Young engineer develops software for self-propelled vehiclesVietNamNet Bridge - Nguyen Duc Linh, who has an engineer’s degree in computer science and embedded systems, and his teammates have designed software for self-propelled cars. The ADAS software development teamLinh is one of the youngest engineers of the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) software development team, which belongs to FPT Global Automotive, a subsidiary of FPT, the Vietnamese largest IT technology group. After one year of work, in October 2017, the software for self-propelled vehicles was put in a trial run on 4-seater cars at the speed of 25 kilometers per hour. With these capabilities, FPT’s self-propelled technology is approaching the second level out of five levels set by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). Linh said before he began working on software development for self-propelled vehicles, he mostly carried out IoT projects and had no understanding about self-propelled vehicles.

Da Nang's beach is in dangerOn My Khe Beach, landslides have caused serious damage to embankments and dangerous holes. On My Khe Beach, landslides have caused serious damage to embankments and dangerous holes. Subsidence, landslides and soil erosion have been damaging Da Nang beach seriously. “If the local authorities don’t take action immediately, Da Nang Beach will be in a serious situation like Cua Dai beach in Hoi An,” Tuyet said. RELATED NEWSDa Nang uses “smart environment management” with Vietnamese technologiesAgreement on Da Nang urban railwayMai Chi

Vietnam supports Singapore as ASEAN Chair in 2018Vietnam fully supports Singapore as chair of ASEAN in 2018 and will coordinate with the country as well as other ASEAN members to push forward priorities and initiatives of ASEAN this year for further progress in building the ASEAN Community, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said. Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc DungOn the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the Deputy Foreign Minister talked to the press about Vietnam’s participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2018. According to the deputy FM, ASEAN countries support those initiatives as they suit the development level and requirements of ASEAN. Deputy FM Dung noted that Vietnam will take up the role as chair of ASEAN in 2020, following Thailand in 2019. Therefore, in order to fulfill the role of ASEAN Chair, Vietnam should make careful preparations well in advance.

Start-up recycles used containers for stores targeting young owners, customersHoang Tuan Anh has realised his start-up dream by creating the first shopping and entertaining complexes in HCM City to use recycled containers. The 32-year-old Tuan Anh is no stranger to the local start-up industry as he once ran a successful startup on distribution and installation of insulation panels in Australia. Tuan Anh said that similar concepts can be seen in many countries, particular Australia and Thailand. “There are plenty of projects in Thailand that have built food, fashion, and exhibition halls with used containers at a low cost for young startups,” he said. Anh is also looking for temporarily unoccupied land to build boarding houses with used containers for students and factory workers at the lowest possible price.

Banks take on wealth managementManaging the wealth of well-off people could be a pleasantly profitable business for banks this year, as the number of the rich is growing alongside the strong performance of the local economy. The development of this segment depends on legal backup from the central bank, banks’ competency and capability, and further market expansion.banks take on wealth managementTwo years ago, the Vietnam branch of Standard Chartered launched its wealth management operations. The surge in entrepreneurship has also generated wealth for the nation as a whole, and businesspeople in particular.“The expansion of the wealth management business is in line with our overall strategy, and the expansion of the business in Vietnam is our priority,” he said. HSBC and Standard Chartered could be among the first foreign lenders to see the potential for this market segment, having ventured into the wealth management business here some time ago. A few other local banks, as Luc noted, have actually incorporated this type of business into their operations for a number of years.“The wealth management service has emerged as a business that goes in line with the retail banking development strategy of many banks.

PM approves IT programme to promote e-GovtPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has given the go-ahead for a national programme on information and technology with the aim of accelerating the application of IT in State bodies’ operation. The Information and Technology Target Programme in the 2016 to 2020 period will also aim to speed up the formation of e-Government and a uniform system of public services from the Central to local level; strengthen the abilities to secure national information and electronic authentication; and develop the IT industry through establishing key IT zones, and core IT products. To that end, the programme set a target to ensure that 100 per cent of ministries, ministerial-level bodies, and Central-level provinces and cities will have a shared and integrated foundation by 2020 to connect over 50 per cent of information systems of ministries, sectors, localities that need to connect and share data with the national database. Additionally, over 80 per cent of localities’ information systems at level 3 and higher shall be subjected to information assurance in conformity with technical standards and regulations on security for information system according to levels. Of note, the programme set a target to remove Vietnam from the list of top 20 countries that are at great risk of malware attacks.

