Hanoi’s air quality has reached level of “good” for the first week of July. Photo: Ashley Pham
According to a report from Vietnamnet, the first week of July witnessed an improvement in Hanoi’s air quality, according to the city’s Environment Protection Authority under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
The air quality measured at monitoring stations around the city reached levels of ‘good’ and ‘average’. Significantly, the number of days with ‘good’ air quality rose in comparison with the previous week.
Mai Trong Thai, the authority head, told Ha Noi Moi (New Hanoi) newspaper that the measured air quality index (AQI) fluctuated between 40 to 94 points which were equivalent to ‘average’ and ‘good’ levels. There was no day with air quality dropping to ‘bad’ level.
Urban air monitoring stations of Trung Yen in Cau Giay district, Kim Lien in Dong Da district, My Dinh in Nam Tu Liem district and Tan Mai in Hoang Mai district showed increases in good air quality days, accounting for 100 percent, 71.4 percent, 71.4 percent, 57.1 percent and 42.9 percent respectively.
No monitoring indicator exceeds the Vietnamese standard.
At urban traffic site air monitoring stations on Hang Dau street, Hoan Kiem and Thanh Cong areas, the AQI remained at the average level. Hoan Kiem air monitoring station, however, acknowledged one day with AQI at a good level on July 5.
Meanwhile, the records by two air monitoring stations in Minh Khai ward, Hai Ba Trung district and on Pham Van Dong street in Bac Tu Liem district showed that during last week, air quality stayed at the average level under the pressure of high traffic.
The highest AQI tracked in these areas were 94 and 78 respectively, with the highest daily concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) of 44.7µg/m3 and 40.29µg/m3 respectively, below the Vietnamese air standard of 50µg/m3.
According to experts, rain over the next few days will also help to improve air quality in Hanoi after a week-long hot spell.
Vietnam is a country that wakes up early. The parks and sidewalks fill up quickly with people doing their morning stretches and strolling around to loosen their legs. But before the real work can get going, people need fuel. Here are the favorite breakfasts in Vietnam listed by Culture Trip.
Bánh mì
The bánh mì is the Vietnamese breakfast sandwich. It’s cheap, hearty, tasty and portable. For people in a hurry to get to work or school, the bánh mì is the perfect breakfast on the go. The story of how this humble sandwich became the breakfast of choice for millions is a surprisingly interesting one as well. Read all about it here.
Every day in Vietnam you see kids tromping off to school, swinging their xôi breakfast in little plastic bags. It’s a glutinous rice base with any number of toppings, including fried onions, mung beans, quail eggs and sliced sausage.
There’s dozens of varieties of bún in Vietnam. They’re any dish made with rice vermicelli noodles. Add in some grilled fatty pork, fried spring rolls, herbs, pickled veggies and dipping sauces, and you’ve got a delicious meal.
These are a kind of Vietnamese pancake, made by steaming fermented rice batter over a cloth to make thin, wavy sheets. Once you add in the minced shallots, ground pork, mushrooms and some fish sauce, you have a healthy and filling breakfast.
When people around the world think of Vietnamese cuisine, phở is the first dish that comes to mind. It’s an indispensable part of waking up for many people in Vietnam, and like most of the dishes on this list, phở is a good choice any time of the day.
Here’s one of our favorite Vietnamese dishes. We could eat bò kho every single day and be perfectly happy. Is it the healthiest? Probably not – but bò kho is just too delicious. We love dipping bread into the broth until we’ve sopped up every last drop.
This is likely the most customizable dish on this list. It’s a bed of broken rice – the cheapest kind – topped with any number of things, including fish, pork, meat balls, morning glory, pickled veggies and so much more. The options change with every restaurant. Broken rice used to be undesirable, but now many people prefer it.
Be careful with the fingers when you’re eating this dish, because it comes sizzling on black iron. It looks more Germanic than Vietnamese, but it’s the breakfast of choice for many protein-hungry people here. It’s beefsteak, eggs, sausage, veggies and a baguette – definitely not the breakfast of centenarians.
