Vietnam's Vital Signs
Landslides, gas shortages, small airports, tech advances and the end of F1
UPDATE: In this, the fourth of the Long Mekong Daily six country reports, Vietnam is having its fair share of ups and downs. Bad weather and heavy rains, the end of F1 racing and gas shortages, plus small airports can fly and tech is a boon. The big question is: Can Vietnam escape US inflation export, high dollar debts and a slowdown in global growth? So far so good, but the pressure is on for one of Asean’s best performers.
NB: The Long Mekong is brought to you in partnership with the International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC).
Landslide Traps 20.000
A total 20,000 people in central Vietnam's Quang Ngai Province have been isolated after a landslide cut off a highway and buried generators at a hydropower plant Tuesday. A large hill was severley eroded, sending soil and rubble down the DT 622B highway section running through Tra Lam Commune of Tra Bong District on Tuesday morning, blocking traffic. As the route connects downtown Tra Bong with six other communes in the district, the blockage meant 20,000 people were isolated.
Heavy rain on Monday caused the erosion, sending rubble onto a set of generators at the Ka Tinh hydropower plant, one worker was reported missing. Authorities have deployed vehicles and dozens of soldiers to remove the rubble and restore traffic. VN Express
Chequered Flag for Vietnam F1
Fenced off to the public and dotted with plastic waste, Hanoi’s motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam’s capital will ever host a Formula 1 grand prix. The city was set to make its F1 debut in 2020 but the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Hanoi has not appeared on the race calendar since. Now, the spectator stands have been removed and most of the circuit sits empty -- save a few hobby cyclists who sneak in, lured by the open space in the traffic-clogged city. They race past yellowing grass, weeds and trash blown in by the wind, but the track itself appears like new, with “Vietnam” still clearly visible where it was painted on the tarmac.Outside the surrounding metal fence, Hanoi’s ubiquitous motorbikes have already reclaimed the roads once earmarked to form part of the 5.6-kilometre (3.5-mile) track. Fox Sports
Vietnam Considers Censorship of Social Media
Vietnam is preparing new rules to limit which social media accounts can post news-related content, three people familiar with the matter said, as authorities tighten their control over news and information sources in the country. The rules, expected to be announced by the year-end and with details yet to be hammered out, would establish a legal basis for controlling news dissemination on platforms like Facebook and YouTube while placing a significant moderation burden on platform providers, two of the sources added. The sources asked not to be identified, as discussions about the new rules remain confidential. "The government wants to fix what it sees as the 'news-lisation' of social media," said one source familiar with the talks. "News-lisation", or báo hoá, is a term used by the authorities to describe the misleading of users into thinking that social media accounts are authorised news outlets. Reuters
Local and foreign experts weighed up the benefits of investing in small airports, and whether such plans could help local economies grow. The issues were discussed at a round table held recently in Hanoi by Vietnam Investment Review with the participation of speakers from local and international organisations. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Vietnam ranks first on the list of 25 countries with the fastest recovery in the domestic aviation market post-pandemic. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the country's aviation sector had been growing at a double-digit rate, averaging 15.8 per cent annually. The IATA forecasts that by 2035, Vietnamese airlines will serve up to 136 million passengers and contribute $23 billion to GDP. However, the existing airport system, especially small airports such as Con Dao, Cat Bi, Phu Quoc, Lien Khuong, and Cam Ranh, is overloaded. In Vietnam, airlines and airports contribute significantly to the economic growth of localities and the wider country. In 2019, the aviation industry, including passenger spending, contributed US$12.5 billion to the country's GDP. The Star
Life is not a Gas!
"We cannot bear this loss anymore; the more gasoline we sell, the more money we lose," the owner of a gas station in the Mekong Delta said. He had to complete countless procedures to set up his gas station: consulting the national investment agenda, changing the land-use purpose, seeking permits for the construction rights and installation of gas pipes, fire safety, environmental license, measurements and quality controls, sales certificates ... the list goes on. Now with the gas station needing to close, he, and many others like him, feel as if all those efforts were in vain. Meanwhile, the few gas stations that remain open face great resentment from the public, mainly because queues to buy fuel take forever. Sometimes, the resentment takes a rather extreme form: On October 6, after waiting for long to fill his motorbike at a HCMC pump, a man whipped out a knife and attacked the staff.
