Vietnam Morning News For March 5

Vietnam Extends List Of Countries Eligible For E-Visa To 80
Vietnam has extended the list of countries qualifying for e-visas by 34 to 80 and extended the scheme to January 31, 2021. The new countries include major source markets in Europe.
— Investvine

Export of marine products to reach $3.5 billion this year
Despite likely hurdles, export of marine products is expected to rise by 17 per cent to US$3.5 billion this year, according to the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep).
— Viet Nam News

Vietnamese pork banned in several countries due to swine fever fears
Many countries are banning pork imports from Vietnam following the recent outbreaks of African swine fever in the country.
— VnExpress

Petrol prices up nearly VNĐ1,000 per litre
The prices of oil and petrol have climbed nearly VNĐ1,000 (US$0.043) per litre folowing the latest adjustment by Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Saturday.
— Viet Nam News

US-Vietnam economic relations: The China factor
While addressing a joint Press Conference at Hanoi, after his summit, with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, US President, Donald Trump spoke not just about the Summit, but also the current state of US-China relations. Trump criticized his predecessors, for not doing enough to address the trade imbalance with China, while also making the point, that he was all for China’s economic progress and growth, but not at the cost of the US.
— Modern Diplomacy

Agricultural sector posts trade surplus of 1 billion USD in 2 months
The agricultural sector posted a trade surplus of 1 billion USD in the January-February period despite a year-on-year decrease of 1.6 percent in export value.
— VNA NET

Vietnam’s goods export to US increases sharply
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, value of goods trade between Vietnam and the United States increased from US$ 18 billion in 2010 to nearly US$ 60.3 billion in 2018.
— Sggp news

Hanoi: 1,300 more apartments to be available
Hanoi will soon have 1,300 new apartments thanks to a social housing project invested by Capital House Group, a real estate developer focusing on green buildings in Vietnam.
— VNA NET

Hanoi metro fares initially capped at 65 US cents
The maximum fare on Hanoi’s first metro line will be VND15,000 (65 cents), city authorities said in a draft proposal.
— VnExpress

Bamboo Airways to expand routes throughout Vietnam
Vietnam’s newest carrier Bamboo Airways is carrying out its plan to conduct flights on 37-40 air routes in 2019 with the aim of expanding its network across Vietnam, according to General Director Dang Tat Thang.
— VNA NET

Japanese giant seeks control over Vietnam’s leading pharma firm
Japan’s Taisho wants control of the DHG Pharmaceutical Company by raising its stake to 56.69 percent from 35 percent.
— VnExpress

Will Vietnamese e-Commerce competitions still have enough vacancy for new warriors?
In addition to the bright and prominent names such as Shopee, Tiki, Lazada, Sendo, Thegioididong, Adayroi, etc. There are also many brands that have to withdraw from this war like Beyeu.com, Deca, Foodpanda, Lingo, etc or most recently Vui Vui (vuivui.com) of the Mobile World was officially closed from the end of November 2018.
— Vietnam Insider

National IIP down almost 17% in February
The national industrial production index (IIP) in February was estimated to decrease by 16.8 per cent over the previous month due to the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
— Bizhub

HCM City always welcomes Japanese investors: local leader
Ho Chi Minh City welcomes and is willing to create favourable conditions for Japanese investors to do long-term business in the locality, especially in the areas of smart city construction, information technology and food processing, stated Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.
— Nhan Dan Online

Public investment disbursement low in first two months of 2019
Disbursement of public investment was low in the first two months of this year partly due to the impacts of the nine-day Tết holiday, according to a Ministry of Finance report.
— Viet Nam News

ELSA – Vietnam’s app for English pronunciation wins over learners
Learning English through apps is not a new idea in Vietnam, but in 2018 Vietnam’s startup community saw the arrival of the ELSA app, or “English Language Speech Assistant”, which raised $3.2 million for its AI-assisted language learning platform. This pre-Series A round of funding was led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, which invests in post-seed stage startups in Southeast Asia.
— Vietnam Insider

Banks promise loans to struggling rice exporters
The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) has urged credit institutions to ensure adequate funds to meet the capital demands of rice exporters for the winter-spring crop this year.
— Viet Nam News

Pilots’ job-hopping causing problems for Vietnamese airlines
The shortage of qualified pilots is getting more serious in Vietnam as more air carriers receive licenses to operate in the country.
— Vietnam Insider

VN needs policies to encourage clean energy development
Việt Nam is in the early stages of developing renewable energy sources and needed to introduce more incentive policies to attract more investment, experts have said.
— Viet Nam News

Registration fee for pickups to be tripled
Registration fees for pickup trucks and vans will be raised to 6 per cent of the vehicles value from the current rate of 2 per cent from April 10, according to a revised Government decree.
— Viet Nam News

Phu Tho to invest 5 million USD in tea industry development
The northern province of Phu Tho plans to spend 118 billion VND (more than 5 million USD) on developing the tea sector to improve the productivity and quality of local tea products.
— VNA NET

Derivatives market trading liquidity signals stabilisation
Many market experts and securities companies agree that the imposition of the new derivative fees help regulate and select cash flow in the underlying stock market.
— Viet Nam News

Experts discuss socio-economic development strategies
Economists and scientists gathered at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Ha Noi on Saturday to work on documents for socio-economic development strategies to be submitted to the 13th National Party Congress.
— Bizhub

National IIP down almost 17% in February
The national industrial production index (IIP) in February was estimated to decrease by 16.8 per cent over the previous month due to the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
— Viet Nam News

Construction of Van Don-Mong Cai highway set to start this month
The northern province of Quang Ninh is set on beginning construction of the Van Don-Mong Cai highway in the first quarter of this year.
— VNA NET

HCM City faces social housing shortage
HCM City has a surplus of houses for relocated residents, but severely lacks social housing.
— Viet Nam News

Social housing lending rate proposed to be lowered
The HCM City Real Estate Association has proposed social housing lending rates be lowered to 3-3.5 per year to create favourable conditions for low-income earners to afford homes.
— Bizhub

Social housing lending rate proposed to be lowered
The HCM City Real Estate Association has proposed social housing lending rates to be lowered to 3-3.5 per year to create favourable conditions for low-income earners to afford homes.
— Viet Nam News

Japan overtakes Korea in FDI in Vietnam
Japan retained the number one spot in the 2018 foreign investors’ list in Vietnam, routing Korea for two consecutive years, data showed Sunday.
— Korea Times

Experts discuss country’s socio-economic development strategies
Economic experts and scientists gathered at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguy Xuân Phúc in Hà Nội Saturday to work on documents on socio-economic development strategies to be summited to the 13th National Party Congress.
— Viet Nam News

First Vietnamese artist to join top floral designer competition
Bao Hoai Nam, founder of Lavender Flower and Peony Home, will be the first and only Vietnamese artist joining the FTDWorldcup 2019, a top interfloral designer competition.
— VNA NET

Derivatives market trading liquidity signals stabilisation
The liquidity on the derivatives market has shown signs of improvement and stabilising in the past two weeks, beating previous projection that the new trading fees may discourage them from derivative trading.
— Bizhub

Thua Thien-Hue: 40 cruisers to anchor in Chan May Port in 2019
Chan May Port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue is expected to welcome 40 cruise ships in 2019, including many luxurious vessels.
— VNA NET

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