Dtinews – Over 93 per cent of interviewed foreign tourists said they were satisfied with their trip to Vietnam, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) as reporting.
The Vietnam Annual Tourism Report 2017, released by VNAT on July 5, said that last year the association distributed 27,000 feedback forms to foreigners at 12 international border gates nationwide, including four airports, four land border gates, and four seaports.
Results showed that 93.46 per cent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their trip to Vietnam. Only 0.63 per cent recorded any dissatisfaction.
Some 92.5 per cent of tourists stayed overnight in Vietnam at tourism accommodation and 7.4 per cent visited the country for just one day. More than 60 per cent arranged their trip themselves.
Each foreign visitor staying at tourism accommodation spent an average of $1,171.3 in Vietnam, with Asian visitors spending $995.7, European visitors $1,295.3, visitors from Oceania $1,791.1, and those from the Americas $1,525.1.
About 60 per cent of respondents were visiting Vietnam for the first time.
At the press conference in Hanoi releasing the report, VNAT said that nearly 7.9 million foreigners visited Vietnam in the first six months of 2018, up 27.2 per cent year-on-year. The country also catered to 42.8 million domestic tourists in the first half.
Tourism activities generated VND312 trillion ($13.5 billion) in revenue between January and June, up 22.5 per cent year-on-year, according to VNAT.
Environmental workers clear dead fish from the shores of Hanoi’s West Lake on Monday morning, July 9. — VNA/VNS Photo
Hanoi authorities have said that sudden rain followed by hot weather was to blame for the 200 kilograms of fish that washed up dead in one of the capital’s lakes last week – Vnexpress reports
Le Van Duc, director of Hanoi’s Construction Department, said at a meeting on November 1 that a shift in the weather was the cause of the mass fish deaths in Linh Dam Lake on October 26.
A Hanoi’s environment worker collects dead fish from Linh Dam Lake on October 27. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh
“It was very hot in the morning and then rained in the afternoon,” Duc said. “The lake is among the less polluted in Hanoi.”
Thousands of fish went belly up along the two-kilometer edge of the lake in Hoang Mai District, creating a foul stench on October 26.
Joggers noticed the problem at around 8 p.m. and dead fish covered the embankment a few hours later. Carp as large as five kilograms could be seen floating in the water.
Workers from Hanoi’s Sewerage and Drainage Company have collected around 200 kilograms of dead fish so far.
“200 kilograms of fish dying in a lake of more than 70 hectares is normal,” Duc said.
His department is still investigating a bigger pollution problem on West Lake, the largest in Hanoi, after 200 tons of dead fish were collected over several days in early October.
The inspection covers all 99 hotels and restaurants and 27 sewage pipes around the lake.
A study by the Institute for Environmental Science and Development recently found that all of Hanoi’s urban lakes and waterways are heavily polluted.
The city hopes to resolve the problem with help from a $726-million sewage treatment plant.
Construction began early this month and is slated for completion in three years. The system is designed to treat 270,000 cubic meters of sewage every day from the Lu, To Lich and Nhue rivers in a bid to bring them back to life.
William E. Crawford arrived in Vietnam in 1985 as one of the first Western photographers to travel inside post-war Hanoi. He began documenting the transformation of the country’s capital city and would spend three decades capturing the city’s rapid modernisation. Through his powerful photographs of specific neighbourhoods and families, he shows the changes of this beautiful city and its people, as they worked hard to forget the years of turmoil and embrace economic liberalisation.
Crawford has recently published his work Hanoi Streets 1985-2015: In the Years of Forgetting and shared about his inspiration to document Hanoi’s evolution – Culture Trip reports
How did you become interested in and ultimately pursue a career in photography?
I am from the South Side of Chicago. I became interested in photography as a young man. My father and grandfather were both enthusiastic amateur photographers. I studied photography both as an undergraduate and graduate student at Yale, and upon receiving my MFA began writing The Keepers of Light, a History and Working Guide to Early Photographic Processes.
In 1985, a personal friend contemplated a run for Congress and had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam with a television crew for a local station. I was invited to come along as the still photographer. I made important friendships with my Vietnamese guides on that trip and was encouraged to return.
What inspired you to document the modernisation of Hanoi over the past three decades?
Modernisation was going on all around me. It was impossible to ignore. Revisiting people and places is part of a long tradition in documentary photography, but no one else was doing this type of work in Vietnam when I began. I continued to assess my material and realised how profound the changes became with each subsequent visit. The early photographs became the only record of a vanishing Hanoi.
What was it like to revisit locations and individuals you photographed regularly over the years?
It was revealing to see the changes. I wasn’t surprised to see families I had photographed remain in the same place. Families were returning to a more traditional culture: how they handled money, their interactions with the Communist Party, what they could and could not do. Religious practices became more evident. Oddly enough, as a foreigner, I felt nostalgic for the charms of the old city.
