Wirtschaft - Umwelt / Economy - Environment (2018)

Vietnam Promises Big Privatization Push For 2019, But Reality May Fall Short

30.12.2018 Ralph Jennings (Forbes) - With Vietnam on track to grow its economy at more than 6% this year on the back of foreign investment in export manufacturing, it’s easy to forget that a communist party still runs this Southeast Asian nation and, in effect, many of its largest companies. But the government has also been seeking to restructure the economy, which includes privatizing many of its state-owned enterprises.

The number of totally government-owned firms declined from a peak of 10,000 after their creation in the 1980s to fewer than 1,000 by 2015, a World Bank official said. Another 3,000 firms were partly state-owned then. SOEs made up about one-third of the Vietnamese economy. [read more]

Vietnam's first privately owned airport opens for business

30.12.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - QUANG NINH PROVINCE, Vietnam -- Vietnam's first privately owned airport opened on Sunday, underscoring efforts by the debt-strapped government to tap private sources to fund key infrastructure projects.

The 290-hectare facility is capable of accommodating large commercial jets, including Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s.

The facility is wholly owned by Sun Group, a Danang-based company that specializes in tourism-, leisure- and entertainment-focused properties and projects.  [read more]

Trans-Pacific Partnership to Enter Into Force on 30 December

30.12.2018 (Sputnik) - The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will enter into force on 30 December, 60 days after Vietnam, the seventh party to the TPP, had ratified the deal.

The document will take effect from 14 January of the following year. Four more countries of the union, Brunei, Malaysia, Peru and Chile have not yet ratified the agreement. For them, the deal will take effect 60 days after ratification. [read more]

BQ: Europäische Smartphone-Marke nach Vietnam verkauft

20.12.2018 Von Alexander Kuch (teltarif) - BQ, eine der letzten bekannten europäischen Smartphone-Firmen, verliert die Selbständigkeit. Vingroup, die größte private Unternehmensgruppe Vietnams, hat den spanischen Hersteller mehrheitlich übernommen.

BQ konnte in den vergangenen fünf Jahren als europäischer Smartphone-Hersteller eine große Fan-Gemeinde in Europa erobern.

Im Heimatland Spanien konnte der Hersteller mit dem Aquaris E5 beispielsweise den Titel des meistverkauften Smartphones ohne Vertragsbindung erringen.

Nun gibt BQ bekannt, dass neuerdings das vietnamesische Unternehmen Vingroup neuer Mehrheitsgesellschafter der "Mundo Reader S.L.", also dem Unternehmen hinter der Marke BQ, ist. Damit verliert eine weitere europäische Smartphone-Marke ihre Selbständigkeit. [Weiterlesen]

La vietnamita Vingroup se convierte en socio mayoritario de la matriz de BQ tras comprar un 51%

20.12.2018 (Finanzas) - La compañía tecnológica española BQ ha confirmado este jueves que Vingroup, el mayor holding privado de Vietnam, se ha convertido en el socio mayoritario de Mundo Reader, la empresa que está detrás de la marca BQ, tras la reciente adquisición de un 51% de su capital, según ha informado en un comunicado.

En concreto, Vingroup se une como socio mayoritario a los fundadores de BQ y al fondo Diana Capital, después de que ambas empresas comenzaran a trabajar juntas en julio de este año, cuando la vietnamita creó su propia marca de smartphones (Vsmart) y confió a BQ el diseño y desarrollo de sus primeros modelos, lanzados el 14 de diciembre. [seguir leyendo]

“Shift to Vietnam”

20.12.2018 (deutschland.de) - New EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement means Vietnam could compete with other large Asian countries. Marco Walde, GIC/AHK Managing Director Vietnam, explains why.

Currently an average of 10 percent customs tax is levied on EU-products imported into Vietnam. Thanks to the Free Trade Agreement the duties in the industrial and agricultural sectors will be almost completely abolished. When the Agreement comes into force, 65 percent of Vietnamese customs duties will be immediately revoked, while the remaining ones will be gradually eliminated over the next ten years. In return the EU will completely eliminate its duties levied on Vietnam during the next seven years. In addition, Vietnam will open most of its public tenders to EU firms. [read more]

„Verlagerung nach Vietnam“

20.12.2018 (deutschland.de) - Mit dem neuen Freihandelsabkommen könnte Vietnam einem anderen großen asiatischen Land Konkurrenz machen. Marco Walde, AHK-Geschäftsführer Vietnam, sagt warum.

Derzeit werden für EU-Produkte bei der Einfuhr nach Vietnam durchschnittlich 10 Prozent Zoll fällig. Mit dem Freihandelsabkommen entfallen die vietnamesischen Zölle im Industrie- und Agrarbereich fast vollständig, 65 Prozent sofort nach Inkrafttreten, der Rest in den kommenden zehn Jahren. Im Gegenzug baut die EU ihre Zollsätze gegenüber Vietnam im Lauf der kommenden sieben Jahren vollständig ab. [Weiterlesen]

Trade war buoys apparel industry in Bangladesh and Vietnam

15.12.2018 Tomoya Onishi and Akiwa Hayakawa (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI/MUMBAI -- Production shift likely to pick up as buyers look beyond China.

The trade spat between Washington and Beijing is providing a tailwind for garment production hubs like Bangladesh and Vietnam, as more companies move away from China to avoid U.S. tariffs and sanctions.

Bangladesh is one of those alternatives. The country is the world's second-largest apparel exporter, with a 6.4% share. Vietnam comes in third at 5.8%. Wages in Vietnam are less than half that in big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. Labor in Bangladesh is cheaper still. [read more]

Vietnam Given Best Odds to Gain from Sino-US Trade Dispute

14.12.2018 Ralph Jennings (VOA) — The world’s largest contract assembler of consumer electronics, Foxconn Technology, as well as a prominent producer of wireless earphones may be in talks to locate production in Vietnam, instead of the once more obvious choice, China, to escape the Sino-U.S. trade dispute. And business experts in Vietnam say many more export producers are planning the same kind of move.

Vietnam is poised to receive the world’s biggest inflow over the next year of multinationals fleeing the almost year-old trade dispute. People who know the country cite geography, low costs, pro-investment policies and lack of trade friction with the United States as advantages. It’s also on track to sign a free trade pact with the European Union and another with 10 fellow Pacific Rim countries. [read more]

Vietnam: FDI explosion and trade wars

14.12.2018 By Dane Chamorro and Linh Nguyen (Forbes) - Vietnam has become Asia’s hottest investment destination. Last year the country attracted $17billion in FDI commitments, arguably the largest for an emerging market relative to its GDP of $250billion. In the first quarter of 2018, the country became the fourth largest IPO market in the region, felling larger incumbents such as South Korea, Singapore and Australia. The property market in Ho Chi Minh is booming and GDP is growing at or about 7% per annum. Pending ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and a free-trade agreement with the EU (EVFTA) are expected in the coming months, further integrating Vietnam in the global economy. Starting in 2020 Hanoi will host the newest Formula 1 Grand Prix. In short, there are many reasons to take a positive long-term view on the country. [read more]

Tons of garbage washing up on beaches in Vietnam

13.12.2018 (Asia Times) - Da Nang’s sewers are unable to keep up with urbanization, says expert.

Heavy monsoon rainfall in Da Nang, Vietnam has left the city’s beaches covered in garbage after rainwater overloaded Da Nang’s domestic sewage system, VN Express reported.

Large volumes of garbage accompanied the rainwater into the sea, and was subsequently washed ashore on Da Nang’s beaches. [read more]

BMW and Bosch support Vietnam's vision for homegrown cars

13.12.2018 Tomoya Onishi and Togo Shiraishi (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI/PARIS -- Vingroup recruits European names to navigate a crowded market.

As Vingroup prepares to become the first Vietnamese automaker next year, the country's biggest private conglomerate has enlisted help from European partners like BMW and Robert Bosch to penetrate a fiercely competitive industry.

The roughly $3.5 billion facility not only stands out for its size, but also its demographics. About 200 Germans can be seen performing inspections on robots upon entering the factory, with hardly any Vietnamese present.

The plant contains about 1,200 robots, mainly provided by Swiss engineering group ABB. It is slated to go online in February with a production target of 500,000 cars per year in 2025. [read more]

Projektstart: Wasser im Mekongdelta nachhaltig nutzen

12.12.2018 (GFA) - Das Mekongdelta in Vietnam ist eine der vom Klimawandel am meisten betroffenen Regionen: Der Anstieg des Meereswassers, die Versalzung, ungereinigte Abwässer und die Übernutzung des Grundwassers gefährden die Lebensbedingungen von 17,5 Millionen Menschen. Strategien, das Wasser nachhaltig zu nutzen und mit den Folgen des Klimawandels besser zu leben, sind das Ziel des Projekts Viwat-Mekong-Planning unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Harro Stolpe, Inhaber des Lehrstuhls Umwelttechnik und Ökologie im Bauwesen der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. [Weiterlesen]

How billions of discarded Tetra Paks cover Vietnam's beaches and towns

09.12.2018 Corinne Redfern (The Guardian) - More than 8bn Tetra Paks are sold every year in Vietnam – and only a few percent are recycled. It’s having a devastating effect on the environment.

... Milk consumption in Vietnam has almost doubled in the past 10 years, as the dairy industry shifts its focus from “saturated” western markets in favour of Asian expansion and is now valued at $4.1bn (£3.1bn). But one of the biggest beneficiaries of this growth seems to be the dairy industry’s principal packaging supplier, Tetra Pak. Last year, 8.1bn of Tetra Pak’s individual cartons were sold across Vietnam. [read more]

Here’s why global carbon emissions will hit record highs in 2018

06.12.2018 By The Conversation (Asian Correspondent) - CARBON dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and industry are projected to rise more than 2 percent (range 1.8 percent to 3.7 percent) in 2018, taking global fossil CO₂ emissions to a new record high of 37.1 billion tonnes.

The strong growth is the second consecutive year of increasing emissions since the 2014-16 period when emissions stabilised, further slowing progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement that require a peak in greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. [read more]

Tracing the safeguards against illegal logging in Vietnam

04.12.2018 by Chris Humphrey (Mongabay) - NGHE AN PROVINCE, Vietnam — An agreement on legally-sourced timber imports from Vietnam to the EU that was finally signed in October is now being held up against the reality on the ground in the Southeast Asian country.

The EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan with Vietnam comes at a time when the timber industry there remains blighted by corruption, theft, and illegal logging. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 forest violations are reported every year, according to global certification non-profit organization, Nepcon. [read more]

Food Scandals Push Vietnamese to Seek Solutions

04.12.2018 Ha Nguyen (VOA) - HO CHI MINH CITY — Bich Ngoc loves Instagram food shots like any other self-respecting millennial, but not just for their photogenic allure: She gets on social media to check if certain cuisine is safe. Ngoc, 18, is among the growing number of Vietnamese who have become increasingly alarmed at the perils lurking in their rice bowls. She follows social media influencers, as well as reads comments on the review site Foody, when deciding whether to trust a particular restaurant, brand, or dish.

Food scandals are common in Vietnam, and businesses and consumers are looking for solutions as the scandals mount. Street vendors have been known to reuse cooking oil so many times it becomes toxic. Video clips have been posted showing a merchant dyeing vegetable greens to make them more colorful. [read more]

Germany, EU roll out funding to accelerate lower Mekong projects

01.12.2018 (The Nation) - Germany and the EU continue to grant new funding, worth €8.92 million ($10.15 million), to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to enhance the Mekong cross-border water cooperation among the lower Mekong countries – Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, said an MRC press release The Post received on Thursday.

The MRC is an intergovernmental organisation for regional dialogue and cooperation in the lower Mekong river basin, established in 1995 based on the Mekong Agreement between Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. [read more]

Hochrangige Leipziger Delegation auf dem Weg nach Vietnam

01.12.2018 (Leipziger Internet Zeitung) - Vom 1. bis 9. Dezember reist eine hochrangige Leipziger Delegation mit Vertretern aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik unter Leitung des Ersten Bürgermeisters Torsten Bonew nach Vietnam. Neben der Eröffnung des Leipziger Büros im Deutschen Haus Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt bilden die Themen Gesundheitswirtschaft, Trinkwasseraufbereitung, Abwassertechnik, Energie und Umweltschutz, Landwirtschaft, Aus- und Weiterbildung sowie Handel und Messe die Schwerpunkte der Reise. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam's growing concern with Chinese loans

29.11.2018 By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury (Economic Times) - Vietnam, a neighbour of China and simultaneously close strategic partner of India, has expressed concerns over interest rates charged by China for its loans.

Interest rates from Chinese official development assistance (ODA) loans are nearly double those of other countries, coupled with less attractive loan terms.

Chinese ODA loans carry interest rates of 3% per year, higher than that of Japan (0.4 - 1.2%), South Korea (0 - 2%), or India (1.75%). [read more]

Erfolgreicher Abschluss der Vietnamreise von Wirtschaftsminister Dulig in Saigon

23.11.2018 (Leipziger Internet Zeitung) - Am letzten Tag seiner Vietnam-Reise traf sich Wirtschaftsminister Martin Dulig heute in Ho-Chi-Minh-City (Saigon) zum Erfahrungsaustausch mit deutschen Unternehmern, die bereits in Vietnam ansässig sind. Ziel des Treffens war ein gegenseitiger Informations- und Erfahrungsaustausch über die aktuellen strategischen und operativen Herausforderungen auf dem vietnamesischen Markt, um sächsische Firmen bei der Markterschließung und beim Ausbau von Geschäftsbeziehungen in Vietnam besser unterstützen zu können. [Weiterlesen]

Erneuerbare Energien in Südostasien im Kommen

15.11.2018 (Philippinen Magazin) - Manila, Philippinen – Ein neuer Bericht bringt es auf den Punkt: Innerhalb bon weniger als einem Jahrzehnt wird es in Indonesien, auf den Philippinen und in Vietnam weit günstiger sein, neue Photoboltaikkapazitäten auszubauen als bestehende Kohlekraftwerke zur Stromerzeugung am Laufen zu halten.

Der Ende Oktober von Carbon Tracker, einem unabhängigen Think Tank in London, veröffentlichte Bericht, prognostiziert außerdem, dass der Betrieb vietnamesischer Kohlekraftwerke bis 2029 weit teurer sein wird als der Bau von neuen Windkraftanlagen an Land. [Weiterlesen]

Will Vietnam really adhere to its clean timber deal with Europe?

14.11.2018 By Michael Tatarski (Asian Correspondent) - THE EUROPEAN UNION has signed an agreement to support Vietnam’s forest governance improvement goals, aimed at ensuring that the timber it imports from the Southeast Asian country is legally sourced.

