A group of Hà Nội expats is giving something back to the city they now call home.
Together they have launched Hanoi Christmas Kitchen, a project preparing and giving hundreds of gifts to the city’s less fortunate.
Started last year, the project has since attracted many more people.
Basic hygiene products such as toothbrushes, soap and towels are among the gifts that many have received from the Christmas Kitchen.
“We thought there were a lot of poor people in the cold in Việt Nam during December. At home, Christmas is the time when we give to people, so we thought why don’t we do something similar here,” said Naim Hydal, a Canadian musician who has been living in Hà Nội for nearly four years – and the initiator of the project.
“Why hygiene products? I think it’s a good thing to give, something that people need. I know some of the people that live under the Long Biên Bridge. They live in very bad condition so I hope to help them have a better outlook,” he added.
In addition, this year the group also prepared more than 250 free meals which they cooked themselves and delivered on December 9. The event was supported by Den, a café and bar in Yên Phụ Village, Tây Hồ District that provided the group with a kitchen as well as the location for the fundraiser. The volunteers prepared the ingredients and cooked all the meals themselves.
The gift packages and meals were delivered to poor patients and homeless people by members of charity groups called Ấm (Warmth), Sunshine as well as the volunteers from the Foreign Trade University before Christmas.
“Christmas Kitchen project is a simple idea. There is no corporation. We can do this as a group of friends. Everybody takes a role, for example, somebody went to local businesses or shops,” Hydal continued.
“Lots of restaurants donated quite a lot, which was probably one of the greatest things. And we also raffled to make money to buy all of the supplies and then contacted the charity groups.”
It took the volunteers nearly two weeks to prepare for the project by launching two events – one was held to raise fund on December 2, which included the venue vibes, live music, a raffle, carnival games, and games of chance all with prizes donated by businesses around Hà Nội. The second one, held on December 9, was for cooking all the food and wrapping gifts.
“It was my idea but everybody else joined in, particularly my friend Leah Fairchild, who did all the contacts for charities and the buying,” said the 36-year-old musician, who is a member of Rebel Monk band. “We all met here in Việt Nam. Everyone came together, even my band’s friends. We all play music and we all know each other, so everyone just helped out quickly, despite our limited time. The project is a big group effort.”
Last year, Hanoi Christmas Kitchen raised over VNĐ25 million (US$1,098), which was given to the charities the project was working with.
Hydal said he was lucky to a part of the expat community in Hà Nội, particularly as a musician performing in the city. This helped him know a lot of people always willing to help.
“I hope that the project will keep going with or without me. I hope the idea will stay for the generations.
“This is a growing city. There are big gaps between the rich and the poor, and people can really the see the difference. I believe we should always take care of each other. Charity begins at home and I now call this place my home, so I want to do something better for it.
“If you want to do something for society and people, you do not need a lot of money, but just a great business idea and a strong team. That is the blessing we have with everybody involved,” Hydal said. — VNS
Uber and Grab will need business registration certificates in Vietnam and pay taxes to the Vietnamese government.
This was announced by Le Dinh Tho, Deputy Minister of Transport, at the meeting reviewing the implementation of the two-year pilot programme of ride-hailing services via technology application, organised on December 19 in Hanoi, according to newswire Vnexpress.
Tho said that during the past two years, Uber and Grab have expanded the transport market by bringing a larger variety of choices for customers. Besides, Uber and Grab’s appearance created competition with traditional taxi brands, forcing traditional taxi companies to adjust fares as well as improve service quality.
However, Tho stated that the authorities’ management of Uber and Grab is still loose as the regulations on the enterprises operations have yet to be clarified, allowing them to take advantage of loopholes. Thus, Uber and Grab must have business registration certificates in order to create a fair playground for all stakeholders.
Tho added that the Ministry of Transport (MoT) will propose the government plans as well as adjustments to regulation to improve the authorities’ control over the operation of ride-hailing services.
In the framework of the meeting, a representative of MoT stated that Uber’s operations in Vietnam lack transparency and the company has yet to complete its tax obligations. The representative of Uber Vietnam only gave general answers without addressing MoT’s questions.
“Uber has yet to receive any proposals, the company will listen to the authorities’ opinions and co-operate to ensure the transparency of Uber’s operations in Vietnam,” the representative said.
Previously, MoT issued Decision No.24/QD-BGTVT on the pilot scheme for ride-hailing services. The pilot duration was two years, lasting from January 2016 to January 2018.
The appearance of ride-hailing services, especially Uber and Grab, has impacted the operations of traditional taxi companies. Notably, Mai Linh Group released bleak business results in the first six months of this year. Accordingly, the number of Mai Linh employees decreased by approximately 6,000 to 24,000, falling 20 per cent on-year.
Besides, the company’s net revenue was VND1.72 trillion ($75.4 million), down 5 per cent on-year. Profit from other activities decreased to VND29 billion ($1.29 million), only half of what it was in the first half of last year.
Furthermore, as of the end of June 2017, the company bore an accumulated loss of VND800 billion ($35.1 million), equalling 80 per cent of its charter capital. In the first six months alone, its net loss from business operations was VND47.5 billion ($2.08 million), doubling on-year due to a sharp increase in sales and management expenditures.
Similarly, in the second quarter of this year, Vinasun’s net revenue reached VND810 billion ($35.7 million) only, a record low since 2014. Besides, quarterly after-tax profit fell by 50 per cent on-year, to VND16 billion ($706,299). The cumulative figure for the first six months was VND1.9 trillion ($706.29 million), signifying a decrease of 15 per cent.
Within the first six months of this year, the number of Vinasun employees decreased by approximately 8,000 to 9,179. According to a Vinasun representative, the company’s business results may remain gloomy until the end of this year.
Both in terms of quantity and quality, 2017 has shaped up to be a landmark year for mergers and acquisitions in the property sector.
According to Phan Xuan Can, director of SohoVietnam, a mergers-and-acquisition (M&A) broker for many large-scale projects, Vietnam’s real estate market is attracting M&A notice from developers, investors, and brokers alike.
Around half of Singapore and Hong Kong’s 2017 M&A deals were finished projects. In Vietnam, however, M&A deals mostly centred on unfinished projects to be developed by the new arrivals, at a proportion of 80 to 90 per cent.
“This is quite difficult because the new arrivals will have to bear higher risks. They will have to start projects from the beginning, build them, and then operate them. They will not see the early benefits as those with projects which are already finished and operational,” Can said.
“However, the high rate of M&A deals in Vietnam shows the attractiveness of this market,” he added.
Can told VIR that land plots for hotel and office buildings are most favoured by buyers. In August of this year he successfully brokered for one high-end resort on Phu Quoc Island with investment capital of $80 million, as well as a 5,000 square metre plot of land in Hanoi to develop a 5-star hotel.