How were you influenced by Vietnamese culture? Was it difficult to be in Hanoi so soon after the war ended?
I was more aware of how complicated the war had been, especially in the North, than I had been as a college undergraduate in the 1960’s. It was physically difficult to be there at first. Food and lodging were problematic. Rats were in the dining room of the hotel for foreigners. The waitresses were rumoured to be spies for the police. The power grid was often down, and in hot, muggy weather the Russian air conditioners made more noise than cold air. Water had to be boiled for safe consumption. Food was over-salted. There were ants in the rice.
What do you hope readers will take away from Hanoi Streets 1985-2015, In the Years of Forgetting?
The importance of documenting your environment. Today, the Vietnamese are becoming nostalgic for the past. They enjoy the pictures and the people remembered who I was each time I returned. They were eager to see the images from previous trips I brought with me.
Finally, what does the book’s title mean to you?
The Vietnamese were eager to forget the war-torn past.
In his final essay in the book, Crawford writes: “The look in Hanoi, from colonial days until now, is one of freewheeling juxtaposition, the result of placing Eastern and Western styles right next to one another and letting them, in a visual sense, duke it out. It’s the artless combination of styles and references that makes Hanoi so visually entertaining. Restraint is boring.”
His evocative photographs capture the juxtaposition he speaks of as well as the essence of a city struggling to leave the past behind. Hanoi Streets 1985-2015: In the Years of Forgetting is a powerful archive of Hanoi’s evolution.
Sometimes, one Benz just isn’t enough. And Mercedes agrees.
On Tuesday, the German auto giant launched its US-based subscription plan, Mercedes-Benz Collection – a report by Benjamin Zhang on Business Insider.
Mercedes is piloting the subscription plan in Nashville, Tennessee, and Philadelphia.
“We’re always looking to stay ahead of our customers’ needs and wants, as well as to bring new people to the brand,” Dietmar Exler, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, said in a statement. “We know there is a market opportunity for people who would like the ability to move in and out of vehicles, depending on what they need or want at a particular point in time, or who don’t want to own a vehicle right now.”
Mercedes-Benz Collection membership requires a one-time activation fee of $495. There’s also a monthly fee determined by the service’s three tiers: Signature, Reserve, and Premier. However, only two of the three are available in each city.
The Mercedes-AMG CLA 45. Mercedes-AMG
At $1,095 a month (not including tax), Signature is the most affordable tier. It’s available in only Nashville and features compact C-Class sedans, coupes, and convertibles, as well as the GLC 300 SUV and the SLC 300 roadster. The only high-performance model on offer is the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45.
Reserve is the middle tier at $1,595, and it’s available in both cities. It features midsize E-Class sedans, wagons, coupes, and convertibles, as well as the GLE 350 SUV. A quartet of AMG models is on offer: the C 43 sedan, the GLC 43 SUV, the SLC 43 Roadster, and the C 43 Coupe.
The Mercedes-Benz Collection website initially indicated that four-cylinder E300 models will be made available to members in Nashville, while those in Philadelphia paying the same price get more powerful V6 E400s. A company spokeswoman told Business Insider that the vehicles for Philadelphia were erroneously listed on the site. The company clarified that Reserve tier members in both cities will have access to E300 models.
The Mercedes-Benz G550. Mercedes-Benz
Finally, there’s Premier at $2,995 a month. It’s available in only Philadelphia — and it’s where things really start to get interesting, with access to Mercedes’ flagship SL roadster, S-Class sedan, and G-Class SUV. There’s also a host of AMG performance sedans and SUVs.
The service is controlled through the Mercedes-Benz Collection app, where drivers can select their cars and arrange pickups and drop-offs. Mercedes says that all vehicles come cleaned and fully fueled and that insurance and 24/7 roadside assistance are included.
Google is now giving websites the option to remove the need for password logins in the latest desktop version of its web browser, Chrome 67.
Websites that enable the new standard will let you register and sign-in using any biometric information that your phone supports. An iPhone 7 owner, for example, would be able to use their fingerprint to verify that they’re the ones signing in to a site from their desktop. Additional options will include facial recognition (e.g. Face ID), retina scanner, or even a photo.
Chrome users won’t be able to access this feature immediately after it rolls out in the coming days or weeks. Instead, the update means that Google has opened up the necessary code to website developers, so they can integrate the feature into their own sites.
The passwordless option will be the default setting on sites that enable it, but you’ll have the option to turn it off if you prefer typing your credentials in.
By enabling it, websites will not only be relieving you of the task of recalling and typing in passwords, but will also make it more convenient for you to create unique passwords. Using the same password more than once — while easier than remembering multiple — is a known security hazard, and is even becoming increasingly difficult with all of the different password requirements.
Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla had been pushing for the Web Authentication standards that made this update possible for years, with the hopes of increasing security. They committed to using them on their own browsers even before the standards were released in April, and Chrome is the last of the three companies’ products to do so.
