APEC’s Startup Revolution Brings the Next Big Thing

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You see now, especially in the APEC region, many startups in new areas inspired by successful cases in Silicon Valley.

Enabling next generation startup growth and positioning emerging businesses in APEC member economies to capitalize on new, digitally-driven trade opportunities will be a top priority for the region’s Leaders and Ministers during their upcoming meetings in Da Nang.

In an interview with the APEC Bulletin, Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Chair of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Working Group, discussed startup trends, the impact of changes in technology and trade policy, and how APEC can open the door to the next Airbnb, Ofo, Rappler, Red Mart or Traveloka.

APEC Bulletin: What is the progress of startup development around the APEC region?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: More and more startups are using high technology and new production processes. This includes new ways of marketing, for example. There is some risk during the process of doing business but it is actually expected to generate a lot more income than in the past.

You see now, especially in the APEC region, many startups in new areas inspired by successful cases in Silicon Valley. A lot of new business opportunities are opening up in many member economies such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

It is important that policymakers and private sector groups pay attention to these startups and bring about the best support for them.

APEC Bulletin: Is the development of digital technology translating into increased startup growth and what about the survival rate of these new businesses?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: We see more new businesses actually operating in new prospective sectors. In Viet Nam and in many other APEC member economies, we see new startups trying to imitate what Uber or Grab are doing, for example. Many startups are also thinking of ways to utilize existing resources to bring about benefits for their business owners and also to bring about cheaper costs for consumers.

In terms of the success and failure rates, this is an increasing challenge. Yesterday, I attended a symposium on innovative and dynamic small and medium enterprises and startups, and a participant asked if another dotcom bubble is on the horizon. This is something we need to pay attention to.

APEC Bulletin: Which sectors have the most new opportunities for innovative startups and small businesses, and what is the significance for trade among APEC economies?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: There are many new areas, especially those related to the use and application of ICT. You see them now in transportation, in delivery services, and even in healthcare systems and a lot of bio-related sectors.

Now everyone is talking about big corporations like Apple. They charge fees for downloading and buying software. In fact, all that comes from some company in Ireland or some other small European countries. In Viet Nam now—and in many other APEC member economies—flows of goods and services, and cash, have changed. This is opening new opportunities for small businesses.

APEC Bulletin: How can a startup or small business fit into cross-border production and supply chains that underpin so much of trade today?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: Global value chains are very fashionable. They denote a group of upstream-downstream enterprises and their connections and interlinkages. The big one is providing product output that acts as input for downstream enterprises.

For small and medium enterprises, they will never ever have a bigger, better opportunity to grow and learn that to join a global value chain.

In the past, small and medium enterprises exported products that were usually just a one off—lots of products going from one market to another. The more important thing now is how value is added to this process so that the product of one enterprise, one startup, can play a bigger role, adding value to other businesses and production, and thus, how this synergy can bring about much more value and efficiency.

APEC Bulletin: Most businesses are small businesses in APEC, but their participation in trade is relatively low. Is this trend changing and what are the implications for economies in the region?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: The majority of the enterprises in any particular economy in the region are small businesses. In Japan, the level is 99.7 per cent. In Viet Nam, it is 98 per cent. In most of the APEC member economies, it’s between 97 and 99 per cent. But when we look at their contribution to trade and exports in the region, the figure is much, much lower.

There are different figures if we count all the different ways of calculating how much they participate in trade. For example, there are those who are direct exporters. In Viet Nam there are not so many. But if you count all those that participate in indirect exporting activities, that number can double or triple.

The role of governments here is that we have to clearly see the whole process so we can come up with proper policy measures to strengthen small and medium enterprises and startups’ roles in it.

APEC Bulletin: Small business participation in trade should also be important for jobs.

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: Yeah, absolutely.

APEC Bulletin: So what are the biggest hurdles to small business trade and how are they changing with new technologies and innovations emerging?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: One of the most challenging hurdles is access to finance. Another is technical barriers to trade that keep changing and are getting more and more complicated. Small and medium enterprises need stronger coordination between government agencies to provide sufficient information and support measures to help small businesses and startups to overcome them.

APEC Bulletin: What are the barriers on the investment side? There are many startup opportunities around the APEC region but what’s holding investors back?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: Investments in startups are increasing. Startups have a chance for support investment in exchange for shares in their companies. Of course there are difficulties when the startups themselves are not willing to relinquish control to investors. Many individuals, when they start to develop their business ideas, they feel a bit reluctant to give away part of their company.

The other difficulty startups often face is that they don’t have any collaterals. They are new to everything. They are new to intellectual property, to management of the enterprise. Also there is so much information. What would be the best option in terms of investors or funding out there? No one is there to tell them. This can be a very expensive lesson. A startup may have many good business ideas, but it is not easy to make them a reality. Bigger investors can actually take away that opportunity easily.

