Prime Minister wants top Nordic bank SEB to help overhaul local lenders

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Swedish bank SEB to help restructure underperforming banks in Vietnam when he met with the bank's Chairman of the Board Marcus Wallenberg at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. The Prime Minister invited the bank to provide technical assistance to Vietnamese banks and even to participate in the management of local lenders.

According to the BOD chairman, SEB will host a forum for Nordic banks in Hanoi to help them study and understand local regulations and explore potential investment opportunities.

Quang Ninh needs US$17.5 billion for tourism

Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province. Photo: baoxaydung.com

The northern province of Quang Ninh will need VND432 trillion (US$17.5 billion) from 2024-2030 to implement nine tourism development projects, according to a local research institute.

The total funding for the nine projects includes VND20 trillion ($810 million) from the state budget and VND412.4 trillion ($16.7 billion) from social and private sources. The province aims to attract 25.4 million tourists by 2030, including 8.7 million international visitors (accounting for 34%). The tourism sector is expected to contribute about 15-16% to the locality's gross domestic product (GDP).

Vietnam to face Indonesia in 2023 Asian Cup decider

Vietnam will face Indonesia tonight [January 19] for a chance to qualify for the knockout stage of the ongoing Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar. In their first Group D match, Vietnam lost 4-2 to Japan, while Indonesia went down 1-3 to Iraq.

Vietnam and Indonesia, considered the weakest teams in Group D, will be battling it out for one of the four best third-place finishers to advance to the knockout stage.

Global impact firm IIX mobilizes US$500,000 for Vietnam's Detech Coffee

Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a global social impact investment firm, announced that it had raised US$500,000 for Vietnam-based Detech Coffee JSC through a collaboration with Incofin, a Belgium-based global impact investment firm.

Detech Coffee is a women-owned business in northern Vietnam known for its sustainable Arabica coffee production using ethnic minority labor. The $500,000 debt investment will improve the company's working and production capacity. Detech Coffee's growth has been supported since its inception as a family business through the Impact Investment Readiness Vietnam (IIRV) initiative, a collaboration between IIX and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

FPT reaches $1 billion in overseas IT services revenue

FPT - the Vietnamese tech giant - reported that its overseas IT service revenue surpassed $1 billion, with a growth rate of 28.4%. Pre-tax profit reached VND3.78 trillion ($153.3 million), up 27.1% year-on-year.

In 2023, FPT recorded revenue of VND52.6 trillion ($2.1 billion) and profit before tax of VND9.2 trillion ($373.2 million), up 19.6% and 20.1% year-on-year, respectively. Its earnings per share (EPS) reached VND4,666/each, up 21.3% over the previous year.

Chinese company to join Van Cao - Hoa Lac metro project

The Hanoi Department of Transport, Vietnamese construction company Vinaconex, and China's Pacific Construction Group signed a memorandum of understanding on January 18, allowing the Chinese company to participate in Hanoi's infrastructure projects. Under the MoU, the Chinese company will provide knowledge and technical support to Hanoi's partners in major transport infrastructure undertakings, including the Metro No.5 project.

The metro project will connect Van Cao Street to Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, with an expected total capital of more than US$2.65 billion and a total length of 39km.

Vietcombank retains top spot among Vietnam's top 10 banks

Vietcombank maintains its leading position among Vietnam's best banks, according to Decision Lab's 2024 Best Banks Ranking. The runners-up are the military-owned MB Bank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

The ranking lists the banks with the best brand health and the most improvement over the past year, based on criteria such as impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommendation and reputation.