Apple has made no such commitment for Safari, but it might be on its way: The browser is labeled as “In development” in Chrome’s status update and a number of Apple staff members are in the correlated working group.
Nguyen Hai Minh, Managing Director @ Wisdom Agency had 8 years working in marketing agency for both global and local large-sized corporations.
Minh said, the work was fun but he realised that its contributed value to my clients’ businesses might not be much because working in agencies Minh was only allocated a small part of their marketing work. Thus, Minh decided to end his career with agencies who served large-sized businesses to pursue his goal of helping the middle-sized local companies compete in the global context.
Nguyen Hai Minh, Managing Director @ Wisdom Agency
“Now in 2018, after 2 years of pursuing that goal, I have to admit that it is not as easy as expected. The differences between large-sized and middle-sized companies are big, especially when it is about the mindset of people and resources for investment. The fact is I am honoured to have my chances to work with companies’ owners and directors as their marketing consultant, the people who are understanding and highly professional. Still, there are several cases in which I had to reluctantly accept the projects and later on canceled them with disappointments for both sides.
I have to admit that I was also a part of the problems because I didn’t take enough amount of time to talk to the clients and really understood what they needed and expected. In many cases, the misunderstanding between two parties at the beginning of the project is the main cause of that project’s failure. Simply put, when a client comes to an agency for strategy consulting, sometimes it is not exactly what they need. Thus, I want to write this article to share my experience in the hope that clients will understand more about agencies’ capabilities and both parties can cooperate better in the future.
Below are some of the most common misconceptions about marketing strategies that I often encountered, but first let’s define what strategy is.
What strategy is
Up until now, experts have not altogether agreed on a single definition of strategy. However, from agency’s point of view, strategy is an arrangement of the limited source to maximize their capability in order to have a better chance of achieving the desired goals. However, sometimes people express the need for strategy like these:
What strategy is not
My business is not running very well. I need a marketing strategy to save it.
No. Strategy is not a miracle that can save every business. In fact, it requires a lot of investment in terms of finance, human resource training and of course time. Strategy is meant to be built and executed for years or at least some quarters to be effective. In some cases, it can be too late to implement a strategy if all resources of the company are nearly depleted.
Case study: One of the biggest coffee exporters came to me asking for a brand strategy to enter consumer market and connect with coffee shop owners. After a short interview, it turned out that their B2B business was in fierce competition; they were only looking for the escape and assumed that entering B2C was the solution. I wished that I could assist them, but having a brand strategy without any operating experience operating in B2C coffee marketing spells a certain failure.
Our strategy is to build brand, push sales, and nurture customers all at the same time.
This typical answer is very common among marketing and communications projects, yet doing everything at the same time is not a strategy; it is only unrealistic ambition. In order to build a good strategy, one must abstain from the temptation of doing everything at the same time and then focus their resources on the most important subjects. In other words, strategy is more about what one should not do, the priority of resources given a small set of specific tasks.
Usually, a marketing strategy that tries to achieve both brand and sales objectives in a short period of time requires a lot of finance to succeed. Similarly, a marketing strategy that targets both the young and the old, both males and females, both the urban and the rural, will not be successful.
Case study: A classical case-study of Pepsi Cola is worth mentioning when they entered the soft drink market which was entirely dominated by Coca-Cola at that time. By focusing their resources on the younger generation, Pepsi Cola successfully convinced them to leave Coca-Cola and adopt a newer brand which was more lively and fashionable. If Pepsi Cola had instead invested all their money into pursuing the all masses population like Coca Cola, they would have failed by the lack of resources (compared to Coca Cola’s of course).
Our strategy is to increase revenue 150% this year
At the first sight, it looks professional. However, it is not even a strategy if one looks deep enough. Setting clear objectives at the beginning of a business growth phase is crucial, but it is not strategy; it is simply measurement. Before setting such targets, an experienced strategist has to look for multiple solutions to meet those targets so that he can balance the resources and know for sure that these targets are achievable. In short, strategy is not just about setting targets and measurements; but it is more about finding coherent resources and methods to assuredly achieve them.
Case study: Clients sometimes have pre-arranged targets as a strategy and hire agencies to take care of the rest. It is not fair because there are many factors that will influence the execution, most of those are related to the business, not marketing factors. In order to solve this, client and agency must be crystal clear at the beginning of the project regarding marketing KPIs which are agency’s responsibility and business KPIs which are client’s responsibility. A good client should only ask for an agency to commit on business KPIs if they have worked together for a long period of time.
We hire you – the agency – to do it. It is your work, not ours.
We don’t want to let everyone in the company know. It should be only among the senior
This problem is about people involvement. Unlike the old day when business strategy was only known among a very selective group of people, today’s strategy requires a consent of all stack-holders of the business, agencies and employees included, to be successful. Before the launch of any marketing strategy, there should be a soft internal launch, in which the CEO will aspire all employees about the promising strategy so that everyone can understand it correctly and execute it right.