Efforts by governments to improve the accessibility of finance for small businesses and startups is rather new. For example, someone recently asked whether Viet Nam now has a regulatory framework for crowdfunding and I told them no. Even among developed economies such as the US, very few, less than ten, have some regulation on crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is what everyone is talking about but not every government knows exactly what to do about it to improve access to finance for startups.

APEC Bulletin: How is APEC seeking to bring startups, investors and policy people together to improve the financing landscape?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: We are doing a lot of things on this in APEC, including holding startup accelerators and pitching sessions with investors. We are putting together all stakeholders—all the accelerators and mentors also interested in the investors as well. We are also introducing a lot of training activities, information consultancy and consulting activities in APEC to help startups to develop their ideas.

We are also trying to create a regulatory framework that can support small and medium enterprises, and startups specifically. This is a good time for all the APEC member economies to pay close attention to startups and put together all existing facilities and resources for the benefit of this sector.

APEC Bulletin: Can you describe any particular startups that you’ve worked with in APEC that you found impressive or inspiring?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: In Ho Chi Minh City we have seen a lot of people and organizations which are really interested in supporting startups. We have a lot of co-working spaces and technical facilities. In Ha Noi also, we have so-called “beehives,” or working spaces for startups, as well as support facilities and a great deal of mentors.

We’ve never had so many initiatives going on in Viet Nam and around the region to support young people, especially students, who have opted to choose startup development as a real professional career instead of working for a big business, or working for the government.

APEC Bulletin: There are a lot of trade agreements in the APEC region and more in the pipeline that are potentially very big and complex. How prepared are small businesses to take advantage of these agreements and is that an area that APEC is working on?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: In terms of the preparedness of small and medium enterprises for free trade agreements, it’s not that good, I have to admit. This is not only about the information. Small and medium enterprises often think that free trade agreements are relevant to big enterprises only. We may be exempted from the influence from these free trade agreements.

The question is how can governments convey information about free trade agreements to small and medium enterprises so they are aware of it? We can do this though websites, business association channels and also to those who can provide specific information about those particular markets.

If a small business is interested in some market, they need to know whether there are any existing free trade agreements that apply to them or any about to be approved or under negotiation that could have a very big influence on their cross-border activities.

APEC Bulletin: How is APEC addressing trade policy knowledge gaps among entrepreneurs?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: APEC is setting up some quite innovative apps and information-sharing platforms. The internet is good in this regard but it can induce you to click farther and farther. This can drive small businesses away from the original subject that they may be interested in so it is important that APEC economies keep the online resources they deploy for them focused.

APEC Bulletin: What are your expectations for the small business sector in the region and the next generation startups driving it moving forward?

Nguyen Hoa Cuong: We must continue to work very actively in APEC to enhance the competitiveness and innovation of small and medium enterprises. With the arrival of the digital age, with increases in digital literacy, we have never seen stronger support from ICT-related tools. The key is to apply them efficiently and effectively to help small businesses and startups grow sustainably, in an innovative way.

Source: apec.org

VN to perform well at Asian U19 qualifier

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Coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn of Việt Nam has asked his players to have convincing victories at the upcoming qualifier of the 2018 Asian Football Confederation U19 Championship.

Tuấn and his players left yesterday for Chinese Taipei for the tournament, which is from November 4 to 8.

Speaking with players before their flight, Tuấn said Việt Nam has to display technique and spirit at a higher level compared with their rivals in the group so that they get the opportunities to compete against the continent’s powerhouses.

Việt Nam are in Group H with Laos, Macao and the hosts.

“They are getting better, but it is not enough to meet my demand. I always ask them to perform better everyday, as you know we are at a lower level in Asia, so we need to work harder and harder,” Tuấn said.

“We have to pass the qualifier first before thinking ahead. I want my players to focus 100 per cent on every match. Do not think they are a weak team and look down on them,” Tuấn, who trained his team for one month in Hà Nội, said.

“I think if we advance to the finals with poor performance in the qualifier, we will not go far. The World Cup is really difficult,” he said.

Tuấn has finalised 22 players to accompany him to Taipei but admitted they were not as strong as their seniors, who won the World Cup U20 ticket last year. He said the selected players were not the best because they lacked experience, while some players he wanted could not make it due to injuries. Meanwhile, the AFC’s best young player of the year, defender Đoàn Văn Hậu, was called up for the national team.

He said most players had only played at the ASEAN level. Striker Nguyễn Khắc Khiêm was the only one who had a chance of participating in a continental U16 event.

“Other difficulties will be the time of the match which is 1pm and the artificial grass that we are not familiar with. These will be challenges for all teams, but we must have plan for it,” he said.

As part of his plan, Tuấn invited fitness coach Dominic Palmer to work with the team since last week.

The German, who used to work with different clubs in Germany and Spain, including European giant Real Madrid, focuses on improving players’ physique.

According to the coaching board, the 36-year-old introduced interesting exercises for players, which got them enthused and motivated to do their best during practice.

According to the schedule, Việt Nam will first meet Macao on Saturday. Their next rival is Chinese Taipei on Monday and then Laos two days later at the Hsinchu County Second Stadium.

