Readings january 21 2018

Petrol retail prices in the country have been adjusted many times over the past few months, Photo: Le Toan In Vietnam, gasoline prices continue to increase, and after the adjustment on May 11 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Finance, each litre of E5 RON92 petrol increased by 6.5 US cents to $1.26 per litre while RON95 climbed by 6.7 US cents to $1.30 per litre. On May 17, the price of US WTI crude oil remained at a high level of over $114 per barrel while Brent oil maintained its upward momentum at $114.28 per barrel. Before the next adjustment, which was due on May 21, petrol prices in Vietnam were forecast to continue to increase to higher levels. The ministries first adjusted gasoline prices on January 11 due to a decrease in global supply, production output by Kazakhstan and Libya, and oil inventories of the United States. According to Decree No.95/2021/ND-CP, effective from January, there will be three adjustments each month to the … [Read more...] about Vietnam riding the wave of inflationary unpredictability

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency. Party and State leaders meet with NA ethnic minority deputies (Photo: VNA) - Party and State leaders had a meeting with members of the 15th National Assembly (NA) from ethnic minority groups, on May 25. Read full story - Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh had meetings with the governors of Kanagawa Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, Yuji Kuroiwa and Ichita Yamamoto, respectively, on May 25 as part of his ongoing trip to Japan. Read full story - Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representatives of Vietnam to ASEAN, has co-chaired the 9th meeting of ASEAN-Korea Joint Cooperation Committee (AKJCC) with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ambassador to ASEAN Kwon Hee-seog. Read full story - Vietnam’s internet economy was valued at about 21 billion USD in 2021, contributing to 5 percent of GDP and rising seven-fold from 2015, heard the Vietnam - Asia Digital … [Read more...] about ☀️ Morning digest on May 26

Many retailers in phone and electronics segments focus on developing online channels to survive during the coronavirus pandemic period. To survive adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic, many Vietnamese tech retailers have quickly boosted their sales on online platforms as their physical stores nationwide have to close until April 15 to comply with the prime ministerial directive stipulating measures to combat the pandemic. Photo: MWG Significant demand on tech products Mobile World Investment JSC (MWG), the largest tech retailer in Vietnam, saw a surge in demand in online shopping since the beginning of April as more than 10% of its 2,000 phone and electronics stores, mainly in Hanoi, have to close. Dang Thanh Phong, PR manager of MWG, told Hanoitimes that its revenue from online sales accounted for 13% of the total phone and electronics revenue in March, higher than that of the previous months. Due to the closure of its stores, sales in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese tech retailers manage to survive Covid-19 pandemic

Illustrative image. (Photo: SGGP) According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Chairman of Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom), in 2021, despite being heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam's e-commerce still maintained a good growth momentum with an increase of about 20 percent and a scale of $16 billion. Keeping the growth momentum, Vietnam is now one of the countries with the largest e-commerce market size in the region, besides Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Vietnam's internet economy in 2021 grew by 31 percent compared to 2020 and reached a scale of $21 billion. Of which, the online retail sector enlarged by 53 percent and touched a scale of $13 billion. There are two waves that have contributed to the steady development of e-commerce in Vietnam in 2020 and 2021 and will be the driving force for the next period. The first wave took place during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the second one from June to September 2021, during the fourth … [Read more...] about Opportunities for e-commerce in Vietnam to boom

Young director Ho Thanh Thao at the film shoot location of her movie Diem Bao (The sign)  that is one of the five selected pictures at the CJ Short Film Project. The CJ Short Film Project organized by CJ Cultural Foundation and CGV Vietnam has been concluded with the five best movies that will be selected for international film festivals in the coming time. 21 projects have been chosen for the Presentation Round at the Green Screen Film Festival which is organized by the Vietnam Film Development Association (VFDA). Participants told stories reflecting environmental issues in the form of a fictional or documentary film. "My Vietnam" short film competition unveiled its nine winners that were selected from 200 submissions. Each project featured the landscapes, customs, habits, and cultural traditions of Vietnamese people. Training providing required skills to the employee of the movie industry has received special attention from film producers. Besides film production degree … [Read more...] about Movie making competitions, courses help develop young filmmaker’s creativity

Trung has not upheld ethical standards and lifestyle, has violated regulations by engaging activities prohibited for Party members and violated the Law on Marriage and Family, said the Secretariat which is in charge of personnel issues of Party members. His violations have upset the community and affected the reputation of the Party and state authorities, it added. On Thursday, a woman employed at a high school in Da Nang posted a picture with Trung on Facebook, saying she has a child with him despite his marriage to another woman. The incident is being verified by authorities. Trung, 46, used to be the headmaster of the Da Nang Political School. He became the deputy chairman of the Da Nang People’s Council, the city's legislature, in 2018. The Secretariat has requested local authorities to take follow up action on Trung’s violations. … [Read more...] about Da Nang top official loses Party positions over extramarital affair

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?

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

Extremely heavy rains have been recorded over the past four days in Vietnam's northern and north-central provinces, with total rainfall amounting to over 800 millimeters in Vinh Phuc, signaling possible unusual natural disasters this year, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting has warned. From the early morning of May 21 to May 24, Tam Dao District of Vinh Phuc Province recorded a total rainfall of 808 millimeters, the highest ever compared to the same period of May in the last several years, the center said on Wednesday. This record precipitation was followed by Quan Chu Town in Thai Nguyen Province with 692 millimeters, Kien Thiet Commune in Tuyen Quang Province with 612 millimeters, Xuan Khanh Commune in Thanh Hoa Province with 594 millimeters, Tam Duong District in Vinh Phuc Province with 496 millimeters, Dong Lai Commune in Hoa Binh Province with 442 millimeters, and Phuc Tho District in Hanoi with 396 millimeters. In other localities, the common … [Read more...] about In northern Vietnam, record rain signals possible unusual natural disasters: weather forecast