Case study: I build the brand strategy with a 5-year roadmap for a furniture company in the Northern area of Vietnam. After the strategy was approved, I had a session with all marketing team to present it and the CEO held a speech to all 2,000 workers so that they would know and follow through. As the matter of fact, there is a lot of executives’ involvement in the strategy in order to succeed.
We had a very good strategy. Why didn’t it work?
Well, strategy is strategy; it is not reality. In fact, strategy requires a lot of attention and day-to-day monitoring to be effective, not mentioning the miscalculation of the context and resources from the beginning also, yet some clients tend to skip the preliminary research and jump right into the solution. Lack of resources, attention, or vision can all be accounted for the doom of good strategy.
When a company really needs a strategy?
When the business has passed the infancy stage is my certain answer. Marketing strategy is rarely needed by start-ups because these business models change really fast. However, when one company has passed the infancy stage and gradually noticed the limit of its growth, it is the right time to find and implement a proper strategy. As an example, a one-storey house does not even need the foundation, but there is no way for a building to reach 20-storey height without a concrete one. The relationship between strategy and growth is very much similar to this illustration.
Case study 1: I canceled a branding project of a delivery start-up after two weeks into the execution because there was no clear answer for the direction the company was heading to, not to mention the founder who kept changing his thoughts all the time.
Case study 2: Another example is for the furniture company that reached the revenue of $20 million per year and got stuck there for years. After the transformation from state-owned company to joint-stock, they began to build their first brand strategy and the result was the 10% growth immediately after the first year.
How to do it properly?
In summary, there are four attributes of a good strategy that I learned from my experience as well as reading a lot of strategy books. I would like to share them here as the food for thoughts and motivations for further research into this abstract but very interesting subject of the 20th century. These four attributes are:
1. Focus
A good strategy first of all has to focus on homogeneity, prioritising the important issues and abandoning the rest. It can be the objective of brand over sales, or a small group of customers over mass audience. Whatever it is, strategy needs to be focal because all companies have limited resources.
2. Differentiation
Whatever one does, do something unique. This statement may be a little hard to achieve, even cliche, but the need to really look into it is crucial. At the end of the process of strategic thinking, at least a company can find some relative differences to leverage on if there is nothing unique being found.
3. Coherence
As mentioned above strategy should be built on facts, not hopes. Therefore, any objective or KPI must have a supportive set of actions. For example, a 15% increase on sales should be supported by a list of new clients and forecast of revenue growth; otherwise, strategy is just a plan that is far from reality.
4. Flexibility
Last but not least, flexibility in implementation, the need for monitoring and regular adjustment are required to keep the strategy relevant to actual context and ascertain a higher chance of success.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday extolled improved relations with Vietnam as a model for rapprochement with North Korea – AP reports.
Pompeo met with senior Vietnamese officials, including the prime minister and foreign minister in Hanoi, after weekend stops in Japan and North Korea, where he has been seeking progress in denuclearization negotiations with the North.
“In America we consider our relationship with Vietnam to be incredibly special,” Pompeo told Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.
In Vietnam, Pompeo was looking for increased cooperation from Hanoi on enforcing sanctions on North Korea, which he said would not be lifted until it fully dismantled its nuclear weapons program in a transparent and verifiable way.
“We would like to thank you for your support with respect to our efforts in North Korea,” Pompeo told Pham.
Despite Pompeo characterizing his talks in Pyongyang as productive, North Korea reacted angrily to what it called “gangster-like” demands from the U.S. Pompeo brushed that rebuke aside, saying that if the demands were indeed gangster-like then the “world is a gangster” because the sanctions are not different from what the U.N. Security Council has demanded in several unanimous resolutions.
In Hanoi on Sunday, Pompeo appealed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to replicate Vietnam’s dynamic economic growth by embracing normalized ties with the U.S. He says the evolution of post-conflict relations between the U.S. and Vietnam is proof that America’s foes need not remain enemies.
Pompeo is at the midpoint of a round-the-world trip that will take him to the United Arab Emirates and then Brussels, Belgium, where he will accompany President Donald Trump to a summit of NATO leaders.
Faced with the possibility of a government crackdown in the name of cyber-security, many Vietnamese users are jumping ship to the new open-source social network Minds
Facebook Inc. has found itself in a difficult position in Vietnam, which is reportedly home of 53 million Facebook users, in the country of 93 million, as recent controversy has created negative perception of the platform among young Vietnamese internet users.
According to reports, many Vietnamese netizens are abandoning the platform altogether in favor of a new U.S. based social media network called Minds. The move is driven in part by negative publicity of Facebook in the country, and in part by fears of a coming internet crackdown once a new cyber security law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.
Last week, a user on Facebook discovered a map used on the platform’s advertising tool that labeled the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea as parts of China, sparking outrage among many in Vietnam. But the map was only the latest instance of worsening public opinion in Vietnam towards the platform.
