Dak Nong’s avocado is one step closer to the tables of avocado lovers over the world, thanks to the first co-investment funding model between Dak Nong province, New Zealand G2G Partnerships Office, Plant and Food Research and SAM Agritech.

Vietnam’s total merger and acquisition value is estimated to reach just over $6.5 billion in 2018, a lower number than in 2017.  The country, however, could do better, should it rectify a number of issues that currently prevent such activity from thriving. Trang Nguyen reports.

Vietnam’s attraction of next generation of foreign direct investment in high value-added sectors should be proactively, rather than retroactively, sourced to sustain the nation’s socioeconomic development and competitiveness.

Investors are concerned over the impact US-China trade tensions and the weakened Chinese yuan are having on the FX and local stock markets, while experts are not considering the worst-case scenarios as of yet.

IFC arranged a $100 million syndicated loan for TPBank to promote digital financial services to MSMEs in Vietnam.

Vietnamese consumers are opting for a faster way to pay as contactless payments have grown popularity.  

Investment in food safety can help Vietnam secure its $40 billion agriproduct export target in 2018, and with a project implemented to enhance food safety, higher export targets can be achieved in many years to come.

Vietnam has witnessed a condensed fluctuation in its exchange rate over the past few weeks as a result of the strengthened greenback, but the ongoing trade tension between the US and China does not look likely to harm the country’s economy - in fact, signs show the opposite.

As Vietnam yearns to transform its cities into smart ones, it can learn from the experience of other smart cities around the world and seek to overcome the challenges by collaborating with numerous stakeholders.

Fintech companies have grown both in quantity and quality in Vietnam in recent years. However, to further encourage the development of fintechs and inventive financial solutions, for the sake of customers and the market, it would take more than just support from the government, but also the accompanying mentorship from financial institutions, industry experts, and investors.

A handful of winners have been named in a large-scale fintech challenge, providing inspiration and opportunities for many other fintechs to capture. Vietnam can be very proud of these first-generation fintechs and, in the years to come, it can expect further innovative financial solutions, both from local and international fintech startups, to help it achieve a financial inclusion goal and nurture a fintech ecosystem.

While most of the emerging markets in Asia has increased its overall spending on health as a share of GDP since 2000, Cambodia and Vietnam have trimmed their allocations to health, according to ANZ Research on Greater Mekong Economic Outlook.

The first-ever Fintech Challenge Vietnam 2017-2018 (FCV) crowned Weezi Digital for addressing Vietnam’s need for financial solutions and helping the country fulfill its financial inclusion goals.

Vietnam’s young consumer finance market will be able to thrive further in the coming years, thanks to the sustainable financial resources raised from both local and overseas financial institutions to cater to the rising consumer credit demand, and with the aid of advanced technologies to enhance lending processes and minimise risks. Trang Nguyen reports.

The scale of connectivity and the pace of change in technology is transforming payments. The rise of e-commerce and the adoption of EMV chip technology has contributed to a shift in payment fraud from the card-present to the card-not-present channel across the Asia Pacific region and on a global scale, whereas the fraud rate for Vietnam has reportedly been relatively low. Abdul Rahim, senior director of risk services for Visa Southeast Asia, spoke to VIR’s Trang Nguyen about the current development of the payment landscape in Vietnam and the proposed risk initiatives and security roadmap to ensure a safe and sound payment ecosystem for the country.