Top five foreign investors in Vietnam’s real estate announcedSingapore, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong (China) are the largest foreign real estate owners in Vietnam, according to a survey recently published by CBRE Vietnam. A corner of My Dinh II urban area, Nam Tu Liem district, HanoiInvestors from Thailand, China and the US are expected to invest more in Vietnam’s realty market in the near future. According to experts, domestic investors have bought more since 2017, leading to competition with foreign investors with supply limited. Residential land leads in terms of supply and transaction volume while housing and land for developments are most popular. At the same time, real estate funds will seek to buy stakes in major realty companies.-VNA

Tribute paid to late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai: two-way respectThe late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, as one of the country’s leaders during that tender time when Viet Nam started to open itself to the world following the launch of drastic economic reforms, left an indelible mark in the socio-economic development of the country. Respect for expertsLate Prime Minister Phan Van Khai visited the Vietnam News Agency's office in HCM City in 2015. During his time as Prime Minister, Khai worked directly with the expert panel, not through any intermediary. Open to the pressDuring his premiership, Phan Van Khai always supported the press and advocated for the fight for the truth and multiple perspectives. Luckily, just minutes after, Prime Minister Khai agreed to make public all information about the progress of the SARS epidemic in Viet Nam,” she said.

Lack of steady income a worry, say freelancersHuy Phat, a 30-year-old translator based in HCM City, has been working as a freelancer for five years since it gives him the flexibility for scheduling his leisure activities that an eight-to-five job cannot. Having more flexibility and freedom is one of the biggest advantages of freelancing but the lack of an assured income remains a big concern for many freelancers. Getting a steady income remains a big concern for her. “Though every type of work has its own advantages and drawbacks, surely a full-time job brings you a steady income along with health insurance and other benefits. The survey polled 11,324 freelancers and freelance considerers (who consider working as freelancers) across 22 markets globally including 1,602 from the four Southeast Asian markets.

South Korean President to exchange with VN U23 teamSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet Viet Nam’s under 23 football team during his visit to Viet Nam from March 22-24. Coach Park Hang-seo and the U23 team. The South Korean president will visit the Viet Nam Football Federation, head coach of Vietnamese U23 team, Park Hang-seo and members of the U23 team on March 22. Coached by South Korean Park, the Vietnamese team shocked the continent by finishing second at the AFC U23 Championship in China in January. Viet Nam will face Jordan in the qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2019 on March 27.

Noo Phuoc Thinh to represent Vietnam at Hong Kong Asian - Pop Music FestivalPop star Noo Phuoc Thinh will be the Vietnamese representative at this year’s Hong Kong Asian – Pop Music Festival to be held on March 23. Pop star Noo Phuoc ThinhPop star Noo Phuoc Thinh will represent Vietnam at the Hong Kong Asian – Pop Music Festival 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on March 23. Thịnh, 30, said: “I’m proud to represent Vietnam at the Hong Kong Asian – Pop Music Festival and have a chance to introduce Vietnamese music to Asia and the world. I promise it will be unique.”The festival will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Noo Phuoc Thinh, real name Nguyen Phuoc Thinh, began his music career in 2009.

Hundred year-old incense village in Hung YenThe two-century-old Cao village in the northern province of Hung Yen is one of the largest incense making villages in Vietnam. Cao village incense with medicinal ingredients has a natural smell and is safe for users. Incense smells different depending on the amount of ingredients used and the way they are mixed," said Dao Duc Trieu, an incense maker in Bao Khe commune, Hung Yen city. Making incense requires consideration in every single stepNguyen Thi Hang, another incense maker in the village, said her family produced about 20,000-30,000 incense sticks per day. The incense sticks connect people with their deceased family members, reminding them of their roots.-VNA

English football coaches train kids in VNTwo coaches from British football club Tottenham Hotspur FC, the runner up in the 2016-17 Premier League, have arrived to hold camps for 8 – 10-year-olds in HCM City. English football coaches train kids in Viet Nam. On Sunday, Danny Mitchell and Anton Blackwood taught 400 children six basic skills: foundation, passing, kicking, high-speed movement with the ball, goal protection, and one on one and two on two tackling. The 12 best kids were chosen for a seven-day international football training course in Phuket, Thailand, in June. On March 25, 400 children in Hanoi will take part in a similar event.

