A seminar on developing real estate in Vietnam, named ‘Vision and Prospect’, was held in Ho Chi Minh City today by the Vietnam Economic Times, featuring the participation of 300 leaders and enterprises.
At the event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Dinh Hoe, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Economic Times, said that real estate is a big asset of each country. The real estate market accounts for 40% of material wealth, 30% of the total activities of the economy in meeting the demand of living, and is a great asset of each organisation, household and individual, he added.
Real estate is also an effective investment channel for mobilising abundant financial resources in the nation and abroad, stimulating the related industries, increasing revenues for the budget and solving employment, while increasing the contribution of the finance, construction and building materials markets.
According to a report by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), the proportion of capital poured into the real estate sector ranked second, accounting for more than 27% of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam.
It is estimated that, in the next 10 years, the new home demand will reach 5.1 million low and middle-priced departments. The pace of urbanisation not only increases the demand for housing but also stimulates demand for real estate for tourism and convalescence. It is necessary to provide urgent solutions to the pressure of population density in urban areas.
The seminar focused on two topics: New Context and Vision of Vietnam Real Estate Development; and Smart Real Estate Development: International Experiences and Practical in Vietnam. The impacts of 4.0 generation to Vietnam real estate also mentioned at the event.
Around 200 drug users escaped from a rehab centre in Vietnam on Saturday (Aug 11), police said, the latest breakout attempt from the country’s controversial treatment facilities.
Some addicts are forced by law to spend up to two years in Vietnam’s rehab centres, while others are admitted by family or check themselves in. AFP reports.
Most detainees undergo cold-turkey treatment in the notoriously overcrowded centres or are subjected to solitary confinement for breaking rules.
Several breakouts have occurred in recent years and the most recent started on Saturday morning in the southern province of Tien Giang, a police officer said on condition of anonymity, adding that about half the escapees had already been captured.
“There are around 100 addicts still on the run and the police are still looking for them,” the officer said.
A disagreement with staff escalated into an assault, with patients wielding knives and bricks and encouraging others to break down the door, state-controlled website VnExpress reported.
Images circulating on social media showed dozens of men, many shirtless, wandering on a highway near the rehab centre.
“They passed my area holding canes and shouted like protesters. When we saw them, me and people around were scared and worried,” local resident Le Hai Trieu said.
Residents pitched in to help local authorities capture the men.
Another state media outlet said that more than 650 people are registered at the Tien Giang facility, but it did not provide figures on the number of voluntary admissions.
There are more than 220,000 registered drug addicts in Vietnam, according to official statistics AFP/HOANG DINH NAM
There are more than 220,000 registered drug addicts in Vietnam, according to official statistics released last year, with heroin and methamphetamine the most popular narcotics.
While Vietnam is experimenting with more community-based treatment options in response to criticism over the centres, they remain the most-used form of recovery.
The centres are widely supported as a viable treatment option although addiction specialists say they don’t work and relapse rates are high.
Early last year 100 people escaped from a centre in southern Long An province because they were upset about spending the annual Tet new year holiday away from their homes.
The second week of the month has been a rather subdued week with not much volatility compared to prior weeks past. The market has traded in a tighter range from -0.36% (Tuesday) to the high of 0.99% (Wednesday).
This week closed out at 968.47, +0.52% for the day and +0.93% WoW. The VN Index has been creeping higher almost daily and is 7.89 points above the 50dma (960.58). We can see the shorter trend line turning back to a rising trend, which is an encouraging sign, which looks like the shorter term bottom has passed. Now the question is whether this short term rebound will translate into a mid-term recovery. As the midterm 100dma trend line 1024.96 this week continues to decrease versus 1034.36 last week so we are not out of the woods just yet. However, additional glimmering hope is the longer term 200dma is at 1008.83 and has also slightly increased from last week’s 1005.38. The bulls look like are giving the upper hand to the bears.
Liquidity this week slightly fell by around -9% WoW at a daily average of VND3.42trn (USD147mn). We had VND17.1tn (USD735mn) liquidity for the week. The week’s liquidity was far below the YTD average of VND4.9trn (USD210mn). The stock to focus on this week was HAG as its stock price has been on a recent tear on market speculation that it will be merged into unlisted Thaco (automotive industry giant). The share price has risen about 50% since its bottom of mid July. The market believes that that part of the acquisition is based on large land lots in Cambodia and Laos owned by HAG, which are in trouble.
Foreigners continue to be net sellers this week. Buying VND4.1tn (USD177mn) about 19.09% of the entire market value VND21.6 (USD927mn) including put throughs, while selling is VND4.8tn (USD927mn) about 22.58% of the total market value leading to a net selling of VND-754.8bn (USD32.4mn). The top foreign bought stocks were HPG at VND21.24bn (USD911k), while top sold stock was HAG at VND-20.89bn (USD896.5k).
Earnings Results
As a continuation to last week’s earnings update, as earnings seasons reaches a close now 51 out of our 53 companies under our coverage have released their 2Q (accumulatively 1H) business results. So far our results indicate that 23 stocks were in line, 13’s were better than, and 13’s were worse than our forecast. 2 stocks were muted due to analyst coverage change. These results are closely in line with our overall expectation of our coverage result. You can find more details in our Coverage List attached.
Other news worth nothing this week is:
Vietcombank will sell all of its remaining 1.48 million Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) shares at an auction on September 6. According to Vietcombank, at a starting price of VNĐ18,876 (80 US cents) per share, the bank is estimated to earn nearly VNĐ27.9 billion (US$1.19 million) if the auction succeeds. The shares are bonus shares that Vietcombank received from OCB before its first auction to sell 13.2 million OCB shares held in December last year.
Business conditions related to the establishment and operation of joint stock commercial banks and non-bank credit institutions in Việt Nam will be eased under a draft circular from the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV). The draft revisions are part of SBV’s plans to remove or simplify 257 business conditions under its management, which will require SBV to revise eight decrees and 10 circulars. According to SBV, the revisions are aimed to simplify business conditions and administrative procedures in the banking industry according to the Prime Minister’s instructions.
By Marc Djandji, CFA
Head of Institutional Sales
Rong Viet Securities Corporation (VDSC)
Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Thiem peninsula wows developers but expelled residents feel wronged
Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Thiem peninsula is the kind of place that makes real estate people spout clichés about the “wow factor” or “location, location, location”.
A lobe of largely undeveloped land, it hugs the Saigon river opposite District One, the downtown of this tropical metropolis of nearly 10m people. It commands in-your-face views of high-rises, including Landmark 81, south-east Asia’s tallest completed building. Luxury homes are going on sale, at prices that rival Bangkok, for what planners say will be a new financial and residential hub — Ho Chi Minh City’s answer to Shanghai’s Pudong. John Reed reported on Financial Times.
Vietnam’s economy grew 6.8 per cent in the second quarter, slightly faster than China’s. A world-class riverside district for Saigon, as most residents still call the city, would be a fitting showcase for an ambitious nation on the move. A new tunnel runs under the river and a six-lane highway bisects the peninsula.
But climb up Saigon’s high-rises — or view Thu Thiem on Google Earth — and you will see that much of it remains open land. Nearly 15,000 households were paid by the government to move out, in a noisy, still-unfinished process that provoked protests, and cost more than $1bn.
