Modern technology remains a challenge for Vietnamese authorities in managing currency security as recently the northern province of Quang Ninh discovered illegal money transferring activities via Chinese points of sale (POS) installed in a local store.
Most recently, the inspectors of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Quang Ninh branch detected a local store using illegal POS equipment to transfer VND700 million ($30,837) to China without any Vietnamese intermediate banks. Chinese tourists used their domestic bank cards or e-wallets such as Alipay and WeChat Pay to pay.
These POS devices directly connecting to AliPay, WeChat Pay, and Chinese banks are released by some Chinese banks, but have been illegally installed in Vietnam. Thanks to these technologies, these stores could be used as bases for money laundering and other illegal activities.
Not only in Quang Ninh but also in other popular tourist destinations, including Nha Trang (the central province of Khanh Hoa) and the central city of Danang, many stores and private hotels accept payment via WeChat Pay and AliPay under illegal forms.
Alipay signs with Napas to take on Vietnam
In November last year, Alibaba Group signed with the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) to supply financial services, which allows Chinese arrivals to pay via the Alibaba application at many stores in Vietnam. Afterwards, Vi Mo Technology JSC’s e-wallet VIMO announced becoming the first intermediate payment unit allowing Chinese tourists to pay in VND via the WeChat Pay application.
Loss of tax income
When first entering Vietnam, the representatives of Alipay and WeChat Pay promised to boost Chinese tourists’ spending potential, creating a huge income from these arrivals.
However, in fact, representatives of many tourism companies revealed that many Chinese tours to Vietnam are free of charge and have minimum accommodation expenses.
Arrivals in these tours are only allowed to do shopping and sightseeing at attractions and shopping destinations appointed by their tourism companies.
“These shopping destinations are owned by Chinese people living in Vietnam and previously got in touch with tourism companies organising these tours. Therefore, despite the fact that Chinese visitors do increasing their spending, the revenue does not go to Vietnamese companies, but Chinese companies,” said Tran Anh Tuan, director of Tuan Anh Tourism Company.
Furthermore, stores and shopping destinations sneakily receiving payments in Chinese currency via AliPay and WechatPay lead to the sales revenue being transferred to China without paying tax and evading the supervision of Vietnamese authorities.
Threatening currency security
Many financial experts warned that the illegal payment method is quite common and affect the country’s currency security. This is a kind of on-the-spot export, but does not get money for Vietnam.
According to Nguyen Thanh Ha, lawyer of SB Law, the payments violate the regulations of foreign exchange management and causes losses in tax income.
Currently, the Quang Ninh People’s Committee and local authorities are jointly investigating illegal money transfers to China from many stores in Halong city and Mong Cai gateway, which are popular among Chinese visitors.
In addition, the committee also said that local authorities will intensify supervision at local stores and require the stores to stick labels claiming “no payment via illegal POS devices.”
However, the question remains: how many illegal POS devices and illegal points of sale using AliPay and WeChat Pay are left? Clearly, illegal payments eat into the incomes of domestic e-wallets and intermediate banks.
Heavy rains cause flooding on Thanh Loan Road in District 8, HCM City on Sunday. Flood prevention in the city remains a difficult challenge. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuấn
HCM CITY — Flood prevention works in HCM City between 2016 and 2020 are estimated to cost more than VNĐ96.3 trillion (US$4.2 billion), according to its Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme.
At a meeting held to review the programme’s implementation on May 18, Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Dũng, the centre’s deputy director, said the amount included VNĐ21.9 trillion ($960.5 billion) from the private sector.
The flood prevention projects include construction of three irrigation reservoirs, upgrades to the storm drain system and the Xuyên Tâm Canal, and construction of seven wastewater treatment plants.
Two and a half years after starting the programme the centre has achieved the goal of preventing flooding in the city’s 550sq.km central area and five neighbouring areas, according to Dũng.
This year seven more main streets and 445 alleys will become flooding-free.
River tides too flood many streets, but four have now put this problem behind them.
Many of the projects in the programme had been delayed due to shortage of funds, and the People’s Committee should seek financing from the private sector and official development assistance, Dũng said.
