CPTPP likely to launch early 2019
CPTPP likely to launch early 2019At least six member countries of the Transpacific Partnership’s new avatar, the CPTPP, including Viet Nam, are likely to ratify it this year, enabling it to come into force in early 2019, a seminar heard in HCM City on Thursday. Representatives of countries joining the signing ceremony of the CPTPP in Chile in March 2018. He said at the next meeting the CPTPP members would discuss guidelines for countries wishing to join the pact in future. According to estimates from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the economies of the CPTPP members will add 1.7 percentage points because of the deal. Viet Nam and Peru will be the biggest winners with their GDPs benefiting by 2-3 per cent.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:52 UTC
Government News 30/3
While highly evaluating HCM City’s smart city development strategy towards a sustainable and knowledge-based economy, she said this is very important as the city is an attractive destination for investors. Vietnam has responsibly participated in international organisations and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. On the occasion, the embassy of Vietnam introduced Vietnamese food and coffee to international friends in Cordoba province. In 2017, economic, trade, investment and tourism between Vietnam and the city reached about 2 billion USD, accounting for about 2 percent of total trade between Vietnam and China. For his part, Liu declared that Chongqing city pays attention to friendship and cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:41 UTC
China's space lab set for fiery re-entry
The collective, known as the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), are trying to forecast the most likely time and place for the laboratory's re-entry. And one hour still means almost one revolution around the Earth," said Holger Krag, the head of Esa's space debris office. Tiangong is certainly on the large size for uncontrolled re-entry objects but it is far from being the biggest, historically. The US space agency's Skylab was almost 80 tonnes in mass when it came back partially uncontrolled in 1979. Nasa's Columbia shuttle would also have to be classed as an uncontrolled re-entry.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:30 UTC
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 30/3
It is inevitable that more and more Vietnamese businesses are now exploring new business opportunities via franchising. Nevertheless, there are a number of risks that a franchisor should investigate carefully before engaging or expanding in business in Vietnam. Meanwhile, 1,285 M&A deals were signed with a total investment capital of $1.89 billion. Instead of organising conferences or exhibitions, many localities have brought delegations directly to the fields to discuss business with farmers. Binh said management agencies should work out a new approach to deal with complex cross-border business models like Uber.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:30 UTC
Major investor safety failures in fire death trap tower block
Major investor safety failures in fire death trap tower blockHo Chi Minh City's Department of Construction have highlighted various violations at the Carina Apartment, where 14 people were killed in a recent fire. According to the report, Carina Plaza was invested by Hung Thanh Company and gained a building permit in May 2009. In 2016, the investor hired Saigon Real Estate JSC to manage the building but the contracts lacked many terms such as maintaining the elevators and fire safety system, the report said. According to the fire department in District 8, they had already noticed that the fire safety system in the building hadn't worked on previous inspections. The city fire department was asked to check the building and the District 8 People's Committee will help set up the building's management board.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:30 UTC
Vietnam economy runs on loans: economist
Vietnam economy runs on loans: economistVietNamNet Bridge - Tran Du Lich, a respected economist, said at a recent annual workshop on the economy that there are two risks for Vietnam – the middle-income trap, and the risk of growing older (working-age population) before becoming rich. Mr Tran Du LichIn order to avoid the risks, the country will have to gain high and stable economic growth rates over the next several decades. He said that economic growth will depend on inner strength. In order to force the lending interest rates down and expand lending, it is necessary to increase the rediscount, intensify lending activities and control inflation. However, it would still be good if the interest rate stays at the 2017 level,” he said.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 01:07 UTC
Coastal economic zones strive for low-carbon economy
Coastal economic zones strive for low-carbon economyVietNamNet Bridge - Renovating technology, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing a low-carbon economy are methods being used by coastal EZs in the new development period. Coastal EZs are striving for low-carbon economyThe Vietnam Marine Strategy, released by the Party Central Committee in 2007, says that coastal EZs will make up 53-55 percent of the country's total GDP. Coastal economic zones have been developing rapidly, forming important industry/agriculture/service centers. However, resources in coastal EZs are not being exploited in a sustainable way. Vietnam expects to have one more coastal EZ – Ninh Co in Nam Dinh province in the future.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 00:45 UTC
Alcohol concentration meter can call relatives in emergency
Alcohol concentration meter can call relatives in emergencyVietNamNet Bridge - The small and compact meter can be mounted on a motorbike. After that, they blow into a tube mounted on the motorcycle to measure the alcohol concentration. “I set the default at 0.2 mg/liter, because under the current laws, the drivers with alcohol concentration of more than 0.25 mg/liter will be fined. If the alcohol concentration is above 0.2 mg/liter, the device will turn off the motorbike IC power cable, while the LCD screen will display the alcohol concentration and the alert will show ‘not safe’. Sy had to spend six months and experience three failures inventing the alcohol meter.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 00:45 UTC
Vietnamese fulfill their dream of working for Facebook