Bún bò Huế
We already covered one bún dish, but bún bò Huế is unique enough to warrant another spot on this list. It comes from Huế in central Vietnam, the old imperial capital and home to some of the spiciest food in the country. This dish might be a bit too much on a hot day in Ho Chi Minh City, but it’s the perfect way to warm up in the colder regions.
And finally, yet another bowl of noodles. Hu tieu is popular through much of Southeast Asia, especially in Cambodia. The noodles are doused in a sticky mixture of oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar. The broth is flavored with pork bones, dried squid, sugar and fish sauce. The dish is served with meats and greens as well, dependent on availability and the tastes of the cook.
Starbucks is piloting strawless lids for Nitro beverages in markets such as China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (Photos: Starbucks)
SEATTLE: By 2020, consumers will no longer be able to get single-use plastic straws at all Starbucks stores globally – CNA reports.
This would apply to its more than 28,000 company operated and licensed stores, the coffee giant announced on Monday (Jul 9).
Starbucks said it will make available strawless lids or straws made of other materials instead.
“Starbucks has designed, developed and manufactured a strawless lid, which will become the standard for all iced coffee, tea and espresso beverages,” the company said in a news release.
“The lid is currently available in more than 8,000 stores in the United States and Canada for select beverages including Starbucks Draft Nitro and Cold Foam.”
In Asia, the lid is being piloted for Nitro beverages in markets such as China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
For customers who prefer to have or need a straw, Starbucks said straws made of paper or compostable plastic will be available upon request – for their Frappuccino blended beverages.
Starbucks is among several major companies that have announced measures to cut plastic waste. Swedish furniture giant IKEA recently announced that it will stop selling single-use plastic products at all its stores globally by 2020.
McDonald’s also said last month that it would replace plastic straws with paper ones in the United Kingdom and Ireland from September.
Starbucks said the new strawless lids will first be implemented in Seattle and Vancouver in the third quarter of this year. Phased rollouts within the US and Canada will then follow.
A global rollout of the strawless lid will begin in Europe, starting with select stores in France and the Netherlands.
The custom lids will also be introduced in the UK, just as the market expands its £0.05 (US$0.07) paper cup charge to 950 stores.
Vietnam suffered losses of VND868 billion (USD39 million) caused by natural disasters in the first half of this year, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control – Dtinews reports.
The committee on July 9 held a meeting to review natural disaster prevention and control in the first six months of this year.
The committee reported that between January and June, the country faced 14 kinds of natural disasters. Floods which happened in the northern mountainous region in June, leaving 23 dead and 10 others missing, alone accounted for up to VND500 million in losses.
At the meeting, Lai Chau Province People’s Committee deputy chairman Le Trong Quang said that it was important to provide people in areas which often face natural disasters with skills to live with unfavourable weather conditions.
Besides the systems for storm and flood prevention and control at different levels, he mentioned the necessity to establish task forces to warn the public of possible risks of natural disasters. This is aimed to deal with the on-site urgent problems when the rescue force can’t come timely, Quang added.
The National Centre for Hydro-meteorology Forecasting said that Vietnam would see eight to 10 storms this year, including four or five would affect the mainland directly.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that more complicated natural disasters showed more serious consequences of climate change facing Vietnam.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam was one of the five countries most likely to be severely affected by climate change, with 21 types of natural disasters, especially storms, tropical depression, floods, flash floods, landslides, droughts, saline intrusion, and river bank and coastal erosion.
Around 400 people are killed or go missing in the country due to natural disasters annually. Natural disasters account for losses of 1%-1.5% GDP a year for the country.
Alarmeow, a wake-up call application created by a group of young Vietnamese is now available at the iOS App Store.
Nguyen Tran Tung, 27, of HCM City and his friends worked on the app for six months.
The app is ranked 16st in the lifestyle category among the most-downloaded mobile apps by users worldwide, receiving many “five star” ratings. It is offered in Vietnamese and English.
Users can download the app for free via the iOS app store.
Alarmeow is designed as a super-clever alarm clock to get you out of bed on time, and is suited for people who have trouble staying awake in the morning.
By default, the app’s alarm only stops ringing when users have played mini games such as finding a way out of a labyrinth or fast memory or by shaking the phone.
“This helps users stay awake by the time they try to disable the alarm,” Tung said.
