Neither Rice Terraces of Sapa, Lao Cai province nor Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai provice of Vietnam, but The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were the first “cultural landscape” to make the UNESCO World Heritage List.
“When I first saw this photo, I thought it was a natural landscape. Then I noticed the striped trenches cascading down the hills like green waves and realized I was looking at something manmade. It seemed like a stunning landscape design, a clash between hill and sea. But this isn’t some grand piece of public artwork. It’s a rice field.” Ilana Strauss wrote on treehugger.com.
Perhaps any Vietnamese person would have known that, but I’m from Illinois. Cornfields do not look like this. Cornfields are overgrown carpets from sky to sky. (No offense, corn. You didn’t choose this life for yourself.) But these rice paddies? They’re worth staring at.
Sapa, Vietnam
The Internet tells me these so-called “terrace steps” keep water on the hill, rather than at the bottom of it, making it easier to water the rice and saving water. Pretty cool technique, huh? The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were the first “cultural landscape” to make the UNESCO World Heritage List.
“For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains,” says UNESCO. “The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment.”
A ceremony was held at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on October 15 to see off the second group of Vietnam’s first Level-2 field hospital to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, head of the steering committee of Vietnam’s UN peacekeeping operations, asked leaders of the hospital to ensure safety for the staffers and carry forward the spirit of solidarity to successfully fulfil tasks assigned by the UN, Vietnamnet reported
He also requested the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations to implement policies towards families of the officers and soldiers, and pledged that the Defence Ministry will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to create the best possible conditions for the hospital to operate in South Sudan, contributing to raising the position and prestige of Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Army in particular at the international arena.
The hospital is the first-ever independent unit of Vietnam to join the UN peacekeeping operations. It will replace the second-level field hospital of the UK army in Bentiu, South Sudan, to provide medical care for staffers of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan within one year.
On October 1, the first group of the hospital with 30 members set off for the African country.
On November 25, 2014, the Defence Ministry issued a decision to establish the Level-2 field hospital with a 70-strong staff, a step to realise the Party and State’s policy on joining the United Nations’ peacekeeping activities in the field of humanitarian activities.
Police in Hanoi has busted an online kidney trading ring which involved four locals, Dtinews reported
On October 15, Hanoi police announced that they had prosecuted and arrested Tran Van Phuong, 29, from Bac Giang Province for illegal human organ trafficking.
Three other suspects including 22-year-old Le Thuy Linh, 30-year-old Hoang Ngoc Tien and 27-year-old Phan Van Hung are also being investigated.
Due to the rising demand for kidney transplants in Hanoi, Tran Van Phuong used Facebook to find sellers and buyers. He also organised a trading ring with accomplices. The buyers and sellers were asked to make a fake organ donation form.
From January to September, he succeeded in completing three kidney transactions, paying from VND250m (USD10,700) to VND320m. They sold the organs from VND340m to VND360m.
Hung and Tien acted as drivers, transporting the sellers and buyers to compatibility tests. They were paid VND5m (USD214) for each successful transaction. Linh was the cook for the group and their customers during the whole time.
The Thu Thiem Tunnel in Saigon has been reopened to traffic following a temporary closure today early morning.
The tunnel was shutdown after a truck crashed into scaffolding at the entrance of the tunnel in District 2.
According to a report on VNS, the incident caused the scaffolding to collapse and a motorcyclist was thrown from his vehicle. The rider was taken to hospital for emergency treatment. Local police is now searching for the driver, who fled the scene after the incident.
The accident caused traffic to grind to a halt for 5 hours in surrounding areas, including on Nguyen Co Thach Street, Thu Thiem Bridge, Nguyen Huu Canh Street and Ton Duc Thang street.
Work to clear the road began quickly on Monday morning | Source: VNS
The tunnel, running under the Saigon River, which is 1.49km long, 33m wide and 9m high. The tunnel links the new urban area of Thu Thiem in District 2 with downtown Saigon in District 1.
It has six lanes which can carry around 45,000 automobiles and 15,000 motorcycles daily.
Grab and every ride hailing firm in Vietnam may soon have to display electronic lights on their cars showing the word ‘TAXI’, if the Government approves a proposal from the Ministry of Transport (MoT).
It is one of the recommendations in the latest amended draft decree built by MoT to replace Decree No 86/2014/NĐ-CP on conditions for automobile transportation business.
According to a report on VNS, the ministry proposes that app-based taxi cars with less than nine seats should be treated the same as traditional taxis to ensure fairness, transparency and the same responsibilities towards customers.
If this regulation is approved, all vehicles will have to attach the signal “TAXI CAR” on the car glass; list full information on the vehicle as prescribed; and there must be a light box with the word “TAXI” fixed on the roof of the cars.
For traditional taxi firms, if using the metre calculator, these calculator tools must be inspected and sealed by a competent agency and must have receipts connected to the meters on the vehicle. Drivers must print invoices or receipts and return to the passengers at the end of the journey.
Receipts must include at least the following information: the name of the transport business unit, car number plate, the traveled distance in Km and the total amount of money in VND. Chargers and printers must be put at the positions that passengers are easy to observe.
For app-based taxis, vehicles must ensure the connection and provide passengers with the same details.
Software must comply with the provisions of law on e-commerce before implementation.
Enterprises and cooperatives providing taxi services using the software must send their electronic invoices to passengers and send information of electronic invoices to the General Department of Taxation in accordance with the regulations of the Minister of Finance.
This draft decree has just been submitted to the Prime Minister for approval after taking comments of National Assembly’s Economic Committee; Prime Minister’s working group, Central Institute for Economic Management; Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; taxi associations in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC; Vinasun Corporation and Thanh Buoi Company.
