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☆ Vietnam's EV maker VinFast recalls nearly 2,800 units domestically
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: A VinFast VF 8 model is seen during a car delivery ceremony at the VinFast car factory in Haiphong province, Vietnam, September 10, 2022. REUTERS/Thinh NguyenHANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is recalling 2,781 of its sports utility model VF8 sold in the domestic market to check and replace the bolt connecting the front brake caliper to the knuckle, the company said on Saturday. VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the United States where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers. The company delivered over 4,000 EVs to customers domestically in December, more than half of which were the sports utility VF8 model. VinFast said it has not recorded any breakdowns or complaints from customers about the loosen bolt that may cause trouble to the brake.

☆ Vietnam exporters fret over potential trade fallout of U.S. rules on Xinjiang
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Vietnam posted a $116 billion trade surplus with the United States last year, led by shipments of goods such as electronics, clothing and footwear. The solar panel sector could be particularly at risk, as it greatly relies on polysilicon for solar cells, whose global production is concentrated in Xinjiang. Alongside other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam accounts for about 80% of U.S. panel supplies, and Vietnam's panel exports to the United States were worth $3.4 billion in 2020. First Solar did not use polysilicon in its panels, but competitors in Vietnam did, he said, without identifying any companies. In addition to First Solar, the top solar panel makers in Vietnam are mostly Chinese companies, according to investment consultancy Dezan Shira.

☆ Exclusive: Intel weighs boosting investment in Vietnam chip packaging plant -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) is considering a significant increase in its existing $1.5-billion investment in Vietnam to expand its chip testing and packaging plant in the Southeast Asian nation, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. One of the sources said the investment was likely to be made "over the future years" and could be even bigger than $1 billion, while the second person said Intel was also weighing alternative investment in Singapore and Malaysia, which may be preferred to Vietnam. Both sources sought anonymity as the plan was not yet public. Asked about the possible investment plan, Intel told Reuters, "Vietnam is an important part of our global manufacturing network, but we have not announced any new investments." Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea court orders first compensation for Vietnam war victim
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A South Korean court ordered the government on Tuesday to compensate a Vietnamese victim of atrocities during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, when about 300,000 South Korean troops fought alongside U.S. forces. The ruling marked the first legal acknowledgement of South Korea's liability for atrocities during the war and could potentially pave the way for other victims to seek compensation. The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to provide around 30 million won ($23,800) in compensation and additional funds for delay to Nguyen Thi Thanh, a survivor of killings of civilians by South Korean troops. A court official confirmed the decision but said the full verdict was not immediately available for release. Hanoi's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Joko Widodo has pulled out all the stops to convince CEO Elon Musk to manufacture electric vehicles or batteries in the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago. "The Indonesian government is building a whole value chain for servicing electric vehicle factories," said Victor Chin, principal consultant at metal consultancy firm CRU. Musk's goal is to sell 20 million electric vehicles in 2030, more than a 15-fold increase over the 1.3 million vehicles Tesla sold in 2022. Jokowi did not give a timeline for the exports growth but said Indonesia was aiming to establish an integrated supply chain for electric vehicle batteries by 2027. In other moves, Indonesia will also ban exports of copper ore and bauxite in June, both of which are used in electric vehicle production.

☆ Vietnam seizes 600 kg of ivory smuggled from Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Seized elephant ivory and rhino horns are destroyed by Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Nguyen Thanh Cao/File PhotoHANOI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Vietnamese authorities have over the past week seized more than 600 kilograms of ivory smuggled from Africa, the government said on Monday. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread. This followed the finding of nearly 500 kilograms of African ivory on Thursday last week at Lach Huyen Port in the city, the government said. This has been the largest seizure of smuggled ivory in the country in more than four years.

☆ Vietnam EV-maker VinFast delays first U.S. car deliveries to late Feb
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HANOI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Vietnam's electric automaker VinFast said on Friday it will delay deliveries to its first customers in the United States to the second half of February after it finishes updating the vehicles with latest software. The Vietnamese company, a unit of conglomerate Vingroup JSC (VIC.HM), started to ship its first batch of 999 electric vehicles in November last year but has not delivered them to customers yet. The second batch will be shipped to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2023. Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The surreal worlds of Yayoi Kusama
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A girl plays at the "Guidepost to New Space" installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at her exhibition titled "Yayoi Kusama - Obsessions" at the Japan Culture Foundation in Hanoi May 27, 2013. The exhibition is the first one held in Vietnam for...moreA girl plays at the "Guidepost to New Space" installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at her exhibition titled "Yayoi Kusama - Obsessions" at the Japan Culture Foundation in Hanoi May 27, 2013. The exhibition is the first one held in Vietnam for Kusama, who is known as the "polka dot queen of avant garde art". It runs till July 28 as part of 40th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY POLITICS ANNIVERSARY)Close

HANOI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - As China, Japan and other East Asian countries prepare to celebrate the start of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit on Sunday, the people of Vietnam will be an exception - welcoming instead the Year of the Cat. There is no official explanation for when and why the Vietnamese embraced the cat instead of the rabbit. "It doesn't have the same power as a cat", Hanoi resident, Ngo Quy Dung, said of the rabbit, as he proudly noted that he was born 60 years ago in the Year of the Cat. Another resident of Hanoi, Nguyen Kim Chi, 64, agreed. "The cat looks more majestic because it also resembles a little tiger," she said, while taking photographs besides a large cat statue at the Central Park in the capital.