After finishing the game, motivational quotes and inspirational sayings welcome the new day on the phone screen.
In addition, the app also provides notifications reminding users to go to bed from 10pm to midnight.
Tung said he is developing a new app for learning English, and is looking for investments and cooperation from young people who share his passion for making products for the community.
Vietnam International Bank (UPCoM: VIB) announced its 1H 2018 unaudited financial statements with positive business results showed in key indicators such as profit before tax, deposits, lending and NPL.
Specifically, VIB’s 1H profit before tax reached VND1,151 billion, up 216% year-on-year since the net revenue increased by 56% year-on-year to VND2,701 billion, while operating expense was VND1,316 billion, up 16%. Moreover, thanks to continuous improvement of credit quality, the bank’s credit loss provision was maintained at a low level of VND234 billion.
Lending and deposits reached VND91,700 billion and VND83,168 billion, up 8.94% and 7.1% year-to-date, respectively. VIB managed well other financial adequacy ratios such as ratio of short-term deposits used for long-term loans at 40.7% (compared with permitted maximum limit of 45% by SBV), loan-to-deposit ratio at 75.7% (vs. permitted maximum limit of 80%) and the bank’s NPL ratio at 2.3%. CAR was maintained at 12.5% with equity of VND9,669 billion. The cost-to-income ratio (CIR) decreased from 65% to 49% in 1H 2018.
The most important contribution to VIB’s growth and profitability came from retail banking business, which gained year on year 100% growth of 1H 2018 revenue. As accumulated personal lending is growing rapidly, the bank currently ranked among biggest retail banks in the market.
VIB continued to be the No.1 bank in terms of auto loan disbursement in 1H 2018, reaching over 30% market share. VIB is the market leader as well in terms of growth rate of mortgage lending, up 78% in 1H 2018 year-on-year, focusing strongly on mortgage loans with land deed, and loans for home repair. Specially, the bancassurance business model helped VIB’s annual premium equivalent (APE) grow by 151% year-on-year, ranked among top 3 biggest banks in terms of market share on selling life insurance.
VIB is one of banks with highest productivity in Vietnam’s banking industry as the bank’s profit per employee was more than VND230 million in 1H 2018.
The bank expected that 2018 profit before tax would be over VND2,500 billion, 25% higher than the target agreed by its shareholders.
In 1H 2018, VIB achieved many international awards and recognition of communities in CSR activities
In 1H 2018, VIB achieved many international awards and recognition of communities in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. With the target of being pioneer in developing digital banking, VIB has invested for MyVIB mobile banking application, website, call center, self-service features, and gained 2 awards, including “Digital bank of the year 2017” and “Best retail mobile banking experience 2017” by The Asset. On June 4, 2018, the IFC of the World Bank Group awarded VIB the “2017 Best Trade-Operations Bank Partner in East-Asia Pacific” under the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP). VIB is the only bank among IFC’s issuing bank partners in East Asia and the Pacific to achieve the award in 2017.
In addition to its achievements in the banking sector, VIB has continued to carry out different CSR activities in promoting education and healthcare. In June 2018, about 100 disadvantaged children born with cleft lips, cleft palates in Northern Vietnam were given free surgeries under the medical charity mission by VIB and Operation Smile Vietnam (OSV). In 2017, VIB also coordinated with OSV to provide medical consultations and free surgeries for nearly 200 children with cleft lips, cleft palates and phonetics training for nearly 400 families of patients across the country.
Office rentals in downtown Ho Chi Minh City have been rising steadily over the last three months, a new report by CBRE Vietnam says.
Grade A office rent has seen a 7 percent increase in the second quarter over the first quarter and 17 percent increase over the same period last year, the report said.
A similar increase, of 7.3 percent over last year, has also been seen in Grade B office rentals.
The report attributes the rice in prices to high demand and limited supply.
In the last one year, office vacancies in new buildings have been rapidly filled, with vacancy rates for both Grade A and B offices at below 5 percent, the report says.
In the second quarter of 2018, the HCMC market has not received new office space supply. Total Grade A office supply remained unchanged at 382,763 square meters, while Grade B office space rose slightly by 968 square meters to 814,330 square meters.
