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Weak Starbucks may allow Trung Nguyen to regain footing

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Vietnamese coffee giant Trung Nguyen may have an opportunity to recover its domestic business as US-based Starbucks has just announced the plan to close 150 stores next year. Maybe some stores in Vietnam will be on Starbuck’s list.
Starbucks may close some stores in Vietnam due to poor performance

The US coffee giant on June 16 officially announced its plan of closing 150 poorly performing company-operated stores next year, about three times as many as it typically closes, according to cnn.com.

According to cnn.com, the company told investors that is expects revenue from its stores to grow by only 1 per cent in the quarter that begins next month, lowering its previous forecast. Its stock slumped by 3.5 per cent in after-hours trading.

“Our recent performance does not reflect the potential of our exceptional brand and is not acceptable,” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement. “We must move faster to address the more rapidly changing preferences and needs of our customers.”

With the small scale and the low influence in Vietnam, it is forecasted that some stores may be listed among the 150 stores to be closed.

Five years after first entering Vietnam, the number of Starbucks stores is 34, much lower than in other countries, including Thailand (198), Malaysia (190), and Indonesia (147). Starbucks stores in Vietnam also number less than those of other brands, including Trung Nguyen’s 60 stores, The Coffee House’s 80 stores, and Highlands’150 stores.

Furthermore, according to FT Confidential Research’s survey on the most visited coffee chains in Southeast Asia in 2015, Vietnam was the only country where a pretty low proportion of respondents (6 per cent) selected Starbucks, while the US coffee brand led the ranks in other countries.

This data could partly prove that Starbucks’ revenue in Vietnam may not be satisfactory at the time of the survey. Regarding revenue, the representative of Starbucks’ marketing department in Vietnam contacted by VIR refused to comment.

On the topic of closing stores in Vietnam, the representative also said: “We will soon announce official information.”

Paving the way for Trung Nguyen

Starbucks’ unexpectedly weak business operations in Vietnam may pave the way for domestic coffee giant Trung Nguyen to gain back some of the market after its three-year fall-back due to the divorce of chairman Dang Le Nguyen Vu and his wife Le Hoang Diep Thao.

Focusing on high-end coffee products Trung Nguyen Legend and expanding business scale in China may be Trung Nguyen’s direction in the near future.

After five years of retreating from the public, Vu made his first media appearance on June 16 at Trung Nguyen’s latest event to launch the new products of the Trung Nguyen Legend portfolio, including Trung Nguyen Legend Special Edition, Trung Nguyen Legend Classic, and Trung Nguyen Legend Iced Milk Café.

In addition, Trung Nguyen plans to boost the development of the Trung Nguyen Legend Café chain and the E-Coffee grocery chain over the country.

In the context of Starbucks’ unexpected weak performance in Vietnam, Trung Nguyen, with its long years of experience and stable revenue despite the divorce, may be able to regain some of its domestic market share.

Trung Nguyen’s expansion in China will be particularly interesting as on May 24, Trung Nguyen Legend Corporation announced entering an official co-operation with China-based Shanghai Qinzhou Trade Co., Ltd. to distribute G7 instant coffee products in East China, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing, with the revenue target of $1.6 billion. The Chinese coffee market is estimated at $9 billion, according to zing.vn.

In 2016-2017, Trung Nguyen’s revenue in China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, reached $30 million. It is expected that the revenue in 2018 will hit $100 million.

Source: VIR

Curtain rises on new act of Trung Nguyen divorce

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The long-going divorce drama at Trung Nguyen has just seen the latest dispute erupt over G7 products, drawing in the General Department of Vietnam Customs and other government agencies.

Due to violations of intellectual property rights, Trung Nguyen JSC required the General Department of Vietnam Customs to temporarily halt the export procedures for all G7 products manufactured by Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee JSC’s (Trung Nguyen IC) Bac Giang branch, which is under the management of Le Hoang Diep Thao, the wife of Trung Nguyen’s chairman Dang Le Nguyen Vu.

In addition, Trung Nguyen JSC has also requested the market regulator to stop the domestic sales of G7 products manufactured by Thao.

However, vietnamnet.vn quoted the Department of Market Management as saying that there are insufficient grounds to prove that Trung Nguyen IC’s Bac Giang branch has imitated Trung Nguyen’s G7 brand.

Most recently, Trung Nguyen sent document with the similar argument to General Department of Vietnam Customs. Afterwards, the department has sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Department of Market Management to jointly resolve the issue.

Previously, the dispute between Trung Nguyen Group and Thao, the group’s former deputy general director, had caused a stir again as it has been revealed that the group’s subsidiary—Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee JSC (Trung Nguyen IC)—in mid-2017 sued Thao at the Bac Giang People’s Court for illegally seizing the company’s seals and the Bac Giang branch’s legal documents. Trung Nguyen IC asked Thao to pay a compensation of $75.2 million.

On May 16, Thao rejected Trung Nguyen IC as well as her husband Vu’s accusations. Thao argued that Vu was not Trung Nguyen IC’s legal representative because at the time Vu was the legal representative of Trung Nguyen Group, thus his dual representative positions would have led to a clash of interests and was against the company’s charter.

