Wirtschaft - Umwelt 2020

Staudamm-Projekt in China: Mit allen Wassern bewaffnet

30.12.2020 Von Arne Perras (Süddeutsche Zeitung) - Peking plant einen Mega-Staudamm am Brahmaputra-Strom und alarmiert damit seine südlichen Nachbarn. In Delhi und Dhaka wachsen die Ängste vor Dürren oder Fluten, sollte China am Oberlauf des Flusses die Stellschrauben drehen.

Um den Plan vom Mega-Kraftwerk zu verkünden, nutzte Peking die staatlich kontrollierte Global Times. Das Blatt zitierte Yan Zhiyong, den Chef des staatseigenen Energiekonzerns "Powerchina", der das Vorhaben als eine "historische Chance für die Wasserkraftindustrie" lobte und stolz verkündete: "Es gibt in der Geschichte keine Parallele."

Mit besonderem Interesse blickt Indien auf Entwicklungen am Mekong in Südostasien. Dort lässt sich bereits studieren, wie sich eine Reihe von Dämmen am Flussoberlauf - in China und Laos - auf die Länder am Unterlauf auswirkt. Thailand, Kambodscha und Vietnam litten wiederholt unter Wassermangel, es gefährdet Fischer, Bauern und damit auch Millionen Verbraucher. [Weiterlesen]

Japan Funds Coal Plant In Vietnam, Risking Green Backlash

30.12.2020 Stephen Stapczynski & Masumi Suga (Bloomberg) - Japan approved a plan to help finance a long-planned coal power plant in Vietnam, despite the government’s pledge to curb overseas investments in dirtier technology and cut emissions at home.

“This project was planned quite a long time ago, but this clearly shows that Japan’s pledge for carbon neutrality is not put into practice,” said Kimiko Hirata, an international director at Kiko Network, a Japan-based group that promotes climate-friendly policies. [read more]

GE to supply wind turbines to 27.2MW Vietnam project

30.12.2020 (TradeArabia) - GE Renewable Energy has secured a 27.2 MW contract to supply 8 units of GE’s 3 MW-137 wind turbines to support construction of the Phuoc Minh Wind Farm, located in Ninh Thuan, in the South Central Region of Vietnam.

The wind farm is expected to contribute in excess of 100 million kWh of electricity annually to the national grid once the project is fully operational by third quarter of 2021. [read more]

London schließt Handelspakte mit Türkei und Vietnam

29.12.2020 (DW) - Das Vereinigte Königreich hat inzwischen mehr als 60 Handelsabkommen für die Zeit nach dem Brexit geschlossen. Derweil nimmt der Vertrag mit der Europäischen Union eine wichtige Hürde.

Das Vereinigte Königreich und Vietnam haben sich auf einen Vertrag geeinigt. Er soll im Wesentlichen das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und dem ostasiatischen Land (EVFTA) fortschreiben, dem Großbritannien im Zuge der zum Jahreswechsel endenden  Übergangsphase weiter angehörte. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam's bittersweet moment in Trump's spotlight

21.12.2020 William Pesek (Nikkei Asia) - Like a proper schoolyard bully, the Trump administration could not resist poking developing Asia one last time on the way out the door. Not China, but comparatively tiny Vietnam, which the U.S. Treasury gang just branded a "currency manipulator."

The factory jobs Trump thought would return to Indiana and Texas ran to Ho Chi Minh City instead. [read more]

US-Backed Mekong Dam Monitor Project Offers Data and Transparency to Mekong Region

16.12.2020 (BenarNews) - The United States and partners have launched a new program to monitor the Mekong River, to track the impact of Chinese and other hydropower projects and climate change on Southeast Asia’s main river system.

The U.S.-funded Mekong Dam Monitor, developed by the Washington-based Stimson Center and the research firm Eyes on Earth, employs remote sensing to deliver near-real time data from dam operations and water levels across six Mekong basin countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. [read more]

USA bezichtigen die Schweiz gemeinsam mit Vietnam der Währungsmanipulation

16.12.2020 (Epoch Times) - Die USA haben die Schweiz und Vietnam offiziell der Währungsmanipulation bezichtigt. Das US-Finanzministerium warf den beiden Staaten am Mittwoch in einem halbjährlichen Bericht vor, in die Geldmärkte einzugreifen. Im Fall von Vietnam erfolge dies mit dem Ziel, einen „unfairen Wettbewerbsvorteil im internationalen Handel zu erlangen“. [Weiterlesen]

Trump Administration Says Vietnam and Switzerland Manipulated Currency

16.12.2020 (New York Times) - WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday labeled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, accusing them for the first time of improperly intervening in foreign exchange markets and setting off a new economic confrontation with two trading partners.

It was the first time that the Treasury Department has applied that label to either country and will require Vietnam and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with the United States and the International Monetary Fund to address the situation. [read more]

Peugeot Django wird auch in Vietnam produziert

14.12.2020 (MotorZeitung) - Peugeot will den Absatz des Django 125 im asiatischen Raum vorantreiben. Aus diesem Grund wurde mit dem vietnamesischen Autohersteller Thaco (Truong Hai Auto Corporation) eine Zusammenarbeit vereinbart. Der Leichtkraftroller wird ab diesem Monat in einem eigenen Werk in der zentralen Küstenregion des Landes produziert. [Weiterlesen]

Joint Statement on United States, Japan and Vietnam Cooperation to Support Vietnam’s Energy Transitions Through LNG Utilization

07.12.2020 (US Department of State) - The Department of State of the United States, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan acknowledge the following:

The importance of a realistic and pragmatic energy policy that utilizes all energy sources and all technologies for achieving both the goal of economic recovery and private sector-led growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the goal of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions [read more]

Vietnam to wave quarantine for South Korea business travellers, Seoul says

04.12.2020 (Reuters) - SEOUL - Vietnam has agreed to allow some South Korean business people to travel between the two countries without having to complete mandatory 14-day anti-coronavirus quarantine, Seoul said on Friday.

The agreement will go into effect on Jan. 1 and will allow visitors on short-term business trips to avoid the quarantines, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. [read more]

Corona in Vietnam: Flugbegleiter droht nach neuen Fällen Haftstrafe

03.12.2020 (Börse-Online) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Nach den ersten lokal übertragenen Corona-Fällen in Vietnam seit fast 90 Tagen hat die Polizei Ermittlungen gegen einen Flugbegleiter eingeleitet. Er gilt als Ursprung der neuen Infektionen, die am Montag bekannt geworden waren. Der 28-jährige Patient, der von seiner Arbeit suspendiert wurde, könnte wegen "Verbreitung gefährlicher Infektionskrankheiten" angeklagt werden, sagte der stellvertretende Polizeichef von Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt, Nguyen Si Quang, am Donnerstag. Ihm drohten bis zu zwölf Jahre Haft, berichtete die Zeitung "VnExpress". [Weiterlesen]

Apple verlegt Produktion aus China nach Indien und Vietnam

30.11.2020 (Epoch Times) - Immer mehr Firmen verlagern ihre Geschäfte aus China. Auch der US-Tech-Riese Apple schließt sich diesem Trend an. Grund ist die anhaltende Pandemie und der Handelskrieg zwischen den USA und China.

Der amerikanische Technologiekonzern Apple zieht eine seiner wichtigsten Montagelinien aus China ab. Laut Reuters habe Apple am 26. November seinen wichtigsten Lieferanten, den taiwanesischen Konzern Foxconn, aufgefordert, die iPad- und MacBook-Fertigung von China nach Vietnam zu verlagern. [Weiterlesen]

A plea for help as China loses jobs to Vietnam

27.11.2020 By Frank Chen (Asia Times) - Samsung and Apple’s OEM partners are the latest US tariff-eluding manufacturers to shift production from China to Vietnam.

Samsung has one after another shut its two largest phone-assembling plants in Tianjin and Huizhou, a city in the southern Guangdong province, in late 2018 and 2019. [read more]

Criminalité forestière : des dragons vietnamiens en toute majesté au cameroun

21.11.2020 (Camer.Be) - Une enquête inédite menée par le Centre pour l’environnement et le développement (CED) et l’EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency) a permis de révéler qu’un groupe de sociétés vietnamiennes opérant au Cameroun est au cœur de l’essor du commerce illégal du bois entre le Cameroun et le Vietnam.

Entre 2014 et 2017, les exportateurs du Cameroun ont déclaré 308 millions de dollars US de moins que les importateurs du Vietnam; certaines sociétés vietnamiennes spécialisées dans le commerce du bois violent régulièrement les lois camerounaises parmi lesquelles la loi dressant la liste des essences dont l’exportation est interdite sous forme de grumes, et celle qui limite la taille des produits dérivés transformés autorisés à l’exportation. [en savoir plus]

Freihandelsabkommen Asien-Pazifik - „Warnruf an den Westen“

16.11.2020 (Westfalen-Blatt) - Berlin/Bielefeld (WB/in/dpa) - Nach dem Abschluss des Asiatisch-Pazifischen Freihandelsabkommens – offiziell „regionale, umfassende Wirtschaftspartnerschaft“ (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) oder RCEP – schrillen auch in Ostwestfalen-Lippe die Alarmglocken. Der Bielefelder Europa-Politiker Elmar Brok (CDU) nannte die Entwicklung am Montag im Gespräch mit dieser Zeitung „dramatisch“ und die Unterzeichnung einen „Warnruf“. Die Folgen seien sowohl ökonomisch als auch politisch von großem Gewicht [Weiterlesen]

Freihandelsabkommen für Asien und Pazifik - Die Macht des neuen Ostblocks

16.11.2020 Von Markus Becker, Georg Fahrion, Claus Hecking und Bernhard Zand (Der Spiegel) - Während Europa und die USA mit der Pandemie kämpfen, gelingt China einer der weltgrößten Freihandelsverträge. Er könnte die Vormachtstellung des Landes ausweiten – und zur Gefahr für die deutsche Exportindustrie werden.

Das Unterschriften-Zeremoniell haben sich die Organisatoren des virtuellen Freihandelsgipfels von Hanoi offenbar bei Donald Trump abgeschaut. [Weiterlesen]

RCEP: Asia-Pacific countries form world's largest trading bloc

16.11.2020 (BBC) - Fifteen countries have formed the world's largest trading bloc, covering nearly a third of the global economy.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The pact is seen as an extension of China's influence in the region. The deal excludes the US, which withdrew from a rival Asia-Pacific trade pact in 2017. [read more]

Freihandel - Auf dem Weg zum "Markt der Welt"

13.11.2020 (DW) - Wenn auf dem ASEAN-Gipfel das Abkommen mit dem Kürzel RCEP unterzeichnet wird, dann ist das der Startschuss für den größten Handelspakt der Welt mit zwei Milliarden Menschen. Die EU und die USA sind nicht dabei. Acht Jahre haben die Vorarbeiten in Anspruch genommen, acht Jahre "Verhandlungen mit Blut, Schweiß und Tränen", wie es der Handelsminister Malaysias formulierte. [Weiterlesen]

Die wahren Gewinner des US-China-Handelsstreits

30.10.2020 Kira Schacht (DW) - Wegen hoher Zölle auf Produkte aus China wenden sich US-Importeure anderen Ländern zu. Eine DW-Analyse zeigt, wo Amerikaner Handys, Computer, Möbel und Kleidung jetzt stattdessen kaufen.

Dung Trans Geschäft boomt: "Letztes Jahr haben wir unsere Fabrik um eine zweite Etage erweitert. Und gerade schaue ich mir einen neuen Standort an, der viermal größer ist als der jetzige." Für sein Unternehmen Spartronics, das im Auftrag anderer Firmen elektronische Produkte herstellt, ist der andauernde Handelsstreit zwischen China und den Vereinigten Staaten ein Segen. Und damit ist er nicht allein. [Weiterlesen]

Asien-Pazifik-Konferenz - Deutsche Wirtschaft soll in Asien Alternativen zu China suchen

19.10.2020 (Die Zeit) - Vietnam oder Indonesien könnten bei Investitionen Alternativen zu China sein, sagt der Siemens-Chef. Der Wirtschaftsminister warnt vor einseitigen Lieferketten.

Bundeswirtschaftsminister Peter Altmaier (CDU) hat zu Beginn der Konferenz des Asien-Pazifik-Ausschusses der Deutschen Wirtschaft gefordert, dass deutsche Unternehmen sich in Asien mehr Alternativen zu ihrem Geschäft in China suchen sollen. "Wir wollen natürlich unser Lieferketten diversifizieren", sagte Altmaier. [Weiterlesen]

No Taxation Without Climate

15.10.2020 By David Hutt (The Diplomat) - As they grapple with COVID-19, Southeast Asian nations should not lose sight of the challenges posed by climate change.

More Cambodians, Laotians and Vietnamese have been killed this year by flooding than from the coronavirus pandemic.

Flooding in Vietnam has killed at least 36 people so far this month, up to October 14, a number that will most likely rise as Tropical Storm Nangka continues to batter the central provinces.

Environmentalism is growing in the region. Some of the largest protests witnessed in Vietnam’s recent history came after the toxic oil spill of the Formosa steel plant in 2016, which destroyed waterways across several central provinces. [read more]

ADB, PHU YEN JSC Sign Viet Nam's First Certified Green Loan for 257 MW Solar Power Project

09.10.2020 (M2) - HA NOI, VIET NAM - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Phu Yen TTP Joint Stock Company (Phu Yen JSC) today signed a $186 million loan to develop and operate a 257 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Hoa Hoi, Phu Yen Province, Viet Nam, through the country's first certified green loan.

Phu Yen JSC is owned by B.Grimm Power Public Company Limited and Truong Thanh Viet Nam Group Joint Stock Company (TTVN). [read more]

Kurs auf einen neuen Handelskrieg: USA nehmen Vietnams Handels- und Währungspraktiken ins Visier

06.10.2020 (RT) - Die Regierung unter US-Präsident Donald Trump untersucht die Handelspraktiken Vietnams, eines seiner größten Handelspartner. Anwendung findet dasselbe Gesetz, das es den USA erlaubt, Zölle im Wert mehrerer Milliarden US-Dollar auf Importe aus China zu erheben.

Eine Untersuchung der Handelspraktiken Vietnams, die auf Anweisung von US-Präsident Donald Trump eingeleitet und am späten Freitag vom Büro des US-Handelsbeauftragten angekündigt wurde, konzentriert auf die Frage, ob Vietnam seine Landeswährung absichtlich zu niedrig bewertete, um seine Produkte im Ausland billiger anbieten zu können. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam - Énergie: Le plus grand parc éolien terrestre du pays va voir le jour

03.10.2020 (Gavroche Thaïlande) - Le Vietnam met le cap sur les énergies renouvelables. Le pays, très dépendant des importations d'hydrocarbures, espère beaucoup de l'énergie solaire et de l'éolien. Exemple: Le démarrage de la construction du plus grand parc éolien terrestre du Vietnam, par la société philippine B&T Windfarm JSC, dans la province de Quang Binh. Ce parc éolien terrestre, l'un des plus grands de l'ASEAN, représentera un investissement de 384 Millions de dollars. [en savoir plus]

US probes whether Vietnam undervalues its currency

03.10.2020 (Nikkei Asia) - WASHINGTON/HANOI - The United States is opening an investigation into whether Vietnam has been undervaluing its currency and harming U.S. commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a statement on Friday.

Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States, its largest export market, widened to $37.7 billion in the first eight months of this year from $29.8 billion in the same period last year, according to Vietnam’s customs data. [read more]

Could Trump Soon Raise Costs on Shoes Coming From Vietnam?

