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

Youths celebrate Halloween in HCM City

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Thousands of the youthful generation flocked to Bui Vien and De Tham Streets in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City for a Halloween celebration on October 30.

Bui Vien, Pham Ngu Lao, and De Tham Streets were packed with people on October 30 night.

Western streets (or streets of foreign visitors) in Ho Chi Minh City are decorated with skeletons and other peculiar things.

A baby cries, uneasy in the busy crowds.

A man tries to work his way through the crowds on Bui Vien Street to sell masks costing US$2.27-9.09 (VND50,000-200,000) each.

Many restaurants are decorated with pumpkins and ghostly figures.

A large number of youths spend time creating elaborate costumes.

Foreigners join the Halloween celebration on Bui Vien Street.

A girl dresses up as a devil, scaring passers-by.

On De Tham Street.

Youngsters get very excited about Halloween.

A girl wears an angel costume. She poses with anyone wishing to take photographs for US$0.45.

A young man lights a firework, attracting devils to the bustling street.

Customers dress up as devils to purchase goods in grocery stores and mini supermarkets.

Ngo Ba Ngoc and a group of painters offer face painting for guests on Bui Vien Street at US$1.36 (VND30,000) each.

A lot of young people prefer masks costing US$2.72-4.54 (VND60,000-100,000) each.

Coffee shops are packed full of visitors.

Apart from Bui Vien Street, youngsters gather in groups and descend upon Nguyen Hue Street, parks and commercial centres to surprise people.

Source: Zing/VOV

Vietnam Railways to pilot automated ticketing

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Major train stations in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the central city of Da Nang will pilot an automatic ticket system this month.

The new system has been installed, with ten automatic ticket gates at Hanoi station, three gates at Da Nang station, and five gates at Ho Chi Minh City station.

The move aims to upgrade train service quality, providing a more convenient and friendly service and ensuring security at the stations, according to the State-run Vietnam Railways, which manages the country’s north-to-south railway line. More new carriages will be added by the end of this year for the same goal, it said.

Train passengers can scan their printed or electronic tickets at these automatic ticket gates to enter platforms and board trains. To support passengers using the new technology, train staff will be on duty to provide help, especially to the elderly, the disabled, and pregnant women.

There are also some changes in ticket checks, with conductors no longer checking tickets before passengers board a carriage. At other railway stations, such as Lao Cai, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Dong Hoi, Hue, Nha Trang, and Dieu Tri, passengers now present their tickets before passing through the gate.

There will be waiting areas in front of gates for relatives, friends, or people coming to the stations to farewell or pick up passengers.

The new ticket system is expected to be introduced at other stations if the pilot proves successful.

Source: VN Economic Times

Vietnam Dong, among most stable in Asia this year

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The Vietnam Dong (VND) is among the most stable currencies in Asia this year, said the US-based Bloomberg News, echoed by similar views from Vietnamese economists who were confident that the stability would remain until the year end thanks to the economy’s positive signs.

The currency has been kept stable, weakening about 1 percent against the US Dollar since the start of this year. An increase in remittances was behind this, said Can Van Luc, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Advisory Council.

Remittances from Vietnamese living abroad were worth 13.4 billion USD in 2016, up 3 percent from the previous year, according to latest statistics by the World Bank. The remittances are forecast to grow 5-7 percent to exceed 14 billion USD this year, taking Vietnam to the top 15 countries with the biggest remittances, he noted.

The rising remittances have helped the country ensure enough dollar supply to meet the domestic demand and allowed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to boost forex reserves. “Such a high level of foreign reserves will allow us to step in to stabilize the money market when needed”, said SBV deputy governor Nguyen Thi Hong on the sidelines of a meeting last month.

The central bank has adopted a more market-based management mechanism with reference exchange rates set on a daily basis since January 2016 in its effort to maintain the Vietnam Dong’s value.

Luc added that surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) has also helped stablise the currency. The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency reported that Vietnam drew in 28.24 billion USD in FDI in the first 10 months of this year, 12 percent higher than the country’s yearly target of 25 billion USD. The FDI disbursement was estimated at 14.2 billion USD during the period, up 11.8 percent year-on-year.

In addition, Vietnam has also witnessed a growth in foreign indirect investment over the past several years. Foreign investors have poured 4.2 billion USD into the local stock market in the first three quarters of the year, a 3-fold increase from 2016, according to Director of the Business Development Institute Le Xuan Nghia.