The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams will advance to the finals alongside hosts Indonesia.

China are the first team through to the finals after winning Group G in Phnom Penh last week.

Source: VNS

 

SHB posts $59.1m pre-tax profit in 9 months

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Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) on Wednesday posted pre-tax profit of over VND1.33 trillion (US$59.1 million) in the first nine months of the year.

This was an increase of 69 per cent from the same period last year.

The bank said the high profit was due to its strong growth in services, especially bancassurance.

SHB’s financial report revealed that its other important financial criteria saw high growth rate from the corresponding period last year and were expected to surpass the set target for 2017.

Its total assets reached more than VND265.3 trillion, while capital mobilisation was VND212 trillion, meeting with 97.55 per cent of the whole year’s target. The results have helped the bank ensure liquidity, stability and sustainable growth.

Its total outstanding loans were VND191.7 trillion, up 18 per cent from the beginning of the year. Loans were focused on sectors with less risk and prioritised by the Government, such as agriculture, export, processing, manufacturing and hi-tech industries.

The bank’s chartered capital reached nearly VND11.2 trillion. The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) allowed SHB to increase its chartered capital to over VND12 trillion, which was approved at this year’s SHB shareholder meeting.

SHB said it had targeted safe and sustainable development as its first priority. Its safe indexes have always met the central bank’s standards. Its Capital Adequacy Ratio reached 12.15 per cent, which was higher than SBV’s stipulation.

SHB expanded its network this year to Ha Nam, Ha Tinh, Dak Lak, Binh Dinh and Tay Ninh provinces. The bank will also open a new representative office in Myanmar to increase its presence in Southeast Asia.

The bank currently has 7,000 employees and 500 transaction points in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia to serve some four million customers.

Source: VNS

Opinion: 4 things that are making Vietnam’s startup future brighter

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Vietnam’s advantageous place in the hyper global economy of the future isn’t assured—not by a long shot. But the country has a strong potential to make its mark in the world.

The country’s greatest strength, its human capital, has thus far leveraged the benefits of globalization via low-wage manufacturing and the low cost of mobile computing, complemented by increasing access to the internet. But this manufacturing and outsourcing model is reaching its limits. So, Vietnamese entrepreneurs and companies must find new ways to create, add value, and move up the value chain at home and abroad to remain competitive in the global economy. Whether or not this happens largely relies on the foresight, vision, and commitment of leaders in both public and private sectors.

International education for its youth

The youth have embraced international education experiences and the latest cultural trends from South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Presently, there are more than 130,000 Vietnamese students studying at institutions of higher education outside of Vietnam (mostly in Japan and Australia) at a collective price tag of over US$1 billion.

These young Vietnamese are bright, optimistic about the future, talented, eager to learn, and focused on improving their socioeconomic conditions. This current generation may unlock the full potential of Vietnam’s human capital resources, as they understand both local and international norms and seamlessly transition between them.

These graduates are interested in working with and learning new techniques, best practices, and new skills from foreigners and are candid about the challenges ahead for today’s Vietnam, having witnessed the visions of other societies in relation to their own. These are largely positive signs—especially the attitude toward daunting and unknown challenges—because not everyone is positively impacted by globalization.

An engineering nation

With more than 100,000 engineers produced in Vietnam per year, Vietnam has a competitive advantage that places it in the top 10 countries for engineering output. It would stand to reason that some of these engineers would go on to found companies and become incredibly successful in the process.

According to a 2015 policy brief by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), these engineers are fueling Vietnam’s “app economy.” It declared that Vietnam has “the top-rated app economy in Southeast Asia (including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines).”

This advantage may enable Vietnam to grow its economy on the creation of apps by keeping Vietnamese employed or by developing homegrown intellectual properties, which offer greater value than outsourcing projects. It’s less capital-intensive to become an app hub than a manufacturing hub, after all. Thus, according to the PPI, Vietnam may be in the “early stages of a virtuous cycle,” where the demand for app economy personnel leads to more workers getting app development training.

Fast-growing economy

Looking ahead to the midpoint of the 21st century, a recent PwC report identified Vietnam as potentially one of the three fastest-growing countries in economic terms (along with India and Bangladesh) between 2017 and 2050. By 2030, Vietnam is expected to be a top-30 economy, valued at US$1.3 trillion, up from approximately US$595 billion today (on a purchasing power parity).

Moreover, Vietnam ranked 47th out of 127 economies (and third in ASEAN behind Singapore and Malaysia, respectively) with a score of 38.3 in the Global Innovation Index (GII), published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The country also has some of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of 7.3 million in 2015, is the fourth largest city in Southeast Asia behind Manila, Jakarta, and Bangkok, respectively. And the population is still predicted to increase to 9.2 million by 2025.

According to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, Hanoi is also expected to increase its population from 3.6 million in 2015 to five million in 2025. Vietnamese cities such as Can Tho, Bien Hoa, Hai Phong, and Da Nang will all experience double-digit population increases by 2025 as well.

