Police complete probe of former PVN leaders Police have completed their investigation of fallen political figure, Dinh La Thang, recommending that he be prosecuted for alleged breaches under his leadership at the PetroVietnam (PVN), which led to VND800 billion (US$35.5 million) in losses to the State.
The Cong an Nhan dan (People’s Police) newspaper on Thursday reported that the Police Investigation Department Deputy Chief, Major Colonel Nguyen Duy Ngoc, on Tuesday had signed the final investigation report against Thang and other six leaders of State-owned PVN, also known as the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group. Fifty-seven-year-old Thang, a former Politburo member and former chairman of the PVN’s Members’ Council, was accused of deliberate breaches in economic management causing serious consequences. The same charge was lodged against Nguyen Xuan Thang, Nguyen Thanh Liem and Vu Khanh Truong, all former members of the Members’ Council, and an incumbent member Phan Dinh Duc. The police also recommended prosecuting PVN General Director Ninh Van Quynh under two charges: deliberate economic breaches and abuse of power. The probe also involved Nguyen Xuan Son, former general director of Oceanbank, who was accused of deliberate violations in economic management. According to the police, the Government in 2006 allowed PVN to set up a joint stock bank, of which PVN would hold more than 50 per cent of the charter capital. After two years of preparation with all the procedures completed, PVN reversed its decision and instead contributed capital to Oceanbank in exchange for equity. Despite being briefed on the poor performance of Oceanbank, Dinh La Thang who held his position at PVN from 2008 to 2011, refused to request a thorough review of the bank and the capital contribution plan. Thang unilaterally signed an agreement with Chairman of the Oceanbank’s Board of Directors, Ha Van Tham, and failed to report the contribution to the Government, said the police. He also refused to adjust the VND800 billion contribution or order a divestment from the bank upon receiving warnings of possible wrongdoings in the financial decision from the Members’ Council. While investigating Thang’s responsibilities for wrongdoings at PVN, police also looked into his role in several breaches at a PVN subsidiary – the PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation, involving the Thai Binh II thermal power plant. VNS |
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Typhoon Tembin forecast to hit Southern Vietnam Typhoon Tembin is forecast to hit Southern Vietnam on December 25 after sweeping through the  PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at a meeting to discuss ways to cope with the Storm Tembin in According to both national and international forecasts, the typhoon was at its strongest when it hit Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago on Sunday afternoon, with wind speeds over 130kph (81mph). The storm is approaching Coastal provinces from Khanh Hoa to Kien Giang have issued offshore fishing ban while Ba Ria-Vung Tau, The Government held a meeting in Official statistics show flooding and storms left 390 people dead or missing in VGP |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 25/12 Post-APEC opportunity for More than 150 business leaders have gathered at a conference held on December 19 in Hosted by SCG, one of the leading conglomerates of the ASEAN, the conference aims to summarise the key resolutions of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)’s meeting during the APEC 2017 in According to Hoang Van Dung, chairman of ABAC Vietnam, the ABAC meetings were concluded with numerous recommendations to APEC leaders to foster regional business progress. “The recommendations focus on promoting regional integration and removing protectionist barriers to facilitate business development and investment; addressing climate change and the energy framework; the importance of sustainability and inclusive development; and supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises in finance and technologies, with vision until 2020 and onwards. These proposals, once put into action, will directly impact local businesses,” Dung said. The conference has also provided suggestions on how companies in Especially, SCG—as the leader in building materials, packaging and the plastic industry—provided top-line insights in these sectors, with practical recommendations for local businesses. “This year, following ABAC’s resolutions in strategic issues including inclusive development and sustainability, this conference was organised for the country’s business leaders to discuss the specific impacts of these trends on Vietnamese pig farmers losing to foreign rivals on home soil The Vietnamese pig industry is currently a picture of contrast, with domestic farmers struggling against thriving foreign entities. A sad Tet, or Lunar New Year, is looming for Vietnamese pig farmers as prices continue to fall, meaning local producers are often working at a loss. Live pig prices now oscillate at around VND27,000 (US$1.2) per kg and show no signs of recovery, rubbing salt into the wounds of local pig farmers. Nguyen Xuan Ha, who runs a herd of 2,500 swine in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, currently incurs more than VND300 million (US$13,170) in losses on a monthly basis. Live swine prices began to decline in October 2016, and Ha has been forced to sell at under cost for the last ten months in a row. “This translates to a total loss of more than VND3 billion [US$131,700],” he said. He supplies 450 live pigs to the market for slaughter every month, and has had to cut every possible cost to control his losses. “I wash the pigs every three days, instead of two days, and feed them twice a day, rather than all day as before,” he elaborated. Ha also has to take risks by reducing the number of vaccine injections his pigs receive. Millions of local pig farm owners across Many have already given up and scaled down their farms. In Nationally, total pig herd numbers slipped 6.2% from 2016 to 27.3 million animals, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Contrary to the tough times being experienced by local farmers, foreign-invested companies have been able to maintain their herds, or even grow them, in recent times. Tran Van Quang, head of the Dong Nai animal health department, said foreign firms with complete production lines and technology adaption can avoid losses on the currently low-priced pig market. “It’s also possible that they want to take advantage of this low, while local farmers have ‘surrendered,’ and dominate the market,” he said. Tran Dinh Thuc, director of an animal feed company in Dong Nai, echoed Quang’s view, recalling a similar situation that occurred in At that time, when chicken prices slumped, foreign companies made up only 20%-30% of the market. However, foreign players took advantage of the chance to increase their scale and eventually dominate, after Vietnamese farmers either shut down their production or switched to working as an outsourcing facility for their foreign rivals. “It cannot be ruled out that foreign companies are applying the same scenario in order to manipulate pig prices and dominate the market,” Thuc said. However, a business manager of one foreign husbandry company said foreign players are not to blame. He said it was an unavoidable trend for the pig industry to change from small-scale, household farms to larger-scale operators. The market has become more competitive with the participation of major foreign companies and big local corporations, he added. The manager said foreign companies had expanded their herds during the time of low prices because “the expansion was part of their long-term business plan approved three to four years earlier.” He added that foreign companies have accepted losses in order to expand their scale and also hope to see prices recover to make up for these losses. Vietnam’s seafood industry reacts to ‘yellow card’ from EU Despite the European Commission having given Vietnam’s seafood industry a ‘yellow card’ in October - a warning to countries involved in illegal fishing - Vietnamese seafood exporters believe they can have the decision revoked, and avoid a more serious ‘red card.’ While seafood exporters try to help themselves, the whole industry, from the national seafood association to provincial authorities, are also working to improve the situation. All of them are working against the clock, as it has been two months into the six-month window The ‘yellow card’ is a warning given by the European Commission to any “non-cooperating country” in its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing worldwide. The warning to The country currently lacks both an effective sanctioning system to deter IUU fishing activities, and adequate actions to address illegal fishing conducted by Vietnamese vessels in non-Vietnamese waters. “Furthermore, After the six-month period of the ‘yellow card,’ if significant progress is made, the ‘yellow card’ will be lifted, and replaced with a ‘green card,’ representing legal export status. If not, a ‘red card’ will be given, meaning that The EU currently accounts for 16-17 percent of Cao Thi Kim Lan, general manager of Bidifisho, a local seafood firm, has warned that any ‘red card,’ if enforced, may lead to other large importers, including the Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, chairman of the seafood committee under the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said the business community is well aware of the challenge they face, and are actively cooperating with authorities to solve the problem together. One practical solution is to ‘say no’ to catches from illegal or unlicensed fishing boats, those that use banned equipment or illegal methods for their catches and those that fail to prove the origin of their products, Sac said. “We also need to say no to rare and precious aquatic species, and seafood that is undersize,” she added. Nearly 80 seafood exporters have signed up to join the VASEP campaign, and the association has also set up websites, in both English and Vietnamese, to publicize their efforts in having the ‘yellow card’ lifted. Coimex, a seafood exporter based in the southern coastal city of The company’s operations are yet to be impacted by the ‘yellow card,’ but chairman Le Van Khang is concerned that a ‘red card’ is inevitable if no improvements are made. “A red card means Vietnamese seafood will be banned from entering the EU,” he said. “What will be the fate of my hundreds of employees then?” Tran Van Dung, general director of Baseafood, said that in the immediate term, the company would protect itself by putting more focus on the origin of the products it sources. During the six-month ‘yellow card’ period, the country will have 100 percent of its shipments to the EU held for inspection before clearing customs. “If we fail to carefully check the origin of our products, we will face export turnarounds by the EU immediately,” he said. The EU makes up 30 percent of the export turnover of Baseafood, earning it some $10 million a year. Khang, the chairman of Coimex, said businesses trying to ‘rescue’ themselves is one thing, but authorities should also do their part. It is not impossible to stop Vietnamese fishermen from engaging in illegal fishing if local authorities and relevant authorities get more serious in their management. Citing the European Commission’s statement, Khang said “The EU warned “The problem can only be properly resolved if top officials in each province take responsibility.” Dung, general director of Baseafood, suggested that local authorities and relevant agencies cooperate in expediting certificates of origin on seafood products, which currently takes more than ten days. Nguyen Hoai “The business community hopes that these databases are well developed and can be connected to the national database, so it will be easy to check fishing registrations and trace seafood origin,” While it’s the fishermen themselves who undertake the illegal activities, some say it’s not a deliberate act to violate other countries’ sovereign waters. In September 2017, Do Thanh Dat, from the south-central The location’s deep water prevented Dat from anchoring and strong winds blew them into “ The captain was sentenced to ten months behind bars, while the crew members each served one month and paid cash fines, he added. Dat said fishermen have been told not to go fishing in the waters of other countries, but this is easier said than done. “When you are in the middle of the sea, you can’t tell each country’s waters apart,” he said. Many Vietnamese fishing boats are not equipped with devices to identify the overlapping maritime territories and fishermen end up violate foreign waters unknowingly. Fishermen’s commitment Vietnamese fishermen acknowledge that the EU’s ‘yellow card’ is not something that only seafood exporters should lose sleep over. “If the EU stops importing seafood from Nguyen Van Thu, from the central “I have signed a written guarantee not to violate foreign waters,” he said. In fact, Thu said he had built a new boat and will now “fish nowhere but in Vietnamese waters.” Nguyen Tan Hai, another Quang Ngai fishing boat captain who has served jail time in Ninh Thuan aims to become renewable energy centre  Boasting huge potential for renewable power development, the south central coastal The province is relatively safe from storm while boasting good wind resources with wind speed of between 6.4-9.6 metres per second for 10 months a year, which is a favourable condition for developing wind energy. Surveys show 14 wind potential areas of about 8,000 hectares, mainly in three districts of Ninh Phuoc, Thuan Besides, the locality also holds good solar energy potential as it has average sunshine hours of 2,600-2,800 per year, with solar radiation at 320 kcal/cm2 per year. Ninh Thuan already has its local master plan on wind power development from 2011-2020 with a vision to 2030 approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade, which designates five potential zones with total area of 21,432 ha for wind power with projected total capacity of 1,429 MW and solar projects with total capacity of 4,848 MW by 2030. The province is finalizing a master plan for solar energy from 2016 to 2020 with a vision to 2030, which aims to generate around 2,000MW of electricity by 2020. Incentives in terms of corporate income tax and land use fees have been taken by the province to lure investments. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Van Hau said that the province always encourages and creates favourable conditions for investors to carry out renewable energy projects in the locality. The province has so far granted investment licences to eight wind power projects valued at more than 19.7 trillion VND (867.3 million USD). Construction is underway at four projects with total capacity of 208 MW. Late this year and on the outset of 2018, construction will begin on six solar energy projects, including 50MW Thien Tan plant, 50 MW My Son plant, Bau Ngu Lake solar power farm, 168 MW CMX Renewable Vietnam Plant, 50 MW Phuoc Huu plant and 50 MW SP Infra 1 plant. Once becoming operational, the projects will make significant to ensuring national power security, reducing negative impacts on the environment while creating jobs for local labourers.- VN, There is great potential for co-operation between Taking part in the meeting was a delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) led by Indronil Sengupta of Tata Sons, which visited Representing the Vietnamese side were investment and trade promotion officials and business executives from 16 southern cities and provinces, including Can Tho, Dr K Srikar Reddy, the Indian consul general in the city, said: “According to the Foreign Investment Agency of Viet Nam, there are lots of opportunities for investment in infrastructure, power, renewable energy, agro processing, floodwater drainage, textiles, tourism and IT, which I think could be interest of Indian companies present here today.” There is a lot of potential in the renewable energy sector, which could help expand bilateral trade and investment, he said. Indian companies such as Tata Power, Shapoorji Pallonji and Suzlon are already working on renewable energy projects in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Soc Trang provinces, he said. Reddy said trade between the two countries was doing quite well, growing from US$1.15 billion in 2006-07 to $10.13 billion last year. “Bilateral trade is expected to grow and achieve the target of $15 billion by 2020 set by the leaders of both countries.” P. Harish, the Indian ambassador to Viẹt Nam said Indian industry had built unique strengths and capabilities and is keen to enhance its economic engagement with Nguyen Thi Huyen Ngoc from the Investment Promotion Centre for Authorities from Ninh Thuan, Can Tho, Kien Giang, and Hau Giang also presented their investment wish lists and the incentives they are offering investors. Nguyen Duy Linh Thao, director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Kien Giang Province, sought Indian investment in three sectors: hi-tech agriculture and fisheries for export processing, infrastructure at industrial parks, and green energy and waste and wastewater treatment. Egyptian firms updated on During the event, the diplomat highlighted the potential for stronger cooperation in economy and trade between He briefed participants on The ambassador suggested measures to promote economic and trade ties, calling on the two countries’ businesses to participate in trade fairs, exhibitions and investment workshops, thus seeking more business opportunities. The Vietnamese Embassy is always willing to help Egyptian firms connect with partners in For his part, Secretary General of the Egyptian Business Association, Mohamed Yousef said leaders of the two nations have agreed to enhance bilateral economic relations, which is bringing great benefits to enterprises from both nations. Promoting trade cooperation will enhance two-way trade between the two countries, thus strengthening bilateral ties, he added. Yousef also took the occasion to introduce According to Vietnamese commercial counsellor in Egypt Pham The Cuong, Phu Yen proposes solar power projects The south central province of Phu Yen has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to approve adding three solar power projects to the Provincial Power Development Planning in 2011-2015 period, with a vision to 2020, a local senior official has said. According to Tran Huu The, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, once approved, the projects will be put into operation in the second quarter of 2019. They include the Thanh Long Phu Yen solar power plant, worth nearly 1.16 trillion VND (51 million USD), invested by Thanh Long Electronic Production JSC and the Europlast solar power plant, worth more than 1.21 trillion VND (53.32 million USD), by European Plastic JSC. They sit on 57 hectares in Thanh An village and 58 hectares in Binh Thang village, respectively, in Son Thanh Dong commune, Tay Hoa district. The facilities, both with designed capacity of 50 MWp, are expected to generate 76.928 million kWh, and 76.687 million kWh per year, respectively. The final project is the Phu Khe solar power plant, with total investment exceeding 1.24 trillion VND (54.65 million USD) by VIFA Energy and Trade Company on 55 hectares in the Multi Sector Industrial Park 2 in Hoa Xuan Dong commune, Dong Hoa district. It has a designed capacity of more than 49 MWp and is expected to generate 76.321 million kWh per year. Previously in September, the province announced 14 sites with great potential for solar energy development. Dao My, chief of the Office of the Committee, said the sites have total area of nearly 5,160ha, covering water surfaces of hydropower reservoirs and in mountainous districts, with capacity expected to reach 3,541MW. To date, the province has allowed 17 investors to study and make project proposals with total combined capacity of 1,310 MW. USG Boral to invest additional 20 million USD in Vietnam USG Boral, a Malaysia-based plasterboards manufacturer, has announced its 20-million-USD investment in a plant at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone in HCM City to expand its production in Vietnam. The plant will support USG Boral’s commitment to meeting the Vietnamese market’s growing demand for high-quality plasterboards. The company’s production capacity for plasterboard is currently at 30 million sq.m. The new facility is set to increase production capacity by 17 million sq.m and is targeted to reach a total capacity of 47 million sq.m when it becomes operational in September 2019. “We have witnessed a strong growth from this region, so our decision to invest in the plant is a strategic one. This expansion will see USG Boral utilising our latest Sheetrock technology to provide superior-building solutions for USG Boral