It should instruct relevant agencies to take severe action against encroachment of drains and illegal filling of canals, he said.
Canals and channels should be regularly dredged, he said.
Nguyễn Thành Phong, Chairman of the city People’s Committee, called on relevant agencies and districts to co-ordinate with the centre for flood prevention.
Urban management and co-ordination were “limited”, leading to low effectiveness of flood-prevention efforts, he said.
The centre should earmark more spaces for water storage and do further research into water drainage, he said.
There were many reasons for flooding, including tides, heavy rains, failure to dredge canals and channels, and others, he said.
So many different measures were required and applied simultaneously to resolve the problem, he added.— VNS
The Cai Lậy BOT toll station in the Mekong Delta province of Tiền Giang is scheduled to re-open in June after operation was suspended for over six months.
The toll station is shut after drivers’ protests against the toll booth’s high fees and inappropriate location.
Fees ranged from VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) to VNĐ180,000 ($7.8), depending on the type of vehicle. The toll station is located on National Highway No 1, but it is meant to collect fees for use of a 12km bypass of Cai Lậy Town. Thanks to the station’s location, drivers who had only travelled on the highway, not the bypass, still had to pay.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Nhật said the ministry would work with the local administration to determine a solution regarding the fee for each type of vehicle running through the toll station next week.
Previously, the ministry submitted five options to the Government to fix the situation. Three options called for the Government to buy the toll the station from investors; these were rejected because the State budget is currently limited.
Thus, the ministry and the local administration will consider the other two options and select the more suitable one next week, Nhật said.
One of the two options is that the toll station will be maintained. The toll fee for a four-seat car would be reduced from VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) to VNĐ15,000 ($0.7). The other is to place a sub-station in the bypass and collect fees at both stations.
The Government initially approved the ministry’s options but it asked the transport ministry to work with relevant agencies to decide on the final option.
Staff at the transport ministry regard the first option as the more suitable one. — VNS
The non-cash payment service market, a lucrative one in Vietnam, is mostly under control of foreign service providers.
Under a government program on stimulating non-cash payment, revenue from cash payments would reduce to 10 percent by 2020.
The increase in e-wallets and smartphone-based payment methods coupled with the decreased payment service fee has attracted more users in recent years.
This explains why the value of transactions via e-wallets, which was $5 billion in 2009, jumped to VND53.109 trillion in 2016.
Grab some days ago announced the launch of GrabPay Credits, a payment tool for taxi services.
Passengers will enjoy a discount of VND30,000 per taxi trip. The app-based taxi firm has joined the payment market, targeting people who still don’t have accounts or cannot approach bank services, such as drivers and small businesses.
Contactless payment, or wave-to-pay methods, have also been developing rapidly in Vietnam. Samsung now offers Samsung Pay service to some high-end smartphone series. Users can make payments for goods and services with their smartphones instead of cards.
MoMo, a big player in the e-wallet market, has offered preferences to clients who pay for railway tickets, insurance policies and shopping. Those who remit money from Vietcombank to MoMo wallet, for example, would receive VND200,000 immediately.
On Tet days, Zalo Pay wallet of VNG and Appota ran New Year Gift programs, giving money gifts via e-wallets instead of cash.
Contactless payment, or wave-to-pay methods, have also been developing rapidly in Vietnam. Samsung now offers Samsung Pay service to some high-end smartphone series. Users can make payments for goods and services with their smartphones instead of cards.
Ngo Trung Linh, CEO of Cong Dong Viet, which owns Payoo wallet, commented that in the past, making payments with cards at Point of Sales was considered a breakthrough in payment technology, but QR Code will be used more in the future.
Since QR Code can help significantly reduce the cost for payment infrastructure, it is expected to develop rapidly.
To date, 27 businesses have been licensed to provide payment services, including well-known services such as Payoo, MoMo, BankPlus, 1Pay, M-Pay, Vimo, BaoKim, ZaloPay, Ngan luong and Mobivi.
Analysts have noted the increased presence of foreign invested payment service providers. Most licensed payment companies in Vietnam have foreign capital. M_Service, which owns MoMo wallet, for example, in 2016 received a $28 million investment from Standard Chartered Private Equity and Goldman Sachs.