A few dozen households are holding out for better compensation deals. A handful of freestanding houses still stand amid rubbish tips and building rubble, on loamy land frequented by drug addicts. The atmosphere is not so much megacity as Mad Max.
“The government is a thief,” claims Nguyen Thi Giap, 83, who lives with her 91-year-old husband Huynh Van Luc in a two-storey house. Their wedding picture is on the wall. “I will move if the government pays the appropriate compensation cost.” Like other households, they say their house was omitted from a master plan to redevelop Thu Thiem in the 1990s.
The city recently said it had lost that plan, provoking snorts of derisive anger from residents who say they were wronged. “Of all the protesters, the government is most afraid of me,” declares Pham Thi Linh, who lives on rain-soaked land nearby with several cats. At the height of anti-relocation protests earlier this decade, she mounted her motorcycle with a hand-printed multi-lingual banner to protest the eviction at consulates.
Vietnam is often compared to China, whose Communist party also melded Marxist-Leninist hierarchy with the Confucian work ethic to build a formidable development model. But in fact, Vietnam is a messier, and arguably freer, place and Thu Thiem is testimony to this. “In China, the government can do everything; in India they can’t do anything,” says Huynh The Du, a lecturer at Saigon’s Fulbright University. “In Vietnam it’s somewhere in between: sometimes the government can’t do things because of the resistance of the people.”
Thu Thiem has always been a puzzle for planners. Vietnam’s French colonisers left it undeveloped as it was softer ground than the sturdy plateau where they built District One. It occupied the public imagination as a lawless place, frequented by bandits, prostitutes and lepers. Mapmakers often left the peninsula as empty space, as if no one lived there. In fact, thousands of people did, amid waterways more like the Mekong delta than the rest of Saigon.
“You can see why people would have drooled over it since the beginning of time,” says Erik Harms, a Yale professor who authored a book on urban development in Saigon.
Ngo Viet Nam Son, an architect who worked on Pudong’s development, thinks city planners erred by drawing up blueprints for Thu Thiem in isolation. He thinks there should be a bridge, not a tunnel, leading directly to the city centre.
“If we made good connections to Thu Thiem, the city would be able to make more money to compensate people at the market price,” he says. “The problem is, they didn’t make these connections.”
Developers are more forgiving, and point to a flurry of Hong Kong, South Korean, and Vietnamese-funded projects coming on the market that they say will transform the area. “Saigon has very little master planning and they are very laissez faire in an urban context,” says Troy Griffiths, deputy director of Savills Vietnam. “And you know what? It works OK.”
Vietnam-focused private equity firm Mekong Capital has announced that its Mekong Enterprise Fund II (MEF II) made a full exit from its investment in Asia Chemicals Corporation (ACC) for a total consideration of $8.9 million, generating a gross return multiple of 2.6x and a gross IRR of 15.1 per cent.
ACC is the last divestment of MEF II, according to a release. With this divestment, MEF II has successfully divested 100 per cent of its final remaining investment, which resulted in the Fund achieving a net return multiple of 4.5x and net IRR of 22.5 per cent for its investors. This has also marked one of the most successful funds in Asian Private Equity.
Mekong Capital’s MEF II invested $3.8 million in ACC in 2011, which was its 10th and final investment.
Established in 2001 as a privately-held company in the food industry, ACC has pivoted into a leading distributor of high-quality specialty ingredients, chemicals, non-oil related commodities and other materials, sourcing from worldwide suppliers and selling to a wide range of leading enterprises in Vietnam.
Launched in 2006, MEF II is the second private equity fund managed by Mekong Capital. MEF II’s notable investments included Mobile World (Vietnam’s largest nationwide retailer of mobile devices and consumer electronics), Golden Gate (the leading restaurant chain operator in Vietnam), Vietnam Australia International School (a leading private bilingual K-12 school in Vietnam), Mai Son (a leading fashion retailer) and ICP (personal care products).
In this January, MEF II made a full exit from its investment in Mobile World Investment Joint Stock Company (MWG) at a returns multiple of 57x and IRR of 61.1 per cent.
The final block of 5 million shares was sold at a price of VND165,000 ($7.3) per share and completed on 29 January 2018. The cumulative net proceeds from the sale of MEF II’s MWG shares and dividends received was $199.4 million.
In June, the PE firm completed an investment in mattress and bedding solution provider Vua Nem Joint Stock Company through its $112.5-million Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III).
Mr. Jeremy Paulson, Chairman of MEF II, told Vietnam Insider in an interaction that, The completion of the sale of the final holding in MEF II brings to a close the life of what has proved to be a most rewarding fund investing in new and fast-growing companies in Vietnam. MEF II, through its Investment Manager, Mekong Capital, found an interesting range of investments which fully reflected the rapidly changing consumer sector in what was a fast-growing economy. This has resulted in a highly successful investment for MEF II’s shareholders.
Mr. Chris Freund, Partner at Mekong Capital, shared: “We are delighted that MEF II and its investee companies have been a great success over the last 12 years. MEF II represented a critical turning point in Mekong Capital’s history as it was the fund in which we started to focus on consumer-driven investments, and also comprised the initial companies that applied the Vision Driven Investing framework. We are committed to continue to apply this framework to consistently deliver excellent performance, and to reinvent Private Equity in emerging markets.”
About Mekong Capital
Mekong Capital is a Vietnam-focused private equity firm, specializing in consumer driven businesses and looking to invest in fast-growing companies, with ambitious expansion plans, and a commitment to building management teams that will successfully execute on those expansion plans. Mekong Capital’s funds have completed 33 private equity investments in Vietnam, of which 25 have been fully exited. Its latest investment vehicle, the Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III), has to date announced investments in 7 companies, including lending firm F88, logistics companies Nhat Tin and ABA, restaurant operator Red Wok, Ben Thanh Jewelry, Yola Education, and mattress retailer Vua Nem. All investee firms in MEF III are implementing the Vision Driven Investing framework.
Vietnamese cuisine doesn’t win any points for complexity. Many of the most popular dishes can be made just as well on the side of the road as in a top-end restaurant.
But it’s precisely this simplicity, the subtle variations by region and the fresh ingredients, that keep us pulling up a plastic stool for more. Helen Clark and Karryn Miller reported on CNN.
Here are 40 foods from Vietnam you can’t miss:
1. Pho
Cheap can be tasty too. Courtesy kaz k/creative commons/flickr
What list of Vietnamese cuisine would be complete without pho?
It’s almost impossible to walk a block in Vietnam’s major destinations without bumping into a crowd of hungry patrons slurping noodles at a makeshift pho stand. This simple staple consisting of a salty broth, fresh rice noodles, a sprinkling of herbs and chicken or beef, features predominately in the local diet — and understandably so. It’s cheap, tasty, and widely available at all hours.
Just look out for a mass of people on plastic stools — or try a tried and tested favorite: Pho Thin, 13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi
2. Cha ca
A food so good they named a street after it. Courtesy Alpha/Creative Commons/Flickr
Hanoians consider cha ca to be so exceptional that there is a street in the capital dedicated to these fried morsels of fish. This namesake alley is home to Cha Ca La Vong, which serves sizzling chunks of fish seasoned with garlic, ginger, turmeric and dill on a hot pan tableside.
