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☆ Vietnam central bank plans loan restructuring for struggling businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, April 24 (Reuters) - Vietnam's central bank will restructure loans for some businesses facing difficulties, including delaying loan repayments, the government said, as it seeks to shore up a slowing economy. Several companies in Vietnam, a regional manufacturing hub, have been struggling amid weakening global demand, with exports falling 11.9% in the first quarter of this year. Vietnam's economic growth slowed to 3.32% in the January-March period, against a 5.92% year-on-year expansion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Chinh at a weekend meeting with the central bank also called for commercial banks to cut lending interest rates to support businesses and households. The central bank last month cut several policy rates to support growth amid global uncertainty.

☆ How to put your best travel foot forward for Earth Day 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

But you don’t have to totally cut out travel or stay super close to home to be a good planetary citizen. You need a city that’s dedicated to getting it right to best enjoy an urban biking vacation. Here, we've curated 30 of our favorite corners, including the Thu Bon River, which flows through central Vietnam. A maze of rivers and caves, the UNESCO World Centre is defined by its craggy limestone facades and jade green water. Bruno De Hogues/Photodisc/Getty Images Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park: A UNESCO World Heritage, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is heaven for spelunkers.

☆ Taiwan's Apple supplier Quanta plans Vietnam factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HANOI, April 22 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Quanta Computer (2382.TW) plans to set up a factory in northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said. The company, a MacBook contract manufacturer, on Friday signed an agreement with the authorities of Nam Dinh province, 90 km (56 miles) south of Hanoi, to construct the facility at an industrial park there, the government said in a statement late on Friday. The facility, which would be Quanta's 9th factory globally, would initially cover an area of 22.5 hectares, the statement said, without giving its capacity nor a time frame for the construction. Local media said on Saturday Quanta would invest $120 million in the factory. Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vietnam opposes China's unilateral South China Sea fishing ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, April 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam took aim at China on Thursday for imposing an annual ban on fishing in a vast area of the South China Sea, calling it a violation of its sovereignty and urging Beijing not to complicate matters. China has imposed the ban each year since 1999 and Vietnam routinely opposes it. China says the ban, which will apply from May 1 to Aug. 16, is to promote sustainable fishing and improve marine ecology. "China's so-called fishing ban violates Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction in Vietnamese waters and its exclusive economic zone," Doan Khac Viet, a Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular news briefing. Viet called on China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty and "not to complicate the situation".

Britain's National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), part of its GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said in a report published on Wednesday that the mercenary hacking market was offering products that were on par with government hacking groups. On Tuesday, Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab published a report which said that NSO had been caught using newly-discovered hacking tools to break into iPhones belonging to Mexican human rights defenders in 2022. At least some in the spyware industry see regulation coming down the pipe and are taking steps to try to shape it. NSO has long touted its human rights policy despite repeated allegations that its software has been used abusively, including to spy on victims of human rights violations. NSO did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the Citizen Lab report or its communications with the American Bar Association.

BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - China is aiming for "global technological supremacy" in cyberspace and is using its cyber capabilities to conduct intelligence and surveillance campaigns, Britain's cyber chief said on Wednesday. Lindy Cameron, director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said Britain had a "legitimate concern" about the effects Chinese technology may have on cybersecurity. "China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it is aiming for global technological supremacy," Cameron told an annual government cybersecurity conference in Belfast. China is also using its cyber capabilities to acquire intellectual property, achieve its strategic geopolitical goals, and conduct global spying campaigns, Cameron added. Last month, Britain banned the use of TikTok on government phones, following other Western countries in barring the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.

BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - The UK government's cyber defence agency warned on Wednesday of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine. Russia-aligned "hacktivists" have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. "Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK," the NCSC said. Although such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are "not subject to formal state control," the alert said. A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

☆ Restaurant Review: Mam Serves the Most Exciting Vietnamese Food in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Pete Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sometimes they will also set up on the far side of Forsyth Street, in the roadway, next to the brick wall of a playground. My bun dau mam tom method is to start with a piece of tofu or noodles or something else dipped in mam tom. The herbs taste so bright that after eating a few, and maybe a slice of cucumber, I am ready for more mam tom. This becomes a rhythm, cycling from funky shrimp sauce to green herbs and back again. It is a little bit like alternating repeatedly between a hot sauna and a cold pool, and it has a similar effect on the psyche.

☆ VinFast ships 2nd batch of longer-range electric SUVs to North America
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Vinfast is pictured at the 2022 Paris Auto Show in Paris, France October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane MaheHANOI, April 17 (Reuters) - Vietnam's electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Monday it had shipped a second batch of 1,879 longer-range VF 8 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), as it seeks to expand its foothold in overseas markets. Currently, VinFast is offering a monthly lease price of $399 for the VF 8 City Edition model for a 24-month lease. The automaker delivered 865 VF 8 units domestically in the first quarter and has an annual production capacity of 250,000. VinFast has said it secured 55,000 orders globally as of December last year, of which 12,000 are from the U.S. market.

