Vietnam Morning News For March 18, 2020

Vietnam to halt issue of all visas over coronavirus
Vietnam will suspend the issue of new visas for all foreign nationals to curb the spread of coronavirus in the Southeast Asian nation, state media said on Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post

Vietnam reports five more coronavirus infections, raising its total to 66
Vietnam confirmed five more infections of the new coronavirus on Tuesday, raising its total to 66.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam now at “golden stage” of COVID-19 fight: PM
Vietnam is now at the “golden stage” of COVID-19 prevention and control, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on March 16.
— NDO

Did Vietnam’s Maritime Militia Really Swarm a China Military Base ?
Recently, one story that attracted good deal of attention among South China Sea watchers is the allegations by the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) that an armada of Vietnamese fishing trawlers swarmed the waters off China’s Hainan Island.
— The Diplomat

Rubber Group builds three processing plants
The Việt Nam Rubber Group (VRG) will build three more processing factories in the northern region to meet higher rubber demand in the future.
— Viet Nam News

VPBank, Fe Credit donate VNĐ15 billion for fight against COVID-19
Việt Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and its subsidiary Fe Credit decided to contribute VNĐ15 billion (US$646,500) to the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
— Viet Nam News

Pork imports up more than 200 per cent
Việt Nam imported nearly 25,300 tonnes pork as of March 15, representing a rise of of 205 per cent over the same period last year, latest updates from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed.
— Viet Nam News

Central bank cuts key interest rates to cushion pandemic impact
The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) has announced it would cut many key interest rates, starting from today, in an attempt to support the economy which has been hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak.
— Viet Nam News

Ministry tightens corporate bond issuances to prevent risks
Tightening regulations was a way to fill in legislative loopholes in the bond market, not for the purpose of squeezing it
— Viet Nam News

Delta province steps up efforts to protect Trà Sư cajuput forest
The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang has approved the Trà Sư cajuput forest protection and sustainable management plan for 2019-30 period in a bid to protect the wetland’s eco-systems.
— Viet Nam Net

VN and China to promote cooperation on trade activities though pandemic: minister
Việt Nam and China, especially Guangxi Province, need to promote cooperation in resuming trade activities during and after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Trần Tuấn Anh.
— Viet Nam News

Đà Nẵng seeks approval for four property projects
The People’s Committee in the central coastal city of Đà Nẵng has asked the city’s People’s Council to grant in-principle approval for four property projects expected to cost more than VNĐ3.67 trillion (US$158 million).
— Viet Nam News

‘Vietnam has been preparing’: Brit man from coronavirus quarantine camp
I land at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport with hopes of a new life in my favourite country. I finally made it. As we leave the plane, we’re greeted with barriers and must complete health declarations.
— VnExpress

Grab brings Vietnam-focused accelerator to Singapore
Grab Ventures Ignite is a 14-week scale-up program dedicated to Vietnamese early-stage startups. Five startups in the new program will receive a cash investment of US$150,000 from Grab and Gobi Partners, Grab’s funding partner for the program.
— Tech In Asia

Insider story: Living as an Expat in Da Nang during the coronavirus
As an expat living in Vietnam’s coastal city of Da Nang during the Coronavirus crisis currently sweeping the globe, I’ve been incredibly surprised at the response to contain this deadly disease.
— Vietnam Insider

Armed Police Attack Residents Blocking Entry to Vietnam Waste Plant
Armed police in south-central Vietnam’s coastal Quang Ngai province attacked a crowd of people blocking garbage trucks from entering a long-disputed waste-processing plant over the weekend, arresting some 20 participants, a local source said Monday.
— Radio Free Asia

How Vietnam Learned From China’s Coronavirus Mistakes
Hanoi, a fellow communist state, realized quickly that a China-style cover-up would only make things worse.
— The Diplomat

Vietnam sees February spurt in car imports
With dealers focusing on affordable, new models, February car imports doubled over the previous month, official data shows.
— VnExpress

Vietnam:Securities firm forecasts non-life insurance growth this year to be 11%
The non-life insurance market in Vietnam has room for further development in 2020, the securities brokerage BSC said in a recent report. The non-life sector could grow by 11% this year, it predicted.
— Asian Insurance Review

