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Tag: asia

  • Vietnam cooperate on rice exports with Thailand and Philippines

    Vietnam cooperate on rice exports with Thailand and Philippines

    Vietnam has agreed with Thailand as well as the Philippines to strengthen rice export cooperation to ensure regional and global food security.

    The consensus was reached when Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin and Filipino President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit on Sunday in Tokyo.

    The Vietnamese and Thai prime ministers agreed to lift the two-way trade between the two countries to US$25 billion soon, through creating more favorable conditions for importing and exporting goods, including rice.

    Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, with import-export turnovers reaching $21.5 billion last year. Meanwhile, it is the 9th largest foreign investor in Vietnam.

    Vietnam and Thailand will also implement the “Three Connections” Initiative which focuses on new areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, and the circular economy.

    The Vietnamese prime minister and the Filipino President agreed to step up rice export cooperation to ensure regional and global food security when both countries export rice to many nations, and the Philippines imports Vietnamese rice.

    Among Vietnamese rice importers, the Philippines currently imports the most. In the first nine months of this year, the Philippines imported 2.4 million tons of rice worth $1.5 billion from Vietnam.

    Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows in the first 11 months, Vietnam earned $4.4 billion from exporting 7.75 million tons of rice to many countries around the world.

    The average price of Vietnamese rice was $568 per ton, surging 17% over the same period last year, sometimes reaching nearly $650 per ton.

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  • Google Photos media could soon be accessible via Android’s new Photo Picker

    Google Photos media could soon be accessible via Android’s new Photo Picker

    Android 13’s Photo Picker was a breath of fresh air for privacy-conscious users. Unlike the all-or-nothing access of app-specific pickers, it granted granular control over what photos and videos you share. But its usefulness was limited – your local library was all it knew. However, good news is on the horizon, with cloud media providers like Google Photos finally preparing to join the party.

    Recent Google Photos updates reveal full support for the Photo Picker for cloud support. Activating this feature via a hidden flag opens a new “Cloud media app” page in settings, where you can enable Google Photos. This, in turn, unlocks a “Google Photos access” option within the Photos app, letting you grant the Photo Picker permission to your cloud library.

    This functionality was announced during Google I/O 2022 and has since then been recently added to apps like Google Keep, Google Chat, and Google Messages on devices running Android 11 with the November 2023 Google Play system update. However, adoption outside of Google’s own apps requires app developers to implement the API, and adoption has been slow.

    Now, with the addition of Google Photos, and hopefully the wider rollout of this feature, developers might now be encouraged to adopt the Photo Picker, giving users unparalleled control over their shared memories. Hopefully, with Google Photos paving the way, other cloud providers like Microsoft OneDrive will follow suit, creating a truly universal and privacy-respecting sharing experience on Android.

    As great as this all sounds, some issues still need to be worked out with the Photo Picker. For example, as noted by Android expert, Mishaal Rahman, app-created albums like Snapseed’s remain hidden in the “Photos” tab, absent from “Albums.” Additionally, he’s found that cloud media doesn’t appear in the new Android 14 permission dialog for partial access.

    Yet, these are minor hiccups in a major step forward. The hope is that other cloud providers will see the benefit of using the Photo Picker and begin to have their app developers implement the changes necessary to turn this feature on for them. Google has already taken the first step to make this happen.

  • Instagram starts rolling out customizable Story templates

    Instagram starts rolling out customizable Story templates

    Instagram is at it again, as the social app has launched a brand-new feature that allows its users to further customize Story templates. Starting today, Instagramers should start seeing multiple options that make it easier to create their own unique Stories via “Add Yours” templates.

    The new “Add Yours” templates are easy to use and can be customized with GIFs, images, and text for a complete personalization experience. To start making your own Story, simply upload it and add whatever visual changes you think it’s suitable, including GIF, custom text, or even a picture from your phone’s gallery.

    After you’re content with the results, you can tap on the “Add Yours Templates” sticker and choose whatever media elements you want to pin. These customizable templates can be shared but nothing that’s been added to them can be changed.

    However, it’s possible to add to the templates on top of what’s already been included during the customization process. According to Instagram, the new feature is now rolling out globally on both Android and iOS devices, but it will take a few days for customizable “Add Yours” templates to show up for everyone, so be patient if you don’t see it in your app just yet.