The dispute exploded in April 2015, when Vu suddenly dismissed Thao from her position as the group’s deputy general director. In a complaint sent to the Binh Duong People’s Court in November 2015, Thao said that in October of the same year Vu organised a management board meeting without her to dismiss her from her positions as the chairman of the board of management and deputy general director.

Thao filed for divorce at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court in November 2015. Until now, after nearly three years, the divorce proceedings have yet to end, mainly because of the division of common assets.

Accordingly, in August 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court applied urgent interim measures to ensure joint ownership rights over their common assets, which include 93 per cent of Trung Nguyen Group’s tangible and intangible assets, including the subsidiary Trung Nguyen IC.

Source: VIR

Top 50 businesses list shows strength of private sector

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The 2017 list of 50 best performing businesses released by Nhip Cau Dau Tu reflects the return of the enterprises in the fields of banking, real estate, construction and consumer goods. It reflects the performance of the national economy and strength of banking, finance and real estate sectors.

The comeback of commercial banks is foreseeable as banks, after five years of restructuring, have regained strength.

The club of enterprises with billions of dollars of capitalization value has new members, namely VPB of VP Bank and HDB of HCMC Development Bank, while VCB of Vietcombank, MBB of Military Bank and ACB of the Asia Commercial Bank continue to cement their positions there.

According to Thien Viet Securities, Vietcombank, Military Bank and ACB succeeded in the last year because they pursued a business strategy under which risk management is put at the top priority, above the target of making profits.

They are following a ‘financial prudence’ philosophy when designing risk management standards closer to international standards.

Banks’ prosperity has also been attributed to the warming up of the real estate market, while real estate firms have taken full advantage of the favorable conditions to develop their business.

The most outstanding real estate names in top 50 include Vingroup, Dat Xanh Real Estate, Novaland, Phat Dat, Nha Khang Dien and CEO.

The consumer goods manufacturing and pharmacy sectors still have familiar names such as The Gioi Di Dong, Traphaco, Hau Giang Pharmacy, PNJ (jewelry), Masan (consumer goods), Vinamilk (dairy producer) and Sabeco (brewer).

While the first position of the 2016 Top 50 list belonged to a business of the retail industry, the position in 2017 belongs to a representative in the transport industry – Vietjet Air.

With 43 percent market share, and an ROE at a surprisingly high level of 70.3 percent in the last three years, Vietjet Air was the brightest star in the Vietnamese business community in 2017.

The industrial sector has 18 representatives listed in the Top 50. According to Thien Viet Securities, the industry has been growing rapidly thanks to increasingly high demand from infrastructure development. A report showed that loans poured into the sector increased by 22.38 percent last year, higher than the 18.24 percent of the economy.

Nevertheless, as anticipated, no name in the oil and gas sector was found in the Top 50, which reflects difficulties the industry is facing as crude oil prices still hover around $52-55 per barrel.

Source: VNS

Nearly 1 million Vietnamese students show for high school exam

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Students talk after finishing the literature test at Hop Thanh High School in Hanoi’s My Duc District on Monday

More than 900,000 candidates across the country are taking for the National High School Exam on Monday, taking the literature test in the morning and the math test in the afternoon.

According to a report of the Ministry of Education and Training, 26 candidates were suspended during the two-hour literature test for violating exam regulations.

Weather in most of the provinces and cities remained pleasant and smooth traffic helped the students reach the exam hall in time. However, some mountainous provinces witnessed heavy rain, which caused landslides, flash floods and traffic congestion on some roads. This prevented some students from Lai Chau and Ha Giang from reaching exam halls.

Localities have also taken some initiatives to help the candidates reach exam venues on time and to ensure smooth conduct of the exam.

The high school exam will conclude on Wednesday. The marks will be used to determine admission to universities, colleges and vocational schools. Entrance exams in the country were scrapped in 2015.

Candidates will take five tests: math, literature, foreign language, natural science (including physics, chemistry, biology) and social science (including history, geography and citizen education). Except for the literature test, all of the other tests are in the multiple-choice format.

According to Mai Van Trinh, head of the Quality Management Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, to create favourable conditions for candidates, the ministry this year has assigned each locality to chair the high school exam under its instructions. The ministry too has adopted several measures to ensure quality and confidentiality.

Supervisors are not allowed to be present at the classes they have taught. Each exam room has two supervisors — one from a university or college and the other from the provincial department of education and training. The ministry has also strengthened inspection at exam venues.

Regarding the prevention of cheating via high-tech devices during the exam, Trinh said the ministry had collaborated with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Public Security to inform supervisors on how to detect the devices.

He emphasised that supervisors should fulfil their duties during the exam. Any violation by candidates and supervisors would be handled in accordance with the ministry’s regulations, he said. — VNS

Source: Vietnamnet

Go-Jek prepares to launch ride-hailing services in Vietnam and Thailand

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It looks like Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek will finally initiate its long-awaited expansion in Southeast Asia over the next month.

The company announced today that it’ll launch businesses in Vietnam and Thailand under the names of Go-Viet and Get, respectively, using a model that sees local founders run each business independently with backing from local partners and the Go-Jek mothership.

TechCrunch understands that the Thai and Vietnamese entities will go live for customers from August. The plan is to initially launch motorbike and car-based services. Later, it may introduce services-on-demand as it done with significant success in Indonesia.

