Better safety performance for VN: Climbing the ranks of the world’s safest countriesKeeping people safe is one of society’s most important responsibilities. According to our 2017 UL Safety Index, Vietnam’s Safety Index score is 66 (on a scale of 0-100) and ranks fifth amongst the 11 countries in Southeast Asia. While there has been great progress made in Vietnam’s safety performance, there are also some areas for improvement for the country. The UL Safety Index is an algorithm-based data science initiative that provides information to make decisions for improved safety and wellbeing. To learn more about UL visit ul.com and the annual UL Safety Index, visit ULSafetyIndex.org.

Vietnam yet to impose preventive measures on Grab takeover of UberThe competition authority in Vietnam have yet to make the next moves over a transaction in which Grab acquired Uber Technologies Inc’s Southeast Asian business after asking Grab to report details of the deal. According to the Law on Competition, Grab and Uber are given time to prove that they do not violate the law. Meanwhile, Singapore’s and Malaysia’s competition agencies have adopted interim measures to prevent Grab and Uber from infringing competition regulations. Particularly, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) last weekend announced its interim measures directions (IMD) on the merger of ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber. The two firms must not exchange their information on pricing, pricing policies, price formulas, customers and drivers.

Tourism Awards nomination rules turn more quantitativeThe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has released instructions for the Vietnam Tourism Awards 2018, with requirements for nominations being made more quantitative. First organized in 1999, the Vietnam Tourism Awards are the most prestigious annual awards of Vietnam’s tourism sector. The awards aim to honor leading enterprises which have been successful in improving tourism service quality, diversifying tourism products, promoting Vietnam tourism, and making significant contribution to tourism development. The Vietnam Tourism Awards 2018 will be announced in early July. Data of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shows there are around 1,800 inbound tour operators nationwide at present.

Foreign investors turn to M&A to increase SOE holdingsForeign investors at state-owned firms are looking to increase their holdings via M&A deals to solidify their footholds in Vietnam. After receiving dividend via stocks, the Thai firm currently holds 21.27 million shares in NTP. Additionally, after being paid dividend via stocks, the Thai firm currently holds 16.7 million BMP shares, equaling 20.4 per cent of the stakes. After SCIC issued the plan to divest from BMP, Nawaplastic decided to drop Tien Phong Plastic to increasing its holding in BMP. Despite being one of the largest plastic manufacturers in Vietnam, BMP recently lost market share to foreign and domestic competition.

Controversial moves on ride-hailing marketAfter Uber sold its Southeast Asian operations to Grab, the ride-hailing market is seeing an interesting phenomenon: insiders want out, while outsiders want in. However, Uber drivers are not exactly excited about joining Grab because the firm's commissions are far higher than Uber’s. Notably, Uber drivers would need to pay 28.6 per cent of their revenue cent to Grab, including 25 per cent commission and 3.6 per cent personal income tax. The ratio is much higher than the 20-25 per cent Uber charged. Previously, in late 2016, 123Xe, another Vietnamese ride-hailing app developed by VNG, was officially launched, marking VNG’s endeavour into the ride-hailing market.

Businessman offers to pay compensation for hero truck driverA young businessman has pledged to support a truck driver who faced a large compensation payout for damaging two cars after trying to avoid two girls who had fallen on the street. The truck flipped after avoiding two girls in Hai Phong City on March 19Berjaya CEO Nguyen Hoai Nam went on Facebook on April 2 and promised to help pay the compensation and monthly wages for Tien if he was forced to pay compensation and have his driving license suspended. On March 19, Do Van Tien was driving in Hai Phong City when two girls riding on motorbike suddenly fell in front of his truck. He quickly diverted the truck to avoid the girls but hit two other cars parked on the street and flipped over. "When my truck flipped and I was able to get outside, my only thought was hoping that the girls were safe.

VTVCab makes excuses for dropping HBO and other popular channelsThousands of customers are complaining about VTVCab suddenly cutting many popular channels including HBO, BBC World, Discovery and Fox Sport starting from April. Head of VTVCab Bui Huy NamMany subscribers expressed confusion after seeing strange channels appearing while other massively popular channels such as HBO and Cartoon Network disappeared last weekend. Addressing a press conference on April 2, Bui Huy Nam, head of VTVCab tried to claim the new channels had similar contents to the old channels. However, VTVCab's notification only announced the appearance of new channels and omitted the fact that many existing channels would be cut. VTVCab is one of the country’s largest paid-TV players in terms of subscribers and service range, broadcasting 200 channels in co-operation with other television service providers.

