Vietnam Morning News For September 18

Ministry to submit real estate plan
The Ministry of Construction will submit a plan to the Prime Minister on promoting stable and healthy development of the local real estate market in this year’s fourth quarter.
— Viet Nam News

Widespread destruction in central Vietnam after major typhoon
Shaken residents in central Vietnam were piecing their homes and businesses back together Saturday (Sep 16) after a powerful typhoon hammered large swathes of coast and killed at least four people.
— Channel NewsAsia

Vietnam’s car dream re-ignited as Vingroup builds manufacturing plant
The giant Vietnamese property developer Vingroup has announced plans to produce its first cars in the next two years, rekindling the long-cherished dream of a local car industry which has failed to come true following numerous attempts over the past two decades.
— Nhan Dan Online

Foreign brands stirring up a passion for fashion in Vietnam
The time of fast fashion in Vietnam has finally arrived, according to the latest report released by consulting firm Savills.
— VnExpress

Shares mixed on EFT trading
Shares declined on the HCM Stock Exchange on the last four days this week, but strong demand from local traders cushioned the market.
— Bizhub

Rice export goal raised to 5.6 million tonnes this year
The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) revised up the goal of rice export to 5.6 million tonnes this year from the 5.2 million tonnes set in July thanks to a strong rise in contracts signed during August and positive signs of the market.
— VietnamPlus

H&M cuts prices to shift leftover summer clothes
‘The rapid shift from offline to online in the young value fashion market has been one factor behind disappointing sales trends in the past couple of years.’
— VnExpress

In Vietnam, Facebook is a marketplace for cheap fakes and endangered wildlife parts
Copycats, ivory and tiger paws are just some of the things you can buy on the country’s most popular social network.
— VnExpress

HCM City against micro apartments
HCM City has proposed that the Ministry of Construction not allow the development of commercial apartments with area less than 45sq.m.
— Viet Nam News

Tokai Tokyo Financial teams with Vietnamese brokerage
Japan’s Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings is forming an operational tie-up with Vietnam’s Bao Viet Securities as part of its broader push to expand business in Asia.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Insiders warn of risks of hotel online booking in Vietnam
Booking hotels through an online travel agent (OTA) often involves various risks as the accommodations could turn out not as good as advertised, industry insiders have warned.
— Tuoi Tre

Vietnam’s trade gap from Thailand nears $3.5bln
According to Department of Africa, West Asia and South Asia Markets under Ministry of Industry and Trade, total import and export turnover between Vietnam and Thailand reached around US$ 9.64 billion, of these export turnover accounted about US$ 3.07 billion while import turnover from Thailand was US$ 6.57 billion.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Commentary: Beware the seducing calls of Vietnam’s start-up sirens
Vietnam’s start-up ecosystem lately has received considerable accolades and interest from international media over recent years, from commentary lauding its technology talent, the BBC asking whether Vietnam is the next Silicon Valley or Al Jazeera’s feature on a rising start-up ecosystem.
— Channel NewsAsia

BMP closes on abolishing foreign ownership limit
After securing shareholders’ approval to lift the foreign ownership cap to 100 per cent, on June 14, 2017, BMP submitted a document to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) to approve expanding the foreign room.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Petrolimex tops Forbes’ Vietnamese companies list
Gas station operator Petrolimex is the firm with the highest revenue in the local stock market, according to the business magazine Forbes Vietnam.
— Viet Nam News

Artels to be treated as normal businesses
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is working on a new resolution on artels, a kind of economic co-operative, nationwide, in which these units would receive their own registration number and be treated as normal businesses.
— VietnamPlus

Japanese firms seek investment opportunities in Vietnam
The Vietnam-Japan Investment Cooperation Forum was held on September 15 in Yokohama by Kanagawa Prefecture in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan.
— VietnamPlus

Da Nang conducts power outage drill in service of APEC High-level Week 2017
The Da Nang authorities launched a drill from 3am to 7am on September 17 to prepare effective responses in the case of widespead power outages across the city, in service of the APEC High-level Week 2017 scheduled for November.
— Nhan Dan Online

Fruit and vegetable imports push Vietnam in deeper trade deficit with Thailand
While Vietnam’s trade deficit with major economies is the result of large imports of inputs for production, the country’s trade gap with Thailand comes mainly from importing fruit and vegetables, many of which Vietnam can produce.
— Nhan Dan Online

Wastewater treatment plants proved ineffective at Hanoi industrial clusters
Several waste water treatment plants at nearly half of the industrial clusters in Hanoi have not reached their expected efficiency, posing serious threats to the local environment.
— Tuoi Tre

Mobile World in Top 50 leading Asia-Pacific listed companies
The Mobile World Investment JSC has appeared in Asia’s Fab 50 listed companies as voted by Forbes Asia magazine.
— Vietnam Economic Times

EP, Vietnam strives for EVFTA ratification in next nine months
The European Parliament (EP)’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Vietnamese Government have agreed that they have to make concerted efforts for the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in the next eight or nine months.
— Nhan Dan Online

Feature photo ILO/Nguyen Viet Thanh
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Vietnam morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Vietnam news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies, not politics.