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Tag: asia

  • High logistics costs hurt Vietnam’s economic competitiveness

    High logistics costs hurt Vietnam’s economic competitiveness

    Inadequate transport infrastructure and connectivity, and domestic enterprises’ low capacity and slow technology adoption and digital transformation are hindering the otherwise rapidly growing logistics industry, experts have said.

    The industry has grown rapidly along with the economy, trade, manufacturing, and e-commerce.

    The logistics industry is growing at an average of 14-16% a year and worth US$40-42 billion a year, said Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

    Transport infrastructure has received large investments in recent years, with new seaports and airports being built. But the development has not been in lockstep and so failed to meet the growing demands of the logistics industry, Hai told a roundtable in Ho Chi Minh City on August 10.

    Many businesses are involved in logistics, but most are small or medium-sized with limited capital, information technology application, digital transformation, and human resources. This has led to high costs, he said.

    Dang Vu Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said the industry has yet to tap its potential fully.

    He pointed out that the poor transport infrastructure and connectivity between seaports, airports, warehouses, and industrial parks are hampering the development of the industry.

    He said that logistics costs are equivalent to around 18% of GDP, much higher than in other countries.

    He added that the high logistic costs reduce the competitiveness of the country’s exports and economy, and lowering them is a pressing concern.

    Mike Bhaskaran, group chief operating officer for digital technology at DP World, said to help businesses improve their trade capacity and support the development of logistics businesses, Vietnam needs to increase its visibility and transparency through promoting the development of the Internet of Things and GPS tracking system and improve its ability to predict market trends.

    On the business side, it must transform management technology to enhance automation, reduce delivery times and improve internal supply to reduce logistics costs, he added.

    The roundtable was held on the sidelines of the inaugural Vietnam International Logistics Exhibition that opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center on August 10.

  • You can now add music to your photo carousels on Instagram

    You can now add music to your photo carousels on Instagram

    Sometimes pictures just don’t cut it when trying to express yourself, so that’s where music comes in handy. Instagram has introduced a new feature that gives you even more control over the music in your posts.

    In a recent blog post, Instagram announced that you can now include music in your photo carousels. Moreover, you’ll also be able to invite up to three collaborators to work together on a feed post, carousel, or reel.

    Adding music to your photo carousels follows the launch of music for feed photos feature introduced last year. With this new feature, Instagram wants to give its users more ways to express themselves when sharing memories and experiences.

     The updated Collabs feature also has a similar goal. Previously, you could only invite one friend to collaborate on your post or reel. Now, you can include up to three collaborators. Once they accept your invitation, the content will be shown to each collaborator’s audience and appear on their profile grids.
    Both private and public accounts can collaborate on a post or reel. If your account is private, you can initiate your own post or reel and invite a collaborator as long as they follow you back. This Collabs update could be a big deal for influencers, as their audiences could grow even more through collaborations with other influencers.
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  • Big data to help collect tax from foreign service providers

    Big data to help collect tax from foreign service providers

    Big data on e-commerce would help the tax watchdog to efficiently collect tax from foreign cross-border IT services providers, a tax official said.

    Statistics showed that cross-border IT services and social network providers, including Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, TikTok and Microsoft, paid around VND4 trillion (US$169.5 million) in taxes in the first half of this year, compared to VND3.5 trillion for the full last year.

    The tax that Vietnam collected on the providers remained modest compared to the revenue of the retail e-commerce market which reached $16.4 billion in 2022, statistics of Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency showed.

    It was estimated that Vietnam’s retail e-commerce market would expand by 25% to hit $20.5 billion this year.

    On the e-commerce market, six foreign providers namely Meta (Facebook), Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix and Apple, accounted for about 90% of the revenue on cross-border digital platforms in Vietnam.

    In the field of digital advertising, according to Kantar Media Vietnam, the revenue on platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and TikTok reached $2.5 billion in 2023 and is forecast at $3.4 billion this year.

    Nguyen Bang Thang, director of Tax Management Department of Large Enterprises, said that the tax watchdog would continue to create favorable conditions for foreign providers and domestic establishments which were seriously developing business in Vietnam. At the same time, strict punishments would be applied to violations, he stressed.

    He added that the tax watchdog regularly cooperated with relevant agencies to analyze risks related to tax declaration of foreign providers and authorized organizations for handling measures. Experiences from other countries, including the U.S. and the EU, showed that the development of big data on e-commerce would be critical to ensure efficiency in tax management on cross-border platforms.

    Admitting tax loss in e-commerce, Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, deputy director of Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, said that the legal regulations on tax collection in the industry were still in the process of being improved.