In 2017, the majority of transactions took place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City is preferred by investors, with greater transparency and more announcements to the public.
A range of large-scale transactions were undertaken by local investors including Phat Dat Real Estate, An Gia Real Estate, Novaland, Sun Group, Vingroup, and many others.
Foreign investors have also been participating in M&A activities. Notable investors include Mapletree, Keppel Land, Frasers Centrepoint, Hongkong Land, Lotte E&C, and others.
At a recent meeting with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, a group of Singaporean investors expressed their interest in a range of projects, such as Duxton Hotel Saigon, Empire City, Kumho Asiana Plaza, and Mizuki Park.
Stephen Wyatt, general director of JLL, a consulting firm successful in large-scale transactions, said that 2018 will be an even more prosperous year for M&A.
“With the highest increase of urban population and mid-income earners in the Southeast Asia region, Vietnam is now at the high position of investment attraction from foreign investment capital flow.”
In 2017, real estate was one of the top-five sectors attracting foreign direct investment in Vietnam. The five largest investors into Vietnam were South Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, and Taiwan.
In 2017, the residential segment was still the most attractive target for M&A. However, according to JLL, the commercial segment will grow in 2018, especially offices for lease and hotels.
Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, said that M&A in real estate will be more active since there are more than 500 projects which are being delayed or postponed pending new investors.
A fresh cold front is expected to hit the country this weekend.
Provinces and cities across Vietnam are experiencing the coldest period of the year, and the weather is forecast to continue for another five to seven days.
According to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, an enhanced cold spell has been affecting northern Vietnam, causing temperatures to drop to eight degrees Celsius, and below five degrees in mountainous areas, at the beginning of this week.
The summit of Fansipan, the country’s highest mountain peak in northern Lao Cai Province, has been covered by a layer of snow as temperatures dropped to minus one degree Celsius on Tuesday.
The frigid weather is expected to continue.
A map detailing temperatures in several Vietnamese localities on Decmeber 19, 2017.
From December 19 to 21, temperatures are predicted to drop to between nine and 12 degrees Celsius in the delta and from six to nine degrees Celsius in mountainous areas.
In Hanoi, the mercury is anticipated to drop as low as eight degrees Celsius, while the difference in temperature between day and night may be five to seven degrees.
An enhanced cold snap is anticipated to impact the region on December 23, continuing the weather pattern for the next five to seven days, said Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the forecast center.
The steering committees for natural disaster prevention in northern provinces such as Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Cao Bang, and Lao Cai have requested regular updates to ensure the wellbeing of local residents.
Motorbike taxi drivers sit by a bonfire in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20, 2017.
Extra attention should also be given to farm animals.
Meanwhile, chilly temps at night and in early morning in southern Vietnam will last until Christmas Eve.
The region is expected to be affected by the new cold spell on December 25.
Water levels in Saigon River will rise on Wednesday due to high tide, causing inundation on several routes in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7, District 8, Binh Tan District, Binh Chanh District, and Nha Be District.
A man prepares warm clothes for his child during the chilly weather.
Provinces in the Mekong Delta have also been influenced by the brisk weather, especially between 4:00 am and 8:00 am.
Although the phenomenon has little impact on local crops, farmers are advised to keep their cattle and poultry warm.
People during a morning commute in Ho Chi Minh City
As of Tuesday evening, Typhoon Kai-Tak was 140 kilometers southeast of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago, packing winds at 60 to 75km an hour.
The storm is forecast to continue traveling southwestward before weakening by December 21.
Hanoi residents travel on the morning of December 20, 2017.
A woman wraps a blanket around her grandchild while traveling in the northern province of Cao Bang.
Young students at a primary school in Cao Bang Province
Whatever the next year holds, marketers need to keep up with the latest developments. In 2017, we’ve learnt that every minute, 4.1 million videos are viewed on Youtube, 1.8 million Snaps are created, and 15,000 GIFs are sent via Messenger.
And the numbers will only get bigger.
The digital marketing landscape has become so busy, it’s increasingly difficult to focus your attention on what truly matters.
Where should marketers spent their budgets, time and resources in 2018? We’ve asked ten industry experts, and here are the 2018 trends they shared.
“Chatbots saw a rapid rise in 2017 as various social media networks opened up platforms for developers to build smart experiences for customers, brands, and publishers.
One of the failings of chatbots thus far has been creators building truly useful and memorable bots that people would come back to again and again.
Also, discoverability of chatbots has had mixed success depending on which platform you are using and searching for bots on. In 2018, chatbots will become a far more common solution for brands wishing to serve their customers in a smarter and more cost-effective way.
With AI now being easier to integrate into various tools and services, chatbots will become far more useful and personalized with each individual interaction it has with users. We may see a customer service revolution as more and more brands turn to bots to handle enquiries and common customer interactions.” – Matt Navarra, Director of Social Media @TheNextWeb.
“Social media to date has tended to be part of the social media department or marketing.
What we see is the shift from pockets of excellence to the understanding that social is an activity for all employees of an organization.
Prospects and customers want a relationship with people they trust not corporate marketing. It is through direct conversations between employees and customers via social that brands will win in 2018.” – Tim Hughes, Co-Founder @Digital Leadership Associates.
“The change that a lot of people have missed is the transition from millennials to “generation Z.”
The oldest Gen Zers are now 22 years old and entering the workforce. This is generation of people who were, at most, nine years old when Facebook came out.
They use Instagram and Snapchat more often than Facebook. But the real takeaway is that this is a generation of teens and young adults who use up to five screens a day and aren’t married to any specific platform.
They’re using every platform, and checking them all frequently. As for the type of content they are interested in, most are looking for video, especially “day-in-the-life” videos, behind the scenes, and how-tos.
Expect messenger app handles to start rivaling email addresses as vital contact information.” – Pratik Dholakiya, Co-Founder @E2M.
“The push toward influencer marketing being at the center of planning will continue to drive many brands.
The ever-narrowing organic window offered by social networks for brands and the ever-growing sea of noise that is content creators today means the trusted ones with large, engaged followings will rule the day for media and placement.
It’s a hell of a lot easier for a brand to spend $15,000 to get in front of a major influencer’s audience with an explicit endorsement than it is to spend that same amount on advertising and hope you get some clicks. Influencers will continue to rise as critical components of every brand’s approach.” – Jason Falls, Director of Digital Strategy @Cornett.
“Messenger for businesses will keep iterating at a fairly fast pace, adding more new features to enable business of all sizes to create closer connections with their audience members.
More businesses will embrace “conversational commerce” through the right mix of automated messaging and human interaction. Organizations will more closely integrate Messenger with their website and entire shopping experience to allow their customers more streamlined and personalized interactions.” – Mari Smith, Premier Facebook Marketing Expert @MariSmith.com.