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) was signed Oct 19 in Brussels by Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, and Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam’s minister of agriculture. [read more]

Vietnam ratifies the CPTPP trade pact

14.11.2018 By Michelle Russell (just-style) - Vietnam has become the seventh country to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – or TPP-11 – which is set to come into force later this year.

According to numerous reports, 96.7% of Vietnam's National Assembly voted yes in the ratification of the landmark deal on 12 November.

Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore have already formally ratified the CPTPP trade deal, which is due to take effect at year-end. [read more]

« Quand la Chine s’engage contre le braconnage des animaux africains, les effets sont immédiats »

13.11.2018 Sébastien Le Belzic (Le Monde) - En l’espace de deux semaines, Pékin a autorisé puis de nouveau interdit le commerce de corne de rhinocéros, signe de son ambivalence dans la protection des espèces menacées.

Lundi 29 octobre, Pékin annonçait la reprise de l’utilisation « à des fins médicales » de l’os de tigre et de la corne de rhinocéros.

Rien que cette année, six tonnes d’écailles de pangolin et deux tonnes d’ivoire du Nigeria ont été saisies au Vietnam, à destination de clients chinois. [en savoir plus]

Offene Märkte stehen in Asien weiter hoch im Kurs

09.11.2018  Von Heinz Stüwe (GTAI) - Jakarta - Asien-Pazifik-Konferenz diskutierte über Protektionismus, das Freihandelsabkommen CPTPP und die Neue Seidenstraße.

Die Sorge, eine Handelspolitik à la Trump könnte das Wachstum abwürgen, prägte die 16. Asien-Pazifik-Konferenz in Jakarta. Am Ende stand ein überraschender Vorschlag.

Gut zwei Jahre nach der Wahl Donald Trumps zum Präsidenten der USA tritt das von seinem Vorgänger forcierte Abkommen für Trans-Pazifischen-Partnerschaft am 30. Dezember 2018 in Kraft - ohne die Vereinigten Staaten. Erste Zollsenkungen werden zum Jahreswechsel wirksam. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam, U.S. complete cleanup of toxic chemical from airport

08.11.2018 (Asahi Shimbun) - HANOI--Vietnam and the United States have finished the cleanup of dioxin contamination at Danang airport caused by the transport and storage of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

The 30 hectares of land cleansed of the toxic chemical were handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony Wednesday where Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh praised the U.S. government's involvement in the cleanup.

U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink called the joint cleanup a significant milestone in the expanding partnership between the two countries. [read more]

Für freien Handel zwischen Deutschland und Asien

02.11.2018 Manuela Kasper-Claridge (DW) - In Asien stehen die Zeichen weiter auf Wachstum - nicht zuletzt deshalb sind deutsche Top-Manager zur Asien-Pazifik-Konferenz der deutschen Wirtschaft nach Indonesien gereist.

Fast 1000 Teilnehmer sind zu der Konferenz gekommen, unter ihnen auch Siemens-Chef Joe Kaeser und Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel sowie Minister aus Vietnam, Australien, Thailand oder den Philippinen. Nationalem Protektionismus wird in den Diskussionen eine Absage erteilt. [Weiterlesen]

Southeast Asia's Richest Woman Signs $6.5 Billion Deal For 50 Airbus Jets

02.11.2018 Linh Nguyen (Forbes) - Vietjet, Vietnam’s biggest private airline, finalized a $6.5 billion agreement on Friday to buy 50 Airbus A321neo jets. The deal was signed in Hanoi by Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vietjet founder and CEO, and Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

Both prime ministers of France and Vietnam witnessed the signing. The purchase brings the budget carrier’s total orders for A320 Family aircraft to 171, 46 of which have so far been delivered. [read more]

Chinese dams ramp up Lao external debt

02.11.2018 Marwaan Macan-Markar (Nikkei Asian Review) - BANGKOK -- Analysts predict increasing difficulty with mounting loans from China

In its rush to become the "battery" of Southeast Asia, Laos is accepting more Chinese loans to build dams, ensuring the already debt-strapped country falls ever deeper into China's pocket.

The landlocked country's latest dam project is the groundwork for the $2.1 billion Pak Lay hydropower scheme on the Mekong. It is being built by  state-owned Power China Resources, a leader in dam construction, and financed with a $1.7 billion loan from China's Export-Import Bank. [read more]

Édouard Philippe annonce dix milliards d'euros de contrats au Vietnam

02.11.2018 (France24) - Dans le cadre d'une visite de trois jours au Vietnam, Édouard Philippe a présidé à la signature de plusieurs contrats avoisinant les 10 milliards d'euros entre des entreprises françaises et vietnamiennes, dont la vente de 50 Airbus.

Le Premier ministre français Édouard Philippe a présidé vendredi 2 novembre, à Hanoï, à la signature d'une série d'importants contrats entre des entreprises françaises et vietnamiennes.

Le montant total des accords signés, dont certains ne sont pas définitifs, avoisine les 10 milliards d'euros, dont 5,7 milliards pour l'avionneur européen Airbus, selon Matignon. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam and France sign deals worth over $10 billion

02.11.2018 (Daily Mail) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The prime ministers of France and Vietnam on Friday witnessed the signing of two business deals worth over $10 billion and dozens of other cooperation agreements covering energy, education, health, technology and the environment.

The agreements overseen by Edouard Philippe and Nguyen Xuan Phuc came as the two countries seek ways to further boost trade and investment.

They include the purchase by Vietjet Air, Vietnam's leading private airline, of 50 Airbus A321neo planes worth $6.5 billion and CFM Leap engines worth $5.3 billion. [read more]

Could Vietnam become a casualty of the US-China trade war?

31.10.2018 By Emma Richards (Asian Correspondent) - AS the US-China trade war hots up, and economists warn of shrinking GDP growth and disrupted supply chains, there are some markets that are reaping the benefits of the face-off.

Vietnam, in particular, is expecting a major wave of industrial relocations from an increasingly expensive China. [read more]

Pacific Trade Pact to Start at End of 2018 After Six Members Ratify

30.10.2018 Reuters (VOA) - WELLINGTON — A landmark 11-member trade deal aimed at slashing barriers in some of Asia Pacific's fastest growing economies will come into force at the end of December, the New Zealand government said on Wednesday.

The deal would move forward after Australia informed New Zealand that it had become the sixth nation to formally ratify the deal, alongside Canada, Japan, Mexico and Singapore.

The five member countries still to ratify the deal are Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam. [read more]

China legalisiert Nashorn- und Tigerprodukte

29.10.2018 (DerStandard) - Peking – China will den Handel mit Körperteilen bedrohter Tierarten wie Nashörner und Tiger zu bestimmten Zwecken erlauben. Ausnahmen beim bisherigen Verkaufsverbot solle es etwa zu Heilzwecken, für die Forschung und aus kulturellen Gründen geben

Tierschützer schlugen Alarm: Sie fürchten eine akute Bedrohung der seltenen Tiere.

China hatte 1993 den Handel mit Nashorn-Hörnern und Tigerknochen verboten, konnte aber laut Umweltschützern einen florierenden Schwarzmarkt mit über Vietnam eingeführten Produkten nicht verhindern. [Weiterlesen]

Der lachende Dritte

28.10.2018 Von Christoph Hein, Singapur (FAZ) - Wenn zwei sich streiten, freut sich der Dritte. Die Streithähne der Weltwirtschaft sind derzeit Amerika und China. Der lachende Dritte könnte Südostasien sein. Denn die Region wird davon profitieren, dass Manager aufgrund des Handelskonfliktes Lieferketten insbesondere der Elektronik umsteuern und neue Fabriken bauen.

Da ist es kein Wunder, dass die Seminare zu Asean und zum Gastgeberland Indonesien auf der Asien-Pazifik-Konferenz der Deutschen Wirtschaft (APK) Ende nächster Woche in Jakarta ausgebucht sind. [Weiterlesen]

Annual cost of Hanoi traffic reaches $1.2 billion

28.10.2018 (inquirer.net) - HANOI — Traffic congestion has cost Hanoi between US$1 and 1.2 billion per year and has made air pollution five times worse, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy under the Ministry of Transport said.

Speaking at a seminar on reducing traffic congestion and air pollution in Hanoi last week, director of the institute’s Urban and Rural Traffic Center Pham Hoai Chung said in addition to the economic loss, the city’s air pollution index has risen five times higher than allowed levels.

Hanoi has about 5.5 million motorbikes and nearly 500,000 cars. From 2010 to 2017, the number of cars and motorbikes increased by 10 per cent and 8 per cent per year respectively while new roads only increased infrastructure by 0.39 per cent per year. [read more]

Wasserkraft – Welches asiatische Land hat die meiste Leistung?

28.10.2018 (Philippinen Magazin) - Manila, Philippinen – Nach dem jüngsten Bericht über den Status der Wasserkraft haben Ostasien und der pazifische Raum die höchste jährliche Zunahme der Wasserkraftkapazität, wobei China den größten Anteil der installierten Kapazität beisteuert.

Vietnam belegt mit einer installierten Kapazität von 16,679 MW den dritten Platz in der Region. Mit dem 260-MW-Trung-Son-Projekt, das 2017 in Betrieb gehen wird, wurde die Kapazität der größeren Mekong-Region erhöht. [Weiterlesen]

China’s ivory ban pushes trade to neighbouring countries

24.10.2018 By Mike Gaworecki (Asian Correspondent) - WHEN China banned all commercial trade in elephant ivory and shuttered its domestic ivory markets at the end of 2017, conservationists applauded the measure. But they also warned that if China’s neighbours didn’t take similar action, the ivory trade would simply shift to those countries.

New research finds that those concerns were absolutely justified, though China’s ivory ban has had some decidedly positive impacts all the same.

Chinese consumers overwhelmingly view the ban favorably, according to the survey, which found that 9 out of 10 respondents support it. [read more]

Despite Trump, Xi’s China is not a leading power

23.10.2018 By Xuan Loc Doan (Asia Times) - Citing a source close to the Chinese government, the South China Morning Post reported on October 11 that China is testing the waters to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). According to the Hong Kong-based newspaper, Beijing is considering such a move “amid mounting pressure from the trade war” with the United States.

If the report is true, which is very likely, it is another sign that Beijing has lost the confidence it has projected over the past two years. [read more]

Philippe au Vietnam du 2 au 4 novembre

22.10.2018 (Le Figaro) - Edouard Philippe se rendra du 2 au 4 novembre au Vietnam pour marquer "le double anniversaire des 45 ans de relations diplomatiques et des cinq ans du partenariat stratégique" entre les deux pays, a annoncé aujourd'hui Matignon. Le Premier ministre fera étape à Hanoï pour des rencontres politiques mais aussi économiques, puisque des signatures de contrats commerciaux sont attendues. Il y inaugurera également les nouveaux bâtiments du lycée français. [en savoir plus]

Melting glacier in China draws tourists, climate worries

21.10.2018 (The Asahi Shimbun) - YULONGXUESHAN, China--The loud crack rang out from the fog above the Baishui No. 1 Glacier as a stone shard careened down the ice, flying past Chen Yanjun as he operated a GPS device.

Millions of people each year are drawn to Baishui's frosty beauty on the southeastern edge of the Third Pole--a region in Central Asia with the world's third largest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland that's roughly the size of Texas and New Mexico combined.

Third Pole glaciers are vital to billions of people from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Asia's 10 largest rivers--including the Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, and Ganges--are fed by seasonal melting. [read more]

CMC Corporation aus Vietnam unterzeichnet in Beisein des vietnamesischen Premierministers strategische Vereinbarung mit dänischem Partner

21.10.2018 (ots/PRNewswire) - Kopenhagen, Dänemark - Die vietnamesische CMC Corporation hat am 20. Oktober 2018 im Rahmen des Vietnam-Denmark Business Forum am Sitz des Verbandes der dänischen Industrie (Confederation of Danish Industry, DI) ein Abkommen zur strategischen Zusammenarbeit mit Approxima, einem Partner aus Dänemark, unterzeichnet. Die feierliche Vertragsunterzeichnung fand in Beisein des Premierministers der Sozialistischen Republik Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc statt, anwesend waren ebenfalls die Presseagenturen beider Länder. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnams Bergbau muss in die Modernisierung investieren

19.10.2018 Von Frauke Schmitz-Bauerdick (GTAI) - Hanoi - Marktzugang für ausländische Investoren häufig mühsam.

Vietnam ist reich an Rohstoffen. Während der Kohlebereich schwächelt, gewinnt der Abbau von Eisenerzen an Bedeutung. Der Bergbau nimmt nach wie vor eine wichtige Rolle im Wirtschaftsgefüge ein: Dem vietnamesischen Statistikamt zufolge belief sich sein Beitrag zum Bruttoinlandsprodukt in den ersten neun Monaten 2018 auf 7,3 Prozent. Allerdings verliert der Bergbau gegenüber Handel und herstellender Industrie zunehmend an Bedeutung.

Vietnams wichtigstes Abbauprodukt ist die Kohle. [Weiterlesen]

EU and Vietnam sign an agreement for better enforcement of forest law, governance and trade

19.10.2018 (Council of the EU) - On 19 October 2018, a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) was signed in Brussels in the margins of the EU-ASEM summit.

The aim of the agreement is to stop illegal logging and, through the FLEGT licensing scheme, to guarantee that timber imported into the EU from Vietnam is legally harvested. This is the second VPA that the EU has concluded with an Asian country after Indonesia [read more]

«Vietnam profitiert vom US-chinesischen Handelskrieg»

19.10.2018 Markus Winkler (finews) - Schon seit einigen Jahren ist der Trend zur Verlagerung von Produktionskapazitäten von China nach Vietnam zu beobachten, weil dort viele Arbeitskräfte besser ausgebildet und erst noch viel günstiger sind. Der eskalierende Handelskrieg zwischen China und den USA veranlasst inzwischen noch mehr internationale Unternehmen – darunter selbst chinesische Konzerne – einen Teil ihrer Produktion ebenfalls nach Vietnam zu verlagern. [Weiterlesen]

Das ist Europas Asien-Strategie gegen Trump

18.10.2018 Till Hoppe, Frederic Spohr, Eva Fischer (Handelsblatt) - ... Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Europa und den asiatischen Ländern war vielfach nicht einfach – obgleich die EU zuletzt mit Japan, Singapur und Vietnam wichtige Freihandelsabkommen abschließen konnte. Vor allem China macht den Verantwortlichen in Berlin, Brüssel und Paris Sorgen: Chinesische Unternehmen kaufen eifrig technologisches Know-how auf, und Peking baut seinen Einfluss mithilfe der neuen Seidenstraße im Südosten Europas immer mehr aus.

