Vietnamese craft villages apply technologies 4.0

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is leaving a comprehensive impact on the global economy and society at large. Vietnamese craft villages are no exception. They are forced to utitlise science and technology to survive.

Most craft villages in Vietnam used to apply traditional methods for their production thus they find it hard to find their place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

There’s a call to outline a comprehensive solution ranging from production to trading, consumption, and planning for craft village development.

Economist Nguyen Thua Loc of the National Economics University of Vietnam, offered some suggestions, “Each craft village should determine their own industrial competence and have appropriate road maps for the application of technology 4.0 and make proper investments, especially in equipment and infrastructure. Investing in the workforce and skilled workers is the key to craft villages.

In addition, they must restructure themselves, remove unsuitable traditional products, and develop new items to meet the current need. Diversifying markets is required so that craft villages will not depend on any single market.”

Forming joint ventures, linking production and consumption, and proactively participating in supply chains with domestic and foreign enterprises are among the new development trends of Vietnamese craft villages.

Luu Duy Dan, Chairman of the Vietnam Craft Village Association, said: “It’s necessary to create a link among craft villages, ministries, sectors, localities, and associations to find out how best for craft villages to exist and further grow. On top of training and developing human resources, we should engage in planning of material production zones, expansion of production, trade promotion, and advertisement.”

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has opened up many consumption channels for craft villages which can also sell their products online. They have attached special importance to e-commerce and getting customers involved in product designing and patterning.

Ta Van Tuong, Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department said, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution means Internet of Things, knowledge-based economy and Artificial Intelligence. As a result, craft villages should now turn out refined products representing national traits.”

There are more than 5,400 craft villages in Vietnam with about 50 occupations, employing 11 million workers. Their products have been exported to 160 countries and territories worldwide, earning US$1.7 billion per year.

The application of technology 4.0 is vital for craft villages to improve locals’ income, build new rural areas, and preserve Vietnamese traditions. 

Vietnamese author’s book nominated for Best Book Award

Competing with Giants, a book written by Vietnamese businesswoman Tran Uyen Phuong, has been listed among the final 5 finalists in the Best Book Awards’ Business: Entrepreneurship & Small Business category.

Deputy CEO of Tan Hiep Phat group Tran Uyen Phuong

Competing with Giants was originally written in English by Phuong, who serves as Deputy CEO of Tan Hiep Phat group, Vietnam’s leading beverage company. The book was written in partnership with a British journalist named Jackie Horne and an American writer named John Kador.

The book is the story of a family-owned business in Vietnam set during the post-war era, which successfully competed against multinational corporations.

After the release of the book held at the headquarters of Forbes magazine in New York in August, Competing with Giants was inundated with positive reviews from both domestic and foreign readers.

William M. Doheny, former CEO of Coca-Cola Vietnam, said the book shares experience and positive practices that can help entrepreneurs and startups to improve their performance in emerging markets and identify changes in globalization.

Competing with Giants is sold on Amazon at US$0.99 for the Kindle edition (a 97% discount) and US$19 for a paperback edition (a 35% discount).

Textile manufacturing provides jobs to Vietnamese in Russia

Over the past 2 decades, textile and apparel businesses run by overseas Vietnamese in Russia have generated jobs for many Vietnamese. There are currently 200 textile manufacturing facilities, employing more than 10,000 people.

Do Van Tien’s workshop in Sarlanter, in Vladimir province (about 200 km from Moscow), was established in 2009 and now employs 65 Vietnamese workers. Tien’s facility specialises in manufacturing sports clothes under the brand Sarlanter and has seen steady profits.

Tien said "We’ve done our best to ensure a good working and living environment for our workers. We even reserve time for our workers to play sports, learn communications skills, and entertain themselves by exploring local areas, in the hope that they will have good memories of their working time here and will persuade others to work for us when they finish their contract."

Le Thi Thuy Trang from Vietnam’s Binh Thuan province is in her fourth year of working at Mr. Tien’s facility. Trang told us she earns US$700 a month and is provided with free meals. She plans to extend her contract for another 3 years.

Do Van Tien also employs 4 Russian people to help him deal with all the legal and financial paper work.

There are 30 textile workshops run by overseas Vietnamese in Vladimir province. Such facilities can also be found in neighbouring provinces and other big cities of Russia, employing dozens or hundreds of workers.  