Cha Ca La Vong may be the busiest but the service is a bit gruff and the food overpriced. Instead make your way to Duong Than in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district, where you’ll find plenty of more affordable but just as tasty options.
3. Banh xeo
A crepe you won’t forget. Courtesy Alpha/Creative Commons/Flickr
A good banh xeo is a crispy crepe bulging with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts, plus the garnish of fresh herbs that are characteristic of most authentic Vietnamese dishes. To enjoy one like a local, cut it into manageable slices, roll it up in rice paper or lettuce leaves and dunk it in whatever special sauce the chef has mixed up for you.
Banh Xeo 46A has mixed reviews but judging by the crowds that swarm there each night they must be doing something right. Banh Xeo, 46A Dinh Cong Trang, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
4. Cao lau
Soft, crunchy, sweet, spicy — a bowl of contrasts. Karryn Miller/CNNGo
This pork noodle dish from Hoi An is a bit like the various cultures that visited the trading port at its prime. The thicker noodles are similar to Japanese udon, the crispy won-ton crackers and pork are a Chinese touch, while the broth and herbs are clearly Vietnamese. Authentic cau lao is made only with water drawn from the local Ba Le well.
Try Morning Glory, 106 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An
5. Rau muong
Some might call it river weed — with good reason — but that doesn’t stop the masses from scarfing down platefuls of morning glory, usually stir-fried and seasoned with slithers of potent garlic. Rau muong is common at Vietnamese restaurants and beer gardens.
Chung Den Bia Hoi, 18B Hang Cot, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
6. Nem ran/cha gio
Vietnam’s bite-sized crunchy spring rolls might not enjoy the same popularity as their healthier fresh equivalent, but they deserve a special mention. The crispy shell with a soft veggie and meat filling dunked in a tangy sauce gets the gastronomic juices flowing before a main course. In the north these parcels go by the name nem ran while southerners call them cha gio.
Bun Cha, 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
7. Goi cuon
A healthier choice for spring roll fans. Courtesy Ducson Nguyen
These light and healthy fresh spring rolls are a wholesome choice when you’ve been indulging in too much of the fried food in Vietnam. The translucent parcels are first packed with salad greens, a slither of meat or seafood and a layer of coriander, before being neatly rolled and dunked in Vietnam’s favorite condiment — fish sauce.
Quan An Ngon, 18 Phan Boi Chau, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
8. Bun bo Hue
Central Vietnam’s take on noodles caters to carnivores with its meaty broth and piles of beef and pork. The thick slippery rice noodles also make for a heartier meal than noodles found in the north and south.
You don’t have to go to Hue to enjoy this dish; if in Ho Chi Minh City try Tib Express, 162 NguyenDinh Chieu, District 3, HCMC
This dainty variation of a Vietnamese pancake has all the same tasty ingredients but is a fraction of the size. Each banh knot can be scoffed in one ambitious but satisfying mouthful. The crunchy outside is made using coconut milk and the filling usually consists of shrimp, mung beans, and spring onions with a dusting of dried shrimp flakes on top.
Co Ba Vung Tau, 59B Cao Thang, District 3, HCMC
10. Ga tan
Got the sniffles? Opt for ga tan, a broth that’s Vietnam’s answer to the proverbial cup of chicken noodle soup. Sure it’s not quite how your mother used to make it, with its greenish tinge from the herbs and hunks of chicken parts, but it’s worth a try if you’re needing a Vietnamese tonic.
Try this at one of the street stalls on Hanoi’s Tong Duy Tan aka Pho Am Thuc, or “Food Street,” Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
11. Nom hoa chuoi
Vietnam’s banana flower salad packs a much bigger punch than a typical plate of mixed greens. Banana flowers (thick purple lumps that will later turn into bunches of bananas) are peeled and thinly sliced then mixed with green papaya, carrots, and cilantro along with chicken and a heavy-handed pour of a salty fish sauce dressing and crunchy peanuts.
Highway 4 restaurant, 3 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
12. Bun bo nam bo
One of Vietnam’s most-loved noodle dishes. Courtesy Guilhem Vellut/Creative commons/Flickr
This bowl of noodles comes sans broth, keeping the ingredients from becoming sodden and the various textures intact. The tender slices of beef mingle with crunchy peanuts and bean sprouts, and are flavored with fresh herbs, crisp dried shallots, and a splash of fish sauce and fiery chili pepper.
67 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
13. Hoa qua dam
This chunky blend of fresh tropical fruit in a cup is the perfect local treat when the heat of Vietnamese summer starts to wear you down. It could be considered a healthy alternative to ice cream — if you stick to the shaved ice variation — but for the full experience it’s best had with diabetes-inducing condensed milk mixed in.
14. Pho cuon
Pho cuon packages the flavors of pho and goi cuon in one neat little parcel. This Hanoi take on fresh spring rolls uses sheets of uncut pho noodles to encase fried beef, herbs and lettuce or cucumber.
The best place to find them is on Ngu Xa island on the capital’s Truc Bach Lake — specifically at 26 Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi
15. Ga nuong
This beats KFC any day. Courtesy Ducson Nguyen/Creative Commons/Flickr
KFC may be everywhere in Vietnam these days, but skip the fast food for the local version. Honey marinated then grilled over large flaming barbecues, the chicken legs, wings and feet served are unusually tender, while the skin stays crispy but not dry.
Viet Ha on Ly Van Phuc, Dong Da district, Hanoi
16. Pho xao
Pho xao may just be a slightly healthier take on my xao — but the beauty is in the details. The flat, smoother pho noodle doesn’t crisp up like its pre-boiled instant cousin. When done well the outer edges acquire a browned crunchiness, whilst the center stays soft and glutinous. This dish tastes best with a fried egg and seasoned with chili or soy sauce.
26 Nguyen Khac Sieu, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
17. Ca phe trung
Vietnamese “egg coffee” is technically a drink but we prefer to put it in the dessert category. The creamy soft, meringue-like egg white foam perched on the dense Vietnamese coffee will have even those who don’t normally crave a cup of joe licking their spoons with delight.
In Hanoi, follow the tiny alley between the kitschy souvenir shops at 11 Hang Gai into the clearing, and up several flights of increasingly dicey stairs to pair your ca phe trung with an unbeatable view of Hoan Kiem Lake.
18. Bo la lot
Vietnamese are masters of wrapping their food. Bo la lot is neither raw nor deep-fried, but flamed on an open grill to soften the exterior and infuse the betel leaf’s peppery aroma into the ground beef inside.
3T Quan Nuong, 29-31 Ton That Thiep, District 1, HCMC
19. Xoi
This savory sticky rice is a meal all on its own.@ Shen Lu/CNN
Savory sticky rice is less of an accompaniment to meals in Vietnam, more a meal itself. The glutinous staple comes with any number of mix-ins (from slithers of chicken, or pork to fried or preserved eggs), but almost always with a scattering of dried shallots on top.
Xoi Yen, Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
These rolled up rice flour pancakes are best when served piping hot, still soft and delicate. Although seemingly slender and empty they have a savory filling of minced pork and mushrooms. Zest is also added by dunking the slippery parcels in a fishy dipping sauce.