Die EU will dem chinesischen Expansionsdrang nicht länger tatenlos zusehen. Die Regeln für ausländische Investoren sollen verschärft werden, um die Einkaufstour der Chinesen bei sensiblen Technologien zu bremsen. [Weiterlesen]

EU pushes for approval of trade agreement with Vietnam

17.10.2018 (Reuters) - BRUSSELS - The European Commission submitted for approval on Wednesday a free trade agreement with Vietnam, its first comprehensive open markets deals with a developing Asian country.

The EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements will need approval from the EU’s 28 members and from the European Parliament, some of whose members have expressed concern over Vietnam’s human rights record.

The parties have agreed a related accord to promote democracy and human rights, including commitments, dialogue and possible sanctions. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said no one denied there were human rights problems in Vietnam. [read more]

Europäische Kommission legt dem Rat Handels- und Investitionsabkommen mit Vietnam vor

17.10.2018 (aktiencheck) - Die Europäische Kommission hat heute (Mittwoch) die Handels- und Investitionsabkommen zwischen der EU und Vietnam angenommen und so den Weg für ihre Unterzeichnung und ihren möglichen Abschluss geebnet.

Mit dem Handelsabkommen werden praktisch alle Zölle auf Waren, die zwischen beiden Seiten gehandelt werden, abgeschafft. Das Abkommen sieht auch eine starke und rechtsverbindliche Verpflichtung zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung und damit die Achtung der Menschen- und Arbeitnehmerrechte, den Umweltschutz und den Kampf gegen den Klimawandel (mit ausdrücklicher Bezugnahme auf das Übereinkommen von Paris) vor. [Weiterlesen]

Commission presents EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements for signature and conclusion

17.10.2018 (European Commission) - The European Commission today adopted the EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements, paving the way for their signature and conclusion. Through this adoption, the Commission is demonstrating its commitment to putting these agreements in place as soon as possible.

The trade agreement will eliminate virtually all tariffs on goods traded between the two sides. The agreement also includes a strong, legally binding commitment to sustainable development, including the respect of human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and the fight against climate change, with an explicit reference to the Paris Agreement. [read more]

Durchatmen: Vietnams Hauptstadt Hanoi will ihre Luftqualität verbessern

16.10.2018 (DW) - Um die Luftqualität in der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt Hanoi merklich zu verbessern, müssen die Einwohner ihre Gewohnheiten ändern. Aber wie bringt man die Menschen dazu, ihre geliebten Mopeds stehenzulassen?

Wie schlecht die Luft in Hanoi ist, sieht und riecht man an jeder Ecke. 5 Millionen Mopeds sind in der Hauptstadt unterwegs und verpesten die Luft. Viele der Einwohner bedecken Mund und Nase mit Masken, um sich gegen Abgase und Staub zu schützen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam’s plastic end-users set to gain as US-China trade spat intensifies

15.10.2018 (S&P Global Platts) - The global plastics supply chain is changing as the US-China trade war intensifies, and Vietnam’s plastic resin end-users are poised to benefit.

While Vietnam is already a manufacturing hub for plastic finished goods due to its low labor costs and business-friendly environment, the recent trade war between global giants is providing an additional boost as key resin costs decline. [read more]

Mekong Delta fights high-tide flooding

14.10.2018 (The Straits Times) - HANOI • The local authorities in Vietnam's Mekong Delta are taking steps to mitigate the impact of flooding caused by high tides during the annual flood season.

The delta's provinces and Can Tho City have been severely affected by high tides over the past few days.

The floods this year have affecting some 37ha of rice fields and 91ha of vegetable and cash crops, according to the city's committee for natural disaster prevention. [read more]

Vinfast startet Autoproduktion - Deutsch-vietnamesische Freundschaft

11.10.2018 (Stern) - Einen großen Aufschlag stellt man sich eigentlich anders. Doch Vinfast, junger Autobauer aus Vietnam, ließ es bei seinem ersten Auftritt in Europa trotz Publikumsmagnet David Beckham zurückhaltend angehen. Dabei haben die Vietnamesen nicht nur in Asien große Pläne.

Vinfast dürfte selbst ausgemachten Autofans nicht allzu viel sagen, denn die Fahrzeughistorie in dem asiatischen Staat beschränkte sich bisher auf CKD- / SKD-Produktionen und eine entsprechend überschaubare Fertigungstiefe.

Vinfast ist der erste echte Autobauer in Vietnam; einem 100 Millionen-Einwohner-Staat, in dem auf 1.000 Vietnamesen derzeit kaum mehr als 20 Auto kommen. Im nahegelegenen Thailand ist die Fahrzeugdichte bereits rund zehnmal so groß; in den USA sind es rund 35 Mal so viele Fahrzeuge auf der Straße. [Weiterlesen]

Thailand arrests two after finding tiger body parts in bag

11.10.2018 (Daily Mail) - Thai authorities have arrested two men accused of trying to smuggle tiger bones and meat to Vietnam on a bus, police said Thursday.

The two suspects are Vietnamese nationals who allegedly paid around $900 for the products in Tak province on the Myanmar border, and planned to sell them back home for consumption. [read more]

Deux Vietnamiens arrêtés en Thaïlande avec de la viande de tigre

11.10.2018 (Metro) - Deux Vietnamiens ont été arrêtés dans le nord de la Thaïlande en possession d’os et de viande séchée de tigre qu’ils souhaitaient revendre dans leur pays, a-t-on appris jeudi auprès des autorités locales.

Interpellés dans la province de Phitsanulok, à quelque 400 kilomètres au nord de Bangkok, les deux hommes, âgés de 29 et 40 ans, sont poursuivis pour possession illégale de carcasses d’animaux protégés, a précisé à l’AFP le lieutenant-colonel Nattawat Wingthongtavipon. [en savoir plus]

Hanoi's dependence on imported textiles will cause trade woes

10.10.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - Why Vietnam must do more than cut and sew.

Vietnam is on track to become the world's second-biggest exporter of textiles and clothing this year, but it is too soon to celebrate.

Most Vietnamese clothing exports are processed from imported high-value textiles. As the country's trade surplus with the US balloons, Vietnam will need to move up the value chain by developing homegrown textile manufacturing if it is to diversify into new markets and escape Washington's ire. [read more]

Mekong-Japan partnership strategy agreed at Tokyo summit

09.10.2018 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Five Southeast Asian leaders joined Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the State Guest House in Tokyo on Oct. 9 to adopt an agreement to strengthen ties between their nations and Japan.

The agreement, titled “Tokyo Strategy 2018,” was adopted by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Japan, at the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting.

The document positions relations between Japan and the Mekong River region as a “strategic partnership,” and it describes “strengthening connectivity,” “raising human resources” and “environmental protection” as its pillars, with the aim of developing high-quality infrastructure. [read more]

Asiens Mekong Gipfel findet dieses Jahr in Japan statt

09.10.2018 von hanako (Sumikai) - Am Dienstag findet in Tokyo der sogenannte Mekong Gipfel statt. Ziel ist dabei, eine freie und offene Indo-Pazifik-Region mit nachhaltiger Entwicklung zu erzielen.

Zu dem Gipfel werden zahlreiche Landesoberhäupter aus Kambodscha, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar und Vietnam nach Japan reisen. Japan will dabei eine qualitative Entwicklung der Infrastruktur vorantreiben. Dies soll helfen, freien Handel in der Region um den Mekong Fluss zu ermöglichen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: près de 10.500 hectares de forêts ont été détruits illégalement depuis 2015

06.10.2018 (mapecology) - Hanoï – Près de 10.500 hectares de forêts de la province de Dak Lak (Centre) ont été détruits illégalement depuis 2015, a indiqué dans un rapport la délégation provinciale du ministère de l’Agriculture et du développement rural.

Les zones déboisées ont été principalement allouées aux districts et aux communautés locales, ainsi qu’à des sociétés. Le district d’Ea Sup a été particulièrement touché, avec 9.358 hectares perdus. [en savoir plus]

The Promise and Pitfalls of Hydropower Development Along the Mekong River

05.10.2018 (World Politics Review) - The collapse of a dam this summer in southeastern Laos, which triggered massive flooding that killed dozens and displaced thousands of people, has brought a renewed focus on hydroelectric dams in mainland Southeast Asia.

Proponents of hydroelectric dams argue they will bring benefits in the form of national revenue and power generation for local communities, but they also threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of people in the riparian countries that make up the Lower Mekong region: Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. [read more]

Vietnam's children and the fear of climate change

04.10.2018 By David Shukman (BBC) - One little girl draws a nightmarish picture of people calling for rescue as they drown in rising water.

Another sketches a huge snake with sharp teeth to show the power and danger of flooding.

These disturbing images are the work of children at a primary school in Can Tho province, a region of Vietnam that is regularly swamped.

The land itself is sinking and, at the same time, the level of the sea is rising, as global warming causes the water to expand and the ice caps to melt. [read more]

Vietnam is the most globalized populous country in modern history

03.10.2018 By Dan Kopf (Quartz) - In 2017, Vietnam’s trade as a percentage of GDP reached over 200%. This is the highest level for any country with over 50 million people in the World Bank’s data, which goes back to 1960. Of the world’s twenty most populous countries, it blows away number two Thailand at 122%.

The country is now a major exporter of electronics and apparel, with the United States and China as the main destinations for its goods. In order to make those goods, Vietnam is a major importer of machine parts and natural resources from South Korea and China.

If the United States or China chooses to close their economy, Vietnam would be in dire straits. Countries of similar wealth, like Nigeria and Philippines, are insulated from the economic whims of global powers because they are more focused on their domestic markets. [read more]

High chances of China avoiding US tariffs by using Vietnam

27.09.2018 (Fibre2Fashion) - Vietnam may suffer collateral damage if Chinese businesses use made-in-Vietnam labels to avoid US tariffs, experts from the Vietnamese textile and footwear industry caution. According to economist Vu Dinh Anh, there is high probability of Chinese firms seeking to export their products through Vietnam to the United States amid the ongoing US-China trade war.

Chinese manufacturers may either export their products to Vietnam and ask a Vietnamese company to label those as ‘made in Vietnam’ or set up factories in Vietnam and manufacture products with raw materials imported from China, Vu Dinh told a Vietnamese daily. [read more]

Belastender Boom

24.09.2018 (Spiegel Online) - Die Halong-Bucht mit ihren spektakulären Inseln und Kalkfelsen ist eines der Topreiseziele in Vietnam. In den vergangenen Jahren hat sich das Gebiet aber massiv verändert, weil zu viele Besucher kommen.

Ein europäischer "Sentinel"-Satellit hat das Gebiet der im Nordosten von Vietnam gelegenen Halong-Bucht im Juli 2018 fotografiert. Beeindruckend ist nun der Vergleich mit einem Bild, das ein amerikanischer "Landsat"-Satellit vier Jahre zuvor vom gleichen Ort gemacht hat. Es zeigt eine deutlich geringere Bebauung.

Der Tourismusboom sorgt für Umweltprobleme in dem Gebiet: neben der Flächenversiegelung gibt es teilweise Belastungen durch Müll im Meer sowie die Abgase der zahlreichen Ausflugsboote. [Weiterlesen]

As sand mining grows, Asia’s deltas are sinking, water experts warn

22.09.2018 (The Asahi Shimbun) - STOCKHOLM-- Sand mining from rivers is depriving many low-lying Asian deltas of the sediment they need to maintain themselves, raising the risk of worsening land loss to sea level rise, researchers say.

“We have created a recipe for climate disaster,” said Marc Goichot of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The Mekong delta, for instance, home to 17 million people, is a major source of rice for the region and underpins a quarter of Vietnam’s GDP, Goichot said.

At the heart of the problem, Goichot said, is a lack of enough sediment moving down the rivers and much of that is the result of mining of sand as a construction material and for other uses, he said. [read more]

Vietnam’s new competition law

21.09.2018 Author: Karry Lai (IFLR) - Vietnam’s revised competition law, which comes into effect on July 1 2019, aims to bring the country’s existing 2004 law, in line with international   leniency programme and prohibits all economic concentrations which have or potentially have a significant competition restraining impact in the market.

A new change which might pose a challenge to foreign companies with business activities in Vietnam is the expanding scope of the law. According to article 2 of the new law, all agencies, organisations and individuals, whether inside or outside of Vietnam, which relate to a competition-restraining practice or agreement, economic concentration, or unfair competition, will be subject to the new law. [read more]

Vietnamese Fighting Back on Plastic Pollution

19.09.2018 (VOA) - HO CHI MINH CITY — For many Vietnamese people, it is a ritual as circadian as the sunrise: On the way to work, they pull over their motorbikes to grab an iced coffee from a street vendor, complete with a plastic cup, plastic lid, plastic straw, and plastic case to hang from the bikes as they drive.

The coffee, with four separate pieces of plastic for a single drink, exemplifies how this packaging has became such a common and wasteful scourge on Vietnam’s environment. But some citizens have become alarmed by the trend and begun fighting back against the pollution. [read more]

Can Vietnam weather Trump’s trade storm?

19.09.2018 Author: Suiwah Leung, ANU (East Asia Forum) - Vietnam has become one of the most open economies in the world. Any development resulting in a shrinkage in world trade and growth such as the US–China trade war will inevitably affect its economy. 

Instead of producing parts and components of electronic goods in Southeast Asian countries and doing the final assembly in China, multi-national companies may move their entire operations to neighbouring countries like Vietnam.

To capitalise on this, Vietnam would have to work hard to upgrade its infrastructure, human capital and administrative capabilities — challenges that could prove insurmountable in the short-run. Even if Vietnam can step up in the medium-term, it may hit barriers as there is no guarantee that the current US trade restrictions will not spread to other countries, including Vietnam. [read more]

SEZs in Vietnam: What’s in a Name?

14.09.2018 By Nguyen Minh Quang (The Diplomat) - Why are Special Economic Zones so attractive to Vietnam’s government, despite proven shortcomings?

The Vietnamese government sees special economic zones (SEZs) as the most important source for future economic growth momentum and breakthrough institutional reforms. Unfortunately, as I analyzed in the first part of this series, the dawn of the Vietnamese SEZs does not appear very bright.

Some elites and advocates in Hanoi argue that “developing SEZs are nests for phoenixes to come to lay eggs. If Vietnam builds small nests that fit sparrows, phoenixes won’t come.” But what the SEZs will look like and what investors are defined as “phoenixes” remain unsettled questions in the draft law. Supporters also agree that SEZs must be run with “special political institutions and outstanding policies,” but the draft and the current laws on economic zones look a great deal alike, aside from the 99-year lease term, more generous tax incentives, and casino services. [read more]

Weltwirtschaftsforum in Hanoi - Kritische Stimmen nicht erwünscht

13.09.2018 Marina Mai (taz) - Beim großen diplomatischen Ereignis in Hanoi sollen Menschenrechtler nicht stören. Ihnen wird die Einreise verweigert.