Dang Phuong Hang, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, predicted that Grade A office rents would continue to increase through 2019 or early 2020, with supply remaining limited. Office vacancies will become increasingly scarce, she said.
Sophie Dao, partner of GBS, a legal and business services firm in Saigon mentioned that, based on her experience with small size and mid-size foreign investors, virtual offices and co-working space still be preferred options in Vietnam.
Dramatic footage has emerged today showing the moment cops raided brothels in Vietnam and found dozens of young escorts huddled together as they desperately tried to hide their faces.
Police stormed into the Fortune Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City just before midnight on June 9 and caught the women waiting for customers.
The women fled into small rooms and used their handbags to cover their faces as police checked the buildings.
Cops then ran up to a hidden roof top terrace and discovered a further 30 waitresses “dressed provocatively” playing on their phones.
They were asked to go downstairs for administrative checks.
About an hour later, the same interdisciplinary inspection team made a second raid without warning at Fortune 2 Hotel, which is also on the same street.
The escorts were found waiting for customers. Photo: Viral Press
Police stormed three venues in June Photo: Viral Press
Some of the escorts fled to other rooms. Photo: Viral Press
Officials said that more than 80 waitresses were not officially employed under labour contracts. Photo: Viral Press
They said there were a number of seductively dressed waitresses who were found singing karaoke with foreign guests.
Officials said that more than 80 waitresses were not officially employed under labour contracts and most of their earnings come from tips from guests.
The fortune II hotel in Ho Chi Minh City was raided just before midnight Photo: Viral Press
Ho Chi Minh City Police said in a statement: “These two hotels have made a number of violations such as operating karaoke service without a license, utilising a number of waitresses per room more than permitted by laws, employing employees without contracts, and using a sexually oriented business method.”
Police later raided a third entertainment venue, the Fyou Karaoke Bar, where staff showed an ”uncooperative manner and argued loudly”.
They added: “The bar was penalised for various violations such as operating beyond stipulated business hours, infringing music copyrights, having no labor safety certificate, and having no internal rules and regulations regarding employment.”
Frantic scenes ensued after officers stormed the buildings Photo: Viral Press
Grant Thornton Vietnam just released the results of the Vietnam Hotel Survey 2018.
Kenneth Atkinson, Executive Chairman of Grant Thornton Vietnam said, the report this year marks the 15 consecutive year Grant Thornton conducting the only comprehensive research on high-end hotels and resorts in Vietnam.
Continue with last year’s momentum, Vietnam is rapidly growing as a top tourism destination among SEA countries. The country is the 6th fastest growing country in the world as a tourist destination, and the fastest in Asia, according to a report by UNWTO.
Total arrival rose by 19%, from 72 million in 2016 to 86 million in 2017, of which international arrivals increased 29%, and domestic arrivals increased 18%.
The hotel industry, following the increase in number of guest, is receiving massive amount of investments. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, in 2017 there were 79 new upscale (3-5 star) hotels brought into operation, 10 of which are 5 star, with a total of 101,400 rooms, an increase of 10% over last year. AirBnB, an emerging player in the hospitality scene, is also growing in number of listing, with over 16,000 listing in and around two key cities, Hanoi and HCMC.
Average Room Rate
The analysis of upscale hotels was performed by Star Ranking and Region. By Star Ranking, Room Rate for 4-Star hotels continues to increase, though only slightly by 1%, reaching USD75.2 in 2017. 5-Star hotels have their rates recovered from last year’s decline, reaching USD107.6, an increase of 4.2%.
RevPAR
RevPAR for hotels continues to increase, but with different paces for each star ranking, 7.6% for 4-Star hotels while 5-Star’s is higher, at 10.2%.
Occupancy Rate
Overall, occupancy rate improved by c.5% for both star rankings (4.8% for 4-Star and 5% for 5-Star). However, on the regional scale, the change in occupancy rate was not the same for all three areas. Central region saw the most significant rise in occupancy rate of 7.5%, followed by the North of Vietnam (6.4%) and the Southern region (2.2%).
