Vietnam Insider - Page 1442 of 1518

Vietnam’s US$2 billion cosmetics market controlled by foreign brands

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Vietnamese spend an average of $4 a month per capita on beauty products and services, while women spend VND140,000 (nearly $6) a month.

The demand for cosmetics has increased rapidly, but Vietnamese enterprises cannot satisfy it.

Speakers at the Mekong Beauty Show’s press conference said that Vietnam’s cosmetics import value increased from $500 million in 2011 to $2 billion in 2016, according to ITC and World Bank.

Vietnamese buy cosmetics via two major channels – friends (70 percent) and websites (30 percent).

Bui Ngoc Quynh Giao from Ilahui Vietnam said that Vietnam has a lot of potential in retail with a GDP of $220 billion and population of 90 million.

In 2017, Vietnam ranked sixth in A.T. Kearney’s list of the world’s most attractive retail markets (GRDI – global retail development index).

The demand for natural cosmetics has increased from spas (about 2,000 spas open in Vietnam each year) and individuals (both women and men).

A report from Mintel shows that the value of the cosmetics market may reach $2.35 billion by 2018. Noting that the figure was $1.78 billion, Vietnam has had the highest growth rate in the cosmetics industry.

Vietnam is expected to have 33 million middle-income earners by 2020, based on the facts that Vietnam’s GDP will grow by more than 6 percent per annum.

Aware of the great potential of the domestic cosmetics market, Vietnamese companies have poured money into production projects. However, Vietnam-made products are still unpopular.

Foreign brands are dominating the cosmetics market, especially the high-end market segment. A report found that 90 percent of the revenue of the cosmetics market goes into the pockets of foreign manufacturers, especially South Koreans.

Vietnamese brands hold a tiny market share and their products can be sold only in the low-end market segment which bring modest profits. With limited financial capability, Vietnamese companies don’t have a budget for R&D, advertisement and marketing.

A representative from the Essential Oil – Fragrance – Cosmetics Association said that domestic enterprises have high quality products but don’t know how to do branding.

Local brands’ strong points are in products for the face, skin and hands. Vietnamese customers choose foreign brands if they want other products.

A survey by Ilahui found that Vietnamese companies are not manufacturing full sets of products, but specialize in certain products only, which is a weak point.

Source: VietNamNet

What does Vietnam have to lose or gain from US-China trade war?

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Vietnam’s shipments are part of China’s value chain and may be badly hit, while U.S. companies may leave China for Vietnam to avoid high taxes.

Washington and Beijing are going toe-to-toe in a trade spat, and Vietnam is set to become embroiled in the conflict, for better or for worse.

The row is likely to deal a blow to export-reliant Vietnam, as its overseas shipments form part of China’s value chain.

“If the U.S imposes high tariffs on China’s broader cross-border supply chain, Vietnam, which exports goods that serve as inputs for China’s exports, will be badly hit,” said economist Le Dang Doanh.

It’s unclear whether Washington will tax Chinese firms alone or their wider supply networks.

About 2.2 percent of Vietnam’ shipments abroad are part of China’s value chain, Bloomberg quoted date from RHB Bank Bhd as saying.

Sharing the same opinion, Steven Schwartz, senior director of sovereign ratings for Asia at Fitch Ratings, said South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia, all of which export goods – such as machine parts and components for communications equipment – used in the production of items that China then sells to the U.S., are vulnerable, according to the South China Morning Post.

Another risk is that Chinese products hit by high tariffs might flood Vietnam, hurting local manufacturing, while overall world market volatility caused by trade tension could have negative impacts on Vietnam’s exports, Doanh added.

President Trump has recently directed U.S. trade officials to identify tariffs on $100 billion more Chinese imports, upping the ante in an already high-stakes trade confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.

The additional tariffs are being considered “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against earlier U.S. trade actions, which included a proposed $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods, Reuters quoted Trump as saying in a White House statement.

In response, Beijing announced extra tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. products, including soybeans and cars.

Earlier, China imposed tariffs worth $3 billion on 128 U.S. products in retaliation for U.S. duties on steel and aluminum.

The tit-for-tat escalation of tariff announcements which have stirred fears have unfolded surprisingly rapidly.

However, the U.S.-China trade conflict is not all bad news for Vietnam, as the country may become a more attractive investment destination compared to China due to higher U.S. tariffs, according to some analysts.

Many investors may leave China for Vietnam to avoid the high taxes, they said.

