After Uber retreated from Vietnamese market, Grab has ruled the roost in the ride-hailing market. Not long after that several Vietnamese ride-hailing apps continuously made debut. However, only when Go-Viet app appeared, did Grab meet its match. The battle for ride-hailing app supremacy between the two businesses has become increasingly fierce and yet to know the winner. The ride-hailing market in Vietnam recently welcomed a new player – Be - with two first major services: motorbike and car rides. Be run by Vietnamese star-up BeGroup aims to provide services in 15 cities and provinces this year and all 63 cities and provinces nationwide by 2020. The company so far has had 30,000 partner drivers and its app has had more than 3 million downloads. Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, CEO of BeGroup, said that his company’s competition strategy will not aim to offer super low fare rate but to focus on improving service quality and loyalty of partner drivers. Partner drivers of Be will have … [Read more...] about Battle of ride-hailing apps
App developer program
High tech tourism services attract more travelers
Tourism centers in the central region of Vietnam have been using technologies to attract more travelers, believing that ‘technological tourism’ will be the future of the industry. It's time of hi-tech tourism When the APEC Summit took place in Da Nang last year, the city’s tourism department put ran a chatbot system on Facebook and Skype platforms, which helped travelers seek information about beautiful landscapes, hotels, restaurants and means of transport. After six months of trial operation, ‘Da Nang Fantasticity’, the chatbot, became operational in April. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Da Nang Tourism Department, said that Da Nang, together with Singapore, are two cities in Southeast Asia that first applied chatbot technology to serve people and travelers. During the trial operation, nearly 10,000 travelers from 12 countries and territories used the chabot. The chatbot app was developed by Hekate AI, a Vietnamese 3-year-old … [Read more...] about High tech tourism services attract more travelers
DNES rolls out new incubation program with new advancement
DNES rolls out new incubation program with new advancementBy Nhan Tam Entrepreneurs of Incubation Program VI and VII at DNES share their startup stories in this file photo – PHOTO: NHAN TAM DANANG - Danang Entrepreneurship Support (DNES), also known as Danang Incubator, launched Incubation Program 1.1 today, November 13, with many advanced features at SURF SPACE, the second coworking space of DNES in Danang City. In particular, the Incubation Program 1.1 will be applied to three startup projects: Dawa Farm, which makes clean peanut cooking oil; ecommerce website Toidayhoc.com, which connects instructors and learners; and Fserving Home, which links real estate traders by deploying an artificial intelligence (AI) application. During the first six months of supporting startup projects under the new program, DNES will prioritize enhancing the project founders’ capacity and streamlining the startups’ development process to obtain specific outcomes. In addition, … [Read more...] about DNES rolls out new incubation program with new advancement
Vietnamese IT whiz happy with his apps
Rising star: Among the names announced in Việt Nam’s Golden Book of Creativity 2018, which honours Vietnamese people’s creativity in science-technology, Duy is the youngest. VNS Photo Võ Việt Dũng Viet Nam News by Lương Thu Hương In this era of information technology, a smart phone with the Android operating system can run virtual calculator applications that can be easily downloaded from the Google Play Store for free. One of the most popular applications, which has become familiar among many students, is NCalc+, with over one million users worldwide. NCalc+ is the brainchild of Trần Lê Duy from the southern province of An Giang. Duy is now a freshman at FPT University, majoring in software engineering. It took Duy nearly one year to write NCalc+, which simulates a handheld calculator to help students with maths and science. The applications not only include the basic functions of a regular calculator but also … [Read more...] about Vietnamese IT whiz happy with his apps
Competition in ride hailing market enters new period
VietNamNet Bridge - After the departure of Uber, the battle in the ride hailing market has heated up with the participation of many newcomers. Joining the market, FastGo and Go-Viet applied two major tactics – offering ‘next-to-nothing fee’ and using the motto ‘Vietnamese use Vietnamese apps’. Go-Viet bears the management hallmark of Go-Jek and its Malaysian origin, but the brand still tries to win Vietnamese hearts by saying ‘buy Vietnamese’. Meanwhile, its promotion campaign under which passengers only paid VND5,000 for trips less than 8 kilometers, caught special attention from the public. After the departure of Uber, the battle in the ride hailing market has heated up with the participation of many newcomers. The marketing formula proved to be effective. Nadiem Makarim, CEO of Go-Jek, said that Go-Viet has 35 percent of the motorbike hailing market share in HCM City, and the app has got 1.5 million downloads after six … [Read more...] about Competition in ride hailing market enters new period
Workforce key in foreign investment decisions