“Our attention has become fragmented, lacking deep focus, due to the growth of social media and related information that causes us to become addicted.
As a result, our content consumption is 12 hours per day, changing how we create and distribute our marketing.
To succeed in 2018, marketers must embrace customer lifetime value (CLTV) as the key success metric.
This enables marketers to focus on prospects and customers with the greatest potential to grow long-term. Unlike ROI, CLTV proves marketing’s contribution to business assets and market value.” – Heidi Cohen, Chief Content Officer @Actionable Marketing Guide.
“In 2017, Facebook gave us a glimpse of what social media will look like in a virtual reality world with Facebook Spaces. It’s still crude and clunky but the platform also opens the door to transport us to truly immersive new experiences.
I see this as just the first of a host of new immersive social platforms in our future. This trend is important for brands because our favorite applications like Facebook and Google lock us into a “relational bubble” based on our social connections and previous history with the platforms.
So being exposed to anything new would be a filter fail and a real challenge to marketers. Creating immersive experiences is a way to invite people out of that filter bubble, so this is a significant marketing trend.
Eventually, virtual reality will be a primary driver of the social media experience so watch this development closely in 2018.” – Mark Schaefer, consultant, keynote speaker, and author.
“We’re seeing a ton of overlap happening with certain social platforms. Take Snapchat and Instagram, for example. Both offer timed video, so using both can be redundant for brands.
Brands will have to be more selective and focus on the actual audience and reach each platform offers. When you look at the numbers, Instagram Stories is able to get a wider reach and has typically yielded a high percentage of audience members actually opening the stories on a daily basis.
But it’s also important to remember that Snapchat is able to tap into a younger demographic, so it really depends on your brand’s goals.
As this trend of overlapping continues, being more selective will be the name of the game for marketers and brands in 2018. The best way to do this is to tap into any analytics features that these platforms offer.” – John Hall, keynote speaker, and CEO @Influence & Co.
“In 2018, agencies and brands alike will transform themselves to take advantage of Customer Experience (CX) strategy and technologies as online e-commerce and retail shopping converge through the use of newly available customer tracking data sets.
Many digitally mature organizations will leverage customer journey data, and cx mapping, to understand important customer experiences. This change will drive personalized content development in unprecedented ways as well as signal a vast increase in the amount of new content needed to capture the hearts and minds of consumers.
This new era of CX intelligence will reshape the marketing landscape by finally, unifying all the disciplines and practices through data.” – Dennis Wakabayashi, Vice President, Digital Marketing and Commerce integration @The Integer Group
“As marketing engines and voice activated back-ends get smarter at understanding user intent, the relevancy of results and targeted messages should see a marked improvement.
There is, however, a long way to go with this kind of technology. Machine learning needs to be seen as a trustworthy and cost-effective avenue for a brand’s budget and next year we’ll see some noteworthy advances.
While companies are dabbling with machines for marketing, 2018 will also be the year of increased brand campaigns. With the voice search and digital assistants becoming more ubiquitous, brands will be battling for recall in the minds of consumers.” – Duong Ngoc Dung, Founder, Managing Partner @GBS – Head of Marketing & Communication @ Vietnam International Bank (VIB).
Vietnamobile has become the fifth operator licensed to provide 4G services in Vietnam, baodautu.vn reported.
Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan signed a licence to establish a public telecommunications network and a licence to provide 4G service for Vietnamobile Telecom Joint Stock Company in mid-November.
The licence is valid until September 15, 2024.
The deal makes Vietnamobile the fifth network operator licensed to provide 4G services in Vietnam after Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Gtel.
In preparation for the new development, Vietnamobile has invested 20 million USD to deploy new information technology systems to increase the security and improve the customer experience.-
Experts say ransomware continues attacking businesses, and that cryptocurrency mining malware has appeared on websites in Vietnam, while spyware is attacking Android smartphones.
According to Kaspersky Vietnam, 26.2 percent of victims targeted by ransomware in 2017 are businesses, compared to 22.6 percent in 2016.
2017 will be recorded as a year of ransomware, with a high number of attacks aimed at businesses.
The biggest attacks included one by WannaCry on May 12, 2017, ExPetr on June 27 and BadRabbit in late October.
At least 65 percent of businesses attacked by ransomware in 2017 said they could not access large amounts of data or all data. One out of every six victims who accepted to pay money to get data back could not recover data.
Ransomware mostly targeted businesses for their attacks because it would be easier to blackmail businesses than individuals. In general, businesses are willing to pay money to be able to resume their operation.
According to Vo Van Khang from VNISA (Vietnam Information Security Association), a survey by the association found that ransomware increased by 167 times from 2015 to 2017. About 3.2 million attacks by ransomware were reported in 2014, while the figure rose to 3.8 million in 2015 and 638 million in 2016.
Also according to Kaspersky Vietnam, as of the third quarter of 2017, Vietnam ranked second in the world in terms of computer malware with 71.4 percent. At least 85 million malware have been identified in computer systems in Vietnam.
About 12 million malware attackin
Cybersecurity and anti-virus providers reported that in the first nine months of 2017 alone 120,000 users had spyware on Android smartphones, nearly twice as much as the same period last year (70,000). Android smartphone users account for two-thirds in the world.
Ransomware continues attacking businesses
According to Nokia, Android leads in terms of vulnerability. Among attacked operating systems, 68.5 percent occurred with Android phones, while 27.9 percent with Windows and 3.5 percent with others.
Nokia believes that Android is vulnerable because the platform allows users to install apps from third parties which could be sources of danger.
Meanwhile, VNCERT (Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team) has detected security risks related to Coinhive, the cryptocurrency mining malware which is hiding on many websites in Vietnam.
The malware is installed in order to exploit victims’ resources (CPU, hardware and memory) to mine digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Monero.
Following HCM City’s lead, Hanoi authorities are installing fences along sidewalks in a pilot programme to prevent vehicles from encroaching them.
The sight of motorbikes and cars climbing onto sidewalks to seek an alternative route during traffic jams has been common in Hanoi for years. It not only endangers pedestrians but also destroys sidewalks which are not designed for vehicles.
Fences have been erected along sidewalks on some streets in downtown Hanoi like Ton Duc Thang, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ngoc Hoi, Le Duan, and Dai Co Viet over the past year. The measure aims to protect pedestrians and ensure traffic order.
Nghiem Ngoc Tram, a resident living near Nguyen Thai Hoc Street told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that since the fences were installed, cars and motorbikes were unable to climb over the sidewalks around Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature).
“My family totally supports the plan. Thanks to the fences, we feel more secure when kids and old people use the sidewalks as we don’t need to worry that motorbikes and cars will hit them,” she said.