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  • Ikea Korea further cuts costs due to the continued downturn in sales

    Ikea Korea further cuts costs due to the continued downturn in sales

    Ikea Korea, the South Korean branch of the world’s largest furniture brand, has faced a continued downturn in its performance, reversing the growth observed last year. After experiencing a sales decline for the first time since entering the Korean market, Ikea Korea also posted its first fiscal-year loss this year.

    Since last year, Ikea has been implementing cost-cutting measures by adjusting the business hours of its stores, with a reduction in operating hours at its first Korean store in Gwangmyeong starting next month.

    According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on December 14, Ikea’s sales for the last fiscal year (August 2022-September 2023) amounted to US$469.128 million, marking a 3.5 per cent decrease from the same period last year. Operating profit experienced an 88 per cent decline to 2 million, while net profit turned into a loss of $4.019 million, down from $10.2 million in the corresponding period last year.

    Ikea attributed last year’s sales decline to the impact of the Covid-19 Omicron virus, which led to a reduction in the number of customers visiting large stores. Despite the reopening of stores as the pandemic situation improved, sales continued to decline. The ongoing real estate downturn and high interest rates have been identified as significant factors affecting the furniture industry, as furniture demand typically correlates with housing transactions.

    A source from the furniture industry emphasized that despite an increase in apartment transaction volume, overall housing transactions have not stabilized. High interest rates are seen as a substantial burden, making it challenging for Ikea to sustain sales through smaller items alone.

    In response to the challenging business environment, Ikea Korea has been proactively cutting costs by adjusting store hours and reducing SG&A expenses. Even the Gwangmyeong store, which had not previously adjusted its business hours, will implement changes starting next year. Commencing next month, Ikea Gwangmyeong will delay its weekday opening time by one hour to 11 am and close 30 minutes earlier at 8:30 p.m. These adjustments come as Ikea aims to navigate the current economic challenges and maintain a resilient business model.

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  • Indian beef imports half local price

    Indian beef imports half local price

    Beef and buffalo meat imported from India are being sold for VND60,000-100,000 (US$2.47-4) per kilogram on some online marketplaces in Vietnam, half the price of local beef.

    According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam imports meat and meat products from 44 countries worldwide. In the first 10 months of 2023, it imported 127,000 tons of meat and meat products from India, making the country Vietnam’s biggest meat supplier with a 22.2% market share.

    In the same period, the average price of these imported products decreased 6.8% year-on-year, down to VND72,000 (US$3) per kilo.

    Oanh, who operates a meat import business in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District, said beef imported from India had never been as cheap as it has been in previous years.

    Some online marketplaces sell Indian beef brisket for just VND63,000 a kilo, and topside for VND107,000-110,000 a kilo.

    In comparison, Vietnamese beef fillet is currently priced at VND250,000-280,000 per kilo, while American and Australian beef can fetch as much as VND350,000-450,000 a kilo, Oanh said.

    Toan, who runs a frozen meat importer in District 7, said this year, he imported all cuts of Indian beef and buffalo meat.

    These products are well-liked by meat processing facilities and restaurants due to their low prices and quality on par with beef from other countries, Toan said.

    “They were imported through official quotas and vacuum-packed before being shipped to Vietnam, so they meet all food safety regulations.”

    Cattle and buffaloes are raised on a large scale in India and the country accounts for 58-60% of the world’s cattle and buffalo population, yet consumption of beef and buffalo meat is very low in the country.

    Therefore, most of the beef produced in India is exported and the abundance of supply causes prices to plummet.

    Smuggling is also to blame, says the Animal Husbandry Association of Vietnam, an organization representing the livestock and veterinary industry.

    According to official statistics, there were131 cases of cattle and poultry smuggling in Vietnam over the first nine months of 2023, up 14.5 times from the previous year.

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  • Alibaba injects US$634 million into Lazada

    Alibaba injects US$634 million into Lazada

    Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding has invested another US$634 million in its e-commerce subsidiary Lazada amid intensifying competition.

    The injection – the group’s third this year – takes its investment in Lazada to more than $1.8 billion.

    Since taking the controlling stake in 2016, Alibaba has poured about $7.4 million into the Singapore-based e-commerce unit.

    This latest move reflects the increasingly fierce competition from major rivals TikTok and Shopee in the Southeast Asian market.