02.10.2020 By Samantha McDonald (Footwear News) - America’s largest footwear trade organization has expressed concerns that the cost of shoe imports from Vietnam could skyrocket following reports that the White House is preparing to launch an investigation into the country’s currency practices.

In a statement sent to FN on Friday, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) president and CEO Matt Priest wrote that the group was “very concerned” by the Trump administration’s potential probe into Vietnam over allegations of currency manipulation. The country is the second largest supplier of shoes to the United States. [read more]

IEEFA report: Vietnam’s new power development plan must optimize renewables and avoid fossil fuel lock-in

22.09.2020 (IEEFA Vietnam): Implementing Vietnam’s soon-to-be-launched next Power Development Plan will ultimately depend on the country’s ability to mobilize more innovative sources of offshore financing, finds a new report by think tank the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Vietnam is poised to launch Power Development Master Plan 8 (PDP 8) for the next decade featuring a timely departure from reliance on inflexible coal-burning independent power plants and a move towards renewable energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG). [read more]

Dürre am Mekong: Südostasiens Lebensader trocknet aus

21.09.2020 (SZ) - Phnom Penh (dpa) - Der Mekong ist Mythos und Lebensader zugleich. Doch das Sehnsuchtsziel vieler Asien-Fans ist zunehmend von Dürren und Dämmen bedroht. Dabei sind Millionen Menschen von dem mächtigen Fluss abhängig. Auch ein einzigartiges Naturphänomen gerät aus dem Takt.

Das Flussbett auf der Chroy-Changvar-Halbinsel führt kaum Wasser, im matschigen Boden häuft sich Müll. Der Fischer Ho San steht neben seinem Holzboot und blickt auf den Punkt, wo der Fluss Tonle Sap in den legendären Mekong mündet. [Weiterlesen]

Hanoi Shophouses Reveal City’s Communist and Capitalist History

18.09.2020 By John Boudreau and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Bloomberg) - Hanoi’s shophouses, narrow, terraced structures lining alleyway-like streets bustling with vendors and motorbikes, have survived foreign occupation of the country, wars and revolution. Now they are under pressure from a modernizing economy.

They reflect Vietnam’s industrious, communal culture and recall colonial influences decades after the occupiers were expelled from the capital city. The skinny buildings, symbols of home and commerce throughout the Southeast Asian country, continue to hold architectural prominence in Vietnam even as modern residential towers and planned villa communities attract the nation’s growing middle class. [read more]

Vietnam beginnt mit Agrarexporten in die EU

17.09.2020 (Twittersmash) - Vietnam hat im Rahmen eines Handelsabkommens mit der EU begonnen, seine landwirtschaftlichen Produkte auf europäische Märkte zu exportieren

Das Ministerium für Landwirtschaft und ländliche Entwicklung des Landes sagte, dass die Exporte Drachenfrucht, Kaffee, Kokosnuss, Grapefruit und Passionsfrucht umfassen. [Weiterlesen]

Scientists solving Vietnam’s environmental challenges

16.09.2020 By Sandra Perrett (CSIRO) - Australian and Vietnamese researchers are teaming up to tackle Vietnam’s biggest environmental challenges. Picture this. You live in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), one of the largest and most urbanised cities in Vietnam. It’s the middle of the year, also known as monsoon season. Rainfall is high, humidity is intense, and it is not a comfortable commute to work.

In HCMC, there is a 60 per cent chance your home may become damaged due to flooding. According to a McKinsey report, the chance of flooding events could increase by five-10 times by 2050, causing serious economic and infrastructural damage. [read more]

Vietnam meldet 24 neue COVID-19 Fälle, 1 weiterer Todesfall

16.09.2020 (Twittersmash) - HANOI - (Xinhua). Vietnam meldete am Freitag 24 neue COVID-19-Fälle, womit die Gesamtzahl der bestätigten Fälle auf 929 gestiegen ist, zusammen mit einem weiteren Todesfall aufgrund der Krankheit, so das Gesundheitsministerium.

Die neu bestätigten Fälle wurden nach Angaben des Ministeriums in Orten wie der zentralen Stadt Da Nang, der zentralen Provinz Quang Nam und der nördlichen Provinz Hai Duong registriert. [Weiterlesen]

Vor den Galapagosinseln, Iran oder Nordkorea: Die chinesischen Schiffe fischen, wo es ihnen gefällt. Das steckt dahinter

16.09.2020 Vanessa Möller, Katrin Büchenbacher, Adina Renner (NZZ) - China hat die weltweit grösste Flotte für Hochseefischerei. Umweltschützer warnen vor der Zerstörung der Ozeane, lokale Fischer fürchten um ihre Existenz – und geben den Chinesen die Schuld. Zu Recht?

Das Meer ist voller roter Punkte. Jeder einzelne Punkt steht für ein chinesisches Schiff. Sichtbar wird das auf digitalen Karten, die internationale Schiffsbewegungen über Satellitensignale der einzelnen Schiffe abbilden.

Eine Person, die sich für solche Karten interessiert, ist die Aktivistin Veronica Llanes aus Ecuador, die sich für den Schutz der Galapagosinseln einsetzt. [Weiterlesen]

Economics and water, Washington forging an alliance with lower Mekong countries

14.09.2020 by Ngoc Linh (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – The Mekong-US Partnership (MUSP) between the United States and countries in the downstream of Mekong River seeks to promote greater economic ties, better water and natural resource management, more effective health and disaster management, environmental protection, and non-traditional security and human development.

Thanks to the agreement, the six nations of the lower Mekong, a river threatened by China’s mega-dams, will be able to pursue more sustainable development for the region, a Vietnamese expert said. [read more]

Inside view of Vietnam’s Covid second wave

01.09.2020 By Hugh Bohane (Asia Times) - DA NANG – Vietnam has become the epicenter for a second deadly outbreak of Covid-19, with new cases originating from the tourist hot spot of Da Nang. The country recorded a mere 1,044 coronavirus cases with 34 fatalities as of September 2. 

Social distancing measures and 15-day self-isolation began on July 28 in Da Nang and will remain in place for the immediate future. Presently, only essential services such as pharmacies, hospitals and supermarkets are open. [read more]

Seltene Erdmetalle: Chinas Waffe im Handelskrieg könnte zum Bumerang werden

28.08.2020 (Epoch Times) - Die USA arbeiten daran, ihre Vorräte an Seltenerdmetallen sicherzustellen. Diese werden unter anderem für die Industrie und die Waffenproduktion gebraucht.

Die Konfrontation zwischen China und der freien Welt erstreckt sich auf viele Gebiete – auch Seltene Erden, die sehr wichtig für die Industrie sind, sind betroffen.

Bereits im Jahr 2010 reagierte Peking während einer diplomaitischen Krise mit Japan mit einem Ausfuhrstopp. Infolge dessen schossen die Preise in die Höhe. [Weiterlesen]

Top 5 Custom Software Development Companies in Vietnam - Selected by The European Business Review

28.08.2020 (Business Wire) - HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - When it comes to using software in streamlining business operations, there is no “one size fits all.” Every business has to employ systems and structures that address its unique model and market dynamics. Custom software development provides this flexibility for businesses.

Vietnam is one of the top destinations for businesses looking for custom software solutions. It has a vibrant tech industry with hundreds of options to consider. [read more]

Le Pentagone accuse Pékin d'actes «déstabilisateurs» en mer de Chine

27.08.2020 (Le Figaro) - Les récents tirs de missiles effectués par l'armée chinoise en mer de Chine méridionale contribuent à déstabiliser une région où plusieurs pays se disputent la souveraineté d'îles stratégiques, a estimé jeudi 27 août le Pentagone.

Le ministère américain de la Défense fait notamment référence dans son texte à l'archipel des Paracels, contrôlé par Pékin en mer de Chine méridionale mais également revendiqué par le Vietnam. [en savoir plus]

Chinas neue Offensive: Die Impfstoff-Diplomatie – Voreilig nicht zugelassenen Impfstoff eingesetzt

26.08.2020 Von Lisa Lee (Epoch Times) - Papua-Neuguinea verweigerte kürzlich einem Flugzeug die Landung – ein Novum. An Bord waren 48 Mitarbeiter des chinesischen Bergbaukonzerns MCC, die mit einem nicht zugelassenen Impfstoff gegen SARS-CoV-2 geimpft wurden. Der nicht zugelassene Impfstoff und seine Risiken waren der Grund für die ungewöhnliche Handlung der Regierung.

Der raue Ton ist ungewöhnlich in Hinblick auf die enge Wirtschaftsbeziehung beider Länder, in Bezug zu weltweiten Entwicklungen bei der Impfstoffforschung gegen das neuartige Coronavirus allerdings auch verständlich. [Weiterlesen]

COVID-19 brings three-decade economic boom to a sudden halt in Vietnam

26.08.2020 by John Boudreau and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen, Bloomberg (The Japan Times) - For the past three decades, Vietnam has known only good — or great — economic news.

Vietnam’s abrupt slump highlights the sweep of the epidemic’s financial fallout and how even countries that have been relatively successful in containing the virus are unable to avoid its economic afflictions. [read more]

Le Trésor américain accuse le Vietnam d'avoir dévalué sa devise

26/08/2020 (Le Figaro) - (AOF) - Dans une lettre adressée au département du commerce américain lundi soir, le département du Trésor a révélé, à la suite d'une enquête, que le Vietnam avait délibérément dévalué sa monnaie d'environ 4,7% face au dollar en 2019.

En représailles, les Etats-Unis devraient bientôt appliquer des droits de douane supplémentaires sur les pneus de véhicules de tourisme et de camionnettes en provenance du Vietnam, dont les importations dans le pays de l'Oncle Sam ont représenté environ 470 millions de dollars en 2019. [en savoir plus]

U.S. Finds Vietnam Manipulated Currency

25.08.2020 By Josh Zumbrun (The Wall Street Journal) - Treasury Department’s finding opens doors to punitive tariffs on tire imports from Vietnam.

The Treasury Department has determined that Vietnam depressed its currency in 2019, a finding that will open the door to tariffs on tires from Vietnam and provide the first test case of a Trump administration initiative to tariff countries for alleged currency manipulation.

The Treasury’s determination, published late on Monday, marks the first case the department has weighed in on since new regulations took effect in April allowing currency-focused tariffs. [read more]

Mekong Countries Must Confront China Over Dam Impact, Experts Say Ahead of China-Led Meeting

20.08.2020 (RFA) - China’s extensive damming of the upper Mekong River has reduced water flows, threatening downstream countries Cambodia and Vietnam with environmental harm and food shortages, said experts in advance of a summit meeting of the multilateral  Mekong-Lancang Cooperation group.

The summit, to be held on Aug. 24 as a virtual meeting, will be co-chaired by Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen participating. The group is widely seen as a rival to the separate four-nation Mekong River Commission (MRC) and as a forum controlled by China to promote its own interests. [read more]

Vietnam's COVID-19 infections pass 1,000 mark

20.08.2020 (CNA) - HANOI: Vietnam's tally of coronavirus infections since January passed the 1,000 mark on Thursday (Aug 20), after 14 new cases were reported.

More than half of the total confirmed cases are linked to a new outbreak that began late last month in the central coastal city of Danang, the health ministry said.

Vietnam's tally now stands at 1,007 infections and 25 deaths, among the lowest in the region, having successfully contained earlier outbreaks.  [read more]

Arbeitsbedingungen: Apple lässt sich bei Fertigungsausbau in Vietnam wohl Zeit

18.08.2020 Von Ben Schwan (Heise Medien) - Medienberichten zufolge beobachtet Apple die Produktionsstätten in dem südostasiatischen Land zunächst genau, bevor die iPhone-Fertigung startet.

Der iPhone-Hersteller ist seit längerem dabei, seine Endfertigung in Asien zu diversifizieren: Neben China werden Apple-Produkte mittlerweile auch in Indien und Vietnam gebaut. Allerdings kommt der Start der Produktion in den neuen Regionen bislang langsamer voran, als von dem Konzern erwünscht. [Weiterlesen]

7000 Amerikaner betrogen - Online-Bluff mit Desinfektionsmitteln

18.08.2020 (Weser-Kurier) - Desinfektionsmittel stehen in den Zeiten von Corona hoch im Kurs. Eine Betrügerbande aus Vietnam wollte damit Kasse machen - auch ohne Ware. Es kam fast eine Million Dollar zusammen.

Mit einem Online-Schwindel zum Verkauf von Händedesinfektionsmitteln soll eine vietnamesische Bande mehr als 7000 US-Bürger um knapp eine Million Dollar (840.000 Euro) betrogen haben.

Drei Verdächtige seien nach gemeinsamen Ermittlungen der Behörden beider Länder festgenommen worden, teilte das US-Generalkonsulat in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt am Dienstag mit. [Weiterlesen]

COVID-19 Pandemic - 3 Vietnamese Suspects Arrested in Coronavirus-Related Fraud Targeting US Citizens

18.08.2020 (VOA) - Vietnamese authorities have been arrested and charged three people with wire fraud involving a scheme related to the novel coronavirus pandemic that defrauded thousands of Americans out of nearly $1 million.

A statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam says the three suspects, Phan Dinh Thu, Tran Quoc Khanh and Nguyen Duy Toan, operated more than 300 websites that offered hand sanitizers and other products that had disappeared from department stores’ shelves at the start of the pandemic. [read more]

Vietnam will russischen Impfstoff 'Sputnik V' kaufen

14.08.2020 (Börse Online) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Vietnam hat sich für den Kauf des russischen Corona-Impfstoffs "Sputnik V" registriert. Das südostasiatische Land wolle für eine großangelegte Kampagne 50 bis 150 Millionen Impfdosen ankaufen, berichtete die staatliche Zeitung "Tuoi Tre" am Freitag. In der Zwischenzeit werde man aber weiter an der Entwicklung eines eigenen Impfstoffs arbeiten, berichtete das nationale Fernsehen am Freitag unter Berufung auf das Gesundheitsministerium in Hanoi.

Der russische Präsident Wladimir Putin hatte am Dienstag die Zulassung des Impfstoffs "Sputnik V" zur breiten Verwendung in der Bevölkerung bekanntgegeben. [Weiterlesen]

On the ground in Vietnam's new COVID epicenter of Danang

13.08.2020 Hugh Bohane (Nikkei Asian Review) - DANANG, Vietnam -- Just weeks ago, things were looking up for residents of the Vietnamese coastal city of Danang. Their country was winning rave reviews globally for effectively handling the coronavirus pandemic, keeping infections low and being one of the few places hit to have avoided any deaths.

But now, however, the atmosphere is fraught with fear and uncertainty as a surge in infections believed to have originated in the city and spreading elsewhere in the country has brought a series of emergency measures, with neighborhoods barricaded and residents are being mandatorily tested. [read more]

Taiwan drops Vietnam from list of low-risk countries

12.08.2020 By Keoni Everington (Taiwan News) - TAIPEI — In the wake of new local outbreaks of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in Vietnam, Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has changed its classification from low to medium-risk, meaning that business people from the country will need to undergo a longer quarantine.

During his weekly press conference on Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 12), Minister of Health and Welfare and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that because of the upward trend of local coronavirus cases in Vietnam, the ministry has shifted the Southeast Asian nation from its list of low-risk countries/regions to its medium-risk category. [read more]

Chatbots and Telemedicine Join Vietnam’s COVID-19 Fight

10.08.2020 (VOA) - An idea is percolating in Vietnam as it fights COVID-19: “send in the robots.”  The pandemic has brought artificial intelligence (AI) more of a spotlight as nations around the world look for uses, from combing data for clues to predict an outbreak, to robot waiters that reduce human contact. In Vietnam, which has reported remarkably low infection and death figures, the possible uses are still being tested. [read more]

Vietnam reports 6 more COVID-19 infections, 2 deaths

10.08.2020 (CNA) - HANOI: Vietnam's health ministry reported six new COVID-19 infections and two more deaths on Monday (Aug 10), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 847, with 13 fatalities.

