Vietnam Morning News For March 10

Vietnam morning news roundup by AEC News Today is your one stop for Vietnam news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

US businesses hail Gov’t efforts in improving investment environment
PM Phuc made the statement on Thursday during his reception for a delegation of the US-ASEAN Business Council led by Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director Michael Michalak.
— VBN

No Anzac Day ceremony at Vietnam’s Long Tan memorial this year, DFAT says
Australia will not hold an Anzac Day ceremony at the Long Tan memorial site in Vietnam, after last year’s 50th anniversary plans were cancelled at the last minute by the host government.
– ABC

China closes natural forests, Vietnam fears timber shortage
This has caused great anxiety among Vietnamese wooden furniture manufacturers. It is expected that China will have to import 50 percent of the volume of timber it needs, and the majority will be from Vietnam.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam prepares for influx of Chinese tourists
This week, some 20 Vietnamese travel agents met in Khanh Hoa Province to establish an association catering to tourists from China to share information, implement joint promotions and develop human resources.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Saigon airport’s website hacked, no damage reported
The website of Vietnam’s busiest airport Tan Son Nhat was hacked on Wednesday night, but has resumed normal operations, officials said.
— VN Express International

Vietnam slaughters chickens following latest bird flu outbreak
Quang Ngai Province have culled 23,000 birds since last month in an effort to contain the virus.
— VN Express International

Korean contractor takes responsibility for power plant explosion in southern Vietnam
South Korea’s Doosan, the primary builder of a thermal power plant in the central province of Binh Thuan, has taken full responsibility for the explosion that injured two workers this week.
— VN Express International

Vietnam wants China to permit more rice exporters

The permission was announced by China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), which allowed 22 firms to export rice and rice products from January 1, counting from the date of departure from the Vietnamese border. Any businesses not listed by AQSIQ were banned from exporting to the Chinese market from January 1.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam, Thailand enjoy growing friendship
At a reception for the group’s Chairman Sakchai Tanaboonchai in Hanoi on March 8, the NA Vice Chairman took note of the sound cooperation between Vietnamese and Thai legislative bodies, particularly at key forums, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnam, China hold regular deputy foreign ministers’ meeting
At the function, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin reviewed progress made in bilateral relations in the past time and discussed ways to boost cooperation, particularly the implementation of agreements and common conceptions reached by leaders of the two Parties and Governments, and the maintenance of peace, stability at sea.
— VieNamNet Bridge

Vietnamese businesses pleased with tax reforms
Over 75 percent of surveyed businesses expressed their satisfaction with tax reforms in 2016, slightly up from 71 percent in 2014, said Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s Legal Department at an event held in Hanoi on Tuesday.
— VN Express International

Vietnamese airline CEO soars onto global female billionaires list
The founder of Vietnam’s rising budget carrier VietJet has made it onto a global list of self-made female billionaires.
— VN Express International

Aquaculture eyes international standards
Vietnam’s Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) will work together on promoting responsible aquaculture in the country.
— VBN

Vietnamese telcos to make and export telecom devices
In 2016, VNPT launched 90,000 kilometers of optical fibers into the market and 2.4 million products, including optical terminal devices, MyTV box, DVB-T2 set top box, Smartbox, smartphone, and wifi Access Points, worth VND9 trillion in total.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Big Japanese retailers compete with smaller Vietnamese counterparts
7-Eleven has launched a big recruitment campaign to prepare for the opening of its convenience store in HCMC.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Vietnamese fish, seafood segment isn’t ‘cashing in’ with Walmart
Speaking at the forum, Nguyen Hoai Anh, deputy director of Thuan Phuong Company, said that the opportunity to supply millions of fish and seafood products to the 5,000 US Walmart stores under a Vietnamese brand is a dream that is not likely to happen anytime soon.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Opening of H&M, Zara stores puts pressure on local fashion retailers
The opening of the first shops in Vietnam in 2017 has been confirmed by H&M. However, the brand still has not given further information about the plan, including the debut, the number of shops, venues and scale.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Evangelization efforts proving ineffective in Vietnam
The Catholic Church in communist-run Vietnam is not growing and the editor of a new church directory blames it on ineffectual evangelization efforts.
— La Croix International

Feature photo: Robert Pastryk

The Vietnam morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Vietnam Morning News For March 10 added by John Le Fevre on March 10, 2017
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.