    Huyen said that a mechanism for data sharing between relevant management agencies must be raised to prevent cross-border tax loss.

    According to Hoang Van Cuong, deputy of the National Assembly’s Finance – Budget Committee, the focus must be placed on strengthening digital transformation to have an adequate data for easy and efficient tax management.

    The Ministry of Finance targeted to increase domestic tax collection by 5-7% in 2024 with one of the focuses on enhancing the efficiency in tax collection from cross-border e-commerce.

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  • Vietnam aluminum mining to increase exponentially

    Vietnam aluminum mining to increase exponentially

    The government plans to mine for bauxite, the ore used to produce aluminum, at three new locations in the north.

    It plans to develop by 2030 one site in Lang Son Province and two in Cao Bang, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Wednesday.

    Their combined capacity will be within 1.55-2.25 million tons of ore annually.

    Besides, at least two existing mines in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands will be upgraded to increase production.

    The government will also explore the possibility of mining 68-112.2 million tons of bauxite annually in four central highlands provinces.

    At 5.8 billion tons, Vietnam has the world’s second-largest bauxite reserves behind only Guinea (7.4 billion), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

    The majority of bauxite in Vietnam is found in the Central Highlands, especially Dak Nong Province.

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  • Musang King durian moon cake prices up 10%

    Musang King durian moon cake prices up 10%

    Musang King durian moon cake prices, made with the popular durian variety originally from Malaysia, have increased by 2-10% year-on-year in Vietnam.

    Their cost ranges between VND900,000 ($37.90) to VND1.7 million per box. Last year, the most expensive product sold for around VND1.5 million.

    Hoang Anh, a moon cake vendor in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3, sold out 500 boxes of Musang King and Black Thorn moon cakes in two weeks last year.

    She has doubled her imports this year.

    “We have to order five months in advance as the manufacturer needs to prepare durian beforehand.”

    A major distributor in HCMC plans to sell nearly 30,000 cakes this year, triple the amount last year.

    The cakes are mostly imported from Malaysia. Other markets that also sell them are Singapore and Hong Kong.

    Industry insiders say prices have gone up due to rising ingredient costs.

    Moon cake is a popular type of desert in Asian countries. It is often enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the middle of Lunar August, which falls on Sep 29 this year.

  • WhatsApp’s multi-account support feature is now available for select beta users

    WhatsApp’s multi-account support feature is now available for select beta users

    WhatsApp has been rolling out a lot of new features lately, but we’re expecting the messaging app to get even more in the coming weeks. Meta’s successful acquisition is testing new features all the time, but only select beta testers have access to these.

    The folks over at WabetaInfo made a habit of dissecting every new beta version of the app WhatsApp releases to discover all the new stuff the company plan to bring sooner, later, or sometimes, never.

    WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.17.8 is very important because it brings one of the most requested features, the ability to add multiple accounts to the app.

    As per WabetaInfo’s findings, the new feature is fresh out of the oven and is now going through the usual beta testing before being released worldwide. Only select beta testers have access to multi-account support, but its availability might expand as the testing process progresses.

    With multi-account support, WhatsApp users can add a new account to their app by tapping the arrow icon next to the QR code button. Switching between accounts can also be done from the same menu. New accounts will remain attached to your WhatsApp app until you log out.

    The addition of multi-account support will make it easier for WhatsApp users to keep all their conversations from multiple accounts on a single device. It’s an incredibly useful feature for those with more than one WhatsApp account and currently using two devices to handle them.

    Since the feature is now going through the testing process, it might get some changes, but at least we know it’s in the pipeline. Regardless of the form it will take in the end, multi-account support is coming folks, so be ready to throw away that second phone that you’ve been keeping to manage your multiple WhatsApp accounts (or not).

  • Okxe opens first motorbike service station in Hanoi

    Okxe opens first motorbike service station in Hanoi

    Hanoi’s first OKXE Motorbike Service Station officially opened at 92 Kham Thien on August 8.

    The station is the second Okxe to open in Vietnam since its online-to-offline (O2O) motorbike business model was put into operation in May 2022. The first was opened in HCMC at 40E Ut Tich, Ward 4, Tan Binh District.

    With an e-commerce platform specializing in trading motorbikes with strengths in AI and Big Data technology developed since 2018, Okxe Motorbike Service Station purchases and sells motorbikes with the market’s first warranty service at an affordable market price.

    In addition, the company provides professional vehicle repair services with a team of well-trained Okxe Care technicians.

