Vietnam Morning News For October 9

Government to establish agency to manage State assets
The Government plans to establish a special agency to act as the ownership representative of State capital at State-owned enterprises by 2018.
— VietnamPlus

Tourism sector gets smarter
Smart travel is being promoted to improve tourism throughout Viet Nam.
— Bizhub

Foreign investment in Vietnam rises sharply
Vietnam has attracted almost US$25.5 billion in registered FDI so far this year, proving that foreign investors see Vietnam’s economic prospects favorably compared to other countries in the region.
— VietnamNet Bridge

High earnings for telecom firms
All telecom operators in the country have reported big profits in the first nine months of this year.
— VietnamPlus

Lotte expands Vietnam ops
TechcomFinance, formerly known as Vietnam Chemical Finance Joint Stock Company before the 2015 acquisition by Techcombank, carries a chartered capital of VND600 billion (US$26.5 million).
— VietnamNet Bridge

Hi-tech farms offer a vision of the future, today
No longer a new or luxurious concept, hi-tech and high-quality agricultural products are now a must for modern Vietnamese consumers.
— VietnamPlus

Deputy PM urges facilitating consumption of domestically-made tra fish products
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has said that dishes made from tra fish (pangasius) are very delicious and are certainly able to win the trust of consumers, but many of people in the North are not aware of these products.
— Nhan Dan Online

Economists say Vietnam focuses too much on rice exporting
Hoang Ngoc Phong, deputy director of the Economic Development Consultancy Center, said the Mekong Delta makes up 18 percent of GDP with 90 percent of rice exports, 60 percent of seafood and 70 percent of fruit exports.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Banks face charter capital difficulties
State-owned banks are finding it more difficult to increase charter capital, especially when they still have to pay dividends instead of keeping the money for this purpose.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam: Expara Ventures leads $400,000 funding in lifestyle startup WisePass
Singapore-based venture capital firm Expara Ventures has led a $400,000 seed funding round in lifestyle startup WisePass to help it expand to other Southeast Asian countries.
— DealStreetAsia

Ambassador visits Japanese prefectures to seek investment cooperation
Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong has paid visits to the Japanese prefectures of Okayama, Tottori, and Shimane in Shikoku region to seek investment cooperation with Japanese businesses.
— VietnamPlus

Samsung looking to branch out into Vietnam’s telecoms industry
The South Korean electronics giant has already invested a massive $17 billion in Vietnam.
— VnExpress

Former PetroVietnam Chairman appeals death penalty
Former Chairman of State fuel giant PetroVietnam, Nguyen Xuan Son, who received the death penalty last week from a court in Hanoi for his role in the multi-million dollar graft case at OceanBank, has appealed against the “unjust verdict”.
— Vietnam Economic Times

State budget collection reaches nearly 70 percent of yearly estimate
State budget collection in January-September increased 13.9 percent year on year to reach 843 trillion VND (37.1 billion USD), equal to 69.5 percent of the estimate, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
— VietnamPlus

Salary hikes to stay ahead of inflation in 2017, 2018: survey
Salary increases this year at both multinationals and major local companies have in general been higher than inflation rates, a survey by Mercer, a global provider of human resource services, and Talentnet Corporation, its associate in Viet Nam, has found.
— Bizhub

General director of Vietnam’s American-style lottery firm Vietlott resigns
The general director of Vietnam Computerized Lottery Company (Vietlott), Tong Quoc Truong, has resigned due to “personal reasons,” a source from the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday.
— Tuoi Tre

Officials urge Viet Nam to focus on IT
Viet Nam should promote information technology (IT) products and services with high added value capable of deployment on a regional and global scale, said Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology Nguyen Thanh Hung in the northern province of Lao Cai on Friday.
— Bizhub

Standard Chartered Bank raises GDP forecast
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) on October 6 increased its forecast for Vietnam’s GDP growth rate for the whole year to 6.8 percent, higher than the Government’s set target of 6.7 percent.
— VietnamPlus

Việt Nam wants to join supply chains: official
Viet Nam wants to join global supply chains and management and governance systems to help businesses control the market, build confidence among customers and increase profits and connectivity with global partners, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Do Thang Hai said.
— Bizhub

Vietnam to launch tours through Son Doong Cave as controversial ladder installation backed
Quang Binh authorities have finally approved a plan to install a ladder inside the north-central province’s famous Son Doong Cave, allowing tourists to explore through out the world’s biggest natural cave instead of returning to exit after reaching its end.
— Tuoi Tre

APEC Film Week to open in Vietnam
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Film Week will take place on Oct. 11-16 in Vietnam’s Hanoi capital and on Oct. 12-16 in central Da Nang city.
— Xinhua

Vietnamese youths follow labor export trend, seek opportunity in Japan
An increasing number of youths in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are seeking job opportunities in Japan for a better future.
— Tuoi Tre

Foreign OTAs holds 80 percent of VN’s online travel market share
At a workshop on smart tourism held by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the management board of Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi yesterday, Mr. Vu The Binh, standing deputy chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) quoting data from VECOM said that at present only over 10 Vietnamese firms supply online travel service.
— VietnamNet Bridge

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