Danang steel plants face environmental pollution fines

Local people gather at the two plants on October 12 to protest against their violations

Authorities in the central city of Danang have issued fines and suspended two steel companies for violating environmental regulations. 

The Danang People's Committee on Friday announced that they have temporarily suspended the Dana-Italy Steel Plant and the Dana-Australia Steel Plant in Hoa Vang District for six months for causing pollution to the environment.

The Dana-Italy Steel Plant was also fined VND400 million (USD17,391) while the Dana-Australia Steel fined VND740 million for their violations.

According to a report announced by the local authorities, the licensing of the two plants in 2008 at the Thanh Vinh Industrial Zone did not comply with the Danang People's Committee's policy which does not allow building steel calcining furnaces inside industrial zones; and the plant locations also failed to meet the regulations on the 500 metre minimum distance between processing and residential areas.

During their operation, the two plants have been found to use different production chains which have higher capacity than registered, the inspectors said.

Annual production outputs are tens of thousand tonnes higher than permitted. Between 2008 and 2015, new machinery was installed which changed the production capacity but the company did not report the upgrading to local authorities.

The Dana-Italy Steel Plant has been violating environment regulations as they changed to a different exhaust treatment system from that previously approved, the report said.

Both plants also failed to plant trees following the approved plan by local authorities.

Speaking at a recent meeting on the plants' violations, chairman of Danang City People's Committee, Huynh Duc Tho, admitted that they were wrong to build the two plants near the residential area.

"And then we haven't been unable to remove local people from the area," Tho said.

Tho also expressed concerns that while there were not enough evidence to close the two plants, the temporary suspension may not solve the problems.

"Can the two plants operate again after the suspension time while they are still too close to the residential area?" Tho asked. "This is a very difficult case and we have intensified the monitoring of their fixing pollution risks to ensure that they can cause no harm to the environment when they operate again."

Quang Ninh international harbour becomes operational

Hon Gai International Habour in the northern province of Quang Ninh has become operational.

Vietnam Maritime Administration on November 22 instructed Quang Ninh Ports Authority to consider regulations for licensing ships to operate at the harbour as well as conduct necessary technical checks.

The harbour which can receive the world’s largest cruise vessels cost VND1 trillion (USD45.54 million). Of the sum, VND300 billion is from the state budget, while the remainder is sourced from Sun Group.

The quay is 1.2 kilometres long, with a 130 metres long passenger reception area. This will serve the world’s largest cruise 330 metres long capable of transporting 6,500 passengers.

Provincial authorities have also agreed to pilot scheduled cruise services for solo or small group travellers on Ha Long Bay to stop the situation that many travellers have had to wait hours to find cruises for bay tours. In many cases, they have to buy higher-priced tickets through brokers.

From now to the year-end, Quang Ninh will also put into operation Van Don International Airport and the Ha Long-Van Don Highway.

Petrol tanker was speeding before fatal Binh Phuoc explosion

The scene of the accident

The petrol tanker which caused a huge explosion in Binh Phuoc Province has been confirmed to have been travelling over the speed limit.

Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung said that there was no official conclusion yet but it had been confirmed that the highway section running through Minh Hung Commune, Chon Thanh District, has a speed limit of 60km/h. However, the petrol tanker's speed at the time was 99km/h.

Hung said the police were still investigating the case.

The explosion occurred at 4.36 am on November 22 when the petrol tanker collided with a three-wheeled vehicle which was carrying ice and running in the same direction. Six people were killed in the fire that burnt down their houses after that. 20 other people in 17 houses were able broke the wall or ran out via the back door.

The tanker was heading to Loc Ninh District with 14,000 litres of fuel. Many locals returned to clean up the houses.

The police have investigated the scene but the cost of the damage hasn't been announced yet.

Second Vietnam Coffee Day set for Dec.9 in Dak Nong

The second Vietnam Coffee Day is scheduled to take place in Gia Nghia commune, Dak Nong province, between December 9-11. The event is expected to draw the attendance of 40 international organizations and businesses.

Luong Van Tu, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (VICOFA), released the information at a press conference held in Hanoi on November 23.

Addressing the press conference, Mr Tu emphasized the rapid developments that Vietnam’s coffee industry has undergone in recent times, with export turnover accounting for 10% of the agro-forestry-fishery sector’s turnover.