21. Ca tim kho to
Eggplant alone tends not to get us excited. Although when it’s diced and sauteed in a clay pot along with tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and (depending on the recipe) minced meat, the once bland vegetable redeems itself.
Pineapple Restaurant, 35 Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
22. Bot chien
Bot Chien is Vietnamese street food at its best. @ PJjaruwan/iStockphoto/Getty Images
Saigon’s favorite streetside snack, bot chien, is popular with both the afterschool and the after-midnight crowd. Chunks of rice flour dough are fried in a large wok until crispy and then an egg is broken into the mix. Once cooked it’s served with slices of papaya, shallots and green onions, before more flavor is added with pickled chili sauce and rice vinegar.
Night-time food vendors sell this at the corners of Pham Ngu Lao and Cong Quynh, District 1, HCMC
23. Bun dau mam tom
This plain-looking tofu and noodle dish is served with mam tom sauce — the Vegemite of Vietnam. The pungent purple dipping sauce is used to flavor the slabs of deep-fried tofu that are at the core of the meal.
24. Banh goi
These pockets of deep-fried goodness are often described as the equivalent of a Cornish pasty or as a Vietnamese samosa, depending on the nationality of the person explaining. Inside the crispy exterior you’ll find that it’s similar to neither description, with its filling of finely minced pork, mushrooms and vermicelli noodles.
25. Com suon nuong
This simple meal is the Saigonese equivalent of bun cha — with rice in place of noodles. A tender pork cutlet is barbecued over hot coals to give it a rich, smoky flavor, and laid over the fluffy white “com” or broken rice.
Com Tam Cali has a number of branches across HCMC. Try Tam Cali 1 at 32 Nguyen Trai, District 1, HCMC
26. Chao
With its thick and creamy texture Vietnam’s rice porridge is the best pick when your queasy stomach can’t handle much else. If you want to jazz it up you can always add slices of chicken, fish, beef, duck or pork ribs, along with a sprinkling of herbs and shallots.
Chao Ca specializes in fish chao, 213 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
27. Bo luc lac
Cubes of beef are tossed around a steaming wok with garlic, pepper, and some vegetables to make shaking beef. There’s nothing special about the beef that makes it shaking. The name is just a literal translation that refers to the process of mixing the beef around while cooking.
Nha Hang Ngon, 160 Pasteur, District 1, HCMC
28. Hat de nong
The smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire can bring back fond memories of Christmas carols — until a moped transporting a giant blow-up Santa whizzes by. Pick the street vendor with the most enticing smell.
29. Banh uot thit nuong
It’s all about the marinade when it comes to the grilled pork in fresh rice paper rolls that are popular in Central Vietnam. The typical mixture coats the meat in a blend of sugar, salt, chili, lemongrass and fish sauce. Cilantro, basil and mint are added when it’s served up to add some green to the appetizer.
Morning Glory, 106 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An
30. Bun cha
The perfect lunchtime treat. @ Courtesy Greg Willis/Creative Commons/flickr
Pho might be Vietnam’s most famous dish but bun cha is the top choice when it comes to lunchtime in the capital. Just look for the clouds of meaty smoke after 11 a.m. when street-side restaurants start grilling up small patties of seasoned pork and slices of marinated pork belly over a charcoal fire. Once they’re charred and crispy the morsels are served with a large bowl of a fish sauce-heavy broth, a basket of herbs and a helping of rice noodles.
Hanoi’s most famous bun cha outlet is 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
31. Banh mi
The world-famous banh mi sandwich.@ SAUL LOEB/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
The French may have brought with them the baguette, but Vietnam takes it to a different level. How exactly depends on what end of the country you’re in.
In the north, chefs stick to the basic elements of carbohydrate, fat and protein — bread, margarine and pata — but head south and your banh mi may contain a more colorful combination of cheese, cold cuts, pickled vegetables, sausage, fried egg, fresh cilantro and chili sauce.
One of the better baguette vendors in Saigon sets up shop beside the Cherry mini-mart on DoQuang Dao, District 1, HCMC
32. Lau
Eating this hodgepodge hotpot dish is a communal affair with everyone digging in to the oversized boiling pot. We’ve found that just about anything can (and will) go into this soup from tofu to frogs. It’s best to stick to one main protein rather than opting for the mix of meat, poultry and seafood together.
On the northern edge of Hanoi’s Truc Bach lake you’ll find a number of restaurant staff crossing the street to deliver lau to lake-side diners
33. Banh bao
The Vietnamese take on steamed pork burns.@ Courtesy Edsel Little/Creative commons/Flickr
Steamed pork buns aren’t traditionally Vietnamese, but that doesn’t stop the spongy rolls from being sold by street vendors and in traditional Vietnamese restaurants. The best buns have a hard-boiled quail egg buried within the minced meat, while the cheaper ones come without any filling at all. Remember the lower the price the less stuffing, so you might not be getting the good deal you thought you were.
Often sold by wandering vendors patrolling Hanoi’s Old Quarter at all hours. In the south try Banh Bao Tho Phat, 78 Nguyen Tri Phuong, District 5, HCMC
34. Com rang
Fried rice may not be the most adventurous option, but sometimes you just want some familiar grub done right. Baby-sized chunks of meat and colorful vegetables are mixed with soy and fish sauce in a wok streetside to create a rice dish that is still moist but slightly smoky. Make it Vietnamese by supplementing with Bia Hanoi.
Try one of the vendors on Tong Duy Tan aka “Food Street,” Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi
35. Bo bit tet
Vietnam’s equivalent to steak and eggs fills the void when you’re hankering for some greasy pub tucker. The thin flank steak is usually served with eggs, thick potato wedges, and Vietnamese meatballs on a sizzling cast iron plate.
36. Com chay
Com chay refers to two things in Vietnam: vegetarian food, or Vietnam’s homemade rice crispies that are popular with children. Unlike the sweet treats in the United States, Vietnam’s version of a crispy comes with meat instead of marshmallows. Vietnam’s vegetarian restaurants use mock meats to create all the traditional dishes and usually do a pretty good job. Although some places include artificial creations we would rather not try. Fake rubbery snails anyone?
Try Hoa Dang vegetarian restaurant, 38 Huynh Khuong Ninh, District 1, HCMC
37. Che
This dessert can be served in either a bowl or a glass. The latter is the more enticing option with the visible layers of bean jelly, coconut milk, fruit, and ice. Best had when you’re craving something sweet on a scorching day in Saigon.
Nha Hang Ngon, 160 Pasteur, District 1, HCMC
38. My xao bo
Mix noodles with a dollop of oil, then add beef, onions, garlic, morning glory and some tomato for color and you have a platter of my xao bo. The whole dish takes about as long to make as instant noodles — but oh so much more flavor.
Any bia hoi establishment serves this dish, but the eateries on Tang Bat Ho, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, have perfected it
39. Dau phu sot ca chua
The English translation of “tofu in tomato sauce” doesn’t really do this dish justice. The slabs of deep-fried soy are doused in a rich fresh tomato and spring onion coating, and seasoned with a speckle of fresh herbs.
