Talk Vietnam

Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (right) and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left). VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI – Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn made a phone call to Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. Sơn took the occasion to brief his Chinese counterpart on Việt Nam’s guideline for external relations defined at the 13th National Party Congress, under which Việt Nam consistently pursues an independent foreign policy for peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation, and comprehensive and in-depth international integration. The FM reiterated that maintaining and developing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China is always one of the top priorities in Việt Nam’s external policy. FM Wang Yi affirmed that China attaches importance to promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Việt Nam and congratulated Việt Nam on the success of the 13th National Party Congress and the 11th session of the 14th National Assembly, during which the country selected a new leadership and defined socio-economic development targets for the years ahead. The two FMs shared the view that the two parties and countries’ relations continue to maintain a positive development trend, with regular exchanges and contacts at all levels held in flexible forms, and economic-trade cooperative growing despite the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have shared medical supplies and experience in fighting the pandemic, and supported each other in times of natural disasters. The two sides agreed to promote exchanges at high level and other levels, and invited each other to make mutual visit at an appropriate time for direct discussion. They also vowed to bring into full play the role of the Foreign Ministry in coordinating and promoting cooperation across the fields in bilateral ties towards a healthy and substantial growth of …

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Developers and authorities discuss the HCM City region property market at a workshop in the city yesterday (April 16). — VNS Photo Thu Hằng HCM CITY — The skewed concentration of property projects in some areas of HCM City has resulted in an imbalance in the development of satellite cities and causes a strain on the transport system, a workshop heard in the city yesterday . In 2017 the Government approved a master plan for the period until 2030 for the HCM City region, which covers an area of more than 30,000 square metres comprising HCM City and the seven surrounding provinces of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu, Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Tây Ninh, Long An, Đồng Nai, and Tiền Giang. It creates a legal framework to attract investment in satellite cities and real estate markets in outlying areas, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, editor-in-chief of Nhà đầu tư (Investor) magazine, told the workshop. New regulations in the city to tighten the issue of licences to property projects resulted in a drastic drop in supply, boosting the real estate markets in neighbouring provinces, he said. But there is an imbalance in the development of satellite cities, affecting the implementation of the master plan, he said. Lê Đỗ Mười, head of the Transport Development and Strategy Institute, said investment in traffic infrastructure is vital to ensure connectivity between HCM City and satellite cities and synchronised transportation. Improving traffic infrastructure is now a priority, he said. In recent years infrastructure for travel between the city and provinces in the HCM City region has improved, resulting in the mushrooming of new urban areas, he said. This has enabled investments to flow easier into neighbouring provinces, he said. But a high concentration of property and urban development projects to the east of the city, including in Bình Dương and Đồng Nai provinces, has resulted in skewed development and placed a strain on transport systems in its gateways. Nguyễn Hoàng, R&D …

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Dat Bike motorbike. — VNS Photo HCM CITY — Dat Bike, a Vietnamese technology start-up that plans to make electric motorbikes, has raised US$2.6 million in a pre-series A funding from Singapore’s Jungle Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Hustle Fund, and iSeed Ventures. Electric motorbikes are usually weak and have a low range, delivering only half the performance of a petrol bike. But Dat Bike claims its Weaver can rival petrol bikes in power and range, its 5000W motor helps accelerate from 0 to 50km/h in just three seconds, its charging time is the fastest in the country at just under three hours, and its brake mechanism is tailored to the traffic situation in Việt Nam. Sơn Nguyễn, founder and CEO of Dat Bike, said: “We want to transform the 250 million gasoline bikes in Southeast Asia into electric vehicles. We believe that if given a choice everyone would pick electric over gas. It is just that the current electric motorbikes in the market lag behind in power and range, making it difficult for people to make the switch. “The fresh funds will allow us to continue to innovate and create the most compelling electric motorbikes for Southeast Asia and the world.” Amit Anand, founding partner of Jungle Ventures, said: “This investment in Dat Bike marks our first investment in the mobility sector which is rapidly getting transformed by technology. The US$25 billion two-wheeler industry in Southeast Asia in particular is ripe for reaping benefits of new developments in electric vehicles and automation. “We believe that Dat Bike will lead this charge and create a new benchmark not just in the region but potentially globally for what the next generation of two-wheeler electric vehicles will look and perform like.” The Weaver can be bought on the company’s website and physical store in HCM City. It costs VND39.9 million.  — VNS …

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