Vietnam Morning News For October 1

Vietnam launches agency to boost performance at state companies
Vietnam has launched a ministry-level government agency aimed at boosting the performance of some of the Communist nation’s biggest state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
— Reuters

Vietnamese sugar mills struggle to compete
Low consumption, high inventory and continuously plunging prices mean tough times for domestic sugar mills, said chairman of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA) Pham Quoc Doanh.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Property sector calls for rethink on bank loans
The new restriction on banks of using only 40 per cent of their short-term deposits for long and medium-term loans should not take effect next year, the HCM City Real Estate Association has said.
— Bizhub

Vietnam to hike power prices in 2019
Vietnam is considering increasing power prices next year due to rising costs, a senior official said.
— VnExpress

Cashless payment needs a boost in rural areas
Viet Nam is entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the participation of all sectors, including the banking system; however, non-cash payment has seen development stall as the country’s population has not yet embraced its benefits.
— Bizhub

Ministry bans poultry import from Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia
Following outbreak of bird flu in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has banned the import of poultry and poultry products from the three countries.
— Menafn

Real estate collateral at 10 banks worth $170 billion
Real estate collateral in 10 of Viet Nam’s commercial banks is worth more than VND4 quadrillion (US$170.2 billion), accounting for 56 per cent of the banks’ total collateral.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Vietnam’s barefoot tradies
Australia’s macho tradesmen hold a sacred place in our national mythology. But in Vietnam, tradie life looks a little different.
— ABC

Sharp surge in shipments through seaports
The volume of cargo transported through Vietnamese seaports has soared over the first nine months of 2018, particularly through the ports in Quang Ninh and Ha Tinh provinces, the Vietnam Maritime Administration has announced.
— Nhan Dan Online

Vietnam readies healthcare for ageing population
Geriatric hospitals and other facilities are planned as the ageing population grow rapidly in the capital city of Hanoi.
— Borneo Bulletin

Military general of China, Vietnam remembered
Many Vietnamese and Chinese people gathered here on Sunday to mark the 110th birthday and contributions of Vietnamese general Nguyen Son (Chinese name Hong Shui), a military officer commissioned in modern China and a rare “general of two countries.”
— Xinhua

Vietnam contemplates longer life for passenger, cargo aircraft
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport is considering a five year extension to the maximum operational age of both passenger and cargo aircraft.
— VnExpress

FPT was awarded the world record for “Connecting Journey” of 3,000 employees running across Vietnam in 31 days.
“Connecting Journey” is a cross-country relay race with the participation of 3,000 FPT members lasting 31 days to celebrate 30 years of establishment of FPT. The journey represents the pioneering spirit to overcome new limits and challenges that has always been the guiding star during the past 30 years of FPT development.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

How former UTS student Hoang Dao created award-winning learn-to-read app Monkey Junior
WHEN tech entrepreneur Hoang Dao left Vietnam to study software engineering in Australia in 2002, he spoke only limited English.
— news.com.au

Nearly a tonne of pangolin scales, ivory seized in Vietnam, which has banned the trading of both
Vietnam has seized around a tonne of pangolin scales and ivory hidden inside airline cargo packages, state media reported, as the country struggles to rein in wildlife smuggling across its borders.
— The Straits Times

Vietnam’s export value to US reaches record high in August
Vietnam’s export value to the US reached US$4.89 billion in August, the highest level since January this year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
— Nhan Dan Online

A makeshift wall in Hanoi can fetch a million dollars
Nearly a million U.S. dollars was the asking price for a wall-cum-fence 18.7m long and 28cm wide in Hanoi.
— VnExpress

Seven deaths in one night burst bubble of Vietnam’s young rave scene
Days after seven people died after taking a cocktail of drugs at a dance music festival, their peers partied on at a sweaty Hanoi nightclub, hoping tragedy does not pull the plug on the nascent rave scene in the buttoned-up communist capital.
— The Nation

DTI looking into safety of cement from Vietnam, other countries
The Philippines notified Việt Nam that it has initiated a preliminary safeguard investigation on the importation of cement from various countries, including Việt Nam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
— Inquirer.net

Cultural, tourism festival underway in Ha Giang
Visitors to Hoang Su Phi able to admire beautiful terraced rice fields and take in September 28-30 festival.
— Vietnam Insider

New US interest rate to exert pressure on Vietnam’s inflation goal
The recent increase in U.S. interest rate will generate pressure on the Vietnamese dong and make inflation target hard to meet, experts warn.
— VnExpress

VN welcomes 11.6 million foreign tourists in nine months
The number of international tourists arriving in Viet Nam in the third quarter of this year increased 15 per cent against the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
— Bizhub

Cargo through seaports surges
The volume of cargo transported through Vietnamese seaports has soared in the first nine months of 2018, particularly through ports in Quang Ninh and Ha Tinh provinces, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration.
— VietnamPlus

National economic growth in 2018 hits 8-year high
Viet Nam posted economic growth of 6.98 per cent between January and September, over the same period last year, the highest rate since 2011, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
— Bizhub

Launch of “super committee” to improve efficiency of state sector: PM
Nineteen state groups and corporations under the management of the Commission for the Management of State Capital (CMSC) play an essential role in Vietnam`s economy, holding two-thirds of total state capital, according to the government portal.
— The Hanoi Times

Qatar Airways flights to connect Da Nang with Doha
A delegation of the Party Committee of central Da Nang city has visited Qatar and had a working session with executives of Qatar Airways to discuss cooperation between the two sides.
— VietnamPlus

Business formations in Vietnam fall 21.4% m/m September
The rise in the number of business formations demonstrates that investors are likely to have gained more confidence in the domestic business climate.
— The Hanoi Times

PV Power to shift listing to HOSE
PV Power is proceeding to shift its listing from the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, which is expected to be completed in October or November.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Fed rate hike won’t have much impact on Vietnam
The US Federal Reserve (Fed)’s third interest rate hike this week would not affect Việt Nam’s economy significantly as the move was foreseeable, according to experts.
— Vietnam Insider

Feature photo pxhere

This week’s Vietnam morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day of Older Persons, October 1.

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.