Vietnam Morning News For September 28

Vietnam finance ministry unit proposes taking over brewers’ privatisation plans
A unit at Vietnam’s finance ministry has proposed taking over privatization plans for top brewers Sabeco and Habeco if the trade ministry fails to publish a privatization prospectus by the end of the month.
— Reuters

Local firms dominate e-commerce in Vietnam
The study, conducted from April to June this year, compared 50 e-commerce websites in Viet Nam in various parameters including traffic (based on Similarweb), application downloads and social media followers.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Vietnam has a debt problem
Last month, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) proposed a plan for raising various taxes to curb rising budget deficits and public debt. It’s not immediately clear, though, the plan will work.
— Asia Times

Vietnam Rubber Group plans to raise $563 mln in share sale
State-run Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) has approved a plan to sell 25 percent of the company in an initial public offering, worth an estimated 12.8 billion dong ($563 million), it said on Tuesday.
— Tuoi Tre

Int’l partners vow support for climate-resilient projects in Mekong Delta
International organisations and development partners committed to supporting Vietnam in implementing projects that make the Mekong Delta more resilient to climate change impacts.
— VietnamPlus

Behind the success of Vinamik
MAI KIEU LIEN of Vietnam’s Vinamilk has been named in the list of Asia’s 50 most powerful businesswomen four times by Forbes magazine.
— The Nation

Vietnam’s women entrepreneurs win APEC awards
Two Vietnamese businesswomen won prizes from the second APEC Business Efficiency and Success Target (BEST) Award which was presented in Hue city on September 27.
— Nhan Dan Online

Consumer lending potential in VN untapped: experts
Researchers at Vietnam National University (VNU) yesterday presented results of a consumer lending survey showing that the majority of Vietnamese people have never used a consumer loan.
— Viet Nam News

FDI grows 34% from last year
Foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in Viet Nam reached a record US$25.48 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 34.3 per cent year-on-year.
— Bizhub

Low-skilled Vietnamese laborers at risk of losing jobs to automation: report
With advancements in automation, soon enough cheap labor will no longer be Vietnam’s key selling point.
— VnExpress

Vietnam spends billions of USD a year to import drugs
VIRAC, a consultancy firm, said that Vietnam’s drug imports have been increasing sharply in recent years. In 2016, the import turnover reached $2.5 billion, an increase of 10 percent compared with the year before.
— VietnamNet Bridge

HCMC credit growth reaches 13.5% in 9 months
Outstanding loans of commercial banks in HCM City in the first nine months of 2017 rose 13.5 per cent against December last year to more than VNĐ1.67 quadrillion (US$73.57 billion), the city People’s Committee report stated.
— Viet Nam News

International tourist arrivals surge nearly 30% in January-September
International tourist arrivals in Việt Nam broke the 9.44 million mark for January-September, representing a 28.4 per cent rise over the same period last year, the General Statistics Office said.
— Viet Nam News

In for their share
The Okura Prestige Saigon will be the Okura Prestige brand’s first property in Vietnam, featuring 250 spacious guest rooms, Japanese restaurants, all-day dining, a rooftop bar, multi-purpose banquet/meeting rooms, a gymnasium, and an outdoor pool.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Dien Bien cooperates with northern Lao provinces to develop agriculture
A delegation from the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry visited the north-western province of Dien Bien from September 24-27 to share experience in encouraging agricultural expansion and increase values of farm produce.
— VietnamPlus

Republic of Korea remains Vietnam’s top investor
The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained Vietnam’s No.1 investor during the January 1-September 20 period, with total investment of $6.31 billion, accounting for 24.7 percent of total foreign direct investment (FDI) Vietnam has attracted in the period, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
— Vietnam Times

StoxPlus organises event on VN consumer finance market
An international conference on consumer finance will be held on October 19 to address important themes and legal framework changes for the healthy and sustainable development of Viet Nam’s consumer finance market.
— Bizhub

Energy and banking-finance industries drive VN stocks down
Vietnamese shares fell on Wednesday morning, driven by energy, banking and insurance-finance stocks.
— Bizhub

Dong Thap, Champasak agree on multi-sector cooperation
Senior officials of Dong Thap and the Lao province of Champasak held talks in the Mekong Delta province on September 27.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam: Fund launched to help commercialise ideas by scientists
Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Startup Foundation Vietnam (SVF), a Ho Chi Minh City-based non-profit fund, have forged a partnership to help local scientists receive funding for their researches.
— DealStreetAsia

KB acquires Vietnamese securities firm for US$33mil
KB Securities is set to acquire Việt Nam’s Maritime Securities for about 37.8 billion won (US$33.16 million), according to news reports on September 27.
— Viet Nam News

Feature photo World Bank/ Le Thi Xuan Nghiem
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