RHB Bank Bhd has secured the approval of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (Vietnam SSC) for its proposed acquisition of the remaining 51 per cent stake in Vietnam Securities Corporation (VNSEC) for VND121.63 million ($5.37 million) in cash.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Monday, RHB said the approval was granted on October 18 via a letter from Vietnam SSC dated October 17. The proposed acquisition must be completed in 90 days from the date of approval.

This February, RHB Bank had entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with Chu Thi Phuong Dung, Truong Lan Anh and Viet Quoc Insurance Broker Joint Stock Company for the acquisition of the 51 per cent equity interest in VNSEC it doesn’t already own.

Post-acquisition, VSEC will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of RHB Investment Bank, which currently holds a 49 per cent stake in VSEC. VSEC was established in December 2006 and commenced operations in March 2007.

RHB Bank was granted a license to open its representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in 2008.

The banking group is the fourth largest fully-integrated financial services group in Malaysia, with seven core businesses: group retail banking, group business and transaction banking, group wholesale banking, RHB Singapore, group Shariah business, group international business and group insurance.

RHB Bank’s regional presence span across ten markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

According to a report on Dealstreetasia

Vietnam targets 6.6-6.8 pct GDP growth in 2019

Advertisements

Vietnam is targeting economic growth of between 6.6 percent and 6.8 percent in 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Monday.

In a speech to the National Assembly, Phuc said foreign direct investment inflows into Vietnam this year will likely reach a record $18 billion.

He also said the Southeast Asian country will aim to keep the inflation rate at 4 percent for 2019.

This year’s growth will likely be above 6.7 percent, while inflation will likely remain below 4 percent, Phuc said.

However, he said there is pressure on Vietnam’s inflation rate due to higher prices for crude oil and electricity as well as education and healthcare services.

According to a report on Reuters

Ministries announce cut in petrol price

Advertisements

The retail price of biofuel E5 RON 92 fell by VNĐ224 to a maximum of VNĐ20,682 (US$0.88) per litre at 3pm on Monday, the ministries of Industry and Trade and Finance announced.

This is the first decrease after three hikes in recent months

The price of RON 95-III also dropped by VNĐ144 to a maximum of VNĐ22,203 per litre. Meanwhile, the prices of diesel 0.05S and kerosene were kept unchanged at VNĐ18,611 and VNĐ17,086 per litre, respectively.

The price of mazut 180CST also remained unchanged at VNĐ15,694 per kilo.

The two ministries also decided to use VNĐ1,213 per litre for E5 RON 92, VNĐ600 per litre for RON 95, VNĐ34 per litre for diesel, VNĐ722 per litre for kerosene and VNĐ653 per kilo for mazut from the price stabilisation fund.

According to the ministries, the global price of RON 92, which is used to produce biofuel E5, averaged $87.12 per barrel. Those of RON95 and diesel 0.05S were $89.32 per barrel and $96.26 per barrel, respectively.

The global prices of kerosene and mazut averaged at $95.67 per barrel and $502,560 per tonne, respectively.

The price of ethanol E100, which is used as the basis for the calculation of the price of biofuel E5 RON 92 after the elimination of petrol RON 92, stood at VNĐ15,458 per litre without value added tax.

Reviews of fuel prices are announced every 15 days to keep up with swings in the global market.

Source: Vietnamnews

Cheap Chinese-made cars not welcome in Vietnam

Advertisements

The General Department of Customs (GDC) reported that 86 Chinese-made cars with fewer than nine seats arrived in Vietnam this month.

In the week from September 28 to October 4, businesses filed customs declarations for the import of 3,465 cars worth $65.2 million, Vietnamnet reported.

CBU (complete built unit) cars imported to Vietnam were mostly sourced from Thailand (2,122), Indonesia (952), Mexico (241) and China (111). The imports from the four markets amounted to 99 percent of total imports of the week.

As for fewer-than-9-seater cars, 1,392 products arrived, worth $25.7 million, accounting for 40 percent of total CBU imports.

It was a surprise that fewer-than-9-seater imports from Indonesia were higher than from Thailand (673 vs 608), and that 86 cars came from China.

Vietnam’s enterprises also imported tens of CBU cars from China in April and May, but no cars arrived from May to September.

Some analysts commented that Vietnamese car dealers continue importing Chinese cars as they hope purchasing power will be higher in the year-end season.

However, they said demand for Chinese cars is not high and imports will not increase significantly.

Tran Quoc Thanh, the owner of a car showroom in Hanoi, said he doesn’t intend to sell Chinese cars.

“We plan to import cars from some markets, but mostly well-known brands such as Toyota, Honda and Mazda,” he said.

He went on to say that car dealers won’t take risk trading unfamiliar models with little known brands, unless they get financial support from manufacturers.

Another car dealer in Hanoi said he received an invitation to sell Chinese cars. However, Chinese manufacturers have not organized trade promotion activities since then.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Tung Duong, the owner of a car showroom on Nguyen Xien street in Hanoi said he once thought of joining Chinese businesses to sell Chinese cars in Vietnam, but he finally gave up the plan.