☆ Blinken Seeks U.S. Access to Evan Gershkovich ‘Now’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( William Mauldin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at Rose Garden Tower in Hanoi Saturday during an official visit to Vietnam. Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded that U.S. officials gain immediate access to Evan Gershkovich , as Russian officials continue to refuse him consular access more than two weeks after they arrested him on an espionage allegation. Mr. Blinken called on Moscow to grant Mr. Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, a basic right that is afforded to foreign prisoners under international obligations.

☆ Antony Blinken Tries to Draw Vietnam Closer, With an Eye on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( William Mauldin | Jon Emont | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vietnam Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi on Saturday. HANOI, Vietnam—Secretary of State Antony Blinken broke ground at a new U.S. embassy site during his first visit to Vietnam as America’s top diplomat, with Washington seeking to establish closer relations with a country that has historic ties with both China and Russia. In Communist-led Vietnam, Mr. Blinken didn’t make comments about China, with whom Washington’s relations have worsened. Instead, as with much of Southeast Asia—where governments are wary about picking sides—U.S. officials say they are eager to build practical cooperation based on trade and adhering to agreed upon international rules of the road.

☆ U.S., Vietnam say they hope to boost ties as Blinken visits Hanoi
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Office of the Government in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, April 15, 2023. Vietnam is a crucial Southeast Asian trading partner that Washington is looking to bolster ties with as it works to balance China's growing assertiveness in the region and beyond. It is still unclear, though, when an upgrade of formal ties could be agreed. Blinken, who is to meet with top Vietnamese officials, including Trong, broke ground on a new U.S. embassy compound in Hanoi after meeting the prime minister. But while the United States has been keen to push for stronger ties with Vietnam, Hanoi has been cautious, fearing the impact an upgrade of relations with Washington could have on its relations with Beijing.

☆ US Secretary of State Blinken calls for immediate end to violence in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday he was deeply concerned about reports of escalating violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the country's main paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, and called for an immediate end to hostilities. Blinken described the situation in Khartoum as "fragile." "We are in touch with the Embassy team in Khartoum - all are currently accounted for," Blinken wrote on Twitter. The Rapid Support Forces said on Saturday it had taken control of the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Khartoum international airport on Saturday in an apparent coup attempt. "But I think there's a real opportunity to move forward on the agreed framework, and certainly that's what we're strongly supporting," said Blinken.

"China was initially in discussions to be part of the project," the official said, declining to be named as the information was deemed sensitive. China has since banned the sale and consumption for food of wildlife animals. China's public security organs have handled more than 70,000 criminal cases involving wild animals from 2020-2022, confiscating 1.37 million wild animals in the process, state news agency Xinhua has reported. SLOW STARTThe SAFE project surveys only began in October last year, when the project's assessors visited Khao Kheow zoo and a cafe in Thailand. The wet markets targeted are markets where wild animals are sold alongside fresh meat and vegetables.

☆ Hours before Blinken visit, US condemns Vietnam's jailing of activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Hours ahead of a visit to Hanoi by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States on Thursday condemned Vietnam's jailing of a prominent political activist and said ties could only reach their full potential if the country improved its human rights record. Thang participated in environmental and anti-China protests, voiced support for jailed activists, and blogged about socio-political issues, according to his social media accounts. Vietnamese authorities have convicted at least 163 people since 2018 for exercising their rights to freedom of expression or association under "vague or over-broad laws that criminalize protesting or criticizing the government", according to Human Rights Watch. In a statement on Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on Blinken, who is due in Hanoi on Friday, to "publicly and privately urge Vietnam’s leadership to end its systemic abuse of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly." Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blinken to visit Vietnam next week, US senator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam next week, Senator Jeff Merkley told a news conference in Hanoi on Saturday, as part of Washington's efforts to move diplomatic relations with Hanoi on to a higher level this year. The United States is hoping to upgrade relations with Hanoi this year, ideally to coincide with the 10th anniversary in July of its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam. "Next week the Secretary of State will be here," Senator Merkley told reporters during a visit to Vietnam by a delegation of U.S. lawmakers aimed at boosting relations with Hanoi. Blinken is expected to visit Vietnam, likely on Saturday, before he heads to a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Japan on April 16-18. Before the call, multiple analysts had said Vietnam was cautious about an upgrade this year fearing that could cause tensions with China.

☆ Vietnam to conduct 'comprehensive inspection' of TikTok over harmful content
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are all cross-border social media with international standards. But when operating in Vietnam, the platform needs to abide by local regulations on both content and tax obligations," Do said. "This is an interdisciplinary inspection activity planned by the government and in line with Vietnam law for companies operating in Vietnam, not only TikTok," TikTok Vietnam said in an email. In a statement to Reuters, TikTok Vietnam also said it had upgraded its guidelines expected to take effect from April 24 to be more transparent about its rules and how it would enforce them. The app has nearly 50 million users in Vietnam aged 18 and above, the government said in a separate statement, citing data from a research company DataReportal.