The gas shortage is severe, especially in the larger cities. This begs the question: What is the role of the government in ensuring availability of such a critical resource?Pressure is intensifying on the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Even as the gasoline issue exercised the public, its chiefs provided no clear answers, and all people heard were "plans" and "promises" from importers and refineries, which could take months or years to implement. Gas stations closed while distributors remain silent. Gasoline importers invented new and incomprehensible excuses. Who can provide assistance to people who have no fuel for transportation and potentially no means to take care of their families? "Will the public have enough gas for this month?" was a simple yes or no question that no manager answered sufficiently. Oil is a strategic resource that directly influences the prices of all goods and services used in daily life. VN Express
Vietnam has the potential to become a world leading IT hub for its quality universities as well as young and trained workforce. So far Vietnam has been successful in the hardware sector, as many of Samsung’s mobile phones and Apple's iPads and Bluetooth headsets are manufactured there. Meanwhile, many international corporations have established development centres or cooperated with IT service providers in Vietnam. The US-based management consulting firm A.T. Kearney regularly ranks the Southeast Asian country in the top five most attractive destinations for IT outsourcing services.
One of Germany’s industrial giant Bosch's most important global software development centres is located in Ho Chi Minh City. Gaur Dattatreya, CEO of the Bosch Global Software Technologies Vietnam, which is hiring more than 3,000 programmers, said Vietnam is a very suitable location thanks to its large number of professionals that are young (28 years old on average) and well-trained from high-quality public and international universities. Vietnam Plus
Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva, leads the Vietnamese delegation to the 51st session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which lasted from September 12 to October 7, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the session, Mai highlighted Vietnam's priorities and commitments as a candidate for the UNHCR for the 2023-2025 term, reaffirmed its consistent stance and policies to make human beings the center for development and ensure that citizens get to enjoy the fruits of development. She also talked about Vietnam’s commitment and capacity to contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights around the world, as well as facilitating dialogues and cooperation at the UNHRC regarding issues like sustainable development, climate change response, the protection and promotion of the rights of vulnerable communities, gender equality and the advancement of women. The UNHCR would vote for new members for its 2023-2025 term on Tuesday. Vietnam is a running candidate. VN Express
Standard Chartered raises Vietnam’s growth forecast to 7.5%The prediction is based on a 13.7% surge in the third quarter. It said Vietnam’s Q4 growth is anticipated at 4%. The U.K. lender predicts Vietnam’s GDP could grow by 7.2% in 2023, up 0.2% compared to the August forecast. Meanwhile, the U.K.-based bank lowered its inflation forecast for this year to 3.3% from 4.2%. It expected an acceleration in Q4 to 5% from 3.3% in Q3. "Inflation has been largely put under control and price pressures may increase in the rest of 2022 and in 2023," the lender noted. Tim Leelahaphan, economist for Thailand and Vietnam at Standard Chartered Bank, said inflation is a threat to Vietnam’s continued recovery. VN Express
One of the newest entrants into the electric vehicle (EV) industry is VinFast from Vietnam. It doesn’t have the pedigree or band value of Teslas. Or, perhaps not yet. The company has surprised many for its technologically-advanced products. There’s a “wow factor” highlighted by respected car reviewers. This makes VinFast belong to a league of its own: it’s is not your ordinary EV maker. Many admit having had their head blown off on their first test drive. Though relatively low-priced, and still low-volume, VinFast EVs are packed with high-tech features. Production is also expected to ramp up. Though virtually unknown, the company said it has already booked 65,000 global reservations since January for the VinFast VF 8 and VinFast VF 9 SUVs. The privately-held automaker headquartered in Singapore was founded in 2017 and forms part of Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate. Gulf News
Vietnam's main stock index fell 3.8% to 1,002 points on Tuesday, the lowest level since November 2020. Traders said shares slumped due to weak global sentiment that prompted them to sell and stay on the sidelines. Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index also plummeted by 148 points in September, its biggest decline in 30 months and a steeper drop than most brokerages had forecast. It has fallen by 24.4% since the end of last year to 1,132 points. In September, it was among the top 10 worst performing indices in the world. Foreign investors sold more than VND3 trillion ($125.57 million) worth of securities. The sell-off was more severe than brokerages had predicted. VNDirect had said that the shortened stock settlement cycle and increased credit quota for some banks would improve the market, and the worst-case scenario was a fall to 1,240 points. RongViet Securities Corporation even forecast a rise to beyond 1,300 points thanks to the U.S.’s determination to fight inflation. The market, however, has not shared such an optimistic outlook. The Star