Vietnam Morning News For May 20

World Bank supports HCMC’s institutional reforms for urban development
The policy program aims to remove institutional bottlenecks to enable Vietnam’s largest city and economic powerhouse to address some of its most pressing urban governance challenges.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnamese startup wins $1 million prize of Startup World Cup 2019
Abivin, a Vietnamese startup to provide AI-powered Supply Chain Optimization solutions for enterprises, on May 17 won a prize of $1 million after it was crowned champion the Startup World Cup 2019 in the US, said the Ministry of Science and Technology yesterday.
— Sggp News

State asset management firm plans $2.14 billion bad debt recovery
The Vietnam Asset Management Company, set up to buy bad debts from commercial banks, plans to recover VND50 trillion ($2.14 billion) this year.
— VnExpress

Why 500 Startups invest in Vietnam?
Since its foundation nearly a decade ago, 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley-based global startup accelerator and incubator, has built up over 2,200 companies in more than 70 countries.
— Vietnam Insider

Export of aquatic products forecast to grow 8 percent in Q2
Exports of aquatic products in the second quarter could increase by 8 percent at the highest, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
— VietnamPlus

Firms urged to use patents to protect intellectual property
Vietnamese firms should take advantage of the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system to increase the value of their brand names and protect their intellectual property rights, experts have urged.
— VietnamPlus

Across China: China, Vietnam put on border exchange gala
The China and Vietnam Border Inhabitants Gala began Sunday in China’s border city of Jingxi in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with a theme of strengthening friendly exchanges in the border area.
— Xinhua

Mineral misery: Vietnam salt farmers battered by imports, climate
The salt farmers of Hon Khoi rise before dawn as they have for generations, fanning out across shallow seawater pools in southern Vietnam to harvest the precious mineral, hoping for a better season than the last.
— Channel NewsAsia

Vietnam’s Tech Futurists Lay Out Economic Alternatives
Nations racing to develop 5G technology that is fast enough to power the next stage of innovation range from South Korea to Finland, but a young contender wants to jump into the game: Vietnam.
— VOA

Vietnam promotes tourism in China
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism is conducting Vietnamese tourism promotion in the three Chinese cities of Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenzhen through May 24.
— CGTN

Vietnam to open int’l biddings for 8 North-South expressway sub-projects
The 11 projects are estimated to cost a total of VND118 trillion (US$5.04 billion), of which VND55 trillion (US$2.35 billion) in state capital would serve as investment funds for three public investment projects, and counterpart funds for the other eight projects.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam wants to take on US avocado market
After US president Donald Trump’s threat to shut the U.S.-Mexico border raised fears American consumers could see a shortage, Vietnamese officials claim their nation is seeking to export avocados to the United States.
— Fresh Plaza

Governments should act to tap into Vietnam-Brazil trade potential: diplomat
There remains much potential for expanding and diversifying trade between Vietnam and Brazil, and the countries’ governments should act to create conditions for that potential to be tapped into, said Brazilian Ambassador Fernando Apparicio da Silva.
— VietnamPlus

Authorities continue to sit on laws to regulate condotels: experts
The government has yet to create a legal framework for condotels though many people are keen to buy and sell them.
— VnExpress

PM requests entire political system to join ASF combat
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for joint efforts of the entire political system in the fight against African swine fever (ASF) which has spread across 34 cities and provinces nationwide.
— VietnamPlus

How this largest consumer credit company in Vietnam changed consumer lending
FE Credit, one of Vietnam’s oldest and the largest consumer credit company, worked with EY and several FinTech partners to implement a robo-lending platform app, suitably named as $NAP, which digitizes the whole process of customer on-boarding, loan application, know-your-customer (KYC), credit underwriting, loan approval and disbursement.
— Vietnam Insider

China’s capital outflow to continue with Vietnam at receiving end
China`s outward FDI to Vietnam has risen for five consecutive years since 2014 despite the capital controls and noticeable slump in 2014-2015 over maritime tensions in the East Sea.
— The Hanoitimes

