Vietnam Morning News For January 28

Vietnam begins abuse of power trial against former national security officials
Today, the People’s Court of Hanoi will open the trials of former national security advisors Bui Van Thanh and Tran Viet Tan on abuse of power charges.
— Foreign Brief

Vincom Landmark 81: watch SEAs tallest building go up in 30 seconds (video)
When the Vincom Landmark 81 completed construction in July 2018 it became the 14th tallest building in the world, and the tallest building in Southeast Asia.
— AEC News Today (video)

Time for Vietnam’s next generation of clean leaders to step up
Last year marked the mid-point between Vietnam’s five yearly National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The eighth plenum of the CPV Central Committee met in October to initiate planning for the 13th Congress in 2021.
— AEC News Today

Petroleum firms set out cautious plans for 2019
Plummeting oil prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 have negatively affected the production and business efficiency of enterprises.
— Viet Nam News

Project designed to improve transport facilities for tourism
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project on passenger transport quality supervision and safe traffic.
— VNA NET

27 most popular Vietnamese trademarks in 2019 announced
The Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper hosted a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on January 26 to honour 27 most popular Vietnamese brand names in 2019 selected by its readers.
— VNA NET

Vietnam joins call for UNSC’s action to deal with climate change
Vietnam has joined countries’ call for UN agencies, including the UN Security Council, to coordinate and help countries and regional organisations in dealing with climate change at an open debate of the UN Security Council on January 25.
— VNA NET

HCMC, Hanoi, Manila, Bangkok Among World’s Most Dynamic Cities
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi appear prominently among the global Top 10 most dynamically growing cities in the new City Momentum Index 2019 compiled by global real estate company JLL. The index tracks socio-economic and commercial real estate growth in 131 cities over a three-year period.
— Investvine

Vietnam looks to an economy with globally extensive connectivity: PM
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has delivered Vietnam’s strong message, aspiration, and determination to become a “country of renovation and creativity” and an economy with globally extensive connectivity when engaging in every activity of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2019 in Davos, Switzerland.
— VNA NET

Vinamilk to launch Myanmar factory to accelerate foreign expansion
Vietnam Dairy Product, also known as Vinamilk, will open its first dairy factory in Myanmar in 2019 to meet increasing demand for its products, said a source close to the company in Ho Chi Minh City this week.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Standards needed for ‘smart homes’
‘Smart homes’ are becoming a new trend in Việt Nam’s housing market, however experts say that standards for ‘smart’ projects are needed.
— Viet Nam News

Property firms face financial difficulties
Real estate companies headquartered in HCM City voiced challenges and difficulties they have faced during a meeting between the HCM City Real Estate Association and the city authorities on January 23.
— Viet Nam News

Laos pledges to facilitate Vietnamese firms’ investment in agriculture
Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to continue investing in agricultural development in Laos.
— Viet Nam News

ExxonMobil pledges 80,000 USD to improve child healthcare in Quang Nam
ExxonMobil has pledged 80,000 USD to help improve child healthcare in central Vietnam, contributing 50,000 USD to VinaCapital Foundation’s Survive to Thrive programme and 30,000 USD to Operation Smile Vietnam.
— VNA NET

Interest rate rises in the lead-up to biggest national holiday
Banks have hiked deposit interest rates by 0.1-0.5 percentage points as the country’s spending demand surges prior to Tet.
— VnExpress

HCM City uses hi-technologies in water supply system
The southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City has upgraded its water supply network using advanced technologies in operation, exploitation and supply of clean water.
— VNA NET

Viettel listed among world’s top 500 most valuable brands
The military-run telecom provider Viettel, whose brand value grew by 35.8 percent over last year to more than 4.3 billion USD, was honoured as one of the 500 most valuable brands in the world 2019.
— VNA NET

HCM City airport prepares for peak season during Tet holiday
Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City has added flights and check-in counters to serve the increasing number of passengers during the peak Tet holiday season (Lunar New Year).
— VNA NET

Techcombank posts huge jump in profit
The Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) posted pre-tax profit of more than 10.66 trillion VND (458.38 million USD) in 2018, up 31 percent year-on-year and surpassing its target by 6.61 percent.
— VNA NET

Saigon businessman gets life in jail for $21.6 million bank fraud
The head of a Vietnamese coffee company who defrauded five banks of $21.6 million will be jailed for life.
— VnExpress

About 1,000 OVs attend “Homeland Spring” programme
About 1,000 overseas Vietnamese (OV) gathered at the annual “Homeland Spring” programme in Hanoi on January 26 to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year.
— VNA NET

Vinapaco urged to equitise soon
Deputy Prime Ministry of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung has urged Vietnam Paper Corporation (Vinapaco) to move towards equitisation soon as there are many opportunities and challenges facing the industry this year.
— Bizhub

Vietnam firms invited to attend energy exhibition in Thailand
A meeting introducing the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Power and Energy Society (PES) Generation Transmission and Distribution (GTD) Asia 2019 was held in Hanoi on January 24.
— VNA NET

VN hospitality market to continue growth this year: Savills
The hospitality market in Viet Nam, which has been an attractive sector for investors over the past few years thanks to its consistent growth, is expected to continue to expand this year, partly due to global trends, according to Savills Hotels Asia Pacific.
— Bizhub

Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group adopts report on Vietnam
The UPR working group of the UN Human Rights Council adopted a preliminary report on the third review of Vietnam at a session at the UN headquarters in Geneva on January 25.
— VNA NET

Vietnam’s Ca Tam oilfield starts production
The Ca Tam oilfield, offshore southern Vietnam, is expected to enrich state coffers with revenues of $1 billion.
— VnExpress

Binh Duong has first wastewater-to-clean water treatment plant
A plant processing industrial wastewater into clean water for daily use and production, the first of its kind in Vietnam, was inaugurated at Song Than 2 industrial park in Di An town, the southern province of Binh Duong on January 26.
— VNA NET

Did Vietnam’s Miss Intercontinental bet channel Catriona Gray?
Catriona Gray owned the stage when she did her “lava walk” during her stint at the Miss Universe pageant last December.
— ABS-CBN

20th international windsurfing tourney wraps up in Binh Thuan
The international windsurfing competition – Fun Cup 2019 concluded in the central coastal province of Binh Thuan on January 26.
— VNA NET

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