Vietnam hat zwei Vertretern internationaler Menschenrechtsorganisationen die Einreise verweigert und sie bis zu ihrer Abschiebung auf dem Hanoier Flughafen inhaftiert. Beide waren auf dem Weg zum Weltwirtschaftsforum der südostasiatischen Staatengemeinschaft Asean, das am Dienstag in der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt begann. Dort beraten Regierungschefs und Außenminister der Region mit Firmenchefs.

Die Einreiseverweigerungen schlagen Wellen bis nach Europa. Im EU-Parlament wartet derzeit ein mit Vietnam ausgehandeltes Freihandelsabkommen auf die Ratifizierung. „Die Festnahme beweist erneut, dass die Situation vor Ort schlecht ist“, sagt die Vorsitzende der Grünen/EFA im Europäischen Parlament, Ska Keller. [Weiterlesen]

Gazprom: Auch hier hat man die Finger im Spiel!

11.09.2018 Von Marco Schnepf (Finanztrends) - Gazprom informiert über Geschäftsbemühungen in Südostasien: Wie der russische Staatskonzern kürzlich mitteilte, habe sich Konzernchef Alexey Miller mit dem Generalsekretär der Kommunistischen Partei Vietnams (KPV), Nguyen Phu Trong, getroffen, um die beiderseitige Zusammenarbeit zu besprechen. Die KPV gilt als einzige legale politische Gruppierung im Einparteiensystem des sozialistischen Landes.

Im Rahmen des Arbeitstreffens habe vor allem das Projekt „Bien Dong“ im Mittelpunkt gestanden. Jene gemeinsame Erschließung der Lagerstätten Hai Thach und Moc Tinh sei eines der größten Gasförderungsprojekte in Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

WEF in Vietnam: The tiger leaps

11.09.2018 Manuela Kasper-Claridge (DW) - The World Economic Forum on ASEAN countries has begun in Vietnam — a fitting host given its status as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia.

According to estimates by the Asian Development Bank, the Vietnamese economy is expected to grow by 6.7 percent this year after 6.8 percent last year, with unemployment remaining low at just over 2 percent.

Vietnam's communist government is betting on the free market, without state intervention in private business. But Vietnam's state-owned enterprises are still favored. They get easier access to loans and only face limited competition. But their machinery and management structures are often outdated. [read more]

Hanoi gives green light to Yuan in seven provinces. Economists: Damaging for the country

06.09.2018 by Joseph Chuong (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Starting from October 12th, in seven northern border provinces, it will be possible to use the Yuan, the currency of the People's Republic of China according to a circular issued by the State Bank of Vietnam on August 29.

Sharing the fears of many citizens, economist Nguyễn Trí Hiếu states: "Since the beginning of 2018, the Viet Nam Đồng (VND) has appreciated by 1.8% against the yuan. Importing goods from China is therefore cheaper for Hanoi. Using Chinese currency in trade is disadvantageous to the Vietnamese economy. [read more]

Renoncement au dollar: le Vietnam prêt à soutenir les initiatives russes

06.09.2018 (Sputnik) - La Russie et le Vietnam entendent effectuer plus de paiements en devises nationales, a déclaré Vladimir Poutine, qui s’est entretenu ce jeudi avec le secrétaire général du Parti communiste vietnamien.

Moscou et Hanoï se sont mis d'accord pour élargir l'utilisation des devises nationales dans leurs règlements bilatéraux, a annoncé Vladimir Poutine ce jeudi à l'issue de ses négociations avec Nguyen Phu Trong, secrétaire général du Parti communiste vietnamien. [en savoir plus]

Handelsgemeinschaft ohne die USA

04.09.2018 (TRT) - Die Spannungen zwischen den USA und ihren großen Handelspartnern führt zur Bildung des größten Handels-Blocks der Welt. Länder in der Asien-Pazifik Region nähern sich der Bildung einer Handelsgemeinschaft ohne die USA.

Während der die US-Administration unter Präsident Donald Trump die Einführung einer neuen Zollsteuer in Höhe von 200 Milliarden Dollar planen, wollen 16 Länder in der Asien-Pazifik Region den größten Handelsblock der Welt gründen.

Die Gruppe besteht aus den 10 Mitgliedsstaaten der Vereinigung südostasiatischer Staaten ASEAN, Brunei, Indonesien, Philippinen, Kambodscha, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapur, Thailand und Vietnam sowie China, Japan, Südkorea, Indien, Australien und Neuseeland. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam erlaubt Zahlungsabwicklung in chinesischen Yuan

31.08.2018 (Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten) - Die Staatsbank von Vietnam (SBV) hat offiziell die Verwendung der chinesischen Landeswährung Renminbi (Yuan) für Handelszahlungen im Grenzgebiet zu China genehmigt, um das Wechselkursrisiko zu verringern. Dies berichtet die staatliche chinesische Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua.

Ab dem 12. Oktober können Geschäftsleute und einige Organisationen Yuan für die Bezahlung von Waren und Dienstleistungen in den sieben Provinzen Vietnams verwenden, die eine Grenze zu China haben. Dies geht aus einem am 28. August auf der SBV-Website veröffentlichten Rundschreiben hervor. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam to let traders use yuan along China border

29.08.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam plans to officially allow the use of the Chinese yuan for trading goods in its northern border towns, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The State Bank of Vietnam announced on its website that merchants, residents and related banks and institutions engaged in cross-border trade will be authorized to use the yuan, or the Vietnamese dong, to settle transactions starting on Oct. 12. [read more]

Global domain names come to Vietnam

22.08.2018 (The Nation) - THE AVAILABILITY of a series of new foreign domain names in the Vietnamese market is offering more choices to local companies and opening up new opportunities for domain name registrars.

The new domain name endings have to compete not only with traditional ones, but also with each other to find a foothold in the market, according to experts. They said many new domain names have been launched in foreign markets since 2012, but have only been promoted in the Vietnamese market in recent years. [read more]

A Late Start: Renewable Energy Development In Vietnam

21.08.2018 By Lars Blume (CleanTechnica) - Vietnam is located on the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. The country’s total length is 1,650 kilometers from the northernmost point to the southernmost point. Vietnam has a diverse topography consisting of hills, mountains, deltas, coastline, and continental shelf.

In 2015, Vietnam’s installed capacity reached 39.35 GW. Coal (3.5%), gas (22.5%) and medium and large-scale hydropower (37.5%) were the three main pillars of electricity production in 2015, whereas renewable energy sources account for just 5.4% including small hydro, biomass, wind and solar. [read more]

Vietnam is most vulnerable in Southeast Asia to trade war - Indonesia and Philippines also face big risks

13.08.2018 FT Confidential Research (Nikkei Asian Review) - Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia risk incurring serious damage from the spiralling trade war between the United States and China, with Hanoi the most exposed because of its high level of exports, according to analysis by FT Confidential Research.

The biggest five ASEAN economies are generally better insulated against market turmoil than they were during the "taper tantrum" of 2013. But they are unprepared for an extended period of reduced global demand, which could happen as a result of tit-for-tat protectionist measures imposed by the U.S. and China on each other. [read more]

Réchauffement climatique : l’Afrique et l’Asie premières victimes économiques

11.08.2018 (La Gazette de Paris) - L’hémisphère nord vient de subir l’une des pires périodes de canicule de son histoire moderne. Mais il devrait néanmoins demeurer la zone la plus tempérée, et donc la moins exposée aux conséquences du changement climatique, notamment sur le plan économique.

Selon une étude réalisée par le cabinet britannique Verisk Maplecroft, c’est en effet en Asie du Sud Est et en Afrique que les conséquences économiques du réchauffement climatique devraient peser le plus lourd dans les 30 prochaines années. En cause : la baisse de productivité due à des températures de plus en plus élevées et le poids des activités intensives en main d’œuvre dans ces économies émergentes, et en particulier dans leurs exportations. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam: Dawn of the SEZs

24.07.2018 By Nguyen Minh Quang (The Diplomat) - A look back at the past failures, and challenging present, of Vietnam’s huge economic gamble.

Having shared its destiny with bullying neighbor China through every twist and turn of its history, Vietnam understands that the stronger China gets, the more serious of a potential threat Vietnam faces. Because of this, when China began to intensify both its military presence on its occupied features in the Paracel and Spratly Islands and its water-grabbing in the Mekong – strategic moves which appeared to seriously threaten to Vietnam’s security – Hanoi proactively mobilized to reach out to extra-regional powers to broaden its options. [read more]

The Environmental Hazards Of Intensive Shrimp Farming On The Mekong Delta

20.07.2018 Zoe Osborne (Pacific Standard) - Vietnam either has to change the way it approaches shrimp farming or face the loss of hundreds of hectares of land.

... With no trees to hold nutrients in the soil or keep the salty water table down, Hung's farm was completely exposed to the elements. As well as drought, a series of devastating floods in 2002, 2008, and 2016 ripped more sediment from the banks of his ponds, and his land eventually became so badly degraded that he could no longer use it.

Hung's situation is all too common in Vietnam. Yet shrimp farming remains popular. The government is pushing to expand it, having announced plans last year to boost exports from $3 billion in 2016 to $10 billion by 2025.

But there are significant environmental problems associated with current farming methods. Deforestation, erosion, rapid land subsidence, and rising salinity levels are threatening the stability of the entire Mekong region. [read more]

Siemens wins contract to supply equipment for 258MW solar plant in Vietnam

15.07.2018 By Kondapuram Sampangi Archana Rani (Compelo) - Siemens has been awarded a contract to supply equipment to Vietnam’s Trung Nam Group for the 258MWp solar plant in Vietnam.

Located in the southern province of Ninh Tuan, the solar plant is operated by Trung Nam and is planned to be commissioned by mid-2019. It marks the first solar project for Siemens in southeast Asia.

The firm plans to deliver the four power transformers as Sensformer with digital interface for the project, which can deliver up to 425 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. [read more]

Dekontaminierung - Wurden Ausländer gezielt für Arbeiten in Fukushima eingesetzt?

13.07.2018 (Spiegel Online) - Über ein Ausbildungsprogramm kamen Arbeiter aus Vietnam nach Japan. Dort sollen sie dazu genötigt worden sein, im havarierten Atomkraftwerk Fukushima riskante Aufgaben zu übernehmen.

Es ist ein Skandal, der Japan erschüttert: Ausländische Arbeitskräfte sollen bei der Dekontaminierung der atomaren Katastrophenregion Fukushima eingesetzt worden sein.

Nach neuen Berichten sind vier japanische Firmen darin verwickelt. Sie setzten angeblich ausländische Arbeiter, die im Rahmen eines Ausbildungsprogramms in das Land gekommen waren, für die riskanten Arbeiten ein, heißt es nach Angaben japanischer Medien in einem Regierungsbericht. [Weiterlesen]

Grundsteinlegung für größte vietnamesische Solaranlage: erfolgreiche Kooperation deutscher und vietnamesischer Unternehmen

10.07.2018 (German Embassy Hanoi) - Am 07.07.2018 unterzeichneten die deutsche Firma Siemens und Trung Nam aus Vietnam einen Vertrag über den Bau der größten Solaranlage Vietnams in der Provinz Ninh Thuan. Die Anlage mit einer Kapazität von 204 Megawatt soll bis Juni 2019 fertiggestellt sein und dann jährlich 450 Millionen kWh (Kilowattstunden) Strom produzieren. Während der ersten fünf Jahre nach Fertigstellung wird die Anlage von Siemens betrieben und gewartet. Damit ist dieses deutsch-vietnamesische Energieprojekt die bisher größte, ausschließlich von privaten Firmen finanzierte Investition im Bereich Erneuerbare Energien in ganz Vietnam.

Zusammen mit einer benachbarten Windkraftanlage, deren Bau bereits 2017 begonnen wurde und an der die deutsche Firma Enercon beteiligt ist, werden in der Provinz Ninh Thuan zukünftig mehr als 300 Megawatt Elektrizität produziert werden – damit wird Ninh Thuan zur Herzkammer der Erneuerbaren Energien in Vietnam! Die südliche Küstenprovinz Ninh Thuan bietet hervorragende Bedingungen bei Wind und Sonne und strebt an, die Erzeugung Erneuerbarer Energien bis 2030 auf über 5.000 Megawatt pro Jahr auszubauen. [Weiterlesen]

Amerikas Müllproblem stinkt zum Himmel

10.07.2018 Von Winand von Petersdorff , Washington (FAZ) - Vor ziemlich genau einem Jahr hat die Regierung in Peking der Welthandelsorganisation WTO mitgeteilt, dass China den Import von recycelbarem Plastik- und Papierabfall ab 2018 stark einschränken wird. Im März und April dieses Jahres verschärfte Peking die Importregeln noch einmal: Das Land will in Zukunft keinen Plastikabfall mehr einführen und auch auf Schrott weitgehend verzichten. Altpapier wird nur noch akzeptiert, wenn es in besonders reinen, nicht mit Kunststoffen und anderen Materialien verunreinigten Ballen ankommt.

Die amerikanische Recycling-Industrie traf die Nachricht ins Mark. [Weiterlesen]

Chinese officials tout ‘made in Vietnam’ zones on border amid trade row with US

09.07.2018 He Huifeng & Keegan Elmer (SCMP) - A spiralling trade conflict between Beijing and Washington is an unwelcome development for China, but officials in Guangxi – where seven “cross-border trade zones” with Vietnam are planned – see an opportunity.

In the Guangxi region, home to museums dedicated to late Vietnamese communist leader Ho, officials are now touting with renewed vigour the idea of the cross-border zones, where exporters from China could assemble products and label them as “made in Vietnam”. [read more]

Gegen Plastikmüll - Jetzt kommt der Strohhalm aus Bambus nach Frankfurt

09.07.2018 (Frankfurter Neue Presse) - Frankfurt. Die EU-Kommission will Strohhalme und weitere Plastikprodukte verbieten. Auch die Mitgliedsbetriebe der Initiative Gastronomie Frankfurt (IGF) wollen schrittweise Plastikartikel in ihren Restaurants und Lokalen abschaffen. Als Alternative zu den herkömmlichen Strohhalmen testen sie derzeit unter anderem Trinkhalme aus Bambus.

Bisher testen 17 IGF-Mitgliedsbetriebe zwei Monate lang die Bambustrinkhalme aus Vietnam, weitere werden sich in den nächsten Wochen anschließen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese women earn a living out of waste

07.07.2018 Vishal Gulati (The Gulf Today) - With over 20 million tourists visiting per year, this port city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — produces approximately 27,000 tonnes of urban waste per year. Most of the solid waste here, the country’s first “eco-city” — known for its pagodas, temples, ancient wells and tombs — was once finding its way into the ocean, streams and landfills, threatening the environment and the health of communities.

