Solidance identifies key points in development of sustainable cities
Vietnam’s two largest cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, are set to become sustainable cities of the future. Billion-dollar mega projects are currently underway as part of the government’s target of making Ho Chi Minh City the first smart city in Vietnam, by 2020, and Hanoi by 2030. Solidiance’s latest white paper, “Transforming Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi into Sustainable Cities of Vietnam”, delves deeply into key topics that will push forward the development of sustainable cities in Vietnam: public transport, green spaces, green buildings, and smart city initiatives. Billion-dollar projects to build smart citiesPartnerships between the government and the private sector are making progress in integrating smart city technologies in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh City: South Korea’s Lotte Group and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee signed a contract valued at $1.9 billion in 2017 to build an Eco-Smart City in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 18, 2018 04:41 UTC
Quang Binh seeks governmental agreement for dumping waste into the ocean
Quang Binh seeks governmental agreement for dumping waste into the oceanVietNamNet Bridge – The Quang Trach thermoelectricity plant, a project of Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) in the central province of Quang Binh, is seeking final agreement from governmental agencies to dump 2.5 million cubic metres of waste mud into the local sea area. Map view of the dumping targeted site. — Photo zing.vnAccording to Viet Nam Environmental Administration, the dumping has gotten an initial go-ahead from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in response to a request from the Quang Binh People’s Committee. He added that the targeted site was neither in any nautical routes nor a marine reserve. The plant project has a total investment of US$1.7 million and its construction started in 2011.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 18, 2018 02:03 UTC
Renewables lag behind the potential
Renewables lag behind the potentialThe low feed-in tariff for wind power is causing a collective delay in wind power projects all across the country, as investors are waiting for prices to increase so their plants can become profitable. Some are now turning to developing solar power projects instead, but it remains unclear whether the country will be able to fulfil its potential. According to the MoIT, with the existing wind power FiT, these plants have difficulties recovering their investment capital. Vietnam’s wind market has yet to take off after the government first released incentives for wind power projects in 2011. Unlike wind power, solar power has become hotter than ever in Vietnam.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 18, 2018 01:07 UTC
Earning VND1 trillion a month, Vietnamese billionaires become richer than ever
Earning VND1 trillion a month, Vietnamese billionaires become richer than everVietNamNet Bridge - Many large listed corporations have reported huge profits of trillions of dong. From left: Tran Dinh Long, Pham Nhat Vuong, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Ba DuongVuong, the owner of Vingroup (VIC), Vinhomes (VHM) and Vincom Retail (VRE), continues to be the richest stock billionaire, leaving other billionaires, including Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao (Vietjet Air VJC) and Tran Dinh Long (HPG) far behind. Vingroup (VIC), the holding company of Vinhomes, got VND6.3 trillion, while three others are commercial banks – VietinBank, Techcombank and BIDV.Commercial banks were the first businesses which reported the profit boom. Vietcombank’s profit increased by 53 percent, TP Bank’s profit was double, while the majority of banks had profit increasing by 50-150 percent.Non-banking businesses also made impressive profits of tens or hundreds of percent. US$1=VND22,000RELATED NEWSVietnamese USD billionaires buy aircraft, take over American companiesBillionaire: a 'national brand'Luong Bang
Source:VietNamNet News
August 18, 2018 01:07 UTC
Quan makes contemporary dance for VNOB
Quan makes contemporary dance for VNOBVietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) will premiere a contemporary dance entitled Đáy Mắt (In the Eye) – a collaboration by choreographer Bui Ngoc Quan and musician Tri Minh on August 19 at Ha Noi Opera House. "The performance by VNOB’s dancers with choreographer Quan and musician Minh is full of emotion which will inspire the audience," said VNOB director Tran Ly Ly. After studied dance at the Viet Nam Dance School and working at VNOB he began to work abroad including France, Germany, Hungary, Brazil and Belgium. In between his European projects, Quan also worked on projects in Vietnam introduced a series of classes and workshops at dance schools in Hanoi and HCM City. Quan is currently artistic assistance of Alain Platel who is the founder of Belgian Les Ballets C de la B dance company.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 10:18 UTC
Vietnam listed among markets of potential in Asia
Vietnam listed among markets of potential in AsiaVietnam has been listed among Asian markets that have a full house of positive factors for the long-term growth of real estate as an investment class, according to JLL’s latest Global Capital Flows Research. It has now the essential components that would enable it to move forward and reach its full potential for sustainable development in the future. First half volumes were at $81 billion, up 29 per cent from a year earlier and the highest on record. The boost from Asia-Pacific has had an impact on global volumes, which in the first half of 2018 rose 13 per cent to $341 billion. The latest research from JLL shows that the gap between the risk-free rate and prime real estate yields continues to close.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 09:56 UTC
Ecommerce platform Sendo gets US$51m from new investors
Ecommerce platform Sendo gets US$51m from new investorsHo Chi Minh City-based ecommerce portal Sendo.vn has raised US$51 million in a round of Series B funding from eight foreign investors, Sen Do Technology JSC (Sendo) said in a statement issued today, August 16, by PRNewswire. The latest funding round will increase SBI Holdings’ ownership in Sendo to 20.8%. SoftBank Ventures Korea, Daiwa PI Partners and SKS Ventures are the new investors in this round. “The funding will help the company to expand the C2C (consumer-to-consumer) platform Sendo, launch the B2C (business-to-consumer) marketplace SenMall and make SenPay the leading fintech platform in Vietnam,” said Nguyen Dac Viet Dung, executive chairman and co-founder of Sendo. Founded in 2012, Sendo is an online platform on which individuals and small businesses sell their goods.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 09:56 UTC