Most of the new cases, including an 8-year-old boy, are linked to the central city of Danang, where the new outbreak began late last month. [read more]

Coronavirus in Vietnam: Auslöschen statt abflachen

07.08.2020 Von Mathias Peer, Bangkok (Die Zeit) - Die Methoden, mit denen Vietnam gegen die Corona-Pandemie vorgeht, wären in vielen westlichen Ländern schwer vermittelbar. Aber sie sind erfolgreich.

Noch vor ein paar Wochen war die Stadt Danang Symbol für Vietnams Erfolg im Kampf gegen die Coronavirus-Pandemie. Doch mit Patient 416 ist die Zeit der Sorglosigkeit in Danang auf einen Schlag zu Ende gegangen. Mit den drei Ziffern bezeichnen die vietnamesischen Behörden einen 57 Jahre alten Mann, der nach 99 Tagen ohne bestätigte Infektionen zu Vietnams erstem Covid-19-Patienten wurde. [Weiterlesen]

Mekong River Commission Urges More Data Sharing in Lower Mekong

07.08.2020 Eugene Whong (BenarNews) - As water levels in the lower-Mekong region hit record lows for the second year in a row, a report published Friday by the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission urged China, Myanmar and its member countries to share more data about hydroelectric dam operations to enable all parties to prepare for droughts and floods.

The report by the MRC – made up of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – examined river conditions in the lower Mekong between January and July 2020, attempting to identify causes for the lowest reverse flow intake since 1997 in Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake [read more]

Vietnam converts Danang stadium into field hospital as it battles COVID-19 outbreak

06.08.2020 Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen (The Globe and Mail) - Vietnam is close to completing the conversion of a sports stadium into a 1,000-bed field hospital in its new coronavirus epicentre Danang, the health ministry said on Thursday, as it battles an outbreak that has spread to at least 11 locations.

The health ministry reported 34 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, taking Vietnam’s total cases to 747, with 10 deaths. [read more]

Vietnam reports more Covid-19 cases

05.08.2020 (TTR WEEKLY) - HANOI, 5 August 2020: Vietnam’s National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control confirmed, Tuesday, 10 new Covid-19 cases bringing the patient tally to 652.

According to the VGP news report, the latest cases include seven persons in Danang and three in the neighbouring province of Quang Nam. [read more]

Vietnam deploys elite team to Danang to curb new wave of COVID-19

05.08.2020 Tomoya Onishi (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI - Hanoi tightens border control as illegal Chinese migrants reportedly surge.

- Vietnam's government has dispatched a team of what officials called the country's "most experienced" medical workers to Danang, in an effort to stem a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

The outbreak in the coastal city, which is one of the country's top tourist destinations, is so serious that Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son has been sent there to lead the containment efforts. [read more]

Grosse inquiétude concernant le coronavirus: une nouvelle souche plus contagieuse identifiée au Vietnam, le taux de reproduction serait de 5 à 6!

05.08.2020 (Sudinfo) - L’inquiétude est grande au Vietnam, où une nouvelle souche du coronavirus aurait été identifiée par les autorités sanitaires. Alors qu’en Belgique, les experts ne savent s’accorder sur l’existence actuelle d’une deuxième vague, l’inquiétude est grande au Vietnam. Comme le rapporte CNEWS, les autorités sanitaires du pays ont annoncé avoir identifié une nouvelle souche du coronavirus. Celle-ci serait beaucoup plus contagieuse que le virus que l’on connaît actuellement.

Tout a été très vite à Danang. En l’espace d’une semaine, ce ne sont pas moins de 174 nouvelles contaminations originaires de la ville touristique qui ont été recensées. À noter que près de 1,5 million de locaux ont visité cette partie du pays durant le moins de juillet. [en savoir plus]

Inside the Epicenter of Vietnam’s COVID-19 Resurgence

05.08.2020 By Hugh Bohane (The Diplomat) - In Da Nang, residents broadly welcome the Vietnamese government’s aggressive response to the shocking resurgence of COVID-19.

Da Nang, a coastal city in Vietnam, has become the epicenter for a deadly new strain of COVID-19 that is being described as three times more contagious, with many of the new cases coming from the popular tourist hotspot. So far there have been 713 coronavirus cases nationwide and eight fatalities have been recorded as of Wednesday, August 5. [read more]

Vietnam reports 41 new coronavirus infections, total cases reach 713

05.08.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s health ministry on Wednesday reported an additional 41 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total to 713 infections, with 8 deaths.

Forty of the new cases are linked to Danang, the new coronavirus epicentre where Vietnam on July 25 detected its first locally transmitted infections in more than three months. [read more]

Vietnam says contagion ‘under control’ in virus epicenter, but 2 more provinces affected

05.08.2020 (RT) - A new coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam spread to two more provinces on Wednesday, the country’s health minister said. However, the country’s Covid-19 task force declared the contagion “under control” in the central city where the outbreak began.

It was first reported on July 25 in the tourist resort city of Danang and has spread to major urban centers like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Authorities have since closed entertainment venues, have restricted gatherings and have tested tens of thousands of people. [read more]

La capital de Vietnam enfrenta escasez de pruebas rápidas de coronavirus

04.08.2020 Sputnik (El Pais) - Hanói - La capital de Vietnam, Hanói, vive una escasez de pruebas rápidas de coronavirus, por lo que las autoridades pidieron a los residentes que sigan por sí mismos los síntomas de la enfermedad, comunicó el medio local VN Express, que cita al Ministerio de Salud del país.

El director del Departamento de Sanidad de Hanói, Nguyen Khac Hien, por su parte, confirmó que las pruebas rápidas se acabaron el lunes.

Los especialistas lograron hacer test rápidos solo a 70.000 de las más de 88.000 personas que habían llegado de la ciudad turística de Da Nang, que se convirtió en un foco de coronavirus en Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Residents Worry About Livelihoods as Vietnam Prepares to Reenter Coronavirus Lockdown

04.08.2020 (RFA) - Vietnam has ordered an all-out fight against COVID-19 as cases surged, state media said, while in the coastal resort city where a new outbreak erupted in the Southeast Asian country, people fear a new lockdown will bring fresh pain to a struggling tourist industry.

Vietnamese health officials Tuesday announced 18 new cases of COVID-19—17 of which are related to a July 25th outbreak in the coastal resort city of Danang, bringing the country’s total cases to 670. [read more]

Vietnam Hit By New Strain Of Coronavirus Three Times More Infectious Than Original, Says Health Minister

03.08.2020 (Inquisitr) - Health officials in Vietnam said on Monday that a new strain of the novel coronavirus, which is currently ravaging the nation, may be three times more infectious than its predecessor, Business Insider reported.

The Southeast Asian country had maintained a streak of 99 days without a single new case of the novel coronavirus. However, on July 25, new cases began cropping up. Officials are calling the latest resurgence the “Danang outbreak,” according to Reuters. [read more]

Vietnam says origin of Danang coronavirus outbreak hard to track as cases rise by another 34

02.08.2020 (The Straits Times) - HANOI (REUTERS) - Vietnamese authorities said on Sunday (Aug 2) that they were finding it hard to track the origin of a fresh coronavirus outbreak that began in the central city of Danang and has infected around 200 people in recent weeks.

“In Danang, there are many sources of virus, and there are still many infections out there in the community,” a government statement said of the city, a popular tourist hot spot with a population of 1.1 million.

The country reported 34 infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 620. The death toll rose by two to five, the Health Ministry said in a statement. [read more]

Vietnam kämpft gegen die rätselhafte zweite Welle

02.08.2020 Mathias Peer (NZZ) - Das südostasiatische Land hat sich monatelang erfolgreich vom Coronavirus abgeschottet. Doch nun macht ein mysteriöser Ausbruch der Regierung in Hanoi zu schaffen. Vietnam verzeichnet seine ersten Todesfälle.

Patient 428 ist tot. Diese Nachricht der Staatsmedien in Hanoi vom Freitag macht für rund 100 Millionen Vietnamesen eine lange gehegte Befürchtung zur Gewissheit: Auch sie sind vor dem Coronavirus nicht sicher. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam reports more than 3 dozen new cases, 3rd death

02.08.2020 by Hau Dinh (Medical Xpress) - Vietnam reported more than three dozen new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, while a third person died of COVID-19 complications a day after the country reported its first-ever death from the disease.

Vietnam had been seen as a global success story in combating the coronavirus, with no confirmed cases of local transmission for 99 days. But a week ago, an outbreak began at a Da Nang hospital. [read more]

Freihandelsabkommen in Kraft - In Vietnam fallen Zölle für EU-Waren

01.08.2020 (ARD) - Autos, Chemikalien Maschinen: Ab sofort können europäische Firmen viele Waren zollfrei nach Vietnam exportieren. Damit wird das Land im chinesischen Meer größter EU-Handelspartner Südostasiens - nach China.

Heute ist das EU-Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam ist Kraft getreten. Das bedeutet: Ab sofort gibt es keine Zölle auf EU-Exportwaren mehr. Darunter fallen Arzneimittel, Chemikalien oder Maschinen, teilte die EU-Kommission mit. Im Laufe der kommenden zehn Jahre sollen weitere Lockerungen für viele weitere Waren folgen. [Weiterlesen]

Fear of rivers drives China to tame even Mekong river

01.08.2020 (ANI) - Bangkok [Thailand] : As China  perceives rivers as dangerous and wild natural systems that need to be tamed to be productive for mankind, the Beijing government constructed a dam on the Mekong  river, thus, impacting the food and economic security of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

According to an article published in the Bangkok Post, "Across the long sweep of China's history, rivers are perceived as dangerous and wild natural systems that need to be suppressed or tamed in order to be productive for mankind. This is a dangerous discourse for a river system in which natural flow cycle underpins the food and economic security of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand." [read more]

In just days, Vietnam shifts from virus-free paradise to panic

30.07.2020 James Pearson (Reuters) - HANOI - There had been so few coronavirus cases in Vietnam that every patient was known by a number: Patient 17 brought the virus back from Europe after an initial wave of infections from Wuhan. Patient 91, a British pilot, almost died.

Now there is a new number that has become an unwelcome marker. Patient 416, a 57-year-old man in the central city of Danang, tested positive for coronavirus last week after more than three months without a new infection in the Southeast Asian country. [read more]

Vietnam locks down its 3rd largest city as virus cases grow

28.07.2020 (Daily Mail) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam on Tuesday locked down its third-largest city for two weeks after 22 cases of COVID-19 were found linked to a hospital, the government said.

The new cases in the central city of Da Nang are the first confirmed local transmissions of the virus in the country in over three months.

Public transport into and out of Da Nang was canceled. [read more]

Vietnam to evacuate 80,000 from Danang after virus outbreak

27.07.2020 (The Asahi Shimbun) - HANOI -- Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central tourism hot spot of Danang after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus at the weekend, the government said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after authorities on Saturday confirmed the first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in or around Danang. [read more]

Coronavirus: Regierung will Stadt in Vietnam evakuieren - Zehntausende Touristen betroffen

27.07.2020 (Der Spiegel) - Nachdem mehrere Bewohner in Zentralvietnam positiv auf das Coronavirus getestet worden sind, will die Regierung 80.000 Menschen aus einer Stadt herausholen - vor allem Touristen.

Betroffen sind 80.000 Menschen, vor allem Touristen. Nach Angaben der Regierung seien zuvor vier Bewohner positiv auf das Coronavirus getestet worden. [Weiterlesen]

Von Pangolin bis Zibetkatze: Vietnam verbietet Handel mit Wildtieren

24.07.2020 (Börse-Online) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Vietnam will den Wildtier-Handel beenden: Künftig sind sowohl der Import bedrohter Arten wie Pangoline (Schuppentiere) und Zibetkatzen verboten als auch der Handel auf Wildtier-Märkten. Regierungschef Nguyen Xuan Phuc habe ein entsprechendes Dekret erlassen, teilten Tierschutzorganisationen in dem südostasiatischen Land mit. "Dies ist das erste Mal, dass die Regierung Dutzende von Ministerien und Behörden mobilisiert hat, um das Problem des Wildtierhandels aktiv anzugehen", schrieb die Umwelt-NGO WildAid. [Weiterlesen]

COVID-19 Dampens Vietnam Employment Figures

15.07.2020 (VOA) - Communist Vietnam is one of the only nations in the world run by a workers’ party, but even its eye-popping success at crushing COVID-19 did not stop the pandemic from leaving nearly a million citizens out of work.

Roughly 900,000 people are now unemployed, with another 18 million underemployed, according to the state General Statistics Office data for the first half of 2020. The record numbers underline how the pandemic is hurting even nations like Vietnam. [read more]

Diphtheria Is Spreading Fast in Vietnam’s Main Coffee Region

08.07.2020 Mai Ngoc Chau (Bloomberg News) - Diphtheria is spreading quickly and more widely in Vietnam’s major coffee region than in previous years, according to the government.

Ten more people in the Central Highlands were found to have contracted the disease on Tuesday, bringing the total in the main coffee belt to more than 60, with Dak Lak the latest province to be hit, the Ministry of Health said.

The development of the disease is getting complicated and it’s spreading fast in the Central Highlands, Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a July 8 document, in which he ordered the ministries and local governments to step up efforts to curb infections. [read more]

DFHV: Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam

07.07.2020 (Fruchtportal) - Das Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam wurde bereits am 30. März 2020 formell vom Rat der Europäischen Union beschlossen. Nachdem das vietnamesische Parlament das Abkommen am 8. Juni 2020 ebenfalls ratifiziert hat, wurde nun auch der förmliche Beschluss des Rates im Amtsblatt der EU veröffentlicht. Damit wird das Abkommen voraussichtlich noch diesen Sommer in Kraft treten, so der Deutsche Fruchthandelsverband e.V. (DFHV). [Weiterlesen]

VN firm implicated in lake poisoning

06.07.2020 Khorn Savi (The Phnom Penh Post) - Ratanakkiri provincial environment officers plan to inspect a lake after a fishing community accused a Vietnamese company of dumping bananas and plastic waste in it, poisoning the fish.

The authorities said the company had removed all its waste, but the recent reports have led to a resurgence of interest in its activities.

Pram Village fishing community leader Duk Channy said in May, residents spotted a Vietnamese firm transporting rubbish for disposal in the lake. [read more]

Vietnam’s environmental challenges risk EU free trade

06.07.2020 Author: Thang Nam Do, ANU (East Asia forum) - Vietnam needs to address environmental challenges to fully reap the benefits from its new free trade and investment agreements with the European Union. On 8 June, Vietnam’s National Assembly ratified the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement, following the European Parliament’s approval in February. Ratifying the agreement clears the path for Vietnam to expand exports to the potentially lucrative EU market and to attract more investment from the economic bloc. [read more]

Des baskets fabriquées à partir de marc de café

06.07.2020 (Zegreenweb) - Son Chu et Jesse Tran, deux entrepreneurs d’Helsinki, sont des obsédés de baskets. Cependant, soucieux de l’impact environnemental de leurs achats, ils trouvaient difficilement des baskets fabriquées de manière durable, qui soient à la fois élégantes et abordables. C’est ainsi qu’ils ont décidé de les fabriquer eux-mêmes et que la basket Rens est née.

Ils ont décidé de combiner du marc de café avec des déchets issus du plastique recyclé pour créer un matériau léger et suffisamment durable pour être utilisé sur des chaussures. [en savoir plus]

Economic Reality May End More Big Mekong Dams

02.07.2020 By: David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - Politics, economics, environmentalism deliver good news.