☆ Vietnam's market risks missing a 2025 deadline for an upgrade to emerging economy status
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Maika Elan | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesVietnam risks missing a self-established 2025 deadline to complete reforms that would enable it to upgrade its stock market to emerging economy status and attract billions of dollars in investments, three officials told Reuters. The government in July committed to aiming for an upgrade to emerging market status in at least one major index by 2025. But infighting is delaying much-needed market reforms, three officials familiar with the discussions said. Additional liquidity is seen as crucial for Vietnamese banks, which account for about a third of the stock market capitalization, to raise their comparatively low capital buffers, thus boosting financial stability. Index provider MSCI published in June a long list of reforms Vietnam needed to apply before an upgrade could be considered.

☆ Vietnam EV maker VinFast plans promotions in response to Tesla price cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Vietnam's electric-vehicle (EV) maker VinFast said on Thursday it will launch promotions to protect the market competitiveness of its models, a week after Tesla (TSLA.O) announced aggressive discounting to spur demand. Tesla is offering its basic Model Y at $52,990 in the U.S. market, a reduction from $65,990. "As a new brand entering the market, when other brands reduce their prices we have to come up with promotions to ensure VinFast's competitiveness," a VinFast spokesperson said in a statement. The Vietnamese EV maker started to ship its first batch of 999 EVs to the United States in late November and aims to deliver them to customers this month, the spokesperson said. VinFast has said it has secured almost 65,000 orders globally and expects to sell 750,000 EVs annually by 2026.

The government in July committed to aiming for an upgrade to emerging market status in at least one major index by 2025. But infighting is delaying much-needed market reforms, three officials familiar with the discussions said. Trinh Nguyen from Natixis, an investment bank, said Vietnam's market regulations were holding back the upgrade, limiting access to more liquidity. Index provider MSCI published in June a long list of reforms Vietnam needed to apply before an upgrade could be considered. Both the FTSE and MSCI have publicly said that Vietnam's prefunding requirement and strict limits on foreign ownership of shares are among the main hurdles to an emerging market status upgrade.

☆ President of Vietnam resigns after being blamed for officials’ wrongdoing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has submitted his resignation after the ruling Communist Party found him responsible for violations and wrongdoing of numerous officials under him, the country’s official news agency said on Tuesday. Phuc, 68, a former prime minister, has held the largely ceremonial position for less than two years. There was widespread speculation about Phuc’s resignation following January’s dismissals of two deputy prime ministers, who were working under him when he led the government. To become effective, Phuc’s resignation requires approval from the National Assembly. Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four “pillars”: the powerful party’s secretary, the president, the prime minister and the chair of the parliament.

Summary Phuc blamed for conduct of officials under himPresident highest-profile casualty of graft crackdownPhuc's replacement unclearHundreds of officials hit by 'blazing furnace' campaignHANOI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned after the ruling Communist Party blamed him for "violations and wrongdoing" by officials under his control while prime minister, the government said on Tuesday. Phuc, 68, who was premier from 2016-2021, has held the largely ceremonial position of president for less than two years and is the highest-ranking official targeted by the party's sweeping corruption crackdown. Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four "pillars": the powerful party's secretary, the president, the prime minister and the chair of the legislature. Phuc was chosen in April 2021 to be president, and was widely tipped to succeed the party's General Secretary, the state's most prestigious job. "As prime minister for the 2016-2021 term, he has made great efforts in leading, directing and administering the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, achieving important results," it said.

[1/4] The BYD Atto 3 EV car is displayed at the 39 Thailand International Motor Expo, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 30, 2022. The company announced in September it would build an EV assembly plant in Thailand with annual capacity of 150,000 cars from 2024. Talks are underway to select a site for the Vietnam plant, said the sources, who declined to be named because the discussions are confidential. The Vietnam plant will export components to the assembly plant to be built in Thailand, one source said. That would pose a direct challenge to VinFast, a Vietnamese EV maker that began selling cars in 2019 and plans to expand in the United States and Europe.

[1/4] Portraits of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including of Henry Kissinger, are seen in the meeting room where the Norwegian Nobel Committee holds its meetings at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, January 3, 2023. Nominations to the Peace Prize remain secret for 50 years. Le Duc Tho refused the Peace Prize on the grounds peace had not yet been established. Two out of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee - all now dead - resigned in protest. "The prize was given to Kissinger for having gotten the U.S. out of Vietnam ... without any peaceful solution in South Vietnam," he said.

☆ Exclusive: Apple supplier BOE plans new factories in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HANOI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese display maker BOE Technology Group Co Ltd (000725.SZ), a supplier of both Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS), plans to invest a substantial sum to build two factories in Vietnam, two people familiar with the matter said. BOE plans to make the more sophisticated organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) screens at the site rather than liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), the person said. Apple, which included BOE in its 2021 list of manufacturing partners, uses OLED screens for its latest iPhone smartphones. The U.S. tech giant, however, plans to start making mobile screens in-house by next year, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. BOE's Vietnam plan is not specifically aimed at supplying Apple, the person said.