First, back in April 2018, Facebook was undergoing Congressional scrutiny over allegations that it had given extensive amounts of personal user data to a number of large data mining firms such as Cambridge Analytica for advertising purposes, and in the process, had possibly jeopardized sensitive information of private individuals across the globe.
Shortly before Zuckerberg’s Congressional hearing, 16 Vietnamese activists groups and media organizations advocating free speech on the platform sent a letter of protest to the Facebook company claiming that Facebook had inappropriately suspended accounts of political activists and journalists in Vietnam at the direction of the Vietnamese government.
The letter claimed that government agents working online as paid “trolls” had reported “abusive” content to Facebook, and then the company suspended or removed the profiles of the offenders, who were in most cases simply private citizens or journalists sharing opinions, news, and information critical of the Vietnamese government.
Buzzfeed reports that in April 2017, the head of Facebook’s global policy management office met with the Vietnamese Ministry of Communications and Information, where Vietnamese officials “emphasized the problem of “toxic” content on the platform, including content hostile to the state.”
Facebook came under fire in May 2017 for deleting an iconic image of the Vietnam War from the platform. Editor-in-chief of Norwegian paper Aftenposten accused Zuckerberg of threatening freedom of speech and abusing power. Read the story here. (Associated Press Image)
The letter claims that Facebook has made a “high profile agreement to coordinate with a government that is known for suppressing expression online and jailing activists.”
Since April, concern for the safety of Vietnam’s dissident users on the platform has only grown.
On June 12, the National Assembly passed a new cyber security law that would force major internet companies, like Facebook and Google to open domestic branch offices in Vietnam and store data on Vietnamese users within the country, which would have to be surrendered to the Vietnamese government upon request.
As Bloomberg notes, the Vietnamese government is forcing Facebook to choose between growth, and protecting the privacy of its users. The Vietnamese government is weary of the network as it provides a platform that may promote “wrongful views.”
President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang has been quoted as saying that regulations must be enforced to maintain social order. He claims Facebook must take more responsibility to limit the reach and influence “hostile and reactionary forces.”
Going forward, what that will mean for Vietnam’s Facebook users, political activists, or Facebook’s role in the country’s digital infrastructure, remains to be seen.
However, many Vietnamese citizens are not taking the risk, and have chosen to migrate to a new digital home, providing an unexpected boost of new users for the up and coming Minds, an open-source platform.
Minds CEO Bill Ottman said more than 100,000 new Vietnamese users have registered Minds accounts in less than a week, and now account for about 10 percent of the entire user base of the platform.
A Vietnamese activist residing in Taiwan, Tran Vi, was quoted by AFP as saying “We want to keep our independent voice and we also want to make a point to Facebook that we’re not going to accept any censorship.”
Vietnamese users are understandably attracted to the platform, because users do not need to register a profile using personal data, such as a phone number, and all chats are encrypted.
Anyone would like to keep up with current events in Vietnam is welcome to follow Vietnam Insider on https://Minds.com/VietnamInsider
Facebook has agreed a £200million deal to exclusively broadcast Premier League matches in four Asian countries from next year.
It represents a major breakthrough for the social media behemoth after they saw off competition from television networks BeIn Sports and Fox Sports Asia in the auction for broadcast rights to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
The deal will commence at the beginning of the 2019-20 season and run until 2022 and means Facebook will livestream all 380 Premier League matches in those countries.
The social media network will show all 380 Premier League games in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from the start of 2019-2020
Facebook is trying to enhance its sports portfolio and bid unsuccessfully against Star India for the rights to the Indian Premier League cricket competition last year.
It has also covered some Major League Baseball, college basketball and the occasional Champions League fixture in the United States through its partnership with Fox Sports.
The deal represents another slight shift away from the traditional television networks towards online streaming after Amazon gained the rights last month to show 20 live Premier League matches per season from 2019-20.
It is believed the Premier League has also held discussions with YouTube and Netflix over rights deals in other parts of the world as the financial clout of streaming services grows ever stronger.
Cars made in Thailand and Indonesia clear Hanoi’s tough import controls
Nikkei reports, automakers are resuming exports to Vietnam from production bases in Southeast Asia after clearing strict new rules that attest to the growing importance of the auto industry in the region.
The pressure from Hanoi comes as trade barriers within the region come down and countries vie to become the next hub for vehicle production.
Japanese automakers, a major force in the region, have been among the first to restart exports to Vietnam.
Toyota Motor shipped several hundred Thai-made Hilux pickup trucks and Hiace vans as well as Indonesian-made Fortuner sport utility vehicles to Vietnam earlier this month.
Mitsubishi Motors, meanwhile, resumed exports of its Triton pickup truck and other vehicles late last month and had shipped about 1,100 as of Friday. Ford Motor of the U.S. has reportedly resumed shipments to Vietnam, and Mazda Motor is preparing to do so as well.