Bloomberg noted that China, the world’s largest exporter, has long been the destination of choice for U.S. and European companies looking to outsource and offshore manufacturing, especially for labor-intensive consumer goods such as clothing, footwear and electronics.

Factory wages in China have risen at the highest pace in emerging Asia, so other developing countries with lower costs have begun to steal away investment and jobs, helping to promote industrialization and boost growth at home, it said.

Apparel and electronics manufacturers, for instance, have already started diversifying production to rivals such as Vietnam and India. Vietnam has been enjoying an export boom, led by sectors traditionally dominated by China, including clothes and mobile phones, Bloomberg analyzed.

In a recent report on Vietnam’s business environment, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said the country is becoming more attractive to investors, and up to 36 percent of surveyed U.S. firms said they wanted to expand their operations in Vietnam, compared to 21 percent in Thailand and 19 percent in Malaysia.

As of late October 2017, the U.S. had poured $9.4 billion into Vietnam, ranking it 9th of the 100 countries and territories with investments in the Southeast Asian nation.

Source: VnExpress

The 5 biggest takeaways from Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance before the Senate

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Mark Zuckerberg made his highly anticipated debut before Congress today during a marathon five-hour hearing before a joint session of the Commerce and Judiciary committees.

Zuckerberg remained calm and level-headed throughout, and senators were mostly polite and deferential as they sought to understand how Facebook had inadvertently allowed the profiles of up to 87 million people to be collected by the political data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

In the weeks leading up to the hearing, Facebook made a series of announcements designed to demonstrate that it took the data leak seriously and was working to prevent it from happening again. Zuckerberg referred repeatedly today to these changes, which include making privacy shortcuts easier to find, restricting the data shared with developers when you log in using your Facebook account, labeling political ads and making them available for public inspection, and launching a bounty program to reward people who find examples of data misuse.

Facebook also sent Zuckerberg and his chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, on a media tour to answer questions and hone their talking points. By the time today’s hearing began, Facebook had done what it could to ensure the day would feel light on news. Meanwhile, many senators still struggle to understand basic questions about how Facebook collects data and makes money. (Hint: not by selling that data to advertisers.)

Still, here are the five most notable developments from today’s hearings.

Zuckerberg had to confront Facebook’s monopoly power. When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked Zuckerberg to name his biggest competitor, Zuckerberg couldn’t name one. He was pressed repeatedly on Facebook’s large size, and at one point was asked whether Facebook was too powerful. Zuckerberg demurred. “It certainly doesn’t feel like that to me,” he said to Graham’s monopoly question. Senators do seem to be grappling with Facebook’s massive power in a way they haven’t before. But it’s not clear they have any coherent strategy to increase the amount of competition in the social media marketplace.

Zuckerberg won’t rule out a paid version of Facebook. The CEO took numerous questions about the company’s business model and whether it could truly protect users’ privacy given that it relies so heavily on collecting data about their lives and behavior. Multiple senators asked Zuckerberg whether he might consider a paid, ad-free version of Facebook in the future. He told Orrin Hatch that there would always be a free version of Facebook, suggesting a paid option might be possible. Later, he told another senator that a paid version would be worth thinking about.

Zuckerberg is leaning heavily on the future promise of artificial intelligence. Whenever asked about how Facebook would improve its moderation tools, Zuckerberg invoked the promise of AI to help Facebook quickly sort through hate speech and other problematic posts. It certainly seems possible that AI will improve Facebook’s content moderation efforts, but it remains unproven.

The conspiracy about Facebook targeting ads at you by snooping with your phone’s microphone is now part of the congressional record. For years now, Facebook has struggled to contain an urban legend that the company’s ad targeting is so effective because the company listens to your conversations in real time through your phone’s microphone. Thanks to Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), this is now a matter of public record. “Yes or no, does Facebook use audio obtained from mobile devices to enrich personal information about users?” he asked. “No,” Zuckerberg said.

Senators don’t understand how Facebook works. Senators peppered Facebook with questions about the basic features of its data-collection and advertising practices. How does Facebook acquire data? How long does it keep that data? How can users control what data they share? These are important questions, and senators were surely speaking for the majority of Americans when they asked them. At the same time, they frittered away hours of testimony by asking the CEO questions that can be answered by Googling. And they mostly failed to answer deeper questions about how Facebook uses the data it collects. Of course, some senators argued that complexity itself is the problem. As Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) put it — bluntly, if not helpfully — “your user agreement sucks.”

Source: The Verge

Hoi An promotes new tourist products

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Hoi An town in Quang Nam province is attractive for its unique and ancient culture. Recently, Hoi An has launched a number of new tourism products such as “Night in the ancient town” to give visitors a new experience.

