Mobile consumer reports

Consumers remain hesitant to make noncash payments The Saigon Times Daily A customer is making a noncash payment at a restaurant in HCMC - PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC – High transaction fees, concerns over security and the habit of using cash have hindered local consumers from making noncash payments, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported, citing banking experts. At a seminar on noncash payments held by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and Tuoi Tre newspaper today, January 15, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh said the promotion of noncash payments is indispensable due to their considerable benefits for consumers. With noncash payments, transactions are conducted quickly and conveniently. Last year, 137.6 million online transactions were conducted. As many as 76 banks have offered Internet Banking services and 41 have mobile payment services, Anh added. According to Pham Tien Dung, director of SBV’s Payment Department, as of September last year, the country had 18,170 … [Read more...] about Consumers remain hesitant to make noncash payments

More Vietnamese consumers opt for digital payments By Le Hoang Country Manager for Visa Vietnam and Laos Dang Tuyet Dung shares information at the press briefing on March 21 - PHOTO: LE HOANG HCMC - Vietnamese consumers are embracing digital payments as a faster and more convenient way to make payments, using their credit and debit cards more often for in-store and online purchases, according to figures released by Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments. The figures indicate a number of positive trends in the growth of digital payments, according to the company at the press briefing today, March 21, in HCMC. The total value of purchases made by Vietnamese consumers on their Visa credit and debit cards is up 37%, while the number of transactions is up by 25%. Ecommerce spending in Vietnam has increased by 40% over the past year, according to Visa. Country Manager for Visa Vietnam and Laos Dang Tuyet Dung noted at the event that as the Vietnamese economy … [Read more...] about More Vietnamese consumers opt for digital payments

Garlic farmers Khánh Hòa Province are excited to have a bumper crop, but they are struggling to sell their garlic. – VNA/VNS Photo Viet Nam News HÀ NÔI – Hundreds of tonnes of garlic in Khánh Hòa Province is in danger of rotting, as a lack of demand has forced farmers to put their crops in storage. Garlic farmers in the central coastal province have warned they may have to throw large portions of their crops, vietnamplus.vn online newspaper reported. Khánh Hòa Province has about 600ha of garlic farms, which much of the crop garlic from Quảng Ngãi Province’s Lý Sơn Island, which is famous for its garlic nationwide. This year, garlic farmers in Vạn Hưng Commune, Vạn Ninh District were excited for their bumper crop, with an average yield of 10 tonnes per hectare, an increase of 4-5 tonnes from last year. Farmer Trương Minh Hoàng said at the beginning of harvest season two months ago, a kilo of fresh garlic went for VNĐ25,000/kg, but many farmers decided not to sell … [Read more...] about Hundreds of tonnes of Khánh Hòa garlic in storage

Vietnam home to five most visited ecommerce platforms in ASEAN By Van Ly A shipper of Tiki gives a box of goods to a customer in this file photo. Tiki, along with four other local ecommerce platforms, recorded high numbers of visits from desktop and mobile users in the ASEAN region in 2018 - PHOTO: VNA HANOI – Five of the 10 ecommerce platforms registered in Vietnam recorded high numbers of visits from desktop and mobile users in the ASEAN region, according to a year-end review on Vietnamese ecommerce in 2018, released by iPrice Group, a Malaysia-based online shopping aggregator. The five are Lazada, Shopee, Tiki, Thegioididong and Sendo. Of these, Lazada and Shopee are multinational firms, while the other three are local firms. According to the ranking, Tiki, Thegioididong and Sendo delivered impressive performances as they are only available in the local market, even outperforming Chinese JD Group, which has a strong presence in Indonesia and Thailand. … [Read more...] about Vietnam home to five most visited ecommerce platforms in ASEAN

HCMC police launch breath-testing campaign The Saigon Times Daily Police officers in HCMC’s Thu Duc District escort a container truck driver (C) who is found to have abused three types of drugs on Sunday – PHOTO: DAN TRI NEWS WEBSITE HCMC – The Road and Railway Traffic Police Division under the HCMC Police Department on Tuesday launched a breath-testing campaign across all of the city’s 24 districts to prevent traffic accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Lieutenant Colonel Huynh Trung Phong, head of the division, was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying that drivers will be tested for alcohol and drugs before, during and after the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet. He said the testing is being carried out between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. of the next day until February 16, targeting drivers of cars, buses, trucks, motorbikes and scooters. During the first phase, the division will coordinate with the mobile units of police … [Read more...] about HCMC police launch breath-testing campaign

