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Tag: Vietnam

  • Tuna exports to UK triple

    Tuna exports to UK triple

    Tuna exports to the U.K. tripled year-on-year in the first two months even as shipments to some main markets like the U.S. and E.U. plunged.

    Exports to the U.K. were worth US$1.3 million, enabled by a 13-fold rise in February, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

    Vietnam now ranks 13th out of 45 countries and territories that export tuna to that country.

    Last year its exports to the U.K. rose by 10%.

    Other markets to which Vietnam’s tuna exports grew by 32-99% in the first two months were Japan, Thailand, Germany, and Israel.

    They made up the country’s top five markets in the first two months along with the U.K.

    Vietnam’s total exports, however, dropped 30% year-on-year to $109 million in the period.

    The U.S. and the E.U. each posted a 50% decline, which VASEP attributed to rising inflation and a change in consumers’ shopping habit.

    The fact that Vietnam still has a yellow card given by the E.U. for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing also pose challenges to exports, VASEP added.

    The association expects global demand for tuna to recover in the second half of this year.

    Vietnam has nine tuna species across its seas, with an estimated reserve of 600,000 tons. The three biggest tuna fishing localities are Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa.

  • President calls for sustainable Vietnamese business in Laos

    President calls for sustainable Vietnamese business in Laos

    President Vo Van Thuong has asked the Vietnamese community in Laos to set its sights on long-term sustainable business growth even though weathering current short-term difficulties will be complicated.

    During Tuesday’s meeting with the Vietnamese community in Laos, Thuong praised the patriotism and contributions made by Vietnamese people and enterprises in Laos.

    For their part, Vietnamese enterprises in Laos proposed that more measures should be taken to support investment, especially capital, to improve competitiveness and expand operations.

    The President said he had asked relevant agencies to provide appropriate solutions.

    About 100,000 Vietnamese live, work, or study in Laos, with nearly 40,000 located in the capital of Vientiane, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung.

    After his meetings in Vientiane, Thuong wrapped up his two-day visit to Laos and returned home from his first foreign trip since taking office last month.

    Vietnam and Laos established diplomatic relations in September 1962, and raised the label of their “traditional friendship” to “great friendship” in February 2019.

    Vietnam has currently invested some $4.7 billion in 219 projects in Laos, making it Laos’ third largest foreign investor after China and Thailand.

    Bilateral trade last year increased 25% to around $1.7 billion.

  • Bamboo Airways shareholders shoot down capital increase plan

    Bamboo Airways shareholders shoot down capital increase plan

    Shareholders of Bamboo Airways, at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, rejected plans for a private placement of shares to increase charter capital.

    The proposal for a VND9.57-trillion ($405.5 million) issue to increase the capital to VND28 trillion, restructure loans and swap debts for shares based on agreements with creditors was rejected by 56.4% of shareholders.

    Bamboo Airways chairman Nguyen Ngoc Trong said he would hold discussions with major shareholders and submit a plan for increasing the charter capital at the next annual general meeting.

    Trong said that in the first quarter of this year, with its fleet operating at full capacity, the airline would almost break even.

    It is expected to get delivery of six to eight aircraft this year and 10 more in 2024-25, he said.

    “Bamboo Airways will become profitable by 2025.”

    He said 2026 or 2027 would be an optimal time for it to make an IPO.

    The carrier now flies to 21 out of 22 airports in Vietnam, and in April would add Ca Mau to its destinations.

    Internationally, it has been resuming services to Europe and Australia post-Covid.

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  • Hyundai automobile sales in Vietnam increased by 5.5% in March

    Hyundai automobile sales in Vietnam increased by 5.5% in March

    Thanh Cong Group (TC Group) on April 11 announced its sales results for March with over 5,770 Hyundai automobiles sold in Vietnam last month, up 5.5% over February.

    Hyundai Accent continues to be the best-seller model in March with 1,355 units delivered to customers, followed by Hyundai Creta with 1,035 units – equal to the level a month earlier, and Hyundai Grand i10 with 664 units.

    Over 640 Hyundai Stargazer were sold last month, 2.5 times higher than February’s. The TC Group recorded sales of 514 Hyundai Santa Fe units, equivalent to the previous month Hyundai Tucson of 307, up 54.2% compared to February.

    Hyundai commercial models achieved sales of 1,016 vehicles in March, an increase of 42.1% compared to February 2023.

    In the first quarter of 2023, Hyundai-branded models achieved sales of 14,736 units, down 21.1% compared to the same period last year.

    TC Group expects higher sales in the second quarter of this year, explaining that the demand will increase thanks to the peak tourism season with greater travel demand.

