‘Bitcoin now seems like a charging train with no brakes.’
Bitcoin flirted with $17,000 on Thursday, triggering a warning the cryptocurrency was like a “train with no brakes” and prompting fresh concern about its looming launch on mainstream markets.
Still under $14,000 in Asian trading hours, it smashed through $15,000 in European trading and got as high as $16,777 before pulling back, according to Bloomberg data. Near 2145 GMT, bitcoin stood at $16,070.
The rally came just a day after the virtual currency, which has been used to buy everything from an ice cream to a pint of beer, hit the $12,000 mark for the first time. The eye-popping rise has seen the currency’s value soar more than 50 percent in just one week, and from just $752 in mid-January.
Bitcoin — which came into being in 2009 as a bit of encrypted software — has no central bank backing it and no legal exchange rate.
It has surged dramatically in the past month, driven by growing acceptance among traditional investors of an innovation once considered the preserve of computer nerds and financial experts, and sometimes more shady users.
But some, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have warned against dabbling in bitcoin as it could threaten financial stability, and fears of a bubble have increased as the price has soared.
“Bitcoin now seems like a charging train with no brakes,” said Shane Chanel, from Sydney-based ASR Wealth Advisers. “There is an unfathomable amount of new participants piling into the cryptocurrency market.”
But he warned: “Once the hype slows down, we will most certainly see some sort of correction.”
Financial industry concerns
There also are mounting concerns about its introduction into the mainstream financial system after a U.S. regulator last week cleared the way for bitcoin futures to trade on major exchanges, a decision which analysts say has helped spur the recent rally.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission decision allows bitcoin derivatives to be offered on the Cboe Futures Exchange starting this weekend and on the world’s biggest futures venue, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), from December 18.
But the Futures Industry Association, which groups some of the world’s biggest derivatives brokerages, criticized the CFTC’s move in a letter to the regulator, saying contracts are being rushed through without properly weighing the risks.
“A more thorough and considered process would have allowed for a robust public discussion among clearing member firms, exchanges and clearing houses,” the association said.
Bitcoin transactions happen when heavily encrypted codes are passed across a computer network.
Goldman Sachs, an FIA member, plans to clear bitcoin futures contracts for some clients, meaning it will serve as intermediary to enable transactions, a spokeswoman said.
“Given that this is a new product, as expected we are evaluating the specifications and risk attributes for the bitcoin futures contracts as part of our standard due diligence process,” she said.
The NiceHash marketplace was meanwhile on Thursday investigating a security breach resulting in the theft of bitcoin.
“Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days,” NiceHash said in a statement.
“In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency.”
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies use blockchain, which records transactions that are updated in real time on an online ledger and maintained by a network of computers.
In 2014 major Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange MtGox collapsed after admitting that 850,000 coins — worth around $480 million at the time — had disappeared from its vaults.
Bitcoin’s use on the underground Silk Road website, where users could use it to buy drugs and guns, also raised suspicions about the virtual money.
The city’s tax office is likely to miss its revenue target this year, and is looking at more effective monetary management.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Tax Department has suggested that customers should pay for restaurants and other high-end services using bank cards rather than cash to make it easier to collect tax revenue.
Tran Ngoc Tam, the department director, said the proposal could help manage tax payments for high-end services.
His unit is working with other agencies before submitting the plan to the city’s government for approval.
Tam said that cash payments are no longer popular. Vietnam does not allow cash paymentss worth VND20 million ($880) or more, and that threshold is likely to go down to VND5 million soon “when we have the infrastructure to boost electronic payments,” he said.
The role of cash in all payments across Vietnam fell from 14 percent in 2010 to 11.5 percent in August 2017, according to figures from the central bank.
HCMC’s tax office raised the card payment proposal amid reports that the department is likely to miss its target this year.
The department was set to bring in nearly VND239 trillion ($10.5 billion) in taxes, but has so far only reached 87 percent of the target, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.
Legislators in the city, the biggest contributor to the state budget, earlier this week also suggested that celebrities who advertise products on Facebook should be taxed.
Facebook is the most popular social network in Vietnam with more than 52 million active accounts to advertisers, and is also used as a e-commerce platform that tax authorities have struggled to keep track of.
Businesses in Beijing and Tianjin and Hebei provinces in China want to promote investment and trade with Vietnamese partners, according to the Tianjin Foreign Economic and Trade Promotion Association.
Speaking at the trade and investment promotion conference between Việt Nam and China’s Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces in HCM City yesterday, Geng Wei, the association chairman, said Việt Nam is a promising market.