Hoi An streets are particularly exciting after the sun sets. Along the scenic Hoai River are stalls selling local souvenirs and handicraft products.

These include colorful lanterns, toy figurines made by Thanh Ha pottery artisans, silk items, and local cuisines like noodles, rice cakes, and sweet soup.

Walking through Hoi An’s narrow alleys at night induces a feeling of profound peace.

Dan Phuong, a visitor from Da Nang city, said she visits the Hoi An night market at the weekend just to mingle in the crowd under the colorful lights, walk along the river, and stop at a stall to sample Hoi An food.

She said, “I’m not sure exactly why it is, but Hoi An inspires me so much that I visit the town quite often. I particularly like the night market where they offer delicious food and cute handicraft souvenirs. It’s very exciting and fun.”

Nguyen Van Son, Vice Chairman of the Hoi An Municipal People’s Committee said that nearly 9,000 visitors come to the Nguyen Hoang market every evening, which makes the area too crowded. Now the Tran Quy Cap night market has opened and expanded to Tieu La street.

Mr Son said, “We have opened a new night market where artists perform Bai Choi folk singing and contemporary romantic songs hoping to reduce the overload at the old night market. Since it opened in early March, it has been attracting crowds of visitors. The business there has been very good. “

Hoi An also offers boat tours that take to the Bay Mau coconut forest in Cam Thanh commune. The forest, part of the Cua Dai mangrove ecological site, is up the Hoai river, 3 km from Hoi An.

Yoon Young Joo, a visitor from the Republic of Korea, said, “Local people are friendly. The air is pure. It’s interesting to sit on a bamboo boat visiting the coconut forest. I love performances featuring the bamboo boats and fish net throwing by the locals. They are like performing artists.”

Most visitors to Bay Mau forest are foreigners. 70% of them are Koreans. The forest receives around 1,500 visitors a day during the week on holidays and special occasions, the number reaches 3,000. 85,000 people visited the site in the first two months of this year.

Nguyen Van Son said, “We plan to recreate a revolutionary base in the Bay Mau coconut forest. The original military tunnels will be rebuilt to enable visitors to explore the base underground. We will also upgrade the pier and guest service facilities.”

Hoi An received approximately 3.5 million visitors last year.

Source: VOV5/Vietnamnet

Five things for newcomers to discover in HCMC

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Those wishing to experience culture and lifestyles as natives of Ho Chi Minh City should check out the following places.

Strolling around night markets

Ho Thi Ky Flower Market and Vo Thanh Trang Market are perfect places for those wanting to get a broader picture of night life in HCM City.

Ho Thi Ky, the city’s largest wholesale flower market, is home to more than 100 households selling hundreds of kinds of flowers in vivid colors. It operates round the clock and its busiest time is from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. with dozens of trucks carrying tons of fresh flowers to the market for delivery to sellers there.

Vo Thanh Trang Market on Truong Chinh Street in Tan Binh District is known as the only traditional wet market in the city that is open day and night for nearly half a century. Like Ho Thi Ky, goods are delivered during the small hours. From 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., trading activities turn very active.

Discovering Chinese-Vietnamese community

The Chinese Vietnamese community has been in existence for more than a century in HCM City since the first Chinese immigrants arrived there in the late 19th century. However, they have kept cultural and religious values almost unchanged. Touring District 5, visitors can see major landmarks characterized by Chinese culture.

Binh Tay Market, the Lady Thien Hau Temple, Hao Si Phuong Alley, Soai Kinh Lam fabric market, Minh Huong Pagoda, and Ha Chuong Communal Club should be among the venues recommended for tourists interested in discovering how the Chinese people have preserved their cultural and spiritual traits.

Traveling back in time at Ho Chi Minh City Museum

Situated next to the Reunification Palace, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, formerly Gia Long Palace, was constructed in the late 19th century on 1,700 meters. With impressive architecture, the museum tells a story about the 300-year-old city through archaeological artefacts, ceramics, old city maps and displays of marriage traditions of various ethnic groups.

The admission fee is VND15,000 per person. Opening hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the week. This would be an ideal place for those wishing to learn about HCM City and Vietnam.

The museum is located at 65 Ly Tu Trong Street, District 1.

Sipping coffee in the morning

Having a cup of coffee in the morning has become a way of life of many city dwellers. For early risers, sipping coffee and chatting with friends on plastic stools on the sidewalk in the morning are a great experience.