VNPT Epay has 65 percent of stockholder equity belonging to a South Korean investment fund.
NTT Data from Japan has acquired 64 percent of shares of Payoo, the South East Asia’s biggest e-payment firm, and MOL Global from Malaysia has bought 50 percent of shares of Ngan Luong.
Meanwhile, 90 percent of shares of 1Pay have been acquired by TrueMoney from Thailand. It has also received investments from Alibaba of China.
Police officers arrive at the daycare facility in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on May 21, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A Vietnamese woman has been caught on camera physically abusing young children at a childcare center run by herself in the central city of Da Nang.
A video clip and several photos depicting the violence at a daycare facility on Thai Thi Boi Street in Chinh Gian Ward, Thanh Khe District were posted on social media on Monday morning, infuriating many viewers.
In the 22-second footage, the woman is seen feeding a young boy who was lying shirtless on the floor.
She started hitting the kid on his face as he refused to eat.
In one of the photos, the same woman is pictured grabbing a child by his face and lifting him up.
The Office of Education and Training in Thanh Khe District has carried out an inspection of the center on the same morning.
The facility was then shut down, and the young children were returned to their parents.
Police officers are collecting statements from those involved.
The center is owned by Dinh Thi Hong, 46, vice-chairman of the Chinh Gian People’s Committee Ngo Chinh Cong said.
According to the official, Hong admitted she was the woman in the video clip and photos, adding that the incident occurred in mid-April.
The violence was filmed by one attendant of the daycare, who later quit her job, he added.
The center has a legitimate license, Cong continued, adding that the most recent inspection of the facility was conducted earlier this year.
A woman at a daycare center in Da Nang lifts a child by grabbing his head in this photo uploaded to social media.
Vietnam is addicted to coal. Its economy has grown over 6%, on average, since the turn of the century, among the fastest of its Southeast Asian peers, yet that growth is fueled by coal, the most polluting fuel source on the planet.
This April, however, the decarbonization movement was given a boost of international recognition, as the esteemed Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots advocacy was awarded to the first Vietnamese recipient, 42-year-old clean energy champion Nguy Thi Khanh, who hopes to end Vietnam’s reliance on coal and persuade the country to take a greener approach.
Built on coal
With a population a tad larger than Germany’s, Vietnam is in transition to realizing its centrally-planned government’s ambition for almost half of GDP to come from the high tech sector. Its top exports are broadcasting equipment, integrated circuits and computers. To power that transition, electricity demand and supply has grown over 12% a year in the last two decades; more recent growth (2010-16) has been in the 11% range, which illustrates the energy-intensity of GDP growth.
The government’s revised power development plan calls for demand growth for electricity to 2030 to continue in the high single-digit range. Coal is a critical fuel source, and one of the largest contributors to global warming. Vietnam’s per capita carbon emissions quintupled from 1990 to 2013. Global warming is a major threat to Vietnam, where rising sea levels are predicted to swallow up nearly half of the Mekong Delta, the source of much of Vietnam’s food, in coming decades.
Vietnam’s Planned Coal-Fired Plant Additions, 2016 – 2030 under the current plan
Vietnam and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, along with China and India, are ground zero for decarbonization because most of the world’s new coal plants are being built there. According to the government’s current national plan, electricity generated from coal will rise five-fold between now and 2030, and GHG emissions will rise markedly. This is at odds with Vietnam’s national pledge to the Paris climate accord, which targets 8% emissions reduction by 2030, which they say could rise as high as a 25% reduction with international support, such as financing for renewable energy.
Coal-fired plants in Vietnam contribute to more premature deaths annually than in any other country in Asia, save Indonesia, a Harvard study found. Air quality in big cities is as bad as that of Beijing’s. In 2017, the city of Hanoi enjoyed just 37 days of clean air the entire year, with contaminant levels four times those deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization . Forty percent of rice production is at risk from sea level rise, according to Vietnam’s climate accord pledge, which highlights the vulnerability of the Mekong Delta and major cities.
There is a growing groundswell of popular opinion in Vietnam against new coal plants like the giant Long An Power Center near Ho Chi Minh City. It is being reported, even by the heavily-censored Vietnamese press.