Nguyễn Thị Huyền Ngọc of the Investment Promotion Centre for southern Việt Nam, said China currently ranks eighth out of 120 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam with $12 billion in 1,784 projects.
Chinese firms invest mainly in manufacturing, production and distribution of power, gas and water, real estate, hospitality, construction, and mining, she said.
Võ Tân Thành, director of the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City office, said Việt Nam and China have good relations, especially in commerce.
China is Việt Nam’s largest trade partner and Việt Nam is that country’s largest trading partner in Asean and ninth largest in the world, he said.
Last year their trade was worth US$72 billion, with Việt Nam’s imports being worth $52 billion, he said.
But according to Chinese customs’ statistics, trade was actually worth $98 billion last year if cross-border trade is considered, he said.
“This year trade is expected to top $100 billion, a target the two sides had set only for 2020.”
Việt Nam’s main exports are telephones, crude oil, coal, rubber, rice, fruits and vegetables and seafood and imports include feedstock for manufacturing garment and textiles and steel and agricultural produce.
“In recent years China has increased investment in Việt Nam, and this is expected to continue in the future,” Thành said.
Ngọc said the processing and manufacturing sectors are expected to attract more Chinese investment.
With its stable political situation, rapid economic growth, clear and transparent investment policies, large workforce, improved infrastructure, and regional and global economic integration, Việt Nam is an attractive investment destination, including for Chinese investors, she said.
She also spoke about investment procedures in Việt Nam, tax breaks offered to priority sectors and projects that are soliciting investment.
Việt Nam has 324 industrial parks, of which 34 have foreign investors.
It currently focuses on calling for investments in high value-added projects, hi-tech and environment-friendly projects, large-scale projects, IT and bio-technology serving modern agriculture, infrastructure development in the form of PPP, and modern services as well as encouraging a gradual switch from sub-contracting to production, she said.
Thành said Chinese businesses could find a lot of opportunities in Việt Nam including HCM City.
The conference is a good opportunity for businesses from the two countries to understand each other’s markets and enhance investment and trade ties, he added.
Organised by Vinexad and the VCCI in collaboration with other organisations, the conference was part of the 2017 Vietnam Expo that is being held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City from December 6 to 9.
More than 150 exhibitors from China’s three provinces are participating in the trade fair to study Vietnamese market and seek business opportunities here, Geng said.
At the conference, Geng also called on Vietnamese businesses to come to Tianjin to explore investment opportunities there.
For a destination that’s equally rich in history, culture, and natural beauty, there’s no better place than Vietnam. From its ancient Hindu temples and modern city streets buzzing with motorbikes, to the trendy food scenes and remarkable natural landscapes, there are so many reasons people are choosing this Southeast Asian country over popular destinations like Thailand and Cambodia.
Here are just a few of the things that are going to make you want to plan a trip to Vietnam.Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay
The view that launched a million Instagram photos. Ha Long Bay is probably the most iconic destination in the country – as well as the most crowded with international tourists. The bay in north Vietnam is an other-worldly sight, with emerald green waters and thousands of jungle-topped limestone islands growing out of the seafloor. It’s one of the world’s natural wonders and a top destination for scuba divers, rock climbers, and cavers.
Don’t let the crowds deter you. A visit to Ha Long Bay should certainly be on the top of your list of places to see in Vietnam. Just give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and take in the experience. Rather than booking a rushed day cruise, you might want to buy a three-day ticket that provides overnight accommodations – and enjoy a few leisurely days on the water.
Hanoi
Vietnam’s busy capital city offers a vibrant glimpse into local life. Motorbikes speed down the narrow streets, cars honk, merchandise spills out of shops onto the city sidewalks. Throughout the city, you’ll see a mix of French Colonial and Southeast Asian architecture styles reveal how cultures have blended over time to result in the rich combination that now exists.
While you’re there, wander the narrow streets in the Old Quarter to negotiate prices with silk vendors. Buy a delicious bowl of steaming noodle soup from a street vendor. Or, get cultural at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and Vietnam Fine Art Museum.
Hanoi
Hue
Hue is the home of the Nyugen family dynasty, 19th-century emperors who made this central Vietnam city the national capital between 1802 and 1945. If you’re anything of a history buff, this city should be at the top of your list of things to see in Vietnam.
Its most famous site is the Citadel, an imposing stone fortress with a beautiful pagoda roof that’s surrounded by ornately decorated gates. It was located in the heart of the Imperial City in Hue, and sits next to the royal palace. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is undergoing major preservation and restoration processes to return the city to its pre-Vietnam War era glory.