Vietnamese Prime Minister has given the green light for Ho Chi Minh City to build three hospitals, estimated total investment of US$240 million.
Three new infirmaries include the General Hospital Thu Duc, the General Hospital Hoc Mon and the General Hospital Cu Chi. Spending on the infirmaries will be taken from the city budget to improve healthcare services for city dwellers.
Nguyen Tan Binh form Department of Health said the construction project of three hospitals is one of the health sector’s six major projects from now to 2020 with the vision to 2030.
According to a report on SGGP, a local newspaper, six major projects include to build five hospitals: City Children Hospital, Tumor Hospital, the General Hospital Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Thu Duc, and Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University Hospital. Amongst hospitals, only City Children Hospital was put into operation in 2017 and the Tumor Hospital will be put in use in 2019.
The three hospitals will be equipped with modern devices to help reduce patient overload in big hospitals in inner city and provide examination and treatment on residents in outlying districts and neighboring south east provinces.
Regarding the personnel preparation, Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University has allowed to train more students who will work in clinics in districts. Moreover, medical workers in big hospitals will help their peers in newly-built hospitals and take turn to work in new hospitals in six months or one years.
After the City Children Hospital received patients, it has helped reducing patient overload for Children Hospital 1 and 2 especially in fighting hand-foot-mouth disease and other diseases.
Alongside with this, medical clinic system in districts work well. For years, People’s Committee has poured much investment in these clinics by building new facilities and repairing old ones. District clinics can treat normal diseases and some of them receive good response from patients.
Next time, Can Gio general Hospital and a hospital in district 12 are expected to put into operation and Nha Be hospital and hospital in district 2 will start the work later on. Moreover, hospitals in 24 districts citiwide will have more new wards to meet increasing demand of patients. It is expected grass-root hospitals will help fighting overload in big medical institutions by 2020.
By THANH AN - Translated by UYEN PHUONG
Read full article at on SGGP
5AM today, a truck crashes in construction zones at Saigon River Tunnel.
Many things falling down, traffic from both sides of Thu Thiem Tunnel has been blocked. | Source: Zing.vn
The Thu Thiem Tunnel is an underground road tunnel
Everyone has switched to the rest options to cross the Saigon river, such as Nguyen Huu Canh or Dien Bien Phu street. | Source: Zing.vn
On Thu Thiem bridge, from District 2 to Binh Thanh District. One of few options to reach the city center if the Thu Thiem Tunnel closed | Source: Social Media
So the traffic in Nguyen Huu Canh street paralyzed for hours |Source: Social Media
Police are investigating further.
The Thu Thiem Tunnel is an underground road tunnel designed to cross the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam.
The tunnel and associated highway were constructed to link the Thu Thiem Peninsula to National Highway 1A and provide a new integrated transport route for the country.
The project began in 2004 with $189m in capital provided by Japanese ODA (official development assistance) and a consortium of four Japanese contractors, namely Obayashi Corporation, Taisei Corporation, the Kumagai-Kajima consortium and Toa Corporation.
The week had started with relatively subdued price action, though slightly downward. At around USD200mn, liquidity was on par with its recent average. There was relatively little in terms of big news flow from Vietnam other than Vietnam is edging closer to hosting its first F1 race in 2020.
If anything, news about Vietnam was quite positive. Standard Chartered and UOB Bank (Singapore) both revised up their 2018 GDP growth target for Vietnam. Standard Chartered set it at 7%, higher than its previous forecast of 6.8%, while UOB forecasts 6.9% GDP growth in 2018. Their main rationale was that strong manufacturing activity from FDI inflows would support Vietnam’s medium-term growth.
However, on Thursday morning, echoing what had happened Wednesday in the US, all hell broke loose in Vietnam. Excluding some extreme volatility in 2001, when there were just a few stocks and the market was entirely driven by retail punters, the 4.84% drop on Thursday, was one of the VNIndex’ biggest single-day decline in its history!
The good news is that throughout Thursday’s trading there was sufficient liquidity for price discovery. And on Thursday and Friday there were bottom fishers willing to get in at lower prices.
The VNIndex closed the week down 2.6% on relatively strong trading, worth VND25,972.67bn (USD1.13bn). So far this quarter, the VNIndex has lost 4.6% but it’s still one of the better performing markets in the region, and it hasn’t done so bad against to US markets either.
Talking to clients, investors, and other brokers, most of them seem to think this was a knee jerk reaction to the sharp pullback in the US. And the action we saw on Friday seems to point to that idea, as the market bounced back +2.56%.
Foreign investors were net buyers on Friday, ending a 6-day streak of net selling. They injected roughly USD12mn into Vietnamese equities. Vietnam is one of the few countries in Asia with net inflows YTD and where foreign investors continue to invest.
Vietnam’s fundamentals are intact, and Vietnam’s capital market are still not very correlated with US markets. However, correlation is a funny indicator. When these types of “flash crashes” happen, correlations can increase very quickly. What is sure, Vietnam’s market is not immune to global pressure from global equity market volatility, rising interest rates, a strong US dollar, rising oil prices, and the continued row between US and China.
Earlier this week, I had looked at foreign funds’ cash positions. The 16 funds we looked at manage in aggregate an AUM of USD3.5bn. As of their latest updates, they only have about ~3% of their portfolio in cash. This may be explained by the fact that many Vietnam-focused funds are now open-ended. In any event, this doesn’t give them a lot of “dry powder” at times when the market corrects and buying opportunities arise.
Rong Viet Securities Equity Research Summary
Analyst Pinboard
Dry Cell And Storage Battery JSC (HoSE: PAC): Competitive Landscape of the Battery Industry and Position
· Despite fierce competition, PAC’s market share remains stable.