Hailstorm ahead for ride-hailing services in VietnamThe bumpy road thus far for ride-hailing companies Uber and Grab in Vietnam could well end in a jagged cliff as authorities turn the scanner on their operations, tax practices and competition with domestic taxi operators. In the latest bust-up, on February 6 the HCM City People’s Court City began to hear a lawsuit filed by Anh Duong Vietnam Jsc, better known as Vinasun Taxi, against GrabTaxi Vietnam Limited Liability Company (Grab).Vinasun’s argument is that it lost more than VNĐ40 billion (US$1.78 million) in 2016 and the first half of 2017 because of Grab’s Illegal business operations in violation of the Law on Competition.Ta Long Hy, chairman of the HCM City Taxi Drivers Association, told the court that both Uber and Grab had suppressed local firms.Grab’s fleet of 28,000 vehicles as of 2017 was the reason why his and other taxi companies had to pull out more than 3,000 cars in HCM City alone from a total of 12,000.Since January 11 the Hanoi Department of Transport has restricted Uber and Grab’s operations to certain streets – to match similar restrictions on traditional taxis -- to ensure a level playing field.Thus, the two companies’ vehicles are not allowed on 13 main streets during certain hours, exactly the same as for regular taxis.Grab also slapped an extra 3.6 per cent fee on its drivers on top of the old fee of 20 per cent.Uber followed suit with an increase to 25 per cent from the previous 15 per cent.Besides, the companies required drivers to pay a 4.5 per cent of income tax, meaning they got double taxed.But these evoked a hue and cry from their drivers and caused riots in front of the companies’ headquarters in Hanoi and HCM City. The drivers also refused to ply their vehicles to protest the “unjust” treatment by their employers.The commotion settled somewhat when Grab reverted to the 20 per cent fee on January 13, but the companies have made no official statement on the matter yet.Nguyen Cong Hung, deputy director of the Hanoi Taxi Association, said after more than two years of trial runs for Uber and Grab, there are contradictory views on the nature of their business.He called this lack of clear definition the biggest failure of the trial initiated by the Ministry of Transport (MoT).According to Uber and Grab’s licences and terms of use, customers’ use of their transportation and delivery services does not confer the status of a transport carrier, he said.Comparing the tax and other business obligations of the ride-hailing and traditional taxi companies also shows that the two newcomers have the upper hand because of their use of technology, he said.For example, a traditional transport company has to pay tax of 10-20 per cent of their profits, while for a “technology company” it is only around 5 per cent, he pointed out.Besides, the field is not level with regard to obligations like welfare contributions for drivers and insurance either, he complained.He accused Uber and Grab of “behaving and charging” like normal transport companies while enjoying growth unrestricted and unregulated by authorities, distorting competition and resulting in discrimination.Many countries around the world consider Uber, Grab and others taxi companies, while the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is a shipping company and must comply with European transport sector regulations, he said.To many people’s astonishment, the two companies still consider themselves software and technology providers, and for a long time Grab declared its revenue was from "connection software fees".Thus, both have been getting away without paying value-added tax.Last October the Ministry of Industry and Trade had recommended that Uber and Grab should be identified as transport enterprises and not get benefits related to software services.Tran Bao Ngoc, director of the MoT’s transportation department, had said in a discussion on the Government’s online portal that Grab and Uber act as middlemen who only provide software and do not need to register their business the same way as regular taxi companies, and are thus not bound by the regulations and fees that apply to the latter.Adding to their already lower taxes, and ultimately unbeatable fares, the two new comers are set to win hands down.But at a MoT conference last month Vu Van Vien, director of the Hanoi Department of Transport, said he was in the process of advocating the same tax rates and same fares for Uber and Grab as traditional taxis.The impasse continues.Nonetheless, some economists and policy experts have taken the side of the two companies, defending their freedom to do business and the benefits customers enjoy.At a conference on the transportation business in January Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, had said that the new way of using information technology in the transport business by Uber and Grab is actually a sign of progress in Vietnam.“I would say that taxi companies h

Youth flock to study ancient fiddle with a twistThe dan nhi, a bowed two-string instrument, is a multi-purpose fiddle in the vast treasury of Vietnamese traditional music. As a result, the dan nhi has appeared in multiple music genres. It is one of the ways we can preserve the dan nhi and other folk instruments. At present, the number of students in our dan nhi class has risen from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The best way to preserve the dan nhi is to record albums and present them to an audience.

