Latest news with #PhuongNguyen
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
EV maker VinFast's Q1 loss widens on higher spending as deliveries rise
By Phuong Nguyen and Akash Sriram (Reuters) -Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast reported on Monday its sixth consecutive quarterly net loss as it continues to ramp up spending to boost sales volumes. VinFast reported a net loss of $712.4 million for the first quarter, less than the $1.3 billion loss in the previous quarter but 20% more than a year earlier. Analysts' average forecast was for a $616.3 million loss, according to LSEG data. Revenue jumped 150% to $656.5 million in January-March, compared with analysts' average estimate of $520 million. Deliveries leapt nearly 300% to 36,330 vehicles in the quarter, mainly driven by sales in Vietnam, its biggest market. VinFast shares were up 10.53% in pre-market trade. Backed by Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup, VinFast continues to face challenges due to weak consumer demand, stiff competition, and a 25% tariff the U.S. has imposed on imported vehicles. VinFast previously identified the U.S. as a key growth market. The company reported a gross margin of minus 35.2% in the quarter, compared with minus 58.7% a year earlier. The firm is intensifying promotional efforts domestically, shifting to a dealership model from the costlier option of its own showrooms, and redirecting its focus to Asia, with its new assembly plant in India set to begin operations in July. Research and development expenses fell 22.3% year on year in the quarter, while the cost of sales more than doubled over the same period, it said. VinFast, which has reported a loss every quarter since it went public in August 2023, has received around $2 billion in financial support from its founder and CEO Pham Nhat Vuong and Vingroup, as of May. ELECTRIC BUSES VinFast's affordable, small VF 3 and VF 5 models were its best-selling vehicles, accounting for 68% of its domestic deliveries, chair Thuy Le said on an earnings call. The company is also looking to expand in the bus market. "We are exploring opportunities in Asia and Europe with plans to offer electric buses in 6, 8, 10, and 12 meter sizes," Le said. "We set up in Indonesia and Europe already and very soon in the Middle East and the U.S.," Le said, noting that VinFast already delivered buses in big volumes in Vietnam. The company said it would introduce its next-generation platform and an electrical architecture with the Limo Green model in the third quarter. This will underpin existing EV models next year. "While its VF3 subcompact SUV is driving volumes, the company is still losing money on every car it sells," research firm Third Bridge noted in a pre-earnings report. "The bill of materials is estimated to be significantly higher than those of Tesla and BYD, partly because VinFast lacks scale and still pays a premium to suppliers who are wary of its short track record," it said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vietnam orders messaging app Telegram to be blocked, government document shows
By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam's technology ministry has instructed telecommunication service providers to block the messaging app Telegram for not cooperating in combating alleged crimes committed by its users, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters. The document, dated May 21 and signed by the deputy head of the telecom department at the technology ministry, ordered telecommunication companies to take measures to block Telegram and report on them to the ministry by June 2. The ministry asked telecommunication service providers "to deploy solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam". The document said the ministry was acting on behalf of the country's cyber-security department after police reported that 68% of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in the country violated the law, citing fraud, drug trafficking and "cases suspected of being related to terrorism" among the illegal activities carried out through the app. A technology ministry official confirmed to Reuters the authenticity of the document, noting the move follows Telegram's failure to share user data with the government when asked as part of criminal investigations. Telegram and Vietnam's technology ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The Vietnamese police and state news outlets have repeatedly warned people of possible crime, frauds and data breaches on Telegram channels and groups. Telegram, which competes globally with other social media apps such as Facebook's WhatsApp and WeChat, was still available in Vietnam on Friday. Vietnam's ruling Communist Party maintains tight media censorship and tolerates little dissent. The country has repeatedly asked companies like Facebook, Google's YouTube and TikTok to coordinate with authorities to stamp out content deemed "toxic", including offensive, false and anti-state content. Telegram is accused of not applying laws that require social media to monitor, remove and block information that violate the law, according to the document. Also, the document said that according to information from the police, "many groups with tens of thousands of participants were created by opposition and reactionary subjects spreading anti-government documents". The free-to-use platform with close to one billion users worldwide has been involved in controversies across the world on security and data breach concerns, including in France where its founder Pavel Durov was briefly detained last year. France's President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Vietnam from Sunday.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Exclusive-Vietnam government document says Trump Organization exploring tower in Ho Chi Minh City
HANOI (Reuters) -The Trump Organization and its local partner are exploring building a skyscraper in Vietnam's business hub Ho Chi Minh City as Eric Trump is expected to visit Vietnam this week, a Vietnamese government document seen by Reuters shows. The visit by the U.S. President's son comes just after the Trump Organization received the green light from Vietnam's government for a separate $1.5 billion golf project and as the Southeast Asian export-reliant nation is in talks with Washington to avoid punitive trade tariffs. Ho Chi Minh City officials are invited to "attend a dinner party with Eric Trump, senior vice president of the Trump Organization," on Thursday evening, the internal document seen by Reuters said. (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair)