Profitability
2017 witness a continued improvement of the upscale hotels sector’s profitability. EBITDA increased by 1.7%. This increase was attributed to the drop in Undistributed Operating expenses by 1.8%, while other expenses remained roughly the same.
Regarding guest components, FIT/Leisure travelers and Tour groups accounted for the highest proportions of guests staying at upscale hotels, together they accounted for more than 60% of total guest. The third biggest portion – the Corporate/Business travelers was observed with a slight increase of 0.5% in 2017.
The structure of reservation channels in 2017 remained unchanged from 2016. Tour operators/Travel Agency is the major channel of reservation for 4-Star and 5-Star hotels at c.33%, while there was a slight drop of 1.6% in Direct Bookings and a marginal increase in OTAs increased and Corporate.
On a Star Ranking basis, proportion of guest at 4-Star hotels who booked their rooms via Travel agents and Tour Operators rose to 43.1%, while 5-Star hotels only have 22.7% of its sales via this channel.
2017 saw an increase in the number of hotels who have decided that digital technology is vital to their business to help combat growing competition and to set them apart from those older hotels or those with an older mind sets. Vast majority of the hotels considers Integration of digital technologies into the Hotels services a factor that will change Vietnam hotel market.
Hotels that consider the Integration of digital technologies into the hotels services is a factor that will change Vietnam hotel market.
In 2017, all participant hotels have integrated one or more digital technology into their operation. While digital marketing and using of data mining and analysis have become basic, being used at almost all the 4-5 Star hotels, the trend of applying mobile application for guests personalization and online check in/check out is becoming more and more popular, and increasing quickly, with more than 50% of 5 Star hotels, and 30-40% of the 4 Stars. It is predicted that these digital technologies will soon taking over the industry.
100% of the proceeds raised from sales of the Hotel Survey 2018 by Grant Thornton Vietnam will be donated to Newborns Vietnam.
Copies of Grant Thornton Vietnam’s Hotel Survey 2018 can be ordered by visiting Grant Thornton Vietnam’s website, http://www.grantthornton.com.vn, or by contacting its office in Vietnam. 100% of the proceeds raised from sales of the Hotel Survey 2018 will be donated to Newborns Vietnam, a United Kingdom registered charity in Vietnam, dedicated to reducing neonatal mortality in South East Asia, with a specific focus on Danang, Vietnam.
About Grant Thornton Vietnam
Grant Thornton Vietnam is a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd (Grant Thornton International), which was established in 1993 with offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and has enjoyed growth and success since its establishment. The firm has 13 Partners and over 230 professionals in two offices, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, providing quality services in assurance, consulting and development services, corporate finance and tax services, designed to help clients in various industries achieve their business objectives. We operate with the highest standards of professional integrity with solid principles. Our dedication, teamwork and commitment result in a world-class professional service to our clients in Vietnam.
Australia’s Macquarie Bank has become a major shareholder in DFJ VinaCapital-backed entertainment group Yeah1 following the company’s listing debut at a record price of VND300,000 ($13.1) apiece.
In a disclosure on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Macquarie Bank purchased over 1.572 million shares, equivalent to 5.74 per cent of Yeah1’s charter capital, becoming a major shareholder in the Vietnamese entertainment group. A report by Quynh Nguyen on DealStreatAsia mentioned.
Along with Macquarie Bank, Yeah1 has two other major shareholders – Ancla Asset Limited (12.49%), DFJ VinaCapital Venture Investment Ltd (7.14%) – and two individuals including Nguyen Anh Nhuong Tong, Chairman of the board of directors and the group’s CEO Dao Phuc Tri.
DFJ VinaCapital, a venture fund of Vietnam’s leading asset manager VinaCapital, earlier owned 35.71 per cent stake in Yeah1. But it is believed that the fund withdrew 7.82 million shares before YEG’s listing debut, and has decreased its ownership to 7.14 per cent.
In June, Yeah1 traded on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on June 26 at the reference price of VND250,000 ($11). At the price which is considered the highest reference price ever in Vietnam’s stock exchange, Yeah1’s market capitalization is pegged at approximately VND6.8 trillion ($298 million).
