Vietnam Morning News For July 3

Vietnam’s apparel industry braces for cost surge as tech giants move in
Major apparel makers are halting or slowing their expansion in Vietnam amid worries that the trade war will indirectly push up labor costs as tech giants like Apple seek to shift production out of China.
— Nikkei Asia Review (paywall)

Japan’s leading corporations committed investments worth US$3.75 billion in Hanoi
In 2018, Japan remained Hanoi’s largest investor and is projected to maintain the top spot in 2019.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam’s agricultural products face barriers to enter Chinese market
Many of Vietnam’s agricultural products – especially rice, vegetables and cassava – have faced barriers preventing their export to China, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
— Fresh Plaza

Vietnam says will have African swine fever vaccine ‘soon’, experts sceptical
HANOI: Vietnam said on Tuesday it has had initial success in creating a vaccine to fight African swine fever, which has infected farms throughout the Southeast Asian country and prompted the culling of around 10% of its pig herd.
— Bangkok Post

Over 2.84 mln pigs in Vietnam culled amid African swine fever spread
African swine fever (ASF) has stricken 61 localities across Vietnam, leading to the culling of over 2.84 million pigs or 10.3 percent of the country’s total pig population, Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday.
— Xinhua

How a non-banking credit firm changed Vietnam consumer lending
With Vietnam’s rapid growth in consumer financing, there’s greater need for innovation to deliver a seamless and pleasurable customer experience.
— VnExpress

Telecom giant Viettel launches ride-hailing service and e-commerce platform
Vietnam’s military-run Viettel has launched ride-hailing service MyGo and e-commerce site Voso.vn after piloting them for two weeks.
— Vietnam Insider

Foreign ownership cap to deter foreign capital in Vietnam’s fintech
It is good for Vietnam to get foreign investment in its fintech sector as support in technology, experience and capital from global major foreign financial groups will help local firms further develop.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam’s outlook remains positive: WB
Vietnam’s growth momentum has been moderate since the beginning of the year, but the outlook remains positive, according to Taking Stock, the World Bank (WB)’s bi-annual economic report on Vietnam, released on July 1.
— NDO

More brands looking for Vietnam franchise opportunities
The brands will gather at VF Franchise Consulting headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City on July 9 to meet with prospective area or master franchisees for the market. The franchises are in the food-and-beverage sector, education, services, and come from the US, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, India and Japan.
— Insider Retail

Quick delivery, entertainment: e-commerce players focus on differentiation
Tiki is pouring money into warehousing and Lazada is live-streaming videos on social media as competition intensifies in Vietnam’s e-commerce market.
— VnExpress

Vietnam PM attends Vietjet ceremony for new route announcement to Japan
The Prime Minster of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and other high-ranking Vietnamese dignitaries congratulated Vietjet while attending a special ceremony in Tokyo today to announce the launch of two new routes to Japan, namely Ho Chi Minh City – Tokyo (Narita) and Da Nang – Tokyo (Haneda).
— eturbonews

Singapore man caught with drugs at Vietnam-Cambodia border
A 39-year-old Singaporean man was arrested last Saturday at the border of Vietnam and Cambodia for allegedly transporting 10kg of crystal meth, also known as Ice.
— The Straits Times

Oyo to Invest $50 Million in Vietnam to Grow to 20,000 Hotel Rooms in 2020
After Indonesia, Vietnam turns out to be the next big playground in Southeast Asia for Oyo, which is targeting 20,000 rooms in the country by the end of 2020. But the more Oyo rooms multiply like rabbits, the more people want to know about the real returns on investment.
— Skift

Vietnam’s seafood export drops slightly in H1
Vietnam reaped over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars from exporting seafood, mainly prawns and catfish in the first half of this year, witnessing a year-on-year decline of 0.8 percent, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Tuesday.
— Xinhua

MTA Vietnam 2019: Machine tool exhibition opens in Ho Chi Minh City
MTA Vietnam 2019, an international exhibition on precision engineering, machine tools and metalworking opened on July 2 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.
— NDO

Vietnam backs Japan efforts to stop illegal immigration
Vietnam has made it harder for its workers and students to go to Japan as part of bilateral efforts to reduce illegal immigration.
— VnExpress