Now, household and tourism industry waste is sorted into three categories — recyclable, biodegradable and persistent — and disposed of under a pilot evolved by UN agencies with the involvement of locals, mainly women. [read more]

Neuer Handel mit EU-Visa aufgeflogen

06.07.2018 (Die Presse) - Brüssel. Ein Jahr nach dem Ende des ungarischen Programms, im Rahmen dessen Tausende Chinesen gegen den Kauf ungarischer Staatsanleihen EU-Visa erhielten, wurde ein neues, ähnliches Unterfangen bekannt. Die ungarische Investigativplattform „Direkt 36“ berichtet, dass mehrere der Firmen, die von 2013 bis 2017 für die Umsetzung des vor allem in China beliebten Visa-Programms zuständig waren, nun in Vietnam werben, ungarische Aufenthaltstitel vermitteln zu können.

Konkret bieten diese Firmen, die teilweise in Steueroasen ansässig sind und ihre Eigentümerstruktur verschleiern, die Verschaffung eines EU-Visums im Gegenzug für den Kauf ungarischer Immobilien bereits ab einem Wert von umgerechnet 50.000 Euro an. [Weiterlesen]

Critically Endangered Giant Fish on Menu at Luxury Restaurants

02.07.2018 By Rachel Nuwer (National Geographic) - Vietnamese restaurateurs are illegally sourcing rare Mekong River megafish from Cambodian fishermen.

From the outside Nha Hang Lang Nghe, in Danang, looks like any other respectable restaurant in Vietnam.

Yet the veneer of wholesome normality masks a dark truth: Critically endangered giant river fish are Lang Nghe’s signature dish. Although it’s illegal to sell them in Vietnam, signs at the entryway entice diners with photos of imperiled Mekong giant catfish (“tasty meat, rich in omega-3”) and giant barbs (“good for men”), [read more]

Vietnam smartphone makers break from Samsung empire

02.07.2018 Atsushi Tomiyama (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- Vietnamese companies, including some that are new to the sector, plan to launch or expand production of smartphones, in a challenge to foreign makers, especially Samsung Electronics, which dominates the market in the country.

Vingroup, the biggest property developer in Vietnam, has announced a plan to produce smartphones starting in 2018, while home electronics maker Asanzo is set to produce 600,000 smartphones in 2018, up 50 times from the previous year. [read more]

NGOs take Formosa Plastics to task over marine disaster in Vietnam

20.06.2018 (Focus Taiwan) - Taipei (CNA) - Scores of Vietnamese expatriates in Taiwan and local activists staged a rally in Taipei on Wednesday, demanding that the Formosa Plastics Group take responsibility for the 2016 marine disaster caused by toxic industrial waste from its steel plant in Ha Tinh, Vietnam.

"Formosa Plastics, shoulder corporate social responsibility," the protesters shouted outside Sunworld Dynasty Hotel in Taipei, where the company was holding its shareholders meeting.

They also demanded that Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp, which had suspended operations for a year in the wake of the disaster in April 2016, monitor pollutants in the marine environment and make the information public. [read more]

Une tortue verte meurt après avoir ingéré trop de plastique

11.06.2018 (Paris Match) - Les vétérinaires ont tenté pendant deux journées de sauver la tortue après son échouage sur une plage mais en vain.

Sacs plastiques, élastiques, filets de pêche: quelques jours après le décès d'une baleine, une grosse tortue verte, espèce protégée, est morte en Thaïlande d'avoir ingurgité trop de plastique.

La Thaïlande fait partie des pays qui rejettent le plus de plastiques dans les océans. Chine, Indonésie, Philippines, Vietnam et Thaïlande déversent chaque année plus de quatre millions de tonnes de plastique en mer, soit la moitié du total des rejets dans les mers du monde, selon l'ONG de référence Ocean Conservancy. [en savoir plus]

G7 : des Vietnamiens manifestent à La Malbaie pour l'environnement

09.06.2018 Un texte de Roxanne Simard (Radio Canada) - Les manifestants étaient peu nombreux dans la zone de libre expression à La Malbaie samedi, en marge du G7. C'est finalement un regroupement de Vietnamiens, qui dénonçait les actions du gouvernement communiste vietnamien en matière d'environnement, qui a retenu l'attention.

Une centaine de Vietnamiens ont manifesté à La Malbaie, en cette dernière journée du sommet. Alors que le premier ministre vietnamien prenait part à des rencontres concernant l'environnement, les manifestants craignaient que ce ne soit que de la poudre aux yeux. [en savoir plus]

Sommet du G7: la sécurité dissipée d’ici le 20 juin à La Malbaie

09.06.2018 Arnaud Koenig-Soutière (Le Journal de Quebec) - ... LA MALBAIE | Le Sommet du G7 est maintenant chose du passé à La Malbaie, mais ce n’est que d’ici le 20 juin que les mesures de sécurité visible seront complètement dissipées.

La «zone de libre expression» s’est justement animée pour la dernière journée du Sommet du G7, samedi, alors que plus d’une centaine de manifestants s’y sont réunis sur l’heure du midi, dont des membres de la communauté vietnamienne et un groupe nationaliste québécois. Les protestataires vietnamiens ont été les premiers à débarquer sur place un peu avant midi, eux qui arrivaient notamment de Montréal, Sherbrooke et Toronto.

Une catastrophe écologique a bouleversé le Vietnam, en 2016, après qu’un déversement de produits toxiques attribué à une aciérie taïwanaise ait entraîné la mort de plus de 100 tonnes de poissons.  [en savoir plus]

50 nations 'curbing plastic pollution'

05.06.2018 By Roger Harrabin (BBC) - Fifty nations are now taking action to reduce plastic pollution, according to the biggest report so far from the UN.

It reveals that the Galapagos will ban single-use plastics, Sri Lanka will ban styrofoam and China is insisting on biodegradable bags.

But the authors warn that far more needs to be done to reduce the vast flow of plastic into rivers and oceans. [read more]

Plastic wasteland: Asia's ocean pollution crisis

05.06.2018 (AFP) - About eight million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the world's oceans every year, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic being tipped into the sea every minute of every day.

More than half comes from five Asian countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a 2015 Ocean Conservancy report.

They are among the fastest growing economies in Asia, where much of the world's plastic is produced, consumed and discarded -- most of it improperly in countries where waste management is at best patchy. [read more]

Les mers d'Asie, poubelles plastiques de la planète

05.06.2018 Par Jenny VAUGHAN avec les bureaux d'Asie de l'AFP (France Soir) - Au Vietnam des sacs plastiques recouvrent la mangrove, en Thaïlande une baleine est morte après en avoir ingurgité 80, les îles indonésiennes n'ont parfois plus rien de paradisiaques: en Asie, les effets de la pollution plastique sont dramatiques.

Chine, Indonésie, Philippines, Thaïlande et Vietnam: à eux seuls, ces cinq pays asiatiques rejettent chaque année plus de quatre millions de tonnes de plastique dans les mers du monde, soit la moitié du total des rejets, selon l'ONG de référence Ocean Conservancy. [en savoir plus]

Plastikmüll

05.06.2018 Joachim Eggers (DW) - Zum Weltumwelttag rufen die UN zum Kampf gegen den Plastikmüll auf. [Video ansehen]

Los mares, vertederos de plástico del planeta

05.06.2018 Sonia Arrieta (El Diario Vasco) - El mar se ha convertido en un vertedero difuso, carente de fronteras, que permite a la basura extenderse por todo el planeta. Las cifras son alarmantes. El plástico se expande de forma cada vez más rápida y las oenegés ponen la mirada en consecuencias de la proliferación de plásticos en la naturaleza. Aunque por ahora el foco está lejos de nuestras costas, las corrientes, tarde o temprano, acabarán acercando la basura a nuestros arenales.

En Asia, los efectos de la contaminación por plástico son dramáticos. Esta semana en Tailandia, una ballena ha muerto tras haber engullido 80 bolsas de plástico, en Vietnam, las bolsas cubren los manglares y las islas indonesias pierden a veces su aspecto paradisíaco. [seguir leyendo]

Southeast Asia's plastic "addiction" blights world's oceans

05.06.2018 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - ... As World Environment Day on Tuesday takes place and the United Nations calls for the "biggest-ever worldwide cleanup" of plastic pollution, experts are focused on Southeast Asia, home to four of the world's top marine plastic polluters.

From major cities like Bangkok and Jakarta to beach resorts in the Philippines and Vietnam, plastic bags and bottles are the ubiquitous face of pollution in the region.

In Thailand, where two million tonnes of plastic waste is produced a year, plastic is an "addiction," said Geoff Baker, an anti-plastic campaigner with Grin Green International. [read more]

En el Día del Medio Ambiente, el mundo le declara la guerra al plástico

05.06.2018 (Infobae) - Un informe de la ONU encendió las alarmas sobre la producción de plásticos y la ínfima proporción de los mismos que son reciclados cada año

Unos 5 billones bolsas de plástico son consumidas cada año en el mundo y sólo una ínfima proporción es reciclada, afirmó el martes la ONU en un informe en el que se describe un fenómeno "desalentador".

En este informe divulgado con motivo del Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente, la ONU afirmó que si las formas de consumo y de gestionar los desechos no cambian, tendremos unos 12.000 millones de toneladas de residuos plásticos en el año 2050. [seguir leyendo]

Dramáticos tsunamis de plástico

05.06.2018 (LaTeja) - Mares de Asia emplastican al planeta. Si no hacemos nada de aquí al 2025 habrá 250 millones de toneladas de residuos en las aguas mundiales.

En Vietnam, las bolsas de plástico cubren los manglares, en Tailandia una ballena murió tras haber tragado 80 de estas bolsas, y las islas indonesias pierden a veces su aspecto paradisíaco. En Asia, los efectos de la contaminación por plástico son dramáticos.

China, Indonesia, Filipinas, Tailandia y Vietnam echan cada año más de cuatro millones de toneladas de plástico en los mares del planeta, esto es, la mitad de la cantidad total, según la oenegé Ocean Conservancy. [seguir leyendo]

Drastic plastic: Vietnam beach awash with tide of blue waste

04.06.2018 Kham Nguyen, Thinh Nguyen (Reuters) - THANH HOA, Vietnam - There’s almost more plastic than sand on this long, tree-lined beach: Plastic helmets, plastic furniture and the plastic leg of a shop mannequin all jut out of an ocean of blue plastic bags.

Just south of the capital Hanoi, the once-peaceful and clean beach of Da Loc in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa province, has been slowly suffocating under the weight of plastic waste for decades.

“Plastic bags have been waste here since the first day we started using them,” said Pham Thi Lai, 60, a local seafood processor. [read more]

Vietnam: Mehr Sonne und Wind, aber auch mehr Kohle?

04.06.2018 Wolfgang Pomrehn (Telepolis) - Vietnam hat sich den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energieträger vorgenommen. Premierminister Nguyen Xuan Phuc kündigte in einem Gespräch mit der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters an, die jährliche Strommenge dieses Sektors von derzeit 58 Milliarden Kilowattstunden (TWh) auf 101 TWh im Jahre 2020 und 186 TWh im Jahre 2030 auszuweiten. Diese werden voraussichtlich überwiegend mit neuen Windkraft- und Solaranlagen erzeugt, denn das Wasserkraftpotenzial ist nach Angaben der Nachrichtenagentur weitgehend ausgeschöpft.

Allein im Mekong-Delta im Süden des Landes sind derzeit 14 neue Kohlekraftwerke geplant, wie vietnamesische Umweltschützer im Internet schreiben. [Weiterlesen]

Nguy Thi Khanh: Die Welt ein bisschen besser machen

30.05.2018 (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung) - Nguy Thi Khanh leitet das Green Innovation and Development Center Vietnam (GreenID) und kooperiert mit der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Südostasien im Aufbau eines Netzwerkes für erneuerbare Energien. 2018 gehörte sie zu den Personen, die mit dem Goldman Environmental Prize ausgezeichnet wurden.

Der Goldman Environmental Prize ist einer der renommiertesten Auszeichnungen für Umweltschutzaktivistinnen und -aktivisten weltweit. In diesem Jahr geht er zum ersten Mal nach Vietnam – und setzt damit international ein wichtiges Zeichen, dass der Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien im Land Fortschritte macht. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam’s first Goldman Prize winner pushes for energy conservation

29.05.2018 by Michael Tatarski (Mongabay) - Khanh Nguy Thi is an environmental pioneer in Vietnam. She has led her NGO, the Hanoi-based Green Innovation and Development Centre, or GreenID, to the forefront of policy discussions surrounding clean energy development in the country.

Her efforts to reduce Vietnam’s reliance on coal-fired power plants has resulted in both real policy changes and international renown in the form of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize. Khanh spoke with Mongabay by phone from her home in Hanoi and shared more about her work. [read more]

Vietnam hit by iodine deficiency again

27.05.2018 (The Star) - HANOI: Iodine deficiency, which can causes mental retardation, has come back to Vietnam, especially in mountain communities, the country’s National Hospital of Endocrinology said.

In the 2005 to 2006 period, 93% of families used sufficient amounts of iodine, mostly in the form of iodised salt, and few people suffered goitre.

A key reason for the iodine deficiency comeback is that Vietnam’s iodised salt mandate was repealed in 2006 and programme administration budgets were slashed by 90%, said the Iodine Global Net­work, a non-profit organisation for the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency worldwide. [read more]

The Hanoi People's Committee identifies ten possible disasters

25.05.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – The risks include radioactive dust from three nuclear power plants in southern China, damages to a dyke on the Red River, as well as fires, explosions and collapses affecting about 1,600 obsolete apartment buildings. Authorities also fear the fall of an elevated trains on city streets.

One of the risks identified is radioactive dust from three nuclear power stations located in southern China, which could pollute the city's air and water sources.

The plants – a 1,000-megawatt plant in Guangxi, a 600-megawatt plant in Guangdong and a 650-megawatt plant on Hainan Island – are located near the northern border of Vietnam and became operational in 2016. [read more]

EDAG entwickelt erstes E-Auto für Vietnam

25.05.2018 (FuldaInfo) - Wiesbaden. Der Deutsche Entwicklungsdienstleister EDAG hat von dem Unternehmen VinFast Manufacturing und Trading Company Limited den Auftrag zur Gesamtentwicklung des ersten Elektrofahrzeugs für den vietnamesischen Markt erhalten. Das Start-up-Unternehmen der vietnamesischen Vingroup plant, mit zwei konventionell angetriebenen Fahrzeugmodellen und einem rein elektrisch betriebenen City-Fahrzeug den Automobilmarkt in Vietnam und darüber hinaus zu erobern. Qualitativ hochwertige und bezahlbare Autos – so lautet die Erfolgsformel von VinFast. [Weiterlesen]

Hanói, el Comité del pueblo individua ‘10 posibles desastres’

25.05.2018 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Entre los riesgos están los polvos radioactivos provenientes de las 3 centrales nucleares situadas en el sur de China. Otro escenario desastroso es el daño en el dique que está en el Río Rojo. Incendios, explosiones y colapsos podrían interesar a unos 1.600 habitantes de la ciudad.

