Visa vietnam

The co-operation signing ceremony between Visa and SmartPay to provide digital payment solutions to MSMEs. — Photo Courtesy Visa Vietnam Visa has announced a partnership with SmartPay, a leading Vietnamese fintech company, to spread digital payment solutions to Viet Nam’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Together, Visa said, the two companies will empower MSMEs with essential tools, such as point-of-sales (POS) terminals, that they need to compete in the burgeoning digital payment era. “A lack of infrastructure, especially POS terminals, is becoming a profound challenge for MSMEs to keep up with the digital transformation taking place in Viet Nam. Demand for POS devices in the second quarter of 2022 was about 1.2 million devices, and SmartPay’s goal in the next three years is to provide 325,000 POS devices, or nearly 30 per cent of the total market share,” said Marek Forysiak, SmartPay’s Chairman. “This partnership is part of the broader effort of Visa and … [Read more...] about Visa partners with SmartPay to provide digital payment solutions to MSMEs

International tourists wear Vietnam's signature conical hats. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Will Vietnam's tourism see a boost soon? Industry insiders are optimistic about future prospects as the Government weighs up a 90-day e-visa to gain a competitive edge as a leading tourism destination. Travel companies are anticipating that if the decision is finalised in the ongoing National Assembly’s meeting, which started on May 22, the sector could take advantage of the change right from the travelling season starting in September and achieve the goal of eight million foreign tourists for this year. As of the end of April, Vietnam has welcomed nearly 3.7 million international arrivals, reaching nearly half of the goal it has set for 2023. However, these figures hint that Vietnam's tourism rebound is still underway - the 2023 goal is modest compared to the country's record 18 million international arrivals in 2019. Pham Ha, CEO of travel business Lux Group told Vietnam … [Read more...] about Industry insiders anticipate tourism boost as 90-day visa brought to NA meeting

The Vietnamese government issued a resolution on solutions to accelerate tourism recovery and develop tourism sustainably and effectively on Thursday, moving toward turning Vietnam into one of the world’s 30 leading countries with the highest tourism competitiveness. As per the resolution, the government tasks the Ministry of Public Security with completing the immigration policy and creating more favorable conditions for foreign visitors to enter, stay in, and leave the country. Besides, the ministry is also in charge of expanding the list of nations eligible for e-visa application. The government will also propose the lawmaking National Assembly extend the e-visa validity to 90 days from 30 days to lure international tourists, especially those who want to stay long in Vietnam. Besides, many tourism experts and travel firms have put forward numerous measures to woo international travelers to Vietnam. Le Truong Hien Hoa, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of … [Read more...] about Vietnam looks to be among 30 most competitive tourism nations worldwide

Japan is now the largest ODA partner to Vietnam. Vietnam and Japan on May 21 signed three agreements worth 61 billion yen (US$442 million) to finance official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam. The meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio on May 21. Photo: VGP The ODA projects aimed at socio-economic development and recovery in the post-pandemic stage, worth 50 billion yen (US$362.4 million), development of public transport in the southern province of Binh Duong, and development of agricultural facilities in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Lam Dong. At the signing ceremony, Vietnamese and Japanese prime ministers agreed to discuss the potential of new-generation Japan-funded ODA projects. Accordingly, Vietnam will receive flexible concessional loans with more incentives to serve the nation’s mass infrastructure development projects in urban railroad construction, green … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Japan ink ODA deals worth US$442 million

Foreign tourists visit Temple of Literature (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s tourism may attract 10 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, surpassing the target of 8 million previously set by the sector, according to deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu. In the first four months of this year, nearly 3.7 million foreign tourists travelled to Vietnam, and the number of domestic tourists was 38 million. Total revenue from tourists was estimated at 196.6 trillion VND (8.3 billion USD). Revenues from accommodation and catering services between January and April were estimated at 214.8 trillion VND, representing a year-on-year increase of 25%. Meanwhile, thanks to exciting cultural and tourism activities taking place in many localities in the early months of the year across localities, travel revenue was estimated at 9.1 trillion VND, nearly 2.1 times higher than the same period last year. In April alone, the country … [Read more...] about Vietnam may hit 10 million foreign tourists this year: authority