Prices range from VND10,000 to VND15,000 (US$0.5 to US$0.7) per cup.

Vy Café on Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1 where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited last year or Cheo Leo coffee shop on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in District 3 are worth giving a try.

Tasting street food

When in the city, eating street food at affordable prices is another great experience.

Fans of sweet soups can come to Nguyen Tri Phuong Street in District 10, which is famous for Thai-style sweet soups, or drop by Cambodian-style sweet soup shop in Alley 374, Le Hong Phong Street in District 10, run by Cambodian Vietnamese owner known as “Mrs. Co”.

Located next to the busy Tan Dinh Market in District 1, Nguyen Huu Cau Street could be an ideal place for those who like Hue-style dishes. Dim-sum lovers can get to Ha Ton Quyen Street in District 11.

Hong Ha in Tan Binh District is famous for specialties of northern Vietnam such as bun dau mam tom (fried tofu and fresh rice vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste), bun oc (noodles with snails), bun cha (vermicelli served with grilled pork dipped in fish sauce), and banh da cua (pancake soup served with crab).

Nguyen Canh Chan in District 1 is home to a stack of eateries selling different fruits served on plates. Customers can order a combination of fresh fruits such as dragon fruit, papaya, mango, and watermelon plus yogurt, fresh milk, and shaved ice. It is a great treat for those who want to cool themselves in a hot day.

For those looking for better dining spaces, Ben Thanh street food market and Sense Market food court at Zone B of September 23 Park are highly recommended.

Source: Saigon Times

Vietnamese province designs packages in fight against counterfeit Chinese potatoes

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Potatoes imported from China have been detrimental to Vietnamese growers’ sale and engendered consumers’ mistrust toward this type of produce

The administration of a region in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has planned to create packaging for its own famous type of vegetable with a view to helping buyers differentiate its product from the counterfeit Chinese one, and safeguarding local farmers’ business.

Lam Dong Province is expected to deliver hundreds of thousands of packages to farmers of Da Lat potatoes – those grown with high quality in the provincial capital of Da Lat – in a bid to protect the reputation of the produce.

Emblazoned on the wrapping material are the trademark, distinctive colors and the slogan ‘Da Lat – Wonderful essence from fertile land,’ which has been used for local produce and handicrafts since late last year.

The packages are designed to contain two to five kilograms of potatoes each.

A farmer shows potatoes grown in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The Lam Dong administration’s move is to respond to the licensed influx of Chinese potatoes, hundreds of tonnes annually, to the province, where many Vietnamese sellers give them a deceptive strong resemblance to the native vegetables.

The foreign potatoes, with dark yellow skin, are cleaned with water and covered with the red earth typical of the arable soil in the area.

To ordinary consumers’ eyes, the transformed vegetables look very similar to Da Lat potatoes, which have red skin or light yellow.

Before masquerading, Chinese potatoes fetch prices four or five times lower than those of Vietnamese ones, proving immensely lucrative for unscrupulous traders.

“Da Lat potatoes have had a good reputation for a long time. Now when they have their own packages, buyers can recognize and choose them without hesitation,” said Lai The Hung, an official from the provincial department of agriculture and rural development.

He was implicitly referring to the tendency that Vietnamese people keep an alert eye on any products made in China.

Chinese potatoes dominate the local market in the rainy season, when Vietnamese ones reach the bottom in production, noted Nguyen Hong Phong, director of a company in Lam Dong.

“Consumers are unwilling to buy potatoes whenever news spreads that Chinese potatoes pervade the market. We then take care of our potatoes in the fear that buyers won’t support us,” said Tran Huu Tho, a farmer growing potatoes in Da Lat for many years.

The government said they set their sights on cracking down on any attempt to put Chinese potatoes in packages meant specifically for the native vegetables.

A man handles a bag of Chinese potatoes. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Source: Tuoi Tre News

Hanoi suggests collecting fees in traffic jam hotpots

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Authorities in Hanoi have proposed the collection of fees from vehicles that enter frequently congested areas across the capital, as part of the efforts to alleviate traffic jams.

Vu Van Vien, director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that the agency had submitted a document to the Ministry of Transport regarding the proposal.

Vehicles that enter a congested zone will be required to pay a fee, which is aimed at easing gridlock in the capital city, Vien said.

“The plan has been listed in Resolution No. 4 on reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution, which was previously approved by the Hanoi People’s Council in July 2017,” the official elaborated.

However, this type of fee has not been included in the current law, thus the transport ministry has been asked to review the plan and pass it to the central government and National Assembly for official approval, he continued.

