VN-Index, fell 39 points to 908.26 by 2:25 p.m. Tuesday and VN30-Index fell 3.7 percent to 895.86.
Vietnam’s stock market fell 4.11 percent on Tuesday afternoon, hitting its lowest point this year, following a dramatic plunge in the second quarter.
The country’s benchmark stock index, VN-Index, fell 39 points to 908.26 by 2:25 p.m. Tuesday, while the VN30-Index, representing a group of 30 largest capitalization stocks in the country, also fell by 3.7 percent to 895.86.
The smaller HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the UPCoM-Index for unlisted companies also dipped 3.7 percent and more than two percent, respectively.
Shares of banks, including Vietcombank and ACB, plunged 4-5 percent.
Meanwhile, blue chip stocks like Vinhomes JSC (VHM), Vingroup JSC (VIC), and steelmaker Hoa Sen Group (HSG) were being sold en masse, driving down the entire market.
This marks a further drop in Vietnam’s stock market after it plunged 18.19 percent in the second quarter this year, making it the worst-performing market in the world.
Local stock companies have anticipated that the VN-Index could fall to 900 points and even further.
Vietnam’s stock market had experienced its heyday since last year, when it 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 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 hovered at above 900 since then.
Although the 2018 FIFA World Cup has just gone half its journey, 23-year-old guy now possesses a trove of 16 lifelike portraits of the event’s biggest football stars
A young Vietnamese has constantly kept his pencil busy during the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup, drawing more than a dozen charismatic portraits of his favorite stars at football’s biggest competition.
Bui Anh An, a resident in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, takes pride in his trove of 16 drawing portraits of the World Cup stars, when Russia 2018 is only a couple of matches away from the quarterfinals.
The 23-year-old, who has never been to an art school, started drawing manga, a style of Japanese comics, and other cartoon characters since his elementary school years out of a great passion for painting.
He could create realistic depictions of different characters only after two months of practice.
Despite his love for and talent in painting, An ended up enrolling at the Hue University College of Foreign Languages, as his parents did not want him to pursue art.
But as his love for art never ceases to exist, the born-in-1995 always works hard, though secretly, to sharpen his skill.
An found international competitions to be a great chance to satisfy his hobby. The man has constantly drawn portraits of footballers with his pencil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2016 UEFA European Championship and this year’s World Cup in Russia.
Bui Anh An holds his drawing of a girl.
Although Russia 2018 is about to enter its quarterfinals, An now possesses a ‘treasure trove’ of 16 striking portraits of the World Cup football stars, despite not being trained by any professional painting school.
“I like to watch football and love a lot of players and teams, so I draw and post pictures of them [on Facebook] before the ‘H-hour’ of the games,” An told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, explaining the motivation behind his drawings.
“In addition, I want to cheer for the players and help me feel part of the atmosphere of the World Cup,” he added.
Lionel Messi
Inspiration
It took the young man four to six hours to accomplish a sketch of one player on A3 or A4-sized papers.
The inspiration for the portraits often comes from the strong impression those players left in An during their recent matches, not from their daily looks.
For instance, An was so captivated by the mysterious smile of Cristiano Ronaldo, when he scored the first goal during Portugal’s group stage opener against Spain on June 16, that he finished drawing the portrait of the Portuguese star even before the first half ended.
The mysterious smile of Ronaldo after he netted a goal against Spain is depicted in this drawing posted on Bui Anh An’s Facebook page
When Portugal and Argentina both advanced into the knockout stage, An came up with the idea of drawing Ronaldo standing side by side his Argentine ‘rival’ Messi in their national jerseys, implying his hope that the two men would face each other in the quarterfinals.
Messi and Ronaldo stands side by side in their national jerseys in this drawing posted on Bui Anh An’s Facebook page.
But as both teams were eliminated after the round of 16, An edited his artwork, putting an air ticket in the hand of Messi, indicating that they were ready to fly home from Russia.
To An, the most important thing in portraiture is the proportion of the faces.
“The facial proportion has to be correct. If not, it will be impossible to recognize who the player is,” An said.
“It is also important to show their charisma, so that the portrait can become soulful,” the young man added.
An has received a few hundred likes on Facebook for every of his artworks.
An said that he took the praise and comments as motivations to draw more World Cup-themed paintings.
