Vietnam Morning Monitor: Techcombank CEO discusses Vietnam's growth prospects, government steps up anti-trade-fraud efforts

| POLITICS

-- Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone agreed in Hanoi on Tuesday to strengthen parliamentary cooperation in lawmaking, digital transformation and oversight.

They will review their May 2022 cooperation agreement and seek to sign an updated version in 2027, while boosting economic, trade and investment ties, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

| SOCIETY

-- Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, wife of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, and Vandara Siphandone, wife of Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane, visited Birla Children's Village in Hanoi on Tuesday during the Lao leader's official visit to Vietnam.

They met the children and presented 78 school backpacks, two multifunction printers and other gifts, the Vietnam News Agency said. The 39-year-old facility currently cares for 78 children and has supported more than 500 since its establishment.

-- A 48-year-old man identified as N.H.P. is suspected of stabbing his 46-year-old girlfriend, T.T.T., to death with scissors at a hotel in Nam Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa Province, on Monday night.

He allegedly tried to flee by climbing down a cable from the hotel's fourth-floor balcony early Tuesday but fell about 10 meters and was seriously injured. The Khanh Hoa Provincial Police Investigation Agency is investigating.

-- Ho Chi Minh City will upgrade its overloaded Long Truong waste transfer station on Truong Luu Street into an enclosed compaction facility handling 360 metric tons a day, twice its current capacity.

The VND401.467 billion (US$15.59 million) municipal-funded project will cover about 2,020 square meters and run from 2026 to 2029 to improve waste handling and control pollution, the city administration said. At an October 15 briefing, ward official Le Thi Phuong confirmed the station was overloaded.

-- Vietnam is revising its Law on Donation, Retrieval and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs to save more lives, protect donors and prevent organ trafficking, Health Ministry Medical Services Administration Director Ha Anh Duc said in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The draft includes safeguards for living donors under 18, fair organ allocation, independent medical assessments and tougher controls on illegal organ trading, the ministry said.

| ECONOMY

-- Techcombank CEO Jens Lottner joined business leaders and experts at the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 Summit 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday to discuss Vietnam's growth prospects, including FDI, supply chain diversification, infrastructure and AI.

He said the country's International Financial Center could link global capital with domestic investment opportunities and mobilize long-term funding, Techcombank said.

-- Experts urged coffee growers in Dak Doa Commune, Gia Lai Province, to adapt Robusta farming to extreme weather and prepare for a potentially severe El Niño at a workshop on Tuesday.

Nguyen Quang Ngoc of the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute recommended maintaining ground cover, limiting unnecessary pruning and intercropping shade trees. Nguyen Long Phuc of Petrovietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer Corporation introduced the 2Nong farm-management app, which uses AI to help diagnose pests.

-- Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc chaired a Hanoi meeting on Tuesday to discuss a draft resolution on balanced trade, excess production capacity and combating trade fraud and illegal transshipment. He called for stronger action against trade violations and more diverse trading partners

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Luong Hoang Thai proposed seven groups of measures, including tighter checks on foreign-invested projects and goods' origins, export market diversification and better data sharing. 

| SPORTS

-- Vietnamese-American midfielder Jaedyn Shaw scored in Gotham FC's 2-0 win over Utah Royals on Monday, securing the club's first NWSL Shield as the league's regular-season leader.

The 21-year-old finished the season with 11 goals and five assists and made her 100th NWSL appearance. She told the Associated Press she was delighted to help the team achieve its goal.

Colorful butterfly parasols showcase Vietnam's Nguyen Dynasty heritage