Hue
Mekong Delta
Known as the the ‘rice bowl’ of the country, the Mekong Delta is a floating city where a one-third of Vietnam’s food is produced. The green, lush, and wet environment what supports the surrounding orchards, rice paddies, and swamplands.
Visit, and you’ll be amazed to see the houseboats, the floating markets where customers fiercely negotiate prices, the small sampan boats gliding down the region’s intricate network of canals, streams, and rivers. It’s an easy trip from nearby Ho Chi Minh city and well worth the trip to taste the local produce fresh and spend a day in the jungle.
Mekong Delta
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is no longer the capital of Vietnam, but you’d be forgiven for making that mistake given its bustling nightlife, art scene, thriving culture, and tourism.
It was once the famous city of Saigon, and to this day, you can still visit the tunnels the Viet Cong dug during the war to secretly navigate below Ho Chi Minh City. It’s the largest city in Vietnam by population, and is packed with bars, restaurants, street vendors, and nightlife. it’s also making a name for itself in the tech world, with several new urban areas popping up with modern architecture and daring city planning.
Ho Chi Minh
My Son
Whether you’re a history buff or not, you will appreciate a trip to My Son. Here, you’ll find ancient Hindu temples dating back to the 4th century that are perhaps the most sacred in all of Vietnam. While Angkor Wat in Cambodia gets most of the tourist attention, My Son is just as spectacular and special, with uniform red brick architecture on the hitoric structures.
It’s located an hour outside of the coastal city of Da Nang in the center of the country, so you can plan a perfect day trip here and stay in the city by night.
Hoi An
To get away form Vietnam’s sprawling, loud cities, head to Hoi An. Once a large port town, it’s now time capsule of the past, and has excellently preserved its architecture and old world heritage. It’s a charming city where you can walk through old town, peruse what the ware of local merchants, and learn about the silk trade that has been a cornerstone of this town for centuries.
If you venture a little outside Hoi An, you’ll find incredible walking and biking paths, and boat tours. Like My Son, it’s located near Da Nang, making it easily accessible on a trip through central Vietnam.
Hoi AnAn
Phong Nha-Ke Bang
It’s easy to see why Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was designated a World UNESCO Heritage site. The park is home to underground rivers, intricate cave systems that run for miles. And the oldest karst mountains in Asia are an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. It was once extremely remote with few amenities surrounding the park, but as tourism has increased, it’s been modernized to make for a comfortable trip.
Vietnam has a lot to offer. There are breathtaking hiking, ancient ruins, pristine bays, and world history. It may not have the famed beaches of Thailand, or the world-renowned temples in Cambodia, but it has a lively and rich culture worth experiencing. The people there are genuine, and once you get off the beaten tourist path and see life through their eyes, you will fall in love with Vietnam.
Military-run mobile network operator Viettel has been ranked the most valuable brand in Vietnam this year, followed by dairy firm Vinamilk and telecommunications company VNPT, according to a local trade promotion agency.
The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Brand Finance, an independent branded business valuation consultancy, announced the latter’s own rankings at a forum on Monday morning.
Viettel led the list of Vietnam’s Top 50 Brands for 2017, with its brand valued at US$2.5 billion.
Vinamilk, last year’s front-runner, placed second, valued at $1.4 billion.
Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) came third with $726 million worth of brand value, followed by Vinhomes, the real estate subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup, at $604 million, and the Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) at $598 million.
According to Samir Dixit, managing director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific, the total value of the top 50 brands this year rose 32 percent compared to 2016.
Among the 50, the top 10 accounted for 68 percent of total brand value.
Some 11 new brands made it to the top 50 this year, Dixit added.
Brand valuation plays an important role when a business is listed on the stock market or carries out mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the managing director stated.
There are still limitations to this process in Vietnam, causing M&A transactions here to be less frequent than in other nations in the region, he added.
Agreeing with the opinion, Dang Xuan Minh, co-founder of the Vietnam M&A Forum, said that brand valuation in the Southeast Asian country is often done subjectively.
He believes that the state should promulgate a specific legal basis for the process.
Vietnamese authorities are expected to audit a series of major public investment projects, along with multiple BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects next year.
Ho Duc Phoc, auditor general from the State Audit Office of Vietnam, has issued a statement on next year’s financial inspection plan, which will focus on major public investment projects in the transport sector.
Projects to be inspected include the renovation of National Highway 1, the Ho Chi Minh City metro line No.1 connecting District 1 and District 9, both the Cat Linh- Ha Dong and Nhon- Hanoi railway routes, and an airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, among others.