Chim Sao at 65 Ngo Hue, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi
40. Canh bun
Another hearty soup that’s high on the lunchtime agenda, this is a crab and morning glory noodle soup. Canh bun is similar to the more well-known bun rieu crab soup, but has a small handful of variations — including the type of noodle used.
Look for street food vendors with Canh Bun on handwritten signs surrounded by lunchtime crowds, or visit Bun Saigon at 73 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, HCMC
In this city of almost 10 million, you have plenty of ways to spend your time and money. There are so many amazing excursions, tours and places vying for your dollars, so it can be difficult to stray off the tourist-beaten path, but it is worthwhile. Here are 11 things to do recommended by Matthew Pike on Culture Trip in case you want to break away from the herds of other foreigners.
Dine at a restaurant on the Saigon Canal
Not too long ago, the canal — Kênh Nhiêu Lộc – Thị Nghè — was not a place you wanted to be. It was essentially a waterway full of sewage. Nowadays, however, the area is a picturesque reprieve from the cement landscape all around. Many restaurants line both Truong Sa and Hoang Sa, and at night the whole length of the canal comes to life. You’ll be glad you made the trip, but keep an eye out for speeding motorbikes.
There are plenty of animals around the city, but you’re going to want to avoid getting too close to most of them. Rabies is a real problem in Vietnam. To get your dog/cat/bird fix without heading to the zoo, try one of the city’s several pet cafes.
The sweltering heat of Ho Chi Minh City can easily be overwhelming, especially in April and May. There are options for pools, but for a truly unique experience, you should head to the water park. Bobbing along the Lazy River on an inner-tube is the perfect way to escape the madness of this bustling city. The park can be busy at times, but you definitely won’t see many foreigners.
Have you ever had a meal in complete darkness? With your sight removed, your other senses compensate, and the staff at Noir are all visually impaired, so they’re the perfect guides for this wonderful experience.
In recent years, the craft beer scene in Ho Chi Minh City has gone from non-existent to award-winning, and there are new brewers and bars coming onto the scene almost every month. Mass-produced beer does the job most nights, but wouldn’t an IPA or a chocolate stout be a nice break?
For the best views of Saigon’s skyline, take a taxi across the river into District 2. You should also bring a bag of your favorite refreshments to enjoy. To avoid being stranded, you can negotiate a price with your driver for them to stick around and wait. They’re usually more than happy to make some money while napping.
If heights don’t scare you, and you’re looking for some exercise, then give rock climbing a try. There are lines for both beginners and experienced climbers.
Cheer on performers at Saigon Dubstep Dance Battle
The Saigon Dubstep Dance Battle is a weekly competition between some of the wildest and most talented dancers in the city. The competitors put on energetic performances, and applause decides who wins, so there’s a lot of energy in the crowd. After the champion is crowned, a DJ takes over to keep the fun going.
Soak up the sun at Van Thanh Pool
This swimming pool is a hidden oasis down a nondescript lane off of one of the busiest streets in the city. Once you find the park, you’ll feel like you’ve gone through a portal — except for the high-rises poking over the trees. The pool is big, and there are plenty of lounge chairs around, . On your way, you’ll get to see a part of the city not commonly visited by tourists.
On the top floor of the Vincom Mega Mall in District 2 — a short drive out of the downtown — you can strap on a pair of rented skates and glide around on one of the only ice rinks in Vietnam. There’s even a McDonald’s ice cream counter if the rink isn’t cold enough for you. You’ll probably have to avoid some new skaters, but it’ll just add to the surreal feeling of ice skating in South-East Asia.
They’re loud, gaudy and filled with drunks who can’t handle their liquor, but they’re also hilarious, with throngs of young Vietnamese drinking until dawn. You’ll make quick friends with the boisterous groups here and have a night you’ll never forget — or one you’ll never remember.
HCM City People’s Committee held a conference to call for investment into anti-flooding and wastewater treatment projects on August 9 – Dtinews
Reports from the city’s Urban Flood Control Programme showed that the city is being badly affected by the tides via the Saigon-Dong Nai-Vam Co Dong river system.
The tidal peak from 1962 to 2001 was under 1.5 metres but due to climate change, the peak surpassed 1.5 metres after 2010 and reached 1.62-1.68 metres in the past five years. More and more heavy rains have occurred while the sewer system is insufficient.
According to the general planning of HCM City’s drainage system to 2020, the city needs 6,000km of sewers to cover a 581.51-square-kilometre area but only 4,176km have been built. It also needs 12 wastewater treatment plants with total capacity to deal with over 3 million cubic metres per day. Currently, there are only Binh Hung Wastewater Treatment Plant with a capacity of 141,000 cubic metres and Tham Luong Plant with a capacity of 131,000 cubic metres.
Only 64 out of 149 kilometres of embankment along the Saigon River and one out of 10 flood sewers have been completed in accordance with irrigation planning. HCM City is in need of huge human resources for anti-flooding projects and up to VND73.41trn (USD3.11bn) of investment for 2016-2020 period.
Laurent Umans, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Vietnam, also raised warnings about ground depression as HCM is sinking 7cm every year and the situation is worsening. In the next 50 to 100 years, a part of the city will submerge and turn into a swamp. Careless groundwater exploitation is cited as one of the causes for the subsidence. Umans urged HCM City authorities to act immediately instead of waiting for research.
HCM City Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen admitted and deteriorating infrastructure and ill-fitted urban planning worsened the flooding. They will gather opinions on the problems. In the meantime, they will adjust the drainage planning and find more anti-flooding solutions.
Many experts at the conference have proposed solutions to the problems including building more lakes or implementing new technology to better manage wastewater.
High Court finds man guilty of murder of a compatriot and causing bodily harm to two others in June 2017
According to a report on Asia Times, a Vietnamese man was sentenced to 15 years jail for murder and causing bodily harm after killing a compatriot and injuring two other men in a restaurant in New Taipei City last year.
Bui Tien-dung had a quarrel with another Vietnamese man surnamed To in the toilet of a Vietnamese restaurant in Xinzhuang district in June 2017, Central News Agency reported, citing court documents. The two seemed to have resolved their conflict with a handshake but Bui remained unhappy about the incident.
Bui’s cousin went out to buy five knives as he was worried that To would seek revenge. When Bui and his cousin were about the leave the restaurant, Bui went to To’s booth and stabbed a man surnamed Pham to death with a knife. He also injured To and his friend, also surnamed Pham, on their arms and backs.
Bui was previously given a 16-and-a-half-year jail term by the New Taipei District Court for murder and an attempted murder. But he appealed the case to the Taiwan High Court.
On Tuesday, the Taiwan High Court said Bui’s intention to murder Pham was clear as he stabbed the victim in the chest. However, there was no evidence that Bui wanted to kill To and the other Pham as he was only waving the knife at them.
The High Court dropped the attempted murder charge against Bui and reduced his jail term to 15 years.
He is due to be deported once he has served his prison sentence.
How to Find the Cheapest Flights to Vietnam and Decide Between Saigon and Hanoi
Start in the north or the south?
For travelers, choosing where to fly into Vietnam isn’t always straightforward. The opposite ends of the same country have completely different vibes. Flight prices vary. Even the climate differs by season.