Below are some of the portraits by Bui Anh An:
Sergio Ramos from SpainLuis Suarez from UruguayRomelu Lukaku from BelgiumRonaldo’s face from a different angle is depicted in this drawing posted on Bui Anh An’s Facebook page.Antoine Griezmann from FranceMarco Reus from GermanyLionel Messi from ArgentinaNeymar Jr. from Brazil
Vietnam has been receiving big investments from Japan, Singapore and South Korea, and new capital from China.
Ban Won Ik, deputy chair of the The Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea (AHPEK), confirmed that there is a strong South Korean investment wave in Vietnam.
With large investment projects, South Korean investors now play an important role in some of Vietnam’s key business fields, including electronics industry, energy, automobile manufacturers, textiles & garments and construction.
However, real estate & construction is the field which the three Asian investors are most interested.
Japanese Nomura Real Estate Asia has unexpectedly acquired 24 percent of capital in A-class Sunwah Tower.
Analysts said the value of the deal must be very high, if noting that the building is located on Nguyen Hue Road in the central business district 1 of HCMC, where large financial institutions such as Citi Bank, VinaCapital and Bank of China have their offices.
Prior to that, Japanese Mitsubishi bought 11,000 square meters of office area in Le Meridien Complex. The well-known A-class office building A&B Tower has also fallen in the hands of a Japanese investor.
While Japanese investors prefer offices for leasing thanks to stable profits (7-8 percent), Singaporeans target more complex assets, including commercial projects combined with housing.
CapitaLand has acquired the 9,000 square meter ‘golden land plot’ in Tay Ho district in Hanoi, while Keppel Land has spent $11.4 million for 10 percent more of shares in Saigon Sports City residential quarter project.
In the first five months of the year, total foreign direct investment in Vietnam reached $9.9 billion, more than half of which went to processing & manufacturing industries and 10.8 percent to the real estate sector.
The three biggest foreign investors in the first five months of the year were South Korea (26.5 percent), Japan (15.4 percent) and Singapore (11.25 percent).
Emerging China
Vietnam recently has begun receiving FDI flow from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Some analysts said with strong financial capability, the cash flow is very likely to lead the game in the coming years.
In 2012, China only ranked 13th among 100 foreign investors in Vietnam. But there are now more Chinese-invested projects in many key cities and provinces of Vietnam.
In HCMC, Hong Kong Land has acquired projects in Thu Thiem new urban area and the central area.
In the central region, the resort-casino project of the joint venture of Chow Tai Fook, Suncity Group and Vinacapital is worth $4 billion.
Vietnam has been building up its automobile industry for the last 20 years, but the number of automobiles assembled in Vietnam is far below that of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) has eight members, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Brunei.
Thailand is leading the region in output with 2 million automobiles made annually. The market buys 800,000 cars and commercial vehicles each year. The second and third positions belong to Indonesia with 1 million products, and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Vietnam, though having a young population, has modest output of 300,000 products a year. In 2016, the members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) sold 304,000 cars, but the figure dropped to 270,000 in 2017.
In 2006, 2012 and 2017, the Vietnamese automobile market declined sharply because of changes in policies.
The demand is also still low in Vietnam. A report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) showed that 23 out of every 1,000 people own cars. The figure is 204 in Thailand and 400 at minimum in developed countries.
For many years, the domestic automobile industry has been developing joint ventures with foreign investment. However, the joint ventures only focus on assembling cars, while many of them have shifted to trading cars instead of domestic assembly.
Analysts say Vietnam’s automobile industry is now relying on Vietnamese manufacturers, such as Thaco and Vinfast.
The former has 20 factories that make car parts and assemble cars with modern production lines. Its Chu Lai – Truong Hai Automobile Industrial Zone is a multipurpose mechanical engineering and automotive center.
Thaco Mazda, which is considered Mazda’s most modern factory in South East Asia, invested by Thaco, just became operational last March.
The VND12 trillion factory with the latest automated production line and technology covers an area of 30.3 hectares and has capacity of 100,000 products a year.
Vietnam also puts high hopes on Vinfast, which kicked off construction in 2017, and uses high technology. Vinfast automobile manufacturing complex in Cat Hai Economic Zone in Hai Phong City, which has huge capital of $3.5 billion, is being built to become the leader in South East Asia with capacity of up to 500,000 products a year by 2025.
The underdevelopment of Vietnam’s automobile industry is partly caused by weak supporting industries. Vietnam now has 20 automobile manufacturers and assemblers, but only has 84 first-class vendors and 145 second- and third-class vendors.