· In the automobile battery market, the company accounts for 40-45% of total sales. Meanwhile in the motorbike battery segment, PAC has only 7%.
· Market share of the leading battery manufacturers remained stable over the last few years. We believe that its competitive edge is attributable to an effective management distribution system.
· The company uses advanced software to control its distribution channels.
· Sales administration policy gives it power over its distributors.
· PAC establishes control not only at the distribution system level but also at the retail level.
· We find PAC’s sales administration relatively optimal but we believe that the market share of the firm will not increase in the future but stay stable.
Vietnam Electrical Equipment JSC (HoSE: GEX ) – Restructuring of the electrical equipment sector promises positive results
· After the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s divestment in December 2015, GEX began its restructuring to become a conglomerate.
· Gelex restructured itself into three main sectors: electrical equipment and other industries; Infrastructure including logistic and utility; and real estate.
· GEX has transferred all of its ownership in its subsidiaries operating in the electrical equipment industry to GELEX Electric.
· Gelex also disclosed its intention to increase its ownership and delist those companies.
· We believe that information transparency is an issue to keep in mind whence the subsidiaries of the electrical equipment industry are no longer public companies.
· GEX plans to increase its ownership in Dong Anh Electric Equipment (UpCOM: TBD) to make it become a subsidiary of Gelex.
· Gelex expects to increase its electrical equipment sector efficiency after the “move under one roof”
· After completing the M&A and restructuring process, GEX electrical production mix will cover fully high, medium and low voltage.
Cuong Thuan IDICO Development Investment Coporation (HoSE: CTI ) – Rebound in 2H 2018
· Cuong Thuan Investment Development IDICO JSC (HSX: CTI) specializes in infrastructure construction and quarries. It focuses on these as a long-term growth driver.
· Top line revenues dropped in 1H18, except for stone quarries. Revenues and NPAT came in at VND416bn (-25% YoY) and VND56bn (-20% YoY), respectively.
· Construction job is expected to recover in 2H18 as BOT 319 Long Thanh – HCMC progress was restored in July.
· On the other hand, Thien Tan 10 quarry was exploded in July, regaining exploit activities.
· Coupled with boosting construction activities, 2H18 result may turn positive. 3Q18 revenue and NPAT are expected to be around VND320bn (+5% YoY) and VND53bn (+62% YoY), respectively.
Pha Lai Thermal Power JSC (HoSE: PPC ) – Update on 3Q18 Business Performance
· Core earnings of PPC in 3Q18 remained stable, meanwhile, new changes in PPC’s capex plan helped to reduce the risk for the company.
· PPC managed a significant improvement in its average selling price (ASP) while sales volume decreased by 15% YoY to VND1.254tn.
· Changes in capex plan results in lower risks for PPC
· The reversal of financial expenses from FX differences in 2016 is expected to be recognized in 4Q 2018, making it a potential catalyst for PPC’s business results.
· Overall, while we consider the prospect of Pha Lai 3 power project uncertain and too early to factor in PPC’s earnings, we still have a positive view because of the above-mentioned changes in its capex plan. This could help maintain its ability to pay a stable cash dividend of VND2,500/share.
Inflation Expectations
· Monetary policy is always driven by inflation expectations. In Vietnam, the Government and the State Bank are aware of the above relationship and make efforts to keep inflation in check.
· In recent years, domestic factors have been the driver of inflation. This year, the rise of pork prices is a contributor to inflation. We forecast 2018’s inflation to be around 4.1%-4.2%, slightly above the target.
· Local energy prices have risen 10% YTD while, in our opinion, they should have been higher as imported energy prices upped 20-30% YTD. The delay of the environmental protection tax on gasoline prices until 2019 and the stop to increase other government-controlled fees are also notable.
· From our point of view, the government has done a good job to sustain macro stability, including anchoring inflation expectations.
“I used to be a pop star,” Mai Khoi says in her presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum this September. “I had a lot of fans, shows and money.”
Khoi, known as the Lady Gaga of Vietnam, traded in the trappings of fame to push for human rights and creative expression in her home country. It’s a decision that’s gotten her effectively banned from singing in the authoritarian country — and one she doesn’t regret.
“I was living in a good life,” says the 34-year-old, “but it wasn’t enough for me.”
The pop star is petite and her English is lilting, as though her voice has been pressed upon a sinusoidal curve. Her words feel carefully plucked and laid down, one and then the next, in an earnest effort to communicate herself clearly, even in a tongue in which she has to search for words deliberately. (English is not Khoi’s first language. Her quotes are transcribed here in the way she speaks.)
Two years ago, Khoi was a successful musician with multiple albums who’d won one of her country’s biggest music awards. Still, she grew bored of the Vietnamese pop industry thanks to the country’s restrictive censorship system. “I couldn’t feel free,” she says.
Vietnam is a communist, single-party state that forbids any challenge to its leadership and where rights such as freedom of speech and religion are severely restricted. Its human rights record is dire, according to non-profit Human Rights Watch, and some say it is “contending for the title of most repressive Asian government.”
She stopped spending time with singers and musicians who she said censored themselves and spent time instead with “dissident artists who were doing some interesting things.”
Soon, she became inspired to take political action. In 2016, in an effort to highlight the limits of political expression, Khoi attempted (unsuccessfully) to register herself for a parliament seat. “I was rejected from the ballot unfairly and [without any] transparency because Vietnam is a one-party state that does not allow for political opposition,” says Khoi.
This move was the start of Khoi’s problems with the government. Three weeks after submitting her nomination to the National Assembly, Khoi’s music show was raided, she says, and a notice was put into a Vietnamese “police magazine” with the intention “to let people know that I am effectively banned from singing in public. So I couldn’t sing in public in my country.”