Several BOT projects will also come under scrutiny in 2018, namely the Trung Luong- My Thuan Expressway in the Mekong Delta, Viet Tri- Ba Vi Bridge in northern Phu Tho Province, and the upgrade of National Highway 18 in the northern province of Uong Bi.
BOT is a financing framework in which the developer receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct and operate a facility for a certain period, during which time it must raise finances for, and is entitled to retain all revenues generated by the project.
At the end of the agreed concession period, the facility is transferred back into public administration.
In 2016, the State Audit Office of Vietnam audited 27 BOT projects, suggesting a reduction in construction costs worth a total of VND1.15 trillion (US$50.6 million).
The concession periods of these projects were also shortened by a combined total of over 107 years.
Financial inspections were conducted on 13 BOT projects live in 2017.
The state audit office revealed several violations on BOT projects including developers and contractors selected without being subject to a proper bidding process.
Other offences related to inaccurate calculation of total investment capital.
The State Audit Office’s announcement came shortly after a toll station on a BOT project in Cai Lay Town, located in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, grabbed local headlines due to repeated opposition from commuters.
A project upgrading the section of National Highway 1 and building a detour across Cai Lay Town is currently operating the facility.
The toll station is placed on the existing highway instead of the new route, which means that a fee is collected regardless of the route chosen by drivers, rather than only being collected from drivers wanting to use the new detour.
Commuters believed that paying their regular road maintenance fees would give them the right to travel on the upgraded national highway without paying tolls.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday ordered the operator of a tollgate to stop collecting fees from motorists for one month to review the situation.
Economic confidence helps Vietnam lead a divided survey on whether life has progressed over the past five decades.
Half a century ago, Vietnam was suffering some of its darkest days as war engulfed the country.
Unsurprisingly, when the Pew Research Center asked people to compare life today with 50 years ago, 88 percent of Vietnamese people said it is better, the most positive assessment in the world.
The end of armed conflict apparently played a key role in giving Vietnamese people an upbeat attitude about the peaceful present, but views of the current economy are also a significant factor, Pew said.
People with positive views of the current economy are 30 percentage points more likely than those with negative views to say life has improved for them, it said.
In Vietnam, 91 percent of the respondents said the economic conditions are good.
Vietnam reported 6.2 percent economic growth last year and is among the fastest-growing economies in the region.
Vietnamese consumers are “extremely optimistic” about the economy and the second most optimistic in Asia Pacific, after Cambodia, Mastercard said in another survey in October.
But the global outlook is not so cheerful.
The Pew survey of nearly 43,000 people from 38 countries shows the world is deeply divided about how life has progressed over the past five decades.
Only 20 countries are in favor of the present, while the other 18 feel their glory days are over, regardless of the Cold War, lack of personal computers and mobile phones, and poor healthcare in most parts of the world.
People in the Asia-Pacific region are among the most positive about the world’s progress, the study found, recording 69 percent of “better” votes in India, 68 percent in South Korea and 65 percent in Japan.
Europeans also view the past half-century as a period of progress, with upbeat assessments in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.
In the U.S., 41 percent said life is worse, while 37 percent said it is better. Republicans are more likely to say life is better today compared with Democrats, the survey found, describing it as an attitudinal shift in the wake of Donald Trump presidency.
Latin Americans are the most negative about the world’s progress, with 72 percent of Venezuelans and 68 percent of Mexicans saying life is worse today.
Across the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, the comparison varies by country, although the outlook is generally negative.
What to do when mid-afternoon hunger strikes? Step out onto the street with this list.
3 p.m. is the perfect time to find middle-aged vendors pulling their chè carts on the streets of Saigon, loaded with tapioca, mung beans, black peas, sesame, lotus seeds, longan, mango, jackfruit, and sometimes, even durian.
Don’t like the tapioca-based chè? You can pretty much try anything with this iced flan, from jackfruit to lotus seeds, and longan to jelly.
It’s not a sin to get a mid-afternoon sugar hit, and if chè is not your cup of tea, try a small jaw exercise with grilled corn braised with oily scallions.
Can pizza be an afternoon snack? Yes, if you replace the pizza crust with thin rice paper, cheese, ham, eggs, butter, sausage, scallions and pulled smoked beef. Grilled Vietnamese super-slim pizza is the star for mid-afternoon hunger, if you don’t mind a little grease and oil.
Want something heavier? Xôi can fill you up until midnight, but might leave you craving for more. Xôi is glutinous rice and everything savory that goes with it: fried scallions, pulled chicken, smoked sausage, groundnuts, pork floss and pate. It’s on-the-go, cheap and hard to resist.
The reason for mango salad addiction is simple: you have one bite, and you have to have another. The recipe is even more simple: sliced mango sprinkled with lime juice and a whole lot of dried, crushed chili.