This solution is considered necessary given the increasingly serious congestion across the city as well as the current conditions of infrastructure, Vien stressed.

According to an official from the Ministry of Transport, such a measure has been applied in many countries.

It can also be carried out across Vietnam as long as there is a specific law that supports the fee collection, he added.

The ministry will review the plan and gather feedback from relevant agencies before submitting it to the government and legislative body, the official stated.

Aside from the proposition, authorities in Hanoi are also set to implement additional measures, including adjusting parking fees depending on certain times and locations, and encouraging local schools to carry their students by shuttle bus.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Midfielder Luong Xuan Truong in Football Tribe’s Asia XI for March

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With his outstanding performance, Vietnamese midfielder Luong Xuan Truong has managed to enter Football-tribe.com’s Best XI list for March.

On their website, Football Tribe reported: “The 22-year-old was one of the most important players for Hoang Anh Gia Lai, opening the campaign with a goal and an assist. Truong also earned his 12th international cap in Vietnam’s Asian Cup qualifier in Jordan and is steadily raising his profile ahead of this fall’s AFF Suzuki Cup.”

Truong is the captain of Hoang Anh Gia Lai. He was also the captain of the national U23 squad.

He was a bridge for Vietnam during their match against Jordan at the Asian Cup, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Vietnam finished the qualification round with a second place in Group C.

Other players in Football Tribe’s list are goalkeeper Takuto Hayashi of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, right-back Vourica Ghafouri of Esteghlal, striker Safawi Rasid of Johor Darul Ta’rim and right-wing Stefan Mauk of Melbourne City.

Source: VNA

How is the Hoan Kiem turtle preserved?

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Modern plastination technology is helping the Vietnam National Museum of Nature to preserve the Hoan Kiem turtle.

The staff of the museum is completing the final steps of a two-year preservation process of the Hoan Kiem Lake.

The Hoan Kiem turtle died in January 2016 and was handed over to the museum for preservation. It was 185 cm long, with the shell of 100 cm wide, weighing 169 kilogram.

The cause of death was aging. The Hoan Kiem turtle is estimated at 200 years old.

Trung Minh, the head of the museum, received the turtle from the Hanoi Science & Technology Department and kept it in a room at minus 15 degrees Celsius.

After an urgent meeting about the preservation method, the Hanoi People’s Committee decided to apply plastination technology, advanced technology that keeps the complexion of the specimen and protects soft tissues.

“The contract signed between the local authorities and the museum sets a strict requirement that all the skin, bone and cartilage of the turtle must be preserved intact,” said Phan Ke Long, deputy director of the museum.

Plastination is a unique technique of tissue preservation developed by a German scientist in 1978. The plastination process includes four phases 1) fixation 2) removal of water and lipids 3) forced impregnation and 4) hardening. Water and lipids are replaced by special polymers.

In the first phase, the turtle was soaked in formaldehyde or other preservation solutions to help prevent tissue decomposition.

In the second step, after the dissection, the specimen was placed in an acetone tank. Under freezing conditions, acetone draws out all water and replaces the space inside of the cells.

In the third phase, the specimen was put into a liquid polymer tank, such as silicon rubber, polyester or epoxy resin. By creating a vacuum environment, acetone is boiled at a low temperature. As the acetone evaporates, empty cells penetrate liquid polymer, becoming cells filled with liquid.

Finally, polymer will be hardened with treatment in gas, heat or ultraviolet light.

Long said plastination is the right choice for the Hoan Kiem turtle because plastinates are dry, odourless, and durable enough for the broader public.

Also according to Long, the resin used for preservation is German made. The museum invited two German leading preservation specialists to help preserve the Hoan Kiem turtle. The specialists flew to Vietnam five times over the last two years.

Source: VNN

VN-Index hits 1,200 points on cash flow

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Strong cash flow poured into the brokerage and real estate sectors helped push the benchmark VN-Index to a new record high of 1,200 points in the morning session and maintain the uptrend during most of yesterday session, with stronger growth in the last minutes of trading.

The VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange gained 0.36 per cent to close at 1,204.33 points, following the previous three-day increase of 1 per cent.

The index surpassed the 1,200 level and opened up an opportunity of hitting a new high range of 1,250-1,270 in the short term, Bảo Việt Securities Company (BVSC) said in its daily report.

“However, the index could still suffer some volatility and corrections while increasing, especially when reaching new highs,” BVSC said.