Environmentalists have said that damming the Mekong is a bad idea for years and they're right. The environmental costs are substantial for northeast Thailand, large for Laos and huge further downstream in Cambodia and southwest Vietnam.

The Mekong River Committee (MRC) prepared to greenlight a huge project on the Mekong mainstream only 25 kilometers upstream from the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang, and to commission yet another consultation about another dam, Sanakham, up near the Lao border with China. [read more]

New Law on Enterprises 2020 for Companies in Vietnam

30.06.2020 Venture North Law (Lexology) - In June 2020, the National Assembly passed a new Law on Enterprises 2020 (Enterprise Law 2020) to replace the Enterprise Law 2014 from 1 January 2021. The Enterprise Law 2020 was issued just four years after the Enterprise Law 2014 came into effect.

The Enterprise Law 2020 offers less protection to companies’ owners and managers by making it easier for Government authorities to interfere or even suspend the operation of a company. [read more]

Sharp completes 45-MW solar power plant in Vietnam

30.06.2020 (Renewables Now) - Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation (SESJ), part of Sharp Corp (TYO:6753), said today it has completed a 45-MW direct current (DC) solar power project in Vietnam.

The photovoltaic (PV) facility was built by the company and several partners including Vietnam-based conglomerate T&T Group JSC (T&T) and its subsidiary T&T affiliate Ninh Thuan Energy Industry JSC. [read more]

Vietnam approves 7 GW of new wind projects

29.06.2020 By Tim Ha (Eco-Business) - Vietnam has given the green light to almost a hundred new wind energy installations, indicating the nation keeps powering ahead with renewables amid fears of looming power shortages as its industry and population boom.

The Vietnamese government on Thursday (25 June) formally approved 7 gigawatts (GW) worth of new wind projects to be built in the country, putting it on track for a total wind power generation capacity of nearly 12 GW by 2025, according to a source close to the government. [read more]

Vietnam’s Economy Unexpectedly Expands Even as Exports Slump

29.06.2020 Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Bloomberg) - Vietnam’s economy unexpectedly grew in the second quarter despite a slump in trade amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Gross domestic product rose 0.36% from a year earlier, compared with a revised 3.68% in the first quarter, the General Statistics Office said in Hanoi on Monday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for GDP to shrink 1.3%. [read more]

Um der Hitze zu trotzen, pflanzen die vietnamesischen Reisbauern nachts

26.06.2020 (Tekk) - HANOI – Unter einem pechschwarzen Nachthimmel pflanzte eine Gruppe vietnamesischer Bauern diese Woche Reis auf einem Reisfeld am Rande der Hauptstadt Hanoi mit Scheinwerfern, um den wassergefüllten Boden vor ihnen zu beleuchten. Obwohl die nächtliche Arbeit die Produktivität verringert hat, können sie durch Vermeidung der Hitze viel länger arbeiten. [Weiterlesen]

Vinfast startet Autoproduktion - Vietnamesen nehmen USA ins Visier

26.06.2020 (Stern) - Auf dem Pariser Autosalon vor knapp zwei Jahren hatte Vinfast seinen ersten großen Aufschlag. Der Autobauer aus Vietnam wollte auch in Europa Eindruck machen. Jetzt nimmt der Autoableger der Vingroup in erster Linie die USA ins Visier - mit Elektroautos.  [Weiterlesen]

As Investors Move from China, Vietnam Adds EU Trade Pact to Arsenal

25.06.2020 (VOA) - Volvo from Sweden, Adidas from Germany, and Zara from Spain are all European companies that have increased their investment in Vietnam in recent years. Analysts expect that trend to deepen when the Vietnam-European Union trade deal approved earlier this month by Vietnam’s National Assembly takes effect this summer, particularly as companies seek to reduce their reliance on neighboring China.

Investment has been seeping out of China because the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the U.S.-China trade war, has shown companies the dangers of pinning their supply chains on a single nation. [read more]

Vietnam mantiene cero muertes por la COVID-19 al recuperarse su paciente más grave

24.06.2020 (RPP) - Con una estrategia de contención y rastreo exhaustivo de contagiados, el país asiático ha conseguido recuperar la normalidad interna, con apenas 349 caso-

La prodigiosa recuperación del paciente más grave de la COVID-19 en Vietnam, un piloto británico que estuvo varias semanas en coma, permite al país asiático mantener su estadística de cero muertos por el nuevo coronavirus.

“Ya puede abandonar la unidad de cuidados intensivos para hacer la rehabilitación y volver a su país en cuanto se completen los procedimientos necesarios”, declaró esta semana a los medios la profesora Pham Thi Ngoc Thao, subdirectora del hospital de Cho Ray, en Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, donde está ingresado el enfermo. [seguir leyendo]

EVFTA : une nouvelle ère pour les relations commerciales UE-Vietnam ?

23.06.2020 Par Philippe Avocat (Le Petit Journal) - Approuvé lundi 8 juin par l'Assemblée nationale vietnamienne, l'accord de libre-échange entre l'Union européenne et le Vietnam (EVFTA) entrera en vigueur août 2020. Ce traité, qui prévoit la suppression progressive de 99 % des droits de douane entre l’UE et le Vietnam, suscite de nombreux espoirs mais aussi quelques questions.

La suppression de la quasi-totalité des tarifs douaniers sur dix ans et l’engagement du Vietnam à respecter un ensemble de normes sociales et environnementales [en savoir plus]

EVFTA Introduces New Standards for Intellectual Property Enforcement in Vietnam

23.06.2020 Linh Duy Mai (Lexology) - While Vietnam’s economy has grown quiet during the first half of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s legal framework for intellectual property enforcement seems to be exploding with the entry of new legal instruments. The EVFTA (EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement), coming on the heels of the CPTPP, will come into force in Vietnam on August 1, 2020, bringing about some major changes to the current IPE framework. [read more]

Norway supports competition how to fight marine garbage in Vietnam and Thailand

22.06.2020 by Zazithorn Ruengchinda (ScandAsia) - The United Nation Development (UNDP) Vietnam announced an invitation for all to participate in a challenge aiming to stop marine litter in Halong Bay and Koh Samui, funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 19 June 2020. The statement said:

“Join us for the launch of the ENDING PLASTIC POLLUTION INNOVATION CHALLENGE (or EPPIC) .

EPPIC is a brand-new competition calling for all innovators in ASEAN to share their bright ideas for tackling plastic pollution, with the objective of contributing to the reduction of plastic waste in coastal areas in Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. [read more]

Electricity deficit can place EU-Vietnam trade agreement at risk

22.06.2020 By Soundaram Ramanathan (Down To Earth) - Ensuring clean electricity production to power growth is need of the hour

Vietnam signed a free trade deal with the European Union (EU) on June 8, 2020, which is expected to help increase the country’s gross domestic product by 4.6 per cent and its exports to the EU by 42.7 per cent by 2025.

The country, however, is reeling under shortage of electricity. Last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to local media reports, called all parts of society to reduce power consumption to save at least two per cent annually. [read more]

Vietnam Ratifies EU Free Trade Agreement, What’s Next?

22.06.2020 by Thoi Nguyen (The Diplomat) - Hopes are high that the EVFTA will have a big impact. ... The agreements will gradually reduce most tariffs, regulatory barriers, and red tape and promote should create opportunities for EU entrepreneurs to do business and invest in Vietnam.

The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is the second FTA between the EU and an ASEAN country, after Singapore. Vietnam is the second country to sign trade and investment agreements in the region.  [read more]

China drängte nach Rekordtiefwasserständen auf Mekong-Staudämme

20.06.2020 (tekk) - Laos, Thailand, Kambodscha und Vietnam hatten im vergangenen Jahr alle mit einer schweren Dürre zu kämpfen, als die Flut des Flusses auf ein Rekordtief sank – dabei wurden Felsen freigelegt, Fische getötet und Millionen von Lebensgrundlagen bedroht.

China wurde am Dienstag dazu gedrängt, mehr Transparenz über seine Staudammbauten am Mekong zu zeigen, Monate nachdem die Wasserstände flussabwärts Rekordtiefs erreicht hatten und Millionen von Existenzen bedrohten. [Weiterlesen]

Markteintritt von Mercedes-Benz Busse in Vietnam

18.06.2020 von Götz Fuchslocher (Automobil Produktion) - Daimler Buses baut sein Busgeschäft in Südostasien aus und startet den Verkauf von Mercedes-Benz-Fahrgestellen in Vietnam. Dazu arbeitet Daimler Buses mit dem lokalen Automobilunternehmen Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) zusammen.

Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) ist seit 1. Juni 2020 als Generalvertreter für die Bussparte von Daimler im vietnamesischen Markt tätig. Der Vertrag über die Zusammenarbeit wurde vor wenigen Tagen unterzeichnet, teilt Daimler mit. Die Fahrgestelle für die an lokale Gegebenheiten angepassten Busse kommen aus dem Mercedes-Benz Werk São Bernardo do Campo (Brasilien). [Weiterlesen]

Zensur überschattet Vietnams erfolgreiches Vorgehen gegen COVID-19-Pandemie

16.06.2020 Geschrieben von The 88 Project, Übersetzt von Hans H. Knauf  (Global Voices) - Während die Pandemie weiterhin den Planeten verwüstet, erzielte Vietnam im Umgang mit COVID-19 große Erfolge. Aufgrund der offiziellen Statistiken, die nur 300 bestätigte Fälle und keine Todesfälle aufweisen, besteht kaum ein Zweifel daran, dass die Behörden bemerkenswerte Ergebnisse bei der Eindämmung der Ausbreitung dieser Krankheit erzielt haben, die weltweit mehr als 400.000 Menschenleben gefordert hat.

Diese Errungenschaft darf jedoch nicht die repressive Taktik der vietnamesischen Regierung bei der Zensur von Informationen im Zusammenhang mit der Pandemie verheimlichen. [Weiterlesen]

China pressed on Mekong dams after record low water levels

16.06.2020 (Phys.org) - Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam all battled severe drought last year as the tide of the river fell to record lows—exposing rocks, killing fish and threatening millions of livelihoods.

The extreme low flows showed the need for China to publish timely data from its dams so its neighbours can forecast bad conditions, the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) said in a Tuesday statement. [read more]

Why EU-Vietnam free-trade deal can’t topple China as world’s factory

14.06.2020 (SCMP) - Agreement to slash tariffs should boost European investment in Asia’s ‘export rock star’, but is no silver bullet for post-coronavirus recovery, experts say

And don’t expect an exodus of manufacturers from China to Vietnam, they add. Hanoi relies on its neighbour and can’t replicate its scale even if it tried [read more]

Vietnam boat detained for illegal fishing in Brunei

14.06.2020 (The Star) - A Vietnamese fishing vessel with five crew members who allegedly encroached the waters of Brunei Darussalam for illegal fishing was detained by Royal Brunei Navy personnel, said officials.

The vessel and the five Vietnamese crew, including the captain, were handed over to the Marine Police, Royal Brunei Police Force for further investigations. [read more]

Consortium to build new Asia-Pacific submarine cable

14.06.2020 (Japan Today) - TOKYO - NEC Corp has announced that the Asia Direct Cable (ADC) Consortium is building a high-performance submarine cable connecting China (Hong Kong SAR and Guangdong Province), Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The consortium has selected NEC to construct the 9,400-kilometer long ADC cable, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The cable will feature multiple pairs of high capacity optical fibers and is designed to carry more than 140 Tbps of traffic, enabling high capacity transmission of data across the East and Southeast Asian regions. [read more]

Agriculture 4.0 in Vietnam

11.06.2020 By James Borton (Geopolitical Monitor) - In Vietnam’s Mekong delta, getting rice from a sticky mud field to bowl, isn’t a simple process. In spite of the idyllic postcard images of a child on the back of the water buffalo or the stooped and smiling women in coned-shaped hats planting rice, the future for these farmers will require the adoption of digital technologies to meet the challenges of climate change.

The arrival of 4.0 smart agriculture in Vietnam signals the end of an exclusive dependence on water, fertilizers, and pesticides. [read more]

Can Vietnam Stop Its Trade in Endangered Wild Animals?

09.06.2020 Dan Southerland (RFA) - Vietnam is considering a plan to end the poaching and consumption of the Southeast Asian nation’s wild animals.

But as Michael Tatarski, a freelance journalist based in Ho Chi Minh City, reported in an article written for the environmental website Mongabay.com in late May, that date has “come and gone” with “no information on the requested ban.”

The wildlife trade in Vietnam is a lucrative business believed to bring profits totaling at least $1 billion a year.

Vietnam, like neighboring Thailand, is also a key hub on global wildlife trafficking routes. [read more]

Vietnams exzellente Coronabilanz - Wettbewerbsvorteil und Emanzipation von China

09.06.2020 Von Lena Bodewein (Deutschlandfunk Kultur) - Ein erstaunlicher Erfolg: Dank entschiedener Corona-Maßnahmen und eines starken Sinns für das Gemeinwohl gab es in Vietnam nur wenige hundert Infizierte. Damit wächst das Vertrauen ausländischer Investoren – und auch die Unabhängigkeit von China.

„Ich habe meine Freunde lange nicht gesehen, ich muss sie morgen direkt fragen, ob sie mit mir Fußball spielen gehen. Mir kribbeln schon die Füße nach der langen Quarantäne!“ Der 15-jährige Tam ist aufgeregt, und diese Frau stimmt ein: „Ich bin so froh, 28 Tage, das ist keine kurze Zeit. Und selbst wenn unsere Blumen jetzt ruiniert sind, können wir uns doch freuen, dass wir von der Bedrohung durch Covid-19 befreit sind.“ [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam ratifies major trade deal with the EU

08.06.2020 (DW) - Vietnam ratified a landmark free trade agreement with the European Union on Monday, in a move that is set to boost the country's economy as it looks to maneuver through the coronavirus crisis.

Lawmakers in Vietnam's National Assembly overwhelmingly voted to pass the deal. In a rare move and display of transparency, the vote was broadcast live on Vietnamese television. [read more]

Vietnam stimmt Freihandel zu

08.06.2020 Von Björn Finke (SZ) - Alle waren dafür: Die Nationalversammlung in Hanoi, das Parlament der Sozialistischen Republik Vietnam, hat am Montag dem Handelsvertrag mit der EU zugestimmt - ohne Gegenstimme. Es ist das umfassendste Handelsabkommen, das die EU bislang mit einem Schwellenland abgeschlossen hat und erst das zweite in Südostasien. Da das Europaparlament den Vertrag bereits im Februar gebilligt hat, kann er Anfang August in Kraft treten.

Im EU-Parlament gab es damals 192 Gegenstimmen. So lehnen die Grünen den Vertrag ab. "Die Abstimmung im Europaparlament gab einen Freifahrtschein für die vietnamesische Regierung", klagte die handelspolitische Sprecherin der europäischen Grünen, Anna Cavazzini, am Montag. "Viele Menschenrechtsgruppen und wir hatten einen Aufschub der Ratifizierung gefordert, bis die Regierung das repressive Strafrecht reformiert." [Weiterlesen]

Le Vietnam ratifie l'accord de libre-échange avec l'Union européenne

08.06.2020 (RTBF) - L’Assemblée nationale vietnamienne a ratifié, lundi, un accord de libre-échange avec l’Union européenne (UE). Celui-ci prendra effet plus tard dans l’année.

Le libre-échange ainsi conclu permettra d’éliminer 99% des droits de douane des deux côtés, réduire les barrières non tarifaires – par exemple en alignant les normes pour divers produits – et ouvrir les services vietnamiens et les marchés publics aux entreprises de l’UE. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam punishes operators over SIM violations

08.06.2020 Joseph Waring (Mobile World Live) - Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) penalised the four largest mobile operators in the nation for illegally registering prepaid subscribers, issuing fines totalling VND777 million ($33,377), Tuoi Tre News reported.