Overall, you have three popular choices for flying into Vietnam: Saigon (south), Hanoi (north), and Da Nang (roughly in the middle). Flying into either Saigon or Hanoi are the most popular ways to begin exploring Vietnam. Greg Rodgers reported on Tripsavvy
Getting Your Visa for Vietnam
Before arriving at one of Vietnam’s three major international airports, you’ll need to have your tourist visa already taken care of or risk being denied entry. Fortunately, Vietnam’s new E-Visa system will eliminate a lot of the former hassle.
Your three choices for getting a visa for Vietnam:
The Old Way: Tourist visa stamp already in your passport (obtainable from a Vietnamese consulate outside of Vietnam)
Visa on Arrival: Use a third party to get a visa approval letter. You’ll then use this letter to purchase a visa on arrival at the airport in Vietnam. This was the most popular way until replaced by the E-Visa system.
E-Visa for Vietnam: On February 1, 2017, Vietnam implemented an E-Visa system. Travelers will be able to upload a scan of their passport, pay the US $25 fee online, then three business days later receive an E-Visa via email. The E-Visa is swapped upon arrival for a passport stamp granting entry.
Note: There are a lot of fake E-Visa for Vietnam websites. In fact, the real site barely makes the results in search engines! These middlemen sites simply want a fee for submitting your information to the real Vietnam E-Visa site.
Fly to Saigon or Hanoi — Which Is Best?
Obviously, your trip itinerary and aspirations for the trip may dictate where is the most logical port of entry. A majority of travelers seem to begin in the south by flying into Saigon. Flight prices are often cheaper for Saigon. Plus, according to some opinions, Saigon provides a slightly “softer” landing culturally for first-timers in Vietnam.
Because of volume and other factors, flying into Saigon (airport code: SGN) is almost always cheaper than flying into Hanoi (airport code: HAN).
In fact, Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) handles a bulk of all international traffic in and out of Vietnam. Strangely, Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) actually boasts a larger capacity but handles less passenger volume.
If you intend to see the entire country, consider starting in the south and then applying the difference in flight costs to take advantage of the scenic Reunification Express train.
The line runs from Saigon to places of interest in the north, including Hanoi. Overnight buses are another option for moving around, although train travel is certainly more enjoyable. Once in Hanoi, you could grab one of the low-cost domestic flights back to Saigon. International airfare to Western countries is usually cheaper from Saigon.
Finding Cheap Flights to Vietnam
If you’re already in Asia, the cheapest flights to Vietnam often originate from Bangkok, Singapore, and China. The state-run Vietnam Airlines handles international flights to Australia, Europe, and the United States. Check prices directly on their site before committing to a fare on a third-party booking site. Remember to check prices with private browsing turned on!
If flight prices directly from your home city aren’t favorable, consider hopping through one of the major hubs where passenger volume to Asia lowers prices. For instance, try flying LAX-BKK-SGN or JFK-BKK-SGN. Apply some flight-booking hacks to score the best price.
Vietnam Airlines is based in Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport. They are a member of the SkyTeam alliance; you’ll be rewarded with Delta SkyMiles when flying with them.
The Airport in Saigon
The airports in Saigon and Hanoi are both functional and very easy to navigate.
Because the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Saigon is located within the city and cannot be easily expanded, construction on a new international airport (to be known as Long Thanh International Airport) is already underway. The new airport will be huge!
Vietnam’s new airport will be located around 31 miles northeast of Saigon and is expected to start handling flights in 2025. The airport will reach full capacity by 2050.
Saigon’s old SGN airport will be converted to service mostly domestic and regional Southeast Asia flights, much the way that Bangkok’s old Don Mueang International Airport was utilized after the completion of Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).
Flying into Saigon
Many hotels provide airport pickup. If possible, go ahead and schedule a driver. Saigon taxi drivers have a long reputation of scamming new arrivals. Some will demand more money halfway to your destination. Others will try to take you to fake hotels.
If airport pickup isn’t an option, you’ll need to enter the taxi stand in front of the airport. If possible, hold out for or demand a VinaSun taxi — they are the most reputable taxi company in Saigon.
Regardless of which taxi company you choose, plan to pay a small airport fee directly to the driver in addition to whatever the meter says. This is a legitimate fee, not a scam.
Tip: If you have room, keep your luggage on the back seat rather than in the trunk of the taxi. If you need to get out of the taxi after a bad interaction, a dishonest driver may demand more money before releasing the trunk! Your luggage will be held hostage.
Flying into Hanoi
Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport (airport code: HAN) is actually the largest in the country but handles far less passengers than Saigon. Noi Bai International Airport is the hub for Vietnam Airlines as well as low-cost carriers Vietjet and Jetstar Pacific.
All international flights come through the Terminal 2, opened in January 2015. Hanoi’s airport is located approximately 21 miles (around 35 kilometers) northeast of the city. If your hotel provides airport pickup, take advantage! Taxis can be an expensive nuisance to negotiate after a long flight.
Flying into Da Nang
A third option for entering Vietnam is to fly into Da Nang International Airport (airport code: DAD) from another point in Asia. The airport mostly handles traffic from Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.
The only real advantage of flying into Da Nang is to begin roughly in the middle of Vietnam, within striking distance of two very popular tourist stops in Vietnam: Hue and Hoi An.
If time is short and getting some clothing made in the charming riverside town of Hoi An is your primary objective, flying into Da Nang may be the best choice. AirAsia operates flights to Da Nang from Kuala Lumpur.
Exiting Vietnam Through Saigon
Save yourself some last-minute hassle by arranging airport transportation through your hotel.The rate is usually about the same as you would pay for a taxi. But having a scheduled driver eliminates potential shenanigans from drivers who know you’ll pay a little extra if an international flight is on the line.
International flights depart Saigon through Terminal 2. Your driver may ask.
Vietnam Departure Tax
An international departure tax of US $14 for adults and US $7 for children is levied when you fly out of Vietnam.
Most airlines build the tax into the price of your ticket; you’ll never notice. If for some administrative reason the departure tax is not included in your ticket price, you’ll need to go to a counter to pay before allowed to get to the departure gate.
A departure tax of around US $2 is also added to domestic departures.
Departure Tip: Spend all of your Vietnamese dong before exiting the country. Exchanging Vietnamese dong after leaving Vietnam is nearly impossible. The currency is not useful outside of Vietnam. The airport in Hanoi does not have money-changing facilities on the other side of immigration. You’ll be stuck with whatever currency you have left!
Getting Around Vietnam
Getting around Vietnam has its challenges, however, costs are surprisingly cheap given the distances covered.
Vietnam’s oblong shape means that you’ll need to cross a lot of rice-growing regions to reach tourist stops strung out along the north-south route between Saigon and Hanoi.
Aside from the most expensive option of hiring a private car with driver, you have three primary options for getting around Vietnam: flights, buses, and trains. Foreigners are typically not allowed to rent or drive cars.
Although driving cars isn’t really an option, foreigners can get usually away with driving scooters in Vietnam without a Vietnamese license (technically, you are supposed to have one).