The new Vietnamese regulations, known as Decree 116, went into effect on Jan. 1. They require certification that cars meet safety and emissions standards set by Hanoi, as well as inspections for each batch of imports. Faced with this unexpected hurdle, automakers were virtually forced to freeze exports by the end of 2017.
Thailand and Indonesia have begun to issue such certificates, which are normally issued by authorities in the importing country. The decree is unusual in that it amounts to a foreign government passing judgment on compliance with Vietnamese standards. It prompted an exceptional response by Thai and Indonesian authorities.
Customs clearance is still likely to take more time than usual, however, because each batch of imports must be inspected. Toyota expects vehicles from Thailand and Indonesia to arrive at dealers in August.
Vietnamese dealers are facing low stocks of imported vehicles. A Toyota dealership in Hanoi has only featured locally produced cars since imports were cut off. But it soon expects to get a shipment of Fortuners, of which it has already sold all but one before they even reach the showroom.
Although the resumptions of some exports will help bring Vietnam’s auto market closer to normal, shipments from countries like Japan will remain halted since authorities there are not issuing the required quality certificates.
Vietnam has Southeast Asia’s fifth-largest auto market, with about 270,000 new vehicles sold last year. Fully assembled imports account for just under 30% of the total. With imports held up, new-car sales from February to May fell 13% on the year.
There are high hopes for growth in the auto market in Vietnam, where there were just 23 cars for every 1,000 people in 2015, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. This compares with 439 in Malaysia, 228 in Thailand and 145 in Singapore.
Although Vietnam has lowered trade barriers as it pursues free-trade agreements, joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership and further integrates its economy with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, it has remained protective of its auto industry, which Hanoi believes can spur job creation in supporting fields like parts and materials.
Automakers and neighboring countries see the Vietnam’s inspection rules as a non-tariff trade barrier designed to restrict imports following ASEAN’s elimination of auto tariffs in the bloc in January. “Regulations requiring certificates of quality should be repealed,” said Toru Kinoshita, president of Toyota Motor Vietnam.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong told a business forum in Hanoi on Wednesday that Decree 116 is necessary for both consumers and local automakers.
Vietnam produces just 190,000 cars a year, 10% of Thailand’s output, and most of this is limited to assembly of imported components. Excluding this so-called knock-down production, few Vietnamese companies are entering the auto industry besides local property developer Vingroup, which is constructing its own plant.
Each vehicle typically requires roughly 30,000 parts to assemble. Supporting industries in molding, metals processing, plastics and other components will develop if domestic auto production grows. The technology that goes into car components could also help improve Vietnam’s entire manufacturing sector.
The country’s main export is mobile phones, notably for South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. But smartphones only require around 1,000 parts per unit, many of which are difficult to procure domestically, limiting their economic benefits in comparison to cars. Hanoi is also concerned about its reliance on smartphones as global demand for them cools.
by HIROSHI KOTANI and ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA, Nikkei staff writers
CHIANG RAI: An operation to evacuate 12 Thai boys and their football coach from the flooded Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand entered its second leg on Monday (Jul 9), after a pause overnight to replenish oxygen tanks.
Authorities on late Sunday declared their mission “more successful than (they had) hoped for”, with four of the 12 stranded boys making the perilous journey out with the aid of local and foreign divers.
Eight more boys and their 25-year-old coach remain in the cave complex, where they have been trapped since Jun 23.
10.20am: Gloomy skies in the vicinity of the cave – a reminder of a looming thunderstorm that might complicate the rescue effort. It rained overnight as well. The rescue mission chief had said to expect the replenishing of oxygen tanks to take anywhere between 10 and 20 hours, so it’s a waiting game right now for everyone following the events at Tham Luang.
Giving everyone heart is the first images of Sunday’s rescue operation. The four boys who were ferried out by up to 90 divers from Thailand and all over the world, are now in hospital.
10.40am: Meanwhile, netizens are sharing artwork to cheer the Wild Boars and the rescue team on.
WATCH: First video of the boys rescued from Tham Luang
Here’s a recap of the challenges rescuers face:
The boys and their coach will have to navigate narrow passages and mud-clogged water with almost zero visibility to get out of the cave complex.
A wild card entrant to the Finals of the World Supermodel scheduled to be held in Vietnam on September 30, 2018 is hoping to make it big on the international stage.
She received her ‘World Supermodel Asia Pacific’ title at a glittering ceremony held on Saturday, July 7, 2018, at Naumi Hotel in Auckland.
Shaayal Gounden, who has been featured in Indian Newslink on more than one occasion (she was our Model of the Fortnight in our June 1, 2014 and November 15, 2017 issues) said that she feels extremely privileged to be representing not only her home country but also Fiji, her native country and those of the Asia Pacific.