Changing attitudes
When last month the esteemed Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to 42-year-old clean energy champion Nguy Thi Khanh, the first Vietnamese recipient of this prestigious prize, international recognition was brought to both her and her cause.
She and two others founded Vietnam’s Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), an NGO focused on demonstrating the viability of sustainable energy solutions for Vietnam, in 2011. The prize, awarded to recipients on six continents, will bring significant exposure and financial support to the work that Ms. Khanh and GreenID, in combination with 11 other NGOs under the banner Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance, are doing to lessen coal’s share in the overall power mix.
Nguy Thi Khanh at the Goldman Prize awards ceremony
Ms. Khanh experienced the devastating effects of coal emissions firsthand, growing up in the rural village of Bac Am, where a coal plant fouled the air, and residents developed cancer at alarmingly high rates. Among her accomplishments, Ms. Khanh is noted for having stepped forward after several massive coal-related disasters, organizing community response, and going on television to bring the facts to light.
The Goldman Prize press materials highlight Ms. Khanh’s use of science-based arguments to show “how expensive and risky coal was as a primary source of fuel.” Recommendations stemming from reports she and GreenID produced led to Vietnam revising its Power Development Plan (currently in effect) to include more than twice as much renewable energy capacity as a proportion of total installed energy capacity in 2030 than originally planned (from 9.4% to 21%) and revising down its share of coal-fired capacity by 9%, from 52% to 43%. Coal’s share of the energy mix is currently 33%. Hydropower’s share is 38% and will fall to 17% by 2030 under the current plan.
Vietnam’s percentage share of electricity generating capacity by fuel type under the current plan
Forward thinking
Vietnam leads ASEAN in hydropower, generating 45% of all hydropower energy in the region, though as a power source, Ms. Khanh and other experts agree it is largely tapped out. Existing projects have serious ecological costs, and dams upstream in China, Laos and Cambodia threaten biodiversity in the Mekong River Delta region.
Despite considerable progress, Ms. Khanh and her group continue to push ahead. To make the case for more renewables in a yet-to-be-released 2020 government plan, she uses scenario analysis to demonstrate that under a business-as-usual scenario, Vietnam’s carbon emissions will rise about 8% a year by 2030. In a scenario in which current renewable energy prices and the negative health effects of coal are priced in, GreenID shows that investing in renewable energy is actually more cost-effective than coal, and emissions in this scenario are far lower.
In her acceptance speech for the Prize, wearing a red silk áo dài, or traditional Vietnamese tunic, Ms. Khanh took the podium to remind the world that “Vietnam’s energy future is at a crossroads,” and that “every decision and every dollar invested today will be felt in Vietnam and in our Earth’s climate for decades to come,” and that Vietnam had the choice to move away from over-reliance on coal and large hydropower. She implored banks and others to be mindful of the impact of their lending. “Our movement calls on international governments and corporations to stop investing in financing coal in Vietnam and help us move away from a high carbon future,” she said, stressing that there were many profitable opportunities to finance renewable energy in Vietnam.
Ms. Khanh, checking on a water project in Hanoi
I was fortunate, through the Goldman Environmental Prize, to send Ms. Khahn some questions. Among others, I asked her what advice she had for environmental advocates in the U.S., frustrated by President Trump’s pro-coal stance and pullout from the Paris accord. “The future of society and nations cannot be decided by only one person like Mr. Trump,” she said. “Building consensus is important everywhere and for all nations. As citizens of the Earth, we need to continue to use science-based evidence and legislation and any potential avenues to shout our voice, and to build strong alliances among different stakeholders to convince our leaders, and take action before it is too late.”
One of the first things a newcomer to Vietnam will notice is the number of police officers around the country. They’re dressed in various colors ranging from blue, tan to green with various kinds of headgear, badges and epaulettes dealing with issues from traffic flow management to work-permit registration to riot control situations so it is normal to get confused trying to understand who they are and what they specialize in.
Here are the three most common police forces in Vietnam that you might encounter, how you can tell them apart and what exactly they do. CityPassGuide reported
Let’s start with the most visible one.