Go-Jek didn’t provide a timeline for launches in its announcement today, but a source with knowledge of the plans told TechCrunch that Go-Viet is likely to be up and running by August with Get in Thailand set to follow a month later. The Philippines launch will come next, but the timeframe is currently unspecific and simply “before the end of 2018.”

That just leaves Singapore, which is a more complicated market since it doesn’t support Go-Jek core motorbike on-demand service and it has been flooded by new entrants following Uber’s exit.

As TechCrunch previously reported, Go-Jek has held partnership talks with Comfort Del Gro, Singapore’s largest taxi operator which formerly had an agreement with Uber. However, it looks like any potential deal will take time and Go-Jek is prioritizing other markets initially.

Interesting, our source confirmed that the apps — Go-Jek, Get and Go-Viet — will not be interoperable. On one side that gives the local teams the flexibility and autonomy to introduce services and customize their offerings to suit the local market, but it will mean that consumers traveling between countries will need to download different apps.

Back in May the company formally announced plans to enter four new markets via a $500 million budget. Consumers may have been expecting a quick launch, particularly since Uber’s exit from Southeast Asia, but the process takes significant time. Now that Go-Jek has installed local teams — led by Nguyen Vu Duc in Vietnam and former head of Line Man Thailand Pinya Nittayakasetwa for Get — it is readying the operations side of the service to launch for consumers.

Grab, Go-Jek’s key rival, raised $2.5 billion over the last year and it is currently raising a new round that values its business at over $10 billion. The first investor confirmed for the new raise is Toyota, which has pledged $1 billion in what is the largest investment from an automotive company into a ride-hailing provider.

Go-Jek hasnt raised as much as Grab, but it is still well capitalized. The company raised $1.4 billion from a bevy of backers that include Tencent, JD.com and Meituan from China as well as global names like Google and Allianz.

Philippine wants to rival Vietnam for foreign investments – How can?

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The Philippines should focus on “rapidly growing” its manufacturing sector to attract foreign investors just like Vietnam, an adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said Monday.

Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the country’s foreign direct investments reached a record of $10 billion in 2017, lower compared to Vietnam’s $14 billion. ABS – CBN news reported.

Lower minimum wage and subsidized electricity for manufacturing drew foreign investors to Vietnam, AmCham senior adviser John Forbes told ANC.

Nike, for example, employs 390,000 Vietnamese while Samsung manufactures almost half of its phones in Vietnam. The investment consulting firms is one of the important strategy of Vietnam to approach foreign investor as well. Forbes said. GBS – a Global Business Services Company (https://gbs.com.vn) in Vietnam approached and supported nearly 500 foreign invested companies getting the enterprise registration certificate and investment license in Vietnam annually.

“Vietnam has been doing things the Philippines has not been able to do but the Philippines has its own specialties in manufacturing and they should be focused on those and growing them rapidly as possible,” Forbes said.

Hanoi buses strive to serve more passengers

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The number of passengers riding buses in Hanoi has risen since late 2016, the municipal Department of Transport said, but the system still faces major challenges as it seeks to attract more riders.

According to a report by VNS, at a press conference this week, Director of the Department of Transport Vu Van Vien said that in 2017, Hanoi’s public buses transported 441 million passengers, up 1.9 percent over the previous year.

In the first half of 2018, there were 221 million passengers riding buses, increasing 5 percent compared to the same period last year.

“In general, the city bus services, including normal and subsidised ones, have grown,” he said.

Bus routes have expanded, including rapid transit buses and city tours which connect the 30 districts and communes.

Responding to the report issued early this month by Hanoi Transportation Service Corporation (Transerco) showing a sharp decline in the number of public bus riders in the city, Vien said the study only covered subsidised buses.

In 2012, with 53 bus routes, Transerco served 414 million passengers while in 2017, with 74 bus routes, they only transported 321 million passengers, a decline of 93 million passengers. Moreover, transit time has also lengthened due to the rising traffic influx and road infrastructure.

Despite the declines in subsidised bus ridership, the total number of bus passengers has ticked up since late 2016.

Another 10 enterprises operate public buses without any price subsidies, which offer longer journeys. When both services are considered, the number of public bus riders has actually risen.

Nguyen Thanh Binh from the Hanoi People’s Council said that the decline in passengers on price subsidised buses could be tackled if the service providers paid more attention to reducing transit, including shortening the distance from passengers’ homes to bus stops. If travelling by bus takes much longer than other alternatives, it won’t be able to compete, he said.

Nguyen Nguyen Quan, head of the Urban Department under the Hanoi People’s Council, said the public bus system currently meets only 13 percent of people’s transportation demands, while the city is set aims to meet 20 to 22 percent by 2020. In less than two years, it will be almost impossible for public buses to reach the target.

Therefore, the Hanoi Department of Transport is tasked with developing better solutions to tackle the issue as well as set more realistic and detailed goals.

Transerco, with its eight sub-agencies and three joint-stock companies, is in charge of operating many inner-city bus routes, accounting for 81.5 percent of the city’s subsidised bus routes. According to Nguyen Cong Nhat, the corporation’s deputy director, the number of public bus riders reached its peak of 414.8 million in 2012 and started falling afterwards.

To improve services and attract riders, Transerco has launched new bus routes to increase connections within the city and to outlying areas since 2016. However, the lack of small buses which can access narrow streets is another challenge for the public bus system.

