Transport fees and charge

Employees of an ETC service provider is helping a vehicle driver to deposit money into his traffic account. Nguyen Van H from District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City informed that when transferring VND200,000 (US$8.5) from Citibank to ePass app to pay toll at collection booths, he is charged a service fee of VND6,000 ($0.26). Similarly, L.N.N. from District 12 is charged VND10,000 ($0.43) when transferring VND1 million ($42.7) from Agribank to VETC app for toll payment. A money transfer of VND200,000 ($8.5) from the e-wallet Momo also costs a fee of VND3,000 ($0.13). She annoyingly said that this fee, despite being a tiny sum, is still higher than the fee to transfer money between banks, which is normally free of only VND1,000 ($0.04). Only a minor quantity of banks like BIDV now allows this money transfer to ETC apps free of charge. To encourage cashless payment, recently, various e-wallet companies like Momo, Grab have run promotion campaigns. With each customer depositing a few … [Read more...] about Service fee for money transfer to ETC accounts should be exempted, reduced

Traditional taxis need to introduce new innovations to regain their popularity among locals. (Photo courtesy of nld.com.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - In recent years, when app-based ride-hailing services appeared and grew stronger in Vietnam, many people gradually turned away from traditional taxis. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in the price of gasoline, many people have re-opted for traditional taxis because it is increasingly difficult to book ride-share cars , and the fares have risen sharply. It took less than 100,000 VND for a traditional taxi to travel from Tan Binh district to District 1 during rush hour while that of ride-hailing cars was 200,000 VND, Binh, a resident of Tan Binh district, told Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer) newspaper. It is worth mentioning that Binh booked his trip via multiple ride-hailing apps and was still not able to call for any taxis. Le Minh Hieu, who is living in Binh Thanh district, shared a similar concern and has … [Read more...] about Traditional taxis make a comeback

Industrial real estate attracts foreign investors via the M&A method Acquiring a well-established local entity is a preferable market-entry strategy for many foreign companies, particularly in the industrial real estate market. What are domestic enterprises’ advantages in attracting foreign industrial real estate developers? In the M&A playground, foreign investors often have an advantage in terms of capital and experience. Meanwhile, the biggest strength of the local side is its insight, which is shown in its overall understanding of policies, the planning of industrial parks (IP), transport infrastructure, and even urban planning around IPs. In addition, they understand the characteristics of each region and the demographic, which will help businesses recruit employees more easily. To establish an IP, it needs the approval of the prime minister and dozens of signatures from various authorities, thus having an insight into policies and flexibility will create … [Read more...] about Industrial real estate attracts foreign investors via M&A

The Ho Chi Minh City tourism department is seeking feedback on a proposal to impose a small ‘tourism tax’ on visitors for each night spent in the city. Money raised from the proposed VND23,000 tax, equivalent to roughly one U.S. dollar, would be spent on improving the local tourism infrastructure, the department said in its proposition to the municipal administration. Inspiration for the tax came from revisions to the law on tourism, effective from January 2018, which will allow localities to create a fund for tourism development with revenues generated from tourists. The proposal has so far received positive feedback from local travel companies, who say the fee will be insignificant to tourists but will have huge upsides for Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism infrastructure and promotional opportunities. Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre Travel, said it is a good idea to have a new source of capital, funded by tourists who enjoy services offered by the city. “The lack of … [Read more...] about ​Ho Chi Minh City mulls ‘tourism tax’ for overnight visitors

The vehicles pass through the Phap Van ETC station to enter the Phap Van - Cau Gie expressway. (Photo: QUANG PHUC) At the Ho Chi Minh – Long Thanh – Dau Giay expressway, the traffic situation was reportedly improved on the morning of August 7 over the end of July and the beginning of August. The number of automobiles tagging ETC cards reached 99.24 percent at the Long Thanh toll collection station in Dong Nai Province. However, the congestion also happened when hundreds of trucks and automobiles got in line to pass through toll collection at National Highway No.51. At the toll collection stations on Hanoi Highway and Phu My Bridge in Thu Duc City, the traffic situation are also stable without acute congestion; however, some vehicles were recharged fee even though they did not travel through the stations. In the Northern region, the transport situation at the toll stations was stable. Compared to the first days of the ETC implementation, there currently are around 10 to 15 … [Read more...] about Some errors, incidents still arise in non-stop electronic toll collection

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam suggests Ho Chi Minh City spend the city’s state budget buying 70 percent of textbooks for students ( Photo:  SGGP) On the afternoon of August 5, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam led a delegation  working with Ho Chi Minh City on the results of the performance of tasks in the first six months of the year and orientation towards the last six months related to science and culture - society. He expected the southern city to pilot some changes in the sectors of health, education, culture, and society. At the meeting, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Duong Anh Duc on behalf of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed many contents in various fields. Specifically, in the field of culture, sports and tourism, Ho Chi Minh City proposed the Government allow Ho Chi Minh City to apply the Investment Law under the method of public-private partnership (PPP) to select investors for the implementation of these projects. Furthermore, … [Read more...] about Deputy PM suggests HCMC spend city’s budget buying 70 percent of textbooks