News

• Fundamental reform required

  September 13, 2014

  – After 2018, what will Vietnam’s status be in ASEAN’s auto industry?
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• MasterCard loses EU court battle over cross-border fees

  September 11, 2014

  – LUXEMBOURG – MasterCard lost its decade-long battle against a European Union ban on cross-border card fees as Europe’s highest court on Thursday supported a broader regulatory drive to cut the cost of using payment cards.

  While the court’s decision applies only to MasterCard and the cross-border interchange fees retailers must pay when they accept credit and debit card transactions in Europe, it could encourage other regulators to take action and cap fees generally.
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• China’s regulators defend probes; Qualcomm inquiry nearly over

  September 11, 2014

  – BEIJING – China‘s three anti-monopoly regulators on Thursday launched a vigorous defence of their recent investigations into foreign companies, which have prompted mounting international criticism, and said they are not targeting multinational firms.

  Cases are “processed according to the law and are transparent”, said Xu Kunlin, director general of the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) Price Supervision and Inspection and Anti-Monopoly Bureau.
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• Majority of Consumer Products May Be Tainted by Illegal Deforestation

  September 11, 2014

  – WASHINGTON – At least half of global deforestation is taking place illegally and in support of commercial agriculture, new analysis released Thursday finds – particularly to supply overseas markets.

  Viet Nam has become more attractive to foreign retailers, particularly those from the region, as the country ranked second this year among the 10 top locations for retailers in Asia.
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• ASEAN Formulates a Post-2015 Vision and Strategic Action Plan on Competition

  September 11, 2014

  – ASEANFormulatesaPost2015VisionandStrategicActionPlanonCompetition_21ee64691650951ef683edbf0133d096JAKARTA – The ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) gathered at the ASEAN Secretariat from 9-10 September to deliberate a post-2015 vision, with new targets and a regional plan of action on competition for the period 2016-2025. The envisaged establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of 2015 will mark an important milestone on ASEAN’s way towards deeper regional economic integration and community-building. The Brainstorming Meeting was convened in compliance with the directives of the ASEAN High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) to develop a strategic framework towards 2025.
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• Gov’t to cut number of prohibited sectors

  September 10, 2014

  – HA NOI — The Government has proposed a reduction in the number of prohibited sectors, from 51 to eleven in a bid to provide favourable conditions to businesses.

  The list, regulated under the draft amendments to the Investment Law, includes military weapons, drugs, firecrackers, prostitution, human and organ trafficking, certain chemicals and wildlife products.
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• Patents and Standards, or: How a Court Case Will Affect Our Everyday Lives

  September 9, 2014

  – Industry standards are indispensable for today’s technology driven economies. Every time we use a mobile phone to place a call, or connect a computer to the Internet at a café, we rely on standardized technology. Most standards are developed over years through the collaboration of numerous engineers from different companies — the result is a technical document explaining how to make products that can ‘interoperate’ with one another. As EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes put it: ‘Standards are the foundation of interoperability.’ Having products with the ability to interoperate is a huge benefit to product manufacturers and consumers, as long as standards are open and accessible for reasonable costs.
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• VN, Russia strive to wrap up FTA

  September 8, 2014

  – Viet Nam and Russia are stepping up efforts to conclude negotiations for the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in early 2015.

  The talks continued at the 17th session of the Viet Nam -Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Co-operation which took place in Vladivostok last week.
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