The figures are too small compared with other regional countries. Thailand, for example, has 16 manufacturers, but has 700 first-class vendors and 1,700 second- and third-class vendors.
“Coffee and…egg, together?” Yes, it may sound strange but it certainly forms a must-try drink in Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi nowadays.
On Nguyen Huu Huan, one of the endlessly busy streets in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, an almost hidden cafe lies in a narrow alley where people can find the most authentic version for “ca phe trung”, or Vietnamese egg-coffee mix, in town.
The 70-year-old-plus “Cafe Giang” was packed on both floors by locals and tourists on Tuesday afternoon.
They sat around the old square wooden tables, either lively chatting with companions, or silently sipping a cup of coffee, and surely, with egg.
Nearby the stairs to the second floor places a modest, open-plan kitchen where Nguyen Tri Hoa, owner of Cafe Giang, is whipping up egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk, and other parts of the recipe.
The mix is then boiled. Next comes coffee, it is quickly poured into the beaten eggs, forming a beautiful and aromatic foam.
A teaspoon is provided to drinkers for them to eat the foam before drinking the coffee at the bottom.
Egg coffee is served in hot and cold versions. The former comes resting in a small dish of hot water to maintain its temperature. When the strong coffee taste at the bottom of the cup seeps through the egg – the yellow layer on top – it becomes richer, thick and sweet.
“It’s my favourite choice all year round. But you’d better take it in autumn and winter to taste the best of it,” Quan, a 25-year-old Hanoian told Xinhua.
As a loyal customer, the young man usually comes here with his friends.
Though plenty of coffee shops in Hanoi now serve the dish, Quan believes Giang’s distinctive rich and foamy coffee deserves the greatest reputation in town.
The cold option, introduced in the 2000s, is served as a yellow concoction in a small glass. Laden with ice, it is consumed with a spoon and tastes almost like a coffee-flavoured ice cream – more like a dessert than coffee.
To foreigners, a “wow” reaction is not rare when they encounter the unique drink.
“It’s the first time I’ve tried, with egg, it’s a little bit strange,” said Prisca, 26 from France, with an excited face.
“Nice,” she concluded satisfactorily, while her companion, the 27-year-old Vidian from Guadeloupe, a French overseas region, an island group in the southern Caribbean Sea, came up with the same answer, “It’s a good experience.”
According to Nguyen Tri Hoa, his father Nguyen Van Giang created the drink in 1946 while working as a bar tender at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. A milk shortage then forced Giang to cast around for alternatives and he found eggs. That is how Vietnamese egg coffee was born.
Hoa, the youngest son of the family, is also the first one to follow his father’s path. Time passes by, he has enrichened the old menu with several new creations.
“I started to make cocoa eggs and white bean eggs in 1999. And then in 2010, after welcoming so many foreign customers and also travelling a lot, I realised that rum and beer can be great complements to egg,” Hoa recalled.
While Hoa runs the family’s premises on Nguyen Huu Huan Street, his older sister and brother, respectively set up two other egg coffee shops on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Cafe Dinh and on Yen Phu Street, Cafe Giang Yen Phu.
Cafe Dinh, the 20-square-metre place with a modest balcony, is on the second floor of a bag shop.
Though slightly hidden and hard to locate, it offers a nice view over Hanoi’s iconic Hoan Guom Lake. With music, flowers, unique coffee and sunflower seeds, it is a place where many locals chat, text, play games or read news as the coffee drips timelessly through the filters.
Taiwan’s Orient Ching and Josh Lin chosen from thousands of applicants to feature at the Hanoi event.
Two prominent Taiwanese tattoo artists have been chosen to feature at the Vietnam Tattoo Expo 2018 in Hanoi on July 7-8. Taiwan News reported.
From a contestant pool numbering in the thousands, Taiwanese artists Orient Ching and Josh Lin were chosen to feature at the inaugural event by a five-member panel.
Orient Ching is a Kaohsiung-based tattoo artist who specializes in traditional and Japanese-inspired styles. He is an organizer for the annual “I Love Tattoo” expo, held in Kaohsiung.
Josh Lin is a Taipei-based tattoo artist who specializes in realism and contemporary styles. He won the Tattoo World Championship at the 2012 Australian Tattoo Expo.
Le The Son, head organizer for the event said the tattoo expo will provide a holistic exhibition of contemporary tattoo styles and culture.
