Adrian Chng, GoBear CEO: Fintech primed to boost financial services sector in Vietnam Vietnam is setting records. Notably, at the end of last year, it was named one of the world’s Top 20 internet users with 64 million connected people and in January this year, Vietnam claimed the title of the world’s fastest growing wealth hub, clocking in 210 per cent wealth growth between 2007 and 2017. This is the reason that Forbes declared the country ‘every keen investor’s must-watch’ for 2018. Besides, It means that Vietnam sits at the beautiful intersection where personal finance meets inevitable innovation. In the last five years alone, Vietnam has experienced the entry of over 40 new fintech players, such as online payment platforms Mobivi and Momo, as well as the country’s first fully digital bank Timo. One of these is financial products comparison platform GoBear, one of Asia’s fastest growing startups that has recently undergone leadership … [Read more...] about Fintech primed to boost financial services sector in Vietnam
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 16/3
Car sales nosedive in February Automakers sold 11,718 cars in Viet Nam in February, a 49 per cent drop over the previous month, a report released by the Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) said. The sales comprised 6,446 passenger cars, 4,599 commercial cars and 673 special purpose vehicles, falling 54 per cent, 44 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. The Truong Hai Automobile Joint-Stock Company (Thaco) took the lead in February, selling 4,184 vehicles, and claiming 37.5 per cent of the market share. It's followed by Toyota Motor Viet Nam with 2,367 units, equal to 21.1 per cent of the market share. The VAMA report also showed that more than 9,200 locally assembled cars were sold in February, a 46 per cent fall over January. Meanwhile, 2,475 imported cars were sold last month, falling 57 per cent. There were still familiar names among the top 10 best-sellers such as Vios, Morning, Innova and Fortuner as well as Mazda 3, while 660 units of the Ford Ranger pick-up … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 16/3
Social News 6/9
Bird flu spreads to new areas The A/H5N6 bird flu virus has been found in the central provinces of Quang Tri and Quang Ngai, raising the total number of affected localities to five, confirmed the Department of Animal Health. The department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the virus was detected in a poultry farm in Quang Tri province's Trung Hai commune late last month. Around 350 out of 1,500 infected ducks have died. The virus has also killed 200 out of 1,100 infected poultry that tested positive for A/H5N6 in Quang Ngai province. Head of Quang Tri province's animal health department Le Thi Nga said local authorities had promptly destroyed infected birds and were sterilising poultry farms to contain the virus. However, there was a high risk of the virus spreading with the infected birds in Quang Ngai province coming from Dai Xuyen market in Ha Noi - the biggest poultry market in the country. Director of the Zone 1 Animal Health Office Le Minh Son … [Read more...] about Social News 6/9
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 25/7
Chemicals company fined for securities fraud Duc Giang - Lao Cai Chemicals Co was fined VND230 million (US$10,900) for fraud in sales of securities. The State Securities Commission fined the company VND200 million for carrying out a public offering of securities without registering with the commission. The remaining VND30 million in fines was for filing a registration to be a public company 12 months late. Bao Viet Securities Co sees jump in profits Bao Viet Securities Co (BVS) reported a profit of over VND55 billion (US$2.6 million) in the second quarter of this year thanks to rocketing incomes from their brokerage operations. The profits are bright news for the securities firm that posted a loss of about VND26 billion ($1.2 million) for the same period last year. Total revenue for BVS in the quarter reached VND70.67 billion ($3.3 million), up 47 per cent from the same period last year. Total revenue for the first six months hit VND116 billion ($5.5 million), up 24 per cent, … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 25/7
Social Highlights for November 4
Shop blaze kills four family members The victims are a couple, their 15-year-old son and 74-year-old father. The cause of the blaze remains unknown. Rescue teams failed to save the victims because it took time to break down the family's automatic rolling door, which was tightly closed, when the blaze occurred at 1am. The case is under investigation. Dozens survive passenger bus fire Dozens managed to escape a passenger bus with bunk beds after it was on fire in Ha Tinh province early on November 4. The North-South express bus caught fire when it was travelling past Phu Viet commune, Thach Ha district, at 04.00am. The blaze was said to break out at the rear-end of the bus and quickly spread across the vehicle. Passengers managed to get out of the bus before local fire fighters put out the roaring fire within 30 minutes. Investigation into the cause of the incident is under way. Students win American Academy scholarships As many as 28 students in the central city were … [Read more...] about Social Highlights for November 4