Traffic Police
Whether you’re riding a bike whizzing around a busy roundabout or sitting comfortably in a taxi with bikes darting past you, you may have noticed an officer or two in tan uniforms wearing similarly colored helmets labelled ‘CGST’ directing the flow of traffic. These are the traffic police who are under the jurisdiction of both the People’s Public Security Force and the Ministry of Transport.
Vietnamese traffic police working on the street | Image source: Lai Van Sam
They deal exclusively in matters pertaining to traffic safety, which include traffic law enforcement and facilitating traffic flow.
Do take note that all traffic police officers are required to display their blue ID cards on their chest, which contains information such as their name, rank, department and police identification number. This allows the public to know who they are and, should the need arise, to provide feedback to a higher authority.
Working condition of Vietnamese police | Image source: Lai Van Sam
Working condition of Vietnamese police | Image source: Lai Van Sam
Vietnamese traffic police working on the street | Image source: Lai Van Sam
Public Security Force
The second most common force you will encounter is the Public Security Force officers, who wear a distinct pine-green uniform which includes a green and red cap. This force is the biggest of the three, manpower-wise, and deals directly with the population in various administrative levels structured in a “ward-district-city” hierarchy system with the ward-level being the lowest and the most easily-accessible precinct for residents and the district and city-level precincts for more complicated cases within their respective jurisdictions.
Image source: Internet
They deal with the various aspects of civilian life from household and transportation registrations to criminal background checks to work-permit licensing. Their job also includes dealing with complaints, warnings and crime reports from citizens, and they also have the authority to handle civil and penal prosecution.
For foreigners living in Vietnam who are required to register their residency, this is the force that handles your registration. They are generally friendly and helpful, and it would be a good idea to get to know them better, especially if you’re living in an area with few foreigners or if you’re just generally feeling unsafe at some point.
Image source: Internet
Mobile Police Force
Also known as the “Canh Sat Co Dong” or “CSCD”, they are a new addition to Vietnam’s police force, created due to an initiative by the authorities in response to rising crime levels and a rising threat of terrorism. They are also the most intimidating-looking force with their all-black uniforms, CSCD helmets, bullet-proof body amour, riot shields and ubiquitous assault rifles.
Image source: baomoi.com
While under the jurisdiction of the People’s Public Security Force, their operating procedures are slightly similar to the army’s. Operating in a militaristic structure, you won’t see them patrolling the streets. And unlike the Public Security Force officers, they specialise in planned missions against organised crime and time-sensitive cases like the kidnapping of public officials and terrorist attacks.
The CSCD is the only force that has the authority to perform spot-checks for contraband or dangerous items on individuals and their property without a warrant, and they are allowed to use lethal force if necessary. Do comply with them if you ever encounter them.
The Others
The less common forces which you may also encounter are youth volunteers, who are dressed in dark green uniforms with green ball caps and who generally aid in marshalling duties for vehicular and human traffic.
Private security forces, who usually wear light blue shirts and dark pants with black ball caps, guard buildings and shops. Traffic inspectors wear blue shirts with a black peaked cap and look out for parking and vehicular violations.
The Vietnamese government is targeting to raise VND80 billion ($3.52 million) by divesting the tourism service arm of state-owned energy giant PetroVietnam.
The divestment exercise, scheduled for May 24, will involve the auction of 7.1 million shares, equivalent to 11.9 per cent stake of the National Oil Services JSC Vietnam Limited (OSCVN), a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, at a starting price of VND10,800 ($0.4) apiece.
If the auction is successful, the state hopes to earn nearly VND80 billion ($3.52 million) and will no longer be a shareholder of OSCVN.
OSCVN, which has a charter capital of VND600 billion ($26.4 million), conducted its initial public offering (IPO) in 2015. It is now also owned by three other major shareholders, of which Vietnamese golf services firm BRG Group holds 67.85 per cent stake, Hoan Kiem Trading and Tourism Co 9.5 per cent stake and Thanh Cong Investment Construction and Trading JSC 6.7 per cent.
Founded in 1997, OSCVN engages in tourism, oil services, and real estate businesses in Vietnam. It operates approximately 10 two-four star hotels with various facilities. The PetroVietnam’s travel arm currently manages a number of gold plots in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and runs two travel agencies, OSC Vietnam Travel and OSC First Holidays.
