How do voluntary carbon markets work

ASEAN countries like Vietnam are not spared from the impact of climate change. Rapid economic development also means increasing demand for energy and power to meet the pace of growth, which leads to an increase in CO2 emissions. The journey to a cleaner future Takeshi Masuyama, Managing director, regional head of Vietnam, MUFG Bank, Ltd. The Vietnamese government has announced in various international forums its commitment to address environmental issues, and has firmed up its national net-zero target. In addition, the announcement of the Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in last December is another milestone and will further rally the private and public sectors towards accelerating the country’s green transition. MUFG is part of the working group convened by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) supporting the JETP initiative for Vietnam. The sustainability mission Since announcing our Carbon Neutrality Declaration in 2021, MUFG … [Read more...] about Committed to empowering a brighter future

Entering 2023, Microsoft and Google announced global lay-offs of 10,000 and 12,000 employees, respectively. IBM laid off nearly 4,000 members, while Spotify cut about 6 per cent of staff. Since November last year, Meta, Amazon, and HP have also adjusted thousands of positions. Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels, Illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com In Southeast Asia, Shopee parent company Sea Group, Crypto.com, e-commerce platform JD.ID, and GoTo – a merger between ride-hailer Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia – are among the companies that experienced a drastic staff cut in the past year. GoTo in November 2022 cut 1,300 jobs, equivalent to 12 per cent of the number of employees, while Sea Group let go of 7,000 employees in the past six months. Both companies cited a common cause being challenging macroeconomic conditions. Industry insiders in Vietnam are generally wary of the effect this laid-off wave might have on the domestic market. … [Read more...] about Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels

Roundtable: Large foreign investment funds want to pour money into the Vietnamese stock market Quan Duc Hoang, chairman of A+ Fund, made the comments about foreign capital at the roundtable 'New Investments amid New Volatility' hosted by VIR at its headquarters in Hanoi on February 7. “Recently, I have business trips to work with big investment funds in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. Not one of these investment funds have a sensitive overview of the Vietnamese investment environment. They estimate that it is an ideal time for investors to collect a portfolio of shares,” Hoang said. “In spite of the difficult situation, during the past nearly 30 years, I have yet to see a large investment opportunity similar to the current situation because many Vietnamese enterprises are operating smoothly and generating good profits. Besides, we have yet to take thorough advantage of the opportunity from free trade agreements, especially EVFTA. The important note is … [Read more...] about Foreign investment funds plan to pour money into Vietnamese stocks

After Meta, Amazon, Twitter, and Tesla, Xiaomi has become the next name to join the list of leading tech companies forced to cut staff. In a December 20 announcement, a Xiaomi representative confirmed that about 10 per cent of the total workforce will be affected by the reduction policy implemented by the company to “optimise full-time and organisational rationalisation”. Tech group lay-off wave reaches Vietnam, illustration photo/ source freepik.com Xiaomi had over 35,300 employees as of the end of September, according to its third-quarter earnings report. It is expected that about 5,000 Xiaomi employees will ultimately be affected in the near future, mainly those working in the smartphone and internet service business units. The decision by the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the Chinese market comes after seeing a 9.7 per cent drop in Q3 results on-year. Xiaomi is not the only tech company in Asia to start laying off staff. A week earlier, online commerce … [Read more...] about Tech group lay-off wave reaches Vietnam

The following is the full text of the interview. Reporter: This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam. How do you evaluate the Singapore-Vietnam relations in the past half century, especially in the last decade? What should the two countries do to further our bilateral cooperation and to advance the development of each country? Vivian Balakrishnan: The ties between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since we established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. We are longstanding friends and close partners that enjoy wide-ranging cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. I am heartened that the bilateral relationship has continued to expand and evolve to tackle new challenges over the past decade. Our linkages are particularly strong in trade and investment. The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean Foreign Minister

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked agencies of the NA and its Standing Committee to keep a close watch on the macro-economic situation, as well as financial, monetary, stock and real property markets, while meeting their standing members on February 7. For urgent issues, NA agencies should actively and promptly work with relevant ministers and heads of ministry-level agencies to seek solutions, instead of waiting for question and answer (Q&A) sessions held by the legislative body and its Standing Committee. Read full story - The coming visit to Singapore by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will be a key platform for both countries to reaffirm their excellent ties, said Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in his written interview with the Vietnam News Agency. Read full story - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s upcoming … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on February 7

Established last December between Vietnam and the International Partners Group (IPG), the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) could facilitate Vietnam in achieving its goal of net-zero by 2050 and a future for green power. Chan Hong and Vi Nguyen, lawyers, Dentons LuatViet, Dentons Global Highlights of Vietnam JETP $15.5 billion to be mobilised An initial amount of at least $15.5 billion will be deployed over the next 3 to 5 years through a combination of financial instruments with the following breakdown: • IPG members will mobilise half of that total ($7.75 billion) through public sector financing, likely on more attractive terms than Vietnam could secure in the capital markets. • Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Working Group (GFANZ) members will work to mobilise and facilitate the other $7.75 billion through private financing, once the public sector financing has been secured by the IPG. JETP Resource Mobilisations Plan The initiative … [Read more...] about $15.5 billion in financing for green energy from Just Energy Transition Partnership

Through IFC's new investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. — Photo courtesy of the bank IFC on Tuesday announced it has invested US$100 million in Southeast Asia Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (SeABank) which aims to boost access to housing loans. With a rapid annual urbanisation rate of 3 per cent, half of the Vietnamese population – about 50 million people – is expected to live in urban areas by 2040. This creates the need for an estimated 374,000 additional housing units every year. However, the limited availability of long-term funding has restricted access to housing finance, especially challenging for lower and middle-income homebuyers, who need longer-term funding due to low levels of income. Through the investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. In addition, the project is expected to create thousands of new jobs in construction and other related sectors. … [Read more...] about IFC invests another $100m in SeABank to boost access to housing loans