Nguyen Hoang Hai, an expert on urban traffic said the installation of barriers to separate sidewalks from roads is a feasible measure to solve the problem.
“In some streets where the measure was adopted like Le Duan or Van Mieu, the result has been positive. The walking space was protected, creating the feeling of safety and comfort for pedestrians,” he said.
In a Ha Noi People’s Council Q&A session on December 6, deputy Nguyen Huy Duoc proposed the same measure to restore sidewalk order.
However, some people warned that if the plan is expanded, some issues need to be taken into account.
Le Dung, a resident of Ton Duc Thang street told Kinh te&Do Thi (Economic&Urban Affairs) newspaper that the fences have caused obstacles for some people.
“In some places, the space between fences is not enough for a wheelchair user to get through. Some shops along the street also face difficulties as the barriers stop their customers accessing the shop and parking their vehicles,” he said.
Dinh Quoc Thai, an expert on urban traffic said fences should not be installed on busy trading streets as it would harm people’s businesses which are their means of living.
“People would oppose the plan and even remove the fences themselves while authorities could hardly control it,” he said.
He suggested fences be installed on sidewalks mostly serving pedestrians or those near cultural spaces.
The installation should also be carefully considered so that the barricades do not obstruct wheelchairs and baby strollers, he said.
An alternative measure to replace fences is to increase the height of the sidewalk’s edge so vehicles cannot climb them, he added.
Nguyen Hoang Hai agreed that this is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
There should be city-wide surveys to decide which streets are suitable and which are not.
On streets where fences are not the solution, authorities can install cameras to record violations and later apply strict punishments, he said.
Along with Vinamilk and Vingroup, numerous Vietnamese brands have stopped advertisting on the world’s largest online video site YouTube after their advertisements were linked to clips containing poor content.
In the latest move, Vietnamese dairy giant Vietnam Soya Products Company (Vinasoy) has decided to pull their advertisements from YouTube because its brand’s advertisement was linked to a clip the contents of which are not suitable for children, bearing obscene and pornographic comments.
Previously, after finding that its brand was appearing on clips with improper content on YouTube, Vietjet sent a dispatch to Google reminding them that if the company cannot prevent such incidents, Vietjet will cut their telecommunications co-operation with Google.
In addition, FrieslandCampina Vietnam, the owner of the Dutch Lady brand, complained that it is unacceptable to link its brand with objectional content, seriously impacting its reputation as well as the 145-year-old brand.
Earlier in November, other brands like Lidl, Mars, Cadbury, Adidas, Deutsche Bank, and Hewlett-Packard flat out stopped advertising on YouTube after their ads were linked with clips containing poor content. Previously, other brands suspended their advertisements on YouTube after their logos or ads were showed during clips containing slanderous or anti-government content.
According to statistics from the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), as of November 2017, two million clips on YouTube had vulgar content.
The authority received official dispatches from Vietnam Airlines, Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam, and Vinamilk, referring to an incident when their brands appeared in clips with pornographic, slanderous or anti-government content on YouTube.
Ninh Thi Thu Huong, director of the Basic Cultural Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that enterprises’ pulling their advertisements is not enough to prevent the dissemination of clips with poor contents. The government needs to add regulations about the responses as well as appropriate penalties in the Vietnamese Penal Code.
Deputy director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do said that the authority needs to remove clips with poor content from online video sites. Simultaneously, MIC needs to build channels with strickly moderated contents on YouTube.
Regarding legal firms, lawyer Vu Thai Ha, chairman of YouMe Law Company, said that in order to thoroughly resolve linking enterprises’ advertisements and clips with poor content, enterprises should continue to boycott and stop advertisements on YouTube to create pressure on online advertisement service providers to change.
The smartphone-based payment service market in Vietnam has become busy in the last six months, but Vietnam is still far from its ‘non-cash payment’ target.
The country had great opportunities to develop mobile payment services as the Vietnamese retail market, with high growth rates, is among the top 3 in Asia. According to GSO (General Statistics Office), the retail revenue of goods in 2016 reached $118 billion, up 10.2 percent over 2015.
Mobile Vietnam, a report released in April 2017 by Appota, the provider of smartphone-based platforms, said that 72 percent of Vietnamese had used smartphones by 2016 (the figure was 20 percent in 2013). By the end of June 2017, Vietnam had 48 million broadband mobile subscribers.
Bank cards and smartphones are increasingly popular in Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reported that more than 110 million bank cards had been issued in Vietnam by the end of the second quarter, and the figure is expected to rise to 150 million in 2018.
However, despite favorable conditions, payment service providers are still meeting difficulties,
Samsung Global’s deputy CEO admitted that problems occurred when it began launching Samsung Pay in Vietnam. Vietnamese laws only set regulations for businesses which act as payment intermediaries.
Vietnam is still far from non-cash payment target
Samsung Pay is not an intermediary, but is the provider of platform, apps and payment solutions. Therefore, it is not easy to apply current regulations to Samsung Pay’s services.
At least 50 percent of the population is working age but only 40 percent access finance services. Most of them live in cities.
A survey by the World Bank showed that the number of non-cash transactions per head in Vietnam is 4.9 percent, much lower than Thailand’s 59.7, Malaysia’s 89 and China’s 26.1 percent.
Also according to World Bank, 65 percent of adults send/receive money through unofficial systems, or pay for tuition and other services in cash.
An important barrier exists as 6.2 million adults cannot access finance services. 2.2 million say it is too expensive to use, 2.3 million find it difficult to open accounts and 1.1 million don’t have confidence in the financial system.
According to Can Van Luc, chief economist of BIDV, the first thing Vietnam needs to do is heighten public awareness of new payment methods.
Luc sees one advantage which can help increase non-cash payment methods: Vietnamese show an open attitude towards new payment methods.
According to Visa, nine out of 10 consumers are willing to try new payment methods, while 88 percent said they are likely to use a smartphone for payment.
Police in Vietnam have taken away thousands of counterfeit condoms and lubricants following a sudden raid on a facility.
The products are knock-offs of famous brands and were falsely labeled as being manufactured in Malaysia and Russia, officers in Dong Nai Province said on Tuesday.
Police eventually confiscated 1,919 boxes of condoms and 330 tubes of Croc massage gel with ‘made-in-Malaysia’ tags, and 137 tubes of ‘made-in-Russia’ Titan lube.
Officers also discovered and held 340kg of raw materials to make condoms, 53.5kg of packaging paper, 29kg of lube oil and 35kg of ‘erection oil,’ besides several pieces of equipment and machinery.
The facility, located in the provincial capital of Bien Hoa, is run by Nguyen Thi Xuan Vinh, 29, who failed to show officers her business license and any receipt for the raw materials.
Vinh confessed to police that she had imported all materials from dubious sources in China.