Hanoi lacks water sources for fire fightingMany hydrants in Hanoi do not work while the city lacks water sources for firefighting and measures to tackle high-rise fires. "I hope the city will deal with this immediately so that there's enough water for firefighting," he said. According to Major General Hoang Quoc Dinh, Director of the Hanoi Police Department of Fire Fighting and Prevention, water for daily activities is lacking in many residential areas, let alone for fire department. The firefighters then must use water from the nearest sources, they can't run to some far-away lake or canal," he said. Hanoi has experienced some 1,100 fires since 2007, causing over VND600bn in damage, leaving 24 people were 18 were injured.

Itochu pays US$47mn to raise stake in VinatexItochu, Japan’s second-largest trading company, has spent some five billion yen (US$46.9 million) to buy an additional 10 per cent equity in Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). Vinatex has invested nearly $200 million to develop facilities for thread and cloth production over the past three years. Earlier, Itochu had acquired roughly 5 per cent stake in Vinatex in its initial public offering in September 2014. The decision to raise its stake in Vinatex reflects Itochu’s desire to make Viet Nam a textile export hub for the European market amidst rising labour costs in China, Nikkei reported. Itochu exports apparel from Viet Nam worth some 60 billion yen per year, half of which is produced by Vinatex.

41 people off updated professor listForty-one people have been removed from the list of newly-appointed professors and associate professors that was announced in early February. Viet Nam now has 1,184 people who are certified professors and associate professors, compared with 703 of 2016. The updated list of all professors and associate professors, announced by the State Council for Professor Titles of Viet Nam, now has 1,184 people, compared with 703 in 2016. Under the list, 1,226 people were appointed as professors and associate professors in 2017, including 85 professors and 1,141 associate professors. During the review, many professors and associate professors candidates handed in letters of withdrawal from the process to be recognised with the title of professor or associate professor, he said.

41 people off updated professor listForty-one people have been removed from the list of newly-appointed professors and associate professors that was announced in early February. Viet Nam now has 1,184 people who are certified professors and associate professors, compared with 703 of 2016. The updated list of all professors and associate professors, announced by the State Council for Professor Titles of Viet Nam, now has 1,184 people, compared with 703 in 2016. Under the list, 1,226 people were appointed as professors and associate professors in 2017, including 85 professors and 1,141 associate professors. During the review, many professors and associate professors candidates handed in letters of withdrawal from the process to be recognised with the title of professor or associate professor, he said.

Direct flights from Switzerland to Vietnam reopened in NovemberThere will be two direct flights weekly from Switzerland to Viet Nam starting November, Federal Councilor of Switzerland Doris Leuthard said on Tuesday when she met Transport Minister Nguyen Van The. Transport Minister Nguyen Van The and Federal Councilor of Switzerland Doris Leuthard sign the agreement on scheduled air services Tuesday afternoon. The new agreement that facilitated direct flights between the two countries would help boost their tourism and business, Leuthard said. “Every time we come to Viet Nam, we see more people, more vehicles and more mobility,” she said. The said that Viet Nam welcomed investors with financial experience to join in the projects under Public- Private Partnership contracts.

Health Ministry's smart healthcare system uses AI, Big DataA smart healthcare system that exploits Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI) has been set up by the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of health examinations and medical treatment. — Photo benhvienthuduc.vnEach locality in the country is expected to develop a smart healthcare system based on their own conditions, according to the ministry. The ministry has issued a set of criteria for IT applications toward smart health, according to Trần Quý Tường, head of Electronic Health Administration of Viet Nam. Patients’ health records will be digitalised under the smart healthcare system. The Ministry of Health has a three-pronged approach: electronic health, building IT infrastructure and a new national health data centre.

Vietnam plans technical barriers on imported carsVietNamNet Bridge - The ministries of Transport (MOT) and Science & Technology (MST) plan to set up technical barriers to tighten the control of imported cars. They said the regulations were not in accordance with international standards and that it almost stopped cars from being imported into Vietnam. The news about technical barriers has worried car importers, includingToyota and Honda. Toyota Vietnam’s Pham Anh Tuan said technical barriers for imported cars have existed for several years, but the new requirements may be supplements to barriers created by Decree 116. Tuan said the manufacturer still cannot imagine what the new technical barriers will be.

Government News 4/4Vietnam attends NAM senior official meetingThe Vietnamese delegation joined other member countries at a meeting of Senior Officials of the Non-Aligned Movement, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 3. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives German AmbassadorPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian BergerVietnam treasures ties with Germany and wishes for the further development of bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian Berger. Ambassador Berger, for his part, thanked Vietnamese ministries and sectors for their cooperation to promote the two countries’ relations. Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said Vietnam attached importance to the ASEAN – US strategic partnership. A free trade agreement between Vietnam and four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – will be signed soon.