To be clear, Khoi is “effectively” banned because the Vietnamese government can not specifically ban her from performing, she explains. However, publishing the notice had a chilling effect. “People don’t dare to invite me to sing,” she says.
Since Vietnam’s media is state run, Khoi was also no longer invited to appear on TV or in the press, Khoi explains to CNBC Make It.
Khoi in 2010. Photo courtesy: Mai Khoi.
Also that year, Khoi attended a public protest after toxic industrial waste was released from a steel plant called Formosa Plastic contaminating waters and killing fish. She said several thousand peaceful protestors took to the streets and were beaten bloody by the police — including women and children, Khoi tells CNBC Make It.
“And what I’ve seen in that protest,” she says, “that’s the most strong feeling, the most strong emotion I receive and it make me sing out loud.”
By May 2016, President Barack Obama visited Vietnam and Khoi was among those who met with him. She had made a video inviting Obama to meet with her ahead of his visit. “You know, the video went viral,” Khoi says in her presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
A friend with a relative who worked in the Vietnamese government informed Khoi that she would not be able to attend the meeting with Obama because the state police had her under 24-7 surveillance.
She went into hiding and found her way into the meeting. “I could come to the meeting,” she says. “I made it.” Khoi delivers this dramatic piece of her story softly to the Oslo Freedom Forum audience and with a proud smile. She is rewarded with loud clapping.
In his Vietnam visit, Obama acknowledged the work of popular artists to speak out on behalf of freedom of speech and expression. In a video statement at the time, while seated next to Khoi, he said: “It is very hard to prosper in this modern economy if you haven’t fully unleashed the potential of your people and your people’s potential in part derives from their ability to express themselves and express new ideas, to try to right wrongs that are taking place in the society.”
Obama added, “And so it is my hope that increasingly the Vietnamese government seeing the enormous strides the country is making has more confidence that its people want to work together but also want to be able to assemble and participate in the society.”
Obama also shared with Khoi some important advice about change, saying that difficult change must come slowly, like how water shapes a rock, Khoi tells CNBC Make It.
One challenge Khoi faced in getting Vietnamese people on board with her mission was that people in her country don’t understand what freedom of expression means or why it is important.
To show them what was possible, she created a sign to protest President Donald Trump who came to Vietnam but did not discuss human rights. The message on the sign: “Piss on you Trump.”
Mai Khoi protesting President Trump’s visit to Vietnam. Photo by Bennett Murray
“The protest sparked a healthy debate about freedom of expression in Vietnam,” Khoi says to The Economist. It also underscored the difficulties ahead for the Vietnamese in embracing new rights.
“What surprised me most was the extent to which people in Vietnam have authoritarian ways of thinking,” Khoi says to The Economist.
Khoi’s life has changed dramatically since becoming an activist. After returning from a tour in Europe last March, she was detained in the Hanoi airport for eight hours.
The detainment saddened Khoi. She felt ill thinking of the system that would allow her to be detained. It was a reminder that the people of Vietnam “are so weak we can’t do anything to fight for our right,” she tells CNBC Make It.
Since becoming a focal point of the authoritarian regime in Vietnam, Khoi has not been able to earn a living, she says. Fans send her money, in part, through a “donate” page on her personal website to help her meet basic needs and support her activism.
Those fans have also changed as she’s become more politically active. She says many Vietnamese are too fearful to support a dissident.
But she has new fans, she says, people with open minds and passionate hearts. “They can see what happened in Vietnam and they understand why I’m standing up for human rights,” she says.
Currently, Khoi is working on a graphic novel and video art to raise awareness for the lack of human rights in Vietnam. She’s also taking on yet another behemoth: Facebook.
Facebook had an essential role in fueling expression in Vietnam and the service helped her spread the word about her nomination to the National Assembly and even to her meeting with Barack Obama. However, she says in an op-ed for the Washington Post, the site has no independent oversight in Vietnam leading to locked accounts, silenced journalists and and paid accounts sowing division.
Khoi demands change: “Facebook has been a huge force for freedom in Vietnam, but this positive effect is now being reversed as the social media platform is delivered to authoritarianism. I hold Mark Zuckerberg accountable for this,” she writes.
Facebook had not yet responded to an email sent Thursday by CNBC Make It seeking response to the letter from Khoi when this story was published.
Mai Khoi. Photo credit: Julie Vola & The Word
“I used to be a pop star,” Mai Khoi says in her presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum this September. “I had a lot of fans, shows and money.”
Khoi, known as the Lady Gaga of Vietnam, traded in the trappings of fame to push for human rights and creative expression in her home country. It’s a decision that’s gotten her effectively banned from singing in the authoritarian country — and one she doesn’t regret.
“I was living in a good life,” says the 34-year-old, “but it wasn’t enough for me.”
The pop star is petite and her English is lilting, as though her voice has been pressed upon a sinusoidal curve. Her words feel carefully plucked and laid down, one and then the next, in an earnest effort to communicate herself clearly, even in a tongue in which she has to search for words deliberately. (English is not Khoi’s first language. Her quotes are transcribed here in the way she speaks.)
Two years ago, Khoi was a successful musician with multiple albums who’d won one of her country’s biggest music awards. Still, she grew bored of the Vietnamese pop industry thanks to the country’s restrictive censorship system. “I couldn’t feel free,” she says.
Vietnam is a communist, single-party state that forbids any challenge to its leadership and where rights such as freedom of speech and religion are severely restricted. Its human rights record is dire, according to non-profit Human Rights Watch, and some say it is “contending for the title of most repressive Asian government.”
