Other Briefings
A Hanoi Primer
By Joyce Roque HANOI, Nov. 6 – The first thing you will remember on your drive out of Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport might also be the last thing you see as you leave the city – the motorcycles. The undulating wave of motorcycles that zip and turn to no apparent whim but its own. […]
Business License Issuance Delayed in Congested Areas of HCMC
Nov. 5 – The government has opted to temporarily suspend issuing business licenses to congested areas in Ho Chi Minh City as a way to alleviate worsening traffic. Businesses that attract crowds like supermarkets and foreign language centers will be restricted as well as possibly wedding service providers. In addition, parking in traffic prone areas […]
Vietnam’s List of National Projects Open to FDI
HANOI, Nov. 4 – With Vietnam dealing with the slowing effects of the global economic crisis, it is not all bad news as it maintains its post as one of the top destinations of foreign direct investment in the region according to the Asean Business Council. The government has long been pushing for more infrastructure […]
Vietnam Launches National Database for Administrative Procedures
HANOI, Nov.2 – The government launched its first national database on administrative procedures in Hanoi last month for streamlining procedures and cutting costs. The new National Database on Administrative Procedures or commonly called Project 30 will save the country VND10,000 billion yearly by making all the administrative procedures and legal documents for all ministries and […]
Samsung Opens US$700 Million Cellphone Plant in Vietnam
Oct. 30 – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics has recently opened a US$700 million plant in Yen Phong Industrial Park located in the northern province of Bac Ninh, making it the first cellphone plant in the country and Samsung’s seventh in the world. The new plant will manufacture 1.5 million mobile handsets monthly to be sold […]
Vietnam Reduces Landing Fees for International Airlines
Oct. 29 – Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Administration will reduce landing and take-off fees for all international airlines by 5 percent until March 1, 2010 as a way of helping carriers deal with the global recession. Vietnam’s international airports charge varying fees on airlines depending on the size of the plane with bigger planes charged more. […]
HSBC Increases Stake in Top Vietnam Insurer to US$105 Million
Oct. 28 – Banking giant HSBC has raised its stake in one of the country’s leading insurance and financial services group to 18 percent for US$105 million. The increased investment on Bao Viet Holdings is in line with HSBC’s overall strategy to expand into emerging Asian markets. HSBC first bought a 10 percent stake in […]
Vietnam, United Kingdom Endorse New Economic Contracts
Oct. 27 – The Vietnam-UK Business Forum 2009 held in London last week has led to the signing of a number of contracts including a US$1.5 billion project to build a thermo-electricity center and US$1.5 billion project to build a seaport warehouse. During the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said that Vietnam always […]
Chinese Company to Build Power Plant in Binh Thuan
Oct. 26 – The Shanghai Electric Group has agreed to build the Vinh Tan thermal power plant in the northern province of Binh Thuan. The plant will answer Vietnam’s growing electricity needs in the coming years providing 7.5 to 8 billion kWh of electricity annually. The Chinese company will handle the design, construction and installation […]
Guangdong Companies Sign 24 Deals in Hanoi Trade Forum
Oct. 23 – Guangdong companies signed 24 projects worth US$723 million during a trade forum in Hanoi on October 20. “Vietnam will do its best to further develop this relationship, including efforts to boost economic, commercial and investment ties with Guangdong province,” Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem was quoted as saying by Nhan […]