Robust internet and smartphone usage

What do the current internet and smartphone spaces look like in the country today? Here are some interesting statistics:

In 2014, only 41 percent of all mobile phones shipped to Vietnam were smartphones. But by 2016, that number rose to 67 percent.
Today, more than 60 percent of Vietnam’s population is online.
By 2015, Vietnam had more internet users than any other country in Southeast Asia.
About one-third of the population accesses the internet via mobile and this number is expected to increase.
3G and 4G coverage is expected to be available for 95 percent of residential homes by 2020.
Continued investment in Vietnam’s telecommunication networks—projected to be worth more than US$10 billion by 2022—will be vital to fostering communication, commerce, and collaboration between Vietnam, its different regions, and the world.

Conclusion

Moving toward the future, new business models—with an emphasis on transparency—and technological innovations, such as blockchain, will accelerate the leapfrogging of Vietnam’s economy, as people continue to flock to urban centers.

In particular, fintech has the power to enable the participation of underbanked and unbanked consumers in Vietnam’s formal economy. This focus on financial inclusion, combined with systemic reforms and investments in education, innovation, and best practices, could further propel Vietnam’s GDP growth rate even beyond the most favorable current projections.

Source: Andrew Rowan

Hanoi DocFest 2017 to start this Sunday

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The 5th edition of Hanoi DocFest, Vietnam’s only annual festival, dedicated to independent creative documentaries, experimental and hybrid films, will be jointly held by Hanoi DocLab and Goethe-Institut Hanoi on November 5-12.

This year’s festival has an important structural change: the program will last for a week and happen in many places in the city, to give the audience a broader perspective of what’s happening in the independent film scene.

At DocFest 2017, you will find films that contemplate the many aspects of the social and the personal, manifested not only in informational routes but also in unique formal approaches.

A 2-day symposium dedicated to cinema of the region, titled “Time, Space, and the Visceral in Southeast Asian Cinema”, will be organized, with the Southeast Asian Cinema Research Network, with speakers including Philippa Lovatt, Gaik Khoo, Jasmine Trice, Mariam Lam, Hitomi Hasegawa, Sow-Yee Au, Davide Cazzaro, Merv Espina, Thaiddhi and some from Vietnam – Siu Pham, Truong Minh Quy, Tran Ngoc Hieu, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Tran Duy Hung and Tran Trung Hieu.

Birgit Glombitza, the art director of Hamburg International Short Film Festival, will introduce the audience to contemporary aesthetics and current trends of short films in international festivals through three screening programs and presentations.

Furthermore, the schedule includes an intensive 3-day field recording and sound design workshop at our festival, led by Ernst Karel, a sound engineering specialist from Harvard University’s Sensory Ethnography Lab (SEL).

During the weekend, there will be two main screening programs: “Then and Now” and “Portrait”.

Here, the audience will travel through the different landscapes of Vietnam, the Gia Lai region with Drowning Dew – a collaborative project between Art Labor Collective and Truong Que Chi and Do Van Hoang, the Mekong area with “Flat Sunlight” by Lena Bui, the street of Kham Thien in “March 23” by Pham Thi Hao … to meet an ex-freelance interpreter at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the mid-1960s, a man who came home after spending 18 years in prison, and families from the North, the South, and Middle Vietnam who live together in an apartment near the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital, and many more.

They are the stories that we believe, to a certain extent, will tell a story of a Vietnam in which we are living and witnessing its many changes.

The event will take place at the Goethe-Institut Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hanoi.

Source: PV

Vietnamese allowed in casinos from early next month

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Vietnamese citizens wanting to enter casinos under a new rule effective early next month must prove they earn regular monthly income of at least VND10 million (US$440).

This regulation is included in the Finance Ministry’s Circular 102/2017/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree 03/2017/ND-CP on casino business which came into force on March 15.

To prove their eligibility, gamblers must produce proof of corresponding taxable incomes, or monthly wage payments certified by their employers. They can also use other certified copies of housing and asset lease agreements with monthly rent of over VND10 million, and bank savings accounts with monthly interest of over VND10 million.

Decree 03/2017 states that Vietnamese gamblers are given the green light to enter casinos for a three-year pilot period since the first casino operator get the go-ahead. Then, the Government will assess the effectiveness of the trial scheme in order to decide whether to continue with the scheme.

Local gamblers must be 21 years old or above, have full civil capacity, and meet financial requirements if they want to enter casino resorts. They are required to pay a fee of VND1 million for a 24-hour casino pass or VND25 million for a monthly pass.

Notably, gamblers are not allowed in if their family members like parents, parents-in-law, spouses and children submit formal requests for preventing them from casinos.

Source: SGT

APEC 2017: Connectivity opportunities and two sides of the coin

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Vietnam as well as APEC member economies welcome new opportunities, but also face many challenges to adapt and develop.

