Vietnam Morning News For June 1

FDI disbursements up 10% in five months
Foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursements rose 10 per cent year-on-year to US$6.75 billion in the first five months of 2018, Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) statistics reveal.
— Bizhub

Multimillion-dollar bridge leading to Diamond Islet opens in Ho Chi Minh City
A multimillion-dollar bridge in Ho Chi Minh City was inaugurated on Wednesday as part of the city’s plan to reduce the volume of traffic on a nearby major road and facilitate access from District 2 to the downtown.
— Tuoi Tre

Agricultural sector rakes in nearly $16 billion from exports
The total export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first five months of this year rose by 9.9 percent year-on-year to reach US$15.6 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
— The Hanoi Times

Gov’t aims to boost industry, construction
The Government aims for the industry and construction sector to account for 30-35 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, according to the country’s new plan for industrial restructuring in the 2018-20 period, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng on May 25.
— Viet Nam News

Deputy PM orders conduct the pre-feasibility study report of North – South high-speed railway project
Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung has ordered the Ministry of Transport and Communication to conduct the pre-feasibility study report of the North – South high-speed railway project in order to submit to the National assembly.
— The Hanoi Times

Fintech firms need support from banks: SBV
The fintech (financial technology) sector is facing difficulties of capital mobilisation shortage, inadequate legal framework and banks’ hesitance in co-operation, said Le Minh Hung, Governor of State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).
— Bizhub

Central bank approves VPBank’s capital charter hike
The State Bank of Việt Nam has approved the plan of Việt Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) to increase its current charter capital.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam manufacturing improves continuously in May
The Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, rose to 53.9 in May from 52.7 in April. A reading above 50 signals an improvement, while one below 50 points to a contraction in manufacturing activity.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Footwear giants shift outsourcing from China to Vietnam
Major brands in the footwear industry are shifting their outsourced work to Vietnam instead of China, but experts doubt this will be a good thing in the long run.
— VnExpress

Vietnam condemns China for live-fire drills in Paracels
Vietnam on Thursday issued a strong condemnation of Chinese military live-fire exercises on its Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands earlier this month.
— VnExpress

Japan, Vietnam agree on maritime safety cooperation
The leaders of Japan and Vietnam agreed Thursday to bolster cooperation in maritime safety and defense, and expressed shared concerns over China’s growing activity in the South China Sea.
— Tampabay

What’s happened to the Philippines–Vietnam strategic partnership?
In November 2015, former Philippine president Benigno Aquino III and former Vietnamese president Truong Tan Sang witnessed the signing of a joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership between their two countries.
— East Asia Forum

South Korea becomes largest FDI investor in Vietnam in five months
The country retains its position as Vietnam’s leading source of foreign direct investment (FDI), during the first five months of this year.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam’s provincial administration found transferring state holdings at low prices
The administration of Thua Thien-Hue has been discovered selling major shares of a state-owned company to a private corporation at prices significantly lower than market value and without a bidding process, leading to the ‘loss’ of several hotels located on ‘prime’ land plots in the central province.
— Tuoi Tre

Deputy PM pushes CPI measures
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has urged the Government’s Steering Committee for Price Management to keep consumer price index (CPI) growth below 4 per cent in 2018.
— Bizhub

Retail sales, services revenue up by 10.1%
Viet Nam’s total revenue from retail sales and services in the first five months of this year maintained a high growth since the beginning of the year.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Da Lat vegetable prices plunge
Prices of vegetables have fallen in Da Lat, itself a vegetable growing hub, due to imports from China, traders said.
— Bizhub

Vietnam’s Vingroup plans to raise $880m through preference issue
Vietnam’s biggest property developer Vingroup plans to raise VND20 trillion ($880 million) through an issue preference shares to investors this year, according to a submission of its board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting on May 31.
— DealStreetAsia

Low interest rate slows G-bond sales
Despite potential of expansion due to high investment demand, little capital has been mobilised from Government bonds due to interest rates below investors’ expectation.
— VietnamPlus

6,500-DWT oil tanker delivered to RoK ship owner
The Hai Phong-based Pha Rung Shipyard Company delivered the 6,500-DWT oil tanker “YN YEOSU” to BS Tankers and Yantec from the Republic of Korea (RoK) on May 31.
— Nhan Dan Online

SE Asia-focused PE investor TAEL invests in Vietnamese education player
Southeast Asia-focused private equity investor TAEL Partners has injected an eight-digit US dollar investment into Institution American Education Vietnam (IAE), marking its foray into the country’s education sector.
— DealStreetAsia

Ho Chi Minh City reviews socio-economic development in first five months
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong chaired a meeting on May 30, to review the City’s socio-economic development in the first five months of 2018.
— Nhan Dan Online

Swiss airline to offer nonstop Vietnam service in late-2018: CEO
A nonstop service between Vietnam and Switzerland is slated to launch in November 2018, the chief executive officer of a leisure carrier owned by the Swiss national airline said on Wednesday.
— Tuoi Tre

China Focus: Chinese TV programs find fans in Vietnam
It is 3 a.m. and Ngo Linh Chi, from Ho Chi Minh City, is still up watching television.
— Xinhua

HCMC hotels introduce southern fruit
More than 40 hotels in HCM City will offer guests fresh southern fruits and welcome drinks made from the fruits from June 1 to 17.
— Viet Nam News

Feature photo Nam-ho Park

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