Quan recommended the corporation to improve supporting services from renewing vehicles to developing smartphone-based bus-tracking applications. The city’s authorities will also tighten management and create favourable conditions to improve the public bus system.

Nhat said that besides new vehicles, it is critical for social infrastructure to be improved. To reverse the passenger loss, buses need to win the speed game against private vehicles.

Without breakthroughs in infrastructure, such as specialised lanes for buses the rising number of bus routes will still fail to attract more passengers, he said.

In the past two years, Transerco replaced 320 old buses with new, modern ones. Fourteen new bus routes with three routes serving narrow streets are planned to open this year.

Mini-buses with a capacity of 20 to 24 passengers can access small, high-density streets, helping transport passengers from those areas to the main bus routes.

The corporation said meeting passenger demand in underexploited routes will help raise the number of public bus riders and ease traffic congestion.

Hoi An: Exploring Vietnam’s Yellow City

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Just south of Da Nang lies the magical little yellow town of Hoi An. It is a coastal town that lies on the mouth of the Thu Bon River. Despite having beautiful beaches and unique countryside villages, it is the unique Ancient Town that will make you fall in love with Hoi An.

Hoi An was once an active and very important Southeast Asian trading port from the 15^th through the 19^thcenturies. During that time, the town was bustling with foreign traders, most of whom were Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch. They took part in all sorts of trades such as silk, china, pottery, and spices.

Throughout the following centuries, trade may have declined, but the city has preserved its culture through its architecture, traditions, memories, and people’s smiles. Now, Hoi An has become a favorite tourist destination among those that travel to Vietnam.

Walking through the narrow streets, you will find rows and rows of shop houses, typically two-story establishments with homes on the top floor and shops on the ground floor, as well as Chinese-tiled roofs and colorful lanterns hanging from rusty ceilings. You will see men on rickshaws peddling with curious tourists along the alleyways and little local ladies in their traditional ao ba ba, or “street pajamas,” and non la, a “Vietnamese conical hat,” selling bright-colored vegetables, little trinkets, or local delights in baskets skillfully balanced on their shoulders on a bamboo pole.

It all blends so perfectly well together that the Hoi An Ancient Town somewhat resembles an outdoor art gallery that is extremely photogenic and effortlessly alluring.

A striking detail is that many of the buildings in the town are bathed in a distinctive golden-yellow hue. It is like the city is always wrapped in sunshine. There are three reasons as to why this could be. People in this region of the world believe that yellow is a symbol of royalty and superiority, and thus, they paint significant architectural monuments in various shades of yellow. Also, yellow symbolizes luck, pride, and prosperity to the Vietnamese.

The final reason is a little more practical: yellow absorbs less heat and thus, it is better suited to Vietnam’s hot and humid tropical weather.

The Hoi An sunrise is particularly charming—the sunlight illuminates the yellow walls, and the whole city begins to wake up from its slumber. You will hear the sounds of brooms sweeping houses and streets, birds chirping excitedly, bells on bicycles ringing, vendors setting up their stalls for the day, and the laughter of school children as they greet their friends during breakfast.

Grabbing a banh mi, or “baguette sandwich,” as breakfast, and a Vietnamese coffee on the sidewalk, both adding up to a little over a dollar, will fill you up for the rest of your walk.

Hoi An has nearly 1,000 ancient houses for you to explore, and of these, 844 are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Many of these have been turned into museums, shops, cafes, or artists’ workshops. The city is full of artists, craftsmen, tailors, and shoemakers, to name but a few talents. Tailor shops are everywhere and outnumber all other businesses here two to one. A common travel bucket list item you can get ticked off here is getting an item tailored to your tastes and shape. It will be a great memory to take back home.

Because of Hoi An’s protected status, there are very strict building regulations in place, meaning it has retained the traditional wooden architecture of the past. The original street plans, including canals, bridges, and old houses with green moss growing over their yellow walls cannot be broken down. Hoi An even escaped the war almost completely unscathed. As you wander through the alleyways you will feel as if you have gone back in time.

Among the ancient houses, there are many you can visit that are not stores. These are the Phung Hung Old House, Duc An Old House, Museum of Sa Huynh Culture, and Quang Thang Ancient House, to name a few. Some of these still have families living on the upper floor, but they are kind enough to open their doors for you to explore the ground sections, which have been turned into displays of old artifacts, books, and art.

You need a ticket to get into these homes, and this package ticket can be bought at every entrance to the Ancient Town. With each ticket, you are able to visit five places among the 21 sightseeing houses. It will cost you a small fee of 120,000 VND (5.27 USD).

Take your time wandering around aimlessly without a destination in mind. This way, you will come across unique alleyways and cafes that you can stop by for a refreshing cup of ca phe sua da, or “Vietnamese iced coffee.” Take a coin with you, and assign directions to each side. Flip it every time you come across a fork in the road. If you get lost, do not worry, most locals here speak a fair amount of English to be able to point you in the right direction. They are very welcoming so do not be afraid to approach them.

Hoi An will undoubtedly leave an imprint in your memory, with its gentle demeanor and poetic charm. It will be one of those places you will return to in the future that remains exactly the same as you remember it. It’s a place like no other in this world.