The two-day event will include over 100 tattoo booths and a variety of contests to showcase technique, skill and style. Vendor stalls will also sell a wide range of products.
Workshops on recent advances in tattoo techniques and discussion groups on the state of tattooing are planned across the two-day event.
Music performances throughout each day of the event will also take place.
The tattoo expo is expected to bring in more than 5,000 visitors and will include more than 150 tattoo artists from 16 countries.
Additional feature artists will travel from France, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Vietnam.
Ann Savage from the Philippines, Tery Do from France and Gau Den, Trung Kien and Nam Phong from Vietnam are the event’s other main drawcards.
The Vietnam Tattoo Expo 2018 will be held at the Cultural Friendship Palace in central Hanoi.
HANOI (Reuters) – A court in Vietnam on Monday jailed a former deputy governor of the central bank for three years, his lawyer said, the most senior banking official put on trial in the Southeast Asian nation amid a crackdown on corruption.
Vietnam’s banking system was rocked in the early 2010s by a string of mismanagement scandals and under-regulated lending, and is still reeling from nonperforming loans.
In 2012, Dang Thanh Binh, 64, and four accomplices were accused of “lack of responsibility”, leading to losses of up to 15 trillion dong ($654 million) at the privately-owned Vietnam Construction Bank, lawyer Pham Van Dam said.
“The trial has ended and Binh and four other defendants were charged with ‘lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences’,” Dam said, without saying if Binh would appeal.
Binh had failed to fulfill his duties and follow the instructions of the central bank and the prime minister, the official People’s Police newspaper said, citing the indictment.
Vietnam Construction Bank, formerly known as Great Trust Commercial Joint Stock Bank, suffered heavy loses and was forcibly taken over in 2015 by the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.
“I regret that I did not fulfill the tasks assigned to me by the state, but I and other leaders at the central bank were innocent in our motives,” the paper quoted Binh as telling the jury at his trial.
The court in Ho Chi Minh City also handed prison terms ranging from one to 2-1/2 years to Binh’s accomplices on Monday, the lawyer said.
The trial came amid a corruption crackdown in which several senior government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises have been arrested and jailed.
Vietnam this year jailed former Politburo member Dinh La Thang for 31 years for financial irregularities at PetroVietnam, formally known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.
Thang, 57, who denied any wrongdoing at his trial, was the highest-level politician Vietnam has jailed for decades.
The recent legal cases should not affect Vietnam’s efforts to meet its socioeconomic goals, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Monday.
“He who hesitates, who doesn’t work and doesn’t rush to make products and fulfill his duties should be questioned,” Phuc said.
Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by James Pearson and Clarence Fernandez
After many years of using only French makeup, My Ha, 40, from Phu Nhuan district in HCM City has begun using natural products made by Vietnamese enterprises.
My Ha, a ‘follower’ of the ‘live green’ movement, found a showroom that sells skin-care products made by Vietnamese enterprises on Mac Thi Buoi street in district 1.
“Vietnamese enterprises have great advantages in making natural products because of the material sources in Vietnam,” she explained.
“Made-in-Vietnam cosmetics no longer means low-cost products,” she said.
The number of customers, mostly women, has been increasing rapidly in large cities. The market segment has become large enough for domestic cosmetics companies to display products at luxury showrooms in the central business districts of Hanoi and HCM City.
Since mid-October 2018, natural makeup fans in Vietnam can easily buy products at labambivalley.com, a website set up by six cosmetics companies.
Designed as a cosmetics supermarket, the website gathers products licensed by the Ministry of Health and made by prestigious brands, namely TheHerbalCup, Skinna, SheaGhana, Myin, Karose and Bambi green cosmetics.
With the attractive growth rate of 30 percent per annum, the Vietnamese cosmetics market brings great opportunities. Not having advantages in distribution networks and advertisement budgets, the companies still can sell well in niche markets.
Through the websites, six natural cosmetics companies can easily access customers throughout the country at the lowest possible costs.
With the attractive growth rate of 30 percent per annum, the Vietnamese cosmetics market brings great opportunities. Not having advantages in distribution networks and advertisement budgets, the companies still can sell well in niche markets.
The long-distance race
Nguyen Thu Lanh, the founder of Bambi Cosmetics, said it takes many years to find and select materials, experiment with formulas and follow procedures to get permission to circulate products.