She would mostly distribute the counterfeits to Ho Chi Minh City and customers who placed orders online.
The seized counterfeit condoms are seen in this photo provided by the police. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper
Last year, Hanoi police seized one metric tons of counterfeit condoms, which were made from Chinese materials but sold as ‘made in Malaysia’ products.
The crackdown came only six months after police in the Vietnamese capital busted a similar facility and confiscated 700,000 fake condoms.
According to experts, counterfeit condoms will likely not protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, not to mention that the low-quality materials they are made from can also cause health problems.
The fake products could cause allergy or even infertility to users, doctors warn.
Financial institutions struggle with complex regulations, legacy systems, new technologies and competitors, and an increasingly demanding customer base. Insights from a crowdsourced panel of 100 financial services influencers, industry analysts and banking providers combined with the results from a global research study helps identify future trends and strategies for long-term growth.
For the seventh consecutive year, we have surveyed a panel of over 100 global financial services leaders for their thoughts on retail banking and credit union trends and predictions. The crowdsource panel includes bankers, credit union executives, industry analysts, advisors, authors and fintech followers from Asia, Africa, North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
We used the findings from our panel as the foundation to develop a global survey of executives involved in the financial services industry which provided a prioritization of our trends. Our global survey also provided an opportunity to do an end-of-year review of last year’s projections. Finally, the survey collected insight into strategic priorities for 2018 and the fintech players that the industry believes will have the greatest impact in the upcoming year.
By collecting insights from leading influencers, ranking the trends using an industry survey, and including extensive analysis around each trend, we have developed the most comprehensive annual trend report in the banking industry. For the third consecutive year, the research, analysis and Digital Banking Report entitled, 2018 Retail Banking Trends and Predictions, are sponsored by Kony, Inc.. The report will be available right after Christmas.
Top 10 Retail Banking Trends for 2018
The ranking of the top 10 trends and predictions was done by providing a list of trends identified by our crowdsourced panel and asking banks, credit unions and the supplier community globally to provide their top 3 predictions for 2018. Of the organizations that provided their top 3 trends, the highest ranking prediction was that the industry was going to remove friction from the customer journey (61%). The next two most mentioned trends were the improved use of data and advanced analytics, and refinements in multichannel delivery (mentioned by 57% and 42% respectively).
Interestingly, with the exception of one trend (testing and use of blockchain technology), the trends and order of these trends were the same as last year. Last year’s trend of investment in innovation did not make the top 10 this year. The importance and underlying components of each trend differed in this year’s research compared to the predictions for 2017.
The fact that the list of trends identified by the financial services industry has remained relatively consistent could be a symptom of a greater problem. The banking industry is moving much too slow, and legacy firms are failing to differentiate themselves. According to Forrester, “In a market where one-third of all customers say ‘all banks are basically the same,’ it would make sense for executives and their teams to obsess over how to differentiate. Unfortunately, 2018 will look more like a digital arms race between warring incumbents than a year in which firms find new ways to specialize and create value for customers.”
Regarding changes in emphasis for this year’s trends, removing friction from the customer journey increased in importance from last year, with 61% of organizations placing this trend in the top three, compared to 54% last year. The trend around the use and application of data also increased in importance from last year, with 57% of those surveyed placing this in the top 3 for 2018, compared to 53% in predictions for 2017. Other notable shifts of importance included a greater belief that open banking APIs would be important, less emphasis on regulatory changes and a greater belief that advanced technology would have an impact in 2018.
Top 10 Retail Banking Trends for 2018
Top 10 Strategic Priorities for 2018
When we asked financial services organizations worldwide about their top three strategic priorities for 2018, there was a significant change in priorities compared to last year’s research. While the order of the top three priorities remained the same as last year, the priority of reducing operating costs dropped from 41% last year to only 32% for 2018. At the same time, the priority of investment in innovation dropped from the 4th position to 7th, with the number of firms mentioning innovation falling from 26% to 22%.
The biggest jumps in strategic priority in 2018 were seen with the emphasis on automating core business processes (up 13%) and recruiting talent (up 8%). These shifts illustrate the growing importance of becoming a digital bank and the impact of this transformation on the types of employees required to address new challenges.
Top 10 Strategic Priorities for 2018
1. Removing Friction from the Customer Journey
While the banking industry has talked about ‘customer-centricity’ and ‘improving the customer experience’ for decades, most organizations have had difficulty breaking down product silos or leveraging internal data to deliver a contextual digital experience. “Long-term sustainable growth in the banking industry seems only possible with a radical departure from a sales- and product-obsessed mindset to one of genuine customer centricity, and further rationalization of strategies to target the right markets, customer segments, and solutions,” states Deloitte.
According to the 85-page report, Improving the Customer Experience in Banking, the objective of delivering a positive customer experience has become secondary to other bank priorities, resulting in a transactional banking relationship for the customer. For financial organizations to change this dynamic, and meet the evolving needs of today’s customers, there are five areas that have emerged as crucial priorities:
Move focus of digital engagement from cost reduction to experience enhancement.
Leverage advanced analytics, machine learning and contextual engagement to provide a highly personalized experience.
Allow the consumer to engage with their bank on the channels they prefer at the times they want to engage.
Transition advisory and sales activities from being reactive to being proactive.
Engage end-to-end throughout the customer journey, from shopping to account opening, to onboarding and through relationship expansion.
A positive customer experience is channel sensitive, with customers placing a higher weight on digital customer experiences more than physical or call center channels. In fact, in a recent J.D. Power, survey, the largest banking organizations improved in overall customer satisfaction, while midsize banks declined and regional banks plateaued. This was attributed primarily to improved mobile and online satisfaction.
As the banking industry responds to the “Age of the Individual”, big data and advanced analytics will define the winners from the losers. It is critical for banks and credit unions to deliver on the personalization promise to win the battle of having the best customer experience.
How customer insight is used can make a big difference to the customer experience – and ultimately to the profitability of the organization. The right information, analyzed in the right way, can ensure that the financial institution can provide the right offer at the right time – along with a seamless service at a lower cost. And that has to be good for everyone involved.
2. Expanding Use of Data and Advanced Analytics
Over the past 18 months, the Digital Banking Report has seen a growing gap between the organizations that are embracing the power of contextual insights and the potential of digital transformation vs. those that continue doing things the same way they have in the past. There is no reason to see this gap narrowing in 2018.
Best-in-class financial institutions will apply advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to increase automation, improve personalization, reduce costs, enhance the customer experience and even assist with compliance. The potential of advanced analytics grows exponentially over time. Each iteration, additional data source and performance measurement results in learning that enhances the accuracy of the predictive models. It also allows organizations to refine data sources as opposed to simply adding more and more data.