Lavrov’s visit to Vietnam was postponedThe visit of the foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov in Viet Nam, which was to begin Monday, has been postponed, according to Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. The visit was postponed for unexpected reasons, the ministry said, adding that the specific time of the visit will be provided later. Viet Nam and Russia established diplomatic ties on January 30, 1950. The two countries are working together to raise the figure to US$10 billion by 2020.— VNS

Logistics decree underwhelmsWhile signalling a breakthrough improvement in the local logistics service market, Vietnam’s new regulations have raised concerns over e-commerce among EU investors. “At the moment, foreign investors in the logistics sector have yet to see an expansion of market access rights. At the same time, they have to abide by the regulations on specific logistics services regulated in the decree’s Article 3. In spite of the concerns, the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) and lawyers have issued positive statements on the new decree. The logistics business has proven its indispensable importance in supporting and facilitating other industrial business activities.

Transport Ministry cracks down on Uber, Grab once againA new regulation is set to crack down on ride-hailing companies Uber and Grab in Viet Nam, according to transport officials. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the General Department of Vietnam Roads are currently planning amendments to 2014’s Decree 86, focusing on business condition reviews for transport firms. Tran Bao Ngoc, director of the MoT’s Transportation Department, said in an early March meeting that the new decree’s main objective was to better manage transport businesses using software. Hung affirmed that since Viet Nam’s laws stipulated that only transport service professionals can collect fares from passengers, once Uber and Grab drivers profit from their transport services, they are effectively transport firms. Meanwhile, Grab is finalising its acquisition of Uber’s business in Southeast Asia, according to news site Bloomberg, buying the latter’s operations in certain markets in exchange for a stake in Grab.

HCM City to increase parking feesHCM City will increase automobile parking fees on some sidewalks and roadsides in the city centre to VNĐ20,000-40,000 (US$0.9-1.8) per hour from June 1. HCM City will increase automobile parking fees on some sidewalks and roadsides in the city’s centre to VNĐ20,000-40,000 (US$0.9-1.8) per hour from June 1. The adjustment of automobile parking fees was approved by the People’s Council last Friday in an aim to reduce the number of cars parked on pavements and roads. Automobile owners can pay parking fees via their mobile phone accounts or bank accounts. Parking fees are currently around VNĐ5,000 ($0.22), irrespective of the length of time.

According to Cushing Anderson, programme vice president of Business Consulting Services at IDC, clients in the Asia-Pacific region said that PwC is highly capable of supporting business change across their organisations. After conducting its IPO, Protrade Corp. will put 119.7 million shares, equalling 39.91 per cent of the stakes, on sale to strategic investors. Novaland is trading more than 652.6 million shares and with this issuance ratio, the company could issue an additional 202.3 million shares. More than 272 million shares were traded on the southern bourse at over 7.56 trillion VND (332.64 million USD). A total of 94.4 million shares worth over 1.9 trillion VND (83.6 million USD) were traded.

VN stocks progress on GDP forecastVietnamese shares advanced further on Monday on high investor confidence and good performance of real estate stocks, however, growth rates were slowed down as profit-taking hit bank stocks following their recent gains. The VN-Index peaked at 1,165.63 points and the HNX Index touched the highest level of the day at 134.41 points. On the opposite side, bank stocks were hit by strong selling after they led the benchmark index to surpass the peak of 1,130 points last week. The worst-performing bank stocks included Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID), Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Eximbank (EIB). “The decline of bank stocks today, after the strong rally, increased the risk of the overall market’s downtrend.

VN Gov’t to smooth way for auto firmsDeputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has urged the ministries of Transport and Industry and Trade to implement current policies and assist in the removal of obstacles for auto businesses. Cars at the Chu Lai - Truong Hai Auto Manufacture and Assembly Complex in the central province of Quang Nam. His request is aimed at enabling auto businesses to develop their operations in Viet Nam. Dung also assigned the Ministry of Finance to send a report to the Government soon on tax policies for the development of the automobile industry. Meanwhile, the income of people has also improved, and the transport infrastructure is more systematic, resulting in increasing demand for cars.

Finance, banking sector under pressure to undergo digital conversionVietNamNet Bridge - The technical breakdown at the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in late January shows that the finance and banking sector in Vietnam urgently needs to undergo digital conversion, analysts have said. Vietnam's largest stock exchange had to close for two days to fix the technical problems. It was once used at the Chicago Stock Exchange and Thailand Stock Exchange. Digital technology is expected to change the face of Vietnam’s banking sector. IBM believes that from now to 2020, blockchain will be one of 10 leading technologies in the world, including Vietnam.