Resilient and Resourceful
Describing the Asia Pacific region as ‘beautiful, exciting and filled with hopes and dreams,’ she said that it is also a region which has the strength to overcome and unite in times of difficulty.
“That is I chose to partake in the World Supermodel Competition. Winning the Title will help me create an influential platform to support charities close to my heart (such as ‘Make A wish Foundation’ and other little-known philanthropic organisation,” she said.
According to Shaayal, the Asia Pacific is a region where culture echoes, tradition speaks, beauty mesmerises and diversity delights.
“I am extremely proud to represent Asia Pacific Region,” she said.
Profession and Passion
Born and raised in Auckland, Shaayal earned her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Management with a Double Major in Event and Tourism Management.
While her passion for Event and Tourism Management encouraged the establishment of her own businesses, her love for show business led to the launch of ‘Auckland’s Top Model,’ a professional company to promote pageants, with Co-Director Shabeena Shaheen.
She is also Co-Director of Global Flight Centre New Zealand Limited.
Awards and Titles
Participating in pageants and winning titles is not new to Shaayal.
She was crowned ‘Miss Pre-Teen New Zealand’ when she was just 12 years old, and thereafter won other titles including ‘Miss Auckland 2014’, ‘Miss World New Zealand Beauty with a Mission 2014,’ 2014’ and the current title of ‘World Super Model Asia Pacific.’
Her hobbies include dancing, socialising with friends, catching up with family, shopping with her mother and most important of all, enjoying precious moments with her husband Yusuf and doting over her daughter Ariana.
Any search for sunshine in this gloomy moment for the global economy should turn to Vietnam.
The Southeast Asian nation boasts one of the fastest economic growth rates anywhere, a swelling and optimistic population and political stability. Big investments by multinationals from Samsung Electronics to Nestle are morphing Vietnam into a manufacturing powerhouse and raising living standards. In May, a sovereign upgrade from Fitch Ratings put the nation just two notches short of investment grade – Reported by Nikkei Asia.
Yet all the forward momentum in the world is no match for Donald Trump’s debilitating trade war.
Can a small, open and export-led Asian economy survive the U.S. president’s assault on global commerce and the retaliatory hits from China? Add in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening cycle and investors have every reason to suspect Hanoi’s 6.8% gross domestic product growth in the second quarter may prove fleeting.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently ordered his ministries to redouble market surveillance and craft plans to minimize any fallout. Yet Trump’s tariffs are only the most obvious of threats to social and economic stability in Southeast Asia’s sixth-biggest economy. Two others: anger over Chinese encroachment and a harsh crackdown on cyberspace.
Trump’s levies are terribly timed for Phuc’s export-reliant economy. While enviable by global standards, Vietnam’s second-quarter pace marked a notable downshift from 7.5% in the previous three months. Behind the slowdown are reduced state investments and a slide in mining output. The trajectory of the all-important export sector is now very much in doubt.
Overseas shipments rose 16% from a year earlier between January and June. Big declines could be forthcoming as Trump’s levies on steel and aluminum — 25% and 10%, respectively — boost materials costs and slam trading partners. Like most Asian peers, Vietnam counts on China, Trump’s main target, as its No. 1 export destination.
South Korea, Vietnam’s second most important export market, also is in harm’s way. In the October-December quarter, growth there contracted for the first time in nine years. More recently, export growth came to a halt in June, dropping 0.1% following a 13.2% gain in May. The headwinds bearing down on Korea are a problem for another reason: it is Vietnam’s biggest long-term investor.
Samsung, LG Electronics and other Korea Inc. giants are pouring tens of billions of dollars into Vietnam to diversify away from China’s rising labor costs. Samsung alone has invested more than $17 billion there in eight factories that churn out the bulk of its smartphones. In 2017, Samsung shipped some $54 billion of goods from Vietnam, a figure equivalent to 28% of gross domestic product. As Washington’s trade war hits Korea Inc. and Seoul’s top-line growth, investment flows on which Hanoi relies could grow scarce.
An argument can be made that Trump’s tariffs could end up advantaging Vietnam in counterintuitive ways. Even before Washington announced tariffs, European, Japanese and Korean executives sought a Plan B as Chinese costs rise. The uncertainty and volatility plaguing China’s outlook could accelerate a shift of production bases out of China into Southeast Asia’s more stable and, in many cases, more competitive cost environment.
That makes it more vital than ever for Phuc’s team to accelerate structural reforms: strengthening financial institutions; replacing jaundiced state-owned enterprises with a vibrant private sector; curbing shadow banks; liberalizing the capital account; increasing transparency; and reducing graft. It also means investing more in human capital to build on Vietnam’s nascent startup boom.
Roughly 25% of Vietnam’s 92 million people are under 15. The trick is cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit coursing through the nation. Doing so is vital to accelerating gains in living standards. Average GDP growth of 6.3% over the last 12 years raised annual per capita income to $2,385 — a more than six-fold gain from 2000.