Book festival to welcome Lunar New YearBook lovers in Hanoi can enjoy the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday by reading to their hearts content, with a book festival set to take place on Book Street on February 18-25. The event aims to encourage people to read during the seven-day holiday and build reading culture, according to Ngo Van Quy, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee.The street features 16 booths from different book companies and distributors, offering literature, children’s books, science, fiction, foreign books, electronic books and digital reading devices.The event provides interesting books with easy access for people with disabilities, children and the elderly. The area includes a small square where people can talk about books, as well as free WiFi and water, a reading space, a coffee area, flowers and souvenir stalls.Press agencies will display special publications released for Tet, with the editions focusing on some of the most significant issues of the year.In addition, other cultural activities will be conducted such as book exchanges, book introductions, calligraphy presentations and copyright transactions.Located at 19 Thang 12 Street, Hoan Kiem District, Book Street is for pedestrians only. It opens from 8am to 10pm everyday.VNS

The other ministries, including MARD and MOC, are also taking steps towards simplifying procedures to ease the burden on enterprises. The increase in exports will support GDP growth. Every percentage point of world GDP will help Vietnam’s exports increase by 4 percentage points. ADB (Asian Development Bank) has predicted a 6.8 percent GDP growth rate for Vietnam in 2018, a figure which is much higher than the average growth rate in the region. RELATED NEWSVietnam recalculates GDP to lift public debt ceilingVietnam surpasses 2017 GDP target aided by global strengthKim Mai

Development in coastal areas causing marine pollutionVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has 28 out of 63 coastal cities/provinces, where 43.51 million people reside, and the population density is 1.9 times higher than the average density of the country. The waste water from vessels contains high concentrations of mineral oil, cleaning chemicals and heavy metals which seriously threaten the quality of sea water. The waste water from coastal areas, especially from tourism activities, is the main source, contributing one-fourth of total waste water of the country. Waste from miningThe waste water from coal mines cause sedimentation, loss of aquatic resources and deterioration of water quality. It is estimated that the waste water volume from coal mining sites is 25-30 million cubic meters a year with the pH level of 3.1-6.5, while the solid waste volume is up to 150 million cubic meters.

Multinationals want to develop smart factories in VietnamVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam, with a high-quality labor force which can satisfy requirements of the digital revolution, deserves to be a partner for foreign companies to team up to develop smart factories. Besides the discussion about digital transformation, they also showed willingness to seek opportunities to cooperate with Vietnamese firms like FPT to develop smart factories in Vietnam. Analysts predicted that smart factories would make up 5 percent of total output in the globe by 2025 and bring profit of $70 billion. Smart factories help enterprises save costs on energy and maintenance and increase new earnings by providing personalized products and services to customers. Smart factories represent a tremendous evolution from a traditional automated production system into a system which can continuously connect and process data.

Students invent ‘smart’ henhouse to breed chickensVietNamNet Bridge - Healthy and high-quality chickens can be bred in a smart henhouse created by three university students. The authors of the smart henhouseSmart fowl breeding was developed by students from Duy Tan University and Da Nang University of Technology to raise the quality of chicken raised in urban areas. Smart fowl breeding was developed by students from Duy Tan University and Da Nang University of Technology to raise the quality of chicken raised in urban areas. Nguyen Tran Hoang Linh, a student at Duy Tan University, the leader of the students’ team, said the physical movement improves chicken’s heath. RELATED NEWSVN student wins US invention prizeFPT University students create smartphone-controlled baristaKim Chi

President Tran Dai Quang wishes Vietnamese a prosperous New YearOn the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2018, President Tran Dai Quang offered greetings to all Vietnamese nationwide and in foreign countries, wishing them and people around the world a new year of peace, friendship, happiness and prosperity. In his message, the State leader noted that last year, the Party, people and army were united and made efforts to overcome difficulties, attaining outstanding achievements, particularly in socio-economy, defence, security, diplomacy and Party building. The position and prestige of Vietnam were further promoted, showing the firmness and wisdom of the country. This was supported by the entire Vietnamese people and lauded by the international community, thus helping to step up the country’s development, he wrote. He expressed his belief that in the New Year, with new opportunities and new driving forces, Vietnam will be successful.

Decree on golf course investment to be strengthenedThe prime minister has issued comments on the business conditions for golf course projects. According to MPI’s proposal on supplementing the planning and investment policy for golf courses, the PM put the Minister of Planning and Investment in charge of the task. MPI will prepare the draft on the policies for golf course construction and business projects in accordance with the Law on Investment. There will be around 100 golf courses by 2020, based on poor quality, sandy land areas and unused land. Land for rice cultivation, rich land, protective forest land, and special-use forest land will not be allowed to be used to construct golf courses.