“Clean materials are just one of many things manufacturers must have. Besides, they must have production conditions meeting standards set by the Ministry of Health,” she said.
To do this, enterprises need modern technology which has to be imported at high tax rates.
Nguyen Van Minh, chair of the Vietnam Association of Essential Oils, Flavors and Cosmetics, confirmed that expensive modern technologies and unstable material growing areas are the biggest problems for domestic manufacturers.
However, the stories about Thorakao or Thai Duong are the typical examples proving that Vietnamese brands can also succeed if they follow the right path.
There are about 100 cosmetics brands making their presence in Vietnam, while 90 percent of the products available on the market are the imports.
Many fines for tourism violations have been proposed to be included in a draft decision which is being appraised by the Ministry of Justice.
According to the draft decree proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a fine of VND25-30 million (USD1,316-1,363) will be issued to travel agents which did not conform to tour programmes as agreed with their clients. The fine will be applicable to foreigners who come to Vietnam for travelling without permission from Vietnamese authorities.
Foreign tourists in Vietnam
A fine of VND35-40 million will be issued for activities benefiting from tourists illegally; touting for tourists and forcing them to buy products. Tour guides who provide inaccurate information about the country’s history, culture and sovereignty will be subject to this fine.
The draft decree also stipulated that visitors whose behaviour disrespects the customs and cultural identity of places they come to will be fined VND1-3 million. Those who do not pay required tourism fees will face this fine.
Travellers will be fined VND3-5 million for behaviour affecting Vietnam’s image and cultural traditions.
According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the draft decree is aimed to help provide more specific regulations on tourism activities which are not stipulated in Tourism Law and other related decrees.
Twenty-four hours are simply not enough to experience the best of Hanoi, but we understand what it is like to travel under time and budget constraints. With that in mind, and based on our travels, we’ve come up with an awesome itinerary for you to experience the best of what the city has to offer in a period of 24 hours.
Morning
An early stroll around the city
Get acquainted with Hanoi (and Vietnam) by going on an early morning stroll. Grab a banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwich) and a ca phe sua da (Vietnamese iced milk coffee) from a sidewalk stall and just walk. If you head out around 05:00 a.m., you’ll be able to witness the city wake up.
Head to the Old Quarter, which is the historical and commercial center of the capital. There are 16 streets here you can explore, with each street named after what the majority of the shops specialize in. For example, Hang Gai street is silk street, and this is where you will find most of the tailor shops. Walk around aimlessly as you will come across the best sights this way. Homeowners cleaning the streets, doing light exercises, setting up food stalls, taking their children to school on rickshaws, you will see it all.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
After your breakfast, start walking towards the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It will take you around 20 minutes to get there. Ho Chi Minh, or Uncle Ho as the locals refer to him, was Vietnam’s president from 1945-1969 and was a key figure in the Vietnam War, under whose leadership Vietnam finally gained independence.
Inside a glass case lies the embalmed body of Uncle Ho so you can pay your respects and then walk around the square and park outside. You may even catch some locals doing Tai Chi. Don’t be afraid to join them, they will be more than happy to help you learn the movements.
Hùng Vương, Điện Bàn, Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam, +84 24 3845 5128
Hoa Lo Prison
Carry on walking to Hoa Lo Prison, known as the Hanoi Hilton. This was built by the French to punish Vietnamese political prisoners and later used by the Vietnamese to hold American prisoners of war. A famous example is Senator John McCain, and you can still find his uniform on display. The prison is a little haunting. There are many mannequins depicting scenes of what life was like inside the prison walls, and it is not for the faint of heart.
Since you woke up early, it’s good to have a slightly early lunch to replenish all that energy spent from walking around and sweating thanks to the heat. Grab a xe om(motorbike taxi), use either Uber or Grab apps, or hail yourself a motorbike to head to your next destination: Pho Gia Truyen on 49 Bat Dan Street. Motorbikes are the best way to get around here as they can zigzag their way through traffic. If you opt for a car taxi, you may be stuck in one place for hours.
Pho Gia Truyen is where you can find the best pho in all the land. Pho is the national dish of Vietnam and one you must try. It’s made of three components: a flavorful broth, noodles and some type of meat, typically beef. If you are vegetarian, just order the vegetarian version by saying “chay.”
After lunch begin walking again, this time to the tranquil Temple of Literature. This was the first ever university in Vietnam, initially for noble families but it later took an egalitarian approach to admissions. It was built in 1070, making it one of the oldest structures in the city. Walk around, snap some shots and rest a bit in its many courtyards.