    TikTok, owned by Chinese tech group ByteDance, has announced it would acquire a 75 percent share in Tokopedia, an e-commerce unit of Indonesia’s tech firm GoTo. This will allow it to re-enter the country’s online shopping market following the ban of e-commerce transactions on social media.

    Singaporean tech group Sea, which operates Shopee, has also announced plans to increase investment in its live commerce business, according to Nikkei.

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  • Google Contacts app can lead you to the location of friends and family members

    Google Contacts app can lead you to the location of friends and family members

    How would you like to find out a friend or family member’s current location from your Google Contacts app? It sounds pretty cool, right? Android users are beginning to get this feature pushed out to them by Google in version 4.22.37.586680692 of the Google Contacts app. My Pixel 6 Pro running Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 has yet to receive this update.

    You can check to see which version of the Contacts app your Android phone is running by going to Settings > Apps and scrolling to Contacts. Tap on Contacts to see the App info page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and at the very bottom of the screen, the app’s version number will appear. If you don’t have the necessary version running on your phone, there is no need to panic. You’ll get it in due time.

    Now there are some important instructions. This feature is available to you only for those contacts who share their location with you in Google Maps and whose Gmail address you have on their Contacts card. If so, you’ll see a small part of the bottom of the screen dedicated to Google Maps-Location sharing. This will reveal whether the other party can see your location and if so, for how long they will be able to do so.

    A button that says Maps will appear on this portion of the Contacts card. Tap on it and you can see the person’s location in Google Maps. Besides making sure that your Contacts card for a specific friend or family member includes his/her Gmail address, and that the person shares his/her Google Maps location with you, you must use the Google Contacts app on your Android phone and not one offered by the manufacturer of your phone.

    If your Android phone isn’t using Google Contacts, you can find the app in the Play Store by tapping on this link. And the beauty of this feature is that once you find the location of your friend or family member on Google Maps, one tap will give you directions to his/her location.

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  • Apple reveals discount pricing feature for subscriptions in the App Store

    Apple reveals discount pricing feature for subscriptions in the App Store

    A post on the Apple Developer website reveals that a new “contingent pricing” feature will be available in the App Store. The subscription gets its name because customers can be given a discount on a subscription contingent on them having an active subscription to another publication. That discount will continue to be offered every month as long as the customer remains subscribed to both magazines.

    Here is what Apple told developers on the website: “Contingent pricing for subscriptions on the App Store — a new feature that helps you attract and retain subscribers — lets you give customers a discounted subscription price as long as they’re actively subscribed to a different subscription. It can be used for subscriptions from one developer or two different developers. We’re piloting this feature and will be onboarding more developers in the coming months.”

    Apple says developers should start planning how they will work contingent pricing into their App Store pricing strategies. A link on the website will allow developers to sign up to receive a notification from Apple in January, when the company will inform developers of more details related to “contingent pricing.”

    In explaining exactly what “contingent pricing” is, Apple writes, “For example, you might offer Ocean Journal premium subscribers the opportunity to subscribe to Mountain Climber for a discounted price of $4.99/month instead of the regular $5.99/month. Customers pay the discounted price as long as they remain Ocean Journal subscribers.”

    While Apple is writing to developers, the tech giant does explain how customers will be able to find publications in the App Store that offer “contingent pricing.” Apple says that customers will find the discounted pricing in a publication’s App Store listing, off-platform marketing channels, and planned placements in the App Store.

    Apple says that it will help developers manage the implementation of “contingent pricing” by offering customers “a seamless redemption and purchasing experience” based on the contingent price proposition the developers will provide.

    Obviously “contingent pricing” isn’t going to be available to App Store customers until sometime next yeear.

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  • National Citizen Bank to double charter capital with private placement

    National Citizen Bank to double charter capital with private placement

    National Citizen Bank (NCB) has approved a private placement to issue 620 million new shares in 2024 to double its capital.

    The issuance is scheduled for the second quarter. The issued shares will be blocked from trading for one year.

    If the plan succeeds, NCB’s charter capital will rise from VND5.6 trillion to VND11.8 trillion ($213 million to 487 million).

    NCB has for years been among the banks with the lowest amount of capital in Vietnam.

    The minimum charter capital requirement in the country is VND3 trillion. Household appliance maker Sun Group became a shareholder in the bank last year.

    NCB is in the process of restructuring. It has a bad debt ratio of more than 3%.