Vietnam will use 50 billion yen of this funding for the new-generation ODA (Official Development Assistance) budget support program for post-Covid-19 socioeconomic recovery and development, and the rest for the development of transport infrastructure and agriculture projects in the southern province of Binh Duong and and the central highlands province of Lam Dong. On Sunday, Chinh also held talks with Kishida on the occasion of partcipating the G7 Summit in Japan's Hiroshima. Japan is the largest provider of concessional ODA to Vietnam, with 2.98 trillion yen ($21.6 billion). Japan's ODA accounts for over 30% of bilateral aid to Vietnam. The two PMs said that the two countries would discuss the possibility of Japan providing new generation ODA for large-scale strategic infrastructure development projects, such as the North-South expressway, urban railways, green transformation, and medicine. These loans will have high incentives, with simpler and more flexible procedures than … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Japan sign three ODA projects valued at $500M

“We heard that many people have faced difficulty in applying for visas to Vietnam. However, we find that completing Vietnam's visa application procedures online is easy and convenient. We just need to fill in forms,” said travelers from Norway. Being introduced by their friends, Alannah Caulfield Patel and Elin Littmann from Norway chose Vietnam as a destination of their trip to Southeast Asia. Contrary to others’ difficulty in applying for visas to Vietnam, the two Norwegians successfully got the visas in the first registration. They obtained 30-day visas and their first destination in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City. They later reached Hoi An City in central Quang Nam Province and Hanoi by coach. Eve, a 65-year-old tourist from Australia, and her husband said they completed procedures online to get 15-day visas to Vietnam. “There was no obstacle. You know, we are old but can complete procedures online ourselves,” Eve said. The friendliness and hospitality of people in Hanoi … [Read more...] about It’s not hard to apply for Vietnam visa but authorities’ response slow: foreign tourists

Vietnam and Japan on Sunday jointly inked three agreements, valued at 61 billion yen (US$442.5 million), to fund new-generation official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam. Of the total, 50 billion yen ($362 million) will be poured into a new-generation ODA program on post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development. The rest will finance a project improving the public transportation system in southern Binh Duong Province and another one enhancing the infrastructure system for agricultural development in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The signing of these ODA deals was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio during the former’s trip to Japan for attending an expanded summit of Group of Seven (G7) nations, which took place from May 19 to 21. After the signing ceremony for the agreements, PM Chinh held talks with his Japanese counterpart. This is the first Vietnam-Japan high-level … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Japan sign new-generation ODA deals worth over $440mn

Nicola Carmichael, brand director for travel search engine Kayak, said Vietnam was a favorite tourist destination among Australians post-Covid. "Searches to Ho Chi Minh City in the second half of this year are up by around 140% compared to 2019," Carmichael told the Sydney Morning Herald . While airfares to European destinations have soared by 63% above pre-pandemic levels, Vietnam is seeing a significantly smaller increase of 21%, she added. The average price of a return economy flight from Australia to Ho Chi Minh City is now A$886 ($580). According to travel agents, flight prices have become cheaper thanks to more options from Vietjet and Bamboo Airlines. Flight capacity to HCMC has exceeded pre-Covid levels, and is set to increase to 21,606 seats a week from June 19, before climbing again to 22,444 by mid-September. Australian Ken Rafter, whose family visited Vietnam last month, said he found air tickets to Vietnam comparable to pre-Covid levels. "We spent time in … [Read more...] about Australian tourists flock to Vietnam on cheap airfares

Hospitality properties have long been considered a lucrative and long-term profitable investment for real estate investors operating in Vietnam. Pockets of opportunities for hospitality real estate are present in Vietnam though the tourism recovery in Vietnam lags behind other Asian markets, and uncertainties remain due to the economic slowdown, according to Colliers. “Vietnam has good fundamentals for developing hospitality properties. There is the rise of the middle class, increasing accessibility to travel thanks to improved infrastructure, the country’s openness to international trade, which drives business travel, events, and conferences, etc. Investing in hospitality real estate is a smart bet,” David Jackson, CEO of Colliers (Vietnam) said. A hospitality property project - Vega City Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province. Colliers experts have said that, in 2019, occupancy rates in hospitality establishments (hotels, resorts and villas) reached 52%. On … [Read more...] about Investment opportunities for hospitality real estate in Vietnam: Colliers