From early this year, PetroVietnam has completed the equitization of Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd (BSR), PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), and PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil).
It will prepare equitization plan of PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation after 2020 and merge PetroVietnam University (PVU) and Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) into Vietnam Petroleum Academy in 2020.
Between 2021 and 2025, the group will push forward with equitization and divestment. It will maintain more than 50 per cent of stake in the three following firms – PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), Vietsovpetro and PetroVietnam Gas JSC (PV Gas) while reduce its stakes to less than 50 per cent in other 12 subsidiaries.
Manchester City has continued its long-term commitment to community in Vietnam, by delivering Young Leader training for the third time as part of the Club’s Cityzens Giving initiative.
In partnership with SHB, coaches from Manchester City’s foundation, City in the Community, welcomed 40 local youngsters from SOS Children’s Villages in Thanh Hoa, Vinh and Hanoi to the four-day training programme.
Using classroom and on-the-pitch workshops, participants developed their leadership and life building skills, whilst gaining an understanding of practical planning and how football can be used as a tool to positively impact social issues.
On the final day of the course leaders put their newly found skills into practice as they were tasked with planning and delivering a football festival for other children from SOS Children’s Villages.
One Young Leader from SOS Children’s Village commented: “This is the first time I have participated in an international course like this. Being guided by coaches from my favourite football club was so exciting. After four days of learning, I have gained many skills to tackle situations. I will learn more and share with my friends when I go back to my village.”
Tom Pitchon, City Football Group Foundation Director added: “Manchester City’s community commitment dates back to the founding of the Club over 130 years ago. We are proud to be working with SHB to deliver Cityzens Giving Young Leader training in Vietnam and empower young people to use football for social good.
We want to equip these young leaders with the confidence, leadership, and coaching skills they need to be able to have a genuine impact in their local community.
Footage from security cameras has become essential in police probes in Ho Chi Minh City.
Thanks to evidence provided by the cameras, officers in the southern metropolis have been able to solve more cases in a prompt manner.
In the recent attack by two motorbike thieves that killed two ‘street knights’ and injured three others, images from CCTV installed in the neighborhood were deemed the most important lead in police investigation.
The incident happened in District 3 on the night of May 13 and officers were able to capture both suspects, 24-year-old Nguyen Tan Tai and Nguyen Hoang Chau Phu, the following day.
According to an investigator, police officers could not find any significant information at the crime scene as the criminals were professional.
However, they were still able to close the case thanks to statements from eyewitnesses and, most importantly, footage from the local security camera network.
Similarly, police in District 11 were able to rescue two Vietnamese-American girls just 40 hours after they were kidnapped in early March.
According to Colonel Nguyen Sy Quang, chief of staff and spokesperson of the municipal Department of Police, security camera systems play a highly significant role in ensuring social order and safety.
There are tens of thousands of cameras across the city, most of which belong to local residents and businesses, Col. Quang said.
The others are operated by police units, the transport sector, and national radio station Voice of Vietnam, all of which are monitored at the command center of the municipal Department of Police.
Truong Hoai Phong, chairman of the People’s Committee in Ward 15, District 10, said that the local administration has been encouraging residents to contribute their money to the installation of CCTV along major routes in the neighborhood since 2016.
About 150 devices have been equipped so far, Phong said, adding that they are supervised at the ward’s police station, where officers take turns to work around the clock to promptly deal with potential crimes.
Similarly, more than 2,000 security cameras have been installed across 16 wards in Go Vap District thanks to the efforts of local authorities and citizens since 2013.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Le Thanh Hung, a security camera can stay in good use for two to four years, depending on its quality and price.
The market and consumer rights agency in Vietnam has planned to conduct an examination of the operation of Southeast Asian e-commerce firm Lazada Group after it has been accused of providing persistently unreliable services.
The Vietnam Competition Authority said it will inspect business activities of Recess Limited Liability Company, Lazada Group’s site in Vietnam, in the wake of a large number of complaints it recently received from customers about the online retailer’s product quality and services when they made purchases at Lazada.vn.