“Investors can take advantage of the market’s corrections to raise stock exposure for short-term positions, especially existing positions in the portfolio. Aggressive buying at high price ranges in bullish sessions should be avoided,” it added.

More than 251 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ8 trillion (US$351.3 million).

The market trading condition was negative with 131 gaining stocks and 166 decliners while 58 others ended flat.

The brokerage, real estate and construction industries were among the best performers yesterday with their indices up 3.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

Among those gainers in the brokerage sector were Sài Gòn Securities Incorporation (SSI), up 5.7 per cent; VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND), gaining 4.5 per cent’ Hồ Chí Minh City Securities Corporation (HCM), increasing 3.37 per cent and FPT Securities Joint Stock Company (FTS), soaring 6.25 per cent.

Meanwhile, the best performers of the real estate sector were Khang Điền House Trading and Investment JSC (KDH), Đất Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction Corporation (DXG) and Hòa Bình Construction Group Joint Stock Company (HBC), which rose between 1.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent.

Large-cap stocks also performed well with the VN30 Index advancing 0.28 per cent to 1,177.68 points and 14 of the 30 largest companies by market capitalisation making gains.

Gaining stocks in the VN30 basket included Sacombank (STB) and petrol dealer Petrolimex (PLX) and property developer Vingroup (VIC).

According to BVSC, worries over a US-China trade war continued to put downward pressure on the market but it still appears unlikely that the two governments will let a trade war happen.

“Basically, we think the recent retaliation announcements from the US and China are only intended for gaining advantages before the imminent negotiation. We believe that a full-blown trade war is unlikely to happen. However, as long as the negotiation has not come to a final conclusion, the global stock markets are still affected by information on this matter,” BVSC said in its daily report.

“Alternate rises of large-cap stocks are maintaining the market’s upward trend. Cash inflows are forecast to diverge and mostly run into stocks supported by solid Q1 earnings results and positive reports of Annual General Meetings (AGM) season,” BVSC added.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX Index decreased by 0.17 per cent to end at 137.79 points, down from the previous two-day gain of two per cent.

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market went down 0.31 per cent to stay at 60.45 points, reversing its previous 0.36 per cent rally.

Source: VNS

Motorbikes to be labelled with energy consumption

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The Ministry of Transport plans to label energy certificates for new motorcycles which are manufactured, assembled and imported to Viet Nam.

This is a key content of a draft circular on energy labelling for motorcycles by the ministry’s Vietnam Register. The labelling is compulsory.

The producers must inform accurately about the vehicle’s fuel consumption according to an agreed measuring method. The volume of fuel consumption will be stated on the energy label on the vehicle to provide customers with this information when they purchase the vehicle. The volume will be registered and announced by the manufacturer, which will be under the inspection and certification of the management agency.

According to statistics, the total number of vehicles registered in police stations as of March 15, 2018 was 3.76 million cars and more than 55.1 million motorcycles nationwide. Motorcycles are the main means of transport in the country, and the annual growth rate is expected to increase by 10 per cent in the coming years.

Energy labelling programme has been implemented in many countries of the world, such as the European Union, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China and India. In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Thailand are also implementing energy labelling.

In a draft project on motorcycle emissions control, the Ministry of Transport has proposed a roadmap for 2018-20 to complete legal documents and submit to the Government a draft decree on conditions for services of inspection of motorcycle emissions, which will add to the existing decree on administrative sanctions against violations of motorcycle emissions.

According to Prime Minister’s Decision No 04/2017/QD-TTg dated March 9, 2017, which stipulates the list of vehicles and equipment that must be labelled with energy and minimum energy efficiency as well as have a roadmap for energy labelling.

The roadmap for energy labelling for motorcycles is voluntary until December 31, 2019, and compulsory from January 1, 2020.

Bui Danh Lien, former chairman of the Transportation Association of Ha Noi, said that for new vehicles, manufacturers had announced the specifications of the car, including fuel consumption in the relevant technical documents, and they were responsible before the law for these parameters.

Sticking the energy label on fuel consumption is repetitive, unnecessary and wasteful, Lien told nguoilaodong.com.vn.

Nguyen Nam Hung, a resident of HCM City, who owns a seven-seat car and motorcycle, said the amount manufacturers or importers pay for the energy label would be added to the vehicle’s selling price, and as a result, customers would have to pay more for the vehicle.

Meanwhile, former director of the ministry’s transport department Than Van Thanh said energy labelling was the trend. The management body should apply it to locally-assembled vehicles first, and then draw from experience before applying the same rule to imported vehicles.