    With a modern design and focus on customer experience, Okxe is confident in bringing a special type of motorbike buying and selling service, completely new and unprecedented.

    Okxe provides a clear look outside the motorbike and has strict requirements on the origin and legal documents for the purchase of a used motorbike.

    The company also ensures the quality of the product when building and putting into operation a vehicle quality inspection process consisting of 60 evaluation points for used motorbikes instead of committing to the quality of each vehicle sold at its stations.

    In addition to ensuring the quality of motorbikes sold, the Okxe Care team with experienced personnel also brings peace of mind to customers with a 1-year warranty policy worth more than VND3.3 million (US$139), including 10 comprehensive maintenance categories that apply to both used and new motorbikes.

    All services of Okxe are oriented towards the motto “Buy motorbikes easily, sell motorbikes leisurely,” providing a full range of motorbike buying and selling solutions, from online to offline transactions, including used and brand-new motorbikes for users with guaranteed quality and simple procedures.

    Trang Vu, Vice President of Okxe, said that after more than a year of directly participating in the motorbike business in Vietnam, the company has been recording positive signals with stable sales growth. That is also the basis for Okxe to continue its efforts to perfect the chain of products and services for users.

    “With the opening of the Motorbike Service Station in Hanoi as well as the implementation of the plan to expand the store system from now until the end of 2023, Okxe commits to providing top-quality experiences so that customers are always satisfied during the process of using our services, from considering selection, owning, and using until later transfer,” a representative of the start-up company added.

    On the occasion of opening the Motorbike Service Station in Hanoi in August 2023, Okxe is offering many attractive promotions for customers. Interested readers can read more here.

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  • Vietnamese EV maker VinFast gets go ahead for Nasdaq SPAC listin

    Vietnamese EV maker VinFast gets go ahead for Nasdaq SPAC listin

    Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast said it expects to start trading on the U.S. Nasdaq as soon as next week after its merger into a special purchase acquisition company (SPAC) was approved on Thursday.

    On Thursday, shareholders of Hong Kong-based Black Spade Acquisition, a blank-check company, voted to approve the merger with VinFast.

    VinFast, in a joint statement with Black Spade, said it would list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VFS “on or around August 15”.

    The remaining shareholders of Black Spade approved the merger on Thursday. In July, over 80% of the shareholders in the SPAC had opted to redeem their shares before the merger.

    The SPAC merger will not raise new capital for VinFast but the company’s founder Pham Nhat Vuong has championed a U.S. listing as the carmaker seeks to expand in the U.S. market and is building a plant in North Carolina.

    The two companies said the merger had valued VinFast at $23 billion. In comparison, the current market capitalization of U.S.-listed EV makers Rivian and Lucid are $21 billion and around $17 billion, respectively.

    It leaves VinFast’s existing shareholders, including parent company Vingroup and Vuong, Vietnam’s richest man, with 99% of shares in the company.

    “The voting results today are a vote of confidence in VinFast from Black Spade shareholders,” VinFast’s global head Thuy Le said in the statement.

    VinFast had filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq last December, but in May announced plans to list through a merger with Black Spade.

    Other EV makers including Faraday Future, Nikola Corp and Lucid have listed via SPAC deals but the market for such deals has faced increased scrutiny from investors and regulators.

    VinFast has shipped around 3,000 EVs to the United States from its plant in Haiphong, Vietnam. It started to deliver its first VF8 EVs in March. It has not announced U.S. sales figures.

    VinFast’s first-quarter revenue dropped 49% from the previous year and it posted a net loss of $598 million. In 2022, the company posted a loss of $2.1 billion. It has not yet made a profit.

    Vuong, who is also chairman of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, told Vingroup shareholders in May that VinFast expected to sell as many as 50,000 EVs this year and could break even as soon as the end of 2024.

    The company has previously missed some of its internal delivery targets. It faces competition from established rivals led by Tesla, which have been driving down prices and bringing a range of new EVs to market.

    Black Spade was founded by the private investment arm of Lawrence Ho, son of the late gambling mogul Stanley Ho.

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  • Air New Zealand’s ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ calls for airports

    Air New Zealand’s ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ calls for airports

    Air New Zealand is looking for two airports to further support its efforts towards decarbonization and has opened an expression of interest as part of selecting a route to fly its commercial demonstrator aircraft from 2026. 

    The move is part of the airline’s ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ launched in December last year, where the carrier announced partnerships with Eviation, Beta, VoltAero and Cranfield Aerospace with plans to launch the first-zero emissions demonstrator flight by 2026. 