58 Quốc Tử Giám, Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội, Vietnam, +84 24 3747 2566
Get your Uber app out again or hail another motorbike taxi after you finish with the Temple of Literature. Plug in Café Giang as your destination and enjoy zigzagging your way through the crazy daytime traffic of the city. At Café Giang, you are in for a surprise. This is where the original – and best – egg coffee in Vietnam is served, and you can ask the barista for the story behind it. Enjoy your creamy cup of what can only be described as liquid tiramisu, and enjoy the air-conditioned venue for a while as the sun slowly goes down.
39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hàng Bạc, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam, +84 90 347 90 32
Evening: Relax by the lake
Hoan Kiem Lake
Walk over to Hoan Kiem Lake, which is not so far from your location, and enjoy a stroll around the cool premises. It’s a popular hangout spot for locals and tourists alike. In the middle of the lake is an island on which Ngoc Son temple is built, and connecting it to the land is a gorgeous scarlet bridge. It’s extremely photogenic.
Next, head over to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre and catch a show – it’s right on the outskirts of the lake. Water puppetry is a centuries-old art form in Vietnam, with its many different guilds and styles of puppets, such as string, hand and shadow puppets, and even kites and puppets with fireworks. The performance combines these various styles with live music and involves various scenes from Vietnam’s myths and folklore, with the country’s agrarian life as a backdrop.
57b Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hàng Bạc, Hoàn Kiếm, Hoàn Kiếm Hanoi, Vietnam, +84 24 3824 9494
Back to where you started: The Old Quarter
After the show, walk around the Old Quarter again and do some night shopping. If you’re looking for cheap souvenirs, here is where you can get it. To end your day in Hanoi, you must eat like a local – on the street. Most streets in the Old Quarter consist of small street restaurants where customers are seated on child-like plastic stools that have spilled out onto the sidewalk. Pick any place that seems crowded and ask to try what everyone else is having. Local favorites include pho, bun rieu, com tam, bun cha, and bun thit nuong.
After your meal, you can either walk around a little more or drag yourself up to your hotel, which is hopefully located in the Old Quarter because you’ll be too full to walk far. We recommend you stay at the Hanoi La Suite Hotel & Spa or the Hanoi Allure Hotel, where you can get a good night’s sleep.
Tourists to Vietnam from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy will continue to be exempted from visas until June 2021.
Vietnam’s latest extended visa-free travel policy for citizens from five Western European countries officially came into effect on Sunday, with a longer validity of three years, compared to one year in the last three renewals.
Visitors from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain have enjoyed visa exemption, with an allowed stay of 15 days for each entry, when traveling to Vietnam since July 2015, when the year-long policy was introduced.
Following the first renewal in June 2016 and second extension in June 2017, the policy expired on Saturday last week.
During a government meeting on May 3, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to continue easing visa requirements for visitors from these five countries from July 1, 2018, responding in favor of suggestions from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant agencies.
While the visa waiver has had to be reconsidered annually since 2016, the latest extension has a validity period of three years.
However, the premier decided not to increase the allowable stay per entry from 15 to 30 days, nor to add more countries to the visa-free list as suggested by the tourism ministry and industry insiders.
PM Phục believed that relevant ministries and agencies still need to evaluate the effectiveness of the current visa waiver, applied to the five countries under a pilot scheme, before making any changes, according to Mai Tiến Dũng, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office.
Visitors increased twofold, but…
Vietnam’s recent steps to create a more open visa policy, according to Dung, have contributed to the country’s continuous growth in international arrivals.
“This reform is aimed at bringing convenience to tourists, helping us have a great tourist number,” said the minister.
Vietnam’s Western European arrivals topped 1.5 million last year, more than double the 720,000 recorded in 2015, when the visa-free policy was first applied.
But when compared to other countries in the region, Vietnam’s visa policy remains much less competitive and attractive.
Vietnam ranked 116th out of 136 countries in terms of visa requirements in a 2017 report by the World Economic Forum, according to the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Council.
Vietnam currently exempts visas for 24 countries, one of the lowest numbers among Southeast Asian countries. In comparison, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines apply visa-free policies to more than 160 countries.
In addition, while other countries usually allow tourists to stay for 30 days without a visa, Vietnam mainly exempts visas for travelers for just 15 days, and visa-exempted tourists can only return to the country at least 30 days after exit.