An audit by the ministry conducted in October 2019 and November 2019 found Viettel, Vinaphone, Mobifone and Vietnamobile used fake information to register new customers, the newspaper wrote.

SIM registration requires a user’s full name, date of birth and national ID number. The ministry confiscated 6,900 SIM cards during the inspection. [read more]

Vietnam/ COVID-19 | Plus de 7 millions de travailleurs vietnamiens peuvent perdre leur emploi

08.06.2020 (Le Reporter) - Le ministère vietnamien du Travail a estimé que 7,2 millions de travailleurs pourraient perdre leur emploi et 90% des entreprises seraient touchées pendant le reste de l’année si la pandémie de Covid-19 s’aggrave.

Dans un récent rapport, le ministère a indiqué que le Vietnam doit se préparer à différents scénarios avec le marché du travail car la crise de Covid-19 est sans précédent et difficile à prévoir. [en savoir plus]

Vietnamese fishing boat seized, crew arrested

08.06.2020 (The Nationthailand) - The 2nd Naval Area Command, or Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre 2, has seized a Vietnamese fishing boat and arrested its crew of six who were found fishing illegally in Thai territorial waters.

Rear Admiral Suranan Saengrattanakul, deputy commander of the 2nd Naval Area Command and deputy director of Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre 2, said that after the HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan and the Vietnamese fishing boat docked at Songkhla Naval Base, the boat crew of six was screened for Covid-19 to ensure they were not infected. [read more]

Vietnam greenlights EU trade pact in bid for China-exit deals

08.06.2020 Tomoya Onishi (Nikkei Asian Review) HANOI -- Vietnam's National Assembly approved a free trade agreement with the European Union on Monday, a move expected to help make the country a new investment destination for manufacturers looking to leave China.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was unanimously approved and, following formal ratification, will take effect as early as August. The trade deal has already been ratified by the EU, making Vietnam the second Southeast Asian nation to have such a trade treaty with the European bloc after Singapore. [read more]

Developing Vietnam’s Renewable Energy Industry

06.06.2020 By Thoi Nguyen (The Diplomat) - Renewable energy is a fast-growing sector in Asian countries, broadly, and Vietnam could benefit from investment in the sector.

Over the last decade, there has been rapid growth in Vietnam’s energy industry. The demand for electricity in Vietnam has significantly increased in line with its overall economic growth.

Vietnam has been impacted by pollution and climate change, and so it requires the country to reform the power sector and adopt an effective transition to a renewable energy system. [read more]

COVID-19 au Vietnam : sur les 328 cas, 30 sont encore actifs

02.06.2020 (Le Petit Journal) - Quatre patients à Hanoi et un à Ho Chi Minh Ville sont sortis de l’hôpital ce mardi 2 juin, ce qui porte à 30 le nombre de cas de COVID-19 encore actifs au Vietnam.

Aujourd'hui en fin d'après-midi, le Comité national de direction de la prévention et de la lutte contre le COVID-19 a annoncé la guérison de cinq personnes, à Hanoï et Ho Chi Minh Ville.

Dans la capitale, les quatre Vietnamiens âgés de 26 à 35 ans ont pu quitter l’Hôpital des Maladies Tropicales. Ils faisaient partie du vol de rapatriement du 13 mai dernier en provenance de Moscou ; sur 340 passagers, 34 avaient été testés positifs au virus, dont deux membres du personnel navigant. [en savoir plus]

Four Arrested and Three Injured as Thousands Strike at Taiwanese-owned Adidas Supplier in Vietnam

01.06.2020 (RFA) - At least four people were detained and one other injured as thousands of workers in Vietnam’s Binh Duong province went on strike last week over their company’s plan to lay them off due to a downturn in business from the coronavirus pandemic.

The five-day strike began May 26 and ended Saturday, as workers from the Taiwanese-owned Chi Hung Company Ltd., a producer of shoes for Adidas, were told that the company could only support them through June. [read more]

Mehr als eine Million minderwertige Atemschutzmasken beschlagnahmt

27.05.2020 (Epoch Times) - Aus China kamen schon viele minderwertige oder fehlerhafte Masken und andere Medizinprodukte. Jetzt wurden fehlerhafte Masken aus Vietnam beschlagnahmt.

Zwei Männer aus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und eine Frau aus Sachsen stehen im Verdacht, minderwertige Atemschutzmasken als hochwertige FFP2-Masken verkauft zu haben. Bei Durchsuchungen von Lagerräumen, Büros und Wohnungen sei mehr als eine Million Masken beschlagnahmt worden, sagte am Mittwoch ein Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft Schwerin. [Weiterlesen]

Corona: Eine Million Schutzmasken in MV beschlagnahmt

27.05.2020 (NDR) - Die Polizei hat im Landkreis Ludwigslust-Parchim nach ersten Schätzungen mindestens eine Million Schutzmasken beschlagnahmt. Sie sind Beweismittel für einen eventuellen Betrug in großem Umfang. Beamte des Landeskriminalamts und der Polizei beschlagnahmten die Masken in einer Wohnung, einem Firmensitz sowie einem Hallenkomplex in der Nähe von Karow.

Die Räume gehören zwei 52 und 32 Jahre alten Männern. Auch in Dresden wurde in diesem Zusammenhang eine Wohnung einer 34-jährigen Frau durchsucht. Die drei Beschuldigten stehen unter Verdacht, die Masken aus Vietnam importiert und sie als FFP2-Atemschutzmasken angeboten zu haben. [Weiterlesen]

Chinesische Staudämme halten einen Großteil des Mekong-Wassers zurück

26.05.2020 (STIN) - Mehrere Wissenschaftler befürchten, dass in diesem Jahr chinesische Staudämme einen Großteil des Mekong-Wassers zurückhalten werden und das die Dürre im Nordosten Thailands, in Laos, Kambodscha und Vietnam verschlimmern werden könnte. China hat elf Staudämme im oberen Mekong gebaut und plant den Bau von acht weiteren Talsperren.

Werden alle geplanten Wasserkraftwerke gebaut, dürften 2040 nur noch drei Prozent des Mekong-Sediments im Delta ankommen. Hinzu kommt der Klimawandel: Immer stärkere Taifune spülen Salzwasser ins Landesinnere Vietnams und fruchtbare Krume ins Meer. Und der Meeresspiegel steigt. Für das Jahr 2100 prophezeien Studien, dass das Mekong-Delta zu 40 Prozent geflutet sein wird. [Weiterlesen]

La consommation d’électricité au Vietnam en forte hausse

22.05.2020 (LePetitJournal) - Electricity of Vietnam, première entreprise publique d’électricité du pays, a alerté sur une forte hausse de la consommation électrique ces derniers jours pouvant causer des incidents sur le réseau électrique.

Le 20 mai la consommation électrique au Vietnam a atteint 750KWh d’après les données fournies par National Load Dispatch Center (HTD), le seuil le plus élevé enregistré dans le pays depuis début 2020. D’après Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), les fortes chaleurs de ces derniers jours ont principalement contribué à cette augmentation de la consommation d’électricité. L’EVN alerte également sur des risques de dysfonctionnement du réseau électrique. [en savoir plus]

Why ‘Made in Vietnam’ won’t replace ‘Made in China’

21.05.2020 By David Hutt (Asia Times) - As US seeks to decouple from China, it's a reach to think Vietnam will easily become the world's next factory floor. Now that Vietnam appears to have won its health war against Covid-19 after recording zero deaths and winning international praise for its crisis management, speculation is rising the nation could also be an economic winner of the pandemic.

Even at present, Vietnam is struggling to cope with rising electricity demand. This month Prime Minister Ngyuen Xian Phuc asked households and businesses to cut electricity usage, including by turning off advertising lights at night. [read more]

Vietnamese tourism hit hard by coronavirus, prompting cut-price rates and potential 'travel bubble'

20.05.2020 (AsiaOne) - In Phu Quoc, a Vietnamese island off the coast of Cambodia, posters warning tourists of the dangers of Covid-19 have long since faded in the powerful sunshine, along with the throngs of international travellers that used to dot its beaches.

Vietnam recorded a 98 per cent fall in visitors this April compared to 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but its success in fighting the virus, posting only 324 cases and no deaths, now sees it set to breathe life back into its tourism industry. [read more]

Dams upstream of the Mekong damage 70 million people

19.05.2020 by Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Despite the warnings, plans push ahead for new barriers, to the detriment of people living in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The worst off are the millions of Vietnamese who live in the Mekong delta, the lowest lying area on ​​the majestic river.

Ho Chi Minh City - Construction of dams on the Mekong continues. The river is 4,000 kilometers long, rising on the Tibetan plateau and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The stretch of this river that flows through the Chinese territory is 2,130 km. It's called Lan-ts'ang River. Chinese authorities have built 20 huge hydroelectric dams on this river. [read more]

Vietnam’s textile and garment industry hit hard by COVID-19

19.05.2020 Authors: Jason Q Nguyen and Quan V Le, Vin University (East Asia Forum) - With a supply chain that over relies on only a few key partners, Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is among the country’s hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has traditionally focussed on garment production with little capacity for fabrics manufacturing. It is estimated that Vietnam imports up to 89 per cent of fabrics — 55 per cent from China, 16 per cent from South Korea, 12 per cent from Taiwan and 6 per cent from Japan. US and EU markets account for more than 60 per cent of Vietnam’s garment exports. [read more]

Vietnams bestätigte Fälle von COVID-19 erreichen 324

18.05.2020 (TwitterSmash) - HANOI, 18. Mai (Xinhua). Das vietnamesische Gesundheitsministerium bestätigte am späten Montagnachmittag vier neue Fälle von COVID-19-Infektionen und erhöhte die Gesamtzahl im Land auf 324.

Zu den jüngsten Fällen gehören zwei Flugbegleiter, die auf einem Flug von Russland nach Vietnam dienen, und zwei Passagiere, die aus den USA in das Land einreisen, teilte das Ministerium mit. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnams bestätigte COVID-19-Fälle steigen auf 318

17.05.2020 (TwitterSmash) - HANOI - Das vietnamesische Gesundheitsministerium bestätigte am späten Samstagnachmittag vier neue Fälle von COVID-19-Infektionen.

Die vier neuen Fälle, die zwischen 19 und 41 Jahre alt sind, sind alle Vietnamesen, die kürzlich aus dem Ausland in das Land zurückgekehrt sind, sagte das Ministerium und stellte fest, dass das Land am Samstag insgesamt fünf neue Fälle gemeldet hat. [Weiterlesen]

Histamine poisoning in Sweden linked to tuna from Vietnam

15.05.2020 By Joe Whitworth (Food Safety News) - Thirty people in Sweden fell ill with scombroid poisoning after eating tuna from Vietnam earlier this month.

The histamine poisoning foodborne outbreak was linked to frozen tuna loins from Vietnam, via the Netherlands.

Local authorities were responsible for the outbreak investigation and tracing of food batches. The Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) is the national contact point for Europe’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). [read more]

EU, French agency support Việt Nam’s resilience to climate change, COVID-19

12.05.2020 (ReliefWeb) - The European Union (EU) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have reached an agreement to strengthen their joint-cooperation for increasing Việt Nam’s resilience to climate change and natural hazards, and trying to ease the impact of COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian nation.

The deal was signed by Ambassador of the EU to Việt Nam Giorgio Aliberti and AFD Director in the country Fabrice Richy on Monday. [read more]

Vietnam reopens schools after easing coronavirus curbs

11.05.2020 (The Asahi Shimbun) -  REUTERS - HANOI--Authorities at kindergartens and primary schools in Vietnam took children’s temperatures at the gates when they reopened on Monday from a months-long closure over the coronavirus pandemic, following last week’s partial re-opening of other schools.

With just 288 infections and no deaths, the Southeast Asian nation has seen no community infections for nearly a month, putting it on course to resume activities sooner than most others in the region. [read more]

Apple will Millionen AirPods in Vietnam produzieren

10.05.2020 Andreas Krämer (Apfelnews) - Im laufenden zweiten Quartal plant Apple die Produktion seiner AirPods in Vietnam, wie die Onlinezeitung Nikkei Asian Review berichtete.

Der Produktionswechsel ist ein Zeichen, dass das Unternehmen eine Diversifikation seiner Fertigung außerhalb Chinas mitten in der Coronakrise forciert.

Der Großteil der Apple AirPods aller Varianten wird derzeit in China hergestellt, doch viele drahtlose elektronische Produkte sind durch Strafzölle der US-Regierung Trump getroffen, jedoch sind das iPhone und MacBook davon ausgenommen. [Weiterlesen]

Mekong nations face growing threat to food security amid claims China’s dams exacerbate effects of drought

10.05.2020 Laura Zhou (SCMP) - Drought, erratic water levels along 4,300km river are disrupting rice yields and fish catches, raising costs for farmers. Beijing rejects claim Chinese dams behind drought hitting countries downstream.

Water flows along the 4,300km (2,700 mile) Mekong shift naturally between monsoon and dry seasons, but non-governmental groups say the 11 hydroelectric dams on China’s portion of the river – five of them starting operation since 2017 – have disrupted seasonal rhythms. This threatens food security for the more than 60 million people in the Lower Mekong that rely on the river for a livelihood, they say. [read more]

In Vietnam gut enthaltene afrikanische Schweinepest, die wahrscheinlich wieder auftritt

08.05.2020 (Twittersmash) - HANOI (Xinhua) - Die afrikanische Schweinepest ist in Vietnam gut eingedämmt, doch laut dem Ministerium für Landwirtschaft und ländliche Entwicklung des Landes am Mittwoch ist es sehr wahrscheinlich, dass sie erneut auftritt und sich in großem Umfang ausbreitet.

Ein Großteil der infizierten Orte, an denen das Fieber aufgetreten war, hat sich von der Krankheit befreit und bisher haben nur 16 Provinzen und Städte in Vietnam Fieber. [Weiterlesen]

Apple to produce millions of AirPods in Vietnam amid pandemic - US tech giant hastens shift away from China

08.05.2020 Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li (Nikkei Asian Review) - TAIPEI -- Apple will produce millions of its popular AirPods wireless earphones in Vietnam for the first time this quarter, sources familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asian Review, in a sign the company is accelerating its diversification of production out of China amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some 3 million to 4 million units, or around 30% of total classic AirPods production this quarter, will be "made in Vietnam," the sources said. [read more]

Gia Lai faces water shortage

07.05.2020 (ReliefWeb) - GIA LAI — Drought in the Central Highlands region has seriously affected daily lives of residents in Gia Lai Province. Local people have faced a shortage of water since the beginning of March. Hundreds of wells have also dried up. [read more]

Le Vietnam signale 17 nouveaux cas de coronavirus, tous importés

07.05.2020 HANOI (Reuters) – Le Vietnam a signalé jeudi 17 nouveaux cas de coronavirus, tous des infections importées impliquant des citoyens vietnamiens rapatriés des zones touchées par le virus, a déclaré le ministère de la Santé. [en savoir plus]

Vietnams Telefonexport stieg in 4 Monaten leicht an

05.05.2020 (Twitter) - HANOI (Xinhua). Vietnam verdiente in den ersten vier Monaten dieses Jahres fast 16,2 Milliarden US-Dollar durch den Export von Telefonen und Komponenten. Dies entspricht einer Steigerung von 1,1 Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr, was 19,5 Prozent des gesamten Exports des Landes entspricht Einnahmen, sagte sein General Statistics Office am Dienstag.