The greatest advantage of Chinese products is low price, which could be up to 30 percent cheaper than products of other manufacturers. However, the warranty and dealer support policies are poor.

“They (Chinese manufacturers) may look forward to tariff cuts or they still don’t really want to conquer the Vietnamese market. So they are not running ad campaigns,” he commented.

Duong added that Chinese vehicles have been present in Vietnam for a long time, but are mostly trucks and trailers. China-made cars are not welcome in Vietnam, he added.

The blessing in a ban: Vietnam can become global center for blockchain innovation

Advertisements

Can Vietnam’s hardline stance on cryptocurrency be a blessing in disguise?

It can be, if you’re looking at it from the right vantage. In July of this year, the State Securities Commission (SSC) banned local companies from providing any related cryptocurrency products, services, or transactions, along with collaborating with any external cryptocurrency ventures. And just one month later, the Vietnamese Customs Department followed through on a proposed ban of all mining imports, mostly models from China’s Bitmain.

Most people would view these policies, even if the Vietnamese government comes around to establishing more cryptocurrency-friendly regulation, as a fatal blow to the industry. After all, other countries in Asia Pacific – including everyone from Indonesia and Korea to Singapore and the Philippines – are racing to launch nation- and city-wide cryptocurrency initiatives and projects, such as cryptohubs in Cagayan and Jeju. Vietnam’s current ban would seem to set it far behind this regional race, and they’re right: The country may never catch up to its peers, at least as it comes to cryptocurrency.

Now that cryptocurrency is effectively banned in Vietnam, the nation’s entrepreneurs, developers, and investors can flock to its underlying technology: blockchain. Though cryptocurrency and the blockchain are often erroneously used in place of one another, the blockchain refers only to the tech. To put it simply, blockchain is a public ledger of records, and it promises to potentially upend many different global industries, such as real estate, digital rights, and healthcare through decentralization.

The cryptocurrency ban in Vietnam, in short, should be viewed as a hidden advantage. It spares the nation’s talent from competing in the hotly contested, regional cryptocurrency battle, and it enables them to focus on the greater opportunity present in blockchain. In doing so, Vietnam can leapfrog its neighbors. While they fight to establish the top cryptohub to varying degrees of success, Vietnam can distinguish itself as the best place for blockchain innovation, in Asia and perhaps even the world.

For Vietnam to be a global blockchain hub, the country’s talent must have the foresight to recognize which platforms in the space can elevate them to success, much in the same way that the Vietnamese developers who were smart enough to build for the App Store or Google Play early on were able to profit handsomely, such as Dong Nguyen, the maker of Flappy Bird. In this view, Vietnamese founders would be wise to take a look at such platforms as XPhone, the new blockchain-based phone made by Indonesia’s Pundi X.

Primarily known for its cryptocurrency point-of-sale system, the XPOS, Pundi X’s foray into smart phones made headlines around the world. The XPhone is built around a blockchain-based operating system, Function X, which even includes FXTP, a new transmission protocol. The XPhone will allow users to make calls and receive messages completely via blockchain nodes, obviating the need for a phone number. This blockchain-based messaging can be toggled on and off via the XPhone’s operating system, which builds upon Android 9.0.

Most promisingly, Pundi X is making it easy for Android and web developers to transition into building apps for their the XPhone’s blockchain-based operating system by building a community and developing the ecosystem. The XPhone is still in its early stages – it will not be released commercially until the second quarter of 2019 – so any Vietnamese entrepreneur or developer that begins developing for the platform early on may have a first-mover advantage in their particular apps category.

Of course, adopting and investing into platforms on the bleeding edge of blockchain technology like Pundi X’s XPhone – or any other for that matter – requires a leap of faith. We must not lament upon what we lost in the country’s cryptocurrency regulation. Instead we should focus on what Vietnam can transform into if the nation’s top tech talent joins together: We can become a global hub for blockchain innovation.

By Janelle Manahan

Vietnam Airlines to swap business-class seats for economy in fleet revamp

Advertisements

State-owned carrier Vietnam Airlines has plans to adopt a new strategy from November that involves reducing business-class seats on its planes while increasing the number of economy seats, sparking rumors the airline will soon offer low-cost options on its otherwise full-service flights.

The change will come with Vietnam Airlines’ addition of new Airbus A321neo planes to its fleet in late October and early November, an airline leader told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

More economy seats will also pave the way for introducing a broader range of fare options for cost-conscious flyers, he added.

Offering more choices in economy class is a common practice in the aviation industry, he said, stressing that Vietnam Airlines is focused on improving service quality and satisfying customers’ needs.

“The plan is not yet final, as it’s still being considered,” the airline leader added.

“Even if we’re committed to making it happen, it will not be a simple task. The change arises from customers’ needs and will not affect the quality of our service,” he said.

Some Vietnam Airlines flights currently depart with empty business-class seats, so rolling out more economy options and promotions to improve occupancy rate is an understandable move, he added.

Nevertheless, some have described the plan as the flag carrier’s first step in offering low-cost options on its otherwise full-service flights.