Industrial parks in Hai Phong city and Hung Yen, Bac Ninh and Phu Tho provinces in Vietnam’s north always face a shortage of high-performing workers, as many foreign investors have built or plan to build factories in the region. Some foreign investors, especially from South Korea, expect to expand their business and employ 10,000 workers in the electricity and electronics sectors, according to the latest report from the Navigos Group. Others in the south, meanwhile, are willing to recruit foreign candidates for managerial-level positions when necessary. Greatest demand As Vietnam is considered an attractive destination for foreign investors, the jobs market has been active over recent years. Manufacturing, IT, retail, and finance and banking will see the highest demand for employees this year, according to local and foreign industry insiders. Manufacturing had the highest demand in the first quarter, Navigos Search reports, as growth of 13.56 per cent in the … [Read more...] about Workforce key in foreign investment decisions
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 5/7
1H FDI disbursement at $8.37 bn FDI projects were estimated to have disbursed $8.37 billion in the first half of this year, up 8.4 per cent year-on-year. Vietnam had 25,953 valid projects as at the end of the first half, with total registered capital of $331.24 billion. Total disbursed FDI capital was estimated at $180.74 billion, or 54.6 per cent of total registered capital in valid projects. Foreign investors have invested in 19 out of the 21 sectors in Vietnam to date, in which processing and manufacturing accounted for the highest proportion, with $189.13 billion, or 57.1 per cent of total investment capital, followed by real estate with $56.2 billion, or nearly 17 per cent, and the production and distribution of electricity, water and gas, with $21.92 billion, or 6.6 per cent. Valid projects come from 128 countries and territories. South Korea ranks first, with total registered capital of $61.67 billion, accounting for 18.6 per cent of the total. Japan ranked second, with $55.45 … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 5/7
More Vietnamese startups jump into ride-hailing app market
VietNamNet Bridge - Uber’s departure from the Vietnamese market has created a space for Vietnam’s apps to develop. Vato, Aber, 123xe and the newcomer Fastgo are among them. The e-hailing market is very competitive To date, Vietnam has 8-10 apps to compete with Grab, while Go-Jek from Indonesia has joined the market and MVL from Singapore plans to debut in July. Huynh Le Phu Phong, CEO of Aber, said the riding app is still full of potential. Just several days after debut, Aber received many clients. Two days after launching its app, FastGo got 1,500 drivers. Both FastGo and Aber follow specific policies to retain users and drivers. FastGo, for example, has committed not to collect fees based on revenue, but to collect no more than VND30,000 a day from drivers. It has also committed to maintain a VND7,900 per kilometer fee and not to raise fees in rush hours. Both FastGo and Aber follow specific policies to retain users and drivers. FastGo, for example, … [Read more...] about More Vietnamese startups jump into ride-hailing app market
Danang launches apps to introduce tourism events
Danang launches apps to introduce tourism eventsBy Nhan Tam Tourists can look up cultural and tourism events by using Zalo and Chatbot apps - PHOTO: NHAN TAM DANANG - Visitors and locals in Danang City can now use Zalo and Chatbot apps to stay abreast of upcoming tourism events and activities in the city. Zalo app, which is connected with Call Center 1022 under the Danang Public Service Center, will enable tourists to find extra information, such as public transportation schedules. Meanwhile, the app Chatbot Danang Fantasticity helps tourists stay updated on current and future events taking place in the coastal city. It even shows them ways to reach their favorite activities, so they can arrange their itineraries more conveniently. Aiming to open up more information channels to support tourists, the municipal Department of Tourism has collaborated with the technology firm Hekate in developing the Chatbot Danang Fantasticity app, which is the first automatic search tool based … [Read more...] about Danang launches apps to introduce tourism events
New Vietnamese app for transport services launched
ABER is a smart app in the Industry 4.0 and is user-friendly with local people. It is developed by a group of Vietnamese programmers studying overseas in Europe. The services that ABER offers are Aber Bike (motorbike taxi service), Aber Car (taxi service), Aber Truck (deliver truck service), Aber Travel (travelling with Aber), Aber Business (vehicles for hire), Aber Express (delivery service). All services from ABER are supposed to have competitive fees, along with many promotional programs for customers and reasonable fee for drivers (they will not collect fee if drivers’ revenue is lower than VND500,000 – around $20 a month). ABER drivers are all professional enough to ensure safety to all passengers. The most noticeable fact is that ABER’s map does not depend on Google Map but is built by its creators, so it is much more precise in Vietnam. According to Mr. Nguyen Binh, ABER founder, although the app is introduced when the market is quite full, he still believes … [Read more...] about New Vietnamese app for transport services launched