began operations in Kien Giang exports surpass yearly target The Mekong Delta Le Thi Nhut, Deputy Director of the Department, said the growth was led by increases in the export of aquatic products, which reached 192 million USD, exceeding the target by 32 percent, up 42.5 percent year on year, thanks to growing demand in traditional markets. Local exporters sought foreign partners and stepped up the use of technology to meet product quality requirements of import markets, while focusing on processing to enhance the added value and competitiveness of their products. Border trade exchange has been accelerated, contributing to boosting local exports. The locality has also consolidated traditional markets, expanded to new ones and sought partners. Numerous trade promotion events have been conducted in Provincial authorities have also helped local export firms attend trade fairs and forums at home and abroad so they can introduce their products to potential partners. Kien Giang enterprises have developed links with those from In 2018, the province aims to earn 520 million USD from exports. To realise this target, the province plans to produce high-quality shrimp and rice for processing and export. It will also encourage and help local enterprises to update their technology, equipment and improve production process to improve product quality. The locality will continue addressing difficulties facing local exporters while boosting trade promotion and expanding export markets for local key products, including rice, aquatic products, pepper and fish sauce, as well as for new products, such as apparel, footwear, wood products and beer. During the 10-year period (2007-2016), This was stated by the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Shrimp import in In the Swiss market, Frozen shrimp and sealed bags with processed shrimp are the two main products imported into VASEP said In the first three quarters of this year, shrimp imports to As of November 15, 2017, VASEP suggested that in light of the current situation, Mobile top channel for VN’s Citi consumer banking clients Mobile Banking overtook other digital channels to become the preferred channel used by Citi’s Asia Pacific and Mobile use at Citi has surged in the last 12 months by 48 per cent, making it the fastest growing digital channel. Viet Nam has recorded 82 per cent year-on-year growth in downloads of the Citi Mobile® App and Citi’s customers have showed strong engagement, with those who actively use the app increasing by 85 per cent year-on-year. Digital is also growing rapidly as a source of new business at Citi. Digital acquisition in Citi’s credit cards and loans business grew 57 per cent year-on-year, and digital lending currently accounts for 39 per cent of total consumer loans fulfilled by Citi in the region. For digital acquisition, in Citi has digital credit card partnerships with leading players in VIB issues certificates of deposit in Vietnamese đồng The Vietnam International Bank (VIB) has issued certificates of deposit (CD) in Vietnamese dong with attractive interest rates up to 8.7 per cent per year. These certificates have been issued for personal and corporate customers in a move to meet their investment demand, the bank said in its statement. According to the bank, when customers apply for a 61-month CD valued at a minimum of VND10 million (US$440), they will enjoy a fixed interest rate of 8.5 per cent, while an 84-month CD will bring them a fixed interest rate of 8.7 per cent. Customers can also inherit, give and transfer VIB’s CD freely on the secondary market. In urgent cases, customers can use the bank’s CD as collateral for a loan at VIB and enjoy a preferential lending interest rate. Furthermore, it can also be mortgaged for loans at other banks by law. “Along with the savings account, CD is now one of the investment channels preferred by corporates and personal customers with a large source of finance,” VIB said. International fashion fair kicks off in Hà Nội The 21st Viet Nam International Fashion Fair (VIFF) 2017 opened on December 21 at the International Centre of Exhibition in the capital, with the participation of nearly 150 enterprises. The annual fair houses over 200 booths featuring leading fashion brands in textile and garment, leather footwear, cosmetics, jewellery as well as beauty care services in a total area of 4,000sq.m. It also includes booths showcasing raw materials for the textile and garment sector. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Le Tien Truong, general director of Viet Nam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said in recent years, more and more international fashion brands have made their presence in Vietnamese garment enterprises are determined to compete equally with foreign rivals in the domestic market by building and positioning their brands. Many of them have been recognised by local consumers thanks to their efforts in improving products’ quality and designs, he said. The VIFF, which is a traditional activity of the domestic fashion industry, has contributed to the sector’s development and supported businesses over the years in boosting export and trade in the domestic market. The event is described as a good opportunity for local fashion businesses to meet and seek partners while providing a platform for enterprises and designers to introduce their products to customers. Co-organised by Viet Nam Exhibition Fair Association Centre (VEFAC), Govt to launch int’l bond issue The Government has approved a plan to hold an international bond issue, according to the Government news website. The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Government decree on sovereign bond sale, registration, deposit, listing and trading. The ministry would be responsible for issuing such bonds. Revenue from The ministry would also directly pay principles and interest for holders of internationally issued bonds. According to the draft decree, treasury bills would have tenors of 13, 26 and 52 weeks. Other tenors which do not exceed 52 weeks will be decided by the Minister of Finance based on capital demand. Government bonds would have tenors of 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years and other tenors announced by the Ministry of Finance in due course. The ministry is seeking comment on the draft decree. Petrolimex invests VND1 trillion to maintain market lead The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), the country’s biggest fuel trader, has plans to invest VND1 trillion (US$44 million) next year to retain its market lead next year amid imminent market changes. Deputy general director of Petrolimex Nguyen Quang Dung told the Daily on December 19 that the group will acquire more than 70 fuel stations near large projects or along busy roads. This is part of Petrolimex’s plan to keep its leading position on the fuel retail market. Following the Government’s decision to replace RON 92 gasoline with E5 bio-fuel from January 1 next year, 82% of Petrolimex’s 2,400 gas stations now sell E5, a mixture of 5% ethanol and 95% RON 92 gasoline. From 2018, 70% of Petrolimex gas stations will sell DO 5. The group said although the price of DO 5 is only VND50 per liter higher than DO 2-3, DO 5 is better for engines and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Petrolimex dominates nearly half of the domestic fuel market. It expects revenue growth of 7% this year and pre-tax profit of more than VND4.7 trillion, up 1% year-on-year. Bitcoin forecast to fall in next five years The price of Bitcoin has surged 20 times over the past year to US$17,000 and is forecast to decrease in the next five years, even to zero. Both Nguyen Viet Bach and Dominik Weil from Bitcoin Vietnam Co Ltd agreed the price of the crypto-currency might soar to US$50,000-100,000 in the coming time. However, the split over Bitcoin and the competition among digital currencies may reduce the Bitcoin price in the next five years, Bach said. Lawyer Truong Thanh Duc, chairman of BASICO law firm, said Bitcoin might fall to zero as Vietnamese law does not recognize it as a legal means of payment. Tran Huu Duc, member of the Vietnam Fintech Club management board, said the Bitcoin market has attracted prestigious financial institutions and that backers want to encourage the wider use of Bitcoin while critics warn of price risk. The number of people investing in Bitcoin is on the rise. Up to 60,000 people have registered for accounts at Bitcoin Vietnam Co Ltd alone, double last year. In addition, Facebook groups on crypto-currencies and digital assets with huge membership have been established. Bitcoin has increased four times in just three months, thus attracting more investors, Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman and general director of Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), told a seminar on Bitcoin and Blockchain on December 20. Total value of Bitcoin transactions in Technology firms have imported machinery, mainly from Dominik Weil said most investors use Bitcoin to speculate on their assets value without much knowledge of it. Bitcoin cannot be deemed as a currency at they are not managed by the State Bank of He also proposed the Government take measures to prevent Bitcoin from being used to transfer money anonymously. Consumption promotion fair to feature 400 booths There will be 240 enterprises showcasing their consumer goods at more than 400 booths at the Consumption Promotion Fair 2017 at Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in District 11, HCMC from December 28 to February 1. Enterprises will introduce numerous products such as food, beverages, textiles, footwear, automobiles, motorcycles, electric, electronic, telecom and fashion products, household appliances, handicrafts, cosmetics, and furniture. Consumers can enjoy price discounts of up to 49% on the products on display. The fair will also include activities to support enterprises in product promotion and a campaign to give free shopping bags to visitors as a way to protect the environment. Organizers will coordinate with the HCMC market surveillance agency to display fake and real products to help visitors distinguish them. Sponsors include Heineken Vietnam Brewery , Binh Dien Fertilizer JSC, Vietnam Meat Industries (Vissan), 3A Nutrition ( The fair will be held by the HCMC Center of Supporting Industries Development and directed by the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade. The event, which will wrap up the Promotion Month 2017, is aimed at stimulating consumption and building links between producers and consumers. Only entities connected to tax offices can use paper receipts Individuals and organizations may use paper receipts if their retail sales information systems are connected with tax offices, according to a draft decree on goods and services invoices crafted by the Ministry of Finance. In particular, Article 31 of the draft decree states individuals and organizations whose businesses are related to supermarkets, malls, restaurants and hotels; retail consumer goods and pharmaceuticals; as well as provide food services would be permitted to issue paper receipts. Notably, enterprises in some special sectors which cannot issue electronic bills would also be included in the list. The Finance Ministry would be responsible for providing detailed instructions on how to apply receipts through the point of sale system, and defining the special sectors. The taxman will print a number of receipts which are sold to business individuals and households; startups that have yet to issue e-bills; and enterprises which are likely to evade taxes. However, startups are merely permitted to use paper receipts within one year from the date of their establishment. Afterwards, they are obliged to use e-bills with or without the taxman’s codes. Meanwhile, those beyond the aforesaid groups would use e-bills with, or without the taxman’s codes if they meet technical infrastructure conditions. Earlier, the Finance Ministry proposed enterprises would use e-receipts instead of paper ones early next year. This was a big worry for many companies, as they would have a short period of time to prepare. Tima reports strong P2P lending growth after two years of trial operation Tima Group JSC on December 21 reported strong growth in peer-to-peer (P2P) loans after it test launched its P2P lending platform in 2015. Outstanding loans provided through the platform have amounted to over VND15 trillion (US$660.4 million). Tima, a startup in the financial technology sector in Tima looks to become the largest P2P lending platform in A Tima representative said the company handles over 1,000 new loan requests on a daily basis. It plans to expand its platform across the country so that it can receive 10,000 loan requests a day. VNN |
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Social News 24/12 Khanh Hoa welcomes 2 millionth foreign visitor in 2017
The 2 millionth foreign passenger Kim Sun-won is interviewed by a reporter The central The lucky passenger was Korean national Kim Sun-won, who received free accommodation for two nights at the local Vinpearl Nha Trang Resort and six months of free flights on all routes operated by VietJet Air. The 1,999,999th and 2,000,001st foreign visitors to Khanh Hoa were also from the RoK. In 2017, the province is estimated to welcome nearly 5.5 million visitors and earned about 17.3 trillion VND (761.2 million USD) from tourism activities. The number of foreign arrivals to Khanh Hoa has to date surpassed 2 million, up 69 percent from last year. The province houses 650 lodging facilities with close to 27,000 rooms, of which over 14,000 meet 3 – 5 star standards. Friendship exchange marks 25-year Vietnam-RoK ties The Vietnam-Republic of Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Vietnam-RoK Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Tran Van Tuy highlighted the growing bilateral cooperation, especially since the two countries set up their strategic cooperative partnership in 2009. Lauding contributions of people-to-people diplomacy to the growth of Vietnam-RoK relationship, he said the Vietnamese Party and Government value efforts made by friendship associations from both nations in boosting mutual understanding. He expected more bilateral exchanges and activities will be held in the future. RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Lee Huyk said over the past 25 years, bilateral cooperation has recorded miracle progress, citing the fact that the RoK is now the biggest foreign investor in The diplomat said engagement potential remains great, particularly in trade-investment and people-to-people diplomacy. Chairman of the Vietnam-RoK Friendship Association Vu Tien Loc thanked the RoK-Vietnam Friendship Association for its coordination and hoped that the relationship between the two nations will continue thriving. Established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992, Deputy PM visits religious organisations in Kon Tum Politburo member and permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited several religious organisations in the ?Central Highlands He visited and presented gifts to Kon Tum Diocese, the ethnic Sisters of the Miraculous Medal group, the Vietnam Christian Mission and the family of A Hot in Plei Chum Dak Choah hamlet, Ngo May ward, Kon Tum city. The official wished Catholic and Protestant priests and followers a warm and merry Christmas, and hoped that the Bishop and dignitaries will contribute more to national development. He asked the provincial authorities to continue creating favourable conditions for religious activities. Binh wished that together with the local authorities and Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Bishop and dignitaries would provide care for the poor and ethnic minorities, especially those living in need, as well as offer education to young generations in the Central Highlands and Kon Tum in particular. Religious dignitaries also vowed to contribute to country development. Party chief attends Central Theoretical Council’s fourth meeting General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong requested stronger renovation in theoretical work while attending the fourth meeting of the 2016-2021 tenure Central Theoretical Council on December 23 in Lauding the council’s important role, Trong emphasised that the council should provide theoretical foundations for the building of guidelines and policies. The regional and global situations see rapid and complicated developments, setting bigger requirements for the theoretical work, he said, adding that it needs accurate forecasts of development trends and a firm argument system for the national development strategy. The Party chief asked the council to focus on increasing the quality of reality summarization and theoretical research to better serve the leadership of the CPV Central Committee and its Political Bureau and Secretariat and the drafting of the 13th National Party Congress’s documents. To that end, the council should reform its operations, step up political research, as well as expand and increase the quality and efficiency of theoretical cooperation with parties over the world, he suggested. He noted that the council needs to pay attention to updating domestic and international theoretical information so as to contribute more to the Party’s policy making process and serve the national building and safeguarding cause in the time ahead. Christmas wishes to Can Tho, Bac Lieu Catholic followers President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man paid a pre-Christmas visit to Can Tho Diocese in the Mekong Delta city of Speaking at the event, Man wished local priests and Catholic followers a warm and merry Christmas season. He lauded Catholics nationwide and those in Can Tho city in particular for joining the VFF’s movements such as new-style rural development, sustainable poverty reduction and Vietnamese people prioritising Vietnamese goods. They also joined social charity activities and vocational training, and offered support to disaster-hit residents. In particular, 41 religions nationwide signed an agreement on environment protection and climate change response. Man expressed his hope that Bishop Tri Buu Thien and priests of Can Tho Diocese will continue urging Catholics to abide by the Party policies and guidelines and State laws and contribute to national development. Thien, for his part, expressed his belief that local authorities always pay attention to Catholic community, and Can Tho and the whole country will further prosper in the near future. Can Tho Diocese sprawls over an area of nearly 13,000 sq. km, covering Can Tho and the provinces of Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau with a total population of around 5.5 million people. There are roughly 180,000 Catholic followers, accounting for 3.6 percent of the total population and 200 priests running Catholic religious activities. The same day, Permanent Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairwoman of the People’s Council of southern Bac Lieu province Le Thi Ai Tet arrives early for northern Mong ethnic village Villagers in Tham Phang village in Muong Ang district of Dien Bien province are celebrating Tet during one of the coldest winters in the region. Belong to the Mong ethnicity, one of There are 30 days in a month in the Mong calendar with no exception. The 361st day is the Mong’s Tet, their biggest celebration of the year. Banh giay (a white, flat and round glutinous rice cake) is the holiday’s must-have food. Locals typically make a lot of banh giay for ceremonies and also to give families, friends and visitors to their village. On the last day of the year, the Mong cleaned their house with a small bamboo branch while praying for health and prosperity for the household in the year to come. In another Tet ritual, a member of the household, who holds a rooster and a hen while he or she stands by the front door along with a shaman. The shaman occasionally tosses a bamboo branch outside while chanting in a symbolic gesture to throw out all sadness and misfortune of the old year. On the morning of the first day, a Mong household erects a tall tree in the middle of the front yard. Using a rope and tree branch, they create a ceremonial U-shaped gate. All members of the household then follow the eldest under the gate, men seven times and women nine times, in a ceremony to bring good luck. The holiday season is also a time for the people to enjoy outdoor activities, musical performances and traditional games. Deputy PM greets Cambodian Information Minister Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam received Cambodian Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith in At the reception, Dam noted with pleasure the growing friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, saying that the two sides have regularly exchanged with and support each other in bilateral frameworks as well as regional and international forums. Celebrations for