Connect with us

Business

HCM City keeps smart city status in sights

Published

on

HCM City’s traffic monitoring system The city plans to launch several smart city services this year. — Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — The digital transformation successes achieved so far by HCM City will propel its progress towards becoming a smart city this year, officials say.

They note in particular that digital applications played an important role in the city’s fight against COVID-19 last year.

According to the municipal Department of Information and Communication, digital transformation helped forge useful tools in the fight such as a digital map to monitor cases and the spread of the novel coronavirus, or the city-wide use of QR codes to verify vaccination and recovery status.

The city’s 1022 COVID-19 hotline also played a big part in providing timely healthcare advice to patients and assisting those affected by COVID-19. During the pandemic’s peak, the hotline received over 80,000 calls a day.

HCM City has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the country, with city-wide internet and 3G, 4G coverage. Local departments have launched numerous mobile applications in many fields including traffic management, healthcare provision and urban planning.

At the start of March the city issued a plan to facilitate the city’s digital transformation process and become a smart city this year by staying focused on digital government, administrative reforms and artificial intelligence (AI) application.

It will facilitate e-commerce and internet payment, and help small- to medium-sized enterprises get access to digital applications to manage their businesses.

The department is working with health authorities to perfect the city’s electronic health profile database.

The city also plans to launch several smart city services this year. For example, the department will introduce an Integrated Service Portal, which will combine many state public services together onto a single web page and mobile application, and locals can easily keep track of how their inquiries are being processed.

HCM City is also working on a system to gather and analyse local opinions on social media using AI to help city leaders come up with appropriate solutions and adjustments. — 

Source: https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1174706/hcm-city-keeps-smart-city-status-in-sights.html

Business

Legal changes expected to increase appeal of Vietnam’s real estate market

The global economic slowdown, the impact COVID-19 pandemic, and internal difficulties have put Vietnam’s real estate market in a tough situation.

Published

on

Responding to the situation, Vietnam has issued policies on economic recovery and development, particularly for the recovery of the real estate market.

Speaking at a recent workshop seeking measures to increase the attractiveness of the market held by Nha dau tu (Investors) magazine, its Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Anh Tuan said that Vietnam is considering amendments to the Land Law, the Law on Real Estate Business (amended) and the Law on Housing (amended). These moves should bring positive changes to the market.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van said that on average, the construction and real estate industries contributed about 11% of GDP in recent years, in which the real estate industry directly made up about 4.5%. 

Foreign investment in this field has continuously increased and made an important contribution to the development of the market.

Up to now, FDI capital in the real estate sector has reached 66.4 billion USD, accounting for 15.1% of total FDI capital in Vietnam and continuously maintaining the 2nd or 3rd position in FDI attraction. However, in the last few years, the real estate market has faced many difficulties and challenges.

Van said the Ministry of Construction has presided over the drafting of the Law on Housing (amended) and the Law on Real Estate Business (amended). These are two laws of great significance, attracting the attention of people and the business community at home and abroad.

The amendment and completion of the two laws will have a positive impact on the housing and real estate market, drastically improving confidence in the investment environment, and creating transparency and stability for the housing market in Vietnam. 

“Once approved, the amended laws will also help Vietnam’s real estate market become more attractive to foreigners living and working in Vietnam and foreign investors,”  Van confirmed.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that real estate is one of the fields that have attracted many foreign investors to Vietnam. Currently, investors from 48 countries and territories are investing in the real estate market in Vietnam.

To get high-quality FDI real estate investors, Vietnam needs to focus on several solutions, including perfecting legal regulations on the real estate market. This includes new types of real estate such as smart cities, resort real estate, real estate combined with healthcare, condotels, and officetels in line with international practices.

The country should target investors that have good financial capacity and solutions associated with green and sustainable economic transformation, he said.

Investors have a responsibility to the environment and society during the investment process in Vietnam, he added.

In addition, the flexible and systematic management of monetary policy tools is needed to meet the credit capital demand for the development of the real estate market, creating favourable conditions for businesses, home buyers, and investors to access credit sources.

Reducing lending interest rates is also a solution, according to the official.

He said that along with the continued improvement in infrastructure which facilitates the development of the real estate market, Vietnam needs to improve the business investment environment, and promptly remove difficulties relating to policies, especially for projects that use large areas of land and have been long delayed.

Source: Vietnamplus

Source: https://e.nhipcaudautu.vn/real-estate/legal-changes-expected-to-increase-appeal-of-vietnams-real-estate-market-3354922/

Continue Reading

Business

Vietnam’s VinFast to deliver EVs to Europe this year as EU probes China rivals

Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast plans to ship its first EVs to Europe this year after receiving regulatory approval as the European Union considers imposing tariffs on its Chinese rivals.