Stop in front of a highschool in Saigon at 3 p.m. and you’ll see vendors selling small bags of a spicy salad with tiny wooden sticks. That’s rice paper salad, mixed with quail eggs, pull smoked beef, Vietnamese coriander, and yet again, a lot of finely crushed chili.
Pennywort juice is the perfect sidekick for greasy food, but it’s reviving alone too. Don’t expect much out of the taste, drink it for the vitamins and minerals you need mid-afternoon. It’s a decade-old home remedy, your Vietnamese grandmother would say.
If you are no fan of anything green, opt for sugarcane juice. It’s everywhere on the street and very soon, you’ll be back on your feet.
Duck fetuses are certainly not for first-time wanderers, but if you’re feeling adventurous on your 100th afternoon food quest, dive in.
‘Abuse of laws and arbitrary behavior at public offices are still very common.’
Experts and businesses have all too often lamented that superfluous formalities and corrupt government agencies remain one of the biggest problems plaguing companies in Vietnam. It is now serious enough for a senior government official to use strong words when he disparaged the deep-seated problem.
Mai Tien Dung, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office, said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday that despite many directives on administrative reforms, officials in Vietnam have been “slow” to change.
“Abuse of laws and arbitrary behavior in public offices are still very common,” Dung said, as cited by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
According to a survey released at the conference, around 73 percent of businesses polled confirmed that red tape is the biggest obstacle they faced in Vietnam.
Of the 100 businesses surveyed, 64 said “authorative” agencies were frustrating, while 46 percent said they were troubled with overlapping demands, according to the survey commissioned by the Advisory Council for Administrative Procedures Reform, which consists of government officials and business association representatives.
Dung said many government agencies do not communicate with one another, so overlapping procedures force businesses to pay multiple times for one single paper.
One company had to spend VND15 trillion ($660 million) a year on customs checks, Dung said, without naming names, to prove his point that superfluous formalities in Vietnam render its businesses uncompetitive. Most businesses in Vietnam are small and medium sized, with registered capital of up to VND100 billion.
Ha Cong Tuan, vice minister of agriculture, backed Dung’s argument, saying businesses find it much harder to access government support now.
A business investing in high-tech farming will have to go through 16 doors and 40 procedures to finally win the privilege it legally deserves, Tuan said.
In Vietnam, the practice of passing money under the table is so common many don’t consider it bribery, but an inevitable part of getting things done. For years studies have confirmed what everyone in the country knows: Bribery is bad and getting worse.
The thirty-three-year-old weightlifter born with deformed legs set a new world record.
Vietnam has bagged its first medal at the 2017 Mexico World Para Powerlifting in style after weightlifter Le Van Cong broke the world record in the men’s 49kg class by lifting 183.5 kg on Monday.
Cong set a world record of 183.5kg (4,045 lbs) in his fourth attempt, breaking the mark of 183kg he set at Rio Paralympic 2016.
It was the third World Championships for Le, who claimed silver at both Kuala Lumpur 2010 and Dubai 2014.
Expanding gross domestic product (GDP), modern infrastructure and a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) are signs that Vietnam has transformed into an attractive investment destination, but there are still barriers to doing business which are best navigated with local help on board.
Since 1988, there have been 13,544 foreign investment projects with a total registered capital of US$213 billion in Vietnam, building a large overseas investment sector which occupies about 17% of GDP and 43.4% of industrial product value. Overseas firms are attracted by Vietnam’s 87 million-strong population which supports a large and young workforce and that has also seen an increase in disposable income in recent years.
Strong economic growth rates have been a common feature of the Vietnamese economy since the 1990s, and even though the high levels slumped slightly during the global financial crisis, the country has rapidly returned to pre-crisis growth trends and is expected to continue on this path. Infrastructure, tourism development, and related real estate and retail sector development in urban areas are all attracting large amounts of FDI, and overseas firms are increasingly attracted by the country’s move from a centralised to a market-orientated economy.
However, The World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) rank Vietnam in 99th place in the world for ease of doing business, which means it is essential to seek local help when expanding in the country.
There are 10 procedures to undertake when starting a business in Vietnam, making it among the most complex start-up environments in the world. What’s more, many tasks facing new corporate entities may be unfamiliar to overseas companies, making the task far more rigorous. Registration of the seal-sample at the Police Department, for example, or publically announcing the formation in a local newspaper are procedures most companies generally don’t have to complete.