the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (June 24) this year afforded both sides a chance to raise the awareness of the public, especially young generations, of the traditional friendship and solidarity between the two countries. Appreciating cooperation between the Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Cambodian Ministry of Information and the National Voice of Cambodia, the Deputy PM said VOV assisted The host suggested both sides continue increasing coverage in both Vietnamese and Cambodian languages and adding more cultural and art programmes featuring the two countries and their people to raise mutual understanding. On the occasion, he wished that Kanharith, for his part, thanked the Vietnamese Government and VOV in particular for their support and informed the host with delight that the VOV and the National Voice of Cambodia signed a cooperation agreement on December 21. Hanoi commemorates victims, martyrs in US’s 1972 airstrike A requiem was held at the B52 victory monument in The annual event was organised by the Hanoi Peace Committee (VPC) and the city’s chapter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Speaking at the ceremony, VPC Chairman Uong Chu Luu said the victory of the “ He stated The In the night of December 26, 1972, Hanoi’s densely-populated residential areas, including Kham Thien street, the workers’ living quarter in An Duong street and even Bach Mai hospital, were relentlessly attacked by a large number of the US’s B52 aircraft. As many as 278 people, including 91 women, 40 elderly and 55 children, were killed and 178 children became orphans during that air raid. In remembrance of the victims, a memorial was erected on the used-to-be House 51 on Biotechnological products seek markets Domestic and foreign scientists joined business owners at a workshop in the central More than 30 scientific reports were presented at the event, focusing on the application of biotechnological advances in the fields of agriculture, medicine and food. Participants said scientific research activities are taking place widely at universities and research institutes. However, the application of scientific outcomes to production is facing a number of difficulties. For example, some studies focus on highly specialised fields while the connectivity between scientists and businesses remains limited. As a result, many useful scientific research outcomes cannot find their way to reality. Director of the She added that scientists and businesses should shake hands to commercialise products. Hai Duong police nick three people with 2 kilogrammes of drugs Traffic police in the At 5pm on December 21, the police stopped a suspicious car on National Highway 10 in Nguyen Giap commune, The arrested were Tran Duc Phuong, born in 1989 and residing in Ngo Quyen, Hai Phong city; Nguyen Tuan Anh, born in 1987 and residing in Duong Kinh, Hai Phong city; and Dang Duc Trung, born in 1962 and residing in Ngo Quyen, Hai Phong city. They initially confessed that they had been hired to transport the drugs to Hai Phong for sale. This is the largest drug trafficking case that has been detected by Hai Duong police so far. The transporters and all exhibits were handed over to investigation police. The Japanese Consulate General in The sum will be spent on medical equipment for the Phu Yen Hospital of Traditional Medicine, My Xuyen district’s The funding will also equip the medical station of Hau My Bac A commune in Tien Giang with an ambulance, and build seven classrooms for the The aid contracts are part of Speaking at the signing ceremony, Japanese Consul General to HCM City Kawaue Junichi said The diplomat said The Vietnam Peace Committee (VPC) has made positive contributions to protecting national interests and promoting Speaking at the event, National Assembly Vice Chairman and VPC Chairman Uong Chu Luu said the committee successfully hosted the Congress of the World Peace Council (WPC) Executive Committee in On bilateral ties, the VPC fostered ties with neighbouring countries and worked with partners from In coordination with the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics’ Research Institute for Human Rights and Next year, the VPC will further enhance multilateral diplomatic activities and extend solidarity, friendship and mutual understanding between Vietnamese and world people, he said. Discussing tasks for 2018, participants agreed to further increase ties with traditional partners and expand relations with those from Asia and The VPC is expected to successfully hold its Congress for the 2018-2023 tenure, increase activities at the central and local levels, raise awareness of the public, especially young generations, of peace and related activities, as well as conduct studies on peace and human rights issues. Vietnam People’s Army day celebrated in Cuba, Czech The Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba, in collaboration with the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFA), held a meeting on December 21 to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army and Vietnam’s All People’s Defence Festival Day (December 22). At the event, Vu The Trung, Vietnamese defence attaché in The VPA has been an inseparable part of the Vietnamese people in every revolutionary mission, Trung noted. He also took the occasion to thank international friends, including Cuban people, for supporting Roman Osvaldo, deputy head of the MINFA’s foreign relations department, for his part, praised The anniversaries were also marked in the In his speech at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Ho Minh Tuan recalled that The ambassador said the two countries enjoy good defence relations at present, with the Czech Republic helping Vietnam in military training and military weapon and equipment development.- VFF leader extends Christmas greetings to religious community President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man visited and extended Christmas greetings to Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers in southern localities on December 22. During his meetings with the parishioners, the VFF leader wished Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers nationwide a merry Christmas. Man highlighted the nation’s socio-economic development in 2017 amid difficulties and challenges, saying that the Catholic community nationwide has made a significant contribution to the achievements. At the HCM City Archbishop Office, Man spoke highly of the contribution made by Archbishop of the HCM City Archdiocese Bui Van Doc and local Catholic community to realising the nation’s socio-economic targets. He expressed his hope that the Archbishop will continue encouraging Catholic dignitaries and followers to participate in emulation movements launched by the VFF and other sectors, while helping strengthen the national unity bloc for national construction and development. For his part, Archbishop Bui Van Doc hoped that the Party, State and VFF will continue facilitating activities of local Catholics so that they can contribute further to realising socio-economic targets and ensuring social welfare. During his meeting with Bishop Pham Minh Man, former Archbishop of the HCM City Archdiocese, the VFF leader said he hoped that the former Archbishop will continue encouraging Catholic dignitaries and followers nationwide to implement the policies and follow guidance of the Party and State, towards the common goal of national development and defence. The VFF President also lauded the contribution of the General Confederation of Evangelical Churches of Pastor Phan Vinh Cu, Vice First President of the General Confederation of Evangelical Churches of Visiting the office of the Bishop of My Tho Diocese the same day, Man asked Bishop Nguyen Van Kham, who is also secretary general of the Vietnam Episcopal Council, to encourage Catholics to join social activities and patriotic emulations campaigns such as those on building new rural areas and promoting the use of domestically-produced goods. The Bishop expressed his hope that the VFF and its chapters continue to work for national unity, and thanked the Party, State and VFF for the recognition of Catholics’ contribution to national construction. Founding anniversary of Vietnamese army observed in Laos Lao Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Chansamone Chanyalath, Vietnamese Chargé d’affaires in Laos Nguyen Thanh Tung and representatives from the Lao Ministries of Defence and Security and Defence Attaché Offices of others countries in Laos, and the Vietnamese community in the country attended the event. Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Defence Attaché in Together with the police force, the VPA pioneers in search and rescue missions, tackling disaster consequences, and joining United Nations peacekeeping missions, Thai said. He stressed that defence relations between The officer expressed his belief that the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Diplomat: Russia-Vietnam relations develop fruitfully in 2017 The year 2017 marks an important milestone in the development of cooperation between Russia and Vietnam in politics, economy, technology, military and humanitarian affairs, said Aleksey Popov, Russian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City. Speaking at a press conference to announce outcomes of cooperation between the two countries in The diplomat noted that the bilateral political ties have also developed dynamically in 2017, as reflected through all-level meetings between the two countries. Economic and trade cooperation has also made remarkable strides with two-way trade reaching nearly 4 billion USD in the first ten months of this year, up 36 percent year-on-year. The flow of Russian investments into Progresses have been made in security and national defence cooperation through the regular exchange of delegations and effective operation of the Inter-Governmental Committee for Technological and Defence Cooperation. Popov also reviewed partnerships between Vietnamese and Russian provinces and cities as well as bilateral collaboration in culture and education. According to the Consul General, 2018 is expected to witness various activities aiming to step up the Russia-Vietnam relationship, with a range of dialogues and high-level delegation exchanges. Vyacheslav Kharinov, Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in The year 2017 also saw changes in the structure of trade between the two nations, he said, explaining that apart from traditional products like high-tech equipment, Cooperation in logistics, tourism, information-technology, telecommunications, technical services and banking also developed strongly, he said. Kharinov described the energy and fuel cooperation as a spotlight in bilateral economic ties. Between January-November, Vietsovpetro, an oil and gas joint venture between Meanwhile, Rusvietpetro, another joint venture, also exploited over 2 million tonnes of oil in the Nenensk autonomous region of Christmas greetings to religious communities Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited and extended Christmas greetings to Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers in the Central Highlands The Deputy PM informed the Catholics and Protestants of attainments of the country in socio-economic development and national defence in 2017, attributing their contributions to the achievements. He expressed his hope that local Catholic and Protestant dignitaries and followers will continue promoting solidarity and contributing more to the nation’s development. Binh also asked authorities at all levels in Gia Lai to do more to facilitate religions in the province to promote their traditions and contribute to the great national unity bloc. The same day, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Ngo Sach Thuc visited and extended Christmas greetings to Catholic dignitaries and followers in Bui Chu diocese in the Earlier, he also visited the Vietnam Committee for Catholic Solidarity’s Nam Dinh chapter and a number of Catholic dignitaries in Nghia Hung and Xuan Truong districts. On December 25, Truong Thi Mai, head of the Mass Mobilisation Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, visited the Da Lat diocese. She acknowledged contributions of Bishop Vu Huy Chuong of the Da Lat diocese and dignitaries in disseminating the Party’s policies and the State’s laws to Catholic followers in the Central Highlands On December 22-23, delegations from the Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee of the Central Highlands Vietnam People’s Army anniversary marked in Germany, Tanzania The Vietnamese Embassy in In his speech, Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung applauded contributions from associations and organisations of Vietnamese war veterans in He expressed his hope that veterans in particular and their organisations in general, under the strong support of the Vietnamese community in The same day, Vietnamese Ambassador to Tanzania Nguyen Kim Doanh visited two member companies of the military-run telecom group Viettel in the country on the occasion of the anniversary. The diplomat praised efforts made by the Viettel Tanzania (Halotel) to become the third largest mobile operator in the Success made by Halotel has significantly contributed to promote At the Viettel Tanzania work company, the ambassador asked the firm to consider the possibility to contract some construction projects in Cherry Blossom Festival marks Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties The Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival 2018 will be held in March around the statue of King Ly Thai To in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi downtown, as part of activities to mark 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations, said Chairman of the Hanoi city People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung. He made the statement at a reception for Special Advisor to the Japanese Cabinet Isao Iijima in Excellent art performances and special delicacies of both sides will be featured at the event, he added. Regarding economic cooperation, Meanwhile, the Japanese official highlighted that along with festive activities, the Cherry Blossom Festival 2018 should include meetings and exchanges between enterprises to promote trade and investment. At the event, both parties also discussed measures to bolster trade promotion and enhance friendship and cooperative ties between Lý Sơn Island hotel catches fire A fire that broke out on Sunday morning at a hotel on Lý Sơn Island has caused losses estimated at VNĐ2 billion (US$88,000). The fire damaged furniture and other interior assets in the hotel, local resports said. Vice chairwoman of the island district’s People’s Committee, Phạm Thị Hương, told Việt Nam News that the fire occurred at a four-storey hotel in An Hải Commune in the centre of the island at around 7.30am yesterday. Firefighters stamped out the blaze within 30 minutes, she said, adding that the all the staffs and guests at the hotel were rescued or escaped to safety. While no casualty was reported, the interiors of the hotel, including furniture and equipment in some rooms were almost completely damaged. The fire is believed to have broken out as the result of a short circuit in a Karaoke room before spreading to other rooms. Hương said it was the first fire recorded on the island. Lý Sơn Island, is 30km off the coast of central It has had a face-lift since connecting to the national power grid in 2014. It is a favoured eco-tourism site in central Việt The island now has 18 hotels, guest houses and home-stay services provided by 56 households with total accommodation capacity of 1,000 tourists. It has a population of 21,000, mostly engaged in fishing, and farming garlic and onion. Border areas to host more cultural programmes The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Border Guard High Command signed a MoU in Hà Nội yesterday to hold more cultural, sports, tourism and family-based activities in border areas and islands over the next five years. The MoU was signed by Trịnh Thị Thủy, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Đỗ Danh Vượng, head of the Border Guard High Command. Chairwoman of the Ethnic Minority Culture Department under the ministry, Nguyễn Thị Hải Nhung, said that until 2022, the two sides will enhance co-operation to organise more cultural exchanges between soldiers and people in Việt She said that they would also work to preserve and promote traditional cultures of the region; build tourism products featuring regional culture, especially that of ethnic minorities; organise folk games and sports competitions; and enhance awareness of gender equality and domestic violence. Exhibition honours martyr Phó Đức Chính The Hỏa Lò Prison Historic Vestige in Hà Nội launched an exhibition yesterday to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of Phó Đức Chính for the cause of national independence. Chính (1907-1930), was a founder of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party that fought French colonial rule during the early 20th century. After leading the Yên Bái Revolution (1930), he’s reported to have asked his executioner to let him lie on his back so he could see the blade fall, and shouted “long live Việt Many historians and scholars nationwide attended a workshop held yesterday, discussing his life, career and revolutionary ideals. The event aims to raise people’s awareness of the nation’s patriots and evoke gratitude for sacrifices made, officials said. The exhibition will run at VNN |
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Shares mixed, market cap hits 74.6% GDP HÀ NỘI - Shares concluded the week in opposite directions on the two stock exchanges yesterday as investor confidence weakened on an unstable market outlook.  An investor passes electronic boards at Tân Việt Securities Inc in Hà Nội. VNS Photo Đoàn Tùng On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index advanced 0.66 per cent to close at 952.32 points. The southern market index decreased 0.8 per cent on Thursday. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange declined for a second straight day, down 0.47 per cent to end at 113.03 points. The northern market index lost 0.8 per cent in the last two sessions. Large-cap stocks continued to diverge with 18 of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on Vietcombank (VCB) and VinGroup (VIC) were the two biggest gainers which largely contributed to the market’s rally yesterday. VCB rallied 4.74 per cent and VIC increased 3.6 per cent. They are two of the top 10 biggest listed stocks by market value. Other supporters included PV Gas (GAS), IT group FPT (FPT), insurer Bảo Việt Holdings (BVH), brewer Sabeco (SAB) and Mobile World Group (MWG) with growth of 0.8-2.3 per cent. Total trading volume continued to drop, reaching 249 million shares on the two exchanges, down 12.3 per cent from Thursday’s level, but value of trades shot up, touching VNĐ8.7 trillion (US$381.6 million), a rise of 22.5 per cent over the previous session. The higher number of declining stocks (compared to gaining stocks), accompanied by recent decreased trading volume has led to rising caution among investors, according to analysts at BIDV Securities Company (BSC). Trade focused on large caps, with the trading value on the VN30 accounting for over 75 per cent of total trading value on “We forecast the market will continue to accumulate around 950 points, so investors can spend time looking for opportunities in good fundamental stocks with strong results in the fourth quarter of 2017,” BSC’s analysts wrote in a report yesterday. The VN-Index has moved around 950 points throughout this week, a rise compared to the 935 points since last Friday but a decrease from the 10-year high of 970 points recorded on December 4. Market capitalisation reaches 74.6% GDP Việt This result was announced by the Phạm Hồng Sơn, vice chairman of the State Securities Commission at the yearly review meeting on Thursday. Liquidity has improved sharply with average trading value reaching almost VNĐ5 trillion per session, a yearly increase of 63 per cent. The bond market has become more active with total listing value touching over VNĐ1 trillion, up 8 per cent over 2016-end and equal to 23 per cent of GDP. The average trading value was VNĐ8.9 trillion per session, up 38 per cent year-on-year. The derivative market, which officially came into operation in August this year, has attracted investors with total trading volume reaching over 946,300 contracts and 15,800 trading accounts, a two-fold increase compared to the end of August. VNS |
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Vietnamese restaurateur makes “pho”-nomenal comeback After years off the grid, Huynh My Truc Lien, a Vietnamese chef whose restaurants welcomed two former US presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, made a comeback with a signature lobster pho dish priced at VND499,000 ($22), newswire Vnexpress reported.