She stopped spending time with singers and musicians who she said censored themselves and spent time instead with “dissident artists who were doing some interesting things.”
Soon, she became inspired to take political action. In 2016, in an effort to highlight the limits of political expression, Khoi attempted (unsuccessfully) to register herself for a parliament seat. “I was rejected from the ballot unfairly and [without any] transparency because Vietnam is a one-party state that does not allow for political opposition,” says Khoi.
This move was the start of Khoi’s problems with the government. Three weeks after submitting her nomination to the National Assembly, Khoi’s music show was raided, she says, and a notice was put into a Vietnamese “police magazine” with the intention “to let people know that I am effectively banned from singing in public. So I couldn’t sing in public in my country.”
To be clear, Khoi is “effectively” banned because the Vietnamese government can not specifically ban her from performing, she explains. However, publishing the notice had a chilling effect. “People don’t dare to invite me to sing,” she says.
Since Vietnam’s media is state run, Khoi was also no longer invited to appear on TV or in the press, Khoi explains to CNBC Make It.
Also that year, Khoi attended a public protest after toxic industrial waste was released from a steel plant called Formosa Plastic contaminating waters and killing fish. She said several thousand peaceful protestors took to the streets and were beaten bloody by the police — including women and children, Khoi tells CNBC Make It.
“And what I’ve seen in that protest,” she says, “that’s the most strong feeling, the most strong emotion I receive and it make me sing out loud.”
By May 2016, President Barack Obama visited Vietnam and Khoi was among those who met with him. She had made a video inviting Obama to meet with her ahead of his visit. “You know, the video went viral,” Khoi says in her presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
A friend with a relative who worked in the Vietnamese government informed Khoi that she would not be able to attend the meeting with Obama because the state police had her under 24-7 surveillance.
She went into hiding and found her way into the meeting. “I could come to the meeting,” she says. “I made it.” Khoi delivers this dramatic piece of her story softly to the Oslo Freedom Forum audience and with a proud smile. She is rewarded with loud clapping.
In his Vietnam visit, Obama acknowledged the work of popular artists to speak out on behalf of freedom of speech and expression. In a video statement at the time, while seated next to Khoi, he said: “It is very hard to prosper in this modern economy if you haven’t fully unleashed the potential of your people and your people’s potential in part derives from their ability to express themselves and express new ideas, to try to right wrongs that are taking place in the society.”
Obama added, “And so it is my hope that increasingly the Vietnamese government seeing the enormous strides the country is making has more confidence that its people want to work together but also want to be able to assemble and participate in the society.”
Obama also shared with Khoi some important advice about change, saying that difficult change must come slowly, like how water shapes a rock, Khoi tells CNBC Make It.
One challenge Khoi faced in getting Vietnamese people on board with her mission was that people in her country don’t understand what freedom of expression means or why it is important.
To show them what was possible, she created a sign to protest President Donald Trump who came to Vietnam but did not discuss human rights. The message on the sign: “Piss on you Trump.”
“The protest sparked a healthy debate about freedom of expression in Vietnam,” Khoi says to The Economist. It also underscored the difficulties ahead for the Vietnamese in embracing new rights.
“What surprised me most was the extent to which people in Vietnam have authoritarian ways of thinking,” Khoi says to The Economist.
Khoi’s life has changed dramatically since becoming an activist. After returning from a tour in Europe last March, she was detained in the Hanoi airport for eight hours.
The detainment saddened Khoi. She felt ill thinking of the system that would allow her to be detained. It was a reminder that the people of Vietnam “are so weak we can’t do anything to fight for our right,” she tells CNBC Make It.
Since becoming a focal point of the authoritarian regime in Vietnam, Khoi has not been able to earn a living, she says. Fans send her money, in part, through a “donate” page on her personal website to help her meet basic needs and support her activism.
Those fans have also changed as she’s become more politically active. She says many Vietnamese are too fearful to support a dissident.
But she has new fans, she says, people with open minds and passionate hearts. “They can see what happened in Vietnam and they understand why I’m standing up for human rights,” she says.
Currently, Khoi is working on a graphic novel and video art to raise awareness for the lack of human rights in Vietnam. She’s also taking on yet another behemoth: Facebook.
Facebook had an essential role in fueling expression in Vietnam and the service helped her spread the word about her nomination to the National Assembly and even to her meeting with Barack Obama. However, she says in an op-ed for the Washington Post, the site has no independent oversight in Vietnam leading to locked accounts, silenced journalists and and paid accounts sowing division.
Khoi demands change: “Facebook has been a huge force for freedom in Vietnam, but this positive effect is now being reversed as the social media platform is delivered to authoritarianism. I hold Mark Zuckerberg accountable for this,” she writes.
Facebook had not yet responded to an email sent Thursday by CNBC Make It seeking response to the letter from Khoi when this story was published.
Khoi says she doesn’t think of herself as an activist. In her mind, she’s an artist working to help people act and think in new ways.
“For me, it’s about opening new ways of thinking and acting,” Khoi says to The Economist, “making the unthinkable thinkable and the unspeakable speakable.”
She tells Make It later, by email, “What I’m doing now is sharing my stories, my experiences, my music. I’m still an artist who inspires people to think and act in the new way.”
The automotive industry is facing some of the biggest changes in its history. In the foreseeable future, most cars will be either fully electric or entirely autonomous, and new technologies may mean the shape of the automobile as we know will be completely changed. Still, there are still few visible signs of a paradigm shift in car design — it seems the industry is not quite ready to reinvent the wheel.
There may be no better a time, then, to look back at the most visionary and innovative car designs from the past and search for clues as to which factors can trigger uncompromising creativity and true innovation in times of technological and social change. Here are 10 cars that took the world by surprise.