At the end of trading day, YEG shares made a record with an increase to VND300,000 ($13.1) apiece, raising the market capitalization of this entertainment business to VND8.2 trillion ($352.6 million). Yeah1 runs a series of entertainment channels including the Yeah1TV, Yeah1family, Imovietv, and SCTV2, with nine subsidiaries and four indirect subsidiaries including Yeah1 Vietnam Co., Netlink Online Corporation, and TNT Media Advertising.
Last year, Yeah1 posted revenue of VND 851 billion ($37.2 million), after-tax profit of VND82 billion ($3.6 million), up 50 per cent year-on-year.
In a long piece for the July issue of GQ magazine, Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts detailed a harrowing 2017 assault at a nightclub in Vietnam that almost killed him, and the investigation he launched himself to find the assailants.
After production wrapped on Skull Island, which went on gross more than $500 million at the box office in 2017, Vogt-Roberts had decided to leave Hollywood to relocate to Vietnam, having fallen in love with Saigon. The city embraced Vogt-Roberts’ presence, with officials even appointing him Vietnam’s first American-born tourism ambassador. Upon relocating, the director quickly became a fixture in the Saigon club scene.
On September 9, 2017, at XOXO nightclub in Saigon, Vogt-Roberts, who was joined by friends including Hollywood stuntman Ilram Choi, was jumped and brutally beaten by at least 10 men he described as “insane gangsters,” who beat him and hit him over the head with a champagne bottle before escaping. The director was taken to a hospital where it was determined that he had suffered a fractured skull, contusions, hemorrhaging, and a cerebral air pocket.
Following a 10-day hospital stay, Vogt-Roberts returned to California for further medical treatment and was told his injuries were beyond what was determined by the Vietnam doctors. He also had a concussion, and the skull fracture, from being hit with the bottle, was more serious than originally diagnosed.
There is video footage of the incident, which Vogt-Roberts, still traumatized, was able to gain access to. He was cautioned not to further inquire into the incident from those with knowledge of Saigon’s crime scene, who believed his assailants were “protected,” and Vietnamese police were mum on who the suspects were or if they could be caught. Refusing to let the case go, Vogt-Roberts launched in own investigation, taking to Facebook Messenger and mining sources who have knowledge about the Vietnamese crime world to hone in on the culprits.
Soon, Vogt-Roberts and GQ writer Max Marshall, who penned the article published today, were working on the case together, holding off a planned magazine profile “to play full-on Hardy Boys.”
With help from sources and Canadian authorities, a suspect identified in the attack, Kenny Cuong, has been apprehended (though not in connection with Vogt-Roberts’ attack), while the rest remain at large. Still, the revelations have helped Vogt-Roberts’ healing process.
He also maintains his love for Vietnam, saying “no amount of pain will ever skew my appreciation for that country.”
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting Vietnam to unlock the next generation of foreign direct investment (FDI) to sustain the country’s rapid economic development, competitiveness and inclusive prosperity.
According to a report by devdiscourse.com, the Recommendations on Vietnam Next Generation FDI Strategy and Vision 2020-2030, launched by IFC and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) today in Hanoi provides findings and recommendations to serve as key inputs for the government to develop Vietnam’s new national FDI approach, part of the country’s strategic documents such as the Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2021-2030).
While open-door investment and trade policies have led to increases in FDI inflows, employment opportunities and diversification of exports — especially in the last decade with annual FDI inflows rocketing by almost ten times to outperform most regional competitors — this new report responds to a growing realization that Vietnam requires breakthrough reforms to compete for higher quality streams of FDI.
Saigon, Vietnam
“The challenge we face is unique, as record FDI inflows contrast with still limited spillover and value-added benefits. We believe the recommendations outlined today will underpin a new national approach to FDI and contribute to the achievement of national development goals,” said MPI Vice Minister Vu Dai Thang.
Developed in partnership with Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, the strategy, in particular, responds to recent findings that FDI in Vietnam is substantively driven by low labor costs and generous incentives.
In fact, investors have identified a lack of skilled labor as an impediment to growth, while the absence of integrated local supply chains has further blunted the competitiveness of firms as has the lack of qualified domestic suppliers and effective policies to assist local players.