“This is needed to calculate the time to apply the labelling of energy. It must be in accordance with the economic conditions and the technical management level of our country to make it feasible,” said Thanh. — VNS

Source: Vietnamnet

Foreign convenience stores go from strength-to-strength in Ho Chi Minh City

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Vietnam has been forecast to have the fastest-growing convenience store market in Asia by 2021.

Ho Chi Minh City has proven to be a fertile land for convenience store chains, and many are planning to expand their businesses in Vietnam’s southern commercial hub.

The number of convenience stores in HCMC rose by 5.1 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2018 to over 1,800.

Convenience stores now cover more than 270,000 square meters of floor space in the city, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Vietnam said in its Q1 report on Vietnam’s property market.

The U.S-based real estate service provider said the number of stores in the city will continue to grow to cater for its 13 million inhabitants due to the entry of newcomers.

Vietnam is forecast to be the fastest-growing convenience store market in Asia by 2021 with a growth rate of 37.4 percent, according to new data released last Friday by international grocery research organization IGD, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia.

IGD said it is “forecasting high double-digit compound annual growth over the next four years in Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia based on the performance of the leading convenience store operators in each market.”

On the particularly strong growth tipped for Vietnam, Nick Miles, head of Asia-Pacific at IGD, said: “Convenience stores in Vietnam have become popular destinations for young consumers to shop and hang out, as the stores provide them with an air-conditioned environment, well-organized shelves and seating areas, high quality products and, in some stores, free Wi-Fi. It is also easier to get licenses for stores under 500 square meters, which is why retailers have been expanding to gain market share.”

Foreign chains are currently dominating the local market, making up 70 percent of total convenience stores in Vietnam.

American chain Circle K has around 250 stores, mostly in the country’s two biggest cities, HCMC and Hanoi.

FamilyMart, Japan’s second largest convenience store chain, has a combined 130 stores in Ho Chi Minh City, the nearby resort town of Vung Tau and Binh Duong Province.

Southeast Asian chains Shop&Go and B’s mart are running another 300 stores.

Vinmart, Vietnam’s leading property conglomerate Vingroup’s retail network, plans to open 3,000 convenience stores across the country.

In June last year, Seven & i Holdings, which operates Japan’s biggest convenience store chain 7-Eleven, opened its first outlet in HCMC.

South Korea’s GS Retail also plans to enter the market in the near future with the first outlet bearing its GS25 convenience store brand in HCMC.

Kyodo News quoted a company representative as saying that it plans to open 100 stores in Vietnam within three years and expand that number to 1,000 in the next decade.

Source: Vietnamnet

Vietnam activists accuse Facebook of helping suppress dissent

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Protests over takedown policy add to Facebook’s challenges in fast-growing region

A group of 50 human rights activists and independent media groups in Vietnam have written to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, accusing the social media platform of working with communist authorities to take down content and suspend accounts.

The open letter, released early on Tuesday, adds to a growing wave of controversy Facebook faces in south-east Asia, one of its fastest-growing regions, ahead of a US Congressional hearing at which Mr Zuckerberg is due to testify on Tuesday about data leakage.

The protest from Vietnam came even as civil society groups in Myanmar, who last week accused the social media platform of reacting too slowly to complaints of dangerous hate speech, released a response from Mr Zuckerberg in which he apologised and said Facebook had added dozens more Burmese-speaking reviewers to its staff.

Vietnam’s media and internet operate under censorship, and the country has jailed numerous bloggers and political dissidents. Its army last year announced the creation of Force 47, a 10,000-strong “cyber army”.

The signatories of the letter said “groups of government trolls” were coordinating mass reporting of activists’ accounts, and celebrating when Facebook took them down. The Vietnamese activists said they had been in contact with Facebook representatives “often” to try to ensure content remained online.

“Prior to 2017, your company’s assistance has been fruitful,” the letter to Mr Zuckerberg said. “Since last year, however, the frequency of takedown has increased and Facebook’s assistance has been unhelpful in restoring accounts and content.”

They said that before and during a major trial of Vietnamese human rights activists this month, “many accounts and pages of high-profile citizen journalists were prevented from posting”. A court in Hanoi sentenced six prominent human rights activists to long prison terms.

The letter writers said they were “dismayed” to learn that Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, had met with Truong Minh Tuan, Vietnam’s minister of information, in April 2017 and “reportedly agreed to co-ordinate in the monitoring and removal of content”.

In response, Facebook said that it was “committed to protecting the rights of the people who use Facebook” in keeping with its community standards, and to “enabling people to express themselves freely and safely”.