Vietnam’s coffee prices higher as lower supplies
Coffee prices in Vietnam edged higher this week on low supplies, while trading activity picked up in Indonesia where a major harvest was in full swing. Farmers in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing area, sold coffee at 35,000 dong ($1.50) per kg on Thursday, compared with 33,000-34,000 dong a week earlier.
— Business Recorder

Việt Nam-Japan promote co-operation in many sectors
Vietnamese BRG Group, VNPT Group, Japanese Sumitomo Group and Vietnamese Seabank on Monday were granted co-operation agreements in fintech, developing smart cities and other projects on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyan Xuân Phúc’s participation in the 14th G20 Summit in Japan.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam attends Moscow forum on parliamentarism development
A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly joined nearly 800 parliamentarians and experts from over 130 countries and territories at the second international forum on the “Development of Parliamentarism” that opened in Moscow on July 1.
— Sggp News

Banks starts to adopt advanced authentication method to enhance security
A number of banks are introducing smart technology to tighten security and make customer transactions safer.
— Viet Nam News

SmartPay, OpenWay launch mobile wallet in Vietnam, target 30 mln users
Fintech startup SmartPay has introduced a digital wallet service in Vietnam. SmartPay reports that its digital wallet platform targets 25 million consumers and 6 million small and medium merchants.
— Telecompaper

VN stocks slip as economic worries return
Vietnamese shares dropped on Tuesday morning, dragged by banks, petro firms and real estate companies.
— Viet Nam News

Lychee revenue in Bắc Giang reaches 60-year high of US$262.6 million
Farmers in the northern province of Bắc Giang earned revenue of VNĐ6.1 trillion (US$262.6 million) from lychee this year, surpassing records in the past 60 years in terms of value.
— Viet Nam News

Why Trump thinks Vietnam is worse than China on trade
In a recent interview, US President Donald Trump called Vietnam the “single worst abuser” of trade ties with the United States, and that the country takes advantage of the US even worse than China does.
— ejinsight

HCM City’s eco-friendly buses face fuel shortage
HCM CITY After several years of using eco-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel some of its fleet, HCM City’s public bus system is now on the verge of a fuel shortage as the only supplier plans to reduce supply, Tu?i Tr? (Youth) newspaper has reported.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam hospitals a hotspot of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Vietnamese hospitals are teeming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the chances of infection rise with a patient’s length of stay, a study found.
— VnExpress

Vietnam welcomes Japan’s support in economy reshuffle
Japanese leading corporations such as Maruhan, Mitsui and Toray revealed plans to expand operations in Vietnam.
— The Hanoitimes

Local firms need to improve capacity when joining EVFTA
Improving corporate governance capacity is a major challenge for businesses, especially small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) when joining the EU-Vi?t Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), requiring the Government to have policies and mechanisms to facilitate their operation.
— Viet Nam News

Da Nang dealing with influx of foreign street beggars
Two Chinese nationals caught begging on Da Nang streets have been deported and police are hunting two other foreign female beggars.
— VnExpress

Đanang weakened slightly against the US dollar in H1 2019
The Vietnamese Danang has gained some strength against the US dollar in the past month, helped by abundant domestic supply and favourable global conditions.
— Viet Nam News

Promo-girls provider’s sales keeps falling after losing Heineken contract
Saigon Petroleum Services JSC, which lost its biggest customer Heineken in 2016, has reported falling revenues for the 3rd straight year.
— VnExpress

A boom in tourism poses challenges to sustainable development
Vi?t Nam may have experienced a tourism boom but one expert has warned the country needs a clear plan for the future.
— Viet Nam News

Banks short of credit growth quota for remaining months of 2019
Though there remains six months, some banks have almost used up the assigned quota for the whole year, and experts said it would be difficult for the banks to get an expansion approval from the State Bank of Vi?t Nam (SBV).
— Viet Nam News

Retirement age increase inevitable, but more should be done
The reasons for the increase, according to the ministry, include the rapidly ageing population in Vi?t Nam, the unbalanced social security fund, high working capacities of Vietnamese elderly and the necessity to ensure gender equality in career development.
— Viet Nam News

Feature photo Urbanist Hanoi

This week’s Vietnam morning news feature photo focuses on plastic waste throughout Asean.

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.