By Piumi Rajapaksha

World gathers in Vietnam to tackle climate change challenges

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One of the most significant global gatherings of the year on the environment, the assembly follows a record $4.1 billion replenishment by governments of the GEF’s trust fund.

Da Nang (Vietnam): World leaders and officials from over 100 nations, including India, top heads of UN agencies and multilateral financial institutions, scientists and activists gathered in this Vietnamese city on Sunday for the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Assembly to tackle global climate change challenges.

One of the most significant global gatherings of the year on the environment, the assembly, which will see high-level plenary sessions June 27-28, follows a record $4.1 billion replenishment by governments of the GEF’s trust fund and is testament to its growing influence in bringing about sustainable development around the world.

India, among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, is both a donor and a recipient of GEF, an international partnership of 183 countries.

GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii called the assembly, held every four years, “a unique opportunity to help make a safer, more secure and more liveable planet”.

“Business as usual will guarantee disaster; incremental change will not suffice. The only solution is transformational change. We need to transform food, urban and energy systems and move to a circular economy.

“We need to act swiftly and at scale — and that’s just what the GEF intends to do,” she said in a statement.

The plenary sessions, to be opened by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc address on June 27, will cover the state of the global environment, the ambition needed to help transform the systems that support how we live, how we eat, how we move and how we produce and consume, and how the implementation of GEF-7 (the new four-year investment cycle) can contribute to the necessary systems change.

Heads of island nations vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by melting ice, like the Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine and Guyana President David Granger, will speak at plenary sessions as will former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres.

Nearly 30 countries last month jointly pledged $4.1 billion to the GEF for its GEF-7 to better protect the future of the planet and human well-being.

India is among the largest recipients of climate change assistance.

GEF supports the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme to undertake capacity-building in a wide range of areas in India, including climate change adaptation, sustainable land and ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation and rural livelihoods.

India is one the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases after the US and China.

According to the UN Environment, with a population of 1.3 billion, growing at 1.2 per cent per year, India is a heavy hitter in the world of global emissions.

The energy sector accounts for some 71 per cent of India’s emissions, a fact the government is committed to changing through an aggressive roll out of energy efficiency programmes, including a plan to be the world’s first country to use light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, for all its lighting needs.

The UN Environment and partners are backing India’s green ambitions through Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy Efficiency, a GEF-supported project to boost the uptake of efficient lighting and other technologies.

Last November, the GEF announced $454 million funding to boost India’s efforts for energy-efficiency projects run by state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).

The GEF also supports the Indian government to create sustainable cities.

Bhopal city in Madhya Pradesh is an example where the GEF, together with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, invested in cleaning up and removing a 40-year-old toxic dumpsite, and with the World Bank, providing es solutions for sustainable transport.

“Countries like India, China and Brazil have hundreds of cities. If the knowledge of this global partnership can be adapted, disseminated and used by national and local governments, then a lot of influence will move from 20 cities to hundred of cities in the world,” World Bank Group Senior Director Ede Jorge said in a video message.

GEF’s Sustainable Cities Programme is investing $151.6 million in grants and $2.4 billion in co-financing over five years, initially engaging 28 cities in 11 developing countries.

Apart from three high-level plenary sessions in the GEF Assembly, there will be roundtable discussions, among others, on food, land use and restoration, sustainable cities, the blue economy, partnerships for implementing the 2030 agenda, marine plastics and sustainable landscapes in the Amazon and Congo basins.

The assembly will also see the participation of business leaders such as Unilever CEO Paul Polman and Olam International Co-Founder and Group CEO Sunny Verghese.

Among the participants are Johan RockstrAm, Executive Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre; Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Intitute; Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute; Rosa Lemos de SAi, CEO, Funbio; and Carter Roberts, President, WWF-US.

GEF, established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle planet’s most pressing environmental problems, has provided $17.9 billion in grants and mobilised an additional $93.2 billion in financing for more than 4,500 projects in 170 countries.

Source: EconomicTimes

Soft drinks set to give Vietnam very hard time

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WHO rings alarm bells, saying skyrocketing consumption can trigger obesity epidemic and attendant health risks.

Vietnam has been put on high alert over its consumption of sugary drinks, which has skyrocketed over the last 15 years, experts said at a conference on Friday.

They based their warnings on results of a global survey done by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Truong Tuyet Mai, deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that Vietnamese people are forecast to consume over 5 billion liters of sweetened drinks in 2018, a surge of almost nine times against the year 2000, and the figure is estimated to reach 11 billion by 2025.

In 2016, sugary drinks sales in Vietnam reached four billion of liters, according to a survey by British market researcher Euromonitor International, which found instant tea and soft drinks were the best-selling beverages.

The survey also found that the sweetened beverage market has been rising fast in Vietnam, with an annual growth rate of 9.2 percent.

“Soft drinks are a top pick by adults and children but the fact is that sweetened beverages are the culprit behind rising obesity, which is linked to many health risks like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and stroke,” said Truong Dinh Bac, deputy head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.

A recent survey on students’ health conducted by WHO found 31 percent of Vietnamese students had consumed soft drinks in the previous month, which it said was an alarming rate of consumption, raising health concerns for future Vietnamese generation.

In Vietnam, the rate of overweight and obese people has been increasing rapidly of late, with 25 percent of Vietnamese adults falling in that category at present.