Buick Y-Job
Designed by Harley J. Earl and unveiled in 1938, the Buick Y-Job is considered the world’s first concept car from a major car manufacturer. It featured an electric roof, electric windows, and a sculptural body that subsequently inspired generations of car designers.
Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion
Designed by Harley J. Earl and unveiled in 1938, the Buick Y-Job is considered the world’s first concept car from a major car manufacturer. It featured an electric roof, electric windows, and a sculptural body that subsequently inspired generations of car designers.
Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion
Inspired by recent innovations in aviation and space travel, General Motors unveiled the first of three Firebird prototypes in 1953. The concept car, which was powered by a gas turbine and looked more like a rocket on wheels than a car, thanks to its wings and fins, could be considered the blueprint for most US cars from the rock ‘n’ roll years.
Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7
Considering the baroque shape of the Alfa Romeo 1900s that littered the streets of Italy in the 1950s, it’s hard to believe that Bertone’s aerodynamic B.A.T. prototypes were based on that exact car.
Combining American Jet-Age shapes with Italian “grandezza” and an impressive drag coefficient, the Franco Scaglione-designed “Batmobiles” were stunning examples of form following function.
Lamborghini Marzal
The Lamborghini Marzal, a one-off prototype concept car, designed by by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, at a preview of the London Motor Show at Earl’s Court, 17th October 1967. (Photo by Mike McLaren/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Credit: Mike McLaren/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Conceived by Bertone’s wunderkind designer Marcello Gandini, the Lamborghini Marzal was one of the earliest showcases of the razor-sharp wedges that would define Italian car design right up until the 1980s. Revealed at Geneva in 1967, the ultra-low, gull-winged, mid-engined coupé is still one of the most stunning concepts in automotive history.
Ferrari Modulo
Designed by Pininfarina’s Paolo Martin during his holiday break in 1968, the Ferrari Modulo was an uncompromising geometric extravaganza. Only 37 inches high and equipped with a big V12 engine, the UFO-on-wheels was said to exceed speeds of 350kph, although the missing wheel arches made it almost impossible to turn any corners.
Maserati Boomerang
From the VW Golf to the Fiat Panda, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s cars were built for the millions. But his one design that stood out the most was the Maserati Boomerang. The brutalist concept was first shown in 1971 and considered the ultimate wedge-shaped prototype before the oil crisis hit the industry and forced car designers to return to earth.
Audi Avus
One has to remember that, in 1994, Audi was regarded as a conservative and traditional brand. But that promptly changed when the German manufacturer showed its all-aluminum Avus Quattro concept in Tokyo. And while the quicksilver-like concept car never went into production, Audi’s new look inspired icons such as the TT.
Ford 021C
The Apple iMac wasn’t the only Pantone-colored product introduced in 1999. Designed by Marc Newson, the rather tiny Ford 021C featured a playful interior and resembled a child’s drawing of a car. While Newson’s concept remained a one-off, many bestselling city cars from the new millennium, including the Smart and the new Mini, followed the philosophy that, aesthetically, cars could still be fun.
United Nude Low Res Car
It might be symptomatic that one of the last decade’s most daring concept cars was created by a shoe designer rather than an automotive specialist. Inspired by Marcello Gandini’s Lamborghini Countach, United Nude reduced the wedge-like body to its most simple vector shapes. And while it might not be to everyone’s tastes, the project shows the endless possibilities of 3D printing and DIY prototyping, which could lead to a renaissance of small design studios and manufacturers.
Novaland, one of the leading real estate developers in Vietnam, continues affirming its position in Vietnam by launching a premium residence project, The Grand Manhattan complex in Ho Chi Minh City.
Located at the heart of District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, The Grand Manhattan complex is the cream of Novaland’s luxury products.
Setting sights on mid- and high-end real estate segment
Novaland has earned its prestige in the real estate market by several high-end projects. The developer officially entered the residence segment in 2009 with Sunrise City in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.
So far the company has contributed less than 26,000 mid- and high-end units to the city’s housing fund.
After the success of Sunrise City, a range of other projects in the high-end bracket were handed over to buyers in the highest quality. These included Tropic Garden, Lexington Residence, Lakeview City, Galaxy 9 Residence, Icon 56, The Tresor Residence, Gardengate Residence, and Orchard Garden.
All of these projects have been handed over on time and with the highest quality. Each of these projects cemented the company’s prestige and proved its competitiveness in the market.
In 2018, Novaland focuses on the completion and handing over a range of projects, such as The Sun Avenue (District 2), Wilton (Binh Thanh District), Golden Mansion, Orchard Parkview, Newton (Phu Nhuan District), Botanica Premier (Tan Binh District), and Sunrise Riverside (South Saigon).
According to Nguyen Thi Hai, the owner of a three-bedroom unit at The Sun Avenue, the project has a very good location with convenient transport and developed and synchronous infrastructure.
“It is very convenient for us to go to work, take our children to school or reach anywhere else in the city. I was very happy to receive my new home here and will be living here for a long time,” Hai said.
Since its day of establishment, Novaland time and again re-affirmed that it would focus on developing mid- and high-end products located at the best venues with convenient transport system and connected facilities.
So far, Novaland has a portfolio of less than 40 projects, ranging from apartments, villas, and townhouses to complete urban development projects, meeting the various and increasing requirements of the buyers.
New landmark at the heart of District 1
The Grand Manhattan—the latest project developed by Novaland—will also be the new landmark of Ho Chi Minh City, not only for its architecture and high level of lifestyle, but also for being an asset which will certainly bring good revenue to buyers.