Entre los riesgos individuados en el proyecto están los polvos radiactivos radioactivos provenientes de las 3 centrales nucleares situadas en el sur de China, que podrían contaminar el aire y las reservas de agua de la ciudad. Los establecimientos citados incluyen un establecimiento de 1.000 megavatios en Guangxi, uno en Guangdong y uno de 650 en las islas Hainan. Todos iniciaron a funcionar en el año 2916. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam to temporarily stop accepting scrap plastic imports

24.05.2018 (Waste Dive) - A letter from Vietnam's Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Terminal (TCIT) obtained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) notes there has been "overcapacity" at the Tan Cang-Cat Lai Terminal, causing the terminal to temporarily stop accepting scrap materials.

The letter says that, "in order to maintain service quality and facilitate import-export activities of all enterprises," Tan Cang-Cai Mep has laid out new restrictions on imports. [read more]

US slaps steep import duties on Chinese steel shipped from Vietnam

23.05.2018 (Business Times) - THE US Commerce Department on Monday slapped heavy import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after a final finding they evaded US anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders.

US customs authorities will collect anti-dumping duties of 199.76 per cent and countervailing duties of 256.44 per cent on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate, the Commerce Department said in a statement. [read more]

USA erheben Zölle auf chinesischen Stahl aus Vietnam

22.05.2018 (Handelsblatt) - Die US-Regierung sieht in Stahlimporten aus Vietnam eine Umgehung der Zölle auf chinesische Produkte – und reagiert mit neuen Barrieren.

Washington Die USA haben Zölle auf Stahl aus Vietnam angehoben, der nach Washingtoner Darstellung aus China stammt. Durch den Umweg über Vietnam sei versucht worden, Antidumpingzölle auf chinesischen Stahl zu umgehen, hieß es am Montag vom US-Handelsministerium. Importeure korrosionsbeständigen Stahls und kaltgewalzten Flachstahls müssten nun Sicherheiten für mögliche Zölle von 39 bis 256 Prozent hinterlegen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam Is A Test For What Happens When The U.S. Abandons Climate Diplomacy

22.05.2018 By Alexander C. Kaufman (Huffington Post) - The Asian country’s energy needs are growing and coal power is a tempting solution.

... Nearly a year after President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords, Vietnam has effectively become a canary in the coal mine for how closely other nations will stick to the global agreement’s goals as the U.S. abandons them.

Vietnam is under pressure, attempting to balance rapidly increasing energy demands with growing concerns over climate change ― and it’s finding a generous coal-friendly patron in China.

During the final years of the Obama administration, however, the U.S. urged Vietnam to pursue renewable energy and cleaner-burning natural gas instead. Vietnam enthusiastically signed onto the Paris Agreement in April 2016 and since then has received roughly $40.5 million in aid from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Green Climate Fund. [read more]

New Chinese dam on the Mekong to have devastating environmental consequences

22.05.2018 by Peter Hung (AsiaNews) - With an investment of almost US$ 5 billion, China is set to build the Sambor dam in Cambodia. According to experts, it will have a very negative impact on the natural environment and on the Cambodians and Vietnamese living in the Mekong Delta. The great river provides food security to about 60 million people living in the settlements along its course.

Vietnamese communities living along the banks of the Mekong River are very concerned about the destructive impact of a new Sino-Cambodian dam on the region's ecosystem.

Once completed, the Sambor Dam will be the largest hydroelectric power station on the Mekong River. The Mekong provides food security to about 60 million people living in settlements along its course, which runs from the Tibetan plateau through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea. [read more]

This Clean Energy Champion Is Out To Break Vietnam's Coal Habit

21.05.2018 Jill Baker (Forbes) - In 2017, the city of Hanoi enjoyed just 37 days of clean air the entire year, with contaminant levels four times those deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization.

Vietnam is addicted to coal. Its economy has grown over 6%, on average, since the turn of the century, among the fastest of its Southeast Asian peers, yet that growth is fueled by coal, the most polluting fuel source on the planet.

This April, however, the decarbonization movement was given a boost of international recognition, as the esteemed Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots advocacy was awarded to the first Vietnamese recipient, 42-year-old clean energy champion Nguy Thi Khanh, who hopes to end Vietnam's reliance on coal and persuade the country to take a greener approach.

Vietnam’s per capita carbon emissions quintupled from 1990 to 2013. Global warming is a major threat to Vietnam, where rising sea levels are predicted to swallow up nearly half of the Mekong Delta, the source of much of Vietnam’s food, in coming decades. [read more]

Formosa Plastic's 2nd furnace in Vietnam steel mill starts production

19.05.2018 (Focus Taiwan) - Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The second furnace of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group (FPG)'s steel mill in Vietnam has started production on a trial basis, a step which is expected to generate additional revenue for the group.

According to Vietnamese media, FPG held a ceremony on Friday for the trial production of the second furnace owned by its subsidiary, the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp., located in the Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh Province.

The Ha Tinh steel mill was slapped with a fine of more than US$500 million after it was accused by the Vietnamese government of releasing toxic substances into the nearby sea in April 2016. [read more]

Vietnams leise Kaffee-Revolution

18.05.2018 Katharina Wecker (DW) - Die indigenen K'Ho wollen den Ruf Vietnams als Kaffeeproduzent verbessern, indem sie hochwertigere Biobohnen anbauen. Der zweitgrößte Kaffeeproduzent der Welt kann mehr als löslichen Kaffee, sagen sie.

Rolan Co Lieng schlendert durch ein Gewächshaus und kontrolliert die gelben und karamellbraunen Kaffeebohnen, die seit Monaten auf Netzen trocknen. Sie nimmt ein paar in die Hand und riecht daran. Sie werden bald geschält, geröstet und dann in Vietnam, Japan und Deutschland verkauft. [Weiterlesen]

Future development - Vietnam’s manufacturing miracle: Lessons for developing countries

17.05.2018 Sebastian Eckardt, Deepak Mishra, and Viet Tuan Dinh (Brookings) - If you are reading this blog post on a smart phone, there is a good chance that you are looking at a device that was made in Vietnam. Worldwide, one in 10 smartphones is produced in Vietnam. Mobile phones are Vietnam’s number one export, generating export revenues of more than $45 billion in 2017. ...

Overall, Vietnam’s manufacturing sector remains relatively small. Most of the sector is driven by foreign direct investment (FDI), which accounts for close to 90 percent of manufacturing exports. Many of the newly created jobs in manufacturing are in basic assembly which requires manual labor but does not necessarily add a lot of value (per worker). [read more]

Study Says China-Backed Dam Would Destroy Mekong

17.05.2018 By Stephen Wright (U.S. News & World Report) - BANGKOK (AP) — A Chinese-backed plan for Cambodia to build the Mekong River's biggest dam would destroy fisheries that feed millions and worsen tensions with Vietnam, the downstream country with most to lose from dams on the waterway, according to a three-year study commissioned by the Cambodian government.

The report, posted this month on the website of the U.S.-based organization that conducted the study, said the Sambor dam would "generate large power benefits to Cambodia, but at the probable cost of the destruction of the Mekong fishery, and the certain enmity of Vietnam." [read more]

Pollution Clouds Vietnam's Rapid Economic Growth

15.05.2018 Ha Nguyen (VOA) - HO CHIN MINH CITY —

The air quality in Vietnam overall does not quite rival that in China or India when it comes to pollution. But it is bad and getting worse. And all that toxic air comes with a cost, whether in the money spent to upgrade to cleaner fuels, or in the health problems Vietnamese will suffer as a result.

Environmental economist Le Viet Phu says sooner or later there will be a price to pay. [read more]

'Adapting to uncertainty' needed in face of climate shocks - experts

15.05.2018 by Zoe Tabary (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - LONDON - What do an Ethiopian coffee grower, a Colombian fisherman and a Vietnamese rice farmer have in common?

All three saw their income and way of life threatened by the devastating El Niño weather pattern in 2015-16, climate experts said at a London event Tuesday.

The last El Niño, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that typically occurs every few years, was linked to crop damage, fires and flash floods in 2016. [read more]

China will keinen Plastikmüll mehr importieren — das hat Folgen für Deutschland

14.05.2018 (Business Insider) - Die deutsche Recyclingbranche verspricht sich von dem chinesischen Importstopp für Plastikabfälle neue Geschäftschancen. „Für Kunststoffabfälle ist die Tür nach China zwar zu, aber Recyclate für die kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie sind begehrt — auch in China“, sagte Thomas Probst vom Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung der Deutschen Presse-Agentur.

Plastikmüll geht zunehmend nach Vietnam oder Malaysia

Seit dem 1. Januar dürfen Plastikabfälle und andere Abfallsorten nicht mehr nach China eingeführt werden. Seither zeige sich, dass der Müll stärker nach Vietnam oder Malaysia exportiert werde, sagte Probst. [Weiterlesen]

Certains poissons du Vietnam pourraient être toxiques

11.05.2018 Marie-Ève Dumont (TVA Nouvelles) - Des poissons et des crevettes qu’on importe du Vietnam seraient «potentiellement toxiques», s’inquiète un cardiologue québécois d’origine vietnamienne qui demande au Canada de faire des vérifications sur place.

«On fait affaire avec un pays qui est éco-irresponsable. Je crains qu’il nous exporte des produits pas chers qui sont potentiellement toxiques et on n’a pas les ressources nécessaires pour vérifier», s’insurge Dinh Huy Duong, cardiologue à l’Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne, qui s’intéresse aux pratiques de son pays natal. [en savoir plus]

Investment floods into Mekong Delta

09.05.2018 Yukako Ono (Nikkei Asian Review) - BANGKOK -- The Mekong Delta once sheltered Viet Cong guerrillas as they battled U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Today the area is the country's "rice bowl," providing half of the national rice supply. It is also becoming an increasingly attractive investment destination for domestic and foreign companies.

In 2009, the Vietnamese government unveiled plans to create roughly 100 industrial parks and woo heavy industry factories to the Mekong Delta, but opposition from residents and environmental activists forced a rethink. A new 30-year development plan introduced in March focuses more on the region's agricultural advantages and aims to attract investment in high-tech agriculture and renewable energies, such as wind and solar power. [read more]

La « guerre du sable » : prémices d’un conflit informationnel majeur

07.05.2018 (Infoguerre) - Phénomène impossible à chiffrer la guerre du sable présente des tendances lourdes. Présenté comme une ressource illimitée, sa surexploitation est expliquée par la demande exponentielle du secteur de la construction en particulier en Chine. La dynamique démographique et l’accès facile à cette matière première réputée gratuite, génère un commerce parallèle et l’essor de mafias.

Dans un article des article des Echos paru le 24 février, Pascal Peduzzi, responsable  chercheur au Programme des Nations unies pour l’environnement indiquait « nous devons nous inquiéter de l’offre à venir de sable c’est certain. Le sable est plus rare que ce que l’on pensait à présent ».  [en savoir plus]

New port to transform Vietnam's north into industrial gateway

05.05.2018 Atsushi Tomiyama (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- Vietnam's coastal city of Haiphong will open a deep-water port this month, taking a step toward becoming a key maritime link in the north and enhancing the country's position in the global supply chain.

Haiphong is already known for its existing port. But the port is located on the River Cam, where the water runs seven meters deep at most, meaning the terminal cannot take large container ships. [read more]

Repsol exige a Vietnam indemnizaciones por un proyecto de mil millones

04.05.2018 (Expansión) - Repsol está en conversaciones con la compañía estatal petrolera de Vietnam, PetroVietnam, y las autoridades de ese país para ser compensada por la paralización del proyecto Red Emperor en aguas disputadas con Pekín en el mar de China Meridional.

Según figura en el informe de resultados del grupo, "el valor contable de los activos a 31 de marzo de 2018" en Vietnam "asciende a unos 1.000 millones de euros.

Según Repsol, la ley vietnamita establece claramente que los costes como resultado de la suspensión por las autoridades de actividades en ultramar deben ser completamente compensados. [seguir leyendo]

Der Mekong wird salzig und führt weniger Wasser

03.05.2018 Manfred Rist (NZZ) - Die zahlreichen Staudämme am Mekong sind zwar gute Stromlieferanten. Doch sie verändern den Fluss grundlegend. Nicht nur im südlichen Delta machen sich die Menschen Sorgen.

«Die Dürreperioden sind schlimmer geworden, doch gleichzeitig kommt es häufiger zu Überschwemmungen. Der Fischfang nimmt ab, und das Flussbett erodiert. Derweil sinkt das Mekong-Delta ab, und Salzwasser dringt vom Meer her in die Anbaugebiete ein.» Mit diesen wenigen Sätzen fasst der WWF-Direktor Marc Goichot die jüngsten Entwicklungen im Mekong-Einzugsgebiet zusammen. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam manufacturing improves in April

02.05.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO - Vietnam manufacturing growth picks up in April with sharp increase in new orders and output, particularly strengthening firms in export markets, according to an industry gauge.

The Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 52.7 in April, up from 51.6 in March. A reading above 50 signals an improvement, while one below 50 points to a contraction in manufacturing activity. [read more]

Präparierter Thunfisch in der Schweiz aufgetaucht

29.04.2018 (Blick) - Vietnamesische Fischer haben Thunfisch illegal gefärbt, um mehr Geld verlangen zu können. Schweizer Lebensmittelkontrolleure haben die präparierten Fische auch in der Schweiz entdeckt.

Dabei griffen die Fischer auf einen chemischen Trick zurück, um den Fisch frisch aussehen zu lassen. Selbst, wenn er das nicht mehr ist. Das Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen BLV stellte die Manipulation bei zwei untersuchten Thunfisch-Proben fest. Ursprungsland des Fisches war Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

Investors excited by Vietnam – the “mini-China”

27.04.2018 By: Alice Gråhns (MoneyWeek) - Vietnamese stocks have produced the best gains in Asia so far this year, says John Reed in the Financial Times, with the benchmark VN Index up 17%. A flurry of flotations has helped drum up excitement, but investors have also been enticed by Vietnam’s ‘mini-China’ story”. It’s a communist state embracing the market and the global trading system, while “positioning itself as a hub for foreign manufacturing”.

