Chinese media companies

Dr Le Hong Hiep, Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has recently instructed the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance and relevant government agencies to crack down on the use of Chinese electronic wallet services, such as WeChat Pay and AliPay, as well as illegal points of sale devices at travel hotspots frequented by Chinese tourists. The government is concerned that the use of such payment methods, through which the transactions, conducted between Chinese bank accounts of Chinese tourists and business owners, can circumvent Vietnam’s banking system and national regulations, leading to loss of tax revenues and other potential problems. This is one of the many challenges that Vietnamese authorities have to handle to reap the benefits of the greater inflow of Chinese tourists while minimizing any unwanted impacts that they may generate for the country in general and the economy in particular. In the first … [Read more...] about Spike in Chinese tourists presents new challenges for Vietnam

A group of Chinese tourists entering Vietnam wearing T-shirts with a Chinese map that violates Vietnam's sovereignty has caused uproar among local public and won global headlines, prompting top tourism officials to urge for actions, but Khanh Hoa Province said it does not know what to do. Officials in the central coastal province said they are aware that it's illegal for someone in Vietnam to demonstrate the nine-dash line, which claims most of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea as China's territory, but there are not yet specific legal regulations to handle the situation. Tran Son Hai, the province's vice chairman, said this was the first time Chinese nationals were caught wearing the controversial outfit to enter Vietnam. The province has an etiquette guide for tourists and a code of conduct warning them against spreading false information about Vietnam's history and culture, but nothing specifically about the nine-dash line. The line has been met with strong opposition … [Read more...] about Vietnam province puzzled with nine-dash line T-shirts brought by Chinese group

Authorities in Vietnam's coastal city of Da Nang have fined a local tour guide for allowing a Chinese tourist to take over and spread distorted information about Vietnam’s history and culture to other visitors. Tran A Hung was fined VND12.5 million ($548) for failing to manage his client in accordance with regulations outlined in his contract, the city's tourism department said on Tuesday. Hung was guiding four Chinese visitors to Da Nang Museum in the central city in late February. In a video posted on social media on February 28, a Chinese woman identified as Wang JiHong, 48, one of Hung’s clients, taking on the role of a tour guide herself at the museum. She said the Vietnamese traditional long dress ao dai came from cheongsam, a body-hugging one-piece dress for Chinese women, and although the ao dai is made in the Vietnamese style, it looks the same as the Chinese cheongsam. JiHong went on to say that: “Vietnam belonged to China in the past but fighting had … [Read more...] about Tour guide fined for letting Chinese visitor spread distorted truth of Vietnamese history

Cuba on Thursday granted Vietnamese developer and building supplies corporation Viglacera a concession to administer and market part of a Chinese-style industrial park just west of Havana. The area, named the Mariel Special Development Zone, is adjacent to a modern container terminal at the port of Mariel 28 miles (45 km) west of the Cuban capital. Cuba says it is currently spending about $300 million per year to develop the area, which has so far signed up 34 clients. Most of the companies are 100 percent foreign owned and involved in infrastructure and service development for the zone. A handful are building factories to produce everything from diapers and cigarettes to cold cuts and personal hygiene products. Cuba created the zone four years ago to attract foreign capital with tax and customs breaks to boost its anemic economy. Cuba hopes the zone and others it plans for the future will “increase exports, the effective substitution of imports, (spur) high-technology and local … [Read more...] about Cuba grants Vietnamese company concession at special development zone

By An Nguyen  &nbspMarch 25, 2018 | 10:29 am GMT+7 'Operation Red Sea' has stirred controversy due to a scene showing Chinese warships in disputed waters. Major movie distributor CGV has announced that it is pulling a Chinese movie out of all its theaters in Vietnam, just over a week after the movie's premiere. According to a CGV representative, the company is pulling "Operation Red Sea" because the movie has been performing badly in theaters, with many showings only drawing only one to two viewers. "Operation Red Sea" is a Chinese action movie by Hong Kong director Dante Lam, and premiered in Vietnam on March 16. The movie is loosely based on an operation by the Chinese military to evacuate almost 600 Chinese citizens and 225 foreign nationals from a Yemeni port during the Middle Eastern country's civil war in 2015. The movie has grossed over $500 million, making it the second highest-grossing Chinese movie ever, according to Entgroup's China Box Office website. … [Read more...] about Chinese blockbuster pulled from Vietnamese theaters