    Air New Zealand is working towards its ambition of flying next-generation aircraft on its domestic network from 2030. The airline will work with its partners to develop the technology and associated infrastructure required to make this a reality. The commercial demonstrator aircraft will be either electric, hybrid or hydrogen fuel celled, initially operating as a cargo-only service. The airline said it will announce the type of demonstrator aircraft it will use from 2026 by early next year. 

    “Decarbonising aviation is not easy, and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re committed to reducing our emissions as quickly as we can, and this process is another step in the right direction,” said Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand’s chief sustainability officer. 

    “While we’re looking forward to bringing two frontrunner airports on board, it’s also important to note that all airports in New Zealand play an important role as we work towards bringing next-generation aircraft into our network here in Aotearoa at scale.  

    “The selected airports will be leaders in supporting the implementation of this new technology and will be the conduit of information between airports across the motu as we drive the change required in advance of our larger fleet replacement needs from 2030.” 

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  • Vietnam to impose anti-dumping duties on Thai sugarcane products

    Vietnam to impose anti-dumping duties on Thai sugarcane products

    Vietnam has imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on sugarcane products from several Thai companies from August 18 to June 15, 2026.

    The duties will be imposed on the Mitr Phol Sugar group, Asia’s largest sugar and bioenergy manufacturer, along with four affiliated companies and Czamikow Group Limited.

    The Thai Roong Ruang Industry group, Thailand’s second-largest sugar manufacturer, along with its five affiliated companies, will also see duties imposed, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    The lowest rate of anti-dumping duties will be 25.73% and the highest at 32.75%. The highest rate of countervailing duties will be 4.65%.

    In June 2021, Vietnam officially began to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on sugarcane imported from Thailand. At the time, the rate was 47.64%. In August 2022, the ministry decided to keep this rate.

    Investigations revealed that Thailand’s sugarcane products entering the Vietnamese market have caused great damage to local production, resulting in 3,300 people losing their jobs and 93,225 farmer’s families affected, authorities have said.

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  • Meta faces new legal hurdles in Europe

    Meta faces new legal hurdles in Europe

    Social media platforms have often faced issues with European laws, particularly regarding data privacy and tracking. Recently, TikTok had to change its privacy rules to match the new Digital Service Act (DSA). Some time ago, Meta got hit with a $423 million fine from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which made the tech company allow EU users to turn off ad tracking.

    Now, Meta is facing legal troubles again in Europe, this time in Norway. Starting from August 14, Meta will be fined $97,700 per day for privacy breaches. The fine comes from the Norwegian data regulator, Datatilsynet, and will be in effect until November 3.

    With the timeframe and amount of money at stake, the fine might be challenging, even for a tech giant like Meta. As a result, Meta is reaching out to a court in Norway, seeking to put a stop to the fine. A petition for a temporary injunction against the order will be put forth on August 22 during a two-day hearing. Whether the court leans in favor of Meta or not is still up in the air.

    Datatilsynet says that Meta can’t gather users’ data in Norway, like their physical locations, and then use it to aim ads at them, known as behavioral advertising. Behavioral advertising is a strategy that tailors online ads to users based on their web activity and interests. It uses data analysis to create personalized ads for better engagement but also raises privacy concerns about user data usage.

    The regulator also dangles the possibility of turning the fine into a long-term fixture by passing its judgment to the European Data Protection Board, which has the authority to take such action if it aligns with the Norwegian regulator’s stance. If the board backs this move, it could imply that the decision starts to have an impact across Europe.

    In May of this year, the EU slapped Meta with a whopping $1.3 billion fine for breaching privacy rules. It appears that European lawmakers aren’t exactly aiming to be gentle with the big tech giant.

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  • Verizon confirms price changes for older Unlimited phone plans

    Verizon confirms price changes for older Unlimited phone plans

    There have been reports about possible price changes of Verizon’s grandfathered plans last month, but the carrier has only confirmed those reports this week. Unfortunately, monthly prices of specific legacy Unlimited and Single Basic Phone plan will be higher beginning August 29.

    The price increase impacts all of Verizon’s older Unlimited mobile phones, so unless you have a tablet or smartwatch plan, you’ll have to pay more for the carrier’s services come August 29.

    That being said, the following older Verizon plans will have their prices adjusted, so you’ll see an added charge of $3/month per mobile phone line:

    • Go Unlimited 2.0
    • Beyond Unlimited 2.0
    • Above Unlimited
    • 5G Start

    Additionally, Verizon confirmed that starting August 29, the Single Basic Phone plan will see an added charge of $5/month per mobile phone line. As per Verizon’s statement, the first month, customers may see a partial Plan Rate Adjustment charge in the One-time charges & credits section of their bills.