In particular, several Vietnamese coffee brands have become well known to consumers, with brands such as Vinacafe, Trung Nguyen, Me Trang, Thang Loi and Minh Tien becoming household names for many Vietnamese people. However, the sharp decline in prices on coffee across the world has significantly affected the country’s coffee export turnover, Mr Tu noted.

This year’s event is seen as one of the most important trade promotion activities for the coffee sector. The scale of the event has helped to attract the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Central Highlands localities, a variety of embassies and consulate generals in Vietnam, as well as both local and foreign businesses.

Mr Tu said the event offers businesses the ideal venue to grasp market information, share experience in coffee production, processing and business activities, seek out new partners, promote their products, brands and to sign contracts.

A diverse range of activities are planned for the event including an exhibition showcasing coffee products from an array of prestigious businesses across 50 stalls and fact-finding tours to coffee gardens and trade exchanges.

The highlight of Vietnam Coffee Day is the Cupping event (Coffee tasting) and a Nescafe Plan competition for farmers, which offers a good opportunity for farmers to get access to advanced cultivation methods, thus improving their production capacity and increasing income for farmers.

Association outlines tasks to foster Vietnam-Italy economic links

The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in Italy (ASSOEVI) held the second congress for the 2018-2021 tenure in Rome on November 23.

The congress reviewed the ASSOEVI’s performance over the past years and set up tasks for the new tenure with a view to developing the association, supporting its members’ business activities in Italy, and contributing to economic, trade and investment ties between the two countries.

Pham Van Hong, ASSOEVI Chairman in the 2011-2018 tenure, said founded in 2011, the association has continually expanded and attracted new members, including Italians. It has increased exchanges to boost connections with Italian organisations and businesses, as well as Vietnamese entrepreneurs’ associations in other European nations, he said.

Additionally, the ASSOEVI has provided Vietnamese and Italian firms with market information to help with their business and investment cooperation, he noted.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien said the ASSOEVI is a key organisation of Vietnamese people in the country. He applauded its contributions to the development of the Vietnamese community in Italy and the two countries’ economic and trade partnerships.

Thien expressed his hope that the ASSOEVI will keep enhancing its role and solidarity while organising many practical activities for the sake of the homeland.

The congress elected a nine-member executive committee of the ASSOEVI for the 2018-2021 term.

Vietnam and Italy set up the strategic partnership in 2013. Italy is now the fourth biggest European economic partner of Vietnam. Bilateral trade approximated 5 billion USD in 2017. With total capital of 389 million USD, Italy ranks 31st among 126 countries and territories directly investing in Vietnam.

An Giang province helps disadvantaged students

Up to 276 scholarships worth over 1.2 billion VND  have been presented to excellent and less privileged students the Mekong delta province of An Giang in the 2018-2019 academic year to allow them to continue their study.

At the presenting ceremony on November 25, Dang Hoai Dung, Chairman of the provincial education promotion association, said the scholarships, funded by the An Giang lottery company, help nurture many poor pupils and students’ schooling dreams for a better life.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, the An Giang lottery company also funded 200 scholarships worth nearly 2 billion VND for physically-challenged students in the locality.

Programme 135 assists Yen Bai’s ethnic minorities to get rid of poverty

Thanks to Programme 135's financial aid, Chang A Vang, a resident in Khuon Bo hamlet of Hong Ca commune, Yen Bai's Tran Yen district, has developed chicken farming 

Programme 135 has assisted people living in mountainous areas, especially the ethnic minority people, in northern Yen Bai province escape from poverty in a sustainable manner.

Yen Bai has 81 communes and 177 villages and hamlets facing extreme difficulties qualified to benefit from the Government’s Programme 135, which was launched in 1999 under the Prime Minister’s decision 135/1998/QD-TTg dated July 31, 1998, with the aim of improving living conditions for rural residents with a particular focus on ethnic minority communities.

Ethnic minority groups account for 55.5 percent of the 30 ethnic groups residing in the province. They make a living based on farming and forestry production and account for over 80 percent of poor households in the locality.

Do Quang Vinh, deputy head of the provincial committee for ethnic affairs, said the Programme 135 allocated over 447 billion VND for the ethnic minority-resided and mountainous areas in the province from 2016 to June, 2018.

