Where are investors putting their money

Mekong Delta, HCMC warned of tidal flooding in lowland, riverside areas The Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Center has warned the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City of flooding in lowland and riverside areas as a high tide is forecast to occur and reach its peak in the next couple of days. According to the center, water level in the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers on October 12 highly increased. It is predicted to continue surging in the next few days. The peak of the high tide might occur on October 15-16, the 17th and 18th day of the ninth lunar month. The National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center also issued the same warning, saying that the water level in the Mekong and Saigon Rivers will reach alarming levels 2-3 under influence of the high tide. Low lying and riverside areas in HCMC and the Mekong Delta might be flooded. In the meantime, the meteorological station in Can Tho city said that tide level in canals in the city will continue moving up to reach 1.95-2 meters and … [Read more...] about VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES OCTOBER 15

Vietnam needs to address the shortcomings in its port infrastructure to fully benefit from its economic development. Vietnam’s 3,000 km of coastline and 320 ports increasingly play an important role in global trade. Container traffic rose 3 per cent year-on-year in the first half, while Hong Kong’s fell 8 per cent. With a high number of supply chains shifting to Vietnam, it makes sense that shipping demand is increasing and Vietnam’s long-term economic trajectory is likely to see this demand continue for years to come. The government wants the country’s seaports to handle 200 million tons of cargo by 2020 and double that amount by 2030. While this planning becomes reality, investors that need ports for imports or exports need to consider regional variations in the quality of port infrastructure before setting up. Competitiveness of local ports Economic growth in Vietnam has led to a significant increase in freight traffic over the last decade, highlighting … [Read more...] about Change overdue in port infrastructure

Vietnam’s authorities should work with rating agencies to prevent a possible downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating, which could have negative impacts on the financial system and the capital inflows, according to economist Nguyen Tri Hieu.    Illustrative photo. In early October, Moody’s placed Vietnam’s Ba3 local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings of the government of Vietnam under review for downgrade. The decision was due to institutional deficiencies that led to delayed payments on an obligation by the government.  Shortly after the announcement, Moody’s continued to place the ratings of 17 Vietnamese banks on review for downgrade. “The review of the banks' ratings is driven purely by the sovereign rating action, and does not reflect a weakening of the banks' standalone financial profiles,” stated Moody’s in a statement.  Among those banks that subject to Moody’s review, … [Read more...] about Vietnam urged to respond to Moody’s review to downgrade rating

Yellow card pushes seafood industry developing sustainably Vietnam’s seafood exports have been seriously affected since the European Commission issued an official warning against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) exploitation of Vietnamese seafood. The European Commission’s yellow card has seriously affected Vietnamese seafood firms, resulting in a downturn in export value to the EU and a shortage of input material. Given these acute challenges, this company has still raked in six million USD, recorded 12 percent export growth in the first eight months of 2019. This success looks like a timely change in tactics. The EU is no longer Vietnam’s second biggest seafood importer. With import value of 251 million USD, it now stands in fifth position. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, seafood exports to the EU have fallen, but have witnessed growth in other markets. Seeing the challenge as an opportunity to restructure, the … [Read more...] about VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES OCTOBER 17