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  • Vietnam exports 1.7 million tonnes of rice in Q1

    Vietnam exports 1.7 million tonnes of rice in Q1

    Vietnam exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice in Q1 worth over $900 million, a 19% increase in quantity and 30% rise in value over the same period last year, according to Vietnam Customs.

    According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnamese rice has seen some success in improvements in quality and demand over the last several years.

    The majority of exported rice came from the Mekong Delta, with the rest of the country’s rice production centres mainly serving the domestic market.

    Le Thanh Tung, deputy head of the plant cultivation department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said rice production this year for the Mekong Delta alone is projected to reach 24 million tonnes. Consumption for the Delta and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s most populous city, will stay around 11 million tonnes, leaving 13 million tonnes for export.

    Of which, premium-quality rice for export accounts for 3 million tonnes, specialty rice 2.1 million tonnes and regular rice 1 million tonnes.

    Vietnamese rice will likely continue to be sought after in the second quarter of the year as demand has been on the rise in major markets including the Philippines, China and Africa, said the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

    Nguyen Ngọc Nam, President of the VFA, said Vietnamese rice has been fetching good prices on the international market despite a gloomy outlook for the global economy as countries look to stock up on food for uncertain times ahead.

    In addition, major free trade agreements including the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) have seen tariffs on Vietnamese rice reduced by as much as EUR175 per tonne, giving Vietnamese premium rice an advantage in the European markets.

    As demand soars, exporters have been trying to purchase additional amounts from farmers to maximise efficiency and profit. However, many have voiced concerns over a lack of capital.

    Phan Van Chinh, Director of MoIT’s Agency for Foreign Trade, said the ministry has been working closely with exporters to find solutions to minimising logistic costs and dealing with import/export protocols in international markets.

    On the other hand, the ministry said it is to keep a close watch on the amount of rice being exported to ensure the country’s food security.

    In an earlier development, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has ordered commercial banks to review and streamline the borrowing process for rice traders to help them access additional capital sources.

  • Vietnam’s sole female billionaire becomes chairwoman of Vietjet

    Vietnam’s sole female billionaire becomes chairwoman of Vietjet

    Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vietnam’s only female billionaire, has become the chairwoman of budget airline Vietjet.

    Dinh Viet Phuong, who has been with the company since its establishment in 2007, moved up to CEO.

    Thao, who replaced Nguyen Thanh Ha as chairwoman on Thursday, was the deputy chairwoman and CEO of Vietjet for many years. She is the first self-made female billionaire in Vietnam.

    Phuong has been holding the chief operations officer title since October 2020. He has made many contributions to the airline, helping it to survive during the Covid-19 period.

    He has an engineering degree from Vietnam Maritime University, an MBA degree from France’s CFVG and a doctorate in transport from Russia’s Moscow State Academy.

    Last year Vietjet transported 20.5 million passengers on 116,000 flights and saw number of domestic passengers grow 20% from pre-Covid.

  • Buyers keen to take stake in PGBank

    Buyers keen to take stake in PGBank

    Sixteen potential buyers have registered to purchase a combined 213 million shares of PGBank, almost twice the number its biggest shareholder is selling.

    The buyers, comprised of nine individuals and seven domestic organizations, have signed up to participate in the auction of 120 million shares of PGBank, or a 40% stake, which is being sold by Vietnam’s oil and gas giant Petrolimex.

    At a starting price of VND21,300 ($0.91) per share, Petrolimex is set to get at least VND2.55 trillion from the sale.

    MSB, another lender, is set to seek shareholder permission to buy a domestic credit organization which is “operating normally and high credit quality.”

    PGBank is among the lenders that MSB is interested in buying, a leader of the latter told reporters recently.

    Several key leaders of MSB have left the lender for PGBank in recent years.

    In March 2020, Hoang Xuan Hiep left MSB for PGBank and is now the deputy director in charge of debt handling.

    In November 2020, Nguyen Phi Hung, a former deputy director, became the CEO of MSB.

    In February this year, Do Thanh Cong, who used to be a member of the risk department of MSB, became a deputy director of PGBank.

    PGBank had total assets of nearly VND49 trillion last year and equity of VND3 trillion, the lowest in the banking system.

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  • Vietnam to inspect TikTok content to stop harmful videos

    Vietnam to inspect TikTok content to stop harmful videos

    Vietnam will begin to conduct an inspection of TikTok next month to deal with harmful content and false information.

    Le Quang Tu Do, head of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, said that recently a lot of toxic, offensive, false and superstitious content has been appearing on the social media app TikTok in Vietnam.

    The inspection, to be conducted by the communications ministry, seeks to ensure that the social media complies with Vietnam’s regulations, both in content and operations.