Health officials in the country’s largest city Ho Chi Minh say the obesity rate among its school-age children hit 19 percent in 2016. Obesity levels are increasing at a faster rate in downtown areas, where average incomes and living standards are higher, the department found.

The proportion of obese Vietnamese children aged 2 to 19 has risen to 6.8 percent, according to another study by the University of Washington released last June.

The Vietnamese government has prohibited the sale of soft drinks in all school canteens across Vietnam.

A new directive from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also bans advertisements of sweetened beverages and other “unhealthy products” in schools.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance proposed levying a special consumption tax rate of 10 or 20 percent on sweetened beverages by 2019, saying it was needed to tackle obesity and related illnesses. Business insiders have voiced objection, saying the tax would hurt companies in the field.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement that imposing a special consumption tax on soft drinks because they contain sugar is not a convincing enough reason.

By Nam Phuong

Source: VnExpress

Discontent lurks in Vietnam despite economic success

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Vietnam boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, optimistic citizens and a stable government. But below the surface of positive data points lies discontent that spilled over during recent protests across the country.

On June 17, hundreds of anti-riot police blanketed central Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s thriving commercial center, to prevent demonstrations after thousands of Vietnamese took to the streets across the nation the previous week. They were marching against proposed special economic zones with 99-year land leases they fear will lead to Chinese encroachment, as well as cybersecurity legislation they believe will curb online freedoms.

“There’s an overall frustration in society,” said Alexander Vuving, a political analyst at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. “During the 10 years since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization, they have seen progress in terms of wealth creation. At the same time, people have seen a lot of corruption scandals. And Vietnamese are very suspicious of Chinese influence.”

Vietnam’s one-party system is governed by a collective leadership involving the Communist Party general secretary and ministers. Activists and bloggers who challenge the legitimacy of the party and government can be jailed — there are currently 169 activists in prison, according to Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who has held hearings on Vietnam.

In the south-central province of Binh Thuan, police are prosecuting eight people on charges of causing public disorder, the government-owned Vietnam News reported today. The province experienced demonstrations on June 10-11, when vehicles were set ablaze, government buildings damaged and 45 police officers injured, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

To be sure, citizens have benefited greatly by the communist government’s aggressive moves to open the economy up to the world.

Vietnam has averaged economic growth of 6.3 percent between 2005 and 2017, multiplying its per capital income six-fold to $2,385 last year from $396 in 2000, according to data from General Statistics Office in Hanoi. The economy grew 7.38 percent in the first quarter and the World Bank revised its forecast on Vietnam’s 2018 economic growth to 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent. The booming economy is being driven by investments from foreign companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics and Nestle SA that have made the country a manufacturing powerhouse.

Still, a level of distrust of the government exists among average citizens, whose concerns are amplified on social media.

One flashpoint is the nation’s fraught relations with its powerful neighbor, China, with which it fought a brief border war in 1979. A Pew opinion poll released last year found just 10 percent of Vietnamese view China favorably. Territorial tensions have picked up between Vietnam and China since China dragged an exploration oil rig into contested waters in mid-2014. The move led to deadly anti-China protests in Vietnam and clashes at sea between coast guard boats.

“Anti-China sentiment is toxic in Vietnam,” said Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

Thousands of protesters, fearing a proposed law on special economic zones would allow Chinese to gain influence over the nation with 99-year leases, demonstrated from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on June 10. In all, about 300 people were detained, including U.S. citizen Will Nguyen, who was accused of causing public disorder, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said at a Hanoi news briefing Thursday.

Vietnamese are also inflamed about a cybersecurity law approved by the National Assembly last week that requires companies such as Facebook and Google to store data of local users within the country. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, also bans internet users from organizing, encouraging or training other people for anti-state purposes, spreading false information, creating difficulties for authorities and damaging socioeconomic activity.

Unlike previous protests such as those in 2016 against an environmental disaster tied to Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Corp., the recent demonstrations involved more ordinary citizens and fewer well-known activists, Vuving said.

An undercurrent of anger is swelling among average Vietnamese because of “massive corruption and extreme lack of transparency in provincial governments,” said Le Dang Doanh, a Hanoi-based economist and former government adviser. “It’s very important that the government talk more to people to relieve problems before they become big issues among citizens.”

For now, the discontentment won’t deter investors in Vietnam, which depends on foreign investment for growth, said Bernard Lapointe, Ho Chi Minh City-based head of research at Viet Dragon Securities. “The biggest risk for Vietnam, in case of an escalation of social discontent, would be a drop in FDI.”

Political leaders are working to tamp down the anger. The National Assembly postponed voting on the special economic zones legislation until later this year and removed the 99-year lease provision.

Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong called on citizens to trust the party’s leaders and remain calm, according to a statement posted on the government’s website Monday. The party, he added, “has no other purpose other than being for the country and for its people.”

By Bloomberg’s Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen, Nguyen Kieu Giang and Nguyen Xuan Quynh contributed.

Vietnam becomes connected

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Is Vietnam at a crossroads between cyber security and right to privacy?

According to a Financial Times article, Vietnam cyber security law is set to restrict Facebook and Google in their nation. Unfortunately, the obvious outcome is that this new cyber security law stands to hurt investors’ confidence and stunt the growth of Vietnam’s digital economy.

