Vietnam Morning Monitor: Hoi An cracks down on improper foreign-language signs, 1.9 million accounts at cyber risk

| SOCIETY

-- Businesses in Hoi An, a popular tourist destination in central Vietnam's Da Nang City, are removing or modifying signboards and advertisements that violate regulations, particularly those featuring foreign languages without proper Vietnamese text.

Local authorities have stepped up inspections across Hoi An's three wards, targeting businesses catering to international tourists, many of which display signs in English or Chinese.

As of Friday, authorities in Hoi An Dong Ward had identified 59 cases and instructed businesses to correct their signs. The inspections will continue through the end of the year, with fines and forced removals possible for those who fail to comply.

-- Central Vietnam is bracing for widespread heavy rainfall from November 8 to 11 as the strongest cold air mass of the 2026-27 winter season approaches, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Hue, Da Nang, and eastern Quang Ngai Province are expected to receive 250-450mm of rain, with some areas potentially seeing more than 700mm. The weather agency warned of flash floods, landslides, and flooding in low-lying areas.

The cold spell is also forecast to bring the season's first widespread cold weather to northern Vietnam, with temperatures dropping to 16-19 degrees Celsius and below 13 degrees in some mountainous areas.

-- Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, widely known as Shark Thuy, chairman of Vietnamese education group Egroup, will stand trial in Hanoi from December 1 to 14 alongside his two younger siblings and 26 other defendants in an alleged investment fraud case involving more than VND8.45 trillion ($327 million) and over 10,000 victims.

Thuy faces charges of fraud and bribery, while his siblings are accused of helping him defraud investors.

According to prosecutors, the group sold fictitious Egroup shares between 2015 and 2023, promising annual returns of 15-20 percent and using its network of English language centers and schools to attract investors.

As the business ran into financial difficulties, the defendants allegedly used money from new investors to pay earlier ones. Prosecutors also accused Thuy of paying nearly VND32 billion ($1.24 million) in bribes to inflate Egroup's reported revenue and attract further investment.

-- Nearly 1.9 million accounts belonging to Vietnamese users still rely on weak passwords such as "123456," raising cybersecurity concerns amid increasingly sophisticated online financial fraud, according to figures presented at the Vietnam Digital Financial Security Forum 2026 on Friday.

Vietnam recorded around 552,000 cyberattacks in 2025, with 41 percent targeting the financial and banking sectors. Meanwhile, authorities detected nearly 1,000 online fraud cases in the first half of 2026, causing losses amounting to tens of millions of US dollars.

| CULTURE

-- Nearly 1,500 artisans from 39 groups across Vietnam brought the streets of Pleiku in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to life on Friday afternoon with a colorful parade celebrating the country's ethnic diversity.

Dressed in traditional costumes, the performers marched through major streets, playing gongs and other traditional instruments, dancing on stilts, and wearing elaborate masks, drawing crowds of locals and tourists.

The street festival was part of the 2026 Gong Culture Festival and Wild Sunflower-Chu Dang Ya Volcano Week, aimed at preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Vietnam's ethnic communities.

 | ECONOMY

-- Japanese stationery group Kokuyo has completed the acquisition of Thien Long An Thinh Investment Company, which holds a 46.82-percent stake in Vietnam's leading stationery manufacturer Thien Long Group, marking a major step in its takeover plan.

Kokuyo also plans to acquire an additional 18.19-percent stake through a public tender offer, potentially raising its total ownership to 65.01 percent.

As part of the leadership transition, Thien Long's founder and chairman Co Gia Tho and four other board members, including his sister and two children, have submitted their resignations.

-- Vietnam's benchmark VN-Index fell 15.37 points, or 0.88 percent, to close at 1,725.36 on Friday, joining a broader sell-off across Asian stock markets following a sharp decline on Wall Street.

Shares of major conglomerate Vingroup and technology firm FPT weighed on the market, with FPT falling 4 percent. Foreign investors, however, remained net buyers, purchasing approximately VND435 billion ($16.9 million) worth of shares.

-- Vietnam's state budget revenue reached an estimated VND2.44 quadrillion ($94.5 billion) in the first ten months of 2026, fulfilling 96.4 percent of the annual target and rising 11 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Domestic revenue totaled VND2.1 quadrillion ($81.5 billion), up 11.4 percent, while crude oil revenue surged 38.3 percent to VND56.3 trillion ($2.18 billion). Meanwhile, state budget expenditure reached VND2.11 quadrillion ($81.7 billion), equivalent to 66.8 percent of the annual estimate.

Cam Thanh nipa palm forest in Da Nang