The Vietnamese chef introducing the new lobster pho (Source: VnExpress) The Vietnamese chef, who spent years working in the culinary area in the United States before returning to Vietnam to launch the Pho 2000 brand, unveiled that a lobster noodle dish served at a restaurant in Las Vegas was the inspiration behind the new culinary concept. After conducting a taste-test at various pho-serving restaurants across The pho dish (Vietnamese noodle soup) topped with lobster was introduced at a high-end gastronomic outlet owned by Lien and her husband, with the price of half a million dong, aiming to draw the attention of discerning customers. Additionally, a bowl of lobster pho features typical ingredients such as silken tofu, mushrooms, seafood stock with a touch of garnish, like parsley, sliced red chili, and ground black pepper. The Vietnamese chef added seafood like clams and the signature ingredient, a whole lobster weighing 400 grammes that she hand-picked from the central region of Vietnam. Before going off the radar, the chef and her husband had failed in their attempts of launching four new restaurants due to bad timing and their inability to maintain consistent quality when simultaneously running a large chain of culinary outlets. Therefore, until now, Lien has only been operating two restaurants situated in the centre of In spite of the thriving business of the pho “industry” in At the end of 1999, the brand name Pho 2000 was born with its signature pho. During the early years of business, the pho chain was the place to go, especially after former US President Bill Clinton and his daughter had a meal at Pho 2000 Saigon during his official visit in Vietnam as well as the visit of former US President George W. Bush at Vietnam House (another pho shop under the management of Pho 2000) in 1995. VIR |
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E-wallets still not attracting enough consumers Twenty e-wallet service providers have opened since since the State Bank began licensing the service two years ago. But only several million people are using e-wallets.
Twenty e-wallet service providers have been licensed The e-wallets include well known names such as Momo, Ngan Luong, VTC Pay and Payoo. A report from the State Bank showed that by the end of September 2016 more than 3 million e-wallets had been issued. Meanwhile, e-wallet service providers estimate that the number of e-wallet users in The big difference in the number of users provided by the state management agency and service providers shows how difficult it is to find customers in Nguyen Thanh Hung, chair of the Nguyen Hoa Binh, president of NextTech Group, the owner of Ngan Luong wallet, said only a few companies operate effectively and can make profit with their niche markets.
Meanwhile, the majority of other service providers are meeting difficulties because they cannot attract customers. Analysts said that since their establishment, the providers have been ‘living on investors’ money’. Thu Thuy in Being a bank officer, Thuy said she knows about e-wallets. The biggest disadvantage is that each e-wallet is accepted only at some shopping points, she said. No e-wallet service is dominating the market. Most of them just accept payments within their systems. Pham Anh Tuan from Vietcombank also said the lack of connection among e-wallets causes inconvenience to users, which is a barrier to the development of this mode of payment. Mentioning Alipay in However, Tuan said that, technologically, it is not difficult to connect e-wallets. Besides the problems in connection, experts said the modest number of bank account users is also a reason behind the hesitancy in using the modern payment method. In related news, Vimo e-wallet announced it has become the first payment intermediary allowing Chinese travelers to use Wechat Pay in VND at shops accepting Vimo. Kim Chi,VNN |
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Hà Nội commemorates victims of |
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PM asks Sabeco to keep The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to keep  PM asks Sabeco to keep Saigon Beer brand name after equitization Saigon Beer is the brand name of Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverages Corporation (Sabeco) whose over 53 percent stake has recently been sold to Vietnam Beverage, said belong to ThaiBev Company. At a press conference on state - owned enterprises (SOEs) equitization, divestment and restructuring in 2017, Mr. Dang Quyet Tien, head of the Business Finance Department said that in many countries, brand names were uneasy to lose. The government does not need to hold capital for keeping brand names, but the importance was that those brand names must survive, he added. Some opinions said that foreign investors might have deliberately dodged the In reply, Mr. Tien said that it should not distinguish domestic and overseas factors because some foreign companies had not directly invested in Still he said it was necessary to amend some current laws to avoid the case in which foreign investors dodge As of December 20, authorized agencies have approved the equitization of 45 businesses with the total value of VND213,747 billion, sextuple the practical value of enterprises equitized in 2016. SGGP |
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Social News 26/12 WB funds water supply projects in Red River Delta  Three out of water supply projects using loans from the World Bank (WB) have been put into operation in Three out of water supply projects using loans from the World Bank (WB) have been put into operation in The waterworks are built in Co Do and Phong Van communes (Ba Vi district), Hiep Thuan and Lien Hiep communes (Phuc Tho district), and Huong Son commune (My Duc district). The remaining projects in Tam Hung and Thanh Thuy communes (Thanh Oai district) Lien Phuong, Van Tao, Ha Hoi, Hong Van and Thu Phu communes (Thuong Tin district), Trung Hoa and Truong Yen communes (Chuong My district) are expected to be put into operation soon. The facilities have also supplied water to more than 22,000 households of communes adjacent to the targeted localities. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the WB to carry out a programme on clean water and rural sanitation in eight Red River Delta provinces during 2013-2017. The project has enabled 60,000 rural households to access clean water and more than 20,180 households to use hygienic latrines. Within the framework of the programme, the municipal and provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Education and Training, and Health have organised training courses to equip officials involved in the project with supervision and evaluation skills, and raise public awareness of clean water. HCM City hosts ITEC Day As many as 150 civilian training slots are offered to Vi?t Nam under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme every year, according to the Consulate General of India in HCM City. The ITEC programme is the Indian Government’s flagship programme for capacity building and to share its knowledge, skills, expertise and resources with other developing countries, said Consul General of India Dr. K Srikar Reddy. During 2017 and 2018, more than 10,500 slots were offered under the ITEC programme to 161 partner countries for various short-term and medium-term courses in institutions across India, he said at the celebration of ITEC Day 2017 held last Friday in HCM City. ITEC courses cover different fields, such as information technology, financial management, English proficiency, remote-sensing, agricultural research, quality standardization, environmental technology and biotechnology and green energy. The ITEC programme provides an avenue for development of professional skills at the most prestigious Indian institutes, where the scholarship covers all aspects, including air fare, accommodation, local transport and stipend for miscellaneous expenses fully funded by the Government of India. It also serves as a powerful medium to build cultural bridges between Vi?t Hung Yen: Disadvantaged children receive scholarships, free milk The Vietnam Children’s Fund presented cash scholarships and 200 gifts, each worth 1 million VND (44 USD), and 500,000 VND (22 USD), respectively, to needy children in My Hao district, the northern province of Hung Yen on December 24. The ceremony, at the district’s The fund also gave another 100 gift packages to underprivileged children in Xuan Duc commune, My Hao district, and 200 to students of a vocational school for disabled children in Khoai Chau district. On the occasion, the Vietnam Rising milk fund donated 70,500 glasses of milk to local children, including 1,000 in Nhan Hoa commune, who will drink milk for one month. The same day, a kindergarten school was inaugurated in Nhan Hoa commune. The two-storey building, worth over 3 billion VND (132,000 USD) is funded by the Vietnam Gas JSC. It has four classrooms with the total area of 240 sq.m. Can Tho sets health care targets for 2018 The Mekong Delta city of This is one of the main tasks for the city’s health sector in 2018 which were discussed at the sector’s conference held on December 22. In addition, Can Tho’s health sector will work to develop health personnel and raise quality of medical stations by 2020, as well as establish a disease monitoring centre and continue to implement the city’s satellite hospital project. The sector will also enhance monitoring and prevent outbreaks of major diseases including dengue fever, hand-foot-mouth and measles, In 2017, Can Tho recorded nearly 1,200 dengue fever cases, a rise of 383 cases year-on-year, with no fatalities. As many as 916 hand-foot-mouth cases occurred in the city, with one death in the reviewed period. Work begins on Truc Lam Zen monastery in Soc Trang Construction of a Truc Lam Zen Monastery began in the Mekong Delta Covering an area of 6 hectares in Ward 2, Soc Trang city, the work will cost an estimated over 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD), most of which is raised by Buddhist followers, businesses and charity organisations, both inside and outside the province. Main items of the project are expected to be completed in 2019. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ngo Hung stressed that the ground-breaking ceremony for the monastery took place on the occasion of 709th anniversary of the Nirvana attainment of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong - founder of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism. The Truc Lam Zen Monastery is a cultural and spiritual space for Buddhist followers, he said, adding that it will be a highlight in the local spiritual tourist attractions that help promote the development of provincial tourism. National Strategy on Green Growth integrated into local development The National Strategy on Green Growth, adopted by the Prime Minister in 2012, identifies green growth as the most appropriate way to reform Green growth also defined as a key factor in ensuring sustainable growth and rapid, effective and sustainable economic development. The Prime Minister adopted a green growth action plan until 2020 detailing activities needed to realize the strategy. The plan focuses on restructuring energy, industry, agro-forestry, transportation, construction, the environment, science, and technology sectors. 40 cities and provinces nationwide have developed their own green growth plans. Tran Trung Hieu from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said “Provinces have issued plans to promote green growth, but have not integrated green growth into their socio-economic development plans. They need guidance from the Ministry of Planning and Investment to identify goals, targets, and a budget for this work.” Localities have promoted links between sectors and regions, involved the community, and identified resources to implement the Green Growth Strategy. Doctor Tran Thi Hanh of the Central Institute for Economic Management said "The Ministry of Planning and Investment needs to set out green growth criteria when evaluating investment priorities and identifying investment resources for local socio-economic development plans. Green growth criteria should also be included in appraising public investment projects.” Promoting green growth will help President wants justice system to improve President Trần Đại Quang has urged the judicial sector to focus on dealing with complaints and denunciations from people and to increase direct dialogues with citizens to prevent prolonged and complicated cases. Addressing a meeting held by the Ministry of Justice yesterday to review its performance over the past year and set tasks for 2018, Quang urged the sector to increase the number of enforced verdicts and improve efficiency in revoking assets stolen in economic or corruption cases. The ministry should continue working with ministries and agencies to handle legal issues arising during the international integration process while promoting international co-operation with countries and organisations in law and policy building, he said. The human factor plays an important role in fulfilling tasks so the ministry should build a staff with fine personality, firm political will, high responsibility and high professional skills, he said. The President instructed the ministry to follow Party and State leadership and guidance in law building, judicial reform and administrative reform and to consult the Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform in implementing Party resolutions on judicial reform. The ministry was asked to co-ordinate with relevant agencies to implement law enforcement, particularly laws approved by the National Assembly such as the Law on State Compensation Liability, the Law on Legal Aid and the Law on Access to Information. The President also urged the ministry to continue renewing State management on issues relating directly to citizens and businesses and to speed up administrative reform in areas managed by the judicial sector. In 2018, the sector will focus on key tasks, including speeding up law enforcement, exceeding yearly targets on civil judgment enforcement, completing the organisation of judicial agencies to improve their operation efficiency and enhancing supervision to prevent violations in the judicial sector. The President took this occasion to praise the judicial sector for its achievements over the past year. As reported by the ministry, in 2017, the civil judgment enforcement sector settled 549,000 cases, nine per cent above the yearly target. U19 players to vie for national championship The National U19 Football Championship will feature 22 teams competing from January 8 to February 10. Among them, 21 teams will be divided into three groups and take part in the qualification round. The top seven teams will advance to the finals with hosts Thừa Thiên-Huế. The finals will be held at the Tự Do Stadium in The top players will be selected to form the national squad who will take part in an international tournament in Pleiku, Steering Committee for Northwestern Region completes tasks After 13 years of operation, the Steering Committee for Northwestern Region (SCNR) has fulfilled its tasks, contributing to boosting socio-economic growth and ensuring defence-security in the region, said Nguyen Van Binh, head of the committee at a meeting on December 25. Binh, a member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, said the SCNR has helped improve the capacity of Party committees and local governments. The SCNR will end its operation following the 12th Party Central Committee’s Decision 18-TW dated October 25 and the Politburo’s Decision 104-QDTW dated November 28, he said. Participants at the meeting proposed that after the SCNR’s operation ends, it is necessary to design preferential policies for Northwestern region’s development, while continue providing capital to the region to implement key development projects. Binh asked regional localities to focus on ensuring growth targets for 2018, better managing budget collection and budget spending, while speeding up the restructuring of agricultural sector and administrative reform. Localities should also improve ethnic and religious policies, thus maintaining national solidarity. In 2017, gross regional development product of the region grew 8.43 percent from 2016, with per capita income of 30.75 million VND (1,356 USD), up 2.25 million VND (99 USD) compared to 2016. The region’s State budget collection hit 36.8 trillion VND (1.62 billion USD), exceeding the yearly target by 1.1 percent. Its industrial production is estimated at 138.2 trillion VND (6.09 billion USD), up 13.6 percent over the previous year. Total investment reached 153.3 trillion VND (6.76 billion USD), up 10 percent year on year. This year, 106 communes have been recognised as new-style rural areas, raising total recognised communes to 318. Embassy protects legitimate rights of Vietnamese fishermen seized in Indonesia Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in The diplomats had working sessions with the prosecution office and court of Ranai in Tran Minh Cu, Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy, called on the agencies to make fair judgments on the basis of information provided by the fishermen and lawyers. The embassy asked the prosecution office to take necessary measures to ensure the fishermen’s health. Cu told the fishermen that the embassy will continue to accompany fishermen during the legal process to protect their rights, asking them to abide by Indonesian regulations. The embassy will send representatives to attend the trial for the remaining captains in mid-January, he affirmed. The embassy has also asked Indonesian agencies to repatriate a fisherman who has been hospitalised for acute stomachache treatment. According to the embassy, since the beginning of 2017, 110 Vietnamese fishing boats have caught fish in The embassy, so far this year, has work with agencies of both sides to bring home 1,263 fishermen. However, there are still some 170 Vietnamese fishermen detained on Tan Trao tourist site aims to welcome 2 million visitors annually by 2030 Tan Trao National Tourist Site in the northern province of Tuyen Quang aims to welcome 2 million visitors annually, including 35,000 foreigners, and earn total tourism revenues of over VND 1.65 trillion (US$ 72.7 million) by 2030, under a Prime Minister-approved planning project for the site. Domestic visitors are expected to arrive from Tuyen Quang province’s neighbouring localities in the northeast and northwest regions, the Mekong River Delta region, as well as major cities including Meanwhile, key markets for international arrivals are countries and territories in Northeast and The planning zone for tourism development under the project includes a total of a 2,500-hectare core region in Tan Trao, Minh Thanh, Trung