The money included 86 billion VND supporting production development, 351 billion VND for developing infrastructure, and over 10 billion VND for capacity building for the community and local officials.

Over 24,000 households have been helped to develop household-based production to improve their living conditions, according to the provincial committee for ethnic affairs.

Hong Ca commune in Tran Yen district has 90 percent of its population being the Tay and Mong ethnic minority people. It had coped with extreme difficulties stemming from low education level, backward customs, and underdeveloped roads.

Programme 135 investment allowed inter-village roads to be asphalted, making it easier for travelling and trade activities, said Song A Dung, head of Khuon Bo village, Hong Ca commune.

For Chang A Vang from Khuon Bo village, his family had struggled against poverty before getting the State’s assistance in young bamboo and cinnamon plants in 2014. They began to sell bamboos and will sell cinnamon barks in two years.

During 2015-2016, Programme 135 capital helped Hong Ca commune to build 1,700 meters of roads connecting its hamlets and villages to the communal centre at a cost of over 2 billion VND, and provided young cinnamon trees worth 591 million VND for 617 families, among others.

Chang A Sai, Vice Chairman of the Hong Ca commune People’s Committee said Programme 135 enabled Hong Ca residents to raise their incomes, from 20 million VND per person per year in 2016 to 28 million VND per person per year in 2018. The poverty rate was slashed from 45 percent in 2016 to 18 percent in 2018.

Cần Thơ uses high-tech to increase farmers’ profits

Vegetables are cultivated under a hydroponic method in Cần Thơ City’s Bình Thủy District.

The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ is promoting advanced farming techniques to increase profits for farmers and enhance product competitiveness.

Nguyễn Ngọc Hè, director of the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that many efficient hi-tech agricultural production models were being used in the locality.

The city has set up large high-tech rice fields in which farmers co-operate with companies to produce high-quality rice for exports.

The city has 93 large rice fields with a total of nearly 20,000ha.

Concentrated fruit areas like milk apple - growing areas and Burmese grape areas are developed in Phong Điền District, Hòa Lộc mango areas in Cờ Đỏ District, and Ido longan areas in Thốt Nốt and Phong Điền districts.

Many farmers have applied Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards and automatic irrigation equipment for planting fruits and vegetables.

Most tra fish breeders in the city have also applied VietGAP standards.

Nguyễn Ngọc Hải, chairman of the Thới An Ward Tra Fish Breeder Club in Ô Môn District, said: “All of the nearly 100ha tra fish farms in Thới An Ward use VietGAP standards.”

The ward’s tra fish ponds have been granted identification numbers to ensure traceability.

Breeding tra fish under VietGAP offers 10 – 15 per cent higher profits than traditional farming methods.

Rice, fruit and fish are the city’s main agricultural products. The city has more than 85,000ha of rice with an annual output of 1.3 million tonnes, 18,000ha of fruits with an annual output of 62,000 tonnes and 8,520ha of aquaculture with an annual output of 200,000 tonnes.

Nguyễn Minh Toại, director of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the area has advantages in rice, fruit and fishery production, but is facing unstable markets and low agricultural product competitiveness.

To increase the value and competitiveness of products, co-operation between co-operatives and companies should be improved, and key agricultural products should be promoted via production, purchasing, preservation, process and consumption.

This would raise profits for farmers and attract investors in the agricultural sector.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development should encourage farmers to work together to set up co-operatives and co-operative teams.

The city has identified high-tech agriculture, commerce and services, industry and construction, as its three key economic pillars.

Cần Thơ has nearly 117,000ha of farming area, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the city’s total area.

Climate change, small and scattered farming areas, lack of regular outlets and high costs of investing in high-tech agriculture are obstacles that farmers, co-operatives and companies face in investing in high-tech agriculture, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The city called on investors in four high-tech agricultural projects with total investment capital of VNĐ1 trillion (US$44.5 million) in August. Of the projects, only one has received an investment agreement.   

The city aims for agricultural growth of 3.5 per cent a year to 2020. 

Hè said the city would promote high-tech agricultural methods to produce clean and organic rice for export and domestic consumption.

The Trung An High-tech Farming Joint-Stock Company in Thốt Nốt District will be allowed to turn 3,000ha of large rice fields in Cờ Đỏ District into fields under Global GAP standards from now to 2020.