That leaves Vietnam a long way off from China’s $9,000 level. We also are some ways from knowing whether Vietnam can beat the middle-income trap that often ensnares nations around the $10,000 mark. To preserve those gains and reduce inequality, Phuc’s government must alter the basic dynamics of growth. One obvious target: reducing the reliance on monetary easing. Today’s 4.7% inflation rate, relative to the 4% level preferred by Hanoi policymakers, limits easing options. Any move to cut the 6.25% refinancing rate would add to overheating risks.
Upgrading the economy, and relying more on fiscal tweaks, would generate more organic and balanced growth. Vietnam too often veers from extreme optimism to extreme pessimism, and back. Today’s story, of course, is the latter as Vietnam rivals China’s growth rate. The risk, though, is that Trump’s trade war suddenly sends the pendulum in the other direction.
China is a growing concern on another front: proposed special economic zones offering 99-year leases. Fears Chinese investors will win most of the leases are provoking sizable demonstrations, some numbering in the thousands. The government, says Melinda Hoe of Eurasia Group, must “carefully manage dissent to avoid a repeat of the May 2014 anti-China protests that marred Vietnam’s image as a safe investment destination.”
The same goes for public anger over a social-media inquisition. In recent weeks, Hanoi began forcing Google, Facebook and other digital companies to choose between privacy or growth. A reasonable balance, perhaps. Yet a cybersecurity law approved last month compels Silicon Valley to store local data in the country. Activists worry that will compromise communications.
The law also goes much further to limit internet speech. Its vague language concerning dissent has Amnesty International decrying a “devastating blow” to freedom of expression. The state also can compel tech companies to turn over vast reams of personal data on users.
Industry group Asia Internet Coalition warns the legislation will impede Hanoi’s ambitions for GDP and regional competitiveness. That runs counter to Hanoi’s stated desire to foster greater innovation. Reduced transparency, meantime, will protect provincial governments and misbehaving companies from the public scrutiny needed to boost national competitiveness.
The good news is that Vietnam is enjoying a level of momentum few economies can match. The bad news: in the Trump era, Hanoi has its work cut out to keep the economy on the road toward greater riches.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday urged North Korea to follow the example of Vietnam, saying President Donald Trump believed Pyongyang could replicate Hanoi’s path to normal relations with Washington and to prosperity.
But for that to happen, its leader Kim Jong Un needed to seize the moment. Reuters reports.
Speaking to business executives in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, Pompeo said he hoped the United States could one day share the same level of partnership with North Korea as it did with Vietnam, a long-time former enemy.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at Nom Bar International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 8, 2018. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
His comments followed two days of frosty talks in Pyongyang aimed at persuading Kim to give up nuclear weapons, which prompted North Korean accusations he had used “gangster-like” diplomacy.
Pompeo said on Sunday that, on the heels of those talks, Trump believed North Korea could replicate the path taken by Vietnam, whose leaders had realized their country could reform and build relationships without threatening its sovereignty and form of government.
He said the key to Vietnam’s rise was post-Vietnam War engagement with the United States, which began in 1985, when the countries started working together to repatriate remains of U.S. service members lost in Vietnam.
As part of his talks with North Korea, Pompeo has been seeking the return of remains from the 1950-53 Korean War and officials from the two sides are due to meet next week to discuss details of this.
Pompeo said that in past two decades, U.S. bilateral trade with Vietnam had grown 8,000 percent, and American companies had poured in billions of dollars of investments.
“The fact that we’re co-operating – and not fighting – is proof that when a country decides to create a brighter future for itself alongside the United States, we follow through on American promises,” Pompeo said.
“The miracle could be your miracle,” Pompeo said of North Korea and its leader.
“The United States has been clear on what we seek from North Korea…,” Pompeo said. “The choice now lies with North Korea and its people.
“If they are able to do this, they will be remembered, and Chairman Kim will be remembered, as a hero of the Korean people.”
United Overseas Bank (UOB)’s annual UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk event has raised over S$1.25 million for children’s charities across Asia, the bank said on Sunday.
The event drew 17,000 of the bank’s customers, colleagues and their families in Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. UOB employees and customers were also able to use PayNow to make donations as part of UOB’s fundraising efforts. A report by Yunita Ong on Business Times.
Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and group chief executive who completed the 10-kilometre run in Singapore, said: “At UOB, giving back to the community is very close to the hearts of our people. The UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk is one of the ways in which we unite as a bank across our key markets and do our part to help improve the lives of children and youth, especially those in need. We are happy that for the first time, our colleagues in Vietnam were able to join us in our day’s programme.”
The proceeds will go towards 13 beneficiaries that help underprivileged and special needs children and youth. Here in Singapore, the Autism Association (Singapore) Eden School, Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) Chaoyang School, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School and Dyslexia Association of Singapore will use the money raised for art and literacy programmes to help children with special needs acquire skills and confidence.