What’s more concerning is that the regulation will require Vietnamese data to be stored within the country and allow the government full access as part of their security measures.

Same story, different times

First of all, in the US, there has been a much more robust government surveillance system in place under its Patriot Act, in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attack and the anthrax attack. The internet and Big Data-related businesses expanded, while the general masses in the US lived under their government’s active and heavy-handed surveillance.

Vietnam is an independent country and its legislatures have the right to get a better understanding of their citizen’s data in order to protect their national interests. So, what is the issue then?

It is an issue because, in this case, if any party gets to have possession over a citizen’s data it would be Vietnam’s government. If the government missuses that data against their own people, it would be their responsibility to make amends and follow the democratic process.

And rest assured, it won’t be Facebook or Google who have to face the consequences.

It is shocking that while we are in the process of discovering to what extent Facebook user data was used to manipulate the US elections back in 2016, a reputed news network (Financial Times) is taking a stance against the Vietnam government, who is simply exercising its right to protect their citizens from any possible manipulation.

Europe has an extensive cyber security policy — and both Facebook and Google are currently negotiating with the EU to settle the damage they have dealt. If Vietnam wants to offer a similar cyber security certification scheme as the EU has, the country must first make sure that user data is secure.

Follow the law

Currently, multi-national tech companies such as Facebook and Google have begun operating in Vietnam from regional hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong, possibly storing their data in places unknown to users and to Vietnam’s regulators.

The new regulation will require these companies, who will continue to operate in Vietnam, to open offices in Vietnam and abide by the laws of the land (including storing data in their soil and to hand over any required access to government authorities).

In my opinion, this will bring more jobs to Vietnam and stronger commitment from investors which would help stabilize growth for the country. A couple of the biggest challenges which warm-weather countries face in terms of data storage is the high ambient temperatures and comparatively low electricity supply — two factors which greatly hinder the establishment of cloud storage facilities.

To that end, recently, Microsoft found a possible solution to that problem by moving its cloud servers underwater.

Vietnam, and other countries in a similar situation, could now consider such solutions for server placement and allow home-grown internet businesses to flourish more autonomously. I welcome this new regulation which I believe will actually render additional businesses and services free from possible manipulation.

By Mazher Mir

Source: DhakaTribune

Vietnam approves IPO plan for shipping major Vinalines

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Moving ahead with its privatisation exercise, the Vietnamese government has approved the sale of 35 per cent stake in Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) at a starting price of VND10,000 ($0.4) apiece in its initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to be conducted in September. Deal Street Asia reports.

Vinalines’ charter capital is estimated at approximately VND14 trillion ($616.7 million). As per the plan, over 280 million shares, equivalent to 20 per cent stake, in Vinalines will be offered for sale in Hanoi Stock Exchange. And, 207 million shares, or 14.8 per cent stake, will be sold to strategic investors. The remaining shares will be sold to employees of the company, according to the plan approved by the government.

Following the sale, the government will retain a 65 per cent stake in the firm. At the price of VND10,000 ($0.4) apiece, the state is expected to earn approximately VND4 trillion ($176.2 million) from the sale.

In a parallel development, SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest multilateral business conglomerate, has expressed interest in the upcoming equitisation of Vinalines and hopes to come in as a strategic investor in the company.

Earlier, Vinalines’ acting CEO Nguyen Canh Tinh had said the shipping carrier had not received any interest from investors although it had actively negotiated with Rent A Port, Deep C, and others for a possible alliance. “Most strategic investors want to own higher rates (49-51 per cent) to gain dominance,” he had told local media.

Vinalines’ 2017 revenue was estimated at VND16 trillion ($702.4 million), exceeding the annual target by 15 per cent. While its profit was VND515 billion ($22.6 million) and total assets stood at over VND18 trillion ($790 million). It is targeting a consolidated profit of $75.8 million on a revenue of $757.7 million by 2020.

By Quynh Nguyen

I graduated! About my asian parents, background and our chances

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Yesterday was Graduation Day for me! And on that occasion, I wrote my parents and thanked them for everything they did for me. You can’t imagine the sacrifices they made, the love and support they give me to grow into the person I am and will be. I feel like most children of Asian immigrants around the world can agree with me that Asian parents are so hardworking and giving and selfless, just so they can give their children a better future.

I studied at Copenhagen Business School, the prestige university for the “rich kids” – at least that’s the reputation around here. And there is always a bit of truth and a reason for a certain image. Understandingly when I first started, my parents feared I would have difficulties to keep up at that university and have disadvantages. That thought came because my family couldn’t just buy me an apartment here and they have no connections to get me a student job or internships. They would love to give me all these things but we come from a different background. And they wanted to support me financially at least, but I said no because they raised me and my two younger siblings to be independent and hardworking, so I financed every cent for my life here and for my travels myself and I graduated with an average B-, which is good enough for me and my future studies.

My parents and me on the day I defended my Bachelor

Yes, to be honest, a lot of fellow students had it easier and got an internship or job because their parent or other relatives knew people or worked there themselves and could help them. They had it easier but it doesn’t mean I felt without a chance. I just had other chances and I made my peace that I have to work with these odds, and not against them. Of course, somedays it was killing my spirit, to receive no response to all the applications or to stress because I couldn’t find an apartment. It had its tough moments and I would lie if I didn’t envy some of my friends, whose parents could support them with their connections and status.