No need to wait for reciprocity
According to the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Council, Vietnam should not insist on having a reciprocal basis when it comes to visa exemption.
The country can still gain benefit if it grants one-sided visa easing for other countries, Kinh Te & Do Thi (Economics and Urban) newspaper reported, citing a letter the council experts submitted to the prime minister.
For instance, not all the more than 160 countries enjoying visa waiver to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines ease visas for these four countries.
Specifically, Indonesia only enjoys visa exemptions from 57 countries and the number for the Philippines is 61.
“However, both countries recognize the significant benefits of facilitating the issuance of visas in a competitive market,” the experts said in their letter.
The Tourism Advisory Council said Vietnam could benefit significantly from expanding visa exemption to Western countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium, even before these countries relax visa requirements for Vietnamese visitors.
By doing so, Vietnam may lose some US$17 million in terms of visa fee collection, but the number of visitors would increase by up to ten percent and tourism revenue would grow by $100 million, according to the council.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province faces severe threat of pollution as only 20% of domestic wastewater is treated before being discharged into the bay.
Most locals do not dare to go out for a swim in the bay’s long beach despite the hot weather since wastewater is being discharged without treatment.
Pham Manh Hung in Hong Hai Ward said he lived near the beach but hadn’t gone out to swim for quite a long time because of foul water and the amount of the rubbish being dumped near the beach. He recently ventured out to the sea but the water still looked polluted. The areas near sewers are even worse since there is the rubbish floating in the black water.
Hung said his house was 10km away from the well-known Bai Chay Beach so some people still put up with the pollution despite being covered in rubbish after a swim.
Tran Xuan Bac in Bach Dang Ward said he felt itchy after swimming in the sea and had to switch to swimming pools which are always crowded. Many people like swimming but are too scared of the polluted water.
According to Ha Long Urban Environment Company, 15.500 cubic metres of domestic wastewater is discharged into Ha Long Bay every day. Of which only 20% is treated under the USD30m project funded by Denmark in 2008.
However, the percentage of treated wastewater is decreasing because of increasing number of apartment complexes without wastewater treatment system.
Quang Ninh Province People’s Committee is completing procedures to borrow ODA loans from Japan for a USD150m wastewater treatment project. Wastewater from Tuan Chau and Viet Hung wards will not be connected to the system because of their location. However, a huge amount of wastewater is being discharged in Tuan Chau since it is the major tourism destination with a huge wharf.
Two DongA Bank cardholders confirmed that they are still holding their ATM cards and have never given them to anyone, but VND201 million ($8,855) was stolen from their accounts in the middle of the night.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) is a client of DongA Bank who had VND86 million ($3,790) withdrawn from her account through an ATM early on June 26.
Thuy said at around 3.30 AM on June 27, DongA Bank sent her several messages informing her that VND60 million ($2,640) has been transferred from her account to three others. A few minutes later, she was informed that another VND20 million ($880) was withdrawn in cash while she was still sleeping.
At 4 AM, another message showed that another VND5 million ($220) was withdrawn from her account. She woke up and found her ATM card in her bag. “I called DongA Bank’s hotline to freeze the account, but it was too late, only VND900,000 ($40) was left on it,” Thuy said.
In the morning, she went to DongA Bank to report the incident that lost her altogether VND85 million ($3,750). The bank told her that money was withdrawn at an ATM machine in Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City, and that they will find out more within the next five days.
Thuy confirmed that she did not share her password with anybody. “A day before, I withdrew VND2 million ($88) from an ATM in Quang Trung Street. And I cannot tell for sure whether any device has been used to copy my information,” she added.
In another case, Doan Thi Ngoc Duyen (District 12) reported to VnExpress.net that she also had money withdrawn from her account at around 3.55 AM on June 27. DongA Bank sent five messages to inform that VND96 million ($4,230) had been transferred (in five installments) to other accounts.
A few minutes later, Duyen received another messages about withdrawing an additional VND20 million ($880) in cash from her account. As a result, she lost a total of VND116 million ($5,110).
She was very worried and made sure that her card was still in her wallet. She called the hotline of DongA Bank to freeze the account, but she was too late as only VND320,000 ($14) was left on the account.
In the morning, she went to DongA Bank to report the incident. The bank identified that the same ATM was used at the same time to withdraw her and Thuy’s money.