However, the Vietnam Airlines leader dismissed the suggestion, saying that the airline does not aim to tap into the low-cost market, as it is not in line with its brand positioning.

The national flag carrier already holds majority stake at budget airline Jetstar Pacific, which it acquired in February 2012.

According to a report on Tuoi Tre News

One dead, dozens injured as the BMW car slammed into motorbikes

Advertisements

A BMW car slammed into several motorbikes at an intersection in Saigon Sunday night, killing one person and injuring dozens of others.

Nguyen Thi Nga, 46, was reportedly speeding on Dien Bien Phu Street and approaching the Saigon Bridge when she lost control and crashed into least six motorbikes waiting at the traffic light at the Hang Xanh intersection.

The car only came to a halt after ramming a taxi.

A motorbike driver, whose identity has not been disclosed, was killed on the spot while many others were hospitalized with injuries.

“I saw a middle-aged woman stepping out of the BMW car after the accident; she looked scared,” an eyewitness said.

She told the police she had drunk beer at a restaurant in District 1.

The police said on the way back home she became drowsy and lost control, resulting in the deadly accident.

Her alcohol test result was 0.94 miligrams per liter of breath. “The level showed that the driver had use a lot of alcohol and lost control,” a police officer said. Nga has been held for investigation.

Victims and witnesses recalled the incident in shock, some saying the crash was as loud as “a bomb blast.”

“It was like a war zone, motorbikes and people were lying all over the place,” said Thao, who was injured from the accident. She said the dead victim was dragged by the car for around 20 meters.

Traffic was blocked in the area until 1:30 a.m. Monday.

Road crashes are a common cause of death in Vietnam, killing almost one person every hour on average, according to official figures.

Flouting road safety norms and causing deaths is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

According to a report on VnExpress

Shopee has beat Lazada to become the top e-commerce platform in Vietnam

Advertisements

Q3, 2018 Shopee becomes top e-commerce player in Vietnam by traffic

The competition was growing fierce in Vietnam’s e-commerce market, which is expected to reach US$10 billion by 2022.

According to a report by Iprice Insight, Shopee has beat Lazada to become the top e-commerce platform by traffic in the third quarter of this year, according to the Map of E-commerce in Vietnam recently. Statistics showed that Shopee had a monthly average traffic of 34.5 million in the quarter. It was closely followed by Lazada with a monthly average traffic of 30.2 million.

This is the first time Lazada has lost the top position since the second quarter of 2017.Other players in the top five included Tiki with 29.4 million traffic per month, Sendo with 20.7 million and Adayroi with 5.3 million.The top four, including Shopee, Lazada, Tiki and Sendo all received foreign funding.The competition was growing fierce in Vietnam’s e-commerce market, which is anticipated to reach US$10 billion by 2022.

The ranking was forecast to see significant changes in the last quarter of this year when e-commerce platforms would offer more promotion and discount programmes to stimulate shopping as the year-end approaches.

Iprice Insight is run by iPrice Group, a price comparison platform in seven markets, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Vietnam to launch the first ethical elephant experience

Advertisements

In a move that will delight animal-lovers, Vietnam has decided to ditch elephant rides in favor of the country’s first ethical elephant experience at one of its national parks.

The Yok Don National Park in Đắk Lắk of Vietnam is now running ethical elephant tours where tourists can come and observe the park’s four elephants from a distance as they roam freely around the forest. Animals Asia, who work for long-term change in the treatment of animals in China and Vietnam, praised the move saying “exploitation has been replaced with respect.”

According to a report by ANNEMARIE MCCARTHY on Lonely Planet. The move is a huge step for the park. Until very recently, elephants were kept in chains and being used to bring tourists on rides that could last the entire day. This also prevented them from engaging in their natural behavior, such as foraging, touching each other or drinking water when they needed to.

In order to facilitate the transition, UK charity Olsen Animal Trust has provided funding to ensure that elephant owners will not lose out on their current livelihoods, with the hope that this more ethical approach will have long-term dividends for locals, the environment and the animals.

Visitors can watch the elephants from a distance. Photo by Animals Asia

Already, there is a positive change in the elephants’ behavior. Dionne Slagter from Animals Asia explained that “in the wild, elephants spend up to 18 hours a day foraging and this is exactly how Yok Don’s elephants now spend the majority of their time. They all look so much healthier and are increasingly confident in how far they roam.”

As awareness grows about the negative impact of riding elephants, more ethical experiences have replaced the rides in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos but Vietnam has been lagging behind on conservation. As a consequence, their elephant population has been in steep decline and there are estimated to be less than 100 wild elephants left in the country, down from 2000 in 1990. 80 more elephants are estimated to be in captivity, most providing rides for tourists.

The elephants now have the freedom to forage and go for water whenever they like. Photo by Animals Asia

The park has signed on to this eco-tourism initiative until April 2023 and Animals Asia hopes that it will become profitable by that time, encouraging other elephant facilities around the country to follow their example. There are believed to be 40 captive elephants in the Dak Lak province where the park is located.

So far, early feedback from the first few tours has been encouraging and will help the park grow and evolve their offering over time.