Must be connected

Globalization and the industrial revolution 4.0 are creating opportunities for international economic cooperation but also pose many challenges.

According to analysts, with the 4th industrial revolution, the key is connection – connection between the real world and the virtual world, connection between businesses, between people, and between infrastructures.

At the Workshop on Education, Vocational Training and Social Security held by the Working Group on Human Resource Development in the framework of the Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM2) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and related meetings, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Me Diep emphasized: The 4th Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is a major global trend, with the driving force of development of science and technology. The foundation of this revolution is digital technology and the integration of smart technologies to optimize processes and production methods.

Life has also proved that the 4th Industrial Revolution has been making breakthrough changes, with strong impact on socio-economic development in each country, each region and on a global scale. In this context, education, skills training and social security are issues that attract the attention of all economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Along with the explosion of the 4th Industrial Revolution, there will be a big shift in vocational education in the future. Many old jobs and sources will be lost, while new occupations in the digital, programming, data protection fields will appear, etc. Requirements on qualifications and skills of workers to meet increased employment requirements will increase, posing new issues in education and training development to meet the change of requirements in the future.

Mr. Can Van Luc, an economics expert, and member of the National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation said in an interview with the media, in the context of APEC integration, digital technology is a condition, an opportunity for Vietnamese agencies and enterprises to exchange experiences, learn and transfer technology from foreign partners. The strengthening of cooperation between APEC members in the field of human resources development, control of risk emerging from digital technology can be seen as another opportunity. At the same time, digital technology contributes to the improvement of labor productivity, which is low in Vietnam.

With the characteristics of the current human resources of Vietnam, first of all, the 4th Industrial Revolution brings a number of opportunities.

Two sides of the coin

However, Luc also warned, this is like the two sides of a coin, as the 4th Industrial Revolution also brings about big challenges.

To take advantage of the opportunities and catch up with the Industrial Revolution 4.0, many experts say that in order not to fall behind, Vietnam needs to start right from the ground, especially the development of hi-tech human resources and competitiveness. The next challenge is the competitiveness of each Vietnamese worker, which is now at low level (low labor productivity, lack of soft skills, professional skills and foreign languages …). Therefore, the 4th Industrial Revolution can create pressure on employment.

Information security and network security are also considered difficulties that the 4th Industrial Revolution creates for Vietnam. Vietnam’s IT infrastructure is fundamentally progressing but still inadequate. In addition, the awareness, perspective and knowledge of state agencies required to meet the new requirement should also be taken into account.

In Vietnam, it is a matter of fact that there is a widespread lack of skilled workers and redundancy of bachelor degree graduates. This situation is popular in not only the field of economics, but also in various industries. Within the framework of APEC, it is necessary to standardize the positioning and recognition of mutual qualifications, in particular digital degrees, and certificates from online competitions. In addition to traditional training, e-learning training is becoming common. At the same time, it is necessary to focus more on training of foreign languages (especially English), knowledge and skills in IT or skills that Vietnamese workers are weak at.

In addition, Luc also said that it is necessary to reform institutions, create a working environment in which employees can devote their ability, be recognized, correctly assessed and given help to study, without a stressful environment i.e., to create a healthy organizational culture.

Source: Hoang Long

Uber pledges cooperation with Vietnamese taxi firms

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Uber is keen to find a way to cooperate with Vietnamese taxi companies, instead of eliminating them from the market or going against their traditional business model, an Asia-Pacific executive of the ride-hailing app has said.

Uber is facing strong protests from conventional taxicabs, who say the California-based transportation technology company is stealing passengers from them, in Vietnam.

Local taxi operators in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have repeatedly called on authorities to either ban Uber and a similar ride-hailing app – Grab – from operating, or at last subject them to the same tax policies and regulations as conventional taxi companies.

However, Brooks Entwistle, chief business officer for Asia-Pacific with Uber, has underlined that cooperating with Vietnamese taxi firms is an important part of the company’s development strategy.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the sidelines of a media meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, Entwistle said Vietnam is an important and potential market for Uber in the region and the company wants to cooperate with conventional local taxicabs for all parties to achieve mutual growth.

The Uber executive added that he is scheduled to visit Hanoi next week to meet with local regulatory bodies with regard to the app’s operations in the Southeast Asian country.

The upcoming cooperation is aimed at reducing the number of no-passenger cars traveling on the streets and easing traffic congestion, Entwistle said.

He emphasized that Uber wants to work together with Vietnamese taxi firms to achieve business growth, instead of going against them.

Last month Uber inked agreements with three major taxi firms in Taipei, allowing cab drivers in the Taiwanese city to use its app, a move which Entwistle said would be applied widely across Southeast Asian cities in the coming time.

Tuesday’s meeting was jointly held by Uber and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where the latter released its findings on the ride-sharing trend in major cities across Asia.

The survey, polling 9,000 participants in Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, suggested that more and more cars will join the traffic flow in Southeast Asian cities in the next few years, worsening gridlocks during rush hours.