"We had such a hard time, and I would rather have more Chinese people come than the government restricting their entry so I can do business." "Tour bus operators who have had their vehicles idly parked for over three years are now gearing up for (bus) inspections," said Thai Tour Bus Association President Wasuchet Sophonsatien. Thailand, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the most-searched destinations. Yue Hua Entertainment Korea, which manages Tempest, did not respond to a request for comment. "The pandemic outbreak on the mainland is still vigorous and needs time to recover, while domestic consumption remains weak on the mainland."

☆ With few entry tests, Southeast Asia may gain most from China's travel revival
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Xinghui Kok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Except for airplane wastewater testing by Malaysia and Thailand for the virus, the region's 11 nations will treat Chinese travellers like any others. As many as 76% of Chinese travel agencies ranked Southeast Asia as the top destination when outbound travel resumed, according to a survey released in December by trade show ITB China. Thailand already expects to welcome 5 million Chinese travellers this year, or about half of the 10.99 million of 2019. Neighbouring Malaysia projects 1.5 million to 2 million Chinese tourists this year versus 3 million before the pandemic. "But for Cambodia, it’s an invitation to Chinese people: Chinese tourists, come to Cambodia."

☆ Vietnamese boy trapped in concrete pile on New Year’s Eve is pronounced dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Vietnam — A 10-year-old Vietnamese boy who fell into the narrow open shaft of a concrete pile at a construction site on New Year’s Eve has been confirmed dead, state media said Wednesday. Rescuers spent nearly 100 hours trying to free the boy, Ly Hao Nam, from the 115-foot-long support pillar driven into the ground, but without success, online newspaper VnExpress cited a local government official as saying. “The authorities have determined that the victim has died and are trying to recover his body for the funeral,” deputy chairman of the southern province of Dong Thap, Doan Tan Buu, was quoted as saying. Doan Tan Buu, deputy chairman of the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Thap, said Wednesday that authorities were trying to recover the boy’s body. Earlier on Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had urged rescuers and local authorities to mobilize all equipment and forces needed, the government said.

☆ Rescuers in Vietnam try to save boy trapped in concrete pile
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Vietnam — Rescuers in Vietnam were desperately trying to free a 10-year-old boy on Monday, two days after he fell into the narrow open shaft of a concrete pile at a construction site on New Year’s Eve. The calamity occurred at a bridge construction site in the Mekong delta province, where the boy had been searching with friends for scrap iron. “I cannot understand how he fell into the hollow concrete pile,” which has a diameter of less than 10 inches and was driven 115 feet into the ground, Le Hoang Bao, director of Dong Thap province’s Department of Transport, told Tuoi Tre News, a local newspaper. Efforts to lift the pile with cranes and excavators had so far failed and rescuers were unable to determine the boy’s position, media reported. Rescuers have pumped oxygen into the pile and have softened the soil around it but the pile has tilted slightly, complicating extraction efforts.

☆ Vietnam's largest refinery's RFCC unit shut for troubleshooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HANOI, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Vietnam's largest refinery, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP), has shut a residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit for "troubleshooting", two sources familiar with the matter said. "The issue was detected earlier this week and the refinery has been fixing it," one of the sources said, adding that "the unit is expected to resume normal operations soon." Calls to the refinery seeking comment were not immediately answered. The 200,000 barrels-per-day refinery is 35.1% owned by Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co (5019.T), 35.1% by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1% by Vietnam's state oil firm PetroVietnam and 4.7% by Mitsui Chemicals Inc (4183.T). Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Trixie Yap in Singapore: Editing by Neil FullickOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vietnam's largest refinery's RFCC unit shut for troubleshooting - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Vietnam 2022 GDP growth quickens to 8.02%, fastest since 1997
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's gross domestic product grew 8.02% in 2022, the fastest pace annually since 1997, backed by strong domestic retail sales and exports. The reading is higher than an official growth target of 6.0%-6.5% and growth last year of just 2.58%, when COVID-19 lockdowns left a dent on the economy and impacted factory activity. "The economic performance is worth noting amid global economic and political uncertainty and challenges," the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a report. GDP growth in the fourth quarter was 5.92%, slowing from a growth of 13.71% in the third quarter, the GSO said. Exports in 2022 were up 10.6% to $371.85 billion, while retail sales rose 19.8%, the GSO said.

"It's not a question of if it will happen, it's now just a matter of how many and how fast." As the Lunar New Year holiday - typically a peak travel period for Chinese tourists - starts on Jan. 21, some businesses are already gearing up. Japan, however, is being cautious about Chinese tourism due to the rapid spread of the virus in China. Australia, Germany, Thailand and others, however, said they would not impose additional rules on Chinese travel for now, with France taking to social media platform Sina Weibo to emphasise it welcomed Chinese friends "with open arms". "I suspect any meaningful rebound will have to wait until the travel boom in June or July next year."

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