Tony Foster, a lawyer in Hanoi In the 25 years that I have lived in Hanoi, Vietnam has accomplished a feat worthy of Houdini by extricating itself from a web of sanctions and limitations. It deserves an Oscar for becoming everyone’s best friend in the process. Most people arriving in an unmarked, plain white Vietnam Airlines plane in 1994, clearing immigration and driving into Hanoi in a leaking Volga (on the old road via Gia Lam and the Chuong Duong bridge) were hard pressed to picture the potential; most were on postings of a few years, time-servers who often did not even try. I had the good fortune to work for a law firm that was established in 1743 and whose attitudes to anywhere east of Suez in those days retained a residual colonial bent. So I was posted to Vietnam for life, which coincidentally was the term for which many criminals sent to penal colonies like Australia. In such circumstances, one did not focus just on the short-term horizon. We had to believe in … [Read more...] about 1994-2019: Vietnam’s development pointers for North Korea – VnExpress International
Web development firms
Building firms talk sustainability
Viet Nam News HCM CITY — Sixteen leaders in the construction industry discussed opportunities and challenges in building infrastructure at the "Build for Life" conference, which opened in HCM City on October 11. The conference is focusing on innovative and sustainable building solutions for urban areas, especially large infrastructure. Philip Richart, general director of INSEE Vietnam (formerly Holcim Viet Nam), said: “We believe the world will be a better place if everything we build always makes life worth living,” he said. Việt Nam is one of the most rapidly urbanising countries in the world, which is leading to challenges for the infrastructure system and living spaces. The conference included discussions about smart cities and future building trends; the future of global engineering; and energy infrastructure for sustainable development in megacities. Guru Mallikarjuna, managing director of BOSCH Việt Nam, said: "Things are increasingly … [Read more...] about Building firms talk sustainability
VIR’s web chat: Opportunities for Phu Yen investment promotion
VIR's web chat: Opportunities for Phu Yen investment promotion Speaking at the event, Nguyen Chi Hien, member of the province Party Standing Committee and deputy chairman of the Phu Yen People’s Committee, said that similar to other central coast provinces, Phu Yen, with its location in the south central coast region, has great potential for economic development. Specifically, Phu Yen has huge potential to boost service and tourism economic development, thanks to the 130-kilometre (km) coastline, more than 20 national attractions, and 5km distance between Tuy Hoa City and Phu Cat Airport. In addition, with the advantages of the nearby coast-line, Phu Yen also has plenty of favourable conditions to develop high-tech agriculture and aquaculture. Along with these huge natural advantages, the provincial government believes that Phu Yen will be one of the best investment options for both local and foreign investors. More importantly, the current mission is to turn the potential and … [Read more...] about VIR’s web chat: Opportunities for Phu Yen investment promotion
FPT buys US-based tech advisory firm
Vietnamese Information telecommunication and technology group FPT Corporation (FPT) and US-based purpose-driven management consulting and technology services firm, Intellinet, have reached a definitive agreement for FPT to become the major shareholder of Intellinet. Signing ceremony between FPT and Intellinet. Under this agreement, Intellinet will continue to operate as an independent organisation; however, the two sides will be able to leverage each other’s strengths. With this new partnership, Intellinet enhances FPT’s offerings with strategy and management consulting capability and becomes part of a company with deep offshore capacity, focusing on digital transformation. FPT will pay USD 30 million in cash and the rest of the payment will depend on the performance of Intellinet over the next three years. The US firm recorded USD 30 million in revenue in 2017. FPT, by partnering with the world’s technology disruptors such as Amazon Web Services, … [Read more...] about FPT buys US-based tech advisory firm
The decaying web and our disappearing history
Our online history is disappearing at an astonishing rate, creating a black hole for future historians. On January 28 2011, three days into the fierce protests that would eventually oust the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, a Twitter user called Farrah posted a link to a picture that supposedly showed an armed man as he ran on a “rooftop during clashes between police and protesters in Suez”. I say supposedly, because both the tweet and the picture it linked to no longer exist. Instead they have been replaced with error messages that claim the message – and its contents – “doesn’t exist”. Few things are more explicitly ephemeral than a Tweet. Yet it’s precisely this kind of ephemeral communication – a comment, a status update, sharing or disseminating a piece of media – that lies at the heart of much of modern history as it unfolds. It’s also a vital contemporary historical record that, unless we’re … [Read more...] about The decaying web and our disappearing history