Officials underlined that the check has to be implemented since consumers kept reporting repeated problems with Lazada, although the firm had adequately solved them.
The problems included making late and wrong deliveries, handing customers products which passed their shelf lives, failing to give invoices, canceling orders without customers’ knowledge, and charging them undiscounted prices for products which should have enjoyed lower rates as advertised on the company’s website.
The authority added that consumers in Vietnam have increasingly been sending complaints on quality of goods and transactions after placing orders for products touted on television or buying those which require payment in installments.
According to local people, Ms. Hue has very difficult circumstances in life. In 2008, her husband died of a serious disease in brain cancer. Her main job is a sanitation worker in Thanh Xuan North ward, and after working time she has a side-job as sidewalk ice-tea to earn more income for raising her two children.
Due to the rain, Ms. Hue ask the guest to leave, but she was injured by this woman, and hospitalized after that.
According to the report of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, (born in 1977, in Ha Dinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi) she is currently a sanitation worker of Thanh Cong Cooperative. About 07.00 PM of 19th May, Ms. Hue said to the woman named D. (the guests are drinking tea) ask to leave. Then, Ms.Hue and the guest have verbal abuse and suddenly, the woman named D picked up the chair toss in Ms.Hue’ face and then leave.
A few minutes later, four young man came and pulled Ms.Hue out in the rain, and the woman named D kept beating her. After that, Ms. Hue came to the police station of Thanh Xuan North to report.
Due to the facial wound was too deep, so Thanh Xuan North Ward Police took her to the Hospital Construction in the local area to bandage wound.
By the incident, the police chief of Thanh Xuan North ward said that the local police had invited the woman named D and four young man to the police station and reported the district to handle according to regulations.
Source: DantriFirst translation by VietnamInsider.
Fintech’s influence is growing around the globe. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, fintech startups attracted more than $40 billion in investments during the past four years, and legacy institutions are warming up to partnerships with agile, digital-first companies.
The Asia-Pacific region saw nearly $15 billion in fintech investments between January 2016 and February 2017 alone. Needless to say, the opportunity in fintech is real–and Vietnam is getting in on it.
Sky’s the limit
Vietnam’s fintech market hit $4.4 billion in 2017, and it will reach $7.8 billion by 2020 , according to research from Solidiance, an APAC-focused consulting firm. In a recently published report, “Unlocking Vietnam’s Fintech Growth Potential,” Solidiance attributes the uptick to several factors, including high internet and smartphone penetration rates in urban centers, increased popularity of e-wallets, rising income and consumption, and a growing e-commerce sector.
High smartphone penetration numbers are helping drive Vietnam’s fintech boom. Photo: Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images
The company also credits the Vietnamese government with creating an “increasingly supportive regulatory framework” via the creation of the Fintech Steering Committee and other measures. If the government is successful in its plan to reach 70% banking penetration within the next two years, that could further accelerate the fintech market, where startups are already creating solutions such as lifestyle banking services and a range of mobile wallet and digital payments solutions.
Michael Sieburg, associate partner at Solidiance, says that much will depend on the state’s movements in the next few years. “It’s important to acknowledge the development of the Fintech Steering Committee by the State Bank of Vietnam. This is an important move and illustrates the government’s serious approach to developing a framework that can guide the industry forward,” he says. “But one key issue to address will be the speed at which new products and services can receive legal guidance so they can operate with predictability and decrease compliance risk.”
He notes that lengthy approval times for licenses can hinder innovation and impede Vietnam’s emergence as a fintech leader. “Finding that balance between encouraging innovation while protecting the public interest will be key,” Sieburg says.
Push for digital
Currently, digital payment solutions comprise 89% of the fintech market here, according to Solidiance. But the company predicts that the personal and corporate finance sectors will grow by 31.2% and 35.9%, respectively, by 2025. That growth will be driven in part by the government’s push to move away from cash-based transactions. Last year, the state announced a plan to reduce cash transactions in shopping malls, grocery stores, and distributors to less than 10% by 2020.