Allein im April erzielte Vietnam 3,3 Milliarden US-Dollar aus dem Verkauf der Produkte in Übersee, was einem Rückgang von 14,9 Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr entspricht. [Weiterlesen]

Kinder in Vietnam gehen nach Corona-Pause wieder in die Schule

04.05.2020 (Börse Online) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Nach mehr als drei Monaten Zwangspause zum Schutz vor dem Coronavirus hat in Vietnam am Montag der Schulunterricht in allen 63 Provinzen wieder begonnen. Bei den Schülern wird vor dem Eintritt in die Klassenräume Fieber gemessen. Auch müssen sie während des Unterrichts Schutzmasken tragen.

Ursprünglich sollten die mehr als 22 Millionen Schüler Anfang Februar nach den Mondneujahrsfeiertagen wieder in die Schulen zurückkehren. [Weiterlesen]

Nach aggressiven Massentests sagt Vietnam, dass es…

30.04.2020 Von Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen und James Pearson  (Twittersmash) - HANOI – Der Geschäftsmann Phan Quoc Viet betete in einer Pagode in Tay Ninh, einer Provinz im Süden Vietnams, wie üblich, als der Anruf des Regierungsbeamten kam.

Es war Ende Januar, kurz nach dem neuen Mondjahr. Vietnam hatte seine ersten beiden Fälle des neuen Coronavirus Tage zuvor entdeckt, und die Regierung kontaktierte Unternehmen mit Erfahrung mit medizinischen Tests, um dringend Hilfe zu erhalten. [Weiterlesen]

Studie: China trägt Schuld an historischer Dürre entlang des Mekong

28.04.2020 Michael Settelen / Martin Kölling (NZZ) - Das ist passiert: Lange hatte man es befürchtet, nun liefert eine neue Studie der US-Beratungsfirma Eyes on Earth den Beweis: Die in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten errichteten Staudämme im chinesischen Teil des Mekong-Flusses halten das Wasser zurück, das in den südostasiatischen Staaten so lebensnotwendig ist.

Viele Medien sprachen von der schlimmsten Dürre in der Geschichte der Region. Der 4350 km lange Mekong versorgt bis zu 60 Mio. Menschen mit Wasser und Nahrung.

Schuld an der Misere trägt auch China, das in den vergangenen 70 Jahren im ganzen Land mehr als 87 000 Staudämme gebaut hat. In den nuller Jahren begannen Pekings Ingenieure auch, den in China als Lancang bekannten Mekong für die Stromproduktion zu erschliessen. [Weiterlesen]

Erneuerbare Energien: Windkraftanlagen - Vestas erhält Großauftrag für die Lieferung von Windkraftanlagen aus Vietnam

27.04.2020 (IT-Times) - AARHUS - Der dänische Windkraftanlagen-Produzent Vestas Wind Systems hat einen Großauftrag für die Lieferung von Windturbinen und die Übernahme von Services bekannt gegeben.

Vestas Wind Systems liefert eine kundenspezifische Lösung für Windenergie nach Vietnam. Dazu werden die Dänen insgesamt 16 Windturbinen der Baureihe V150-4,2 MW bereitstellen.

Das 67 Megawatt umfassende Projekt befindet sich in einem Feuchtgebiet des Mekong-Deltas im Süden Vietnams und ist von Garnelenfarmen für die Aquakultur umgeben. Die Order umfasst auch einen 20-jährigen Servicevertrag. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam lockert Corona-Beschränkungen nach sechs Tagen in Folge ohne Neuinfektion

23.04.2020 (Deutschland Today) - Hanoi (AFP) - Nur 268 offiziell bestätigte Infektionen mit dem neuartigen Coronavirus und keine Todesfälle - angesichts dieser vorläufigen Bilanz hat Chinas Nachbarland Vietnam damit begonnen, die Ausgangsbeschränkungen zu lockern. In Hanoi etwa hatten am Donnerstag ein paar Cafés wieder geöffnet, die Straßen der sonst so wuseligen Hauptstadt waren aber weiterhin fast leer. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam comienza a salir del confinamiento, orgulloso de su aparente éxito ante covid-19

23.04.2020 (Infobae) - Vuetnam comenzó a levantar el confinamiento luego de una estricta cuarentena con seguimiento de personas infectadas, que parece haber contenido la epidemia de COVID-19 que provocó menos de 300 casos y ninguna muerte.

Aunque las aglomeraciones de personas continúan prohibidas, y se fomenta el uso de mascarillas y el distanciamiento social, el régimen comunista permitió desde este jueves reabrir algunas empresas, sobre todo en Hanoi y ciudad Ho Chi Minh. Desde la detección de los primeros casos en enero pasado, sólo se han reportado 268 contagios por covid-2019, sin ninguna muerte.  [seguir leyendo]

Science Shows Chinese Dams Are Devastating the Mekong

22.04.2020 by Brian Eyler (Foreign Policy) - New data demonstrates a devastating effect on downstream water supplies that feed millions of people.

Eleven massive dams straddle the mighty Mekong River before it leaves China and flows into Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and on into Vietnam. Yet I have long been skeptical  that China could use those 11 upstream dams, massive as they are, to turn off the tap for the countries downstream.

Observers, myself included, initially concluded that the abysmally low levels in the mainstream were due to low precipitation in the broad Mekong Basin. But a new study from the U.S-.based climate consultant Eyes on Earth provides us with a different reason: For six months in 2019, China’s dams blocked an unprecedented amount of water from entering the lower Mekong. [read more]

COVID-19 au Vietnam : aucun cas signalé depuis quatre jours

20.04.2020 (LePetitJournal) - Au matin du lundi 20 avril, le Vietnam n’avait toujours pas enregistré de nouvelle infection au COVID-19 depuis quatre jours, pour la première fois depuis le début du mois de mars.

En effet, si la situation sanitaire semble connaître une amélioration au Vietnam, il a été constaté que plusieurs patients considérés comme guéris ont été testés à nouveau positifs au coronavirus, comme le « cas 188 » ou encore le « cas 22 », un Britannique testé positif deux semaines après sa sortie de l’hôpital, juste avant son retour au Royaume-Uni. [en savoir plus]

‘Missing’ interns from Vietnam fear coronavirus but can’t go home

18.04.2020 by Ari Hirayama (Asahi Shimbun) - With attention in Japan focused on the public at large trying to protect themselves from the new coronavirus pandemic, one group of people has largely fallen through the safety net: foreign technical intern trainees who are going it alone after fleeing from companies with draconian working conditions.

Some have turned themselves in at immigration offices in the hope of returning to their homelands, but all sorts of obstacles prevent them from leaving Japan.

A 29-year-old Vietnamese, who came to Japan as a technical intern trainee only to quit his job, said, “I am afraid of the coronavirus and I want to return as soon as possible to Vietnam since I have no work.” [read more]

Vietnams Wirtschaft schneidet in Corona-Krise bisher gut ab

18.04.2020 Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Die Weltwirtschaft steht wegen der Corona-Pandemie vor einer Rezession. Asien bleibt nicht verschont. Vietnam stemmt sich mit aller Kraft dagegen. Bisher mit einigem Erfolg.

Die Aussichten für die Weltwirtschaft sind düster, wie der Internationale Währungsfonds (IWF) in einem ersten Ausblick unter Berücksichtigung der Corona-Krise am Donnerstag erklärt hat. Weltweit wird eine Schrumpfung der Wirtschaft von drei Prozent vorausgesagt. [Weiterlesen]

Hanoi winning the fight against coronavirus

18.04.2020 (AsiaNews) - Vietnam has only 268 COVID-19 cases and no deaths. The secret of its success lies in the speed of intervention. Like China’s, Vietnam’s communist regime has used its vast surveillance system. The country's economy is among the few that will grow in 2020. Multinationals are leaving China.

On 1 February, the authorities suspended air links with China and shut down all schools and universities. Then they quarantined Vĩnh Phúc province, home to many migrants who worked in Wuhan (Hubei), the epicentre of the pandemic. They also imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine on anyone arriving in the country from a risk area. [read more]

The Secret to Vietnam’s COVID-19 Response Success - A review of Vietnam’s response to COVID-19 and its implications

18.04.2020 By Minh Vu and Bich T. Tran (The Diplomat) - Vietnam planned to have a year packed with activities as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2020 and a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 term. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation or postponement of numerous events and summit meetings. While it is said that the outbreak has derailed Vietnam’s diplomatic ambitions, the door remains open for Hanoi to transfer its domestic success in fighting the disease into diplomatic achievements. [read more]

Asia Coffee: Trade remains frozen in Vietnam amid lockdown easing in some parts

16.04.2020 Phuong Nguyen, Mas Alina Arifin (Reuters) - HANOI/BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Coffee trading in Vietnam remained frozen even as the government eased a 15-day lockdown for some parts of the Southeast Asian country, while fresh beans had started to come in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.

Late on Wednesday, Vietnam’s government extended a two-week period of social distancing for 12 provinces in the country, but lifted those measures for most rural areas, including the coffee belt of Central Highlands. [read more]

Vietnam to Give the U.S. 200,000 Locally Made Medical Masks

16.04.2020 Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Bloomberg News) -  Vietnam is donating 200,000 domestically made medical masks to the U.S., which has seen deaths from the novel coronavirus top 30,000.

The masks are worth at least $100,000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an email statement. The gift to the U.S., Vietnam’s largest single export market, follows similar mask donations to other countries, including Russia, France, Italy and Cambodia. Vietnam delivered 450,000 medical protective suits made by DuPont Inc.’s Haiphong facility to Dallas, Texas earlier this month. [read more]

Vietnam extends coronavirus lockdown in 12 high-risk locations

15.04.2020 Tomoya Onishi (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- Hanoi on Wednesday announced that social distancing measures in 12 cities and provinces will be extended to at least April 22 and possibly April 30.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said after an online meeting with local authorities that the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang, and provinces of Lao Cai, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Ninh Binh, Quang Nam, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Tay Ninh and Ha Tinh will continue to be locked down. [read more]

Vietnam May Extend Social Distancing Ban in Some Cities

14.04.2020 Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Bloomberg News) - Vietnam may extend its social distancing order in provinces and cities that have a high risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus spread, the government said in a posting on its website.

The government initiated a 15-day social distancing and stay-at-home order April 1. It is now looking to divide provinces and regions of the country into three groups in terms of the risk of the virus’ further outbreak, the posting said. [read more]

Brit, 60, who thought he was 'cured' tests positive for coronavirus after flight

14.04.2020 By Michael Leidig (Mirror) - The British man had been hospitalised in Danang City in Vietnam but after being declared healthy and free of coronavirus he headed for a flight home from Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Local health Department boss Nguyen Tan Binh confirmed late yesterday that the British tourist tested positive shortly before catching the flight at the airport after being discharged from Danang Hospital following treatment for a coronavirus infection.

They said that the 60-year-old man, who was not named, had been admitted to hospital on March 8 and released on the March 27 after testing negative three times. After that, he had been quarantined for another two weeks at a hotel in Danang City in line with guidelines issued by the Health Ministry. [read more]

Kiên Giang residents face consequences of drought

13.04.2020 (ReliefWeb) - KIÊN GIANG — Local people living in the buffer zone next to U Minh Thượng National Park in Kiên Giang Province have been suffering from severe drought in recent times.

During the peak of the dry season, all the canals have dried up causing major difficulties in the communes of Minh Thuận and An Minh Bắc in U Minh Thượng District.

Boats have been left stranded making it impossible to transport agricultural produce to the markets, and some traders have been forced to cut the produces' prices in half. [read more]

Le "cas 262" de COVID-19 fait craindre une propagation de l’épidémie

13.04.2020 (LePetitJournal) - Le "patient 262" découvert dans le village de Ha Loi aurait été en contact avec plus de 100 personnes et fait redouter un nouveau foyer épidémique de COVID-19 au Vietnam.

Le 13 avril, le ministère de la Santé a déclaré deux nouveaux cas de contamination au COVID-19, tous deux résidents de Ha Loi dans le district de Me Linh à Hanoi. La commune fait l’objet d’un dépistage massif et a été mise en confinement. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam's total coronavirus cases climb to 265 but no deaths

13.04.2020 (The Star) - HANOI: Vietnam's health ministry reported five more confirmed Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases on Monday (April 13), taking the country's tally to 265, with no deaths.

Nearly 122,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Vietnam, it said, and 72,500 people have been under quarantine.

Meanwhile, authorities in northern Vietnam have ordered people working at a unit of Samsung Display in the country to be quarantined after a worker there tested positive for the new coronavirus. [read more]

Coronavirus: Vietnam to resume rice export

11.04.2020 (The Straits Times) - HANOI (XINHUA) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed with a plan to resume the country's rice export after the government announced an export ban in March to ensure national food security amid the Covid-19 epidemic, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday (April 11).

Vietnam can export some 800,000 tonnes of rice in April and May, down 40 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to the report. [read more]

Southeast Asian ministers endorse plans for pandemic fund

10.04.2020 By Jim Gomez (AP) - MANILA, Philippines — Southeast Asian foreign ministers have endorsed the setting up of a regional fund to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and discussed a planned video summit of their leaders with counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Friday that the top diplomats of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations linked up by video Thursday in a meeting led by Vietnam. [read more]

Vietnam challenges China's monopoly on virus diplomacy

10.04.2020 James Pearson (Reuters) - HANOI- Vietnam is challenging China’s dominance of coronavirus diplomacy with the donation of medical supplies to Europe and Southeast Asia and even winning plaudits from U.S. President Donald Trump for a shipment of protective suits.

Vietnam, despite its lack of resources compared with its giant neighbour, has donated 550,000 face masks to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain, and 390,000 to neighbouring Cambodia and 340,000 to another neighbour, Laos. [read more]

Deserted beaches show coronavirus hit to Vietnam's tourism sector

09.04.2020 Hugh Bohane (Nikkei Asian Review) - DA NANG, Vietnam -- A handful of lifeguards patrolled the main beach of Vietnamese resort city of Da Nang, but not a single sun worshipper.

The My Khe beach that is normally packed with tourists has been closed as part of the country's new social distancing campaign against the spread of the new coronavirus. A loudspeaker system plays a recorded public service announcement in Vietnamese and English to remind people to stay away, wear face masks, and keep two meters away from others. [read more]

3 Vietnamese students likely to be deported for violating self-quarantine rules

09.04.2020 By Yonhap (The Korea Herald) - The Justice Ministry said Thursday that it is considering deporting three Vietnamese students from South Korea for violating self-quarantine rules.

The students, who have been in two-week self-isolation, allegedly went to a park in Gunsan, around 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on April 3 and stayed there for five hours, according to the ministry.

They left their mobile phones at their residences to avoid GPS tracking by local health authorities. But officials found out about their absence after making a landline call. [read more]

Krankenhaus in Vietnam spendet Leipzig Schutzausrüstung

09.04.2020 (T-Online) - Leipzig hat medizinische Schutzausrüstung aus Vietnam erhalten. Wie die Stadt am Donnerstag mitteilte, spendete das Militärhospital 175 in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt 10 000 Gesichtsmasken, 1000 Schutzkittel sowie Schutzbrillen, Handschuhe und Schuhüberzieher. Sie sollen dem Klinikum St. Georg sowie dem Universitätsklinikum zugute kommen. Beide Krankenhäuser kooperierten nach Angaben der Stadt seit langem mit dem Militärhospital in Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam's COVID-19 cases increase to 251

08.04.2020 (MENAFN) - The health ministry of Vietnam said on Wednesday that two more patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus, increasing the total number of coronavirus cases in Vietnam to 251.