The representative of DongA Bank told VnExpress.net that this bank is investigating the incident and is going to respond to the client as soon as possible. Against the trend of high technology crime increasing rapidly in Vietnam, the safety of cardholders is the priority, and the bank would do their utmost to strengthen security for them.
He said that in addition to using skimming devices to copy and forge fake cards, another leading cause of losing money is revealing card information to family members or friends. DongA Bank’s representative recommended customers to keep the PIN codes secret from everyone.
The Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Hi-Tech Crime (C50) showed several methods criminals use to hack bank accounts. The most popular measure is to steal data at ATMs. A set of skimming devices includes an ultra-small camera set up with a sighting on the ATM’s keypad, a card skimmer inserted into the card slot, and a keypad skimmer placed over the ATM’s keypad.
This equipment is used to appropriate the PIN code and card number of anyone using the ATM. Then the criminals create fake cards and will start stealing money via ATM withdrawals.
Another way is when criminals create websites and inform victims via Facebook, Zalo, Viber, and SMS that they won a valuable prize, asking them to sign in on the website and get their prize. Criminals may also act as bank officer to contact cardholders to ask them to provide information (PIN code, card number, OTP code). Thereby, customer should improve their knowledge and be vary of suspicious signs of hi-tech fraud.
A court in Vietnam on Monday jailed a former deputy governor of the central bank for three years, his lawyer said, the most senior banking official put on trial in the Southeast Asian nation amid a crackdown on corruption.
Vietnam’s banking system was rocked in the early 2010s by a string of mismanagement scandals and under-regulated lending, and is still reeling from nonperforming loans. Reuters reported
In 2012, Dang Thanh Binh, 64, and four accomplices were accused of “lack of responsibility”, leading to losses of up to 15 trillion dong ($654 million) at the privately-owned Vietnam Construction Bank, lawyer Pham Van Dam said.
“The trial has ended and Binh and four other defendants were charged with ‘lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences’,” Dam said, without saying if Binh would appeal.
Binh had failed to fulfill his duties and follow the instructions of the central bank and the prime minister, the official People’s Police newspaper said, citing the indictment.
Vietnam Construction Bank, formerly known as Great Trust Commercial Joint Stock Bank, suffered heavy loses and was forcibly taken over in 2015 by the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.
“I regret that I did not fulfill the tasks assigned to me by the state, but I and other leaders at the central bank were innocent in our motives,” the paper quoted Binh as telling the jury at his trial.
Vietnamese mobile network operator MobiFone plans to divest its entire holding in Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank), targeting to raise $7.14 million from the transaction.
In a disclosure to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, MobiFone will transfer its 5.5 million shares, or 0.95 per cent, of the bank’s charter capital to potential investors.
The minimum bid price is set at VND29,510 ($1.29) apiece and the average reference price at within 30 trading days on the stock market. At the price, the mobile network operator is expected to earn at least VND163.7 billion ($7.14 million) from the transfer.
“The transfer of the shares is not intended to raise capital for the company, but only to change the ownership ratio in the shareholding structure while not to change the company’s registered charter capital,” MobiFone stated in the disclosure.
In February, MobiFone sold 33.4 million shares in Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank), equivalent to 6.11 per cent of charter capital at an average price of VND 9,978 ($0.4) apiece, earned nearly VND334 billion ($14.5 million).
The mobile network operator earlier announced that it would hold the second round of auctions to divest its shares in SeABank and TPBank. If successful, the telco expects to pocket at least VND400 billion ($17.6 million) from the auctions based on the starting price.
MobiFone had previously held an auction to sell its shares in SeABank and TPBank last April as part of its strategic plan to focus on its core businesses.
However, no investor was keen to bid for SeABank’s shares while MobiFone sold only 61 per cent of its offering of 14.28 million shares in TPBank and raised VND77.7 billion ($3.4 million) at that time.
Vietnamese lender TPBank plans to sell about a 15 per cent stake to investors via a private placement and issue 28 per cent of dividend and bonus shares during the last three months of the year.
It expects to raise its registered capital to VND8.5 trillion ($372 million), up from its current VND5.84 trillion ($256.9 million), this year through the shares issuances.
TPBank’s major shareholders include the International Finance Corporation (5%), FPT Corporation (8.68%), DOJI Gold and Gems Group (7.60%), Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VinaRe) (5.14%) and SBI Ven Holdings (4.61%).