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - International law enforcement agencies have seized a sprawling dark web marketplace popular with cybercriminals, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday, in a multinational crackdown dubbed 'Operation Cookie Monster'. A banner plastered across Genesis Market's site late on Tuesday said domains belonging to the organisation had been seized by the FBI. Logos of other European, Canadian, and Australian police organizations were also emblazoned across the site, along with that of cybersecurity firm Qintel. The NCA estimated that the service hosted about 80 million credentials and digital fingerprints stolen from more than two million people. The NCA said Genesis had operated by selling credentials from as little as $0.7 to hundreds of dollars depending on the stolen data available.

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - International law enforcement agencies have seized a dark web marketplace popular with cybercriminals, according to a notice posted to the site on Tuesday. A banner plastered across Genesis Market's site said domains belonging to the organization had been seized by the FBI. Britain's National Crime Agency - whose logo was also on the site - confirmed it was "participating in an international law enforcement operation targeting cyber criminals" but said it would not offer any further comment ahead of an announcement planned for Tuesday. Reuters could not immediately locate contact details for the Genesis Market's administrators. Reporting by James Pearson and Michael Holden; writing by Raphael Satter; editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"In an increasingly volatile and interconnected world, to be a truly responsible cyber power, nations must be able to contest and compete with adversaries in cyberspace," GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said. The statement was published alongside a 28-page paper designed "to illustrate aspects of how the UK is being a responsible cyber power". The paper accompanying the statement did not say which disinformation-spreading states British hackers had worked to counter. It noted, however, that "countries such as Russia and Iran routinely carry out cyber operations of different kinds in order to spread disinformation". Indeed the intent is sometimes that adversaries do not realise that the effects they are experiencing are the result of a cyber operation," GCHQ said.

☆ Vietnam needs $11.5 bln to expand national fuel storage capacity by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 31 (Reuters) - Vietnam would need investment of up to 270 trillion dong ($11.51 billion) to expand its national fuel storage system by 2030, state media reported on Friday, citing a draft plan prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The investment would raise the country's crude oil and refined fuel storage capacity to 75-80 days of net imports, Dau Tu newspaper reported. The country's current fuel storage capacity stands at 65 days of net imports, state radio broadcaster VOV cited the Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Hong Dien, as saying on Thursday. Most of the investment needed for the plan would come from businesses, Dau Tu reported. ($1 = 23,455 dong)Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vietnam communist party chief, Biden agree to boost ties in phone call
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, March 30 (Reuters) - The chief of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in a telephone call on Wednesday to "promote, develop and deepen" ties, Vietnam's state media reported. The United States is now Vietnam's largest export market and the two former foes are celebrating the 10th anniversary of a "comprehensive partnership" this year. The report said Trong, who is Vietnam's most powerful figure, and Biden repeated invitations to visit each others country. In October, Trong was the first foreign leader to meet Xi Jin Ping in Beijing after he secured a precedent-breaking third term as General Secretary at the Chinese Communist Party. Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi and David Brunnstrom in Washington Editing by Ed Davies and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SINGAPORE/HANOI, March 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup (VIC.HM), is in discussions to sell a stake in its shopping mall arm as it seeks to bring in strategic investors, five sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Vincom Retail (VRE.HM), Vietnam's biggest shopping mall operator, which is nearly 60% controlled by Vingroup, commands a market value of $2.8 billion. The sources said Thailand's biggest retailer Central Group and other companies are in negotiations to buy a stake in Vincom Retail. Vincom Retail owns 83 shopping malls in Vietnam - a country that grew at 8% last year and emerged as Asia's fastest growing economy. Vincom Retail, which was spun off from Vingroup, listed on the local stock exchange in 2017.

☆ Vietnam Q1 GDP growth slows as weak demand hits exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Khanh Vu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, March 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's economic growth slowed to 3.32% in the first quarter, against a 5.92% year-on-year expansion in the fourth quarter of 2022, government data showed on Wednesday, as exports of smartphones and electronics fell sharply. The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, reported an 11.9% fall in overall exports in the January-March period from a year earlier due to weakening global demand. Industrial production in the first quarter fell 2.3% from a year earlier, while retail sales of goods and services rose 13.9%, the GSO said. Vietnam is targeting 6.5% growth of gross domestic product this year, below a decade-high expansion of 8.02% last year. "We expect economic activity to remain weak this year given the challenging external demand backdrop and the lagged impact of monetary tightening," Capital Economics said.

☆ Vietnam sends ship to track Chinese vessel patrolling Russian gas field in EEZ -data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - A Vietnamese ship monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Saturday in a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam's South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ), data show - the latest Chinese patrol in a pattern stretching more than a year. The patrols mirror Chinese Coast Guard activity elsewhere in the South China Sea, where such vessels have been used to assert territorial claims. A spokeswoman for Vietnam's foreign ministry said on Friday that Vietnam acts in the South China Sea “to protect its legal rights”. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei are among other countries that have competing claims in the South China Sea. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have also patrolled the Tuna block; in January, Indonesia deployed a warship to monitor a Chinese ship there.

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