Phạm Thái Bình, general director of the company, said his company was co-operating with farms in Kiên Giang Province’s Hòn Đất District to produce Global GAP and organic rice on a total area of 800ha.

Farmers who participate in planting rice under Global GAP standards earn a profit of VNĐ8-9 million ($342 – 385) more per ha per crop than those who plant rice under traditional farming methods, he said.  

The city has certified 22 safe food supply chains with 72 agricultural, fishery and forestry products produced by companies and co-operatives over the past three years.

The products, which include rice, vegetable sprouts, eggs and cow milk, are sold in shops and supermarkets nationwide and exported.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue supporting co-operatives and companies to build safe food supply chains for its agricultural products.

Food supply chains help trace origin of the certified products, from production to the end user. 

Long An improves quality of locally grown fruit

The Long An Province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department focus on the quality development of dragon fruit. 

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Long An’s agriculture sector has proposed solutions to improve the quality and output of dragon fruit to meet export demand and ensure sustainable development, said Nguyễn Chí Thiện, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The province is also improving management of dragon fruit production areas to ensure quality.

It has invested in research and development (R&D) of dragon fruit preservation technology, proposed policies to support enterprises and drawn up solutions to improve processing of dragon fruit.

It has also encouraged enterprises to invest in products, and strengthen trade promotion and branding for lemons and dragon fruit.

However, weak restructuring of farm crops in the province has led to the fact that many products are not up to standard, authorities said.

The use of high-tech methods in the production process remains low.

In recent years, lemons and dragon fruit have become good export products of the province.

Due to favourable weather condition, the cultivation areas have been expanded, which has increased the income for farmers.

This year, the province has 10,600ha of dragon fruit with output of 253,200 tonnes, an increase of 1,300 and 35,400, respectively, compared to last year.

The province has 9,400ha of lemons with output of 132,000 tonnes, an increase of 1,000 and 6,435, respectively, compared to last year.

No high-rise apartment projects in downtown HCM City until 2020

The Ho Chi Minh City administration has decided that no high-rise apartment projects in the dowtown will be approved until 2020.

Instead, priority will be given to repair and renovation of old apartment buildings.

According to the housing development plan for 2016-2020 with orientation until 2025, that was approved by the HCM City People’s Committee on November 19, the city will not approve construction of new high-rise apartments in inner city areas (District 1 and 3) until 2020.

Projects already approved and under construction will continue as usual.

The city will also prioritize projects repairing or renovating 50% of 474 old apartment complexes constructed before 1975.

It will continue to relocate households living along canals; construct new or renovate old, degraded condominiums; upgrade existing residential areas; continue developing new urban centres, and prioritize the development of social housing.

The city will also focus on completing unfinished projects in some uptown districts and refrain from approving new housing projects if there are no plans to build adequate technical and social infrastructure in the area.

The focus on completing existing projects will also apply to outlying districts. Housing in rural communes will be prioritized and high-rise apartments will be focused along major transport corridors or where technical infrastructure can support new housing.

In particular, Ho Chi Minh City will invest in and prioritise the development of social housing projects to meet the needs of eligible residents, and for those who are resettled by urban beatification projects.

The plan aims to free up more land for social housing projects in the 2021-2025 period.

It envisages raising total living space in the city by 40 million square meters and per capita housing area to 19.8 square meters by 2020.

To implement the housing development plan, the city estimates a budget of over VND310 trillion (US$13.27 billion), of which investment capital for commercial real estate will amount to VND82 trillion (US$3.51 billion), residential housing VND210 trillion (US$8.99 billion), and rest for social housing.

High-speed ship catches fire in Quang Ninh

An express boat was irreversibly damaged after it caught fire at Cai Rong wharf on November 23.

Local residents said they discovered black smoke billowing out of the Quang Minh 68 high-speed ship, numbered QN-3338.

As soon as the alarm was raised, recue force in Quang Ninh province immediately arrived to the scene to put out the fire. Other boats in the vicinity were asked to hurriedly move away from the scene to prevent the blaze from spreading and creating an even more substantial emergency.

As the ship is made from composite materials, it was completely destroyed by the fire in a matter of minutes.. Fortunately there were no casualties.

According to an initial investigation, the fire broke out in the ship's engine room.