Finally, with each iteration, predictability goes up while costs can go down, improving marketing efficiency. From the customer’s perspective, the messaging in more “on target,” improving the customer experience, satisfaction and lifetime value.
According to David Gerbino, Principal of @dmgconsulting, “Financial institutions that effectively leverage data and advanced analytics across the enterprise will be in a position to capitalize on newer technologies such as machine learning and automation. Those firms who fall behind will need to quickly overcome barriers that are preventing them from enjoying the benefits of advanced analytics or they will find themselves too far behind to catch up.”
3. Improving Multichannel Delivery
Banks and credit unions will see less than half their customers face to face in 2018. Instead, an increasingly digital customer base will use self-service touchpoints as a first point of contact, only reaching out to contact-center agents or branches for the most complex engagements. This movement of transactional interactions to digital channels will mean that branch and contact-center interactions are more important than ever in building human relationships with customers.
Winning financial services organizations will provide all customer contact personnel with the digital tools required to access answers quicker, and will invest higher trained personnel who are better equipped to use these tools and present high value responses to inquiries.
The traditional definition of convenience in banking has revolved around the proximity of the branch. With the growth in digital technology and the increased acceptance of online and mobile banking, access to banking products and transactions is no longer tethered to a physical location, resulting in a redefinition of convenience. Today, while convenience is still the primary driver of initial consideration, the importance of branches in that definition has gone down.
Novantas found the correlation between ‘perceived convenience’ and ‘consideration’ to be slightly stronger than the correlations between ‘perceived convenience’ and ‘purchase’, with both being very strong. The biggest news is that the drivers of ‘perceived convenience’ start with an organization’s digital capabilities. In fact, the importance of branch-centric factors have dropped in each of the past three years of the study. This is especially true for consumers aged 18-54.
Aligned with the preference to shop digitally, there has been a corresponding increase in the preference to open accounts digitally, according to Novantas. Over a third of consumers prefer to open their account digitally, with the number being significantly higher (46%) if the consumer shopped using digital channels exclusively. In fact, the mobile channel has replaced other channels as the centerpiece of the banking relationship.
4. Embracing PSD2 and Open API Banking
While APIs are not new to banking and are nothing more than a structure for how software applications should interact, they provide the gateway for innovative, contextual solutions that would be difficult to offer without Open Banking. As outlined by the World Retail Banking Report 2017, published by Capgemini in conjunction with Efma, there are three types of APIs:
Private APIs: These are APIs that are used within the traditional banking organization, reducing friction and enhancing operational efficiency. A vast majority (88%) of banks viewed private APIs as essential in 2015.
Partner APIs: These are usually between a bank and specific third-party partners, enabling the expansion of product lines, channels, etc.
Open APIs: In this scenario, business data is made available to third parties that many not have a formal relationship with the bank. Because of the structure of open APIs, many banks have a greater concern around security.
Most banks ease into the use of APIs, moving from private, to partner and sometimes to open APIs. It is believed that, over time, APIs will evolve to the more extensive options in response to the consumer desire for greater digital solutions not currently provided by legacy organizations. This will also occur as both fintechs and traditional banking organizations understand that they need each others strengths. This collaboration will enable both banking organizations and fintech firms to offer more to customers than previously possible.
Deloitte believes there are four distinct strategic options for banks and credit unions in the future. In two scenarios, an institution remains in control of the customer/member relationship. In the other two, products and distribution become unbundled.
Incumbent as a full-service provider
Incumbent as a utility
Incumbent as a supplier
Incumbent as an interface
It must be mentioned that the options are not mutually exclusive. Organizations may want to play in multiple quadrants. For instance, they may want to be a supplier of services as well offering products in a third-party interface.
Perhaps the greatest risk of open banking is that it will allow consumers and merchants to execute direct transactions without going through banks, making it more difficult for banks to have a full view of the customer transactions and maintain customer relationships. It is hoped that the open banking concept can avoid this demise, as traditional banks and fintech firms work together to build the customer’s trust and offer products and services that will improve a consumer’s lifestyle.
The foundation of these partnerships will be the data that can be collected and cultivated for the benefit of the customer, the bank and the fintech firms. If applied diligently, the improvement in customer experience could be the differentiator that retains the overall banking (and non-banking) relationship.
5. Building Fintech Partnerships
In the past, many traditional banking organizations looked at fintech start-ups as more of a nuisance than a threat. Today, many are viewing these non-traditional providers as a threat as well as either a partner or potential acquisition.
In its latest Global Fintech Report, PwC found that 88% of legacy banking organizations fear losing revenue to financial technology companies in areas such as payments, money transfers and personal loans. The amount of business at risk has grown to an estimated 24% of revenues.
In related DeNovo’s research from PwC, it was found that 30% of consumers plan to increase their usage of nontraditional financial services providers, with only 39% planning to continue using solely traditional service organizations. This is an additional wake-up call to legacy organizations to determine how they will retain the key components of an existing banking relationship.
In response to this threat, 82% of traditional financial organizations stated a plan to increase collaboration with fintech companies in the next three to five years. Similarly, almost 50% of financial services firms are planning to acquire fintech startups over the same period.
Fintech startups realize that it takes more than a great solution to attract a scalable customer base. To reach beyond early adopters and the tech-savvy takes massive amounts of capital for promotion and product support. Partnering with an established banking organization who will support the expansion of users among their client base seems like a logical means to an end.
Alternatively, legacy banking organizations, struggle to keep up with consumer expectations. Size, organizational structure (silos) and even traditional leadership styles hamper the ability to deliver the new digital solutions consumers receive from other industries. Partnering with a fintech startup alleviates some of these issues, allowing the established organization an opportunity to keep pace with marketplace demands.
Fintech collaboration is not about grabbing for the ‘next shiny object’ — it’s about intuitive product design, ease of use, and 24/7 accessibility.
6. Expansion of Digital Payments
Despite increased adoption of digital payments, cash remains a primary form of payment for many, especially for low-value transactions and by certain demographic groups. Attributes of cash contributing to continued use include speed, universal acceptance, anonymity, lack of fees, etc. Some emerging markets also still lack a modern payments infrastructure while certain cultures don’t have trust in the banking system. In other words, the reports of the death of cash are still exaggerated.
While e-payments are expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6% from 2015 – 2019, the yearly growth rate is expected to decrease, as more transactions move to mobile payments (m-payments). Mobile payments are expected to have a CAGR of 21.8% from 2015 – 2019, helped by an increased proliferation of mobile devices. As with many of the payment trends, the impact of China on growth numbers is significant.
The integration of customer analytics, improved fraud management, dynamic wallet solutions and other value-added services will have a positive impact on both the consumer and the merchant. It is expected that ongoing improvement in biometrics and secure payments will become mandatory in the future, while integration real-time financial management solutions will become commonplace.
