International

"China’s repeated provocative actions aimed at the offshore oil and gas development of other claimant states threatens regional energy security and undermines the free and open Indo-Pacific energy market," the State Department said in a statement. It said these acts were interfering in particular with "Vietnam’s long-standing exploration and production activities" in the waters. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters close to Southeast Asian countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The State Department cited Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s comments earlier this year when he said, "by blocking development in the South China Sea through coercive means, China prevents ASEAN members from accessing more than $2.5 trillion in recoverable energy reserves." The department said that China’s reclamation and militarization of disputed outposts in the waterway, including the use of maritime militia to … [Read more...] about US says China hampering energy activity in South China Sea

By Binh Minh  &nbspJuly 21, 2019 | 08:04 am GMT+7 Illegal Vietnamese workers are sent back by China to Vietnam's Lang Son Province, July 17, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Binh Minh. Chinese authorities have detained and sent back 30 Vietnamese nationals working in the country without valid papers. The Vietnamese workers said they had entered China through several border trails to find jobs because they could not find stable work at home. They mostly came from northern mountainous provinces Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Tuyen Quang and Thai Nguyen, which are at or near the China border, and from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh. They were detained by Chinese police for failing to show valid work permits or personal identification papers. On Wednesday, border officers in China’s Guangxi Province handed over the group of Vietnamese workers to Vietnamese authorities at the Chi Ma border gate in Lang Son. Officers from the Lang Son immigration … [Read more...] about China deports 30 illegal Vietnamese workers

By Ngoc Thanh  &nbspJuly 20, 2019 | 08:59 pm GMT+7 This is how two men of Ninh Hiep Village, Hanoi's Gia Lam District, catch rice field rats for food rich in protein. Rice field rats being caught for food in northen Vietnam The two men set up traps in rice fields to catch rats in early July after the land was plowed following the harvest season. These traps have a serrated rim and a diameter of five to six centimeters, which are used to catch two types of field rats - vole and rhizomyinae. Traps are placed in higher mounds near the fields, where rats often stay after the harvests. Villagers said that since field rats use only one path to go in and out of their holes, they would set up traps on that path that will clamp shut on the rats' legs. "June and November are the best months to catch field rats since they are fatter from eating rice. Across the fields, the villagers use dogs to sniff out the holes and dig them up. However, that method requires a lot of … [Read more...] about A rich rodent yield from a rice field in northern Vietnam

By Anh Minh  &nbspJuly 20, 2019 | 02:59 pm GMT+7 A co-working office in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of Toong. HCMC welcomed over 4,000 square meters of co-working office space in the second quarter, concentrated in the central districts. New co-working spaces were created mainly in five locations  - three clusters in District 1, the city’s business district, and two in Binh Thanh District, a short distance from District 1, according to real estate firm CBRE’s latest report. Co-working space has been expanding at a rapid pace, and its occupancy rate averaged 80 percent in the second quarter, the CBRE report said. By the end of June, there were 46,266 square meters of shared offices in HCMC, up 101 percent over the same period last year. This figure is projected to increase two fold by the end of 2019. Nguyen Hong Hai, CEO of office rental service Pax Sky, said co-working spaces are now popular because the supply of office space in HCMC’s … [Read more...] about Shared workspace business flourishes in downtown HCMC

The industry used to receive around $2 billion from foreign investors each year, but this has come down to now only a few hundred million dollars, Tran Sy Thanh, chairman of state oil firm PetroVietnam (PVN), said at a recent meeting. Contributions to Vietnam’s oil reserves have also been decreasing. "When our predecessors extracted one ton of crude oil (to use), they put another 1.5 or 2 times as much into reserves. Now we take out 1 ton of crude oil, we only add another 0.3-0.4 percent into reserves," he added. Regulations make it costly to explore for new sources of oil. For instance, Vietnam’s Law on Water Resources requires each exploration lot to pay $10-15 million in taxes, which is too high given that investment is so limited, Thanh said. "It makes things for us (oil prospectors) very difficult, it’s like we are tying ourselves down." Without funds for drilling and exploration, there is no way to increase reserves. Despite changing conditions, the … [Read more...] about Declining investment limits Vietnam’s oil and gas industry