Vietnam cuts rates to boost lending amid coronavirus carnage
Vietnam’s central bank has lowered its policy rates by 0.25-1 percentage point to support businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
— VnExpress

Get health checks asap, Vietnam tells passengers of eight Covid-19 infected flights
The Health Ministry on Monday asked passengers on eight coronavirus-infected domestic and international flights to immediately contact the nearest disease control agencies.
— VnExpress

Further fee reductions to promote cashless payments amid pandemic
The fees for fast interbank fund transfers would be cut for the second time this year to promote cashless payments in the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam’s State Bank approves extended loans to cashew processors due to Coronavirus
The national finance institution has authorised commercial banks to negotiate the restructuring of loans with cashew processors whose sales are affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.
— Iegvu

Foreign capital continues pouring into Vietnam
In the first two months of this year, the electricity, electrical refrigeration, processing, and manufacturing industries continued leading in the foreign direct investment (FDI) capital attraction into Vietnam. According to experts, this comes from the advantage that the country has successfully signed the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.
— Sggp News

Logistics firms to lose revenue during pandemic
Fifteen per cent of Việt Nam’s logistics firms estimate they will see revenue cut in half this year compared to 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Viet Nam News

Garbage piles up, poses threat in Đắk Lắk
Various locations in Krông Ana District in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk have become overloaded with trash, upsetting local residents while posing a serious environmental threat, reported online Dân Trí newspaper.
— Viet Nam Net

Sao Ta Food plans to buy back 2 million treasury shares
Sao Ta Food, (FMC), a subsidiary of Pan Group, plans to buy back two million treasury shares through order matching and negotiation.
— Viet Nam News

VA postpones 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration events
The Department of Veterans Affairs, in keeping with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to the COVID 19 virus, is postponing Vietnam War commemoration events until further notice.
— Blogs

Vietnamese MNOs gear up for 5G commercial launches by mid-2020
Just released, this edition of Paul Budde Communication’s focus report on Vietnam outlines the major developments and key aspects in the telecoms markets.
— Yahoo News

Global Leading Solar Inverter Company Growatt Announces Plan to Expand Into Vietnam
Growatt, a global leading solar inverter company, announces that it will enter and expand into Vietnam with new products and local services. This year, Growatt plans to increase branding in Vietnam and introduce its PV inverter products for commercial and residential consumers. The company sees that Vietnam’s distributed PV market is growing fast and will focus on the roof PV market.
— Yahoo News

Banks, insurers and firms work together to protect the community
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some local banks, insurers and firms have worked together to help further protect the community with different anti-coronavirus packages.
— Viet Nam News

Pilot project allows fee payment for cars and motorbikes online
Residents in Hà Nội and HCM City will now be able to pay registration fees for cars and motorbikes through the Government’s national public service portal, bank electronic payment channels and intermediary payment service providers.
— Viet Nam News

Automated aviation customs system to officially open in May
The single window and automated aviation customs supervision system is scheduled to open at Nội Bài International Airport in May, according to Hà Nội Department of Customs.
— Viet Nam News

Yinson secures long-term deal for Vietnam floater
Agreement secures future for FPSO which had been subject to multiple renewals of interim bareboat charter over several years
— Upstream Online

Fruit & vegetable export targets Vietnam unlikely to be achieved this year
According to the Việt Nam Fruit and Vegetables Association, the fruit and vegetable export volumes are unlikely to hit the target of US$4-5 billion that were originally set for this year. General secretary Đặng Phúc Nguyên said exports were worth $513 million in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year decline of 11.9 per cent. They were expected to be just over $3 billion for the full year, down from $3.74 billion in 2019, he said.
— Fresh Plaza

Automobile sale up despite COVID-19 spread
Vietnamese market saw February automobile sale of more than 17,600 units, marking a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent, according to statistics from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).
— Viet Nam News

Challenges compels restructuring in agriculture
Trade conflicts, climate change and epidemics, which are seen as hindrances to Việt Nam’s agricultural production and export, can also be seen as an opportunity for the sector to speed up the value chain restructuring and innovating the growth model.
— Viet Nam News

VN stocks lose ground on recession worries
Vietnamese shares dropped further on Monday as worries about the developments of coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact were still dominant.
— Viet Nam News

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