Finally, as fintech firms continue to bypass traditional value chain components, traditional financial services organizations will need to determine if they should partner with, buy or ignore these new competitors. Given that most of the fintech activity in the payments space has targeted the most lucrative components of the payment value chain, significant decisions are necessary.
There is no clear path to success in the new payments ecosystem, with many variables, opportunities and challenges still in an embryonic state. It does seem to be clear that success will require collaboration between players and markets. Especially as new technologies and new structures of solutions emerge in connection with open banking APIs, AI and big data, organizations will need to determine their best role in the new ecosystem.
In the end, the consumer and commercial marketplace will determine the winners, but there are tremendous opportunities for firms that embrace collaboration of insight and solutions to develop an improved value-added proposition that can address the need for speed, insight and security.
7. Navigating Compliance and Regulatory Changes
Similar to what we saw in 2017, most banks and credit unions worldwide are continuing to do business under a cloud of regulatory uncertainty that is expected to a challenge for the foreseeable future. Even though lawmakers and regulators aren’t expected to make many definitive changes, most financial institutions continue to do their best to meet risk and compliance parameters and supervisory expectations.
Since most institutions realize that they don’t have the ability to wait to see how things will eventually end up, many banking organizations are making progress, trying to keep in alignment with what is anticipated from a risk and business perspective. As one banker stated this past year, we are in a position to ‘beg for forgiveness’ rather than ‘asking for permission.’
According to Deloitte, “Banking organizations need to keep moving forward as planned, with deliberate linkage between regulatory strategy; business strategy; and building infrastructure for governance, regulatory reporting, and risk management that scales and is flexible.The good news is that many of the changes banking organizations are currently implementing make good sense from a business perspective—not just a regulatory perspective—and are worth doing no matter how the future unfolds.”
8. Exploring Advanced Technologies
At a time when most organizations are still playing catch-up, a new wave of digital technology has the potential to change the way organizations deliver banking services even further. These new technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, open banking platforms with application program interfaces (APIs) and robotic process automation (RPA).
With the potential to increase efficiency, decrease costs and enhance the customer experience, these digital-enabled technologies will result in disruption of the way people do their banking and potentially what organizations deliver these services. We are already seeing organizations testing many of these digital technologies, hoping to win the battle to become the ‘bank of the future.’
As quickly as past technologies have become the norm, a new wave of emerging technologies will combine digital technologies and the power of data to set new standards. According to PwC, these ‘essential eight’ technologies include:
The Internet of Things (IoT)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Robotics
3-D Printing
Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality
Drones
Blockchain
Obviously, the prioritization and investment in each of these technologies will vary based on the industry, business model and strategic goals of each organization. For instance, while the marketplace as a whole does not foresee investing much in blockchain technology, the financial services industry ranks this as a high priority.
That said, investment in emerging technologies as a percentage of overall technology investment has not increased since 2007 (across industries). In fact, the share of the overall technology budget that is allocated to emerging technology is only 17.8%, according to the PwC research.
Especially for the financial services industry, it is imperative to think beyond individual emerging technologies. With the advent of open banking APIs as a way to bring external technologies and innovations directly to banking customers, and the emergence of non-traditional banking ecosystems that may include non-banking services, combinations of technologies will become the norm.
For instance, the use of customer data insights and advanced analytics may be combined with IoT technologies to allow payments directly from smart home devices. Likewise, the the expanded use of conversational AI and VR devices may come together, providing methods of banking interactions only imagined in sci-fi movies.
Being a leader in emerging technology is no longer a luxury only for the big players. It is important for all financial organizations to make emerging technology a ‘core competency,’ with engagement throughout the organization (not just the very top). In addition, the focus of every implementation much be both internal and external human experiences, as opposed to revenue, profit and cost savings.
9. Competing with New Challengers
Modest-sized fintech firms and large tech giants continue to make retail banking inroads worldwide, providing services that leverage the best in digital technology to deliver a customer experience that removes cumbersome steps from both routine and more involved banking engagements. Relative financial newcomers like AliPay (China), WeChat (China), Rakuten (Japan), Atom (UK), Monzo (UK), Starling (UK), N26 (Germany) and Revolut (UK) have joined household names like PayPal, Amazon and Google to disrupt the banking ecosystem, leveraging modern infrastructures and innovative cultures.
According to Bain, “Many of the tech giants possess the ingredients of success: digital prowess, large customer bases, organizations well versed in improving the customer experience, and ample leeway to extend their corporate brands into banking.” More concerning may be that some of these firms are generating a level of trust previously reserved only for traditional banks and credit unions. As a result, an increasing percentage of consumers are willing to use financial products offered from these non-traditional firms – especially where the experience is superior to that offered by legacy organizations.
It is expected that demand for products and services from fintech firms and large tech companies will only increase as more consumers become familiar with new digital offerings. This is especially true for younger consumers, who have grown up with digital devices. More and more, people will get annoyed when they’re forced by bank policies and processes to use non-digital channels for everyday banking business, states the Bain research. This includes rudimentary transactions as well as being able to open new accounts or apply for loans.
The best way to prepare for the inevitable increase in competition that the continued expansion of banking services offered by Amazon, Google, PayPal, Facebook and an increasing number of start-up banks will bring is to be proactive in the development of personalized digital solutions. This will most likely involve new partnerships inside and outside of traditional banking organizations and a redefinition of what a banking ecosystem includes.
In other words, if banks don’t reorient their approach and radically accelerate their rate of progress, loyalty will suffer, and they will watch technology firms poach more business. Meanwhile, their economics will erode as too many routine transactions continue to flow through expensive branch and call-center networks.
There is a great advantage in the customer and member insights that traditional financial institutions possess. The key is to apply these insights in ways that directly and positively impact the digital experience, similar to how large tech firms currently improve shopping, social, search and payments.
10. Testing Blockchain Technologies
Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown person or persons who designed the cryptocurrency, went on to say “digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending” in the original whitepaper.
In the proposed solution, the “network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed.” He further described the concept of miners where “a majority of CPU power” would generate the longest chain and outpace attackers or malicious intent.
Today, blockchain is no longer just about bitcoin or the broader category of cryptocurrency; it’s an exploded view of the underlying technology. It’s unique and differentiated in that it’s an immutable ledger with a single version of the truth of the transaction.
And unlike other immutable datastores, it is also a shared or distributed ledger across a peer-to-peer private or public network. It leverages a consensus mechanism to create permanent records of transactions through a distributed and decentralized network, removing the need for a central authority.
Ultimately it intends to create a trustless exchange of goods, services and/or real assets in a more trustworthy way. And with a potentially much lower cost of transaction.
Why should we all care? While financial services is the sector most likely to be disrupted, blockchain technology is poised to improve customer experience, streamline product features, and enable our global economic system to reshape market structures that will impact us from Wall Street to Main Street.