Yen, Binh Yen and Luong Thien communes of Son Duong district, and Kim Quan commune of Yen Son district. Regarding the tourism infrastructure development, the project aims to add 1,000 3-star rooms on the site by 2030 and develop other types of accommodation in tourism such as camping, bungalows, and homestays in Tan Lap, Nieng and Quan Ha hamlet. Tourist products provided to visitors will be focused on exploring the historical value of the site, highlighting the indigenous culture and traditional festivals of ethic groups in Tuyen Quang province, as well as tours across Pho Day river. An entertainment complex and park will be constructed on the site, including a swimming pool, arts clubs, sports facilities, and a stage to host folk games. All available resources will be mobilised to implement the project, including sources provided from the State budget, the National Fund for Tourism Development, financial support from organisations, businesses and other legal investment sources. Among them, the State budget will be used to improve infrastructure, bolster the marketing and brand of the site, enhance human resources, preserve and promote the historical and cultural values of the complex. Tan Trao, known as Predictable failure of a movement The success is short-lived, as neat and tidy pavements along major streets in HCMC’s District 1 are no longer seen these days and the situation has returned to their original chaotic state, despite a painstaking movement waged since February to win back the sidewalks for pedestrians. When the movement was kicked off early this year, Doan Ngoc Hai, vice chairman of the district, showed off his determination to push the drive to the final success, with a noble, ambitious goal to make the district’s precincts as clean and tidy as In the first few months, the streets looked more spacious, and the hard-fought battle with widespread public backing was seen a success, despite vocal protests from those whose interests were affected. The vice chairman, however, could not endlessly pursue the movement, and could not cover all corners of the district, so pavements after being cleared have been handed over to grassroots authorities for management. Ward-level authorities, however, have proved themselves incapable of maintaining the newly-restored urban order. Street vendors roam the sidewalk again these days, vehicles are parked randomly on the pavement, and numerous shop owners reclaim spaces in front of their venues, ignoring all urban space management regulations. All now look like the movement has never been launched. Local media says grassroots authorities are reluctant to go against encroachers since they also enjoy benefits from business spaces along pavements. Apart from taxes and fees, shop owners at street-front business venues also make financial contributions to ward-level authorities, often on a regular basis. Authorities, therefore, cannot voluntarily cut off their sources of income. On a wider perspective, however, the deep-rooted practice of running street-front businesses has existed for decades in HCMC, and cannot be removed in a simple movement. Tens of thousands of household businesses in the city have utilized spaces in front of their venues to earn a living, and to pay trillions of Urban order restoration is still much needed, but before such a goal can be achieved, the gradual economic transformation should take place first so that petty commercial activity by household businesses along the street no longer takes the upper hand over concentrated commercial centers. Data from surveys early this year showed such family-owned businesses still accounted for roughly 80% of Vietnam’s total retail revenue, and in major cities, though separate data are not available, such promotions are also deemed high.As such, any movement to hastily change the habit of running street-front businesses is therefore destined for failure. Police issue arrest warrant for Phan Van Anh Vu Investigators of the Ministry of Public Security have issued an arrest warrant for Phan Van Anh Vu, a The warrant for Vu, alias Vu Nhom, was signed on December 22, one day after the police charged the 42-year-old for deliberately disclosing state secrets. Police on December 21 raided the residence of Vu on Vu is chairman of three companies – Bac Nam 79 Construction Joint Stock Co., Nova Bac Nam 79 Joint Stock Co., and The Sunrise Bay Danang. He is believed to be involved in lots of fishy property projects currently under police investigation. In September this year, investigators at the Ministry of Public Security launched a probe into nine property projects and 31 public land lots and houses in Danang which have been transacted since 2006. Two of the land lots under investigation were used to build a home and a company office which both belong to Vu. Products for smart city, 4IR win ICT awards Many winning products in the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Awards 2017 may be useful for smart urban development, and fourth industrial revolution, said experts. Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, said at the award ceremony on December 20 that the HCMC government has introduced a host of smart city applications such as providing planning information, improving security via CCTV networks, and providing flood information. The ICT Awards 2017 acknowledged achievements in the development of products and services by an individual, and 11 teams, together with eight outstanding ICT students. This year’s contest lured 67 entries, with most of them being software products and solutions, and value-added services. These products and services are more commercially viable than those in the previous awards, according to the panel of judges. Some products and applications such as technology apps on social networks, and mobile apps on Android and iOS platforms may be useful for the smart city development plan of the local government. Tea-picking competition attracts skilled farmers Ten teams each comprising of five farmers from localities in Bao Loc Town and two teams of Tam Chau yesterday took part in the tea-picking competition in tea farm Tam Chau in Bao Lam District in the highland province of Lam Dong. The competition is a part of the Week of Bao Loc tea & silk culture within framework of the 7th Da Lat Flower Festival - 2017 which is scheduled for December 23-27. The organizer said participants must be skilled in picking oolong tea such as picking a bud with two leaves up as quickly as possible and just picking leaves with right size. After thirty minutes, Tam Chau 1 team won the first prize followed by team of Loc Nga Commune, Loc Thanh and Tam Chau 2. Additionally, some farmers earned the title Golden Hand, Silver Hand, Bronze prizes for their god performance at the competition. The Week of Bao Loc tea & silk culture with the theme of “Bảo Lộc – Tea fragrance and Silk Beauty/Color” aims to honor tea growers, and sericulturists, silk-reeling makers and weavers. HCMC to train nearly 3,000 hi-tech agricultural workers Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has approved a plan to train nearly 3,000 workers for hi-tech agricultural field in the phase of 2018-2020. The plan aims at developing hi-tech agricultural human resource to be able to receive, own and apply technologies in farming production and meet the development demand of the city’s hi-tech agricultural industry. Nearly 3,000 people will take instruction to work in hi-tech applied farms, cooperatives and businesses connecting production and consumption with farmers in the city. As part of the plan, 1,800 cadres in science and technology management and study, technical cadres, business owners and cooperative managers and members will be trained to take control of technologies in the field. In addition, the plan will train 20 masters and doctors in hi-tech applications in agriculture at domestic and overseas institutes and universities. The HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has invited experts from institutes and universities in the city to get their opinions for the plan and learn about their participation ability to implement the plan next year. HCMC announces three consecutive New Year days off HCMC People’s Committee has announced that civil servants and officials of administrative, public career, political and social-political organizations will have three New Year days off from December 30, 2017 to January 1, 2018. Of these, January 1 is the official holiday and the two remaining are weekend days. Organizations and businesses who do not take two weekend days off can base on their specific plans to arrange suitable holiday schedule. The committee required Government agencies, schools, hospitals, armed forces and households to fly the national flag on January 1, 2018. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been asked to work with districts to clean up and decorate the city to celebrate the holiday. HIV-infected people live normally if taking ARV People living with HIV receive lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs have life expectancy like normal, said Vietnam administration of HIV/AIDS control and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at a press brief yesterday. Moreover, men who have HIV suppressed with antiretroviral drugs did not infect their partners even when they have sex without condoms. Head of the administration Nguyen Hoang Long said that out of around Vietnamese 209,000 HIV-infected people, just approximately 123,000 people receive treatment of ARV, accounting for 60 percent while the remaining 40 percent have not been treated yet because of different reasons including being afraid of discrimination. 91 percent of people on treatment with suppressed HIV levels can't transmit virus. Noticeably, John Blandford, Director of the Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Vietnam said that the US center‘s 10-year researches studied nearly 1,800 couples made up of one partner that had HIV and one that didn’t. These couples have unprotected sex and they did not take the drug. Study results showed that HIV people with suppressed HIV-level did not transmit the virus. Different studies have been conducted on thousands of couples with many sex acts. Altogether, the researchers counted more than thousands acts of unsafe sex. Moreover, no partners of these couples are transmitted the fatal virus, said Blandford. Accordingly, Mr. Long stressed these scientific evidence proved the importance of the drug to people living with HIV. He added that the first HIV-infected Vietnamese woman living in HCMC in 1990 is still healthy and work like others because she takes the drug gradually. Giving wings to dream contest for high school students In order to orient career, the Department of Education and Training in Students of senior high schools and continuous learning center in the city are eligible for taking part in the contest. The contest includes four rounds including online round, the first round the semifinal and the final round. Those who want to compete in the contest can access to the contest’s website and enter the online test with 100 multiple choice questions. Thejury will select 1,500 candidates with highest marks for the next round. Then, 50 competitors will enter the semifinal round which they must deliver a five-minute speech and answer jury’s questions relating to their profession. Ten of them will be selected to enter the final round with experience in their profession of choice and solutions for expected situations on the stage. Fifty excellent candidates will be presented with valuable gifts. Nearly 2,900 communes recognised as new rural areas As many as 2,884 communes or 32.3 percent of communes nationwide were recognised as new-style rural areas by the end of November 2017, surpassing the target of at least 31 percent. Of the total, 326 communes have met the new national criteria on new rural communes during 2016-2020, according to the Coordination Office of the National Target Programme on As of December 15, 43 district-level units in 24 centrally-run cities and provinces have been certified as new rural areas, up 13 districts compared with the end of 2016 and exceeding the target of 38. The General Statistics Office revealed that as of the end of 2016, 99.4 percent of communes nationwide have auto-accessible roads to commune centres. All communes and 97.8 percent of villages are connected with the national power grid. Meanwhile, 99.7 percent of communes have pre and elementary schools and 99.5 percent of communes have medical centres. Some 3,854 production models have been connected with each other by value chains. There are 11,183 agricultural cooperatives, with each earning an average of 1.1 billion VND (48,400 USD) annually. Notably, localities have set forth roadmaps to deal with debts in infrastructure construction. However, the outcomes of the new-style rural area building remain unequal between regions across the country, with 1,101 certified communes in the Red River Delta and only 119 in the Central Highlands. The national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to develop rural regions. The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection and the promotion of cultural values. In 2015, the set of criteria was increased to 20. Can Tho works to promote gender equality for ethnic minorities Communication works, forums and talks on gender equality will be held in the Mekong Delta city of The project aims to create positive changes in implementing gender equality-related activities and raise women’s status in ethnic-inhabited areas, thus, contributing to successfully realising goals set in the National Assembly on gender equality. Besides, legal regulations on gender equality, marriage and domestic violence will be popularised in accordance with the culture of the ethnic groups. Contests on gender equality will also be held. Notably, the city hopes to bolster international cooperation to mobilse resources for gender equality activities in the locality. It will work with the local Women’s According to Luong Van Tru, Head of the city’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, since the implementation of the national programme on gender equality in 2011, the city has narrowed the inequality gap thanks to activities to promote gender equality and prevent domestic violence. Statistics from the city women’s union showed that nearly 40 percent of working-age women in rural areas have no vocational training or no specific profession. The city is home to 27 ethnic minority groups with a total population of 38,929 people or 3.18 percent of the city’s population. Most of them reside in Co Do, Thoi Lai and O Mon districts. Huge fire breaks out on top of Residents ran out of homes in panic as a huge fire broke out on the top floor of the Golden Westlake Apartment Building in The fire started at 1 pm on December 25 at the building on Dozens of fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters were quickly sent to the scene to rescue trapped residents and put out the fire. Hoang Quoc Dinh, director of Hanoi Fire Department, told The Labourers Newspaper said that the fire broke out at the 25th floor. "The smoke has caused troubles for the firefighters," Dinh said. "Most people living near the top floors have been rescued. We are investigating the cause of the fire." The fire was controlled at 3 pm and the smoke was cleared. The firefighters are checking each floor and apartment. According to the locals, one apartment on the floor where the fire broke out is under repair. Free wine for visitors at Da Lat Flower Festival More than 700 litres of free wine were served at the 7th Da Lat Flower Festival in the Central Highlands Thousands of locals and tourists participated in the night wine festival in the resort city of The festival was divided into various sectors featuring local special dishes and street music. A photo exhibition highlighting the beauty of the In another event in the framework of the 7th Da Lat Flower Festival, a fashion show highlighting locally-made silk was held in Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province, which is dubbed The silk was used in 13 collections by famous designers such as Minh Hanh, Ngoc Han, Ha Duy, Nguyen Thuy and Nhi Hoang. The same day 32 years ago, the Government issued a decree building Bao Loc into The 7th Da Lat Flowers Festival is taking place at More than 5,000 art works of flowers, bonsai and plant are being displayed at an international bonsai and flower exhibition. A series of workshops are also scheduled within the framework of the festival to promote investment in Lam Dong, discuss Da Lat’s development planning and develop local tea and silk products. Party chief asks theoretical council to support development Lauding the Central Theoretical Council’s important role, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong emphasised at its meeting on Saturday in General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (standing, centre) attended and directed the fourth meeting of the 2016-2021 tenure Central Theoretical Council on Saturday in The regional and global contexts are witnessing rapid and complicated developments, increasing the importance of theoretical work, he said at the fourth meeting of the 2016-2021 tenure council. He added that it needs to create accurate forecasts of development trends and a firm theoretical argument to support the national development strategy. The Party chief asked the council to focus on increasing the quality of theoretical research to better serve the leadership of the CPV Central Committee and its Political Bureau and Secretariat and the drafting of the 13th National Party Congress’s documents. To that end, the council should reform its operations, step up political research and expand and increase theoretical cooperation with parties around the world, he suggested. Toll fees of Hoàng Mai booth to be slashed Fees for local vehicles passing through Hoàng Mai toll booth in central Nghệ An Province will be reduced from January 1 next year. The cut is applicable for cars of individuals who have permanent household registration or organisations and enterprises that have headquarters in some communes of Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An provinces that are located less than 5km from the booth. The communes include Trường Lâm, Hải Thượng, Mai Lâm and Hải Hà of Tĩnh Gia District, Fees for vehicles of type 1 (cars under 12 seats, trucks under two tonnes) and type 2 (cars with 12 to 30 seats, trucks weighing 2-4 tonnes) will be slashed by half. Toll collection for vehicles of type 3, 4, 5 (cars with more than 31 seats, trucks weighing more than four tonnes, 20-feet and 40-feet container trucks) will be reduced by 20 per cent. Buses do not have to pay toll. Earlier Việt Nam Road Administration proposed slashing the toll fees for all vehicles. A representative of the investors said this proposal could not be implemented because the financial plan was not followed. The toll collection period will be expanded to nearly 26 years instead of more than 17 years as planned. The Build-Operate-Transfer project of upgrading and expanding the National Highway No 1 section running through Nghi Sơn- Cầu Giát was invested by Civil Engineering Construction Joint Stock Corporation 4 and Corporation 319. More than VNĐ3.6 trillion (US$156.5 million) was invested in the 34km section. The Hoàng Mai booth was opened for toll collection on May 3, 2015. Toll fees ranges from VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) to VNĐ180,000 ($7.8). Nearly VNĐ10 billion lost in boat fire A fishing boat with the number QNa 91515 suddenly caught fire in Tam Hải Commune, Núi Thành District, in the wee hours of Monday. The boat owned by Trần Văn Độ, 37, was found to have caught fire at 2am on Monday, according to Nguyễn Tấn Hùng, deputy head of Tam Hải Commune People’s Committee. At the time of the accident, the boat contained four tonnes of petrol, which made the fire spread rapidly. Residents and functional forces sprung into action to douse the fire, although strong winds and the huge amount of petrol obstructed their efforts. The fire was extinguished by 8am on the same day. No casualties were reported; however, all electronic equipment and fishing tools were destroyed. The estimated damage could reach VNĐ9.2 billion (US$405,000). The functional forces are now investigating the cause of the fire. Youth event held in Thousands of youth in At the event, designed in an urban art style, youth will be able share their hobbies and new living trends, and have a chance to admire sneaker collections and experience new haircut styles. In addition, they will be able to try new virtual reality technology guided by Tùng Monkey, a famous actor in the area. A snowroom set at 10 degrees Celsius will be open for all. The event was organised by Sneaker Việt Nam Magazine and Hennessy. National Strategy on Green Growth integrated into local development The National Strategy on Green Growth, adopted by the Prime Minister in 2012, identifies green growth as the most appropriate way to reform Green growth also defined as a key factor in ensuring sustainable growth and rapid, effective and sustainable economic development. The Prime Minister adopted a green growth action plan until 2020 detailing activities needed to realize the strategy. The plan focuses on restructuring energy, industry, agro-forestry, transportation, construction, the environment, science, and technology sectors. 