The two patients are both Vietnamese nationals, a male in Ha Nam province and a female in Hanoi the captial who have been in close contact with an earlier diagnosed patient. [read more]

The river–groundwater interface as a hotspot for arsenic release

07.04.2020 Ilka Wallis, Henning Prommer, Michael Berg, Adam J. Siade, Jing Sun & Rolf Kipfer (Nature) - Geogenic groundwater arsenic (As) contamination is pervasive in many aquifers in south and southeast Asia. It is feared that recent increases in groundwater abstractions could induce the migration of high-As groundwaters into previously As-safe aquifers. Here we study an As-contaminated aquifer in Van Phuc, Vietnam, located ~10 km southeast of Hanoi on the banks of the Red River, which is affected by large-scale groundwater abstraction. [read more]

Vietnam's total coronavirus cases rise to 249, no deaths

07.04.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s health ministry reported four more confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the country’s total to 249, with no deaths. More than 94,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Vietnam, it said, and 122 patients have been discharged. [read more]

Vietnam donates 550,000 masks to EU countries in coronavirus fight

07.04.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam donated 550,000 face masks to five European countries on Tuesday to support their fight against the coronavirus that has killed more than 75,000 people worldwide.

The masks, made of antimicrobial fabric, were handed to the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain in Hanoi, the Ministry of Foreign Ministry said in a statement. [read more]

Vietnam: Two new cases reported bringing nationwide total to 239

04.04.2020 (Eleven) - HANOI (Viet Nam News/ANN) — Two new COVID-19 cases, including one relating to Hà Nội’s Bạch Mai Hospital, were reported by the Ministry of Health Saturday morning.

It brings the total number of infected patients nationwide to 239. The number of patients recovered still stands at 86. [read more]

Vietnam's total coronavirus cases rise to 237, no deaths: health ministry

03.04.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s health ministry reported 10 more coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the tally to 237.

More than 73,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Vietnam, it said [read more]

Vietnam's Dung Quat oil refinery cuts output on virus-hit demand

03.04.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s Dung Quat oil refinery plans to cut output because of weaker domestic fuel demand caused by the coronavirus oubreak, the facility’s operator said on Friday.

Domestic demand for refined fuels has fallen 30% to 40% since February [read more]

Vietnam's coronavirus cases climb to 218, no deaths: health ministry

01.04.2020 (Reuters) HANOI - Vietnam’s health ministry reported 11 more confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total there to 218. [read more]

Covid-19 in Vietnam: Ist niedrigen Zahlen zu trauen?

31.03.2020 Von Mathias Brunner (SpeedWeek) - ​Am 5. April sollte der erste Formel-1-GP von Vietnam stattfinden. Wann es nun einen WM-Lauf geben wird, weiss keiner. Die Covid-19-Zahlen sind auffallend gering. Aber ist diesen Zahlen zu trauen?

Für die kommenden 15 Tage dürfen mehr als 95 Millionen Menschen nur noch dann vor die Tür, wenn sie Lebensmittel kaufen oder zum Arzt oder Apotheker gehen müssen. Wer sich draussen aufhält, muss eine Mindestdistanz von zwei Metern zum nächsten Mitbürger beachten. Mehr als zwei Menschen dürfen nicht beisammenstehen.

Diese Massnahmen stehen im Widerspruch zu den verblüffend niedrigen Zahlen in Sachen Covid-19-Erkrankungen. Vietnam spricht von 204 Fällen, die Statistiker von Worldometers von 207. Verstorben ist an der Lungenkrankheit offiziell keiner. [Weiterlesen]

Coronavirus Outbreak - Vietnam Orders National Isolation After Initial Containment of Coronavirus

31.03.2020 (VOA) - Vietnam has announced a national lockdown to fight COVID-19, with nearly 100 million people ordered not to go outside except for food and medical needs, the most extreme measure taken yet after the nation had early success in limiting its first wave of infections.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a directive Tuesday that requires people to stay inside for 15 days, starting Wednesday. That includes shutting down most businesses, except those deemed essential, at a time when many foreign investors are shifting production from China to Vietnam, in part because the virus forced them to close their businesses in China. [read more]

Vietnam to implement 15 days of social distancing in coronavirus battle

31.03.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam will begin 15 days of social distancing from Wednesday to curb community transmission of the coronavirus, the Southeast Asian country’s prime minister said on Tuesday.

From midnight April 1, everybody is required to stay at home [read more]

VIRUS/Vietnam: Hanoi und Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt droht Lockdown

30.03.2020 (boerse.de) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Wegen der Coronavirus-Pandemie müssen sich die Einwohner der beiden größten Städte in Vietnam laut Ministerpräsident Nguyen Xuan Phuc auf Ausgangssperren vorbereiten. Demnach sollen die Behörden in der Hauptstadt Hanoi sowie in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt angesichts steigender Infizierten-Zahlen ihre Pläne zur Bekämpfung des Virus überarbeiten und sich "auf Lockdown-Szenarien einstellen", sagte er am Montag.

Am Samstag hatten die Behörden in Hanoi eines der größten Krankenhäuser des Landes isoliert, weil es dort mehrere Infektionsfälle mit dem Virus gegeben hatte. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam says to suspend public transport to curb coronavirus spread

30.03.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday ordered the suspension to public transport services to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which is known to have infected 203 people in the country. [read more]

Europäischer Rat gibt grünes Licht für Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam

30.03.2020 (Zeit Online) - Die Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union haben dem Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam zugestimmt. "Dieser Beschluss macht auf Seiten der EU den Weg für das Inkrafttreten des Abkommens frei", erklärte der Europäischer-Rat. Demnach steht nun lediglich die Ratifizierung des Textes durch das vietnamesische Parlament aus. Man rechne damit, dass das Abkommen Anfang Sommer 2020 in Kraft trete. [Weiterlesen]

US, EU buyers tell Vietnamese firms to suspend delivery

30.03.2020 (Fibre2Fashion) - Many US and European Union (EU) partners have sent notices to Vietnamese garment and textile businesses informing they will temporarily stop receiving goods for three to four weeks. According to Ph?m Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting, nearly two-thirds of the garment-textiles market narrowed with this.

Half of all textile exports from HCM City go to the United States, while the EU accounts for 15-18 per cent of annual exports. [read more]

Hanoi’s Largest Hospital Locked Down on Virus Outbreak Fears

28.03.2020 John Boudreau and Nguyen Xuan Quynh (Bloomberg News) - Vietnam officials ordered one of the nation’s largest medical centers to be locked down and demanded thousands of employees and people who recently visited Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital be tested for Covid-19 after nurses and other staff contracted the disease.

Die Regierung, die Ausländer und vietnamesische Staatsbürger, die aus dem Ausland in das Land einreisen, aggressiv isoliert, hat laut Gesundheitsministerium 75.085 Menschen unter Quarantäne gestellt oder überwacht. Es hat auch die meisten internationalen Flüge ausgesetzt, Inlandsreisen eingeschränkt und die Mehrheit der Unternehmen im ganzen Land geschlossen. [read more]

Vietnam reports rise of 11 coronavirus cases to 174: health ministry

28.03.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s health ministry reported an additional 11 coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number in the Southeast Asian country to 174.

Vietnam had said in mid-February that all its then-16 confirmed coronavirus cases had recovered, but it has since been battling an influx of imported cases from overseas citizens and Vietnamese citizens escaping outbreaks elsewhere. [read more]

Vietnam orders non-essential businesses to close for 2 weeks

27.03.2020 (AP) - HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam’s government on Friday ordered all non-essential businesses to close for at least two weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Unnecessary gatherings of more than 20 people were also banned. [read more]

Vietnam’s Coronavirus Struggle: The Import Dimension

27.03.2020 By Thoi Nguyen (The Diplomat) - Vietnam has been increasing its effort to contain the coronavirus as the new number of confirmed cases have been rising steadily since the last few weeks. And not unlike some other countries contending with the global pandemic, some of the new cases have been imported cases were brought back by foreign visitors and repatriated Vietnamese.

Thus far, the coronavirus outbreak has threatened Vietnam’s economy and affected the country severely. [read more]

Siemens Gamesa erhält 113 MW Großauftrag für Windturbinen aus Vietnam

26.03.2020 (IT-Times) - MÜNCHEN - Der Münchner Erneuerbare Energien - Spezialist Siemens Gamesa meldet eine Order über zahlreiche Windkraftanlagen für ein Windenergieprojekt in Vietnam.

Siemens Gamesa liefert demzufolge 25 Einheiten seiner SG 4.5-145 Turbine für den Windpark Hoa Thang 1.2, einen der größten Windenergie-Projekte des Landes. Zudem übernimmt man Betriebs- und Wartungsdienste der Anlagen für zehn Jahre. [Weiterlesen]

'Made in Vietnam' Goods Increasingly Popular in US

26.03.2020 (VOA) - “Made in Vietnam” cell phones, lounge chairs and clothing have become more popular with Americans than ever before. U.S. imports from the Southeast Asian nation have increased to record levels, showing the two sides increasingly interlinked, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s taking a tougher line on commerce with Vietnam. 

The United States increased its imports from Vietnam by 36% last year for a total value of $67 billion, which is the highest increase in a single year since 2003, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. [read more]

Mekong Delta water shortages threaten 180,000 households

25.03.2020 by Peter Tran (AsiaNews) - The region has suffered from drought since 2016. Five provinces have declared a state of emergency earlier this month. In most places, the Mekong is between 0.1 and 1 metre above the Eastern Sea level. Lack of rain, water use and more dams have increased salinity.

Over the past two months, the number of residents affected by the crisis has increased, touching 10 of the region’s 13 provinces, especially Bến Tre, Kiên Giang, Cà Mau, Long An and Tiền Giang, which declared a state of emergency in early March. [read more]

VIRUS/Corona-Krise und Dürre: Vietnam exportiert keinen Reis mehr

25.03.2020 (Börse Online) - HANOI (dpa-AFX) - Vietnam stoppt vorerst seine Reisexporte, um die Nahrungsmittelversorgung der eigenen Bevölkerung sicherzustellen. Sowohl die Corona-Pandemie als auch eine schwere Dürre und ein Eindringen von Salzwasser in das Mekong Delta im Süden des Landes böten Grund zur Sorge, begründete die Regierung in Hanoi den Schritt am späten Dienstagabend.

Vietnam ist nach Indien und Thailand der drittgrößte Exporteur von Reis weltweit. [Weiterlesen]

Bold action needed to address Vietnam’s air pollution

24.03.2020 Author: Thang Nam Do, ANU (East Asia Forum) - Vietnam is struggling with alarming air pollution. Its two biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are now among the top 15 polluted cities in Southeast Asia.

Among the main causes of this pollution is transportation. Vietnam now has 3.6 million automobiles and 58 million motorbikes, mostly concentrated in big cities. Many of them are old vehicles, with limited emission control technology. [read more]

Coronavirus: Vietnam closes Ho Chi Minh City restaurants to curb virus outbreak

24.03.2020 (The Straits Times) - HANOI (REUTERS) - Restaurants in Vietnam's business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, must close until March 31 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the city's ruling body said on Tuesday (March 24).

"All restaurants with a capacity of over 30 people across the 24 districts of the city must cease operations from 1800 (hours on) March 24, until the end of March 31," the city's ruling body said in a statement. [read more]

Vietnam confirms three more Covid-19 cases, 121 in total

23.03.2020 (The Star) - HANOI: Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Monday afternoon (March 23) confirmed three new cases of Covid-19 infection in its southern Ho Chi Minh City, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 121.

The three cases are a 29-year-old American man living in Ho Chi Minh City who has traveled between Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, a 27-year-old Canadian man living in the city who has entered Vietnam from Canada and had contact with a recently confirmed case, and a 58-year-old Vietnamese man arriving from the United States with transit in Japan, the ministry said. [read more]

31 Vietnamese nabbed on Taiwanese boat quarantined for coronavirus

23.03.2020 by Keoni Everington (Taiwan News)- TAIPEI - As imported cases of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) rise in Taiwan, 31 Vietnamese nationals were arrested after being found to have been smuggled on a fishing boat on Saturday (March 21).

With President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) stating that the next two weeks are critical in containing the spread of COVID-19, human trafficking continues, potentially representing a dangerous hole in Taiwan's safety net. [read more]

Vietnam PM says risk of coronavirus community infection 'very high'

23.03.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam needs to strictly enforce restrictions on all air, sea and land movements within the country to curb the spread of coronavirus as the risk of community infection is “very high,” the Southeast Asian country’s prime minister said on Monday.

Vietnam’s coronavirus cases rose to 118 on Monday, the health ministry said. There have been no reported deaths. [read more]

Coronavirus: Le Vietnam ferme ses frontières

21.03.2020 (YahooNews) - HANOI (Reuters) - Le Vietnam interdira l'accès au pays à tous les étrangers à partir de dimanche, hors cas exceptionnels, afin d'endiguer la propagation du coronavirus, a annoncé samedi le gouvernement.

Les rares personnes qui se rendent au Vietnam pour des raisons "diplomatiques ou exceptionnelles" devront avoir obtenu l'autorisation des ministres de l'Intérieur, de la Santé et des Affaires étrangères, et seront mises en quarantaine, a ajouté le gouvernement dans un communiqué. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam cancela todos los vuelos internacionales por el coronavirus

21.03.2020 (europa press) - HANÓI (DPA/EP) - El Gobierno de Vietnam ha anunciado este sábado la cancelación de todos los vuelos internacionales para atajar el contagio del nuevo coronavirus.

La noticia no concreta la fecha desde la que será efectiva la medida, pero sí explica que se aplicará tanto a las aerolíneas vietnamitas como a las extranjeras. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam to quarantine all foreign arrivals from Mar.21

20.03.2020 (Reuters) -  HANOI - Vietnam will quarantine all international arrivals from March 21 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, its health ministry said on Friday.

Vietnam has confirmed 87 coronavirus infections, many of them brought from overseas, with no deaths. [read more]

Vietnam’s Coronavirus Struggle: Managing the Economic Impact

17.03.2020 By Thoi Nguyen (The Diplomat) - Despite initial notable steps, until the government can fully contain the outbreak, it will be difficult to achieve economic growth targets set out previously.

Relative to other Asian countries, Vietnam has significant achievements in terms of how the country dealt with the coronavirus outbreak. Nonetheless, COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus strain, has nonetheless posed a major challenge for the country’s economic growth, and is likely to continue to unless it is fully dealt with.

The economic toll on Vietnam is already visible. Many airlines have halted and cancelled their flights to the infected destinations. The most affected industries are tourism, transport, electronics, agriculture, and insurance. [read more]

British tourist, 68, tells of coronavirus quarantine hell in 'prison like' Vietnam hotel where 27 people are forced to share one toilet with no hot water to shower or wash hands

17.03.2020 By Terri-Ann Williams (Daily Mail) - A group of British tourists stranded in coronavirus quarantine in Vietnam are being forced to share a toilet between 27 people in 'prison like conditions'.

Adrian Goldthorpe travelled from London Heathrow to Han Oi on Monday 9 March. On Friday Mr Goldthorpe, along with 10 others flew to Da Nan and visited some sites before arriving at a hotel. [read more]

Vietnam to quarantine visitors in coronavirus battle

17.03.2020 Phuong Nguyen (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam will stop issuing new visas for foreign visitors and will quarantine visitors from countries including the United States in the fight against the coronavirus, state media and the government said on Tuesday.

Weeks after announcing the recovery of all 16 of its coronavirus sufferers, the Southeast Asian nation has confirmed it now has 61 infections, but no deaths, after authorities announced a surge in infections from overseas. [read more]

Armed Police Attack Residents Blocking Entry to Vietnam Waste Plant

16.03.2020 (RFA) - Armed police in south-central Vietnam’s coastal Quang Ngai province attacked a crowd of people blocking garbage trucks from entering a long-disputed waste-processing plant over the weekend, arresting some 20 participants, a local source said Monday.