Birdies on a plane: Vietnam’s Bamboo airways banks on golf resorts for success
As Vietnam’s aviation sector booms and passenger numbers rise at double-digit rates, local upstart Bamboo Airways is embracing what it hopes will be a novel way of standing out in a crowded market: Golf.
— The Borneo Post

Ten drug smugglers sentenced to death in Vietnam
Vietnam has sentenced 10 people to death for smuggling meth, ketamine and ecstasy across the country by train, as the country deepens its crackdown on drugs.
— VnExpress

Vietnam’s government completes amending Securities Law
The draft includes some highlights of the regulations on offering securities during initial public offerings, adding credit rating conditions to bond issuers, attaching initial public offerings (IPOs) with listing, trading registration on the stock market, and offering shares below the par value.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam considers adding laughing gas to banned narcotic list
Vietnam could become the first country to designate laughing gas as an illegal narcotic.
— VnExpress

Steel companies post disappointing results in Q1 despite strong market growth
Listed steel companies have reported disappointing business results in the first quarter despite strong growth in the domestic market, which they have attributed to the high cost of capital.
— Bizhub

Malaysia wages ‘war’ on Vietnam trawlers
MALAYSIA has sent a strong message to Vietnam that it is fully committed to protecting its billions of ringgit of fish and marine resources in the South China Sea.
— New Straits Times

EVN announces rooftop solar power buyback to promote renewable energy
Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the country’s sole power distributor, has announced to buy rooftop solar power from its customers in case they don’t use up the volume their solar panels produce.
— The Hanoitimes

Vietnam considers adding laughing gas to banned narcotic list
Vietnam could become the first country to designate laughing gas as an illegal narcotic.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam cargo plane converted into interactive classroom
Students interested in science and technology will soon be able to attend class in an old military plane in northern Utah.
— City News 1130

Vietnam vows to be active factor in int’l development cooperation
Vietnam commits to working as an active factor in international development cooperation models and networks, towards sustainable development goals (SDGs) under the United Nations (UN)’s 2030 Agenda, a Vietnamese official has said.
— VietnamPlus

South Korean food delivery firm acquires Vietnammm
South Korean food delivery service Baemin has entered Vietnam, acquiring local firm Vietnammm.
— VnExpress

Vietnamese banks face challenges in digital banking transformation
Challenges related to network security, customer trust and an inadequate legal framework are road blocks to the digital transformation of Vietnamese banks, experts told a recent conference in HCM City.
— VietnamPlus

Logistics sector grapples with poor infrastructure
Weak infrastructure and high transport costs have prevented Vietnamese firms from fully tapping into the logistics sector’s potential, according to Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
— Bizhub

Entertainment park project to be started in Hanoi
A ceremony was held in Hanoi on May 19 to announce the implementation of Sanrio Hello Kitty World Hanoi by BRG project – the first entertainment complex by the group in Southeast Asia.
— VietnamPlus

Indian group explores investment opportunity in Ho Chi Minh City
Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) is planning to establish an information technology (IT) centre in Ho Chi Minh City with the capacity of training and recruiting around 10,000 engineering technologists within the next five years.
— Nhan Dan Online

Shark catfish exports to US, China fall
Exports of Mekong Delta shark catfish to the US and China, two of the biggest buyers of the products, have dropped compared to the figure last year.
— Bizhub

Companies looking to quit China to avoid potential risks from trade war
Trump tariffs seal the deal for companies looking to quit China. US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs are helping to erode China’s appeal as a place where stuff gets made.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnamese, Dutch firms cooperate in high-quality breeding pig project
The De Heus group of the Netherlands and Hung Nhon Group operating in the southern province of Binh Phuoc have set up a joint venture to invest in a 1.5-trillion VND (64.1 million USD) high-tech pig breeding project in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
— VietnamPlus

Feature photo Daderot

This week’s Vietnam morning news photo features International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22.

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.