Located at a golden venue at the heart of District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, The Grand Manhattan will offer 1,000 luxury apartment units for long-term owners. It is built on an area of more than 14,000 square metres and is sold at the average price starting from $6,000 per square metre.
With the utmost advantages in architecture and location, The Grand Manhattan perfectly meets even the highest needs of wealthy international and domestic buyers and successful businessmen. The project has a chain of high-end and convenient facilities, including a shopping mall and a park, swimming pool, as well as BBQ, garden, and relaxation areas.
The 4,200sq.m park and landscaped inner area are outstanding additions that can be hardly found in other projects in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, where every square metre of land is worth several teals of gold. Additionally, these special facilities are reserved for apartment owners at The Grand Manhattan.
Specifically, following the nation’s tourism development strategy, Novaland is now also implementing its second phase development plan, driving more towards tourism vacation investment in potential cities like Can Tho, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Phan Thiet-Binh Thuan, and Cam Ranh-Khanh Hoa. All of these cities will create more attractive destinations of international standards in the coming time.
According to latest report by Ken Research, Asia Complex Fertilizer Market is Expected to Reach over USD 18 billion by 2022
Asia Complex Fertilizer Market by Region (China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Others), by product form (Granulated/Fused or Blended), by type (two or three nutrients), by crops (cereals, oilseeds, fruits & vegetables and others), by grade (NPK 16-16-8, NPK 20-20-15, NPK 15-15-15, NPK 20-20-0 and Others)
The population of Asia is anticipated to rise to 4,698.7 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 0.8% during the period 2017-2022. This is going to increasingly drive the food demand of the continent and need to increase agricultural productivity.
Asia’s food grain production is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.1% during 2017-2022 from 1,274.5 million MT in 2017 to 1,413.9 million MT by 2022. Net irrigated area is also set to grow at a CAGR of 1.9% to 219.4 million hectares in 2022 from 199.3 million hectares in 2017. Both the factors are expected to augment the demand for complex fertilizers in the near future.
Ken Research in its latest study, Asia Complex (NPK) Fertilizer Market Outlook to 2022 – by Grade (NPK 16-16-8, NPK 20-20-15, NPK 15-15-15, NPK 20-20-0 and Others), by Region (China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Others) suggests that Kingenta, Coromandel International, Binh Dien Fertilizer, Petrokimia Gresik and Thai Central Chemicals will remain the major players in this space in China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand respectively. However, these major players will witness rising competition from existing and new entrants launching reasonably priced products in the market.
Asia complex fertilizer market is driven by increasing focus to improve agricultural productivity, superior efficacy of complex fertilizers, increasing food demand and need to ascertain food security for countries. The market is also expected to grow due to technological innovations such as slow or controlled release complex fertilizers, water soluble complex fertilizers and bio-complex fertilizers. A number of companies intend to expand their existing production capacity and several others are venturing into the sector in the near future.
In the next five years, consumption of complex fertilizers is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.9% during the period 2017-2022. Consequently, production of complex fertilizers is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% during the same period.
Growing emphasis on curbing water and soil pollution and urgent need to improve agricultural productivity is expected to augment the demand for complex fertilizers in Asian countries, according to Analyst at Ken Research.
Asia complex fertilizer market is expected to register steady growth in the near future owing to anticipated rise in international market prices of Urea, DAP and MAP.
Asia Complex Fertilizer Market Outlook
Companies mentioned: Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group, Hubei Xinyangfeng, China XLX Fertiliser, Sino-Arab Chemical Fertilizers, Coromandel International, Indian Farmer Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals, Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL), Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited (MCF), Zuari Fertilsers and Chemicals Limited, Tata Chemicals Limited, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation, Greenstar Fertilizers Limited (GFL), Binh Dien Fertilizer, Lam Thao Fertilizers and Chemicals, The Southern Fertilizer Company, Japan Vietnam Fertilizer Company, Baconco Group, Petrokimia Gresik, Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, Pupuk Kujang, Pupak Sriwidjaja Palembang
Fitch Group, the global credit rating agency has downgraded conglomerate Vingroup’s outlook to Negative from Stable for its expansion into car manufacturing, company remains unfazed.
The Negative Outlook reflects Vingroup`s heightened business risk and Fitch estimated that leverage, defined as net debt/adjusted inventory, is likely to rise to 58% in 2018, before falling to 36% in 2019.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Vietnam’s largest privately-run conglomerate Vingroup’s long-term foreign- and local-currency Issuer Default Ratings at ‘B+’, however, the outlook is revised to Negative from Stable.
At the same time, the agency has withdrawn Vingroup’s ‘B+’ senior unsecured rating because the company does not have any outstanding senior unsecured debt.
The Negative Outlook reflects Vingroup’s heightened business risk and Fitch estimated that leverage, defined as net debt/adjusted inventory, is likely to rise to 58% in 2018, before falling to 36% in 2019, due to the US$3.1 billion capex for its expansion into auto manufacturing, of which US$1.4 billion is debt funded, the agency said in a statement on October 10.
Vingroup financed its equity contribution in Vinfast, its auto-manufacturing venture, by selling down its interest in its highly cash-generative property business, following an earlier divestment of its investment-property arm.
Moreover, Vingroup has no expertise and limited experience in the auto-manufacturing segment, increasing execution risk. However the group has hired relevant people from the industry to run the business, mitigating the risk. Continued losses in its retail and hospitality segments also increase the group’s business-risk profile, leading Fitch to tighten Vingroup’s negative leverage guidance to 45%, from 60%.
The rating affirmation reflects Fitch’s expectation that Vingroup’s remaining property business will support the period of significant capex, which is likely to be followed by deleveraging in the next two years.
