Innovations in banking sector

For one, the oil and gas industry is under immense pressure to improve operational efficiency, productivity, and worker safety; maintain cybersecurity; and, simultaneously, reduce environmental impact. In order to solve these challenges, oil and gas companies are accelerating their digital transformation. Denis Brunetti, President, Vietnam and Myanmar Ericsson As they adopt use cases around automation, smart safety and environmental monitoring, the oil and gas industry is increasingly looking to advanced cellular connectivity to help drive efficiencies, while being more environmentally sound. The industry is expected to meet the global goal of net-zero carbon by 2050. According to a McKinsey study, the use of advanced connectivity to optimise drilling and production throughput and improvements in maintenance and field operations could add up to $250 billion of value for oil and gas upstream operations by 2030. Digitalisation enabled by cellular connectivity can … [Read more...] about 4G/5G wireless networks driving digitalisation across industries

Visa last week announced the launch of Eco Benefits in Asia-Pacific. It is a suite of sustainability-focused solutions that will help Visa cardholders across the region better understand the environmental impact of their day-to-day payments. Over half of Vietnamese consumers now regularly shop online and expect to be able to pay by card Banks that sign up for Eco Benefits will be able to offer these solutions to their Visa cardholders and meet the growing demand for sustainable financial services. According to a new Visa/YouGov survey, 66 per cent of consumers in Asia-Pacific expect their bank to offer eco-friendly payment solutions. Over half (52 per cent) would switch banks in order to access a product or service that helps them understand the carbon footprint of their spending. In Vietnam, Eco Benefits aligns with the National Green Growth Strategy for 2011-2030 by promoting greener lifestyles and sustainable production. The new product is also in line with the … [Read more...] about ECO-FRIENDLY payment initiative launched by Visa

Scores of businesses have already unveiled their second-quarter business results, with many showing healthy figures. In the first half of this year, Hang Xanh Motors Service JSC (Haxaco) reaped $7.5 million in pre-tax profit, soaring 134 per cent on-year. This year, the company aims to reach $9.2 million in its profit-before-tax target, meaning it has completed 81 per cent after just six months. Haxaco’s board chairman Do Tien Dung unveiled that the company is committed to fulfilling its profit target in only nine months. However, Dung is cautious saying that the auto trade relies heavily on macro factors like fuel price, inflation, and interest rates. Haxaco is confident in reaching its full-year business targets early The auto industry is facing many challenges as customers find it harder to borrow after the central bank declined to loosen credit limits for banks and the scarcity of auto components continues. “Haxaco avoids heavy reliance on bank capital … [Read more...] about Businesses remain optimistic for remainder of the year

At a meeting with the leader of the southern province of Binh Duong last week, chairman of Sharp Corporation Yoshihiro Hashimoto revealed an expansion plan in the locality. Investors already with factories in the country are demonstrating that they trust the business climate here, Photo: Le Toan Sharp Group is exploring opportunities in the southern provinces of Vietnam, including Binh Duong, to move the supply chain away from the Chinese market, promoting market diversification and distribution, according to Hashimoto. “In the coming time, Sharp will continue to expand and build one more large-scale factory, oriented to develop high-tech and advanced products,” he said. Binh Duong is assessed as a locality with an attractive investment environment, in line with Sharp’s criteria. The group has two production factories located in Vietnam, at Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) I and an extended VSIP II. Sharp hopes to be supported in construction land, labour, and … [Read more...] about New foreign capital stutters despite overall deal boost

The Q&A session of the NA Standing Committee's 14th session will focus on public security, culture, sports and tourism matters (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Issues in the areas of public security and culture, sports and tourism will be the focus of the question-and-answer session of the 15th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee’s 14th session on August 10, according to a freshly-released plan of the NA Standing Committee. In the field of public security, the questions will focus on State management over cybersecurity, the safety of national cybersecurity system in the current period, and measures to prevent and strictly handle high-tech crimes. The implementation of resolutions of the NA and NA Standing Committee of the National Assembly related to crime prevention and control, especially drug-related crimes, credit shark, and usury will also be included in the agenda of the session, along with the implementation of the issuance of citizen identification cards, the … [Read more...] about NA’s Q&A session to focus on public security, culture-sports-tourism matters

From five grams of toothpaste to 10 millilitres of cooking oil, many Nigerians struggling with soaring prices now buy their basic necessities in small quantities packed in tiny plastic bags to be consumed on the same day. Consumer brands behind this "sachetisation of the economy" see it as a creative innovation, allowing consumption for all Nigerians, the majority of whom live on less than $2 a day. But critics see the development as an economic and ecological aberration, even as Africa's largest economy struggles with the inflationary fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. In the streets of Lagos, the vibrant economic capital of Africa's most populous country, small sachets are now part of the decor: they colour its streets, packing the wood and tin shops found on the corner of most streets. Sitting on a stool, Ibrahim Atahire has been running his small grocery store for 30 years in a busy area of Obalende, a popular district of the megalopolis. "At my place, you can buy … [Read more...] about From coffee to toothpaste, Nigerians buy small as hardships bite

In the updated draft national master plan for the rest of the decade and with orientations to 2050 that was released last week, the section on the nation’s urban and rural network highlighted that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are continuing to promote their effectiveness and spillover effects. It is hoped that they will develop dynamically and creatively in order to compete internationally. Vietnam’s planning orientation for the next few years aims to push development of satellite towns, Le Toan At last week’s conference on the national master plan held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Hanoi, Tran Hong Quang, director general of the ministry’s Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies (VIDS), revealed that the two biggest cities will focus on developing high-quality and high-value-added services in sci-tech, health, training, and IT, as well as restricting processing and manufacturing industries that use a lot of land and labour. “We should push the … [Read more...] about Modern slant found through key planning

The Government Office last week issued Dispatch No.4648/VPCP-KTTH to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) requiring it to continue proposing a reduction of taxes and fees related to fuel and consumption, especially those that can cause an increase in input costs for production and business. Rough waters remain in fuel price pressure “This aims to help reduce costs and selling prices of products in service of exports, production, and business, contributing to controlling inflation and supporting the government’s monetary policy in the short and medium term,” the dispatch stated. The MoF has also proposed to the government a plan to halve the preferential import tax for petrol and oil from the existing 20 to 10 per cent, in order to help reduce the prices of these items in the local market. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government has also submitted to the National Assembly a plan on reducing the special consumption tax and VAT for October. According to the General Statistics … [Read more...] about Rough waters remain in fuel price pressure