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  • Rice exports expected to hit $5B this year

    Rice exports expected to hit $5B this year

    In 2023, the rice farming area nationwide is 7.1 million ha with productivity estimated at 6.08 tonnes of unmilled rice per ha and total output at 43.1 million tonnes, up about 420,000 tonnes from last year.

    Some 7.75 million tonnes of milled rice was exported during the first 11 months of this year to bring home an estimated $4.41 billion in revenue, rising 16.2% and 36.3% year on year, respectively. Export prices averaged $568 per tonne, up 17.3%, according to the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

    The export volume has been kept at around 6 million tonnes and increased over years, with annual value continually topping $3 billion, statistics show.

    At a workshop held in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang on Dec. 13, MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said the rice sector plays a crucial role in the agriculture of Vietnam and many other countries in the region and the world.

    Domestic and international rice markets will remain vibrant in the time ahead due to big import demand from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Middle East, and Africa, he forecast.

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  • TV prices hit record lows due to high inventory

    TV prices hit record lows due to high inventory

    The current market sees 65-inch LED TVs priced at just over VND10 million ($420), and OLED TVs dropping below VND20 million for the first time, a result of high inventory and decreased demand.

    “It’s normal for TV prices to go down year after year, especially for older models. However, the high inventory pressure and the sharp drop in demand this year has forced many chain stores to cut profits, break even or even cut losses,” said Ngoc Chung, owner of an electronics store on Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi.

    “TV prices have hit the floor this year. We are selling them to maintain cash flows to wait for a better year in 2024,” he added.

    Many TV models, with the two most popular sizes of 55 and 65 inches, currently cost around VND10 million, 15-20% lower in previous years.

    Major dealers and manufacturers regularly offer 30-50% discounts, even for new models released in 2023.

    LG’s latest lines currently have discounts of 15-30%. Meanwhile, some OLED TV models with sizes of 43 and 50 inches released in 2021 or 2022 are currently priced at less than VND20 million.

    Previously, prices of OLED TVs had never fell to below VND30 million.

    Ha Minh Tuan, manager of an electronics warehouse specializing in online sales, said his business’ revenue this year is down 15-20% compared to last year.

    “TVs are also in a difficult situation like other consumer electronics products, but TVs are not an essential item, so users often choose not to upgrade or buy more,” Tuan said.

    Weaker demand and changing consumer needs have also made the low-cost TV segment with sizes from 32 to 43 inches vibrant again.

    In 2021, 32-inch TVs gradually disappeared when most firms stopped selling them, but this year these models are back.

    Samsung, Toshiba andXiaomi all have 32-inch TVsat selling prices of VND 4-6 million.Prices of 40- and 50-inch versions are VND1-2 million higher.

    In addition to discounts, electronics companies set lower list prices for some models.In April, the list prices of some LG’s OLED TVs were 20-30% lower than last year.

    Among TVs this year, backlit LEDs are the most popular, followed by miniLED and OLED. Newer technologies like Samsung’s microLED are still expensive.

    Regarding operating systems, only Samsung and LG use their own operating systems. Brands such as Sony, Xiaomi, TCL, Casper and Toshiba have all switched to Google TV.

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  • Durian exports to China soar on insatiable demand

    Durian exports to China soar on insatiable demand

    Approved for official export last year, China imports dozens of containers of durians daily from Vietnam.

    The port in Pingxiang City, which handles much of durian imports, has seen an inflow of the fruit from Vietnam large enough to rival Thailand, China’s main supplier, since last year.

    Nong Liqing, CEO of a fruit importer in the city, told Xinhua his firm has imported more than 1,600 containers of durians in the year to date.

    China has a huge demand for the spiky fruit.

    Last year it imported a total of 825,000 tons of the fruit for US$4.03 billion, the highest of any fruit, according to data from China’s customs.

    After the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free-trade agreement between ASEAN and various trade partners including China, allowed Vietnamese durian access to the Chinese market, that country has become Vietnam’s biggest importer of the fruit.

    Wang Zhengbo, president of a fruit company in Guangxi, said that his firm had signed deals last year with 3,000 hectares of Vietnamese orchards.

    In the first 10 months of this year durian accounted for 51% of total vegetable and fruit exports, according to the Vietnam Fruits & Vegetables Association (Vinafruit).

    Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of Vinafruit, said the country has surpassed Malaysia and the Philippines in durian exports to China and is behind only Thailand.