According to the survey, 81 percent of the respondents in Ho Chi Minh City and 79 percent in Hanoi want to buy a car in the next five years. The two Vietnamese cities also have the worst traffic jams, in terms of time wasted, among Southeast Asian metropolises.

For instance, during rush hours in Hanoi, it takes 70 minutes to complete a trip that normally takes only 30 minutes, meaning commuters have to spend 40 minutes on average in a traffic jam.

The survey also found that ride-hailing apps have helped lower the number of cars traveling on the streets by 92 percent in Bangkok, 91 percent in Kuala Lumpur and 88 percent in the Philippines.

Source: Tuoi Tre News

Gateway to Vietnam: Opening doors for investors

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GBS – Speaking at the opening ceremony at the conference “Gateway to Vietnam” with theme “Capital Market – A new driver for Vietnam’s Economic Growth” held at Ho Chi Minh city on October 25, the Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said Vietnam has put priority on developing capital market.

The conference was hosted by Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), is a tailor-made conference to promote investments. Organized in three years (2009, 2010 and 2014), the conference has become one of the most expected events for investors and corporates; where they have the chance to network, establish & enhance their connections as stepping stones to better investment & business opportunities.

Although there remain major challenges for Vietnam’s economy in 2017, the reform efforts of the Government so far have shown myriad positive impacts. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.73% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016 with remarkable growth of the services, processing as well as agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sectors. The average Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January – August period gained 3.84% increase in comparison to last year’s data. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2017 reached US $7.7 billion, a 6.5% increase from the same period of last year – drawing great attention from overseas investors. The conference Gateway to Vietnam is another effort – to connect Vietnam enterprises with domestic and international investors, which is in alignment with the government’s effort to emphasize the positivity of Vietnam’s economic condition.

Significant improvements in mechanisms and policies have been drastically directed by the Government and have shown effectiveness, bringing better business environment for domestic enterprises. This helps to attract more investments. As such, the government has set objective of GDP growth rate by for 2017 to be at 6.7%.

Bloomberg considers Vietnam’s stock market as the hottest in Asia this year. Foreign investors are finding good chances at strongly divested State owned enterprises (SOEs) and an increasing number of listed enterprises. The market has become much more impetuous when derivatives were kicked off in August. These bright spots push up economy growth speed. Up to now there are over 1,300 listed companies on the market. According to HNX and HOSE, total market capitalization by the first two quarters of 2017 was estimated at nearly US $160 billion, a 5.73% growth from the same period of last year.

2017 will continue to be the year of dynamic M&A, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) – inheriting from new FTAs and the real estate market revitalization in perspective of investment trend from large Thai and Singaporean corporates to Vietnam, besides the emerging M&A wave among domestic enterprises. This helps to call for FDI.

Governmental policy changes enable many new enterprises to establish this year. By the end of August, there were 85,357 enterprises with registered capital of VND 822.1 trillion, to increase 16.3% in number of enterprises and 44.8% in registered capital from the same period in 2016; the average registered capital of newly established enterprises was VND 9.6 billion, 24.5% up from January – August last year.

With hundreds of thousands of private enterprises operating in many economic areas of a country with stable economy growth, there are potential cooperation and attractive investment opportunities for foreign investors. This year’s conference, themed “Capital Market – A New Driver for Vietnam’s Economic Growth”, will take a close look at outstanding angles of the capital market as well as provide in-depth insights into major sectors and industries that have been boosting the nation’s economy.

Aside from enriching presentations delivered by respected guest speakers, the conference also organizes private meeting sessions to allow direct interaction between investors and corporates. 2017 has witnessed some major remarkable developments of Vietnam’s macro economy with low inflation and well–improved business environment.

– HanoiTimes

Share music and beer in Hanoi with Monsoon Festival

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The fourth Monsoon Music Festival will return soon to the capital to satisfy music lovers and beer lovers alike.

When you’re in a cramped city like Hanoi, drinking beer in the middle of a beautiful and joyous place is certainly not a bad way to enjoy yourself.

This year is the fourth time the Monsoon Music Festival is returning to Hanoi, still at the stunningly scenic Thang Long Imperial Citadel with its seemingly endless grass fields dotted with a line of old trees in the distance and the ancient Hanoi Flag Tower on the horizon.

Compared to drinking beer at a local pub, enjoying beer at a music festival can be a whole different, indescribable experience. Lines of large tents packed with music lovers dancing to the tunes, singers from all over the world on the massive stage with songs as amazing as the cold beer glass in your hand, and thousands of glittering arms waving in the air are just parts of that experience.

Some would surely say the Monsoon’s audience are lucky for being able to attend the largest, most joyous, most comfortable and most surreal festival, where music lovers and beer lovers can find their own corner or accompany each other on an amazing journey of emotions. Others might say Monsoon only deserves the number two spot, but then they would probably find it impossible to come up with another candidate that could fill the number one position.

