Vietnam Morning News For April 23

Vietnam invests in 190 projects in Cambodia
Vietnam has invested in 190 investment projects in Cambodia with the total registered investment capital of nearly US$ 2.9 billion, focusing on agriculture and forestry whereas the partner offered 19 investment projects with the total capital of US$ 65 million in Vietnamese market.
— Sggp News

Central bank asks for tightened control over real estate loans
The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has asked for the control over real estate loans by credit institutions to be enhanced, especially in areas showing signs of land price fever.
— Bizhub

Vietnam Quietly Builds Up 10 Islands in South China Sea
Both China and Vietnam are building up small islands in the South China Sea, a waterway known in Vietnam as the East Sea.
— VOA

HCM City’s industrial production index hits five-year high
Ho Chi Minh City witnessed expansion of industrial activities in the first quarter of this year, recording a 6.24 percent rise in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the highest level in the past five years.
— VietnamPlus

Credit package proposed for support industry
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed a VND100 trillion (US$4.31 billion) preferential credit package for the development of the country’s support industry.
— Bizhub

Bamboo Airways to introduce three international flights
Bamboo Airways will shortly add three international routes to its schedule, to South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam IT industry is more than just outsourcing
Vietnam is known as an outsourcing software destination but local IT businesses are expanding into other technology areas such as AI and fintech.
— VnExpress

How Vietnam’s ride-hailing apps are challenging Grab’s local monopoly
Back in 2018, Singapore-based startup Grab made waves by forcing its larger rival Uber out of the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market. In countries like Vietnam, where the two happened to be the major players, Uber’s decision to handover its resources to Grab and leave made the latter the de-facto monopoly in the local market.
— Asean Today

Ministry initiates anti-dumping investigation on imported fibreboard
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has launched an anti-dumping investigation into industrial medium density fibreboard (MDF) imported from Thailand and Malaysia.
— Viet Nam News

Universities, firms join hands in training high-quality agriculture workforce
Delegates at a seminar in Hanoi on April 21 discussed the need to connect higher education institutions with businesses in training high-quality agricultural workforce.
— Nhan Dan Online

Vietnamese mid-corporates need new strategies in emerging technologies
Mid-sized corporates in Việt Nam and other ASEAN countries, need to devise new strategies, from digitalisation to partnerships and overseas ventures, to build growth against major shifts in their respective sectors of operation, according to a Standard Chartered thought leadership report.
— Viet Nam News

Da Nang suspends controversial river encroaching real estate project
Da Nang has solicited expert advice on the Marina Complex project that experts say would disrupt the Han River’s flow.
— VnExpress

Vietnam’s Bamboo in MOU for Hanoi-Prague route
Vietnam start-up Bamboo Airways has signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the possibility of services from Hanoi to Prague.
— Flightglobal

Dung Quất refinery earns $26m in Q1 post-tax profit
In Q1, the factory turned out more than 1.7 million tonnes of products and earned over VNĐ23.05 trillion in revenue.
— Viet Nam News

honestbee halts local operation in the Philippines
The company sent out email notices last April 19 to customers In an official notice sent out last Friday, the grocery delivery service honestbee Philippines announced that it will temporarily stop its operation locally, as reported by Yugatech. The company said that it experiences a funding issue …
— e27

The north’s largest bio organic fertiliser plant opens in Vĩnh Phúc
Quế Lâm Group General Director, Nguy�…n Thanh Vinh, said the plant is developed to meet the rising demand for quality organic fertiliser products in the northern region. It is also the second plant of his company in Vĩnh Phúc Province’s Bình Xuyên District.
— Viet Nam News

Former Facebook Vietnam exec takes over Go-Viet reins
Le Diep Kieu Trang has been appointed general manager of ride-hailing firm Go-Viet after her predecessor resigned last month.
— Vietnam Insider

City Party chief calls on companies to use technology to improve quality
A farmer harvests clean vegetables at a garden run by Vương Huy High-Tech Vegetables and Fruits Company at Xà Bang Commune in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province’s Châu Đức District. The use of advanced technology to produce high-quality output is a must for local businesses to gain trust and popularity.
— Viet Nam News

Akaryn luxury boutique hotels to launch in Indonesia, Vietnam
Akaryn Hotel Group, a homegrown Thai luxury boutique hotel specialist, is preparing to spread its wings and compete in international markets for the first time with the launch of its pioneering hospitality brands in Indonesia and Vietnam.
— The Nation

VN urged to improve economic resilience
Việt Nam must focus on consolidating macroeconomic foundations and renovating institutions to increase resilience in the context of global uncertainties, according to the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).
— Viet Nam News

Nguyen Hoai Nam has become the first Vietnamese businessman to own a European football club
Nguyen Hoai Nam, the CEO of Berjaya Vietnam is now the proud owner of Bosnian football club FK Sarajevo.
— Vietnam Insider

Đà Lạt speciality products to be given ‘identity cards’
Each specialty product from Đà Lạt City and Lâm Đồng Province will be given a unique identification number to help consumers distinguish between them quickly and accurately.
— Viet Nam News

AirAsia fails in fourth Vietnam joint venture bid
AirAsia’s recent announcement that it is giving up plans to launch a joint venture in Vietnam marks its fourth failure.
— VnExpress

Basel II standards help banks get high credit growth limit
Some commercial banks expect to get high credit growth limits set by the central bank this year as they have so far met Basel II’s capital safety and risk management standards ahead of schedule.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam to Encourage Environmentally Friendly Building Design
Consider that buildings can be designed, in relation to the sun, depending on whether occupants want to maximize the amount of natural light their windows let in, or to minimize the heat absorbed by the building.
— VOA

On one island, a microcosm of Vietnam’s environmental challenges
While approaching Hai Phong, a major city on Vietnam’s northeast coast, it is impossible to miss signs of the country’s fast-growing economic might. GDP growth hit just over 7 percent in 2018, and foreign investors are swarming: Samsung alone has invested nearly $20 billion here. A high-speed expressway now connects Hai Phong to Hanoi, the capital, and will eventually extend to the Chinese border farther north.
— Mongabay

Vietnam: from utopia to geopolitical reality
In December 1955, the newly elected president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, adopted a nationality law that stipulated that all Chinese born in Vietnam were entitled to Vietnamese nationality. There were at the time some 650,000 Chinese in South Vietnam, practically all of whom held Taiwan passports.
— Asia Times

Aboitiz eyes RE project acquisitions in Vietnam
ABOITIZ Power Corp. is looking at acquiring renewable energy (RE) projects that are under development in Vietnam with capacities of between 50-100 megawatts (MW) each to take advantage of the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme being offered in the Southeast Asian country.
— Business World Online

Việt Nam ignores air pollution: experts
Việt Nam lacks comprehensive studies on air pollution and its impacts on health, life and the economy, experts said at a conference in HCM City on Friday (April 19).
— Viet Nam Net

Major wood factory opens in Hà Tĩnh province
A medium density fibreboard (MDF) factory that is considered the biggest of its kind in the central region of Việt Nam was inaugurated in Vũ Quang District of Hà Tĩnh Province on Sunday.
— Viet Nam News

Quảng Ngãi struggles to eliminate old-style brick kilns
The smoke and dust caused by traditional brick kilns has long been considered a threat to the environment and residents’ health, but many obstacles stand in the way of their elimination.
— Viet Nam Net

Feature photo Lanka TEFL Training Institute

This week’s morning news photo features World Book and Copyright Day, April 23.

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).

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