WB urges Vietnam for regulatory environment conducive to digital economy By Thuy Dung World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione speaks at the workshop in Hanoi on March 7 – PHOTO: WORLD BANK IN VIETNAM HANOI – In the digital economy, Vietnam needs to put into place an appropriate environment to encourage innovation and competitiveness while protecting the consumer through better regulation and coordination among government agencies, said a World Bank (WB) official at a workshop in Hanoi today, March 7. Co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the WB in Vietnam, the workshop, called “Policy Aspects for Vietnam Digital Economy Development,” was aimed at seeking ways to accelerate the development of the digital economy and maximize its benefits. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung stated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has significantly contributed to the global transition of the digital economy, which refers to a broad … [Read more...] about WB urges Vietnam for regulatory environment conducive to digital economy

SBV proposes tighter control over e-wallets The Saigon Times Daily A person uses Momo e-wallet services. The State Bank of Vietnam has added regulations to tighten control over e-wallets - PHOTO: THANH HA HCMC – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has proposed more regulations to tighten control over the opening and use of e-wallets, the local media reported. According to the draft circular amending and supplementing Circular 39/2014, which guides the use of intermediary payment services, individuals and organizations wishing to open e-wallet accounts must provide sufficient information. E-wallet service providers, such as MoMo, ZaloPay, AirPay, Moca and Payoo, have to check the information to ensure that the e-wallet accounts are legal. Dr Bui Quang Tin from the Banking University of HCMC said it is reasonable to ask e-wallet users to provide their personal information to help prevent the use of e-wallets for illegal purposes. However, e-wallet service providers … [Read more...] about SBV proposes tighter control over e-wallets

Huawei Vietnam responds to Google’s Android suspension By Van Ly and Chi Thinh A woman uses the Google Chrome app on her Huawei smartphone. Google intends to suspend its business with China’s top mobile phone maker, threatening future access to Gmail, YouTube and Chrome – PHOTO: THUY DUNG HANOI, HCMC – Chinese technology firm Huawei Vietnam has said it will continue to build a “safe and sustainable software ecosystem” to provide the best experience for all users globally, following Huawei’s use of the Android operating system being restricted by Google. Huawei’s response followed a May 20 report from Reuters, which said that U.S. tech giant Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, except those publicly available through open-source licensing, in a blow to China’s top mobile phone maker, which the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world. Holders of current Huawei smartphones … [Read more...] about Huawei Vietnam responds to Google’s Android suspension

Vietnam’s progress mirrored in that of East Asia: WB By Pham Nhat Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam Ousmane Dione (L, 2) and other delegates are at the 2019 PEMNA Plenary Conference in Quang Ninh Province on May 22 – PHOTO: QUANG NINH NEWSPAPER HCMC – Vietnam is a country on the move, whose progress is broadly mirrored in the progress of East Asia, where several countries have progressed from low-income to middle-income status in the past half century, said Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam Ousmane Dione at a conference that was opened on Wednesday. Speaking at the eighth plenary conference of the Public Expenditure Management Network in Asia (PEMNA) in the northern province of Quang Ninh from May 22 to 24, Dione said that Vietnam has experienced growth rates of 6.5% on average in the last five years while poverty has fallen from roughly 21% in 2010 to 9.8% in 2016. PEMNA is a peer learning network of public financial management … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s progress mirrored in that of East Asia: WB

Local currency bond yields rise across all tenors as banks raise deposit rates: ADB By Thanh Thom Notes of government bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance. Total outstanding local-currency government bonds stood at VND1.092 quadrillion at the end of March – PHOTO: VNA HCMC – Local currency government bond yields in Vietnam climbed for all tenors between March 1 and May 8, according to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) latest issue of the Asia Bond Monitor . The ADB noted in the report that bond yields rose faster at the short end than the long end, resulting in a flattening of the yield curve. Yields gained an average of 30 basis points (bps) for the 1-year through 3-year maturities but only rose an average of 6 bps for the 10-year through 15-year tenors. As a result, the spread between the 2-year and 10-year yields narrowed to 125 bps on May 8 from 150 bps on March 1. The overall upward trend in bond yields was influenced by the uptick in deposit rates. … [Read more...] about Local currency bond yields rise across all tenors as banks raise deposit rates: ADB