The long-term outlook is compelling. Vietnam, “unlike some of its neighbours heading into a demographic slump”, has a young population driving demand for everything from beer to budget travel. [read more]

Caffeine boost - Makers of battery-powered coffee mixture arrested in Vietnam

24.04.2018 Khanh Vu (Reuters) - HANOI - Vietnamese police have arrested five people suspected of using battery chemicals to dye waste coffee beans, the Ministry of Public Security’s online newspaper, Cong An Nhan Dan, said on Tuesday, apparently passing the mixture off as black pepper.

The five, led by Nguyen Thi Thanh Loan, 43, were arrested on suspicion of violating food safety regulations after they were caught mixing coffee waste with a black, tar-like liquid made from manganese dioxide found in the batteries, the report said. [read more]

Beamte beschlagnahmen 12 Tonnen gefälschten Kaffee mit gefährlichen Inhaltsstoffen

20.04.2018 (ThailandTIP) - Dak Nong, Vietnam. Die vietnamesischen Behörden haben bei einem familiengeführten Kaffeeproduzenten ein Razzia durchgeführt und sind dabei auf zahlreiche schädliche Inhaltsstoffe gestoßen, mit denen der Kaffee gepantscht und gestreckt wurde. Neben Schmutz, Steinstaun und schwarzer Farbe wurden auch schädliche Inhaltsstoffe aus Altbatterien gefunden. [Weiterlesen]

Southeast Asian Nations Make Efforts to Reduce Plastic Waste, But They Are Still Not Enough

20.04.2018 (RFA) - Southeast Asian nations are taking measures to reduce pollution from plastic waste and promote the recycling of plastic products in keeping with the focus of this year’s Earth Day on April 22, but efforts in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar are falling short.

After China decided this year to stop accepting low-quality scrap plastic from the West and Japan for recycling, countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand that have attracted Chinese investors in plastic recycling, stepped in ad agreed to accept the messy work of processing plastic waste. [read more]

Hundreds of Villagers Hold Officials Hostage Over Vietnam Power Plant Plans

20.04.2018 (RFA) - Hundreds of villagers in central Vietnam’s Binh Dinh province held five local officials hostage for a day before releasing them late on Friday to demand that authorities free more than a dozen people detained for holding an environmental protest, according to sources.

Residents of My Tho and My An communes, in Binh Dinh’s Phu My district, on Wednesday held a protest against what state media has reported are plans by Vietnam Trading Engineering Construction's (Vietracimex) to construct a wind power plant. [read more]

Vinh diocese holds vigil for the victims of the Formosa environmental disaster

16.04.2018 J.B. An Dang (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – The Vietnamese government has admitted that the 2016 disaster killed at least 115 tonnes of sea fish, 140 tonnes of farmed fish and 67 tonnes of clams. Fishermen from the coastal provinces are still left without a livelihood. A peaceful Eucharistic worship is held in My Khanh parish for families who are losing members forced to leave.

Responding to an appeal by the Justice and Peace Commission, the parishes in the diocese of Vinh, Nghệ An province, held prayer vigils last night for the victims of the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Corporation.

In addition to Nghệ An, four other provinces – Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế – are still reeling from a toxic spill in April 2016.  [read more]

Vinh, vigilia diocesana por las víctimas del desastre ecológico provocado por Formosa Group

16.04.2018 J.B. An Dang (AsiaNews) - Hanoi – El gobierno vietnamita ha reconocido que el desastre de 2016 mató cuando menos 115 toneladas de peces de mar, 140 toneladas de peces de piscifactorías y 67 toneladas de almejas. Siguen desocupados los pescadores de las provincias costeras. Como gesto de paz, en la parroquia de My Khanh se llevó a cabo una adoración eucarística por las familias divididas a causa de la migración económica. 

Anoche, en respuesta al llamamiento efectuado por la Comisión Justicia y Paz, las parroquias de la diócesis de Vinh, en la provincia de Nghệ An, organizaron una vigilia de oración por las víctimas del desastre ecológico provocado por la compañía taiwanesa Formosa Plastics Group. Además de Nghệ An, son cuatro las provincias del centro de Vietnam que todavía hoy siguen portando los daños visibles provocados por el imponente derrame de líquidos tóxicos del mes de abril de 2016: Ha Tin, Quang Binh, Quang Tri y Thua Thien-Hue. [seguir leyendo]

Environmental Damage, Corruption as Poorer Southeast Asian States Ship Sand to Singapore

13.04.2018 A commentary by Dan Southerland (RFA) - Sand has become a hot commodity needed to support construction work in Southeast Asia.

The demand for sand has sharply driven up prices for sand in recent years, drawing the attention of unscrupulous local officials, businessmen, and sand-dredging companies.

Unfortunately, the sand dredging has damaged the environment in several countries by disrupting sediment flows and fishing grounds. Vietnam is a prime example of what can go wrong. [read more]

France's Bouygues, EDF sign deals during Vietnam leader visit

27.03.2018 (Reuters) - PARIS - French construction group Bouygues (BOUY.PA) signed a 1.5 billion euro ($1.86 billion) contract to finance, build and operate a metro line in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi, the French presidency said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile state utility EDF (EDF.PA) agreed to enter a consortium in charge of a 1.5 billion euros gas-fired power plant project in Vietnam. [read more]

Aquatic Pollution: Strenuous Struggle of Locals

25.03.2018 Kate Chesterson translation (VNTB) Life threatened by seriously affected aquatic pollution has pressed locals into continual demonstrations, regardless of the fact that some were summoned to work with police or even imprisoned. This has been one of the social affairs currently in the mass media spotlight in central Vietnam during the past few years….

Most recent has been the two times within a month, locals in My An commune, Phu My district, Binh Dinh province took to the street, blocking off National Highway 1A in protest against an aquatic product- processing project currently underway of Thao Loan Ltd. Company. [read more]

Asia braces for US tariffs causing flood of Chinese steel

23.03.2018 Hiroshi Kotani and Akira Hayakawa (Nikkei Asian Review) - BANGKOK/HYDERABAD, India -- With U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum having taken effect on Friday, Asian nations are bracing for an influx of cheap steel.

In the latest sign of a chain reaction of protectionism, Asian producers such as India and Thailand are preparing to increase their own import duties, especially against low-cost Chinese steel.

While China remains only the 10th-largest exporter of steel to the U.S., Chinese steel products are sometimes exported to the U.S. through intermediaries such as Vietnam and South Korea. [read more]

Dramatic Photos Show How Sand Mining Threatens a Way of Life in Southeast Asia

15.03.2018 By Vince Beiser, Photographs and Additional Reporting by Sim Chi Yin (National Geographic) - Vietnam is a prime example of a little-known global threat: the mining of river sand to build the world’s booming cities.

One afternoon last year, Ha Thi Be, 67, was sitting with her son in her tiny coffee shop in the town of Hong Ngu, looking out on the lazy Tien River, the main branch of the Mekong in Vietnam. Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave way. The river bank was crumbling into the water. “We shouted out loud and ran,” she says. “It crashed with a huge sound, boom, boom, boom.”

The main causes of the collapse can be seen floating in many places on the Tien’s murky waters: dredging boats, using rackety pumps to raise from the river bed enormous quantities of sand. [read more]

Vietnam is next target for Amazon, a newcomer in Southeast Asia

15.03.2018 Atsushi Tomiyama (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- With its move into Vietnam, Amazon.com seeks to cater to a fast-rising middle class, but faces logistical hurdles as well as no shortage of rivals.

The U.S. e-commerce group -- whose founder and CEO Jeff Bezos recently became the world's richest person on Forbes billionaires' list -- will partner with the Vietnam E-commerce Association of online merchants in the Southeast Asian country. [read more]

Vietnamese trainee made to engage in decontamination work in Fukushima

15.03.2018 (Japan Today) - TOKYO - A Vietnamese man who came to Japan under a foreign trainee program was made to engage in radioactive decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture without his knowledge, a foreign workers support group heard Wednesday.

At an event organized by the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, the 24-year-old man, who declined to be named, said he would have "never come to Japan" if he had known he would be doing that work near where a nuclear disaster occurred in 2011. [read more]

Vietnam and U.N. to build storm-proof housing for coastal communities

12.03.2018 by Michael Taylor (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - KUALA LUMPUR - Thousands of families on Vietnam's typhoon-battered coast will receive free storm-proof houses, which can help pull them out of poverty, government and United Nations officials said.

Vietnam is one of 10 countries most affected by climate change, according to the latest annual Climate Risk Index published by the research organisation Germanwatch. [read more]

Auch ohne die USA: Elf Länder schließen Pazifik-Handelsabkommen CPTPP

08.03.2018 (Business Insider Deutschland) - Nach der Absage der USA an das geplante Pazifik-Handelsabkommen TPP machen die verbliebenen Länder nun Ernst. Regierungsvertreter aus Kanada, Japan, Australien, Neuseeland, Mexiko, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei und Singapur unterzeichneten am Donnerstag in Santiago de Chile das Nachfolgeabkommen CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership/Umfassende und Fortschrittliche Transpazifische Partnerschaft).

Die übrigen Staaten stehen aber immer noch für 13,5 Prozent der weltweiten Wirtschaftskraft — insgesamt rund zehn Billionen US-Dollar. Etwa 480 Millionen Menschen leben in dem neuen Binnenmarkt. [Weiterlesen]

TPP 11: How Asia took the lead in free trade

07.03.2018 Yasu Ota, Nikkei Asian Review columnist, Shuichi Maruyama, Nikkei staff writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - SINGAPORE/MEXICO CITY -- The trans-Pacific pact will help business, but hopes remain for a US return.

Duong Ngoc Minh is sometimes called Vietnam's "Catfish King" for his role in creating a global market for panga, a fish known for its low price, white flesh and mild flavor. A type of shark catfish, the panga thrives in crowded aquafarms scattered throughout Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, resulting in plentiful fish at minimal costs. And as the world's appetite for seafood has grown in recent years, so has Minh's 15-year-old company, Hung Vuong, the country's leading panga exporter. [read more]

Vietnamese trainee alleges he was misled into taking part in Fukushima decontamination work

07.03.2018 By Magdalena Osumi (The Japan Times) - The Justice Ministry is investigating a case involving a Vietnamese man brought to Japan under the government’s foreign trainee program who alleges he was duped into taking part in cleanup work in areas devastated by the 2011 nuclear disaster, authorities said Wednesday.

The ministry confirmed by telephone that the officials have been looking into the case of the 24-year-old man who worked for an Iwate Prefecture-based construction firm. The company wasn’t available for comment as of Wednesday. [read more]

First Metro Projects in Vietnam Risk Bigger Problems Than Delays

06.03.2018 By Tali Trigg (Scientific American) - Underground line projects in Saigon and Hanoi are examples of the challenges of transport ventures that are not delayed by technical issues but by a lack of administrative planning, technical cooperation and effective implementation.

Saigon Metro’s first line cost has now tripled compared to its initial cost and is scheduled to go into service eight years after construction started.

In Vietnam, contractors are starting to slow down work until they get their funds, even Japan’s aid agency has taken to criticize the work, and there are already dire warnings of what will happen if it continues at the current pace with Saigon asking for a rescue package. [read more]

Corruption fueling deforestation in Cambodia

05.03.2018 (DW) - Cambodia's forests are being felled at a shocking rate, as poachers and corrupt officials profit from the black market trade in rare wood species, which is being exported to Vietnam — and beyond.

Loggers are illegally felling rare and valuable trees to sell in China and Europe, making Cambodia's deforestation rate among the world's worst. And the army itself has been implicated in the illegal trade, which has also been linked to murder. [read more]

Cómo el café levantó a Vietnam de las cenizas tras el desastre de la guerra

03.03.2018 (BBC) - Si preguntas por ahí de dónde viene el café, las respuestas que te darán probablemente incluirán países como Brasil o Colombia, tal vez Jamaica y seguramente alguno más.

Pero rara vez escucharás: "Vietnam".

No obstante, después de Brasil, la República Socialista de Vietnam es el mayor productor de café del mundo. [seguir leyendo]

Mekong through photographers’ eyes: ‘disaster after disaster’

02.03.2018 (The Third Pole) - Photographers Gareth Bright and Luke Forsyth travelled from the sea to the source of the Mekong and found people struggling to adapt to rapid changes.

“People are losing their culture. For example, in Laos we stayed in a village 60 kilometres south of Luang Prabang. People lived there for 400 years in the same way and they were in relocation camps for the construction of the Nam Kong dam.

In Cambodia, people who had to be resettled didn’t like dams but they weren’t thinking about fish migration or impact on Tonle Sap lake. In Vietnam they were angry with the Chinese and knew about the dams – they had seen the drop in the water levels in the delta. [read more]

EU-Handelskommissarin Malmström denkt über Vergeltung nach

02.03.2018 Von Christoph Hein, Singapur (FAZ) - Die drohenden Strafzölle aus Amerika belasten die Aktienkurse und lassen Asiaten und Europäer näher aneinanderrücken.

... Nicht zuletzt aufgrund der wachsenden Probleme mit Amerika sucht Malmström die Nähe zu den Asiaten. Europa hat in der Region viel Ansehen verloren, weil die versprochenen Handelsverträge nicht vorankommen. Das Freihandelsabkommen mit Singapur – einer „Bastion des Freihandels“, wie Malmström sagte – und dasjenige mit Vietnam müssen seit langem ratifiziert werden.

Während das Abkommen in Singapur an Detailfragen hängt, wie etwa der Unabhängigkeit von Gewerkschaften im rigiden Stadtstaat, wurde es in Vietnam durch die Entführung eines geflohenen Unternehmenschefs am helllichten Tag aus Berlin ausgebremst. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam suspends steel firms after pollution protests

01.03.2018 (PressTV) - Two steel plants in central Vietnam were ordered to suspend production, according to an official statement Thursday, following reports of protests by residents complaining of polluted air and water from the factories.

The temporary suspensions come amid mounting anxiety over the environment in Vietnam where a massive toxic dump by a separate steel plant in 2016 killed masses of fish along the central coast in one of the country's worst-ever environmental disasters. [read more]

Call for release of environmental activists jailed over protesting on toxic spill in Vietnam

01.03.2018 (ClientEarth) - ClientEarth is joining the United Nations experts call to release individuals jailed for protesting against a discharge of toxic industrial chemicals into coastal waters of Viet Nam.

On 6 February 2018, Hoang Duc and Nguyen Nam Phong were respectively sentenced to 14 years in prison for writing about protests regarding the Formosa “marine life” disaster and 2 years for allegedly refusing to obey order of public officials while driving to a protest. Last year, two other bloggers Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Hoa were also sentenced to jail for reporting about the spill.