Monsoon by Tuborg, a dream music festival made true by the enthusiasm of musician Quoc Trung, will be arriving soon for audiences to enjoy as fall comes to an end in Hanoi. Music lovers, as well as beer lovers, will certainly find it difficult to come up with an excuse to just sit at home and watch a gameshow on TV.

Source: Staff reporters

Billionaire Vietnamese airline CEO flies higher on list of world’s most powerful women

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The sky’s the limit for VietJet as Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao contends with business class company.

The founder of Vietnam’s rising budget carrier VietJet has joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on the 2017 list of the 100 most powerful women in the world compiled by Forbes magazine.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao secured 55th spot in the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women 2017 ranking and was the only Vietnamese entry on the list.

Thao jumped seven spots from last year, when she was also the only Vietnamese woman on the list.

Forbes compiles the list based on assets, impact, spheres of influence and media presence.

According to the magazine, Thao, the richest woman in Vietnam, has an estimated net worth of $1.93 billion, eclipsing the figure of $1.2 billion it counted in March.

Thao launched VietJet in 2011. Her “bikini” airline, nicknamed after its unique yet controversial promotion scheme of putting female crew in bikinis on some flights, now offers 300 flights a day, or more than 40 percent of the country’s flights, with a fleet of 45 jets.

She also has investments in the banking and real estate sectors, including three beach resorts.

In May, Bloomberg reported that the Hanoi-based VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co. was in talks to become the first Vietnamese company to list on an overseas stock exchange.

“We’ve been approached by some foreign stock exchanges including London, Hong Kong and Singapore, which expressed their interest in our stock,” Thao was quoted as saying in the report.

According to Bloomberg, VietJet reportedly received shareholder approval in April to boost its foreign ownership limit to 49 percent from 30 percent.

Thao studied the business models at other budget carriers such as Southwest, Ryan Air and AirAsia before launching her own airline, a year after a plan to open a joint venture with AirAsia fell through. Thao and her husband own a majority stake in VietJet through their firm, Sovico Holdings.

She told Bloomberg in an interview a year ago that she has plans to make VietJet a global airline. “We want to make VietJet the Emirates of Asia.”

Thao said the rapid ascent of her business has not been easy. “I studied and I did my research. It was a lot of hard work, and to be successful you need to be passionate about the business that you invest in,” she told CNBC.

Aside from Thao, two women from Singapore and one from Myanmar are the only others from Southeast Asia to make the Forbes list.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel retains the top spot for the seventh consecutive year. She is followed by U.K. Prime Theresa May and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Source: Staff Reporters

Ho Chi Minh City university splashes out US$88mn on academic complex

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Besides improving the quality of education, Nguyen Tat Thanh University (NTTU) is aiming to provide a learning environment that meets both domestic and international standards, with millions of dollars set to be channeled into three separate projects.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based NTTU is determined to achieve the top rank amongst research universities in Vietnam, and to gain regional recognition among Southeast Asian countries by 2020, with a conducive learning environment that promotes creativity and innovation.

To do this, NTTU has made a US$88 million investment in three projects at Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) in District 9, including the NTT Hi-Tech Development Center, NTT Hi-Tech Training Center, and Millennium Park.

SHTP is a quickly evolving science and engineering zone in suburban Ho Chi Minh City that includes R&D facilities and the manufacturing factories of large companies, corporations and startups.

State of the art

The NTT Hi-Tech Development Center covers 4.7 hectares of land at SHTP. Construction began in August 2015 with a budget of $48 million.

The property includes the Scientific Institute of Health, the Institute of Pharmacy Research, the Institute of Construction and Architecture, and the Institute of Environment and Biotechnology.

There is also the Institute of Computational Studies, the Institute of Society-Based Training, the Institute of Business-Student Relations, a database center and library, as well as several roof top gardens.

Upon completion, the Hi-Tech Development Center is meant to attract leading scientists and to devise applicable technological products, contributing to the scientific advancement of Vietnam.

The Hi-Tech Training Center, which has received $22 million in funding, is being established to cater for the training of over 3,000 students per year, incorporating immense lecture halls, classrooms, labs, libraries, canteens, and sports zones.

The center will also conform to international standards of technology education and other related areas.

Adopting a business-oriented approach, the Hi-Tech Training Center will help enhance the expertise and skills of technicians, specialists, and management officials.

The remaining funding will go to Millennium Park, whose construction began in 2015 and is expected to be completed this year.

The 23ha park includes a garden, a science park, a main square, a nature museum, and hi-tech agricultural greenhouses.

This pioneering community project is intended to connect SHTP and its neighboring residential areas, by disseminating scientific knowledge to locals and serving as a cultural and entertainment hub.

Five-star infrastructure

The three projects outlined above are in line with NTTU’s Education 4.0 approach. The university sets its sights on internationally standardized infrastructure, massive undergraduate education, empowering the workforce, and an active and practical learning environment.

From its beginning, NTTU has invested heavily in its facilities. According to QS-Stars (a UK-based rating system that provides rankings for universities around the globe), the school’s infrastructure earns five stars, solid proof of the university’s emphasis on its facilities.