    “TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are all cross-border social media with international standards,” Do said. “But when entering Vietnam, they need to comply with Vietnam’s laws, which includes regulations on content management and tax, payments and commercial policy.”

    TikTok was launched in Vietnam in 2019 after a year of beta testing. It now has nearly 50 million Vietnamese users aged 18 and above. Vietnam ranks sixth out of 10 countries with the biggest number of TikTok users, according to research company DataReportal.

    In the first quarter of last year TikTok said it removed some 2.43 million videos uploaded by Vietnamese users for violating its community guidelines related to nudity and sexual acts involving minors, inciting violence and also frightening content, harassment, bullying, suicides, and more.

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  • Gold prices rise

    Gold prices rise

    SJC gold price rose 0.07% to VND67.1 million ($2,858.97) per tael Tuesday morning. Gold ring price went up 0.36% to VND56.1 million per tael.

    Globally gold prices edged lower on Tuesday as traders assessed the likely path of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy after data showed a slump in U.S. manufacturing activity and as OPEC+’s production cut sparked inflationary risks.

    Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,980.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures dipped 0.1% to $1,997.70.

    The dollar index was slightly higher, making bullion expensive for overseas buyers.

    Gold in the near term could see “consolidative price action in absence of a fresh catalyst and as markets monitor the extent of price gains in oil as that may throw a curve ball on inflation outlook and complicate monetary policy decision,” said OCBC FX strategist Christopher Wong.

    Oil prices steadied with investors’ attention shifting to demand trends and the impact of higher prices on the global economy.

  • Gasoline prices increase

    Gasoline prices increase

    Gasoline prices rose slightly on Monday after falling to their lowest in 2 months on March 21.

    RON95 went up 0.39% to VND23,120 ($0.98) per liter.

    E5 RON92 increased by 0.28% to VND22,080.

    Diesel stopped its downward trend with a 0.67% rise to VND19,430.

    Globally, the average price of fuel products increased by 0.6-2.4%.

    Per-barrel price of RON 92 was up by 1.7% to $93.82, while that of RON 95 went up 1.8% to $98.29.

    Diesel cost rose 0.6% to $96.89 per barrel.

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  • The Coffee House operator continues to rake up losses

    The Coffee House operator continues to rake up losses

    Seedcom, which owns The Coffee House and fashion store chain June, has reported a 14.5% increase in losses to VND270 billion ($11.5 million) last year.

    However, revenues rose by 60% thanks to increasing contributions by its fashion and supermarket chains, according to its consolidated financial results.

    Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, it has made losses for three straight years.

    Seedcom chairman Nguyen Hoanh Tien said that last year’s losses were inevitable because the company expanded its retail networks.

    “High-interest rates, rising rents, and increased costs of raw materials and logistics strongly affected the profit margin of the retail industry.”

    Last year Seedcom’s liabilities decreased by 16% to VND1.2 trillion. This year it redeemed bonds worth nearly VND250 billion.

    It owns delivery companies AhaMove and Giao Hang Nhanh, fashion brands WeStyle, Juno and Hnoss, online retail platform Haravan, and restaurant management solutions provider iPOS.

  • Vietnam’s rice exports rise 30%

    Vietnam’s rice exports rise 30%

    Vietnam’s rice export value rose 30.2% in the first quarter despite export volume falling 19.2%.

    According to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report, the country shipped 1.79 million tons of rice worth $952 million abroad in the period.

    The average export price reached $531 a ton, up 9.2% over the same period in 2022. The hike is mainly because shipments to China are recovering, and Indonesia is also buying more to build up national reserves.

    At a conference on rice exports at the end of February, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), predicted that rice prices will remain high in the second quarter.

    According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), many countries are at risk of drought in the second half of the year, so food production may decline. As a result, they are increasing the purchase of rice to ensure food security.

    This is an opportunity for Vietnamese rice exports to benefit, said experts.

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  • Sex messages coax phone users into dubious downloads

    Sex messages coax phone users into dubious downloads

    Vietnamese cell phone users have been receiving a spate of sexual messages from strangers in recent times that also ask them to click on links.

    The messages that came from handles such as “Lam tinh” (Making love), “Gai goi” (Call girl) and “Tim ban tinh” (Seeking love partners) began at the end of February, and have increased since last week.

    Phuong Thanh in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District said she received text messages from obscene sender names twice last week.

    When she was dining out with friends once the entire group received a message from the same sender with identical content telling to access a link for details.

    Thanh Lam in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 said he has received similar messages in the last few days. When he clicked on the link that came with the message, he was redirected to a website that introduced a dating app and told users to download it.

    “I knew it was a scam, so I didn’t go ahead. However, it will be very dangerous if the bad guys use aliases to impersonate organizations such as network carriers, banks and e-wallets,” he said. “Then gullible people are very likely to be deceived.”