My parents came to Germany in the 1990s, crossing the border illegally in the back of a truck. I am always very proud of the fact that my mom and dad changed their odds and managed to set up a great life for us all in Germany. They grew up after the Vietnam War and during the civil war. In their teenage years, my mom and dad each on their own, went to Europe and then immigrated to Northern Germany after the wall in Berlin fell. My parents actually met in Germany, fell in love, had me and my brother and fought in order to stay in Germany indefinitely. And in 2000 we were allowed to – it’s a really sweet and typical immigrant story. As long as I can remember, my parents would work hard and try to find ways to start their own business, you know, having a restaurant or a shop, Asian immigrant style – in order for us to have a good life in Germany. A good middle-class life. And for some, that’s not good enough but for me, it is the most inspiring and empowering story. My parents grew up in the war-stricken country and managed to give their children, my two younger siblings and me, a completely different life. I didn’t feel like lacking anything, even though I knew we have a different background and sometimes I have to fight harder to get the same chances as others.

Which is actually one of the reasons I started this blog and my social media channels. One person asked me in a Facebook group where I shared my article, why I keep posting it in all these groups and if I am that desperate for attention. I thought about this statement for some time, not just to reflect on myself but also to find a way to explain it in a way, that is understandable. I realized that for me, in order to create my own network and connections, I have to invest and market the one thing I can always count on: myself.

I started to blog because I couldn’t find a proper student job 3 years ago, and only babysitting didn’t add value to my CV. So after months of applying for corporate student jobs here in Copenhagen and getting rejected or no answer at all, I decided to start a platform where people get to know me and where I help people to get started with their lives in Denmark. With this, I will reach out to people I might never have the chance to introduce myself to. Even if they just read my articles for a minute or two, I get the chance to make an impression right? And on the other side, I keep updating my blog and write down things I learned and my experiences, to help others and to connect with like-minded people. I guess if you are still reading, you can probably relate to living abroad, or the Asian parents situation and actually have a similar heritage yourself or you can relate to something else that I wrote about.

Anyway, two of the student jobs I have now, I got because my bosses were following my posts and channels. Some of my friends I have, I “met” them through Social Media. I have a very good friend named Anna, who was planning to move to Copenhagen two years ago, and then she bumped into my content. A month ago, a German-Vietnamese girl, named Mai, texted me that we just have the same background and interests and she felt understood by the feelings I expressed in my blog posts about cultural differences. Mai and I have been hanging out a lot since our first meeting and I am glad I got to meet her through my blog. Both Anna and Mai were waiting for me with flowers and champagne at my Bachelor defense, with my family from Germany. For me, friends are the family you find when living abroad.

The day Gul-Mina and I defended our Bachelor, our friends came to celebrate with us

That is why, some influencers, like me, entrepreneurs, artists or freelancers, etc, are sharing their thoughts and content in groups and it seems like a “cry for attention” and in a way it is – it is a chance to reach out to people to create our own network and build our own thing. Because some of us come from a background where our family doesn’t have connections or high positioned jobs to hook us up with a job and help us out otherwise. It’s great for me to get in touch with people; in Beijing and Taipei, where I will be living soon, in Shanghai where I plan to do an internship next summer, in Hanoi and HCMC where some family member live and where I have my roots and in Copenhagen of course, because that was my base the past years. We have to find a way to build that ourselves and Social Media is a great way for it. Also, it doesn’t hurt anyone and you meet the nicest and most helpful and inspiring people on it if you look closer

As for me now, I have the German citizenship since I am 19 years old, I love spending my free time blogging, I just graduated from one of the best business schools in the world and I will study my double degree Master in Beijing soon, spending several months in Taipei during my breaks.

I am so excited for my next years in China and Taiwan and thanks to my hardworking and loving parents, my life is in my own hands. They taught me that no one owes you anything – and only I myself can work hard enough to change your life. Their values taught me that with hard work and no sense of entitlement, I can go anywhere in the world if I wanted to, do anything if I wanted to and become the best version of myself if I won’t give up working on it. There are some factors you have no control about, but there are many things you can influence. I am excited for what comes next.

Thank you so much for reading! Do you have a similar story and want to share them? Please get in touch with me because I want to open a section in my blog for guest post about Third-Culture Kids, living abroad or growing up with Asian roots in a different culture. When I posted about the feeling of being split and lost in between cultures, Real-Talk: Dating, feeling lost and feeling home; The Third Culture Kid, I got over hundreds of messages with personal stories, which made me realized that we are not alone with our feelings and its worth sharing. So please hit me up if you want to share a story!

Lots of love, Tuni

By Tuni, Source: Metropolife

Floods and landslides kill 7, leave 12 missing in Vietnam

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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 7 people and left 12 others missing in northern Vietnam.

In the worst hit province of Lai Chau, 5 people were killed and authorities have been mobilizing forces to search for the 12 missing, the provincial government said in a statement Monday.

The Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that two people were killed in neighboring Ha Giang province when their house collapsed. Landslides have interrupted traffic in some areas, it added.

Heavy rains are forecast to continue in the region for the next two days.

Floods and storms kill hundreds each year in the Southeast Asian country and cause millions of dollars in damages.