Digital payments currently comprise the lion’s share — 89% — of Vietnam’s fintech market. Photo: HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images
Before that can happen, Vietnam’s financial inclusion stats will need to increase. As of 2014, only 31% of adults held formal transaction accounts, according to the World Bank. There are several reasons for this, including high costs, prohibitive documentation requirements, a lack of financial services in close proximity to consumers, and skepticism of the financial sector.
Mobile a catalyst
Sieburg says the financial inclusion process will be helped along by the country’s high smartphone penetration rate. As of 2017, 84% of mobile phone users are on smartphones. Digital payment apps can help draw in consumers who traditionally lacked access to formal banking systems, paving the way toward a cashless–or less cash-dependent–society. ” Digital payments could transform not only the retail market and bill payment but also payment for public services as well government-to-people payments , currently a challenge in some rural areas where banking sector penetration is less developed,” Sieburg says.
There’s a great deal of work to be done if Vietnam is to fulfill its fintech ambitions, but Sieburg predicts big things in the country’s future. ” In the next decade, Vietnam will emerge as a regional leader in developing innovative fintech solutions ,” he says. “There is so much energy here. …With a population eager to adopt technology and a vibrant, young, tech-smart population propelling innovation, I’m excited about what lies ahead here.”
From the hustling startup community to innovation initiatives within traditional organizations, Sieburg sees signs of real growth. Coupled with an increasingly supportive regulatory ecosystem, there’s good reason to think Vietnam’s fintech sector is one to watch.
Flood prevention works in Saigon between 2016 and 2020 are estimated to cost more than US$4.2 billion, according to its Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Program.
VNS reported, at a meeting held to review the program’s implementation on May 18, the Steering Centre’s deputy director, said the amount included US$960.5 billion from the private sector.
The flood prevention projects include construction of three irrigation reservoirs, upgrades to the storm drain system and the Xuyen Tam Canal, and construction of seven wastewater treatment plants.
Two and a half years after starting the program the centre has achieved the goal of preventing flooding in the city’s 550sq.km central area and five neighbouring areas, according to the Steering Centre’s deputy director.
Image source: dantri.com.vn
This year seven more main streets and 445 alleys will become flooding-free.
River tides too flood many streets, but four have now put this problem behind them.
Many of the projects in the program had been delayed due to shortage of funds, and the People’s Committee should seek financing from the private sector and official development assistance.
Flooding in Saigon
It should instruct relevant agencies to take severe action against encroachment of drains and illegal filling of canals, he said.
Canals and channels should be regularly dredged, he said.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the city People’s Committee, called on relevant agencies and districts to co-ordinate with the centre for flood prevention.
Urban management and co-ordination were “limited”, leading to low effectiveness of flood-prevention efforts, he said.
The centre should earmark more spaces for water storage and do further research into water drainage, he said.
There were many reasons for flooding, including tides, heavy rains, failure to dredge canals and channels, and others, he said.
So many different measures were required and applied simultaneously to resolve the problem, he added.
HANOI, 21 May 2018: Vietnam launched an environmental protection campaign at the weekend that will position the country as a green tourism destination.
“Green Vietnam” 2018 aims to support sustainable development as well as building awareness of environmental protection in tourism according to a report of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s online news service.
The official launch presentation called on the tourism industrry to respond to climate change at community and business level to improve the visitor experience.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Dang Thi Bich Lien, launched the environmental protection campaign “Green Vietnam Sea” with more than 1,000 youth unionists and tourism enterprises present.
The launch of environmental protection in tourism is a response to World Environment Day earlier this month.
The Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the environmental protection campaign “Green Vietnam Sea” tourism in 2018 that complies with the theme “Green tourism – Sustainable development ” would start in five coastal provinces – Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Danang – during the remainder of the month.
The main thrust will mobilise tourism workers, communities and agencies to clean up pollution and trash that is caused mainly by tourism.
But much more needs to be done and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will support various projects and coordinate with the central and local committees, to strengthen destination management in terms of reducing pollution and tackling the problems that the tourism boom brings in its wake.
“We are committed to improving the state’s role in the management of environmental protection in general, the environment of tourism in particular, raising the awareness and responsibility of the community and tourists at tourist sites … to ensure we have a friendly, clean and beautiful destinations that are reflect sustainable tourism principles.”
