Business

YouTube Premium, the Google pay service to watch YouTube videos without ads, has become available in Vietnam, starting at a price of VND49,000 ($2.09) a month. Google’s initial offering of YouTube Premium services has first been available to only select customers first from Wednesday, before the mass rollout begins next …

Tran Uyen Phuong, first daughter of Tran Qui Thanh, chairman of Vietnam’s largest beverage producer Tan Hiep Phat (THP), used to be referred as the powerful lady tycoon. Phuong,42, was holding more key positions in the family’s corporation and owning more real estate companies, compared to her 39-year-old younger sister …

Bigo Live, the popular live streaming application in Vietnam, is no longer available on Apple’s App Store. Since April 8 people have been complaining they cannot find the app. Bigo’s website only shows Apple’s notification saying “Application unavailable.” Thanh Duy of HCMC wrote in an online technology community: “I have …

NTUC FairPrice has apologized to a Muslim couple after one of its staff members insisted that complimentary snacks provided to Muslim customers during Ramadan were only for Malays. Jahabar Shalih, 36, and his wife Farah Nadya, 35, said that they were doing their usual grocery shopping with their two young …

Insurance companies will pay $200,000 to the family of a pilot killed in a helicopter crash in northern Vietnam, while coverage for the four deceased passengers will be negotiated between the transport company and their families. The Bell 505 helicopter carrying four passengers and one pilot that crashed near Ha …

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index dropped marginally to 1069.45 points Wednesday, with foreign investors net selling for the fifth straight session. The index closed 0.01 points lower after gaining 4.11 points on Tuesday. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) increased by 9.16% to VND12.65 trillion ($539.51 million). Foreign investors …

Vietjet Air operated over 31,000 flights with several new routes in the first quarter, earning revenues of VND12.6 trillion ($537.38 million). Vietjet’s financial report showed the sales of goods and ancillary services accounted for 42% of its total revenues. The airline operated 31,260 flights serving 5.4 million passengers in Q1. …

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City saw their Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) ranking tumble by 10 and 13 places respectively last year as investors expect more reforms in their business environment. The index, which has been studied and published by the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) since 2005, …

Over 300 workers struck work Monday morning at garment maker Saitex International in southern Dong Nai Province to protest against its policy of docking wages for defective products. When they received their March salary, the workers realized there were deductions of VND200,000-1,000,000 ($8.5-42.4). Saying there were many defective products in …

Sales are down at real estate companies in the South as potential homebuyers can’t afford current lending interest rates of around 13-14% VnExpress has found that sales over the last six months at five top southern property companies have fallen 80-90%. Real estate consultancy DKRA Group has said that housing …