Citizen video emerged on Facebook over the weekend that claimed to show hundreds of officers armed with shields, batons, and police dogs on March 13 descending on the roadblock outside the plant in La Van village, in Duc Co district’s Pho Thanh commune, which had been in place since 2018. [read more]

Vietnam’s new conservation plan prioritises trees and people, but not emissions

13.03.2020 By Carol J. Clouse (Eco-Business) - For nearly a decade now, Vietnam has made “payment for forest ecosystem services” its key strategy for protecting forests and improving the lives of poor rural communities. Now, it plans to use the same model to help rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

The fast-growing Southeast Asian country is on the verge of piloting a unique programme that would require large polluters — primarily cement manufacturers and coal-fired power plants — to pay forest communities and landowners for conservation and restoration efforts. [read more]

COVID-19 Decimates Vietnamese Economy, Threatens Many Firms

12.03.2020 (RFA) - The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic is wreaking havoc on the Vietnamese economy, with businesses and companies of all sizes showing revenues much lower than expected over the first two months of 2020, and more than 3,000 firms closing, authorities said Thursday.

More than 3,000 small and medium-sized businesses ceased operations in January and February, as the coronavirus epidemic took hold, according to a report issued by Hanoi’s Tax Department. [read more]

Viet Nam: Drought and Saltwater Intrusion - Office of the Resident Coordinator Flash Update No. 2 (As of 27 February 2020)

27.02.2020 (reliefweb) - UNCT Viet Nam - Since 2019, severe drought and saltwater intrusion conditions have been detected and have begun to significantly affect people across 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta region.

Seasonal weather forecasts indicate that the level of severity will continue to increase, peaking in March to May 2020.

On 1 February, IFRC launched a three month Disaster Relief Emergency Funding (DREF) operation to support VNRC to assist affected people in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, and Tra Vinh. As of 7 February, three provinces have declared a state of emergency [read more]

Vietnam puts the Mekong's fate on ASEAN's agenda

26.02.2020 Marwaan Macan-Markar (Nikkei Asian Review) - BANGKOK -- Hanoi looks to counter China by stressing river's noncommercial role.

In a nod to green diplomacy, Vietnam is raising the geopolitical stakes over the Mekong River, Southeast Asia's largest body of water, which has dropped to record lows due to a severe drought and construction of large dams.

Hanoi has signaled its intent to raise the issue this year as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. By putting the Mekong, which is shared by five riparian countries in the river's basin and China, on the 10-nation regional bloc's agenda, Vietnam has transformed the waterway from a subregional issue to one of greater international concern. [read more]

Tough for Vietnamese firms to follow EVFTA rules of origin

25.02.2020 (Fibre2Fashion) - Though Vietnamese textile and garment firms are aware of the opportunities the European Union (EU)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) offers to expand export markets, they are facing difficulties in complying with the rules of origin. Though the ministry of planning and investment hopes the sector’s export turnover to the EU will increase by 81 per cent, firms are sceptical.

The scepticism arises out of the fact that 60 per cent of imported fabrics come from mainland China and Taiwan at a far lower cost than those from South Korea, fabric imports from where are permitted under the EVFTA rules of origin, according to a report in a Vietnamese investment news portal. [read more]

Southeast Asia's garment supply chain torn up by virus

21.02.2020 Tomoya Onishi and Akane Okutsu (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI/TOKYO/PHNOM PENH -- The coronavirus outbreak is wreaking havoc on Southeast Asia's garment supply chain, threatening the inventories of international brands such as Uniqlo, Gap and Nike.

Southeast Asian suppliers, not only in Vietnam but also Cambodia and Myanmar, have become increasingly important to global fashion brands. Nearly 20% of Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing's disclosed core sewing factories are in Vietnam, though China is still home to about half. [read more]

Vietnam culls tens of thousands birds to contain H5N6 outbreak

10.02.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam has so far this year culled tens of thousands of birds to contain an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu detected at several farms in its northern provinces, an agriculture ministry official and state media said on Monday.

The authorities have culled the birds, mostly chicken and ducks, at farms in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa and Quang Ninh provinces, said the official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. [read more]

Thailand Touted for Rare Move to Drop Chinese Plan for Mekong River

08.02.2020 By Zsombor Peter (VOA) - YANGON, MYANMAR - Rights groups and researchers have welcomed Thailand's decision to cancel a Beijing-backed project to dredge and blow open a shallow and rocky stretch of the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border.

The move is a rare victory for groups and communities fighting to save Southeast Asia's most important river from overdevelopment.

Pianporn Deetes, Thailand campaign director for International Rivers, which advocates for sustainable riverine management, called it "a momentous win for the Mekong." [read more]

Vietnam reports H5N6 bird flu outbreak in northern village - OIE

04.02.2020 (Reuters) - PARIS - Vietnam has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu in a village in the northern part of the country, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday, citing a report from the Vietnamese farm ministry.

The virus was detected in a flock of 3,000 birds in the village of Duc Yen and directly killed 2,200 birds, the report said. [read more]

Mekong - Gier nach Sand

01.02.2020 Von Michael Lenz (Neues Deutschland) - Die Gewinnung des Baustoffs aus dem Mekong ruiniert die Lebensgrundlagen am größten Strom Südostasiens.

Der breiten Öffentlichkeit aber ist kaum bewusst, dass Sand laut dem Umweltprogramm der Vereinten Nationen (UNEP) nach Wasser der am meisten gehandelte Rohstoff der Welt und damit sowohl ein riesiges Umweltproblem als auch ein Stoff für Konflikte ist.

Ein Beispiel für die Folgen des unkontrollierten Sandabbaus für die Umwelt und die Lebensgrundlagen zigtausender Menschen ist das Mekongdelta in Vietnam. Ein Forschungsprojekt der Leibniz Universität Hannover hat in den vergangenen Jahren im Mekongdelta eine Bestandsaufnahme der Sandvorkommen und Transportkapazitäten des Flusses vorgenommen. [Weiterlesen]

Pilotprojekt in Vietnam: Berufsbildung made in Germany

31.01.2020 von Jessica von Blazekovic (FAZ) - Was in Deutschland dank der dualen Ausbildung in Berufsschule und Betrieb eine Selbstverständlichkeit ist, kommt im vietnamesischen Ausbildungssystem so gut wie nicht vor. An den rund 2000 Berufsschulen des Landes lernen die mehr als zwei Millionen Schülerinnen und Schüler viel trockene Theorie und wenig lebendige Praxis. „Die Berufsausbildung in Vietnam ist traditionell sehr verschult“, sagt Jürgen Hartwig, Programmdirektor für Berufsbildung bei der Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Vietnam. Im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) unterstützen Hartwig und sein Team die vietnamesische Regierung dabei, ein duales Berufsausbildungssystem nach deutschem Vorbild aufzubauen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam expects $100 mln trade deficit in Jan - govt statistics office

29.01.2020 (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnam’s trade balance is seen slipping into a deficit of $100 million in January, from a surplus of $259 million in December last year, preliminary government data released on Wednesday shows.

Exports in January were are likely to slump 14.3% from a year earlier to $19 billion, and imports are forecast to decrease 11.3% to $19.1 billion, [read more]

NGO dokumentiert Vietnams größte Umweltkatastrophe

27.01.2020 (DW) - Vietnam legt seit Jahren eine rasante wirtschaftliche Entwicklung hin. Oft zulasten der Umwelt. Aktivisten und Bürger, die sich für den Schutz der Natur einsetzen, haben es schwer, wie ein aktueller Film zeigt.

Mit Stolz und Zuversicht präsentierte Vietnams Regierung die im Bau befindliche Wirtschaftszone in Vung Anh bei einem Besuch der Deutschen Welle im Jahr 2014. Ein Kohlekraftwerk, ein Tiefseehafen, ein Stahlwerk und weitere industrielle Ansiedlungen sollten der wirtschaftlich wenig entwickelten zentralvietnamesische Küstenprovinz Ha Tinh einen Schub verleihen und dringend benötigte Jobs schaffen. Mehr als 40.000 würden entstehen – so die Hoffnung der Regierung.

Doch nur zwei Jahre später verursachte ebendiese Wirtschaftszone eine der schwersten Umweltkatastrophen in Vietnams Geschichte. Das Stahlwerk „Formosa Ha Tinh Steel" leitete während des Testbetriebs Abwässer in das Südchinesische Meer ein. Diese waren unter anderem mit Phenol und Zyanid kontaminiert. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam’s efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus still inadequate

27.01.2020 by Ngoc Lan (AsiaNews) - Two confirmed cases have been reported, but 11 people are under observation. Chinese tourists have crossed the border into Vietnam for the Lunar New Year, but many have decided to stay home believing that this will limit their risk of contracting the virus. For Vietnamese and foreign experts, the country could become the second most infected.

So far, two cases of contagion have been confirmed in Vietnam. An unidentified man and son, both from the Chinese province of Hubei, have been placed in an isolated area for treatment at the Chợ Rẫy hospital in Hồ Chí Minh City.

According to the doctors, the two are in stable condition and their fever is dropping. The man’s wife, who is the mother of the boy, is under close surveillance. She travelled to Vietnam with her husband from Wuhan, but hasn’t shown any symptoms of the infection. [read more]

Japan minister seeks review of coal-fired plant in Vietnam

24.01.2020 (Nikkei Asian Review) - Environment chief Koizumi questions government support for Vung Ang plant.

Tokyo -- In the face of international pressure regarding the building of coal-fired power plants, Japan's environment minister on Friday called on the government to reconsider plans to finance such a plant in Vietnam.

Shinjiro Koizumi first tried to lay out a plan to review Japan's coal-fired power exports in December, in Madrid at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP25. But his effort was in vain. [read more]

Les inquiétudes sur les droits humains ne freinent pas l'accord UE-Vietnam

21.01.2020 Frédéric Rohart (L'Echo) - L’accord de libre-échange entre l’Union européenne et le Vietnam a été validé mardi par une large majorité de la commission du commerce du Parlement européen (INTA), mardi. L’accord, qui vise notamment à éliminer 99% des barrières tarifaires et ouvrir les marchés publics, a été plébiscité par vingt-neuf voix pour face à onze contre et abstentions. C’est un "signal positif en ces temps de protectionnisme et de tensions commerciales croissantes", s’est félicité le nationaliste flamand Geert Bourgeois, président de la commission. [en savoir plus]

Handelsabkommen mit Vietnam - Parlamentsausschuss gibt grünes Licht

21.01.2020 (Deutschlandradio) - n Brüssel hat der zuständige Ausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments das im Juni unterzeichnete Freihandelsabkommen mit Vietnam gebilligt.

Die Abgeordneten sprachen sich mit großer Mehrheit dafür aus. Durch das Abkommen sollen nahezu alle Einfuhrzölle auf Waren zwischen der EU und dem südostasiatischen Land wegfallen. Im kommenden Monat wird die Zustimmung des Plenums des Europäischen Parlaments erwartet.  [Weiterlesen]

Handwerkspräsident Wollseifer setzt gegen Fachkräftemangel auf Zuzug aus Vietnam

19.01.2020 (Deutschland Today) - Berlin (AFP) - Angesichts des Fachkräftemangels in Deutschland setzt Handwerkspräsident Hans-Peter Wollseifer auf Zuzug aus dem Ausland. Insbesondere "Vietnamesen könnten einen Beitrag leisten, damit Kunden hierzulande nicht mehr zwei Monate auf einen Handwerker warten müssen", sagte Wollseifer dem Berliner "Tagesspiegel" (Montagsausgabe). Er verwies auf das Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, das im März in Kraft tritt. [Weiterlesen]

EU-Vietnam trade deal puts spotlight on workers' rights

17.01.2020 Author Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - The EU has said the trade agreement would be the most ambitious the bloc has ever negotiated with a developing country. However, authoritarian Vietnam will still have to improve its labor and social standards.

The EU-Vietnam Free-Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would abolish 99% of customs duties, eliminate bureaucratic hurdles by aligning standards for goods like cars and medicine, and ensure easier market access for both European and Vietnamese companies. [read more]

EU-Vietnam Freihandelsabkommen kurz vor Abschluss

17.01.2020 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Nächste Woche könnte das umfassendste Freihandelsabkommen, das die EU je mit einem Entwicklungsland geschlossen hat, auf den Weg gebracht werden. Vietnam wird aber Zugeständnisse machen müssen.

Die entscheidende Sitzung für das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Vietnam ist am nächsten Dienstag (21. Januar 2020). Dann tagt der Ausschuss für internationalen Handel des Europäischen Parlaments (INTA). Er wird dem Parlament einen Resolutionsentwurf vorlegen, mit dem bei einer Entscheidung im Februar die knapp acht Jahre währenden Verhandlungen zum Abschluss kämen. [Weiterlesen]

Mekong communities struggle as China tests dam equipment

12.01.2020 by Leonie Kijewski (Al Jazeera) - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Water levels on the Mekong River, which flows through China and five other countries before emptying into the South China Sea, have dropped once again after Beijing revealed it was testing equipment at one of its 11 dams in the upper reaches of the vital waterway.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC), an inter-governmental body made up of representatives from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, said on December 31 that China would be testing its equipment, warning of a potential 50 percent drop in water outflows. [read more]

Priests join residents in Quảng Bình to protest against dangerous new dam

07.01.2020 by Thanh Thuy (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - The Rào Nam dam is only 150 metres from the village of Linh Cận Sơn. Nine villages in Quảng Trạch district are at risk if it should overflow. Local clergymen have appealed to the authorities, which have responded with intimidation and death threats.

In Quảng Bình province, on the coast of central Vietnam, priests and religious have backed since last August local protests against the construction of a dam that puts the homes of hundreds of families at risk. [read more]

Cash Shortage Hurts Investment in Vietnam

04.01.2020 (VOA) - Businesses in Vietnam face a cash shortage that is preventing as much as $24 billion that could be invested in the nation’s $250 billion economy, according to a study by PwC Vietnam.

“We continue to see cash flows being sacrificed to attain top line targets in Vietnam, which is not sustainable for businesses in the long run,” said Mohammad Mudasser, who leads the working capital management practice at PwC Vietnam. [read more]

US to Slap Duties on Vietnamese Steel Exports Originally Produced in S. Korea

03.01.2020 (KBS) - The U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to impose duties of more than 400 percent on certain types of steel produced in South Korea or Taiwan that are then shipped to Vietnam for minor processing and finally exported to the U.S.

The department recently said it had found corrosion-resistant steel products and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using substrate of South Korean or Taiwanese origin had circumvented U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. [read more]

Kein Klimastreik in autoritären Staaten: „Energiewende“ wäre in Russland Programm zur Selbstdemontage

03.01.2020 Von Reinhard Werner (The Epoch Times) - Ein vor allem in libertären und konservativen Kreisen beliebtes Meme in sozialen Medien wirft die Frage auf, warum es keine „Fridays for Future“-Proteste in China gäbe – und beantwortet sie mit der Feststellung: „Weil China schon kommunistisch ist.“

Im Wissen darum, dass das chinesische Modell bei vielen westlichen Klimaschützern Bewunderung erfährt – die Diktatur sorgt für schnellere Entscheidungen, verhindert Widerstände, beschränkt das Fortpflanzungsverhalten und reguliert die Wirtschaft – lässt sich das kommunistische China dafür feiern, dass es 2017 etwa 200 Milliarden US-Dollar in neue Solarzellen, Windparks, Wasserkraftwerke oder Biomasseanlagen gesteckt hat. [Weiterlesen]