Vietnam Morning News For January 224

In Face of Xi’s Charm Offensive Vietnam Gambles on US Trade Deal
After the 2016 US Presidential election hope remained in Hanoi that Donald Trump, once in office, would turn from firebrand protectionist campaigner into a leader who accepted the value of open trade — a cause in which the Vietnamese government had invested so much in preparation for Vietnam’s membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
— AEC News Today

VN’s shrimp industry will become key economic sector
Viet Nam’s shrimp industry will become a key economic sector with sustainable development that is environmentally friendly and can withstand the challenges of climate change, if the national action plan for the development of the shrimp industry by 2025 that was approved by the Prime Minister meets its targets.
— VietnamPlus

Cashew industry lowers export goal
Viet Nam’s cashew industry has targeted 300,000 tonnes of cashew exports at a value of US$3 billion this year, a year-on-year reduction of 50,000 tonnes in volume and $500 million in value, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
— Bizhub

Prudential to sell Vietnam consumer finance unit for US$151m
Prudential Plc has agreed to sell its consumer finance business in Vietnam to a unit of South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group for US$151 million, as the UK’s largest insurer seeks to focus on its core insurance arm in the Southeast Asian nation.
— Business Times

Vietnam’s 2017 export estimates coming true
If all estimates are correct, Vietnam’s 2017 exports will have grown at the highest rate seen since 2011. The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast that the country’s exports in 2017 would stand at $212 billion, an increase of 18.9 per cent compared to 2016.
— Fresh Plaza

Agency to continue to tax online businesses
The HCM City Tax Department plans to continue to collect taxes from online businesses that use Facebook and other social media sites.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam supports enterprises to in circular economy
The Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) has signed an agreement with three foreign-invested enterprises to implement the “Zero Waste to Nature” initiative.
— Nhan Dan Online

Oil & gas loses the ‘throne’ as the biggest export item
The oil & gas sector once had the highest export turnover of any industry, but that ended in 2009.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Vietnam emerges as attractive destination for foreign luxurious cruisers
Vietnam has emerged as one of the leading attractive destinations in Asia for international cruise ships with the arrival of more than 400 ships in 2017.
— VietnamPlus

Ho Chi Minh stock exchange extends trading halt for 2nd day
Vietnam’s biggest stock exchange halted trading on Tuesday due to a system malfunction, extending its outage for a second day.
— Nikkei Asian Review

IPOs needed to improve market
The Government needs to enlarge the scale of the market and lure more State-owned enterprises to list shares through speeding up their equitisation, according to Luu Trung Thai, Vice Chairman of the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Industrial parks in Vietnam’s HCM City to lure bigger investment in 2018
Industrial parks and export processing zones in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City are expected to entice fresh foreign and domestic investment of 900 million U.S. dollars this year, up from 840 million U.S. dollars last year.
— Xinhua

Sacombank prioritises restructuring, bad debt handling
Speeding up restructuring and settling bad debts to improve the bank’s health are two major goals of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) in 2018, said Chairman Duong Cong Minh.
— VietnamPlus

New report reveals rapid growth in Vietnam pharmaceutical market
Healthcare market in Vietnam has been supported by the ever increasing and aging population of the country.
— News-Medical.net

South Korea sees Vietnam as a growing export market
South Korean agricultural exports are highly dependent on Japan, China, and the US markets.
— Fresh Plaza

C&W assists FM Logistic’s entry into Vietnam
French logistics company looking to secure site for HCMC facility this year, following sites in Hanoi and Bac Ninh.
— Vietnam Economic Times

Feature photo ILO/Nguyễn ViệtThanh

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