“By addressing these issues, the government is likely to unlock more opportunities for Vietnam,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. “The core analysis involved an intensive review of potential priority sectors. It aimed to identify which sectors — and under what circumstances — represent the most competitive opportunities for Vietnam to attract investment (FDI and domestic), create both more and better jobs, and increase sourcing from local firms.”
Having emerged from a qualitative survey and stakeholder consultations on FDI strategy, the report’s recommendations translate into eight proposed breakthrough reforms.
An immediate priority is adoption of concrete policies that increase FDI linkages and spillovers, with a focus on introducing policies to increase FDI linkages and targeted supplier development programs.
In line with meeting the challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0, Vietnam should aspire to a business environment commensurate with business needs in the digital age. Instead of “playing catch-up”, this reset should offer a superior investment climate and operating experiences with digital/online solutions compared to regional competitors.
Other recommendations include creating and implementing an integrated national skills development plan to accelerate Vietnam’s transition from low to skilled labor; modernizing investment promotion, moving from reactive to proactive promotion in priority sectors; overhauling current incentives frameworks; opening up important sectors that underpin competitiveness and growth; and introducing strategic outward FDI promotion policies.
Above all, a strong FDI focal point agency with the proper profile, influence, organizational structure and budget is key to ensuring effective implementation of all these recommendations.
Domestic businesses should closely monitor the market situation, prepare to adjust their operations and redefine export markets to avoid negative impacts and capitalize on opportunities from the US-China trade war, officials and experts recommended.
After US tariffs on US$34 billion of Chinese imports took effect on Friday, China’s commerce ministry said it was forced to retaliate, meaning $34 billion worth of imported US goods including autos and agricultural products also faced 25 per cent tariffs.
According to experts, when the trade confrontation between the US and China ramps up, Vietnam will be affected. A report by Vietnam News.
Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that at the moment, the direct and immediate impacts on Vietnam’s exports will not be much as goods subjected to the tariffs by both the US and China are limited (including Chinese technology products and some US agricultural products such as maize, soybeans and meat, which aren’t Vietnam’s key export staples).
However, in the long run, it will be difficult to predict the impacts if the war continues to escalate and more tariffs are imposed, Loc said, explaining that being a small economy with the US its largest export market and China its largest import market, Vietnam will surely be affected by the confrontation.
On the other hand, Loc said Vietnamese businesses can take advantage of the opportunity to boost exports of products that the Chinese versions have high tax rates in the US, and vice versa in China.
However, facing difficulties entering the US market, Chinese goods will shift to other markets, including Vietnam. Vietnam, therefore, may suffer a trade deficit with China, Loc said.
Additionally, as exports to the US fall, more Chinese goods will be consumed in the local market, causing difficulties for Vietnam’s exports to China. The growth rate of Vietnam’s exports to China, which reached 30 per cent in 2017, may be affected.
Echoing Loc, Tran Toan Thang, head of the World Economic Department of the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said the conflict would give Vietnam a good chance to export to the US.
However, on the other hand, if China could not export to the US, it would boost its exports to other countries, including Vietnam, Thang said.
According to Loc, at a broader level, the US-China trade war may cause global trade to change, causing Vietnam’s exports to face fiercer competition in both other foreign markets and at home.
Besides, the trade war could also affect investment flow, global supply and demand as well as capital and securities markets, Loc said.
According to PhD Doctor Pham Van Dai, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital will not abruptly change for the global production chain value. FDI capital and its production chain will move from China to Vietnam as the labour cost in Vietnam is cheaper than in China.
To mitigate the impact, Loc suggested exporters closely monitor the market situation, not only in the US or China but also in other markets. They should prepare to adjust their production, business, supply and markets flexibly.
The firms should also seek other stable and more favourable export markets besides the US and China, especially those Vietnam had signed free trade agreement with.
Economist Pham Chi Lan also suggested that Vietnamese firms expand their partnership to at least three markets to avoid dependence on a particular market.
Such a strategy will help Vietnamese firms survive and exploit new opportunities in the context of a global trade war, she said, suggesting that Vietnamese firms should increase their influence in other markets outside the US and China, such as the EU.
The establishment of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership without the US’s participation is a good way to deal with the unpredictable policies of the US and China at the moment, Lan said.