40 cities and provinces nationwide have developed their own green growth plans. Tran Trung Hieu from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said “Provinces have issued plans to promote green growth, but have not integrated green growth into their socio-economic development plans. They need guidance from the Ministry of Planning and Investment to identify goals, targets, and a budget for this work.” Localities have promoted links between sectors and regions, involved the community, and identified resources to implement the Green Growth Strategy. Doctor Tran Thi Hanh of the Central Institute for Economic Management said "The Ministry of Planning and Investment needs to set out green growth criteria when evaluating investment priorities and identifying investment resources for local socio-economic development plans. Green growth criteria should also be included in appraising public investment projects.” Promoting green growth will help VNN |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 26/12 Pangasius fish export tops $1.75 billion  Vietnam Pangasius Fish Association said that pangasius fish export turnover this year exceeds US$1.75 billion and the fish farming area has increased back in the Mekong Delta region. Specifically, new farming area is 3,299 hectares, up 14 percent while harvest area reaches 3,415 hectares, up 7 percent. Large farming provinces are Dong Thap with 1,200 hectares, Ben Tre 753 hectares and An Giang 589 hectares. The fish output and export turnover have strongly increased because of advantageous consumption from Chinese market which has replaced the Pangasius price now approximates VND28,000 a kilogram in the Mekong Delta, the highest level this year and the record high for the last ten years. Lam Dong eyes more high-quality foreign investment A conference was held by the People’s Committee of the Central Highlands The conference on investment, trade and tourism promotion took place within the framework of the 7th Da Lat Flower Festival that is underway in Da Lat city. The event gathered representatives from about 50 domestic and foreign companies in the province alongside a number of experts and scholars from ministries and state agencies. Foreign investors have poured about 528 million USD into 103 projects in Lam Dong while the province has attracted approximately 115 trillion VND (5.06 billion USD) in 820 domestic projects, said Vice Chairman of the province’s People’s Committee Nguyen Van Yen, noting most of the projects are run by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yen voiced his concern over ineffectiveness of many foreign investment projects while many foreign investors have taken advantages of local investment promotion policies to occupy land for illegal purposes, like transfer of land use rights without permit. To solve the issues, Lam Dong should give priority to big firms with good financial capability and sustainable investment, instead of SMEs, said Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics Tran Dinh Thien. SMEs have limited funding so most of them want to earn profit at any cost, leaving severe impacts on local environment and economics, he explained. Delegates to the conference suggested that the province should also further accelerate public administrative reforms and put more efforts to unleash its potential in tourism, hi-tech agriculture and biotechnology. NFSC: Bad debts down to 9.5% The 2017 Financial Market Overview Report released on December 26 by the National Financial Supervision Commission (NFSC) noted that bad debts have been cut from 11.5 per cent of total credit as at August to 9.5 per cent now, primarily due to the recent implementation of the National Assembly’s resolution on bad debt settlement. Local banks, thanks to quicker debt resolution, have managed to clear VND70 trillion ($3 billion) in bad debts over the past year, while the rising property market has boosted credit growth, the report said. Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) in the banking sector have both reached their highest levels in five years, the report noted. The NFSC estimated credit growth of 19 per cent this year amid an increase of 17.3 per cent in the sector’s total assets. State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Governor Le Minh Hung told a plenary session last month that non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking system, if fully calculated, were estimated at VND566 trillion ($24.93 billion) as at the end of September, accounting for 8.61 per cent of total credit. NPLs registered on Vietnamese banks’ balance sheets, mostly incurred due to a slowdown in the country’s real estate market in the early 2010s, had been cut to 2.34 per cent of the total by the end of September, down from 2.46 per cent at the end of last year, according to SBV Governor Hung. The central bank set up an institution to deal with toxic loans, the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), in late 2013. Credit ratings agency Moody’s in October upgraded its outlook for Vietnam’s banking system from stable to positive for the next 12-18 months, reflecting the country’s strong economic prospects and the positive outlook for most rated banks. Together with cutting bad debts, quicker debt resolution could also reduce the burden on banks, which would better position them for the scheduled implementation of the Basel II standards in January 2020. As it stands, banks’ reported capital adequacy ratios (CARs) meet minimum requirements, but these are based on official NPL ratios that understate problem loans in the banking sector. “Capital adequacy in the banking system is poor because rapid credit growth is already outpacing internal capital generation and sources of external capital are limited,” Moody’s lead analyst Ms. Daphne Cheng told VET, adding that the government intends to rely on banks’ earnings to close their capital shortfalls, given its lack of fiscal resources to inject fresh capital. Technology ecosystem for restaurants introduced Dcorp R-Keeper, a management solutions provider for the restaurant industry, has recently introduced the latest technological solutions for restaurants and coffee shop owners to stay abreast of development in the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), improve the customer experience, and increase business efficiency. A seminar was held recently in As a pioneer in providing POS solutions and management solutions for restaurant, coffee shop, or other franchise chains, it has nearly ten years of history in the field of providing management solutions to the restaurant industry. In the face of a developed F&B industry and the explosion of technology around the world, restaurants continually need to adopt new strategies, optimize operations, and have a powerful management system that can minimize costs and increase profits. A the briefing event on its technology ecosystem, the company introduced its most advanced technologies being delivered to the market in the near future, such as ordering on any device (tablet, mobile phone, website, scanning QR codes, or a chat bot), convenient billing and processing of bills (mobile payment, e-wallet, e-receipt), food omni-chanels, and customer service Interaction (e-vouchers, e-coupons, membership management apps, etc.). “More and more F&B companies are joining the market, putting great pressure on the structure of existing restaurants and coffee shops,” said Mr. James Duong Nguyen, General Director of Dcorp R-Keeper Vietnam. “In Vietnam, many problems must be resolved regarding the optimization of operations, costs, and revenue management, increasing the quality of food and, especially, providing top utility tools to increase the customer experience, shorten ordering and waiting times, using the mobile apps of customers, and gradually removing the need for paperwork.” Dcorp R-Keeper also officially launched its marketplace for developers and technology companies to contribute apps and features to the R-Keeper POS system and the development of high tech gadgets and utilities for restaurants. Dcorp R-Keeper is a partner of more than 2,000 restaurants and hotels, including leading brands such as Real estate & construction enterprises up sharply The number of real estate and construction enterprises rose sharply in 2017, by 62 per cent against 2016, with registered capital rising 66.5 per cent. The total number of newly-established enterprises and enterprises returning after suspending operations were 153,307 in 2017, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, of which 126,859 were newly-established enterprises. Total registered capital was VND3.2 trillion ($140.9 million), including registered capital of VND1.3 trillion ($57.2 million) at newly-registered enterprises and additional registered capital of VND1.8 trillion ($79.2 million). Wholesale retail, repair, automobiles and motorbikes saw 45,411 newly-established enterprises, accounting for 35.8 per cent of the total, manufacturing and processing 16,191 enterprises, or 12.8 per cent, and construction 16,035 enterprises, or 12.6 per cent. Wholesale, retail, and motor vehicles had the largest number of registered enterprises. In terms of growth, real estate lead the way, with numbers increasing 62 per cent. Registered capital in real estate businesses reached VND76.7 billion ($3.37 million) on average in each enterprise, electricity, water and gas distribution VND65.7 billion ($2.8 million), arts and entertainment VND18.2 billion ($801,472), and natural resources exploitation VND17.6 billion ($774,934). Eight component projects of North-South Highway await investment capital The total investment capital of the eight component projects under the eastern North-South Highway is estimated at VND104.1 trillion (equivalent to $4.6 billion) during 2017-2020. The Ministry of Transport has just issued Decision No.3535/QD-BGTVT announcing the portfolio of component projects constructing certain segments of the eastern These build-operate-build (BOT) projects will meet the transportation demand at some urgent segments, building the eastern North-South Highway with high capacity, safety, and high speed way. These projects will connect political-economic centres, especially three major economic zones, economic parks, and industrial parks, contributing to the completion of a synchronous infrastructure system, the promotion of socioeconomic development, ensuring national defense-security, and improving economic competitiveness. These projects have started preparations since earlier this year and are expected to be finished by 2021. Deputy PM approves adjustments to inland container depot master plan Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has approved adjustments to the master plan for The adjustments aim to help inland container depot systems meet the increasing demand of export-import transport, increase sea ports’ capacity for goods clearance, ensure the safety of goods and reduce traffic congestion in urban areas. Inland container depots will be developed into centres for organising goods transport and providing logistics services. By 2020, According to the plan, 15 inland container deports will be built across the country, including six in the north, six in the central and Central Highlands and three in the south. Total investment capital for the plan to 2020 is estimated at 9-15 trillion VND (396.9 -661.5 million USD), while for 2020-2030 funding will be about 20-22 trillion VND (882-970.2 million USD). In the next three years, the work will focus on developing inland container deports along transport corridors connecting to large seaports in the north and the south, with priority given to ports close to industrial clusters and parks, export processing zones, logistics centres and international border gates. The plan will also focus on measures to enhance State management of the development of inland container deports, logistic centres and the involvement of railway and internal waterway sectors in container transport. Tien Giang star-apple fruit breaks into In preparation for the shipment of one tonne of star apples to the US, local enterprises inked consumption contracts with cooperatives in My Long, Huu Dao and Long Hung communes (Chau Thanh district) and Ban Long communes (Cai Lay district). Some 56.34 hectares of star apples in Tien Giang province have been designated for growing fruit for export to the Together with litchi, longan, rambutan and dragon fruit, star apple is the fifth Vietnamese fruit allowed to be sold in the market. Van Phong petroleum bonded warehouse expects no losses in 2018 The Van Phong petroleum bonded warehouse in Petrolimex chief accountant Luu Van Tuyen said in 2017, Van Phong petroleum bonded warehouse achieved pre-tax profit of VND160 billion. However, according to the monitoring report of Petrolimex, the warehouse has currently experienced accumulated losses of some VND120-130 billion after minusing net profit of 2017. Tuyen said with the positive prospects for the warehouse business next year, it expects to not incur accumulated losses in 2018. Tuyen said at present, Petrolimex has increased its shares at the Van Phong Petroleum Bonded Warehouse Joint Stock Company to 85 per cent from 51.4 per cent after Petrolimex Singapore Pte Ltd transferred its capital amounting to $14 million at the warehouse company to Petrolimex. The Ministry of Industry and Trade approved this transaction under current regulations. The Van Phong petroleum bonded warehouse began operations in June 2012 with total investment capital of $125 million and total capacity of 505,000cu.m. However, according to Petrolimex, in 2012 alone, Van Phong Petroleum Bonded Joint Stock Company suffered a loss of VND170 billion. Since it was a new warehouse, the leasing did not reach the designed capacity. Leased capacity reached 20 per cent in 2013 and 43 per cent in the first half of 2014. Auto market posts slow growth Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reported that auto market sales in November reached 24,752 products, up 13 percent over the previous month after many consecutive months of reduction. The sales hit 244,670 automobiles during the first 11 months this year, down 10 percent over the same period last year. Of these, passenger cars dropped 12 percent, commercial automobiles slid 5 percent and specialized vehicles fell 15 percent. During the 11 months, the sales of domestically assembled products reduced 19 percent while import items increased 9 percent. Automakers’ price cut by tens to hundreds of million dong stimulated demand in November, experts said. VAMA forecast that it is infeasible for auto consumption to post a year on year increase of 10 percent in 2017 because the year 2017 will end in only a week. Garment, textile export turnover expected to reach $31 billion HCMC Textile, Garment, Embroidery and Knitting Association (AGTEX) forecast that the industry’s export turnover will reach US$5.27 billion in November and December and $31 billion this year, a year on year increase of 10.23 percent. 