Vietnamese fulfill their dream of working for FacebookVietNamNet Bridge - More young Vietnamese people have grabbed opportunities to work for huge companies like Facebook. In September 2012, Giang applied to work for Facebook. From Singapore, he sent an application to Facebook as per advice from a friend, who was an intern there. At Facebook’s headquarters, Huy works in the Growth team, which specializes in processing notices that Facebook sends to users. RELATED NEWSOverseas Vietnamese students earn big money by trading goodsVietnam pursues goal of ‘universities of international stature’Thanh Mai
Source:VietNamNet News
March 30, 2018 00:11 UTC
Vietnam recommended among top 10 welcoming countries
Foreign tourists take a photo on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street in downtown HCMCVietnam came 9th in a new ranking of the 2018 annual Expat Insider survey conducted by InterNations, jumping three spots against last year. The survey was carried out based on interviews of more than 13,000 expats from 188 countries and territories around the globe. More than four in five expats, or 81%, agreed Vietnam is undoubtedly a friendly and welcoming country with open arms while 73% found it easy to settle down in the country. Data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) shows the number of international tourists to Vietnam during the first two months of 2018 leaped a strong 29.7% year-on-year to more than 2.8 million. The country is ranked seventh among the world’s 20 fastest-growing travel destinations, according to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 18:00 UTC
Consumer confidence remains high
Consumer confidence remains highConsumer confidence down slightly in Q3 2017 but Vietnam remains seventh most-optimistic country in the world. Despite falling 1 point to 115 points compared to the previous quarter, consumer confidence in Vietnam closed 2017 on a high note, helping the country again be ranked as the seventh most optimistic in the world, according to the latest issue of The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, conducted in collaboration with Nielsen. And high levels of consumer confidence could be one of these advantages too.”However, Vietnamese consumers still had a strong affinity for saving. In this quarter, the top five concerns among Vietnamese consumers remained the same as in the previous quarter. Confidence scores in 2017 were consistently high in Southeast Asia region, with three out of six countries recording the highest confidence score in the world: the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 17:37 UTC
Carina Plaza developer escapes to hospital to evade investigation
Carina Plaza developer escapes to hospital to evade investigationThe Carina Plaza fire brought grave difficulties to the developer Hung Thanh Co., Ltd., even the threat of bankruptcy, and the leader of the company has gone to hospital after being summoned by the police. What will these two giants do to take responsibility for the Carina Plaza fire, which killed 13 people, injured a hundred, and burnt over 150 vehicles? “We want to meet and work with Nguyen Van Tung, director of Hung Thanh, but he has been in hospital since March 25. The Ho Chi Minh City Fire Prevention Department has checked the building 22 times since it was put into operation in 2012. Policeman suspended over Carina Plaza blazeThe HCMC Fire Fighting and Prevention Department has asked its District 8 division to suspend a lieutenant from duty to facilitate an ongoing investigation of last Friday’s inferno at a Carina Plaza residential block in the district.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 17:33 UTC
Seafood export faces numerous barriers
Seafood export faces numerous barriersDespite strong outbound sales so far this year, Vietnam’s target of earning US$9-10 billion from seafood exports in 2018 may prove tough due to numerous technical barriers being set up in major markets, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reports. According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, seafood export revenue as of mid-March 2018 reached US$1.37 billion, up 17% versus the year-ago period, making seafood one of the eight products with export revenue of over US$1 billion. Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said the preventively-high antidumping tariffs slapped on Vietnam’s tra fish stateside have cast a shadow on the country’s seafood exports. In addition, the European Union (EU), which overtook the U.S. as Vietnam’s largest seafood buyer in 2017 with US$1.48 billion, has also turned more reserved towards Vietnam’s seafood by issuing the yellow card. The secretary general of VASEP said it is difficult to control the quality of seafood in border trade, which may affect Vietnam’s seafood exports to this market in the future.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 16:52 UTC
Danang to launch one million food safety stamps this year
Danang to launch one million food safety stamps this yearDanang City authorities will distribute one million stamps at no charge for food vendors at Han market in Danang City this year in a bid to control the origin and quality of food. Chinese tourists buy dried food at Han market in DanangSpeaking to the Daily on March 28, Danang Department of Industry and Trade director Phan Van Kha said this is part of a scheme for using quick response code (QR code) stamps for improving food safety and hygiene control in Danang. Buyers can use QR scanning apps to trace the origin of products with QR code stamps. Tong Thi Kim Sen, owner of a dried food stand at Han market, said she supports the scheme and hopes it will be implemented properly and transparently. According to the Management Board of Danang Markets and Fair Exhibitions, there are 70 markets across the city at present.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 16:52 UTC
HCM City to launch smartphone tourism app
HCM City to launch smartphone tourism appHCM City plans to launch a smartphone app for tourists this June. Foreign tourists in HCM CityThe HCM City Department of Tourism and the branch of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) in the city on March 28 signed a co-cooperation agreement on the joint development a smartphone tourism app. The department thinks it is necessary for the city to build a smartphone app for tourists, particularly backpackers, through providing them accurate information about places, shopping centres, food services as well as hotlines of management agencies. HCM City launched a new bilingual magazine in Vietnamese and English for tourists. The city has also put into operation two information and support centres for tourists on Bach Dang Wharf and 23/9 Park.
Source:VietNamNet News
March 29, 2018 16:30 UTC