It takes 110 days and 11 procedures to get permits for construction in Vietnam, once again requiring interaction with several official departments. Inspections must be carried out by the Department of Construction and the municipality, and certificates should be obtained from the Firefighters Prevention Department, the Department of Construction and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Getting Electricity
Getting electrical connection is among the most rigorous tasks facing startups in Vietnam, taking 115 days to complete and costing a significant percentage of income per capita. Inspections by the local power corporation are required before completing processes with the Traffic and Transport Department and the Firefighters Prevention Department.
Registering property takes 57 days to complete, which is far higher than the OECD norm but around average for East Asia and Pacific. Contracts between the transferor and the transferee are signed before taxation is paid and registration for the right to use land is complete.
Getting Credit
Vietnam is home to quite a stable credit environment, and obtaining capital is a relatively smooth process for businesses. However, the lack of a private credit bureau can make the process a little trickier for overseas firms.
Protecting Investors
Investor protection is an area in which Vietnam fails miserably. It is ranked in 169th place by the World Bank and IFC, with a weak director liability index and shareholder suits index.
Paying Taxes
There are a massive 32 corporate tax payments to be made each year which takes an average of 872 company hours to complete. Compared to the OECD norm of 176 and the East Asia and Pacific average of 209, taxation is one of the most burdensome processes of doing business in Vietnam.
Trading Across Borders
Given its strong manufacturing base and reliance on interconnectivity, trading across borders is a cheap endeavour. However, that isn’t to say the process is not complicated, and the stream of documentation required for both importing and exporting highlights that cross-border trade can be difficult at the best of times.
Enforcing Contracts and Resolving Insolvency
Enforcing contracts takes 400 days to complete and 34 procedures. Resolving insolvency is a far more laborious process, taking five years on average to complete and with a low recovery rate.
Culture
The Vietnamese believe in the teachings of the early Chinese philosopher Confucius which emphasise the importance of relationships, responsibility and obligation. Vietnam is also a collectivist country and community concerns will almost always come before business or individual needs.We have the local knowledge to help you navigate these minefields.
Whether you want to set up in Vietnam or just want to streamline your Vietnamese operations, talk to us.
Source: TMF/ News Insights/ Business culture/ Vietnam
Get the most out of a trip to Ho Chi Minh and discover everything from chic coffee shops and street food to Vietnamese art and Vespa tours
There’s a lot of history to Ho Chi Minh, some of it still pretty raw, but it’s also one of the fastest-growing, most vibrant cities in Asia. You can easily while away three or four days enjoying eclectic dining and interesting tours, in the city formerly known as Saigon, at the start or end of a south-east Asia tour.
Coffee and kitsch
Transport yourself back to the Vietnam War era, with a visit to Cong Caphe, a coffee chain with a retro, Vietcong-inspired decor.
Hipster-style spot: head back in time at Cong Caphe
Decorated with Communist propaganda posters, vintage typewriters and army kitbags, this hipster-style spot has the theming of a tourist attraction but also draws in locals with its ambiance and artisanal approach to coffee. Try the house special, a coconut coffee, or refresh with a Vietnamese staple, iced coffee with condensed milk.
Picture this
If a picture paints a thousand words, then Vietnamese art can fill an entire library with its stories. Sophie’s Art Tour takes a closer look at the country’s history through the eyes of artists and curators. The small-group guided tours run Monday to Saturday 9am-1pm, taking in private collections, museums and contemporary art spaces.
The narrative delves not just into Vietnam’s tumultuous recent history, but its contemporary creative art scene, and Sophie and her fellow guides add an extra layer to the city tour experience with their informative and thought-provoking approach.
Sensory overload
Is the smell of chocolate in the dark even more tempting? To debate this and other important culinary questions, try Noir – a tasty indication of Ho Chi Minh’s increasingly sophisticated gastro scene.
Noir’s gourmet plates are served in a pitch-black restaurant by blind or visually impaired staff. This is so much more than a meal, it’s a sensory dining experience built around flavours and textures. You won’t be able to see what you’re eating, but the meal will stick in your mind for a long time after.
Retro ride
You’ll need to hold your nerve while weaving in and out of Ho Chi Minh’s heavily congested traffic as a passenger on a vintage Vespa. The Italian scooters have been a part of Vietnamese culture ever since they were introduced decades ago by the French but they fell out of favour when cheap Japanese and Chinese motorbikes flooded the market.
A man on the back of a Vespa in Ho Chi Minh
On your bike: enjoy an unforgettable experience on a vintage Vespa CREDIT: QUINN RYAN MATTINGLY
Using lovingly restored models, Vespa Adventures offers the best adrenalin rush in the city – if you dare to join the chaotic columns of motorbike traffic that snake around the streets. Trust your guide to navigate the roads with the determination of a marching ant and enjoy the ride.
