Economy and commerce
Investment
Japanese construction giant to spend USD1bn on 50 projects in Vietnam
Tokyo-based contractor Kajima will team up with Indochina Land. Vietnam’s property market continues to ensnare Japanese firms. The latest: a partnership between Kajima and Hanoi-based developer Indochina Capital, which was unveiled on September 16, will officially begin in October. The resulting venture, ICC-Kajima, is expected to plough USD1 ...
Foreign sector scooping up Vietnam FMCG market
The foreign sector continues to scoop up more of the market for consumer goods like ice cream, food, drinks, clothing, footwear, toiletries and household supplies, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. At a recent business forum in Hanoi, Phan Chi Dung of the MOIT ...
China media: opposition to hydropower dams in Myanmar is “extreme”
Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower schemes in Myanmar is being orchestrated by “extreme” groups in the country and has been extremely damaging to joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on September 19. The suspension in 2011 of the US$3.6 billion Myitsone mega dam project by former ...
Vietnamese firm to sell rubber plantation in Laos
A Vietnamese multi-sector conglomerate has announced it may sell nearly half of its massive rubber plantation stake in Laos to Chinese partners to deal with increasing debts and shrinking profits. The Vietnamese firm Hoang Anh Gia Lai is a major investor in Laos and operates a ...
Exporters warned over strict standards
Amid poor export prospects, Thai exporters are being warned of looming strict trade standards on food safety, sanitation and the environment, notably from the US, the EU and Japan. Pimchanok Vonkhorporn, deputy director–general of Trade Policy and Strategy Office under the Commerce Ministry, said stricter ...
Vietnam has one of the least powerful passports in Southeast Asia
Faring poorly on an international passport index, Vietnam possesses one of the least powerful passports in the region. Ranking 74th on the World Economic Forum’s Passport Index, Vietnam, together with Cambodia, possesses one of the least powerful passports in Southeast Asia. Citizens from the two countries can visit ...
Calls for new property investment law
Real estate associations have proposed amending the Law on Land and the Law on Trading Real Estate to create favourable conditions for investors in property investment. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HCM City Real Estate Association, said the association proposed amending the two laws to permit ...
SMEs and start-up businesses: essential solutions to Vietnamese-French relations
President Francois Hollande met with the community of French start-up businesses in new technologies, French Viet Tech during his recent visit to Vietnam. The event opened additional opportunities for Vietnamese-French economic cooperation and improved the effectiveness, dynamism, and creativity of French enterprises in Vietnam. Small and medium-sized ...
PM weighs in on rice lending
Rice millers said on September 18 they welcomed the prime minister’s announcement that the government would make over $20 million in funds available shortly to support cash-strapped millers and prop up falling paddy prices.“We’ve been waiting for these loans for a long time like fish waiting ...
Investment grows at SEZs
Over US$1 billion has been disbursed in various business activities and the development of special and specific economic zones, driven by growing regional economic integration. Almost 300 companies from Laos and overseas are now investing in the SEZs, with a total registered capital of almost US$8 ...