The rating agency expected leverage to fall below 45%, the level where Fitch would consider rating action, by 2020, even under an additional 20% stress scenario to reflect the deleveraging being based on strong presales, an improvement in the retail business and Vingroup’s high-churn model.
Fitch also considers the listings of Vinhomes JSC in May 2018 and Vincom Retail in November 2017 – which are 74% and 59%, respectively, owned by Vingroup post IPO – as credit negative, at the listings reduced Vingroup’s ownership of the businesses’ cash flow and assets, especially as the majority of group debt is located at the Vingroup level.
Fitch has adjusted its approach to calculating leverage to capture Vingroup’s decreased ownership in these subsidiaries and the subordination and leakage of associated cash, especially at Vinhomes, which is the group’s largest cash generator.
Fitch has deducted net debt at Vinhomes and Vincom Retail from consolidated net debt and adjusted inventory and has assumed that Vingroup will have access to its 74% and 59% share, respectively, of the balance inventory. These adjustments significantly increase Vingroup’s leverage. However, in addition to dividends, Vingroup continues to access the subsidiaries’ cash flow via inter-company loans or project transfer despite of the recent listing of Vinhomes and Vincom Retail, to support its liquidity needs.
Reporting by Hai Yen, read full article on HNTimes
Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, Tran Ngoc Chinh has suggested expanding Ho Chi Minh City into neighbouring Long An Province.
A corner of Ho Chi Minh City
Speaking at a workshop on the urban management of HCM City on Thursday, Chinh proposed two expansion plans for the country’s biggest commercial hub to cope with the rapid population growth and tough challenges facing urban development in the area.
Both plans aim to merge additional areas of neighbouring Long An Province into the city, using the Vam Co Dong River as a natural boundary which means Can Giuoc and Can Duoc districts and part of Ben Luc District will be part of the expanded city.
However, the extra area in the first plan covers only some 48,000-50,000 hectares with a population of between 370,000-420,000, while that in second plan spans up to 90,000-95,000 hectares to include Duc Hoa District with a population of 65,000-70,000.
As such, the entire area of HCM City would increase by between 50 and 95 square kilometres from the current 2,096 square kilometres.
Addressing the workshop, former director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, Nguyen Trong Hoa, said that the city’s urban development should follow an “oil spill” approach, with development based on easier access to road transportation.
He warned that if municipal authorities are not quick in changing their mindset in terms of management and regional development planning, the situation would result in major shortcomings in the future. At that point, the fix will be costly, and some regions in the city will not be able to overcome the obstacles.
In his view, authorities should not assume that injecting more money into urban development will cause their entire region to develop. He stressed that the current urban management lacks a systematic approach and regional synchronicity.
Meanwhile, head of the Vietnam Institute for Urban and Rural Planning, Luu Duc Cuong warned about the increasing sinking of many areas in the city.
“As many as 79 out of 116 streets which are constantly affected by tide floods are sinking at an alarming level,” Cuong said.
Addressing the workshop, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan admitted that it was difficult for the city to deal with a rapid population growth rate of 1 million people every five years.
Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at the workshop
“Uneven population distribution is also posing challenges for administration management in the city,” he added. “Five inner districts with a very small area (the smallest district covering only five km2) but house as many as 600,000 people while Can Gio District expands 704km2 but has only 70,000 people.”
Nhan said that the two largest districts of Cu Chi and Can Gio occupy 54% of the city total area but their populations make up only 10%.
“Therefore, HCM City intends to use the land in Cu Chi and Can Gio districts first for future development,” the city’s party chief confirmed.
As the apartment market in Vietnam is becoming saturated, real estate developers are trying to improve competitiveness of their products by integrating smarthome technology.
With smart device prices on the decrease and convenience on the rise, the smarthome market is expected to develop rapidly with the growth rate of 20-30 percent per annum in the next 10 years, Vietnamnet reported.
Most recently, an apartment project advertised as running with ‘smart management technology’ was marketed in Binh Duong province.
Residents can install management devices connected to a smartphone. The warnings will be sent to apartment owners’ smartphones and they can then seek help from the building’s management board or turn off their electrical devices via their smartphones.
The project developer said the smart management technology was created specifically for the project by Dien Quang Lamp JSC.
Residents can install management devices connected to a smartphone. The warnings will be sent to apartment owners’ smartphones and they can then seek help from the building’s management board or turn off their electrical devices via their smartphones.
Some days ago, at a project in Hanoi, potential customers could enjoy the space of the futuristic apartments thanks to virtual interactive technology.
As residents in apartments, buyers will be able to use ride hailing apps and e-wallet service specifically designed for residents, or use apps to satisfy their needs for food, housekeepers and transportation.
According to Vu Dinh Tuan from the HCMC Information Technology University, a smart apartment is equipped with interior furniture automatically controlled from a distance with high technology via computers or smartphones.
Automatic devices are integrated with interior furniture which helps them connect with each other and operate on a scheduled basis. The devices can work even when owners of smart houses are away.
However, smarthome quality not only depends on hi-tech devices, but also on design and other factors. Real estate developers, from the very beginning, need to consider the matters related to the space, interior furniture, common utility systems and intelligent operation management to be sure that all factors exist in harmony.
“Smart solutions must be implemented right when the construction begins, and cannot be applied for completed projects,” he explained.
The smarthome market in Vietnam remains small, but many world famous brands are present here, including Siemens from Germany, Schneider from France, and Smart 4g and TIS Smart Home from the US.
Besides, Vietnamese brands such as BKAV Smarthome, Lumi and Acis are also well known. Of these, BKAV has been developing smarthome solutions for many years.
Do Anh Tuan, chair of Sunshine Group, specializing in developing smart devices for apartments, said technological solutions not only save money in the long term, but also helps improve the transparency of the market.