Billions of dollars worth of car parts exported but not from Vietnamese manufacturers
Billions of dollars worth of car parts exported but not from Vietnamese manufacturersVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam spends billions of dollars to import car parts each year for domestic assembling, but it also exports billions of dollars worth of vehicle parts. Vietnam needs to import car parts for domestic assemblingToyota Vietnam reported that it exported $34 million worth of car parts in the first half of the year, an increase of 13 percent compared with the same period last year. In 2017, the manufacturer from Japan earned $64 million from car part exports, an increase of 5 percent over 2016. This was record high export turnover gained since its export center opened in 2004. They set up factories in Vietnam and turned Vietnam into a production base from which car parts are brought to the world.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 09:00 UTC
Two killed, three others in critical condition following wasp attack
Two killed, three others in critical condition following wasp attackTwo people have been killed, while three others from a family in the southern province of Bac Lieu have been left in critical condition after being stung by wasps. The two boys are still in critical conditionThe attacked included two grandmothers and three young grandchildren. According to initial information, the children were taken care of by their grandmothers as their parents were away from home. The five people were found by their neighbours in critical condition. Le Vu Phuong Thy from the hospital said that the children were hospitalised in the serious condition with swelling across their whole bodies.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 09:00 UTC
Vietnamese football fans miss out on Asian Games coverage
Vietnamese football fans miss out on Asian Games coverageMany football fans in Vietnam have to turn to online channels to watch the Asian Games as the organisers expressed surprise that Vietnam failed to buy the rights for the event. Fans have to watch the Asian Games onlineOver 100 Vietnamese fans went to Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Indonesia for the Vietnam-Pakistan match where Vietnam won 3-0. However, despite the Asian Games being usually aired in Vietnam in previous years, this year, fans had to resort to online channels to find coverage. Vietnam Television failed to secure the broadcasting rights for the Asian Games with Kjsmworld Corp because of what they described as 'high prices'. According to Linda Wahyudi, the broadcasting director of the Indonesian Asian Games Organising Committee, 75 countries have bought broadcasting rights for the Asian Games.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 08:48 UTC
VN's top swimmer Anh Vien aims to make a splash at ASIAD
VN's top swimmer Anh Vien aims to make a splash at ASIADVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is confident she will change her medal’s colour at the upcoming Asian Games (ASIAD) in Indonesia. Going for gold: Vietnamese top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien is ready to compete at the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia. “The ASIAD is an arena which is quite different from the Southeast Asian Games,” said Vien. My best result in the 400m medley is 4:36.85 which I set in the qualifying round of the Olympic Rio 2016. It aims to snatch at least three gold medals, with at least one in an Olympic sports category.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 08:03 UTC
Petrolimex asks for divestment extension
Petrolimex asks for divestment extensionThe Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has asked the Government to extend its deadline for selling the State’s capital to the 2019-20 period instead of this year as currently planned. A corner of Petrolimex Quang Ninh Company’s port, a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex). The largest petrol retailer has asked the Government to extend the deadline for its State divestment plan from 2018 to 2019-20. The amount of shares that should be offered for sale to reduce State ownership in Petrolimex to 51 per cent is estimated at 509.2 million shares, Petrolimex said. Net foreign capital was nearly VND47 trillion in 2017.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 07:52 UTC
US threatens more action against Turkey unless pastor freed
US threatens more action against Turkey unless pastor freedThe US has threatened to impose more economic sanctions on Turkey if it does not free a detained American pastor. He said early on Friday that Turkey had "taken advantage of the United States for many years" and that he was "cutting back on Turkey". On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "We have more that we are planning to do if they don't release him [Mr Brunson] quickly." Mr Brunson has denied charges of espionage, but faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty. Mr Erdogan wrote in the New York Times earlier that unless the US changed course, Turkey would look for new friends and allies.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 07:52 UTC
VN artists to attend Carnegie International exhibition
VN artists to attend Carnegie International exhibitionA group of artists from Viet Nam known as Art Labor and Joan Jonas will attend the 57th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the US. The Art Labor group with Thao Nguyen, Cong Tung and Arlette Quynh - Anh Tran. The Carnegie Museum of Art was established in 1896 and has sinve been a rendezvous point for contemporary artists from around the world. The Art Labor group was formed in 2012 by painters Thao Nguyen and Cong Tung and curator Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran. She has co-ordinated with Art Labor on various projects.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 07:18 UTC
US military parade ordered by Trump postponed 'to 2019'
US military parade ordered by Trump postponed 'to 2019'President Trump's plans for a Veterans Day military parade through the streets of Washington DC have been delayed until at least 2019. Mr Trump was impressed by France's Bastille Day parade on a visit in 2017 and said the US could "top it". The Pentagon said the military would march from the White House to the Capitol, and the parade would feature a "heavy air component at the end". The focus was to be on the work of US military veterans through the ages, starting with the American Revolutionary War. The US had a military parade in 1991 following the end of its successful campaign to force Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait.
Source:VietNamNet News
August 17, 2018 07:07 UTC