OTT faces challengesAlthough the huge number of Vietnamese viewers of online videos is expected to pave the way for OTT (over-the-top) service to further develop in the local market, such a service is still having difficulty competing with international online channels and others, heard a seminar on OTT on June 7 in HCMC. A fall in the number of viewers on TV creates both opportunities and challenges for OTT service providersDomestic OTT apps not only have to compete with international channels and video-sharing websites such as Youtube with 50 million Vietnamese subscribers, but also fight with each other to woo viewers, especially with OTT apps providing pirated videos. She therefore suggested that relevant agencies and authorities take measures and tough sanctions against film copyright violations. Bui Huy Nam, general director of Vietnam Television Cable Corporation, asked agencies and authorities to quickly take actions with tougher punishment. However, there are many complicated problems to handle and punish violating websites, especially the gathering of evidence since State agencies cannot punish websites accused of piracy if foreign owners of such films do not sue the violators.

Green energy projects in Vietnam still strugglingThough the Government has issued a slew of incentive policies, electricity purchase contract and credit risk issues have put a dent in solar and wind power market growth. “No projects of the Vietnam Electricity Group have got Government backing in the year to date,” said Thang. Overall, electricity purchase agreement and credit issues are regarded as the two biggest difficulties in the eyes of investors. “Vietnam is blessed with immense potential for clean renewable energy development,” PM Phuc told the news agency, adding that the country has great potential for wind energy at an estimated 500-1,000 kWh/m2 on an annual basis. Vietnam has been implementing a strategy for developing renewable energy by 2030 with a vision until 2050, he said.

Draft law on special administrative-economic units delayed for revisionThe Government has proposed that the draft law on special administrative-economic units will be submitted for voting later at the sixth session of the 14th National Assembly (NA) at the end of this year. The Government Office has just announced that the submission will be delayed to allow more time for the revision of the draft. "The bill had been proposed to legislators for the first time at the fourth session of the 14th National Assembly," the office said. "But after listening to opinions from economic experts, scientists, and the wide public, we've decided to delay the submission time to revise this draft law to ensure the success of these SEZs." "We will propose reducing the leasing time to the National Assembly," Phuc told reporters.

US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dies of suicideUS celebrity chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain has died at the age of 61 as a result of suicide, the CNN network confirmed in a statement. US celebrity chef and television personality Anthony BourdainHis close friend Eric Ripert, a French chef, found Bourdain’s body hanging in a hotel room on June 8 morning in France. Bourdain died while on a business trip to Strasbourg, France, to work on a shoot for his series “Parts Unknown” on CNN. Anthony Bourdain shot to fame in 2000 with a best-selling book called Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a behind-the-scenes expose on the world of haute cuisine. Three years later he joined the Travel Channel with Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, picking up two Emmy Awards.

Fintech changes financial landscapeA handful of winners have been named in a large-scale fintech challenge, providing inspiration and opportunities for many other fintechs to capture. Vietnam can be very proud of these first-generation fintechs and, in the years to come, it can expect further innovative financial solutions, both from local and international fintech startups, to help it achieve a financial inclusion goal and nurture a fintech ecosystem. They will help promote the development of Vietnam’s fintech ecosystem through their innovative financial solutions.One of the judges at the FCV, Buncha Manoonkunchai, senior director of the financial technology department at Bank of Thailand, said that he sees great prospects on the country’s fintech horizon. And even though the infrastructure is not here yet, the ideas and the way they [fintech participants] think are so advanced. As such, a collaboration in fintech areas between countries, according to Manoonkunchai, could help Vietnam fulfil its financial inclusion goal and promote financial co-operation between Thailand and Vietnam, by using standards like standardised QR codes, for instance.A borderless fintech ecosystem seems attractive.

SOE equitisation lets down investorsEven though the government has been trying its best to boost the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to attract private investors over the past few years, the poor performance and small sales percentage of many such enterprises have disheartened many interested parties. Moreover, the particularly small rate of SOE stakes offered to foreign firms also makes it hard for foreign investors to engage in the operation of SOEs. Other stake holders include strategic investors (7.3 per cent), employees (1.6 per cent), trade unions (0.6 per cent), and other types of investors (9.4 per cent). What can foreign investors do after they buy their stakes? Foreign investors are facing many difficulties in participating in SOEs’ equitisation.

Of the total sales, 16.87 million tonnes were consumed domestically and 727,000 tonnes were exported. Coal inventories of the sector were around 7.35 million tonnes, down 1.66 million tonnes from the beginning of the year. In June, Vinacomin aims to produce 3.4 million tonnes of coal and sell 4 million tonnes, of which 3.77 tonnes will be sold to domestic customers and 230,000 tonnes exported, thus reducing the coal inventories to under 7 million tonnes. The group has revised its coal sale target from 36 million tonnes to 38 million tonnes in 2018. Of which, mining contracted 7.6% while processing and manufacturing increased 9.1% and electricity production and distribution expanded 11.2%.

