Headline december 6 2017

Vietnam ICT Summit 2017 is the platform for administrative agencies and IT enterprise community to discuss solutions and strategies with the objective of taking Vietnam to join the industrial revolution 4.0. On September 6, the first theme in the Vietnam ICT Summit 2017 of “Vietnam: Digital Transformation in Industry 4.0” has been discussed. In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has given the opening speech at the summit. As such, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed, industrial revolution is more and more influencing various aspects of socio-economic in the world, as well as in Vietnam. This is not only an opportunity for Vietnam to transform, but also poses a potential threat to the country. The Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam gave a speech at the summit. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, in 2017, the global innovation index (GII) of Vietnam has increased 12 places to the 47th rank, thanks to the significant contribution from IT … [Read more...] about Industrial revolution 4.0: Human resources are key

The program, issued under Government Decree 42 in 2017, was set to be extended until the end of 2023. The program, since its implementation five years ago, has contributed to the restructuring of numerous financial institutions and the collection of bad debt during the 2016-2020 period, according to Nguyen Thi Hong, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). By the end of 2021, the program had helped handle over 380 trillion VND in bad debt, or 47.9 percent of the country's entire bad debt since August 15, 2017. On average, some 5.67 trillion VND in bad debt was processed each month during the period, significantly higher than the 3.25 trillion VND per month prior to the implementation of the program. The program had helped recover 148 trillion VND or 38.94 percent of all bad debt among financial institutions, a marked improvement over the yearly average of 22.8 percent during the 2012-2017 period. A recent SBV report said the bad debt ratio among financial institutions was … [Read more...] about Gov’t asks for extension to bad debt program

Vietnam Airlines Group said it plans to provide 32,400 domestic flights between June and August during the peak summer travel season, up 10 percent against the same period in 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. There would be 160 daily flights connecting Vietnam’s three biggest cities Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. It will also operate over 3,600 international flights during the period, 40 percent of pre-pandemic time. Vietravel Airlines said it will increase the frequency of flights from Hanoi to HCMC and Da Nang by two a day from June. Air tickets for domestic routes between June and August are nearly fully booked. The carrier also plans to launch charter flights from HCMC to Jakarta and Can Tho to Bangkok, but the schedule has not been determined. A representative of Vietravel Airlines, which was launched in December 2020 amid the turbulence created by the pandemic, said the carrier is facing many difficulties like personnel and aircraft … [Read more...] about Carriers add flights to summer holiday roster

Real estate bonds shackled by rules - illustration photo At last week’s conference on corporate bonds held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, experts discussed ways to develop an efficient and sustainable corporate bond market. One of the common recommendations regarded appropriate approaches to credit ratings. According to Can Van Luc, BIDV’s chief economist, there should be clear regulations on credit ratings to help investors easily determine business quality and the risk level of the issued bonds. “It is necessary to identify where a credit rating is mandatory and where a credit rating is encouraged. High-risk businesses should go through compulsory credit rating before bond issuance,” Luc said. “On the other hand, for businesses that have been audited and internationally rated with a long-standing history, a credit rating might not be necessary.” In recent years, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has steadily redirected loan flows towards industry, services … [Read more...] about Real estate bonds shackled by rules

Kevin Coppel, Asia-Pacific managing director (left ) and Christine Li, Asia-Pacific head of research for Knight Frank in Singapore When the US-China trade tensions bubbled over in 2018, corporates found it increasingly difficult to carry out business in China due to sourcing uncertainties and rising costs. This trend only worsened in the face of the pandemic and resulting border closures. Businesses responded by pursuing opportunities to set up bases outside of China while still retaining a stake in one of the world’s strongest economies. The China+1 strategy thus emerged. It is based on diversifying its supply base into other countries in order to minimise the risk of disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions, trade wars and tariffs, as well as rising labour costs. These companies are not abandoning China but rather giving themselves options, enjoying the best of what China and other economies have to offer. In pursuit of the China+1 strategy, the spotlight is naturally … [Read more...] about Will Vietnam become a big geopolitical beneficiary?

Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities, illustration photo/ baodautu.vn Assoc. Prof. Pham The Anh from the National Economics University said that changing the slow disbursement of public investment would be very challenging because of legal risks and responsibility. “I don’t think the slow disbursement is due to the lack of motivation by those responsible for the implementation,” said Anh. “In the past two years, the bottlenecks in public investment were related to the legal environment,” he added, citing legal problems in land clearance. “The Vietnamese government still has the ability to keep up with the disbursement speed by reviewing the legislation related to public investment decisions.” In 2022, the government expects to disburse $17.69 billion according to Decision No.2048/QD-TTg dated December 6, 2021 on assigning state budget investment for 2022. “The latest directives are aimed at disbursing public investment on schedule … [Read more...] about Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities

Kim Højlund Christensen, Danish Ambassador to Vietnam With the return of tourism and trade activities, can you see any movement from business and investment promotion delegations that are going to visit Vietnam? The Vietnamese government’s recent decision to lift entry restrictions and especially to resume the visa-exemption travel programme for countries, including Denmark, is great news and positively welcomed by the Danish business community. Many Danish companies are already planning their visits to Vietnam this month and early next month to meet with their local business partners in person. At present, there are over 130 Danish companies represented in Vietnam. Therefore, there will be a large number of business visitors and delegations from headquarters in Denmark or other locations in the region coming here in the near future to visit their production facilities or to find new investment opportunities. Besides that, we also expect to have trade delegations visit our … [Read more...] about Danish investors pinpointing rising potential of Vietnam’s green energy

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – Authorities of the north-eastern province of Quang Ninh held a conference on May 25 on the implementation of tasks and solutions to improve the local business climate and competitiveness. It was also to analysed Quang Ninh’s provincial competitiveness index (PCI) in 2021 and discussed orientations and solutions to sustain good results this year. According to the PCI 2021 report released by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the province gained the highest score of 70.02 percent. This is the fifth year in a row Quang Ninh has topped the charts, and the ninth year it has been in the top five. Addressing the event, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky said Quang Ninh has viewed raising its competitiveness as an important political task, and urged local authorities to step up the settlement of administrative procedures in the … [Read more...] about Conference looks to improve Quang Ninh PCI rankings

The number of Viettel's inventions has been on the rise, covering both military and civil fields. — Photo courtesy of Viettel Viettel Aerospace Institute (VTX), a member of Viettel Group, was officially granted an exclusive protection certificate by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for two works in the field of optoelectronics and materials industry. 'Spherical mirror optics for medium-wave thermal imaging equipment' was invented in 2017, solving the problem of self-study, designing and manufacturing camera cores, and minimising the dependence on imports from abroad. Meanwhile, the invention of a 'method for making high-temperature synthetic materials' helps produce materials that can meet the harsh working conditions in the military field. The number of Viettel's inventions has been on the rise, covering both military and civil fields, affirming its position as a technological pioneer. Viettel has been granted 56 patents in Viet Nam and 11 patents in the US by … [Read more...] about Two new Viettel inventions granted exclusive protection certificate in the US

The goal of the Sinh Con, Sinh Cha programme is to share knowledge, experience and skills in raising children in the first years of life. — Photo courtesy of Sinh Con, Sinh Cha HÀ NỘI — A community education programme has achieved remarkable results in improving parenting knowledge, skills and behaviours during an 18 month pilot in Việt Nam. An independent report assessing results of the programme shows clear positive impacts on parents’ change in child-rearing and upbringing across all three content pillars of Child Health, Child Behaviours and Child Intelligence, with 85 per cent of parents surveyed agreeing that the programme helped improve their parenting knowledge and skills. Up to 97 per cent of the parents have changed their parenting approaches as suggested by the programme and made positive changes to their perceptions and behaviours: parents spend more time with their children; reduce parenting anger and the use of negative practices in dealing with various parenting … [Read more...] about Community programme improves parenting knowledge and skills