2017 is not an advantageous year but garment and textile has obtained satisfactory growth, said the association. Besides traditional markets such the Export items have been diversified with high added value products including cloths, fiber and materials. At present, businesses are sprinting to complete signed contracts and set plans. In addition, many large firms have got orders for the first quarter of next year. AGTEX forecast that 2018 will be better than 2017 for the garment and textile industry with growth rate remaining at two digit numbers. Pineapple price falls, farmers filled with despair Pineapple farmers in the Mekong delta are filled with despair because fruit price dropped drastically The Mekong delta province of Tien Giang, the biggest pineapple area in the region, has expanded the growing land of pineapples in Tan Phuoc district to 16,000 hectares, and is expecting to produce over 260,,000 tons annually for domestic consumption and export. However, this year, fruit price dropped sharply. Farmer Dang Van Hoa who works in 20 hectares of the fruit in My Phuoc commune looked unhappy because traders proposed buying a ripe first-grade pineapple at VND4,000 - 4,500 while the second-grade and third-grade at VND2,000 - 2,500 and VND1,500 a fruit. With such price, farmers almost have made no profit. Farmers in districts Go Quao, Vinh Thuan and U Minh Thuong in Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in VInh Thuan District Vo Hoang Nguyen said before the district grows the fruit in the area of over 5,000 hectare yet because of its fluctuating price plus fields of pineapple are not invested by enterprises any more, farmers chopped down the fruit to grow other tree or raise shrimp. At present, the district has approximately 1,500 hectare of fruit; worse, the area is predicted to shrink if the price continues falling. Cau Duc pineapple in For years, the fruit is the major tree in Hoa Tien Commune; accordingly, residents’ earnings is affected seriously when the fruit price is down. Explained the falling price, trader Nguyen Van Lam blamed for bumper harvest in the Deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hau Giang Le Van Doi said the province has 1,800 hectare of pineapple-growing land. Experts warned farmers to apply technique to avoid mass harvest at the same time to curb dropping price. Furthermore, authority encouraged farmers to join in cooperative which firms invest in infrastructure and buy all products. Thanh Thang Cooperative in Hoa Tien Commune with 75 members cultivates in the area of 160 hectare supply 3,000 tons annually to the market. Participation in cooperative is inevitable trend in the future for farmers. Vietnam needs VND9-15 trillion to develop dry port system Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has signed a decision to adjust Vietnam’s dry port system plan in which the country needs VND9-15 trillion (US$397-661.48 million) to develop dry ports by 2020. According to the plan, the northern region will build dry ports in coastal economic areas; Hanoi-Lao Cai, Hanoi-Lang Son and Hanoi-Thai Nguyen-Cao Bang economic corridors; Northwest and Central region and Central Highlands will build six works in Road 9, 8 and 12A economic corridors; Da Nang-Thua Thien Hue, Road 14 and Nghi Son economic areas and the The southern region will implement the plan in Northeast and No quality tests for polluting diesel autos Vietnam Register will not conduct quality tests on diesel-fueled automobiles if they fail to meet emissions requirements as provided in the Prime Minister’s Decision 49/2011/QD-TTg as from next year, Hai Quan newspaper reports. The agency has recently told auto manufacturers, assemblers and importers to strictly observe the roadmap for sticking with the auto emissions standards in Decision 49. Enterprises have to review all plans to manufacture, assemble and import diesel autos that meet Euro 2 emissions standards and ensure their plans to be done before the year-end. As the Ministry of Transport reviewed earlier, as of this month, there are 47 enterprises continuing with plans to import and manufacture Euro 2 diesel autos. To ensure the effective implementation of the roadmap concerning Euro 4 emissions standards, Vietnam Register has been asked to examine the operation plan of each and every firm, report auto quality testing results to the ministry before the end of each month, propose solutions and simplify procedures so that enterprises can market their products before December 31. Forthcoming Labor Code amendments help cut business costs Forthcoming amendments to the Labor Code will help reduce business costs but still guarantee the rights of employees, heard a conference in Vu Tien Loc, president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), was cited by An Ninh Thu Do news website (anninhthudo.vn) as saying that creating new jobs is a decisive factor behind economic growth. Micro, small and medium enterprises play a crucial role in job creations, he noted. A survey by VCCI shows around 70% of local enterprises intend to expand production in the coming time. Therefore, the annual target for 1.8 million new jobs is attainable. Tran Thi Lan Anh, director of VCCI’s Bureau of Employer Activities, said the upcoming amendments to the Labor Code aim to protect the fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens in the fields of labor, labor relations and labor markets by institutionalizing the provisions of the 2013 Constitution. Labor Code revisions, if any, should allow employers to terminate labor contracts unilaterally if their employees are absent from work for more than five days without proper reasons. The code should also recognize the textile and apparel industry as a labor sub-leasing one, according to a representative of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association. The association proposed increasing overtime hours to no more than four hours a day, and no more than 400 hours a year. Mai Duc Thien, deputy head of the Department of Legal Affairs, said the Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs would submit draft Labor Code revisions to the National Assembly in 2019. Cash payments targeted at below 10% in 2020 The proportion of cash payments in all transactions is to be brought down to below 10% as per the non-cash payment scheme towards 2020 announced by the Government, Thanh Nien newspaper reports. The entire market will have at least 300,000 POS terminals with the number of transactions to reach 200 million a year. All supermarkets, shopping malls, modern distribution facilities and State Treasury offices will be equipped with POS terminals. As shown in a report of the central bank, the ratio of cash to total means of payment dropped from 19.02% in 2005 to 14.02% in 2010 and 11.45% last August. Thus, the target to reduce it to less than 10% looks achievable. In addition, the use of bank cards is on the rise, with stable growth in card issues, volumes and transaction values. As of last September, the accumulated number of cards exceeded 127 million (up 5.5 million cards against last June), while there were 17,396 automated teller machines (ATM) and 260,187 POS terminals nationwide. The market has 76 suppliers of payment service via the Internet and 39 suppliers of mobile payment. Some regulations to become effective in the coming time require payments via bank accounts such as the central bank’s draft document concerning capital disbursement at credit institutions. But in reality, some enterprises still shy themselves away from bank transfer due to transfer costs. As for restaurants and shops, they are not yet interested in having POS terminals due to the fact that they have to pay a fee of 1.5-2.5%. According to financial experts, there should be policies encouraging non-cash payments, especially low card and POS fees for both users and those accepting cards. Bui Quang Tin, a financial expert, was cited by Thanh Nien newspaper as saying that the target of having cash payment below 10% of total payments in 2020 is attainable thanks to increasing numbers of POS terminals and ATMs. However, certain individuals and enterprises do not want to make payments via banks for fear of having their information known to management units. The use of cash out of total payments in Southeast Asian countries ranges between 11% and 17%. Meanwhile, a much lower proportion is recorded in European countries, such as below 1% in Seafood exports grow sharply Vietnam had exported US$7.6 billion worth of seafood in the year to end-November, up 18.9% over the same period last year, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper quoted a report of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Although the Last year, China spent US$860 million importing seafood from Vietnam, but the number surged to more than US$1 billion in January-November this year, making China one of Vietnam’s seafood importers with turnover of over US$1 billion. Among other major markets were the Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading JSC, said Despite many obstacles in traditional markets, Hang Van, deputy director of Truong Giang Seafood JSC, said According to the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, seafood shipments via Mong Cai border gate have increased significantly as exporters are shipping high-quality products to However, some Chinese traders have bought poor quality seafood from Material tra fish price has hit a record high of VND28,500-29,000 a kilogram, resulting in a profit of VND5,000 per kilogram for farmers. Meanwhile, prices of tiger and white-legged shrimp in Ca Mau Province, which is the country’s largest shrimp producer, have increased considerably since early September to VND210,000-215,000 (US$9.25-9.47) and VND104,000-105,000 per kilogram respectively. Besides, the shrimp farming area has also expanded, leading to high seafood output to supply processing plants and higher income for farmers. Ngo Thanh Linh, general secretary of the Ca Mau Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (CASEP), said most shrimp processing plants in the province are in dire need of material as farmers could meet only 40-50% of the demand. Due to high prices, enterprises find it hard to import material shrimp from other countries. As of November, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the EU have grown nearly 22% this year as shrimp of Management of consumer finance companies to be tightened The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will closely monitor and inspect the operation of consumer finance companies to ensure a transparent and healthy consumer credit market. Data of SBV shows consumer credit has grown strongly in For finance companies alone, the total amount of consumer credit has increased 10 times since 2011 to VND74 trillion, making consumer credit the fastest growing segment with average outstanding loan growth rate of 40% per annum in the last three years. According to a report of the National Financial Supervisory Commission, consumer loans will maintain the high growth momentum in the coming time. The country’s total outstanding consumer loans in the year to end-November had soared by an estimated 59% compared to end-2016. Loans for purchasing and repairing apartments, and transferring residential land account for 52.9% of the total, up from 49.5% against late last year. Loans for buying home appliances make up 15.3% while car loans account for 8.3%. At present, there are 16 consumer finance companies in Nguyen Tri Hieu, an economic specialist, said foreign investors have boosted investment into consumer credit in SBV urged to amend regulations to back real estate market The HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA) has written to the State Bank of HoREA petitioned SBV to amend Circular 36/2014/TT-NHNN and Circular 06/2016/TT-NHNN in a way that allows credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to continue using parts of their short-term deposits to make long-term loans for homebuyers and developers. HoREA put forth two proposals. In the first proposal, the central bank is asked to continue allowing credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to use 50% of their short-term funds for making medium and long-term loans next year. The policy will help support the growth of the economy as well as the property market. As for the second proposal, HoREA agreed with a maximum ratio of 45% of short-term funds being used as medium and long-term loans between January 1 and December 31 next year stated in a draft circular amending and supplementing Circular 36/2014/TT-NHNN. Besides, HoREA made proposals relating to the implementation of supporting policies for those purchasing affordable commercial and social housing. HoREA proposed SBV launch housing credit packages to support buyers of social and commercial houses valued at some VND1 billion each according to Resolution 46/NQ-CP of the Government. The central bank should allocate VND1 trillion to four credit institutions, namely Vietcombank, Vietinbank, Agribank and BIDV, to offer preferential loans for customers in need of social houses. HoREA also proposed the National Assembly, the Government and SBV annually offer credit lines totaling VND1-2 trillion until 2020 for buyers of social houses with an annual interest rate of 4.8%. The plan should be implemented by Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and four above-mentioned banks to effectively implement social housing policies. In addition, incentives should be offered for investors of social housing projects in line with the Housing Law, especially social houses for rent, to reduce costs of such homes. Banking stocks to drive market higher, experts say Most bank stocks are entering a short-term correction after their recent strong rallies, but securities experts still expect such securities to continue advancing in the first months of 2018. Nguyen Hong Khanh, head of analysis at Sacombank Securities Company (SBS), said on tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn website that the market has resumed its uptrend. After the correction, the VN-Index is poised to rise to new highs again. Notably, the market saw no negative impact from recent quarterly rebalancing by exchange traded funds and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike. However, Tran Anh Tuan from Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) said the VN-Index would miss the 1,000-point level in the last week of 2017. Though the main index still sees a positive outlook in the short term, the market will be obstructed by poor cash flow. Securities enterprises may fail to improve margin lending as large banks have met their credit growth targets. However, in the first quarter of 2018, the main index is expected to beat new highs as listed firms will announce their 2017 financial reports and banks will continue boosting lending activities, Tuan said. The VN-Index traded in the green for almost the entire session last Friday, closing up 0.66%. After starting on Monday with the best day of the year, up 2.5%, trading during the rest of the week was choppy, with the index up 1.9% for the week, breaking a two-week losing streak. Lender VCB jumped to a record high, extending a 15% surge over the last seven days amid investor speculation the bank will announce strong earnings in the last quarter. According to Khanh from SBS, the banking sector reports the biggest market capitalization on the stock market and causes significant impact on the economy. More banks are going to list on the market next year while their operations will be strengthened to meet higher standards and deal with bad debts. Besides, bank stocks are attractive to both foreign and domestic investors. Though many lenders have increased sharply, banks remain the key drivers in the upcoming index rises early next year, the expert said. According to Tuan from VCBS, the banking sector has made positive contributions to the recent rallies. In 2018, bank stocks will be shining thanks to better credit growths, focusing on the retail segment. Furthermore, the bad debt handling process will go smoothly given supportive policies from the Government and the State Bank of Can Tho builds industrial park for Japanese investors The Vietnam-Japan Friendship Industrial Park is being built in the Mekong Delta city of The industrial park is in fact a section covering 43 hectares inside Hung Phu 1 Industrial Park in Cai Rang District six kilometers from the city center. It is developed by Can Tho City’s Development Investment Fund (Cadif). The developer has completed construction of Cadif-Hung Phu 1 tenement with 170 apartments some four kilometers from the industrial park to provide accommodation to Japanese experts. Can Tho Chairman Vo Thanh Thong and Abe Masayuki, director of the Vietnam Agricultural Information Centre (VAIO), last weekend visited the industrial park. Abe Masayuki said the industrial park is suitable to mechanical engineering, precision engineering, and electronic projects. He proposed the investor divide the land into smaller lots corresponding to the diverse scales of Japanese firms, and build some model factories to serve the immediate operations of some enterprises. Can Tho Chairman Thong asked Cadif to quickly complete the construction of infrastructure facilities to put the industrial park into operation in April next year. According to statistics of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Mekong Delta has attracted more than 170 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, but only six projects worth US$12 million have been licensed in Can Tho. However, more Japanese investors have come to sound out opportunities in the city, so the city has launched Japan Desk, a service to assist current and potential Japanese investors. New FDI approvals highest since 2009 Fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in As of December 20, Such figures are not the final ones, as certain deals might have not been updated. For example, the transfer of a huge stake of Sabeco to a company with As the ministry estimated, FDI projects have disbursed US$17.5 billion in the year, the highest ever. Of the 19 areas that foreign investors have invested in, the processing-manufacturing sector attracts the largest amount with US$15.87 billion, accounting for 44.2% of total registered capital. It is followed by electricity production and distribution with US$8.37 billion (23.3%) and real estate with US$3.05 billion (8.5%). Foreign investors in FDI capital has been injected into 59 provinces and cities nationwide. However, HCMC has made up the highest proportion of registered capital, 18.1% and US$6.5 billion. Other localities with large FDI pledges are Bac Ninh with US$3.4 billion (9.5%) and Thanh Hoa with US$3.17 billion (8.8%). Among the major projects licensed this year is the Japan-invested BOT Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant worth US$2.79 billion in Other BOT thermal plants getting approved are Van Phong 1 in In addition, Samsung Display HCMC raises VND2 trillion from bond issue The HCMC government has raised VND2 trillion (US$88.07 million) from a municipal bond issue to fund its urgent infrastructure development projects, Tuoi Tre newspaper reports. The city has successfully issued 20-year bonds with an annual coupon of 6.5%. Bonds with a tenor of 15 years came with an annual interest rate of 6.35%. A representative of HCMC Finance and Investment Company (HFIC), which conducted the bond auction, hailed the 20-year bond issuance as this was the first time the city had successfully sold such debt. Principles will be paid once when the bonds fall due while interest will be paid annually. If bond holders do not receive interest punctually, the amount will be reserved excluding compound interest. At the most recent National Assembly session in If the level is raised to over 90%, the city’s total outstanding loans would be VND70 trillion next year, up VND15.7 trillion, or 0.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). The city government has proposed relevant ministries allocate official development assistance (ODA) loans from the State budget for its projects this year and next, and support investors to complete necessary procedures to speed up disbursements of ODA and preferential loans. The city also asked for more capital for the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line, and the second phase of a project to improve the water environment in the The city also urged ministries to ask the Government for permission to adjust the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien urban railway project, officially known as Metro Line No. 1. Eight BOT highway projects require over VND104 trillion The Ministry of Transport has announced a list of eight build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects to construct the North-South Highway in the east in the 2017-2020 period, with a total investment of over VND104 trillion (US$4.57 billion). The eight projects include the Mai Son - National Highway 45, National Highway 45 - Nghi Son, Nghi Son - Dien Chau, Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Nha Trang - Cam Lam, Cam Lam - Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet, and Phan Thiet - Dong Nai. The total investment of the eight projects is estimated at over VND104 trillion, including over VND40.3 trillion funded by the State budget in order to conduct land clearance and the resettlement of affected households. The project on building the 106km of Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet segment is expected to require the highest investment at over VND19.6 trillion, including VND8 trillion worth of State budget, while the Nha Trang - Cam Lam project with a total length of 29km is estimated to need the lowest investment at over VND5.1 trillion. According to the Ministry of Transport, it is an urgent need to invest in these projects to meet the increasing transport demand of the related localities and to connect key national economic regions. The report on the feasibility study of these projects is being completed and these projects are scheduled to be finished in 2021. VNN |