    Many phone users received messages with obscene content.

    The difference with the old scam is that the obscene messages do not display a phone number, only a preset sender name.

    In telecommunications, it is known as an “alias,” and is used only in brand-name messages registered by companies and owners of product brands.

    Computer security expert Ngo Minh Hieu, aka HieuPC, the founder of a non-profit named “Chong lua dao” (Anti-phishing), said scammers change scripts constantly.

    “When phone users are wary of messages impersonating banks, scammers turn to scenarios that target curiosity.”

    The applications that are sent for downloading are mainly spyware capable of collecting user information, he said.

    Experts advise phone users not to click on unknown links, carefully check a website before downloading apps or entering passwords and set up OTP (one-time password) security for accounts and install security software on their computers and mobile phones.

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  • EU considers loosening controls on Vietnamese noodles

    EU considers loosening controls on Vietnamese noodles

    According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium, the European Union (EU) is considering a proposal to reduce food safety control measures on instant noodles imported from Vietnam.

    Since February last year, 20% of Vietnamese instant noodle shipments exported to the EU have been subject ethylene oxide level inspections. All shipments have been required to come with health certificates issued by Vietnamese regulatory agencies.

    According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the second half of 2022, the EU found no ethylene oxide, an organic compound with various applications (including disinfection and sterilization), in Vietnamese instant noodles.

    Therefore, the EU has proposed not requiring health certificates for instant noodles imported from Vietnam, reported the office.

    According to the office, the proposal is expected to be approved by the block’s member states at a meeting in April.

    By the end of February, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had issued 3,170 health certificates to exporters of instant noodles to the EU market through 21 ports.

    Germany is the largest import of instant noodles from Vietnam, accounting for over half of the certificates issued.

    In August 2021, a number of batches of Vietnamese instant noodles exported to the EU market were returned or destroyed due to residues of ethylene oxide exceeding the permissible level stipulated by the EU.

    Currently, each country and region has different regulations on ethylene oxide.

    Ethylene oxide is commonly used as a highly effective disinfectant and fumigation agent in a number of agricultural products, especially spices and herbs.

    Consumption of products containing ethylene oxide does not pose an acute health hazard but can cause cancer if taken regularly for a long time.

    In many European countries, 2-chloroethanol, a metabolite of ethylene oxide, is considered ethylene oxide when they calculate the ethylene oxide content in foods.

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  • Expats unhappy with Vietnam visa policy

    Expats unhappy with Vietnam visa policy

    Vietnam’s consternating visa policies helped placed the nation in the bottom 10 of an index ranking countries in terms of how favorable expatriates find their living conditions.

    The Expat Essentials Index, informed by the annual Expat Insider survey by website InterNations (which describes itself as the world’s largest online community of expats), found expatriates vexed about the Vietnam’s visa policy.

    For the 2022 edition of the index, InterNations asked 11,970 expats of 177 nationalities living in 181 countries and territories to provide information on various aspects of expat life.

    To be featured in the Expat Essentials Index, each destination needed a sample size of at least 50 survey participants. In total, 52 countries and territories met this requirement.

    Vietnam landed in the bottom 10, ranking 46th in the overall index, which included the four subcategories of Digital Life, Admin Topics, Housing, and Language.

    The nation was placed 51st out of 52 destinations for the Admin Topics Subcategory.

    Within this subcategory, 48% of surveyed expats reported that they had difficulties obtaining a visa to move to Vietnam, double the global average of 24%.

    Almost two in three, or 66%, said it was challenging to deal with the local bureaucracy, compared to 39% globally. And 41% found it difficult to open a local bank account, compared to 21% globally.

    “The bureaucracy makes simple tasks quite difficult,” said a British expat living in Vietnam, according to the survey.

    Vietnam ranked last for the availability of government services online in the Digital Life Subcategory, where it placed 49th. About one in four expats (23%) described it as difficult to pay without cash in Vietnam, compared to 8% globally.

    The country also fell in the bottom 10 of the Language Subcategory, ranking 47th.

    Within this subcategory, Vietnam ranked last for the ease of learning the local language.

    However, 65% of respondents reported that it is easy to live in Vietnam without speaking the local language, compared to 51% globally.

    For more positives, the country excelled in the Housing Subcategory, where it ranked fifth. Nearly seven in 10 expats (69%) considered housing in Vietnam affordable (compared to 39% globally), and 76% reported that it is easy to find a house here (versus 54% globally).

    The survey found Bahrain the world’s best destination for expats and Germany the worst. Singapore came third in the list as expats highly rated its digitalized life and Indonesia sixth thanks to affordable housing, with both having the language advantage.

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