Before hitting the streets on two wheels, make sure you’ve got what it takes to contend in the famously congested roundabouts of Saigon or Hanoi. Even crossing the street on foot can be a challenge. Scooters are a great way to reach the sights in smaller places such as the sand dunes in Mui Ne. Lots of intrepid travelers even opt to drive motorbikes between Saigon and Hanoi (you can sell it back to someone planning to drive the other way).
Driving in Asia can be challenging, but driving in Vietnam takes the “excitement” to a whole new level!
More than 760 luxury Mercedes GLC vehicles are being recalled in Vietnam over faulty airbags after reports that they may be prematurely deploying in several certain conditions.
According to Vietnam Register (VR), the recall campaign applies for models GLC 250 4MATIC and GLC 300 4MATIC manufactured between June 2017 and September 2017. Vietnam News – a local media reported.
The affected vehicles will be checked and fixed for free at all dealers of Mercedes-Benz Company Ltd nationwide.
The recall started from July 16 to December 31, 2020.
This is the 10th Mercedes-Benz recall of vehicles related to airbags in Vietnam. Most recently in May this year, the Vietnam Register issued a notice recalling 284 Mercedes-Benz vehicles due to a mass error that led to the automatic airbag activation.
Vietnam is in a national species extinction crisis and has been for as long time, according to 2014 research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Elephants are down to about 60 animals, tigers are almost certainly extinct, the giant ibis might already be gone – Reported by Asian Sentinel
The IUCN journal CATnews said in 2014 that the Javan rhinoceros, kouprey, hog deer and Bengal florican were driven to extinction during the late 20th century of military and political upheaval, and the 21st. They were exterminated during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Other species perilously close to being gone include the Asian elephant, giant ibis, and tiger. Vietnam is located in what biologists refer to as the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot and has a high rate of endemism, of species unique to defined geographic locations
It wasn’t always like this. Near the middle of the 20th century, before the outbreak of wars that lasted over the next three decades, Vietnam was considered by many hunters one of the best places for big game in Asia. Colonel Charles Askins in 1959, on the eve of decades of destruction, called it “one of the best game lands on the face of the earth.” So vast and unexplored was Vietnam’s wilderness that wildlife sightings weren’t limited to the confirmed zoological realm.
Tales about the nguoi rung or “forest man” date back to the time when a young Frenchman named Thomas Caraman washed up in Saigon in 1865 seeking fortune and glory. In his book Colonial Cambodia’s ‘Bad Frenchmen’ (2006) author Gregor Muller describes how soon after Caraman arrived in Vietnam he was preparing for “an expedition to a remote jungle location where someone had apparently sighted a savage tribe living in tree tops, whose members—half humans, half apes—still sported a tiny tail.”
Fast forward a few more decades and American soldiers fighting in Vietnam were reporting encounters with orangutan-like giant apes, according to Kregg P.J. Jorgenson in his 2001 book Very Crazy G.I.: Strange but True Stories of the Vietnam War. Biologists Jeffrey A. McNeely and Paul Spencer Wachtel describe a meeting in Soul of the Tiger (1988) with a former U.S. Vietnam War veteran who claimed that two soldiers in his platoon “had had their heads torn off by the powerful beast.”
So many anecdotal reports about this creature were reaching Hanoi from North Vietnamese Army combatants that the North Vietnam government asked the noted environmentalist and Professor Vo Quy to investigate (incidentally, I had been corresponding with Professor Vo Quy before his death in 2017 about nguoi rung reports in Chu Mom Ray National Park, and he was still enthusiastic about trying to find them in this area by way of remote camera-trapping; sadly, our plans never materialized).
Was this creature some relic species that was never catalogued? Is it the last population of Gigantopithecus, stirred from its final holdouts by the dropping of U.S. ordnance and chemical defoliants during the war? Could it have been homo erectus itself? Or were these sightings all just a big coincidence or some kind of mass hallucination? (The Saola and the Large-antlered muntjac weren’t known to science until 1993 and 1994 respectively, and they are large mammals that hail from the same Vietnamese mountains where stories of the nguoi rung come from).
I am not so concerned about the answers to these questions. What interests me is that there was once a landscape, a boundless rainforest with limestone crags, waterfalls, swift rivers, high peaks, and deep caves that was so vast and remote that it could be filled with mystery and stories like these. Rhinos, tigers, and elephants once swarmed in this landscape of possibilities, but what are we left with today?
Tenacious, indigenous Vietnamese and even foreign game hunters were killing wildlife for commercial purposes and trophies well before the country’s war with the United States, but it was that devastating conflict that was really the beginning of the end for Vietnam’s natural heritage. Napalm, chemical defoliants like agent orange, carpet-bombing, and ordnance of all sorts turned swaths of once-lush country into moonscapes.
Specially modified Rome Plows were used to tear down jungle, and machine guns left over from the war replaced cross-bows and blow-pipes, which greatly increased a hunter’s chances of hitting his quarry in the forest.
In the decades following the war, the Vietnamese and Chinese economies opened to the world, and with rising wealth both countries fueled massive domestic demand for wildlife products, exotic pets, luxury timber that denuded forests, hydroelectric power that dammed rivers and flooded valleys to produce electricity, and minerals in the ground such as bauxite for the production of a myriad of products. Vietnam’s natural heritage, it seems, will never be the same.
There are no more tigers, kouprey, or rhinoceros in the wild Vietnam today, and just a handful of elephants hang on. Birder friends tell me to forget about the Giant Ibis in Vietnam. It’s history. I asked some Vietnamese friends from Kontum province about the nguoi rung and they replied without a moment’s hesitation: “30-40 years ago, they still existed in the mountains, but they’re gone now. Everyone from Kontum knew about them, and our elders spoke of them when we were children.”
One conservationist informed me that it took his team six years to camera-trap a single wild pig in his study area in the Annamite Mountains, and that sadly, entire mountains have been denuded of animal life. Farther afield, the Song Doong Cave, which is perhaps the world’s largest, is threatened by a planned cable car that would take tourists for a ride into the cave’s delicate ecosystem. Is all hope lost?
Maybe not. Last year a new “stone frog” species was discovered in the country, and a new species of tea plant was recently uncovered in central Vietnam. The country’s infamous bear bile farms may be closing, a new elephant protection area is being establish in Quang Nam province, while a “mysterious” and unknown herd of Asian elephants recently emerged from a forest in southern Vietnam. Efforts are also underway to save the Critically Endangered saola from extinction with the creation of a special breeding program, and NGOs such as PRCF Foundation are fighting hard to protect rare primates such as the Francois’ Langur, and the Douc Langur Foundation battles to save the beautiful doucs.
And after all, while Vietnam’s natural heritage has been heavily hammered by war, hunting, and economic development schemes, the rest of the planet isn’t doing that much better: it estimated that Earth is on track to lose two-thirds of its wild animals by 2020. That’s 18 months from now. Throughout history, the Vietnamese have proven time and again to be a resilient people, expelling the Chinese, Genghis Kahn, the French, and the Americans—and also deposing the Khmer Rouge’s Pol Pot in about two weeks flat. Perhaps their resilient and tough spirit can be a source of hope in protecting what remains of their amazing natural heritage.
China’s currency may have stabilized, but the pain is spreading.
Think the latest yuan rout is over? Tell that to Vietnam.