Published

on

Under the plan, about 3,000 of its VF8 crossovers would be delivered to France, Germany and the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of this year from VinFast’s factory in northern Vietnam, a person familiar with the plan told Reuters. The source declined to be named because these details were not yet public.

The Nasdaq-listed company’s plan to expand into Europe would represent a four-fold increase from a previous unmet target of delivering 700 cars by last July, and comes as the EU probe into Chinese EV makers creates a possible gap in the market.

If fulfilled, Europe could become VinFast’s biggest overseas market this year. The company had shipped about 2,100 EVs earlier this year to the United States and planned to ship more VF9 models, according to its first filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the listing.

“We expect to deliver the first VF8 models to French, German and Dutch customers in the fourth quarter of this year,” Le Thi Thu Thuy, VinFast’s chief executive, said, adding the company’s other models VF6, VF7, and VF9 would be launched in the European market next year.

Thuy did not indicate the number of VF8 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), but the person familiar with the matter said it would be around 3,000 vehicles, including some for Israel.

The loss-making company repeatedly revises its targets.

The VF8 SUV has already been approved by a European regulator as compliant with EU standards, and can be sold within the 27-country bloc, Thuy said.

The company is also completing the procedures to obtain the voluntary Euro NCAP safety rating, she added.

CHINESE COMPETITION

Europe is one of the biggest markets for Chinese automakers, which shipped almost 70,000 EVs in the first seven months of this year, nearly triple the same year-ago period, according to consultancy Inovev.

Should the EU probe conclude that punitive duties on China-made EVs are warranted, VinFast could find its cars are more competitively priced.

Its VF8 model will start at 50,990 euro ($54,218) in France. The China-made Tesla  Y model, which is also threatened with EU tariffs, starts from 46,000 euros.

VinFast’s expansion into Europe is part of a global plan that includes building new factories in the United States and in Indonesia and targeting also India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Just before its Nasdaq debut in August, the company stepped up deliveries of cars in the second quarter, with a total number of 11,315 EVs made available to clients by the end of June, largely to the domestic market thanks to a scheme to turn its cars into green taxis in Vietnam’s main cities.

VinFast’s reported second-quarter revenue rose 131.2% to $327 million. Its net loss in the quarter was $526.7 million, down 8.2% from the same period last year.

VinFast, which is part of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, was formed in 2017 and began making EVs in 2021 after dropping its manufacturing of cars with internal combustion engines.

Source: Reuters

Source: https://e.nhipcaudautu.vn/companies/vietnams-vinfast-to-deliver-evs-to-europe-this-year-as-eu-probes-china-rivals-3355126/

Continue Reading

Business

Vietnamese innovation start-up fest debuts in Australia to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties

Published

on

Techfest 2023, Vietnam’s biggest annual event for innovative start-ups, was organized for the first time in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

The 2023 International Techfest was co-held by Monash University, the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Agency for Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development.

The event took place as part of an ongoing working visit to Australia by a Vietnamese delegation, led by Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2023 in Victoria.

The tech festival was also meant to contribute to bringing Vietnamese innovation startups to the global market.

Members of the Vietnamese delegation and Australian representatives attend the 2023 International Techfest organized in Australia on September 20, 2023. Photo: Monash University
Members of the Vietnamese delegation and Australian representatives attend the 2023 International Techfest organized in Australia on September 20, 2023. Photo: Monash University

The 2023 International Techfest acted as a platform to strengthen relations between Monash and Vietnam, and deepen connections with the Vietnamese student and research community.

The event attracted the participation of thousands of businesses and people, creating a vibrant atmosphere, and demonstrating the determination and spirit of joint efforts to promote innovation activities.

“On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia, we brought Techfest to Australia in a bid to support Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Australia, as well as introduce Vietnamese companies to Australian partners,” Minister Dat told the opening ceremony of Techfest Australia 2023.

“Techfest is also the platform to establish favorable conditions for Australian companies to enter the Vietnamese market,” he underlined.

The event gave a special opportunity to Vietnamese start-ups to learn operation management processes, equipment, tools, and the latest technology research in Australia.

Monash University interim president and vice-chancellor Professor Susan Elliott AM said that Techfest helped deepen the university’s long-standing connection to, and collaborations with Vietnam, and cement the bilateral ties between the two countries.

Vietnam ranks 48th out of 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index, positioning its economy in the top 4 among Southeast Asian nations, said Pham Hong Quat, head of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20230922/vietnamese-innovation-startup-fest-debuts-in-australia-to-mark-50-years-of-diplomatic-ties/75729.html

Continue Reading

Trending