In the domestic market, Loc suggested that local firms co-operate with each other to take actions when necessary. For example, firms can use legitimate trade remedies such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidy or safeguards to fight unfair foreign trade practices.
In the first half of 2018, at least 13 major funds and investors on Vietnam’s stock market suffered negative growth rate in their net asset value (NAV), which is value per share of a fund on a specific date or time.
Leading this was Hanoi-based Hestia Joint Stock Company registered on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which saw its NAV falling by 19.4 percent.
Thien Viet Securities Joint Stock Company came second with its Thien Viet Growth Fund 2 (TVAM TVGF2) on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange (VN-Index) dropping 11.6 percent.
Other funds and investors in the negative growth list include U.S.-based VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM ETF), Passion Investment, Pyn Elite Fund, the TCEF fund of Techcom Capital Co. Ltd, SSI Sustainable Competitive Advantage Fund (SSI SCA), VCBF Leading Investment Fund (VCBF-BCF), Vietfund Management Company (VMFVF4) and Vietnam Enterprise Investment Limited (VEIL), managed by Dragon Capital Group.
Why this happened to these major investors is not so difficult to understand, market observers say.
It is common that big investors tend to pour investments into blue chip stocks, and from the second half of 2017 to the first few months of 2018, it was those blue chips that pushed the Vietnam stock market up high, and the investors profited, duly.
The country’s stock market hit a 10-year high and reached 984.24 points in the last trading session of 2017. It had not broken the 800-point barrier since 2008.
Continuing its good run, the VN-Index, the benchmark stock index of Vietnam, grew 19.33 percent in the first three months of this year, becoming the best-performing market in the world.
It passed the 1,200-point level on April 9 and has stayed at 900 something before things started to turn bad in the second quarter when the market plunged 18.19 percent, making it the worst-performing market in the world.
In such a reversal, it was the blue chips investors that suffered the most, and now, have to face the consequences.
A typical example is Passion Investment.
This fund spent almost 95 percent of its total VND220 billion ($9.5 million) acquiring 3.24 million shares of the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), as shown it its Q1 report.
The price of VPBank’s shares kept rising from the year’s beginning to early April when it reached the peak of nearly VND70,000 ($3) per share.
Then it dropped to VND50,000 and fell nonstop to around VND25,000 recently.
“When all investors are pinning their hopes too high and the stock market is pushed for a long time, a small impact can worry investors and make them scatter,” an expert said as he explained the plunge.
Nguyen The Minh, director of analysis at Yaunta Securities Vietnam Company, said that many investors had started selling their stocks back in the first quarter.
Other experts said the global situation, from the tensions in Syria when the U.S.-led air strikes targeted Syrian military sites to the U.S.-China trade war and worries about global capital movements as the U.S.’s Federal Reserve System raised interest rates, might have affected the stock exchange in the second quarter.
Six people have been arrested in Vietnam for running an online betting ring based on a server in the Philippines that had attracted thousands of gamblers, state media reported Monday.
The arrests came as authorities across Southeast Asia were on high alert for a betting spike linked to the ongoing World Cup, and followed a raid in Vietnam on an online football gambling operation last month. A report by Agence France-Presse
The M88 ring “involved thousands of gamblers across the country” who collectively gambled up to $87 million since 2015, Ministry of Public Security spokesman Cong An Nhan Dan said in the report.
“Its website is on a server based in the Philippines, (operates) in different languages and covered all sorts of gambling.”
The report said the operation covered sports, although it did not state if the ring was involved in running World Cup bets.
Police arrested six Vietnamese people during raids in several cities across the country last week, confiscating three cars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, according to the report.
It did not give any further details on the extent of the gambling ring’s operations in the Philippines.
Gambling is illegal in Vietnam apart from the state-run lottery and a few casinos which are only open to foreigners.
Betting or running illegal betting operations carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.
But the law is widely flouted, especially during top-tier sport competitions, when many punters head online or to illegal gambling dens to try their luck.
The government last year announced a pilot program that would allow citizens over the age of 21 with a monthly income of at least $430 to gamble in local casinos. The move has yet to be implemented.