Reports reveal that NTTU spends millions of dollars on investment and reinvestment every year. Currently the school has eight premises, costing more than $88 million and covering almost 100,000m² of ground.

NTTU has also just launched a new campus in An Phu Dong, District 12 on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

With $26 million in funding, the campus aims to accommodate the training of 15,000 students with equipment that meets global standards.

Amazon Web Services to debut in Vietnam

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Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, is proceeding its ambitious business plan in Vietnam following Alibaba’s footsteps in the field of cloud computing services.

At the recent press conference in Hanoi, the firm’s spokesperson presented digital and web services specifically built for the Vietnamese market as well as walked delegates through the firm’s strategies to approach customers in the country.

Paul Chen, AWS’s head of solutions architect in the ASEAN, noted that the establishment of the new office in Vietnam could speed up the performance of projects which in turn benefits customer services.

Amazon.com was founded in 1995 with the intent of becoming a world-leading customer-oriented company, where anyone could browse and explore anything they wish to purchase online.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, founded the business only to create a digital space for books and reading material transactions.

According to newswire Forbes, Jeff is recently reported to be the wealthiest person in the world.

Since day one, technological innovations have been ensuring Amazon’s persistent growth in business performance, which enabled the firm to deliver products with greater diversity, maximum convenience, and at lower costs.

When Amazon diversified the firm’s portfolio of product categories, the targeted market segments also broadened.
AWS supplies cloud-based infrastructure services based on Amazon’s back-end technology platform.

Paul also highlighted that after years of fruitful investments in key regions such as the US, India, and China, AWS has set eyes on new up-and-coming markets in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

In particular, in the field of communications and media, AWS provides open-ended, highly reliable, and secure cloud-based computing services which allow media firms and publishers to cut down on expenses in information technology (IT), boost operating performance, and publish content on a global scale.

With transferring, storing, and publishing content on the virtual cloud, AWS enables cutbacks in IT investment for media firms as well as relocating human resources to content creation and customer support.

Besides, AWS also caters a streaming application and over-the-top media services (OTT) that allows streaming content providers to sell media services like audios and videos directly to consumers, which has great potential in Vietnam.

Huge businesses in Vietnam like Masan, Vietjet Air, and VTV Go as well as international giants like Samsung, Coca Cola, HTC, Vodafone, and LG have subscribed to AWS’ services. Vietnamese television station (VTV) utilises services supplied by AWS to broadcast nine television channels on the Internet.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Amazon has set up more than 20 representative offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Australia, Japan, Korea, and China with the objective of supporting the firm’s fast-growing clientele and system of partners all over the world.

Amazon Web Services is a subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies, and governments.

Source: VIR

Samsung, Oppo rule mid-tier smartphone market

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The mid-tier smartphone market segment is dominated by Samsung and Oppo in Vietnam.

Reports show that models priced at VND3-7 million are bestsellers and bring high turnover to manufacturers.

According to The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World), the largest smartphone distribution chain in Vietnam, the mid-range, not the high-end segment, is the major battlefield for smartphone manufacturers in 2017.

In the high-end market segment, there are two rivals – Samsung and Apple. The mid-end market has popular models from Samsung, Apple, Oppo, Sony, HTC, Mobiistar, Motorola and Nokia. To attract more buyers, mid-end phones have new features and high technologies such as dual cameras and fingerprint sensors.

Samsung and Oppo are the two biggest rivals in the market with Oppo focusing only on the mid-end segment.

Oppo’s F1s, A37 and A39 and Samsung’s J2, J3, J5 and J7 models are on the lists of bestsellers at FPT Shop and The Gioi Di Dong, the two largest distribution chains in Vietnam. Apple’s previous-generation models are also on the list at various times.

Samsung, Oppo and Apple still are the best known brands in Vietnam. However, analysts predict that the market structure may see big changes in the time to come.

Vivo, a new face, unexpectedly appeared on FPT Shop’s list of 10 bestsellers in the third quarter of 2017.

Huawei launched Nova 2i, a mid-tier model with four cameras and the latest features. The model has retail price of VND5.99 million, which analysts say is ‘surprisingly low’ compared with its configuration, features and associated gifts, which were offered only to high-end product buyers in the past.

Sources said 5,000 orders for Nova 2i have been placed at The Gioi Di Dong, an impressive figure usually achieved by the three big players Samsung, Oppo and Apple.

After Huawei introduced the model, Mobiistar cut the retail price of Prime X Max, the best model of the manufacturer, from VND6.789 million to VND5.99 million.

Vivo and Huawei are the first to sell models with infinity display screens in the mid-end market segment in Vietnam.

Oppo plans to launch F5, also with infinity display screen, on November 4. Analysts commented that it would have to consider the pricing strategy thoroughly once Nova 2i is priced at below VND6 million.

Analysts said Nokia and Vietnamese brands could also be a big rival to the big players.

Source: VietNamNet

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