ClientEarth lawyer Laurens Ankersmit said: “The victims of the 2016 Marine Life disaster should have had proper access to justice against Formosa and the Vietnamese government. Instead, the Vietnamese government has jailed individuals speaking out about the disaster.” [read more]

Cambodia, Laos losing the last of their trees

27.02.2018 By Dan Southerland (Asia Times) - Despite official pledges to halt the trade, smugglers in Cambodia and Laos are finding ways to illegally ship timber to neighboring Vietnam. The precious hardwood is often used in furniture factories that ship their products largely to China.

Powerful officials and Cambodian businessmen are reported to be supporting and profiting from the smuggling.

The wood is typically sold by the kilogram to middlemen before it is illegally exported to Vietnam, where it is used mainly by the local furniture industry, with most of the furniture being exported to China and Hong Kong. [read more]

Vietnam: Asiens aufsteigender Drache

24.02.2018 Von Sven Heckle (Börse-Online) - Mit starken Kursgewinnen honoriert die vietnamesische Börse das kräftige Wirtschaftswachstum. Läuft es weiterhin so gut, könnte der Sprung vom Frontier Market zum Emerging Market folgen. Es ist eine alte Weisheit, dass Erfolg dort zu finden ist, wo Glück auf eine gute Vorbereitung trifft. Vietnam zählte im vergangenen Jahr zu den glücklichen Volkswirtschaften, die von einem starken Wachstum der Weltwirtschaft ebenso profitierten wie von der zunehmenden Risikobereitschaft internationaler Investoren. Gleichzeitig war das Land mit einer wachsenden Produktionskapazität, einer aufstrebenden Mittelschicht und einem stabilen makroökonomischen Umfeld extrem gut vorbereitet.

Eine große, junge, gut ausgebildete Bevölkerung sowie niedrige Arbeitskosten, die in etwa nur bei einem Drittel der Löhne von China liegen, machen Vietnam zu einem der gefragtesten Standorte für ausländische Direktinvestitionen. [Weiterlesen]

Southeast Asia is in the grip of a biodiversity crisis

23.02.2018 (Asian Correspondent) - RICH in wildlife, Southeast Asia includes at least six of the world’s 25 “biodiversity hotspots” – the areas of the world that contain an exceptional concentration of species, and are exceptionally endangered. The region contains 20 percent of the planet’s vertebrate and plant species and the world’s third-largest tropical forest.

Traditional medicine in Vietnam and China represents a threat to a huge array of species, but most notably the pangolin, which is the most trafficked animal on the planet. Sadly, the use of endangered species in medicine shows little sign of abating. [read more]

Inhaltliche Unterschiede zwischen TPP und CPTPP

23.02.2018 Manfred Rist (NZZ) - Auf Druck der USA waren bei den ursprünglichen TPP-Verhandlungen etliche Anliegen eingebracht worden. Einen Teil davon haben die elf Vertragsstaaten im CPTPP-Abkommen nun ausgeklammert. Dazu gehören insbesondere:

1. Entgegen dem ersten Entwurf wird es für Unternehmen schwieriger, Regierungen wegen Verstössen gegen Investitionsbestimmungen verklagen. ...

5. Vorschriften zur Zulassung freier Gewerkschaften und Anpassungen des Arbeitsrechts innerhalb bestimmter Perioden in gewissen Ländern (wie Vietnam) sind bis auf weiteres suspendiert. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam’s new internet law will make the economy lag

22.02.2018 Author: Phan Le, ANU (East Asia Forum) - Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) thinks it is killing two birds with one stone by passing new laws regulating data storage. But it could soon find out it has no use for two dead birds while the stone flies off and damages the economy.

In June 2017, the MoPS proposed a draft cybersecurity law that requires all foreign online service providers (including Facebook, Google and Twitter) to store their Vietnamese users’ data exclusively in Vietnamese data centres — a practice known as ‘data localisation’. [read more]

Final version of TPP deal released; rules pushed by U.S. shelved

22.02.2018 (The Asahi Shimbun) - WELLINGTON/SYDNEY--The final version of a landmark deal aimed at cutting trade barriers in some of Asia-Pacific's fastest-growing economies was released on Wednesday, signaling the pact was a step closer to reality even without its star member the United States.

More than 20 provisions have been suspended or changed in the final text ahead of the deal's official signing in March, including rules around intellectual property originally included at the behest of Washington. [read more]

Why are foreign banks fleeing Vietnam?

20.02.2018 By Pham Chi Dung (Asia Times) - Vietnam has seen a growing number of foreign banks withdraw from its under-banked economy, the latest indication that all is not as well as Communist Party officials often claim. The foreign flight started in 2015, gathered pace in 2016 and accelerated dramatically last year.

With high public debt and low foreign reserves, Vietnam has limited financial resources to bail out bankrupt banks and maintain system stability. That may explain why premier Phuc warned in January 2017 that the national fiscal system “may collapse” if rising public debt levels are not arrested. [read more]

EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

20.02.2018 Martin Russell (EPRS) - The free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam has been described as the most ambitious deal of its type ever concluded between the EU and a developing country. Not only will it eliminate over 99 % of customs duties on goods, it will also open up Vietnamese services markets to EU companies and strengthen protection of EU investments in the country.

Although the content of the FTA was already agreed in 2015, ratification has been delayed by a 2017 opinion of the European Court of Justice. The Court argued that some aspects of the EU-Singapore FTA, which is similar to the Vietnam FTA, are ‘mixed competences’, meaning that the FTA as it stands will have to be ratified not only by the EU but also by the 28 Member States. NGOs have also criticised the EU for pursuing closer ties with a politically repressive regime known for its human rights abuses, although the deal includes some safeguards against negative outcomes. [read more]

Vietnam clean water dwindling due to lack of treatment infrastructure

13.02.2018 (Water & Wastes Digest's) - Over the past two decades, Vietnam has seen their water reserves suffer drastic reductions. Due to this, average water consumption levels per person in 2025 are expected to be one fourth of what they were in 1990.

Part of the issue has arisen from a substantially increased population, which has led to a greater magnitude of wastewater being produced without the infrastructure to properly repurpose it. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, there are more than 200 industrial zones throughout Vietnam, while few of those have sustainable wastewater treatment solutions.

Roughly 75% of wastewater produced daily is left untreated and promptly discharged into the country’s environment. [read more]

Karl Marx ohne Bier und Petrol

05.02.2018 Manfred Rist, Singapur (NZZ) - Wie kapitalistisch, weltoffen, innovativ und kreativ ist Vietnam heute? Müssen Investoren diese offenbar so dynamische südostasiatische Volkswirtschaft wirklich im Auge behalten? Grundsätzlich ja, aber zur Aufnahme in der MSCI-Emerging-Market-Index reicht es noch nicht.

Anlässlich eines Workshops in Saigon, den lokale Universitäten in Zusammenarbeit mit der Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) durchführten, war von Euphorie wenig zu spüren. Das Hauptproblem der anwesenden Jungunternehmer war evident: Zur Unterstützung von Startups rühre heute keine einheimische Bank den Finger. Man befinde sich eben in einer konservativen, risikoscheuen Gesellschaft. Was zähle, seien Beziehungen, auch bei Finanzierungen. [Weiterlesen]

Phu Yen wind farm receives investment go-ahead

02.02.2018 (Modern Power Systems) - A project to build a 300 MW wind farm, to be named HBRE-Phu Yen Wind Power Plant has received investment clearance and will be constructed in Tuy An district, Phú Yên Province, in the south of  Vietnam. Total investment by the HBRE Phu Yen Company will be over VND9 trillion ($396.5 million).

HBRE Group has conducted research for over a year and constructed several wind stations to measure wind perfomance related to the feasibility of the project. The site has an average wind speed of 7-8 metre per second, which gives it huge potential for generating electricity [read more]

Alltag Klimawandel: Leben mit Taifun und Dürre in Vietnam

30.01.2018 Kerstin Schweizer (DW) - Vietnam kommt wegen des Klimawandels kaum zur Ruhe. Immer wieder wird das Land von Stürmen, Fluten und Dürren heimgesucht. Die Menschen in den Dörfern versuchen, sich den Folgen, so gut es geht, anzupassen.

Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) arbeitet mit den Behörden vor Ort zusammen, damit die Menschen weniger abhängig vom wasserintensiven Reisanbau oder dem Fischfang werden.  [weiterlesen & Video ansehen]

Vietnam's FPT scores major software contract from German utility

30.01.2018 (Nikkei Asian Review) - Ho Chi Minh City -- FPT Software, a subsidiary of Vietnamese information technology group FPT, has signed a $100 million contract to provide technological solutions for Germany-based utility Innogy for the period 2018-2024.

FPT Software is expected to provide technological solutions based on SAP (systems, applications and products), the internet of things, and digital conversion platforms for Innogy in the next six years.

The deal was reached after four years of collaboration between the two sides. In 2014, FPT acquired RWE IT Slovakia and started providing IT-related services to Innogy, an affiliate of RWE. [read more]

In Vietnam, life in the shadow of climate change

30.01.2018 Kerstin Schweizer (DW) - Climate change has hit Vietnam hard. The country is beset by storms, floods and droughts. Those living in villages are trying to adapt to the new reality of extreme weather, but it's not easy.

The German development agency GIZ is working with local authorities to help Vietnamese people adapt to the new reality by reducing dependence on rice cultivation, which is water-intensive, and fishing — and promoting other ways to earn a living. [read more]

Hanoi enjoyed just 38 days of clean air in 2017, as pollution levels increased to levels similar to Beijing

30.01.2018 (SCMP) - Air pollution in Hanoi is due to a number of factors, including a rise in construction works, an increase in car and motorcycle use, and agriculture burning by farmers

Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, enjoyed little more than one month of clean air last year as pollution levels rose to match China’s smog-prone capital, Beijing, preliminary findings of a new report showed.

Annual average air pollution in Hanoi in 2017 was also four times higher than those deemed acceptable by the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines, according to a report by the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID).

And the situation is likely to get worse, according to the Hanoi-based non-profit organisation. [read more]

Vietnam: viviendo a la sombra del cambio climático

30.01.2018 Kerstin Schweizer (DW) - El cambio climático está golpeando con fuerza a Vietnam. El país se ve afectado por tormentas, inundaciones y sequías. Quienes viven en las aldeas intentan adaptarse a la nueva realidad, pero no es fácil.

Agencia Alemana para la Cooperación Internacional (GIZ, en sus siglas en alemán) está trabajando con las autoridades locales para ayudar a los vietnamitas a adaptarse a la nueva realidad, reduciendo su intensiva dependencia al agua para el cultivo de arroz y la pesca, y promoviendo formas alternativas para ganarse la vida. [seguir leyendo]

Asien-ETF: Im Aufwind

29.01.2018 Von Patrick Landthaler (ETF Extra Magazin) - In fast allen aufstrebenden, asiatischen Schwellenländern haben sich die Konjunkturdaten in den vergangenen Monaten weiter verbessert. China, Vietnam, Indonesien & Co. – das Wachstum im vierten Quartal vergangenen Jahres lag jeweils teils deutlich über den Erwartungen. Eine tempore Schwächephase war dem Verfall der Rohstoffpreise geschuldet, doch deren Talfahrt endete bereits im Jahr 2016. Seither geht es auch mit den meisten Emerging Markets wieder bergauf. [Weiterlesen]

Davos: Globalisierung muss weitergehen - Umstrittene Abkommen auch ohne USA

26.01.2018 (RT) - Auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos verkündete der kanadische Premierminister Justin Trudeau am Dienstag, dass das Transpazifische Handelsabkommen TPP ohne die USA fortgesetzt wird. Die elf verbliebenen Partnerstaaten hätten sich auf einen neuen Vertrag geeinigt. Dieser soll Anfang März unterschrieben werden.

US-Präsident Donald Trump hatte das bereits ausgehandelte Abkommen für eine Transpazifische Partnerschaft (TPP) kurz nach seinem Amtsantritt aufgekündigt. Er setzt stattdessen auf Einzelvereinbarungen mit anderen Staaten und kritisiert auch andere Freihandelsabkommen wie Nafta. [Weiterlesen]

Shark fins found drying on embassy roof in Chile

23.01.2018 (Lailailaila) - Vietnamese ministries are scrambling to clarify a controversial report that claims officials in Chile have been drying shark fins on the roof of the Vietnamese embassy.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked the Foreign Ministry to verify the information and cooperate with Chilean government agencies to deal with the matter in accordance with local laws. Chile passed a nationwide ban on shark finning in 2011.

On Friday, Chilean newspaper El Mostrador published photos of shark fins drying on the roof of a building it said was the commercial office at the Vietnamese embassy in Providencia, a district in Chile’s capital Santiago.

There were “at least 100 shark fins” on the roof on Thursday afternoon, the report said in Spanish. [read more]

Vietnam: Die ersten Klimaflüchtlinge

12.01.2018 Wolfgang Pomrehn (Telepolis) - Vietnam hat ein Problem. Ein Klimawandel-Problem. Der äußerste Süden des Landes, das Mekong-Delta, ist nicht nur für die Wirtschaft des Landes und die Versorgung seiner Bewohner von besonderer Bedeutung, es ist auch durch das ansteigende Meer besonders gefährdet. Das flache Schwemmland, das sich westlich und südwestlich von Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt von der kambodschanischen Grenze bis zur Küste erstreckt, liegt nämlich nur wenige Meter über dem derzeitigen Meeresspiegel, wie man sich unter anderem hier überzeugen kann.

18 Millionen der insgesamt knapp 93 Millionen Vietnamesen lebten dort. Im letzten Jahrzehnt sei die Bevölkerung bereits um eine Million zurückgegangen. [Weiterlesen]

Climate change is driving migration from Vietnam’s Mekong delta

11.01.2018 By Alex Chapman and Van Pham Dang Tri (Climate Home) - Saltwater intrusion and drought are destroying crops in one of the most fertile places on earth, prompting an exodus of farmers.

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is one of Earth’s most agriculturally productive regions and is of global importance for its exports of rice, shrimp, and fruit.

The 18m inhabitants of this low-lying river delta are also some of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. Over the last ten years around 1.7m people have migrated out of its vast expanse of fields, rivers and canals while only 700,000 have arrived. [read more]

Vietnam To Send 100,000 Workers Abroad Annually

03.01.2018 (Bernama) - HANOI -- Vietnam plans to send 100,000 to 120,000 workers to other countries each year by 2020, according to its Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

In the first 11 months of 2017, 118,859 of its workers, including 44,702 females, worked abroad, said Tong Hai Nam, deputy head of the Department of Overseas Labour under the ministry. [read more]