The concrete jungle quickly fades into the Mekong Delta, a fertile area of rice paddies, rivers and swamps. Here on the outskirts of the city, tourists melt away and village life steps forward – a beguiling picture of farmers tending fields, market sellers peddling wares, children playing streetside and dogs and hens roaming free.
Skyline views
Historic French architecture and tree-lined boulevards record Saigon’s time as a French colony, but there’s energy flowing through this city, and Ho Chi Minh is rapidly growing skywards.
The tallest beacon on the skyline since 2010, the 68-storey, 262-metre Bitexco Financial Tower has an unusual shape, owing to a helipad cantilevered out from the 55th floor. Ascend to the SkyDeck for 360-degree views – or for the price of a beverage that’s roughly the same as the viewing platform entrance fee, you can visit the bar on the 50th floor to drink in the views.
Frozen in time
An imposing concrete block, surrounded by gardens, the Reunification Palace is a time capsule that bore witness to dramatic moments in Vietnamese history. In 1975 tanks belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through the gates, signifying victory for the communist party and the end of the Vietnam War. Two of these original tanks are parked on the lawns outside.
Staff escaped from the rooftop helipad minutes before the palace was taken over, part of Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history. As the former seat of South Vietnamese presidential power, the palace hides secret rooms, a warren of tunnels, and a war command centre with maps fixed to walls. Although the palace is still used for national events, as you wander around, there’s an eerie sense that time stopped in 1975.
Hotel on the frontline
Another landmark with echoes of wartime is the Caravelle, one of the city’s most prestigious hotels. It’s been a hotel since 1959 and during the war, it was the office and social hub for the international media. By its closing days, they could see the frontline from their bar stools.
Landmark hotel: the Caravelle is one of the most prestigious hotels in the city CREDIT: AAPHOTO
Skyscrapers have muscled in on the view from the foreign correspondents’ beloved Saigon Saigon Bar, but Lan Som Square, Saigon Opera House and Notre Dame Cathedral are all still in the picture. Visit between 4pm-7pm for happy hour specials and after 9pm for live music and dancing on the black and white tiled floor.
Puppet wizardry
A water puppet show is a traditional form of Vietnamese art, and the most popular venue in Ho Chi Minh is the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre. The daily 50-minute show depicts the culture, traditions and folklore of Vietnamese life and has a soundtrack of old-fashioned music played on authentic instruments.
Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre
Walking on water: visit the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CREDIT: GETTY
Don’t worry that the dialogue is in Vietnamese – the puppeteers, immersed in water to the waist and hidden behind the set, create a show that is comical, poetic and visually spectacular.
Hipster house
Want to rub shoulders with an industrious young crowd? Head where the hipsters go, to Cafe Apartment on Saigon’s Walking Street – an art deco nine-storey apartment block that is chock-full with one-off cafes and boutiques. Before you tackle the stairs, step back and admire the view of the tower block from the street below.
Each balcony is decorated a different way, giving the block the look of a giant doll’s house. The building may have seen better days, but the funky personalities of its tenants makes this one of Ho Chi Minh’s most vibrant addresses.
Shop til you pho
Ben Thanh market in central Ho Chi Minh is one of the city’s most diverting areas. An archetypal Asian urban market, Ben Thanh bursts at the seams with edibles, essentials, and expendables.
A social buzz lingers around the tight grid of aisles, and spills out into the surrounding pavements, as locals chitchat and tourists indulge in a spot of good-natured haggling.
Venture beyond the conical hats, lacquerware and T-shirts to see pyramidal stacks of exotic-looking fruit and vegetables, and the eye-popping sights of buckets of eels and baskets of pigs’ snouts. If that’s not the sort of “delicacy” you can stomach, you’ll find everything that’s good about Vietnamese cuisine here too, with the nourishing pho – spicy noodle soup – a lip-smacking winner.
Dare to beer
A popular evening pastime in Vietnam is drinking cheap, mass-produced beer, most commonly consumed street-side while sitting on a low plastic stool. But beer tastes are maturing in Ho Chi Minh. In the past couple of years more than a dozen artisan brewers have brought their trade to the city, giving beer drinkers stronger and bolder alternatives to the ubiquitous Bia Hoi and Saigon beers.
Leading this imbibing revolution are the likes of Heart of Darkness, East West Brewing Company, and Pasteur Street Brewing Company. Their professional craft-brewing expertise and their use of all-natural ingredients produces an intriguing choice of beers.