VN Index falls, investors advised to buy equitiesVietNamNet Bridge - Investors have been advised to buy equities in the context of the bear market. It took four months for the VN Index to climb from 900 points last December to 1,200 points on April 9, 2018. When the VN Index dropped to the 900 point threshold, it met the resistance threshold, so the sell-offs will stop. First, in Vietnam’s stock market history, in 2009-2018, the VN Index never decreased by more than 20 percent. RELATED NEWSStock market thrives, expectations soar for “emerging market” statusVietnam’s stock market: it’s the age of mid-cap stocksChi Mai

Accordingly, shrimp importers must fully abide by SIMP’s requirements by December 31, 2018.Specifically, they must be US citizens with International Fisheries Trade Permit from NOAA, declare necessary data to ensure legal imports. Such data must be kept within two years.VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said the US has high demand for aquatic products, especially shrimp. It imports nearly 600,000 tonnes of shrimp for domestic consumption.However, Vietnam’s shrimp export to the US only accounts for 10 percent annually, or around 60,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, Vietnam could ship 150,000 tonnes to the country so that firms need to improve quality and competitiveness to expand their market share.VASEP has recently sent a document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development suggesting measures for sustainable shrimp production and export. It asked the government to heed high-level diplomatic activities so that the US could rapidly lift trade barriers, especially anti-dumping taxes on shrimp.VNA

US’ religious freedom report makes biased assessment of VietnamThe US Department of State’s 2017 International Religious Freedom Report continued to give biased assessment and cited untrue information on Vietnam, stated Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. Foreign Ministry Spokerperson Le thi Thu HangResponding to questions from reporters on the US’s report on June 8, the official affirmed that: “Vietnam pursuits the consistent policy on respecting and ensuring the right to freedom of religion and belief of all citizens. She highlighted that the country has promulgated the Law on Belief and Religion and issued decrees guiding the enforcement of the law. At the same time, citizens’ practices of religion and belief have been ensured, reflected through thousands of religious festivals and activities every year. Vietnam acknowledges that the US Department of State’s report has mentioned the country’s certain progress in ensuring and facilitating religious and belief practices, but regrettably, the report continued to make partial assessment and cited incorrect information on Vietnam, Hang stated.

Nghe An: a relaxing getawayVietNamNet Bridge – For anyone looking for an escape from the bustle and heat of city life, Nghe An Province is the place to go. On the job: Locals sell fish in Cua Hoi fish port. Ngu Island is also known as Song Ngu (Twin Fish), because it is shaped like two fish emerging from the sea. Here, visitors can catch a spectacular view of Cua Lo and Cua Hoi beaches and Ngu Island. Hustle and bustle: Cua Hoi is one of the largest fish ports of Nghe An.

Vietnamese boy wins chance to attend FIFA World Cup FinalA lucky Vietnamese boy by the name of Nguyen Le Thanh Son has won the opportunity of a lifetime, as he will get to escort a football star onto the pitch at the FIFA World Cup 2018 Final in Moscow on July 15. A lucky Vietnamese boySon, a 5th grade student at Chu Van An Primary School, won the McDonald’s Player Escort Programme, which is open to all children aged between six and 10. According to FIFA’s website, the initiative gave almost 1,500 children from all over the world the opportunity to walk on to the pitch hand-in-hand with their footballing idols. As scheduled, Son will fly to Russia on July 12 and attend a number of side-line activities held by McDonald’s and FIFA (International Federation of Association Football). Son said he is very proud to become the first and only Vietnamese child to win a place on the programme.

Car owners to be fined for wedding photo shoot on highwayThe police said they would fine the owners of 30 cars which illegally parked on the Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway to take wedding photos on June 7. Wedding photo shoot on the Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway on June 7The representative of the Traffic Police Department's Team 2 said, "We have been informed about the case but it was difficult to apply the fines in person. We'll issue fines to the car owners using images from the security cameras. The cars have license plates from Hanoi so we'll clarify the information and ask the car owners to go to the police stations to pay fines." At 9.45 am on June 7, 30 wedding cars casually parked on Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway when going through Hai Duong Province to take photos.

Photos on Vietnamese land and people on display in UkraineA photo exhibition on Vietnamese land and people is on-going in Ukraine to strengthen the friendship between the two countries. It also highlights milestones in the friendship between Vietnam and Ukraine. Through the more than 100 photos displayed at the exhibition, Ukrainian visitors are expected to have a better understanding of Vietnamese land and people and the sound relations between the two countries. Vietnam and Ukraine established diplomatic ties in 1992. Last year, two-way trade was worth 355.5 million USD, a 34.5 percent increase from 2016.-VNA

Technological contest in HCMC aiming at building smart cityThe new season of the biannual technological creations contest titled solutions and technologies to build a smart city has been launched by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), HCMC Department of Science and Technology, HCMC Federation of Labor, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in HCMC. Technological solutions in the forms of products, equipment, material, procedures, and microorganism material will be assessed via the scale of technological creations of the contest. Excellent projects will then be sent to the National Contest of Technological creations. Since 1990, the technological contest has contributed to timely and effectively honoring all silent efforts of many organizations as well as individuals for their creativity and work. In that previous season, the medical field dominated the whole contest with 6 out of 25 submitted projects winning the award.