Financial services marketers, retail bankers, product managers and customer service executives will all be impacted by the progress of blockchain technology. One of the first overarching impacts could be in the development of a system of universal identity verification, that will impact everything from new account opening to cybersecurity.
Leaders must be prudent and act now in evaluating blockchain as the types of deployments evolve, while regulators need to re-evaluate policies and processes given the enhanced transparency the technology promises.
By: Jim Marous is co-publisher of The Financial Brand and publisher of the Digital Banking Report, a subscription-based publication that provides deep insights into the digitization of banking, with over 150 reports in the digital archive available to subscribers. You can follow Jim on Twitter and LinkedIn, or visit his professional website.
HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) – A unit of Thai Beverage (SI:TBEV) won the auction to buy a $5 billion or 54 percent stake in top brewer Sabeco (HM:SAB) in the country’s biggest ever privatization process, an official from the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange said on Monday.
The anticipated sale of the state-owned maker of Bia Saigon gained momentum in recent months. Thai Beverage emerged as the only buyer for a majority stake as global brewing groups stayed out of the auction.
Foreigners may be allowed to make savings deposits at local banks, according to a draft circular recently released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
Non-residents with presence in Vietnam may be allowed to make termed savings deposits in both Vietnam dong and foreign currency at local banks.
To make it clearer, the draft circular defines that a non-resident with presence in Vietnam may be a foreign legal person operating in the country in the form of branch, representative office, executive office, operational office, diplomatic representative mission or consulate or a foreigner living in the country for a period of less than 12 months or coming to the country for medical treatment, study or tourist purpose, or working for the above-mentioned agencies.
As explained by the SBV, the regulation, if approved, would help restrict hot money flows and at the same time, protect lawful interests of non-residents with presence in Vietnam.
The rule is highly appreciated by economic and banking experts who all considered it a positive move of the central bank which would probably help local banks meet diversified demands of customers and raise foreign-currency capital.
However, experts remained worried about the provisions requiring foreigners, when withdrawing foreign-currency deposits, to transfer the received amounts to their foreign-currency payment accounts or sell such amounts to licensed banks.
This means that foreigners would receive both principal and interest in Vietnam dong, regardless of whether they make deposits in Vietnam dong or foreign currencies, banking expert Huynh Van Minh commented.
“Assuming that foreigners feel good to receive back their deposits in Vietnam dong, in case they do not spend up all these money amounts before leaving Vietnam, what will they do with the remainder? Will they be allowed to buy foreign-currency cash from local banks or have to make transactions at the black market?” he asked.
The draft should allow foreigners, when leaving the country, to purchase foreign-currency cash not exceeding the total savings amount they have deposited at local banks, Minh suggested.
Economic expert Can Van Luc added that the draft should also contain provisions on the process for inspecting large sums of money, extraordinary sums of money and sums of money of unclear origin so as to prevent and combat money laundering.
Your guide to the best places to learn Vietnamese in Saigon.
Vietnam is becoming an ideal destination for foreigners because of its international economic integration and cooperation. Therefore, demands for studying Vietnamese are currently increasing rapidly, especially in a dynamic city like Ho Chi Minh City. Teaching Vietnamese in a Vietnamese environment is currently attracting a lot more attention from foreigners. We would like to introduce to you some of the most prestigious Vietnamese schools in Ho Chi Minh City.
1. 123Vietnamese
Established in 2010, 123Vietnamese is recognized as one of the leading institutions for teaching Vietnamese to foreigners.
123Vietnamese creates a dynamic and creative study environment and has experienced and skillful Vietnamese teachers. In addition, its carefully designed teaching material includes 16 main lessons, six cultural lessons and six revision modules. Learners can improve their Vietnamese skills while learning about Vietnam’s culture, people and attractions.
123Vietnamese designs flexible courses to meet learners’ particular requirements, namely conversational Vietnamese, elementary Vietnamese, intermediate Vietnamese, advanced Vietnamese, and Vietnamese for overseas Vietnamese. If you cannot attend classes at the center, you can also learn via the website at www.123vietnamese.com.
123Vietnamese currently has branches in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong and Da Nang. 123Vietnamese center’s study programs are totally flexible to suit different levels and time constraints.
2. Faculty of Vietnamese Studies – University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City
The Faculty of Vietnamese Studies is one of the leading Vietnamese teaching organizations for non–native speakers.
You can study Vietnamese according to your level under the guidance of experienced lecturers at the university. Study programs are well–organized to help learners to approach Vietnamese easily and effectively. Moreover, the university offers short–term training programs for international students.
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities also offers courses in different languages such as Korean and Japanese, so you will have a chance to mix with different cultures while interacting with the Vietnamese students to help improve your Vietnamese.
3.Faculty of Literature – Ho Chi Minh City University of Education
The faculty started teaching Vietnamese for non–native speakers in 1998. The faculty currently has two training programs.
– Vietnamese training for advanced learners who want to use Vietnamese proficiently or to research and study in Vietnam.
Students who take part in this program will study for four years. First year students will learn 4 language skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading. Students will continue studying advanced Vietnamese as well as other subjects such as language studies and Vietnamese literature over the remaining three years. Students will receive a bachelors degree upon graduation.
– Short–term Vietnamese training courses for non–native speakers who wish to learn communication skills.
The duration of courses are based on each learner’s requirements. These courses can last from one month to one year. Different levels are available and a certificate is issued by the university upon course completion.
Students will be equipped with appropriate course material to meet their demands and levels. In addition, foreign learners can stay in the university’s halls if they wish.
The faculty cooperates with Paris Denis Diderot University, Bing Dong Taiwan University of Education and Chiangmai Rajabhat University to help foreign students access the Vietnamese language.
4. Saigon Language School
Established in 2005, Saigon Language School provides Japanese training courses for Vietnamese students and Vietnamese training courses for non–native speakers. The school is highly regarded by learners in Ho Chi Minh City. Furthermore, the school was named in the top 30 educational organizations by Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Education and Training from 2010 to 2013 thanks to its outstanding teaching and study programs.
Its training programs are split into elementary, intermediate and advanced Vietnamese. The school also offers specialized courses such as Vietnamese for foreign tourists, Vietnamese for the office and Vietnamese for business in order to create a practical and dynamic study environment. Learners can choose to study in a group or in a private class.
Learning the language of an adopted country is an essential and basic need. Therefore, studying Vietnamese for non–native speakers in Vietnam will help people to live and work in Vietnam more successfully and broaden their knowledge of Vietnamese history and culture. To study Vietnamese effectively you need a high quality teaching institution. Hopefully, you can choose an appropriate study environment thanks to our tips and recommendations.