Infused with hints of tropical fruits, spices, chocolate or coffee, you’re unlikely to stop at one. Feeling particularly thirsty? Then walk and talk with self-confessed beer geeks Saigon Craft Beer Tours to learn about the rapid growth of the city’s craft beer movement.
Icon of the Sky
If you want to see the world and get there in comfort and style, the incredibly well-connected Singapore Airlines is the connoisseurs’ choice, with 17 flights a week to Ho Chi Minh alone, and more than 35 weekly flights to Vietnam as a whole.
Singapore Airlines works with the finest chefs and best staff to ensure wherever you fly on its extensive network is as good as it gets at 30,000 feet.
The public will have their say on the expansion of the city’s already popular pedestrian area.
Saigon is polling public opinion about making more streets in its backpacker area pedestrian-friendly, a plan which aims to provide a bigger venue for the Lunar New Year celebrations in mid-February.
At a meeting on Monday, the city’s government instructed its tourism department to seek public opinion on turning De Tham and Do Quang Dau into walking streets. Both streets cross Bui Vien, which is already pedestrianized over the weekends.
The switch, if approved, should ideally be completed by the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest festival which will peak on February 16, the city said, as cited by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Vietnam’s labor ministry has proposed a seven-day break from February 14-20 to mark the holiday, which will need the official nod from the prime minister.
Bui Vien and the two streets up for discussion sit at the heart of Saigon’s popular tourism precinct, which is packed with bars, restaurants and dance clubs. The area pulls in around 2,000 tourists on its best days and earns more than VND37 billion ($1.63 million) a year.
The city spent VND13 billion ($572,300) on granite paving, music stages, surveillance cameras, security guards, free wifi and public toilets to turn Bui Vien into a weekend walking zone in August.
Nguyen Hue, the first walking street to open in the crowded city in 2015, has become an attraction to locals and foreigners alike.
Saigon, Vietnam’s biggest commercial center, is one of the most popular destinations in the country.
During the first six months, foreign arrivals increased 14 percent from a year ago to nearly 2.8 million, while the tourism sector raked in VND53.6 trillion ($2.4 billion), up 12 percent from the same period last year, according to the city’s tourism department.
The Vietnam index rose more than 13 percent in November.
Vietnamese shares reached decade-highs and topped Asia-Pacific with the highest price gains in November, bolstered by rising foreign interest during the month.
Foreigners were net buyers of about $500 million of shares in the country’s stock market in November, the highest monthly purchases in at least seven years.
Singapore-listed Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd’s purchases of about $900 million in Vinamilk’s shares was seen as a positive for Vietnamese markets, with government aiming to trim its stakes in more state-owned firms.
Vietnam will also kick off the sale of a majority stake in Sabeco, the country’s biggest brewer, in December.
The Vietnam index rose more than 13 percent in November.
Hong Kong and Japanese shares rose more than 3 percent each in November.
Sri Lankan stocks led the losers with a fall of 3.11 percent, followed by China and Taiwan shares with declines of more than 2 percent.
South Korean, Malaysian, Thai, Philippine and Indian equities fell between 1 to 2 percent.
Smartphone ownership has continued to grow in both urban and rural areas in Vietnam, according to the 2017 Nielsen Vietnam Smartphone Insights report.
The number of people using smartphones in major cities has surged to 84 percent out of the 95 percent of people using mobile phones, an increase of six percentage points from last year.
In secondary cities, 71 percent use smartphones out of 93 percent using mobile phones, a year-on-year growth of nine points.
In rural areas, it is 68 percent out of 89 percent.
“The rapid uptake of connected devices, especially smartphones and tablets, is inevitable in our country,” Doan Duy Khoa, director of Nielsen Vietnam’s department of consumer insights, said in a release.
“This could correspond to the fact that smartphone brands are offering consumers abundant choices at affordable and reasonable prices.
“Another reason is that consumers are enjoying an improving standard of living and expressing their desire for connectivity anywhere and anytime.”
Earlier this year Nielsen had conducted another study in co-operation with Younet Media to shed light on the evolving rural consumer trends.
It found that social media has emerged as a key platform for information, entertainment and keeping in touch with relatives, friends and children, with 22.5 million Facebook users living in rural areas compared with 23.5 million in urban areas.
“This plays an instrumental role in media consumption shifting beyond traditional media formats such as broadcast and cable TV, and also beyond traditional time parts.
“For media owners and advertisers, it is becoming increasingly important to understand both urban and rural consumers’ viewing habits in order to deliver the right content at the right time.”
The report, using online survey method, polled 1,882 frequent online users in major cities, 1,930 users in secondary cities and 2,027 users in rural areas aged 16 years or above