“We will remove content that violates these standards when we’re made aware of it,” the company said. “There are also times when we may have to remove or restrict access to content because it violates a law in a particular country, even though it doesn’t violate our community standards.”

Facebook also said that it had “a clear and consistent government request process”, which was no different in Vietnam than in the rest of the world.

Vietnam’s ministry of foreign affairs had no immediate comment.

The Vietnamese letter opens a new front of criticism against Facebook in Asia. In Myanmar and Sri Lanka, Facebook has been accused of responding too slowly to hate speech spread on its platform; in the Philippines and Cambodia, activists say it has allowed supporters of leaders with authoritarian tendencies to exploit it.

In Vietnam, however, the activists claim Facebook is working with authorities to prevent “openness and connectivity” in a country where free speech is suppressed.

Separately on Tuesday, six civil society groups that wrote to Mr Zuckerberg last week released a letter in which Facebook’s chief executive apologised “for not being clear about the important role that your organisations play in helping us to understand and respond to Myanmar-related issues”.

The groups complained last week after Mr Zuckerberg addressed in an interview an incident in September in which unknown actors used Facebook’s Messenger platform to send false terrorism warnings to thousands of people in the south-east Asian country.

In his response, dated April 6 and released on Tuesday, Mr Zuckerberg said in addition to employing dozens more Burmese-language reviewers the company was building artificial intelligence to help it better identify “abusive, hateful, or false content even before it is flagged by our community”.

Civil society groups responded by saying that Facebook’s “proposed improvements are nowhere near enough to ensure that Myanmar users are provided with the same standards of care as in the US or Europe”.

“When things go wrong in Myanmar, the consequences can be really serious — potentially disastrous,” the groups said.

By John Reed, Financial Times

Sterling and Wilson plans to build 300MW of solar projects in Vietnam

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India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson plans to build 300MW of solar PV plants in Vietnam by mid-2019.

The company said it was in advanced discussions with leading developers in the country for projects requiring investment of US$250 million.

Sterling and Wilson plans to hire local workers to construct and maintain the solar projects and aims to generate employment for nearly 600-700 people during construction and 50 people during the maintenance phase over 20 years.

The firm has already commissioned a 50MW project in the Philippines and is close to commissioning a 60MW project in Bangladesh. Its global portfolio stands at close to 5GW.

Bikesh Ogra, CEO, renewable energy and energy storage, Sterling and Wilson, said: “Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with nearly 8-10% annual increase in power consumption by industries who are the largest consumers of electricity in the country. We are closely working with leading developers to join the larger aim of bringing affordable and clean energy to Vietnamese.”

Last week, Thai power firm Gulf Energy Development said it planned to build a 48MW solar project in Vietnam in partnership with conglomerate Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group).

Source: PVTech

Eximbank’s blood donation day – “Thousand hearts – One kindness”

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On 07/04/2018, Eximbank held the Blood Donation Day at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion with the message of “Thousand Hearts – One Kindness”.

The “Eximbank’s Blood Donation Day” in 2018 is a succession of the charity programs that Eximbank has carried out over the past years. This is a practically meaningful activity for the sake of the whole social community, contributing a source of blood for emergency care and prevention, especially when the medical industry is scarce of blood reserve.

Along with its business activities, Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) has always been aware of its responsibilities towards the society and community. The Eximbank’s Blood Donation Day program has been a success and all staff of Eximbank in the North Area have donated 150 blood units to the “blood bank” nationwide.

The country needs about 1,5 million blood units for emergency, treatment and reserve, but the blood supply only meets about 60% of the demand. Blood donation doesn’t have any negative impact on health, but it even helps to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, reduce iron overload, and make blood circulation faster. Blood donors are given periodic health checks, issued with certificate and prioritized for blood transfusion at no cost.

With the desire of bringing hope to the patients undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, giving them and their families more strength and confidence in the fight against diseases, Eximbank has called for all of its employees to join hearts in helping the patients with the opportunity to live / prolong their life by their own precious blood and kind hearts, and been well responded by staff all over Eximbank’s network.

An Eximbank’s employee is happily donating his blood to the unfortunate people

Apart from the above activity, Eximbank has also granted 30 gifts to the patients with difficult family circumstances who are being treated at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion with the wish of “Lighting up hopes” that brings warmness, motivation and belief to the patients and their families to win over their diseases.
Through the Eximbank’s Blood Donation Day, we do not only wish to make essential contribution of more blood to the patients who are in need but also to educate and change people’s awareness of their social responsibility and sharing with the community.