    But Vietnamese durian is expected to be more competitive toward year-end as it has off-season durian ready to ship while Thailand usually struggles with unfavorable weather every year.

    Exporters are eyeing a figure of $2.5 billion this year, and prices might rise to a new peak next month.

    Since 2010 the area under durian in Vietnam has shot up from 92,000 ha to 131,000 ha, and the yield is estimated at one million tons this year, up 15.9% from 2022.

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  • Gasoline prices dive to seven-month low

    Gasoline prices dive to seven-month low

    Gasoline prices Thursday dropped to the lowest since May 11 while diesel hit a five-month low.

    The popular fuel RON95 fell 4.12% to VND21,400 per liter.

    Biofuel E5 RON92 dropped 3.66% to VND20,510.

    Diesel fell 3.65% to VND19,000.

    Global fuel prices decreased in the past seven days due to concerns that military tensions in the Middle East would affect oil supply from this region, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

    In addition, the fact that countries reached a historic agreement to reduce fossil fuel consumption at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference also caused prices to go down, they added.

    RON92 fell 5% to $84.54 per barrel, while RON95 dropped 5.23% to $88.54.

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  • Netflix reveals the first mobile games joining its library in 2024

    Netflix reveals the first mobile games joining its library in 2024

    With about two weeks left of 2023, Netflix decided it’s time to share details about what’s coming for those interested in the gaming part of its service. As some of you probably know already, Netflix started offering its subscribers free mobile games two years ago.

    Throughout 2023, the streaming company added no less than 40 games to its ever-expanded library, including Grand Theft Auto Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, Football Manager 24 Mobile and Storyteller.

    Furthermore, Netflix bought a couple of well-known indie developers to help expand its portfolio of mobile games. One such studio is Night School, the developer behind Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, and Boss Fight Entertainment, the studio that made Netflix Stories: Love is Blind.

    By the end of this year, Netflix will have 86 games included with every membership without ads, in-purchases or extra fees. According to Netflix, no less than 90 more games are now in development and are expected to be added to its library in the coming months.

    Four of the games that will join Netflix’s library have been revealed today and they’re quite different: Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, FashionVerse, Game Dev Tycoon, and Sonic Mania Plus. The latter will be exclusive to Netflix Games and on mobile for the first time.

    More games coming in 2024 include Braid, Anniversary Edition (April 30), Chicken Run: Eggstraction, The Dragon Prince: Xadia, Dumb Ways to Survive, Hades, Harmonium: The Musical, Katana Zero, Money Heist: Ultimate Choice (January 4), Monument Valley 1 & 2, Netflix Stories: Virgin River, Paper Trail, and The Rise of The Golden Idol.

    In more exciting news, Netflix confirmed it’s working to bring a Rebel Moon game developed by Super Evil Megacorp to its library, along with a game set in the universe of Squid Game.

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  • Google TV experience gets major performance boosts, new updates

    Google TV experience gets major performance boosts, new updates

    Google improves the TV experience of its users all the time, and this year has been pretty big when it comes to the amount and quality of updates Google TV received. Obviously, there’s always room for improvement, so the Mountain View company is making sure that Google TV users know what to expect in the months to come.

    In a post published on its support website, Google has detailed its future plans regarding the Google TV experience. While some of the changes mentioned have already been rolled out to users, there are quite a lot that are waiting to be greenlit.

    After providing Google TV users with an important update earlier this year that boosted the app’s start-up time and reduced RAM usage, Google has found new ways to enhance your Google TV experience.

    For starters, Google has improved the response speed for many of the features on the home screen, including preloading rows of movies and shows before scrolling, optimizing the way tabs load, and ensuring results load faster when using search.

    Additionally, Google made changes to device setup to reduce the size of preinstalled apps that you don’t use. As a result, your device will have more room for the apps that you actually want to use.

    These optimizations and improvements to memory, speed, and storage are already rolling out to Google TV users.

    But wait, there’s more! The new and improved Live tab introduced back in April is getting a small upgrade. Two new categories will be available on the Live tab channel guide: Recents and Local news. Also, Google TV users will now see channels in a new “Free live news & opinion” row on the For you tab.

    Finally, Google announced it has added 14 new free channels to Google TV, including the Xumo Holiday Movie Channel, DraftKings, and Speedvision.

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