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APG submarine cable damaged The Asia-Pacific Getaway (APG) Submarine cable from  According to VNPT, after problems on the Asia-America Getaway (AAG) and Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe (SMW-3) submarine cables on November 7, which were eventually repaired on Saturday, the APG Submarine cable suddenly broke. The SMW-3 replaced its power source at TUAS station in The re-operation of AAG and SMW-3 helps Vietnamese network operators maintain the Internet connection, especially when the APG submarine cable crashes. To deal with the problem, VNPT prioritises Internet traffic on other submarine cables operating stably to assure connection quality for customers. “At present, we are collaborating with international partners to find causes and make a detailed plan to address the issue,” a representative of VNPT said. VNA |
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Former Politburo member faces up to 20 years for misconduct at PetroVietnamDinh La Thang could be imprisoned 10 to 20 years for deliberately violating state regulations  A former Politburo member could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of wroingdoings at one of The Supreme People’s Procuracy on Tuesday issued the indictment on the deliberate violations of state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences, and the embezzlement of property, which were allegedly committed by Ding La Thang and 21 other defendants at PetroVietnam (PVN) and its subsidiary, PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC). As the former chairman of PVN’s management board, Thang was charged for deliberately violating the state’s regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences, and is facing between 10 and 20 years of imprisonment. Thang, 57, was a member of the all-powerful Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam from January 27, 2016 to May 7, 2017, and secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee from February 5, 2016 to May 10, 2017. Phung Dinh Thuc, former general director of PVN, Nguyen Xuan Son, PVN’s ex-deputy general director, and nine other suspects were charged for a similar offense. Eight suspects are to be prosecuted for embezzlement of property. Trinh Xuan Thanh, former chairman of PVC’s board of directors, and Vu Duc Thuan, ex-general director of PVC, were charged for both offenses. Thanh is expected to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars for his deliberate violations of the state’s regulations, and death for embezzlement. The investigation In September 15, 2016, the Ministry of Public Security began the investigation into the case and arrested four suspects for their deliberate violations at the two companies. Officers initiated legal proceedings against and issued a wanted notice for Thanh the following day. In February 2017, five new suspects were apprehended for embezzlement. In July 31, Thanh returned to Police captured Thang and began legal procedures against him on December 8. A total of 11 other suspects involved in the case were nabbed between March and December. Officers concluded their probe and transferred their report to the Supreme People’s Procuracy on December 20. The violations According to the indictment, PVC, under the leadership of Thanh, implemented 67 construction projects from 2008 to 2012, of which 12 projects required extra expenditure that was not stated in the contracts. The firm also invested over VND3 trillion (US$132.2 million) in 46 companies in 2010 and another VND3.5 trillion ($154.2 million) in 43 enterprises in 2011. The total investment exceeded PVC’s charter capital by nearly VND1 trillion ($44 million), resulting in financial difficulties at the subsidiary. In April 2010, Thang, on behalf of the management board, submitted a document to the government asking for permission to initiate the Thai Binh 2 thermal power project, located in the namesake He also requested that the oil and gas group PVN, among The request was approved and, under Thang’s directions, PVC was chosen in June 2010 as the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractor of the project. The PVN chairman then directed his employees to sign a deal for the construction of certain facilities at the power plant, a move that went against regulations. Based on the agreement, PVN made an advance transfer of $6.6 million and over VND1.3 trillion ($57.2 million) to PVC. However, Thanh, and other suspects at PVC, used over VND1 trillion ($44 million) of the money for wrongful purposes, a violation that led to VND111 billion ($5.2 million) in losses for the state. Aside from the wrongdoings within the Thai Binh 2 project, Thanh and Thuan, the ex-general director of PVC, also directed the creation of bogus documents that approved the withdrawal of VND13 billion ($572,584) from the management board of the Vung Ang-Quang Trach thermal power project in north-central Vietnam, developed by PVN. Their trial is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2018. |
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A counter-terrorism exercise was held at  Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh directly commanded the exercise, which involved nearly 1,000 police, soldiers and personnel from relevant agencies. Scenarios are based on the assumption that a civil plane was attacked by a group of 8 armed hijackers while flying in After negotiation failed, the counter-terror forces attacked and arrested the terrorists and released hostages. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that in the context of complicated global security, the drills was very significant to test and ensure a multi-agency response to possible terror attacks and enhance effective co-ordination between relevant agencies. Dinh Viet Son, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said the exercise achieved its goals and equipped stakeholders in the aviation sector with essential skills to deal with possible terror attacks at the airport. VOV |
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VNPT earns $220m this year Telecom operator Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) reached a consolidated profit of VNĐ5.01 trillion (US$220 million), a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent.  To date, VNPT has become a strategic partner in telecommunications and IT with 52 over 63 cities and provinces. - Photo tapchitaichinh.vn This is the fourth consecutive year that VNPT has achieved a profit growth of more than 20 per cent. This was revealed at a conference, which was held in Hà Nội on Tuesday in order to deploy tasks for the year 2018. Specifically, the group’s total revenue reached nearly VNĐ144.75 trillion, up 7 per cent against 2016. The State budget contribution was nearly VNĐ4.12 trillion, an increase of 9.3 per cent compared to the previous year. The return on equity hit 8.2 per cent, surpassing 5.1 per cent compared to the targeted plan. The total subscribers of VNPT reached over 34 million subscribers, of which, 31.1 million are mobile subscribers, up 21 per cent from 2016, including 4.1 million FiberVNN subscribers, up 52 per cent compared with 2016. In 2017, VNPT had completed broadcasting over 20,000 mobile stations (2G, 3G, 4G) nationwide, bringing the total number of stations to approximately 75,000. VNPT has also operated the AAE1 broadband cable since October 2017. The total international internet bandwidth increased by 83 per cent, compared to 2016, and the total caching capacity of VNPT increased by 2.1 times, compared to 2016. Having considered information technology to be a key business segment in the period between 2016 and 2020, VNPT has a strong investment strategy for this field and has achieved positive results in 2017. To date, VNPT has become a strategic partner in telecommunications and IT with 52 over 63 cities and provinces. In 2017, the group approached, introduced and deployed the intelligent city model in 17 provinces and cities nationwide. In 2018, VNPT will focus on the development of breakthrough IT services in the business, moving from the concept of Telco to DSP service provider. It will switch to digital services, value-added services, information technology, communications and information technology. Pham Duc Long, VNPT’s general director, said the group will strive to achieve a rise of 10 per cent profit growth over 2017 in 2018 and a revenue growth rate of 6.5 per cent to 8 per cent, compared to 2017. The return on equity is expected to increase 10 per cent compared to 2017, and the group will try to fulfil the State budget contribution in 2018. VNS |
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2017-a year of remarkable success With 13 socioeconomic development targets accomplished and a GDP growth of 6.7 per cent-the highest in the last ten years-2017 is considered a special year for the Vietnamese economy.  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the Vietnamese economy has developed well in almost all fields. All 13 economic goals set forth were accomplished and exceeded, contributing to developing an exciting business and investment environment and consolidating people’s confidence. Notably, GDP growth hit 6.7 per cent, the highest in the past decade. Macroeconomic performance was stable. Inflation was brought under control, while exports surged sharply and the industry recovered at a remarkable pace. The number of newly-established businesses was estimated at 126,860, setting a new record against the 110,100 recorded in 2016 with a total value of newly and additionally registered capital of over VND3,172 trillion (equivalent to $139.43 billion) and 26,448 businesses resumed operation. The FDI sector made increasingly significant contributions to socioeconomic development. The amount of registered FDI capital set a new record since 2009 with $35.6 billion. Disbursed capital hit $17.5 billion, the highest figure over the last ten years. The business environment and national competitiveness index both improved remarkably. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report, Earlier, the Global Innovation Index 2017 (GII 2017) of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranked In the last month, Moody's Investors Service also changed the outlook of the Vietnamese banking system to positive from stable. At the end of November, VN-Index and HNX-Index leaped 42.87 and 42.19 per cent, with the trading volume and value both at record levels. Socio-political performance was stable. Diplomatic affairs and international integration were promoted, especially by the successful hosting of the APEC Vietnam 2017. The position and reputation of According to PM Phuc, the fulfillment of the 13 preset goals was a great success, especially as the economy is shifting towards the processing and manufacturing sector and high-tech farming. 13 indicators reaching and exceeding the target Five indicators are estimated to exceed the preset goals, including: the rate of trade deficit compared to total export turnover (which was planned at 3.5 per cent); total social development investment capital compared to GDP (planned at 31.5 per cent); growth rate of total export turnover (planned at 7 per cent); number of hospital beds per 10,000 people (planned at 25.5 beds); rate of population subscribing to health insurance (planned at 82.2 per cent). Eight indicators are estimated to reach the preset goals, including: GDP growth of 6.7 per cent; consumer price index of 4 per cent; reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 1.5 per cent; reducing the poverty rate by 1-1.5 per cent according to the multi-dimensional poverty standard; reducing unemployment rate in urban areas to under 4 per cent; increasing the percentage of trained employees among total workers in the economy to 56 per cent; increasing the rate of on-going industrial parks and export processing zones having concentrated wastewater treatment system in line with environmental standards to 87 per cent; and increasing the rate of forest coverage to 41.45 per cent. The Vietnamese Government sets growth goal of 6.5 – 6.7% for 2018 amid encouraging socio-economic signals in 2017, according to a report presented by PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the opening ceremony of the Legislature’s ongoing 4th session. The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has outlined three scenarios for VIR |
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Foreign investors target cleared land as property market heats up The real estate market continues to be bustling, with a series of M&A deals in 2007 and to be made in 2018.  JLL noted that hundreds of millions of dollars are about to flow into all segments of the real estate market, from houses, offices and retail premises to hotels and industrial zones. The investors are mostly from Japanese have been increasing their presence in
The domestic market has seen many big M&A deals this year. In March, In May, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai sold its project in Nha Be district to Sunny Island Investment, but the value of the deal remains a secret. More recently, Phat Dat Real Estate announced the transfer of a part of Everrich 3 project in VinaCapital has sold 70 percent of its stake in the 198.5 hectare Dai Phuoc Lotus project in Dong Nai province to China Fortune Land Development (CFLD). CFLD has signed an MOU with Tin Nghia Corporation on the development of a new industrial city in Ong Keo IZ. The housing market segment is always attractive for investors who are aware of the rapid rise of middle-income earners. They also target commercial real estate with a special focus on hotel and A-class offices. More and more foreign investors have come to JLL commented that the office rent in However, foreign investors face big challenges in Kim Chi, VNN |
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VN needs to develop supply chain for safe farm produce Viet Nam needs to develop a supply chain for clean and safe farm produce, an important step to increase sales, prevent price slumps and promote safe agricultural production, experts say.  A consumer shops for VinEco products. According to Dao Van Ho, Director of the Trade Promotion Centre for Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the supply of safe farm produce remains too weak to meet demand. He said that there are around 700 supply chains for safe farm produce including vegetables, fruits, tea, pork, egg, rice and seafood products in 50 provinces and cities. Still, demand for safe farm produce is much higher, Ho said. The supply of safe farm produce is not diverse enough and lacks adequate stores for consumers to visit. This is a part of the reason why many agricultural products struggled in sales and faced strong drops in prices, as in the recent cases of banana in the southern “It is critical to promote the supply chain for farm produce in an effort to restructure the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development,” Ho said. From the viewpoint of a distribution company, Dao Ngoc In addition, the lack of certificates made it difficult to get products on the shelves of supermarkets and restaurants, Vu Thi Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong Province, said that policies to encourage safe agricultural production following standards like VietGap and Global Gap were needed, besides enhancing the linkage of trading enterprises with farmers and producers to establish supply chains. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said that two important aspects of establishing supply chains are ensuring product quality and promoting distribution networks. JICA’s support Trading companies and retailers play a significant role in the supply chain of safe farm produce, according to Mamiya Chiyo, consultant to the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA)-funded project of promoting safe vegetable production chains in the northern region. She said at a conference yesterday that retailers are the bridges between supply and demand. They play an important role in supervising quality and quality to ensure that demand is met. The five-year project which would be implemented until July 2021 would enhance the capacity of supervising and managing safe farming production, developing good models of safe farm produce following GAP standards and enhancing awareness about producing and using safe products. Nguyen Huu Hung, head of Yen Phu Co-operative, said that before cooperating with VinEco, sales of its farm produce had been unstable. VinEco helped Yen Phu maintain strong sales with stable prices. VNS |
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