    However, the changes for the coming month can also be seen in the Plans section since customers usually pay for their monthly mobile service plan in advance. Lines with tablets, smartwatch and other devices will not be affected by the price hikes, as mentioned earlier.

    As far as the reasoning behind the price increases go, your guess is as good as ours. Verizon says that “it’s committed to bringing you the best experience for your Verizon mobile phone service,” but that’s standard practice in this type of situation.

    Those who want to avoid the price increase have two options: switch to another carrier or move to a current Unlimited plan, which aren’t subject to these new charges. A third option would be switching to a Verizon prepaid plan.

  • Netflix turns your iPhone into a game controller

    Netflix turns your iPhone into a game controller

    A couple of years back, in 2021, Netflix rolled out games on its mobile app. At first, the mobile games collection was kinda tiny, but over time, it got bigger and loaded with loads of free mobile games for Netflix subscribers. Netflix is also getting ready to toss games onto the TV scene too, and it looks like it is getting closer to the launch day by introducing its new Netflix Game Controller app.

    The new app will allow you to play games on TV by using your phone as a controller. You will have to pair your phone with the TV to play the games when they become available on Netflix. The company says it will happen soon. The app is only available for iOS in the App Store.

    Using your iPhone or iPad as a controller sounds like a pretty cool idea because you wouldn’t need to purchase an extra controller to play on your TV.

    There are dozens of games you can play on the Netflix mobile app. The streaming service is adding 40 new mobile games this year and stating that 70 titles are currently in development with its partners. Some of the most popular games on the platform are based on hit shows like Stranger Things and Queen’s Gambit.

    Lately, Netflix has stopped offering its Basic plan in the US and UK, pushing users to opt for pricier options to keep using the service. Meanwhile, Netflix hasn’t raised its plan prices for over a year, likely in an effort to retain more paying subscribers following its password-sharing crackdown.

    As games make their way onto TV screens, we’ll find out whether the prices will remain unchanged or if this new feature will bring about a price hike.

  • Disney hikes pricing of its ad-free streaming services, plans to stop password sharing in 2024

    Disney hikes pricing of its ad-free streaming services, plans to stop password sharing in 2024

    Some big changes are coming to Disney’s streaming services as ad-free Disney+ and Hulu prices are getting hiked. At the same time, Disney says that it wants to start  “actively exploring” how it can better police password sharing just as Netflix is now doing. The company might feel some pressure since the number of global Disney+ subscribers declined for just the second time during the second quarter to 157.8 million, a 4 million decline from the first quarter figure.
    As for ways to combat password sharing, the other day during Disney’s quarterly conference call, CEO Bob Iger said, “We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family. Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms and our sharing policies. And we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.”
    Iger added, “We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this, and I’m not gonna give you a specific number except to say it’s significant. We certainly have established this as a real priority, and we actually think that there’s an opportunity here to help us grow our business.”
    If Iger is right about the timing, those Disney+ users viewing the platform thanks to a shared password have at least until the end of this year to continue this behavior.
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  • Spotify enables patron-exclusive podcasts via new Patreon integration

    Spotify enables patron-exclusive podcasts via new Patreon integration

    Spotify is the most recent company starting to offer content creators financial incentives. The music streaming service announced this week that it has added Patreon integration to allow creators to monetize their content via exclusive podcasts.

    Patreon, a membership platform that offers the business tools for content creators to run a subscription service, was in the middle of a controversy early this month when major technical issues led to paused payouts and canceled subscriptions.

    Thankfully for the millions of creators using the platform, these issues have been solved (at least for many of them), so the company can now go live with the announcement.

    Starting today, connecting Spotify and Patreon accounts to access patron-exclusive podcasts direction from the music streaming service’s app is possible. This is a follow-up of Spotify’s March announcement that it’s teaming up with Patreon to allow creators to publish their subscriber feeds to Spotify via its API.

    “Many podcasters use Patreon to connect with their fans, and for the first time ever, they can link their accounts so fans can access and listen to these shows on Spotify. This partnership gives podcasters a new opportunity to reach Spotify’s global audience, over 551M users, to increase their income and grow their show,” said Gustav Söderström, Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer at Spotify.

    Patreon integration has been in testing for months at Spotify, as select creators have been enrolled in a beta program that helped them promote and gain new members to their Patreon through Spotify.

    Thanks to the new feature, Spotify users will be able to listen to all their favorite content in one place, while Patreon podcasters tap into new audiences on Spotify. The new partnership feels like a win-win situation, at least on paper.