The arrests were made after managers of convenience stores on Le Loi Street in District 1 complained with local police, saying a gang of youth armed with stones and some sharp objects broke into their stores several times, taking both money and goods. Investigation found the suspects had attacked employees at local stores for robberies in at least three occassions this month. Three teenagers arrested for series of Saigon convenience store robberies On July 9, they came to one shop at 1:30 a.m., used a glass bottle to threaten an employee and took VND2.1 million ($90.32). Three days later, they returned and took VND1.8 million. On Wednesday night, the gang, armed with flick-knifes, carried out another robbery but it is not known how much they robbed. The three detained suspects, Pham Nguyen Ngoc Tien, 17, Tran Van Thang, 16, and Vo Nguyen Thanh Phuc, 13, said they took money to buy drugs and play online games. Last year, police in Saigon also detained 11 people, most of them … [Read more...] about Three teens arrested for Saigon convenience store robberies

By Dat Nguyen  &nbspJuly 20, 2019 | 10:00 am GMT+7 Landmark 81, the tallest skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the premium office buildings in the city. Photo by Shutterstock/Ho Su A B. Saigon office rents are rising across all categories as demand remains high despite new supply. A new report by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) shows that Grade A rents in the second quarter increased 4.8 percent year-on-year. Grade B rents also rose 7.5 percent, while that of Grade C rents went up 8.5 percent. The rents have gone up despite the market getting new supply of  42,700 square meters from seven buildings, bringing the total office space area to 2.23 million square meters. But the rise in supply has mostly occurred in non-central business districts. In the central business districts, supply has remained restricted with no new Grade A and B supply recorded in seven consecutive quarters, the report says. The occupancy rate in the whole market is … [Read more...] about Saigon office rents rise despite new supply

By Phan Anh  &nbspJuly 20, 2019 | 09:00 am GMT+7 Chinese nationals are detained in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, for using mobile signal repeaters illegally, July 18, 2019. Photo by Vietnam News Agency. Five Chinese nationals were detained in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Thursday for using a set of mobile signal repeaters without approval. Complaints from locals and businesses had led the authorities to investigate mobile signals in the area being disrupted, police said Friday, as cited by Vietnam News Agency. They found that the Chinese, who were residing in a house in Mong Cai Town near the border, had installed and used a set of mobile signal repeaters, disrupting signals in the area. Police have seized three antennas, two repeaters, 13 wireless phones, chargers and wires. The five nationals said they had come to Vietnam to work in trade, and that they were working for the Thanh Dat Trading Company, which is headquartered in HCMC. Authorities are trying … [Read more...] about Vietnam detains five Chinese using mobile signal repeaters

Thai Nguyen is virtually a synonym for tea in Vietnam, and this seems to have kept several other beautiful places in the northern province away from the tourism spotlight. Just 80 km from Hanoi, the province is a gateway to the beautiful northeastern part of the country, including Ha Giang, Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan and Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang on the China-Vietnam border. But it is best known for producing the nation’s finest teas. A group of female workers in conical hats pick tea leaves in Thai Nguyen, which has the second largest tea cultivation area after the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong at 20,000 hectares. Before 1882, tea was grown by local famers in highland areas and valleys surrounded by giant mountains. Then, about half of harvested leaves were used for drinking fresh tea, and the rest was processed and preserved. In 1882, the French began establishing huge tea estates and using machines and modern cultivation techniques that saw output soar. The province … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s finest tea producer teems with other natural delights

By Minh Son  &nbspJuly 20, 2019 | 08:00 am GMT+7 Vodka Hanoi bottles displayed at a Halico product stand in Hanoi. Photo by Halico. Alcohol giant Hanoi Liquor JSC reported that its loss-making trend has continued with a VND37 billion ($1.6 million) pre-tax loss in the H1. The manufacturer of Hanoi Vodka said the loss, unabated since 2015, take the accumulated losses of Hanoi Liquor JSC (Halico) to VND376 billion ($16.27 million). Given its net revenue target for this year is VND173 billion ($7.49 million) and pre-tax loss target is VND60 billion ($2.6 million), the company has only achieved 41 percent of the former but already nearly 62 percent of the planned loss. The management said the company's sales are decreasing as Vietnamese consumer tastes shift to imported beer and foreign liquor, but admitted that Halico has failed to capture younger consumer segments. Low demand means production is much below capacity and production cost per unit is high. The … [Read more...] about Losses unabated for producer of Hanoi Vodka