According to a report by Shuli Ren on Bloomberg, the slide in China’s currency paused this week after jawboning by the central bank, which told commercial lenders it has the tools to stabilize the market and urged them to avoid “herd behavior,” Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. But the ripples of the yuan’s 4.7 percent drop this year may be just starting to spread to the country’s neighbors.
The Vietnamese dong has been moving steadily closer to the edge of its 3 percent daily trading band against the dollar over the past two weeks, as traders bet on faster depreciation.
Under Pressure
Vietnam’s currency traders are pushing the dong close to its daily 3 percent trading band again
State Bank of Vietnam guided the official rate 1.1 percent lower this year, causing a 2.7 percent fall in the market rate. Like the yuan, the dong is loosely pegged to the dollar.
Currency traders are speculating on further declines, having seen how Vietnam has reacted in the past when the yuan has slumped. On Aug. 12, 2015, one day after China jolted global markets with a sudden yuan devaluation, Vietnam widened the dong’s trading band. The currency ended the year with 3 percent depreciation in the official exchange rate, and a 5.1 percent drop in the market rate.
The retreat in the dong’s market rate this year is little more than half the slump in the currency of its bigger neighbor, suggesting further depreciation is possible – particularly if the yuan resumes its decline.
It’s unclear how serious China is about stemming the yuan’s slide. Instead of deploying its $3 trillion of foreign-exchange reserves to sell the dollar, Beijing has largely been using onshore currency swaps to stabilize the spot rate. That’s a less effective tool because traders can simply place bearish bets offshore instead.
Vietnamese traders may also be skeptical of China’s rhetoric. On July 3, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said the country would “keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level.” The currency fell more than 2.5 percent in the ensuing month. The yuan is the worst performer of 12 major Asian currencies against the dollar in the past month.
Near the Cliff
The yuan depreciated 3.1 percent against the dollar over the past month, the most among major Asian currencies
State Bank of Vietnam may be forced to yield. In just one week in July, it sold more than $2 billion to banks to meet demand for the dollar, the Saigon Times reported. It’s unclear how much the central bank has shelled out since to prop up the dong. At this rate, it will quickly erode the $12 billion of foreign reserves painstakingly built up last year.
Vietnam is more reluctant to countenance depreciation this time around. Unlike in 2015, inflation is now a problem, with the consumer price index blowing past the central bank’s 4 percent target rate for two months in a row.
Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s most open economy on some measures, with imports accounting for almost 100 percent of GDP. As a result, it’s more vulnerable to price pressures. A 1 percentage point fall in the dong could lead to a 0.25 percentage point increase in headline inflation, HSBC Holdings Plc estimates.
Vietnam’s inflation rate has edged above the central bank’s 4 percent target
Two years ago, it took a dovish Federal Reserve to release the pressure on the yuan. Vietnam can’t count on that now, with the U.S. central bank determined not to overheat an already strong economy.
If the market pressure persists, Vietnam will be forced into grudging rate increases, like its Southeast Asian peers Indonesia and the Philippines.
It had better hope the PBOC means what it says.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story: Shuli Ren at sren38@bloomberg.net
A new Vietnamese restaurant opened in downtown Huntington on Wednesday.
According to a report on herald-dispatch.com, Pho U & Mi, located at 1451 3rd Ave. in the former Clean Eatz building, specializes in pho and banh mi and other specialty food and drinks. Pho is a Vietnamese soup that is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine and culture.
“Our bread is baked fresh daily,” said new owner Alex Phan. “At Pho U & Mi we offer quick lunch sandwiches with Vietnamese food, along with a few house specialty dishes, including pho (beef noodle soup) or chicken noodle soup. We also serve rice with curry chicken, as well as wok bang beef with rice. For those who like spicy food, and we have noodle beef stew.”
Phan said the restaurant also will feature appetizers, such as egg rolls, spring rolls and crab rangoon.
“We also offer boba tea of some of the famous flavors,” Phan said. “We also have fruit smoothies to cool you down during these hot summer days.”
The restaurant currently has five employees, but it is still hiring.
Pho U & Mi is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11:30 a.m to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 18, with Hot Rod Grille being the DJ for the event.
“The DJ will be playing top 40 and some country music during lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 to 7 p.m. during dinner,” Phan said.
For more information, call 681-888-5338 or 304-763-1763.
Call for a ban on people eating dog meat in the UK
Would you eat dog meat?
According to a report by Imran Rahman – Jones Newsbeat reporter on BBC, UK law says that you can’t buy or sell dog meat, but if you humanely kill a dog you own, you can eat it.
But there have been calls to make it illegal, including from SNP MP Dr Lisa Cameron who believes the public would be “right behind legislation calling for a ban”.
A spokesman for the prime minister says the UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and “we wish to maintain that”.
Dr Cameron is the chair of the All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group.
She told Newsbeat she wants a law banning eating dog meat to be passed quickly, adding: “I don’t imagine that there will be any party in parliament which would stand against that.”
This is one of eight dogs which was brought to the UK after being rescued from a farm in South Korea
A ban is also backed by Foreign Office minister and Conservative MP Sir Alan Duncan who told the Sun it is “absolutely right”.
Dr Cameron says there has been a rise in the consumption of dog meat in the UK, but two animal welfare organisations that Newsbeat spoke to say that they don’t have evidence for this.
The World Dog Alliance says it doesn’t know if there are people in the UK who eat dog meat – but still wants it to be made illegal.
Humane Society International told Newsbeat it has “never come across any evidence to suggest that dog meat is being consumed in the UK”.
Some countries in Asia eat dogs such as Vietnam, South Korea, and it is also said to happen in Switzerland, although it isn’t widespread.
Animal organisations claim that some dogs which are eaten in other countries are stolen pets, are kept in horrible conditions and are tortured before they’re killed.
Dr Lisa Cameron is an SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Kike Yuen is project executive at the World Dog Alliance, based in Hong Kong, which campaigns to promote laws on banning dog meat consumption around the world.
The organisation has been lobbying for a similar law in the US. There have been few reported cases of people eating dog in the country.
Proposals for a law banning eating dog meat in America is currently working its way through US Congress.
“The reason why we did the legislation in the United States is because we found that there are some Asian immigrants eating dogs there,” Kike told Newsbeat.
He adds: “We are worried that it is going to happen in the UK.”
This dog was rescued from a farm in South Korea
Humane Society International runs campaigns to end the dog meat trade in countries including Indonesia, China and South Korea.
Spokesperson Wendy Higgins says she “wouldn’t want anyone to think that dog meat eating is rife in the UK or that it has anything to do with the number of people that we have living in this country from Asia”.
She added: “Most people across Asia are united in wanting to see an end to the dog meat trade and I don’t see numbers of people from Asia in the United Kingdom having any impact on that whatsoever.”
Despite there being no evidence that people in the UK eat dogs, Dr Cameron said “the government has to take action to nip it in the bud”.
She added: “I think it’s a concern if it is happening at all, no matter where it is happening. I’m not aware that it’s linked with any particular groups in terms of research outcome.”
Theresa May’s official spokesman said: “The commercial trade in dog meat in the UK is illegal, but we will look closely at the decision taken in the US.
“Britain is a nation of animal lovers and we continue to have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world.