Ho Chi Minh City led the way in both FDI attractions and remittances. The southern economic hub lured around 5.03 billion USD in the first 10 months, doubling the year-on-year figure. In 2016, overseas remittances to the city reached 5 billion USD, accounting for 57-58 percent of the national total, a year-on-year rise of 11 percent. It aims a 10 percent growth to 5.5 billion USD this year.

More pressure will be likely on the Vietnam Dong at the end of the year due to the US Federal Reserve’s forecast benchmark interest rate rise and higher demand for foreign exchange from importers ahead the Lunar New Year holiday.

Source: VNA

APEC ‘a golden chance’ for Da Nang firms

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The 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit is a crucial opportunity for businesses throughout central Viet Nam to seek trade partners and export markets as representatives of foreign firms flock to the business forums at APEC from November 5-11, Da Nang business people and officials say.

Nearly 2,000 CEOs will attend the CEO Summit in the city. Vice chairman of the city’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Association (DANASME), Nguyen Van Ly, told Viet Nam News that this would represent a rare opportunity for local firms to show off their capacity.

The city has 21,000 businesses, of which 98 per cent are SMEs and super-small businesses with registered capital of VND90 trillion (US$3.9 billion). They contribute 43 per cent to the city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), and employ 60 per cent of the city’s labour force. Eighty per cent of the city businesses operate in trade, service, hospitality, tourism property and retails, making international connections especially important.

Da Nang has been a leader in Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for the past decade. It has 408 domestic projects worth $4.5 billion, and 525 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $3 billion.

Tourism real estate remains an investment magnet in this central city, attracting 25 (FDI) projects worth US$1.8 billion. But the city’s business community faces challenges that the APEC Summit could help ameliorate.

“We have been struggling in seeking a larger export market and long-term strategic partners in service and tourism as well as property. For us, building connections with giant foreign partners is nearly impossible,” Ly said. “Our small and medium enterprise community faces limited funds and technology, as well as little international exposure. That’s why the APEC Summit is very important to the city’s business community.”

Ly said he hoped that local businesses would be able to share experiences with CEOs from some of the world’s top firms and join global production processes.

He said the association had received a list of top 100 enterprises in the APEC’s CEO Summit for business matching. Local businesses are particularly expected to connect with international firms operating in the fields of finance, hi-tech and human resources.

Tourism boon

The 2017 APEC Summit was a “diamond” chance for Da Nang’s tourism industry in hosting the world’s top economic leaders and CEOs, as well as officials from 21 member economies and partners, said the city’s tourism association, Huynh Tan Vinh.

Vinh said the city received an award for Asia’s Leading Festival and Event at the World Travel Awards ceremony for tourism last year. He said that hosting the APEC Summit would confirm the city’s tourism prowess.

He said Da Nang was also the first city in Viet Nam and the South-east Asian region to host a leg of the Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race last year. Because of that event, the symbol of the Ngu Hanh Son Mountain (Marble Mountain) and the city’s tourism logo, Fantastic City, travelled around the globe.

“The APEC Summit is a great promotional opportunity for the city’s tourism industry,” Vinh said. “We’ll be able to offer international observers an introduction to the city through the first-hand experiences of 10,000 delegates, 2,000 CEOs and 3,000 journalists at the APEC Summit.”

He said the city had received huge investment from the central Government and private sectors in infrastructure projects, including airport expansion—a new terminal could host about 14 million tourists per year—convention halls, accommodations, human resource training and decoration projects.

“The city has developed 600 hotels and resorts to provide 26,000 rooms for hosting 15 million tourists per year in 2030,” Vinh said.

Yeon In Jung, the CEO and general director of South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries Viet Nam (Doosan Vina) said the APEC Summit was an excellent opportunity for Viet Nam to showcase its advantages and encourage firms to invest and open a branch or subsidiary in the country like Doosan did in 1995.

He said the APEC Summit would provide long-term benefit for Viet Nam, its people and businesses; the exposure that Viet Nam would receive is tremendous.

“If you think of Viet Nam in terms of a ‘brand’, hosting the APEC Summit will introduce key decision makers in Government and business people from all over the world to what is possible in Viet Nam, and that is priceless,” he added.

“The VIP’s that are coming will be able to see firsthand what companies like Doosan have done here and they’ll be able to easily see the possibilities for investment. Another side effect will be the millions of people in the leaders home nations who will also be shown what it is like to visit and do business in Viet Nam by their media, so the benefits from APEC will last long after the event and have a knock-on effect that will bring lasting value to Viet Nam for many years to come,” he said.

“I think all the factors for success are here and good businessmen are sure to recognize that,” he continued. “They will ‘Carpe Diem’ or seize the day and take a serious look at Viet Nam.”

Source: VNS

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