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Hello, spring victory!' Vietnamese propaganda art flourishes 50 years after end of war
By Phuong Nguyen HANOI (Reuters) - Much has changed in Vietnamese life in the 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. The streets of the once-impoverished country now bustle with commerce and young people carry the latest iPhones and sing along to Taylor Swift songs. But one constant remains: the ubiquitous propaganda art of the ruling Communist Party. At 82, artist Tran Duy Truc has seen almost all of it. During the war, he painted posters to rally the troops and inspire North Vietnamese citizens, and continued to do so for the next 60 years. Now one of the oldest living wartime artists, he is proud to have been commissioned to paint four new works to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the war. "This isn't my first time creating such art, but the 50th anniversary is special. I feel deeply moved and excited," Truc said. On April 30, 1975, communist North Vietnam seized control of Saigon, the capital of U.S.-backed South Vietnam. The victory ended two decades of war that killed some 3 million Vietnamese from both sides and also nearly 60,000 Americans. More than 1 million Vietnamese fled the country after the war ended for fear of possible retaliation and economic hardship. One of Truc's anniversary posters features two female soldiers embracing - one in the uniform of the North, the other in the black that was typical of the South. "North and South, we are reunited in one home," it reads in Vietnamese. In the 1960s, Vietnam's wartime communist propaganda art - with its colourful but concise slogans - served as a powerful tool to promote ideas and inspire devotion to the cause. Today, it continues to flourish, visible on rooftops, street corners, billboards and in government offices. The style has even been transferred to T-shirts and coffee mugs that are popular with foreign tourists. 'IT'S NOT JUST ART' In his studio, where he also sleeps, Truc is surrounded by some 500 pieces of art commemorating various state occasions. The style of Vietnamese propaganda - vibrant colours typically depicting patriotic men and women exhorting their compatriots with pithy slogans - has changed little over the decades. "I wasn't enlisted to fight (in the war), but I believe I can still wield my brush to convey messages," Truc said. "Artists are soldiers, not on the battlefield but on the cultural front," he added. Truc fondly recalls seeing his paintings displayed on the rooftops of government offices on the day Saigon fell. He's among a number of artists commissioned for the 50th anniversary, and each piece conveys a distinct message. "Hello, spring victory!" is among the most common. Another invokes Ho Chi Minh, communist Vietnam's founder and first leader: "If only Uncle Ho were with us on the joyful day of the great victory!" Truc is already busy painting posters for the Communist Party Congress expected to be held in January next year. "It's not just art. It's history and patriotism," he said. (Writing by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kay Johnson and Kate Mayberry)
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vietnam's public security ministry aims to take majority stake in internet firm, document shows
By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security plans to take a majority stake in FPT Telecom, one of the country's largest internet providers, as part of its efforts to boost national cybersecurity, according to a document seen by Reuters. The ministry, which oversees the police, has become increasingly involved in Vietnam's internet and telecoms sector. It took control of the country's third-largest telecoms operator, MobiFone, last year and also spearheaded a tightening of data protection rules that has caused concerns among foreign tech firms. Under the plan, Vietnam's State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), a holding company for assets controlled by the state, will transfer its stake in FPT Telecom to the ministry, the document showed. SCIC owns 50.17% of FPT Telecom, while FPT Corp, Vietnam's largest private tech company, has a 45.66% stake but retains control of the unit, according to FPT Telecom's financial statements for last year. Reuters was not able to ascertain whether the transfer would lead to the ministry taking effective control of FPT Telecom. The public security ministry did not reply to a request for comment. FPT Corp said it currently had no information to share on the matter. The finance ministry, to which the plans have been submitted, also did not reply to a request for comment. Shares in FPT Corp tumbled nearly 7% on Wednesday, the day after the document was submitted. An investor in FPT Corp and a broker said the slide was caused by uncertainty over the future of FPT Telecom which is an important source of revenue for the group. The shares have pared some of those losses since then and are now down 2.8% compared to Tuesday's close. In addition to providing internet services, FPT Telecom is involved in the development of undersea fibre-optic cables, which Communist-run Vietnam considers a national priority as most of its existing cables are ageing and prone to accidents. The transfer "will contribute to the good performance of the functions and tasks of the Ministry of Public Security", the document dated April 14 said. It listed the protection of data and the monitoring and prevention of cyber risks as core functions of the ministry. The document urges the finance ministry to seek the prime minister's approval for the plan. Vietnam's largest telecoms operator, Viettel, is owned by the defence ministry, while the second-largest, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), is controlled by the SCIC, which is overseen by the finance ministry.
