Hà Nội increases tuition fees at public schools HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People’s Council on Thursday approved a resolution to raise tuition fees at public schools for the 2018-19 academic year.  Students are studying IT at a primary school in Hà Nội’s Long Biên District. — VNA/VNS Photo Under the resolution, the fees for nursery, primary, secondary and high schools will all be raised in the urban, rural and mountainous areas. The monthly tuition fee per pupil in the urban areas will be raised by VNĐ45,000 (US$2) to VNĐ155,000 ($7), according to director of the municipal Department of Education and Training Chử Xuân Dũng. Monthly tuition fees for a pupil in rural and mountainous areas will be raised by VNĐ20,000 and VNĐ5,000 to VNĐ75,000 and VNĐ19,000, respectively. The increase was aimed at improving salaries for teachers and professional development, he said. The new fee was affordable for urban households while it will not affect students of poor families as they receive Government tuition fee reductions and exemption, he added. The city would collect a total of nearly VNĐ940 billion ($42 million) from the new tuition fees, accounting for 11.3 per cent of its spending activities. Head of the municipal People’s Council’s Social and Culture Department Trần Thế Cương said the municipal authorities would increase management and inspection to prevent the collection of additional fees and organisation of extra classes at public schools as part of measures to ensure education and training quality. VNS |
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Social News 9/7 Sick seaman saved off Hoàng Sa Islands
 Rescue staffs of the Đà Nẵng-based Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre No 2 (MRCC2) give first aid to a sick seaman in the sea off Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Islands of Việt Nam. — Photo courtesy MRCC2 A sick fisherman was rescued off the northwest of Việt Nam’s Hoàng Sa (Paracels) Islands on Sunday, 140 nautical miles from the coast of Đà Nẵng. The Đà Nẵng-based Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre No 2 said the seaman, Mai Văn Hoàng, 43, from Quảng Bình Province, had been suffering from severe stomach pains since Saturday morning. Hoàng was taken back to port in Đà Nẵng for further treatment at the city’s general hospital after receiving emergency aid onboard. Rescue ships have salvaged eight fishing boats from rough seas or engine failure so far this year. Marine Police Force Zone 3 in the coastal central of Bình Thuận Province successfully rescued nine fishermen by towing their stranded boat to Phú Quý Island last Friday. The rescue forces had received a distress call the previous day saying that the vessel’s engine had broken down about 100 nautical miles to the southeast of the island last Thursday. The police dispatched a rescue vessel which reached them at 8:30pm on Friday. The fishermen are in a stable condition. 3 city hospitals tie up to improve care for pregnant women, newborns  The HCM City Children’s Hospital and Từ Dũ and Hùng Vương maternity hospitals have signed an agreement to work together to provide better care for pregnant women and newborns. — Photo sggp.vn The Bình Chánh District’s HCM City Children’s Hospital has signed an agreement with Từ Dũ and Hùng Vương maternity hospitals to set up an obstetrics department, its director, Trương Quang Định, said. The three will also work more closely together for prenatal diagnosis and consultancy and standardising the emergency treatment protocol, especially for newborns requiring immediate medical attention. Dr Hồ Tấn Thanh Bình, head of the neonatal intensive care unit at the City Children’s Hospital, said the infant mortality rate in Việt Nam, although decreasing, is still relatively high. “The City Children’s Hospital is working with two of the biggest maternity hospitals in HCM City to provide diagnosis before birth and appropriate treatment to improve the lives of patients and infants.” Hoàng Thị Diễm Tuyết, director of Hùng Vương hospital, said co-operation to provide better obstetric and paediatrics care would tremendously decrease the infant mortality rate and improve newborns’ health. Bình said since its opening on June 1 his hospital has received many newborns requiring immediate medical attention from Từ Dũ and Hùng Vương hospitals, where they had been diagnosed before birth. Lê Quang Thanh, director of Từ Dũ hospital, said his hospital has been working closely with Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2, but the two places are always overcrowded. The recent opening of the City Children’s Hospital has alleviated this problem, he said. Định said City Children’s Hospital aims to set up an obstetrics department so that pregnant women whose unborn children are diagnosed with a condition can deliver there and the newborn can be immediately treated. Online gambling ring destroyed  The Police Department of High-Tech Crime Prevention (C50) under the Ministry of Public Security arrested Nguyễn Như Hoàng – a member of an online gambling ring via the website named M88.com, in HCM City on Saturday. On Sunday, many other members of the ring were also arrested. Under initial investigation, thousands of gamblers in Việt Nam bet via the website that was hosted in the Philippines. It is estimated that gamblers poured VNĐ2 trillion (US$87.1 million) into the website since 2015. Three wheel driver blamed for deadly accident  The scene of the accident kills 3 and injures 1 in the southern province of Bình Dương. Authorities have identified the cause of a traffic accident that left three people dead on Saturday. Nguyễn Thanh Lâm, 35, a driver of a self-modified three-wheel vehicle, who drove in the wrong lane, was blamed for the deadly accident that killed three people and injured one in Bình Dương Province. The province’s Bến Cát Town Police revealed the cause on Sunday after they watched data taken from a security camera installed on a stretch of the road. The accident happened on Saturday noon while a truck crashed into the self-modified three-wheel vehicle. The truck was travelling the opposite way from the three-wheel vehicle. The accident killed Lâm, two people on the truck and injured the truck driver. HCM City launches campaign to help street kids  A campaign called “Chắp Cánh Ước Mơ” (Giving Wings to Your Dreams) which helps street children in crisis was launched in HCM City on July 6. A campaign called “Chắp Cánh Ước Mơ” (Giving Wings to Your Dreams) that helps street children in crisis was launched on Friday in HCM City at Children’s House in the city. The event was organised by Kiehl’s Grand in collaboration with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Việt Nam. The campaign will help needy kids in crisis throughout Việt Nam, including care for street kids, education for kids at risk, support for sex trafficking survivors, support for the end of slavery, and a unique legal advocacy service for young people in crisis. Young Vietnamese dancer Quang Đăng has been chosen as a representative for the campaign, which is calling for donations from both foreign and domestic individuals and organisations. People can donate directly to Blue Dragon’s foundation via www.bluedragon.org. Kiehl’s will also donate VNĐ50,000 (US$2.2) per product for each “Ultra Facial Oil Free” product sold during July and August. There will be a limited number of products that contain the campaign’s logo. From July 1 to August 30, the foundation will receive US$1 for each profile picture on Facebook with the frame “Chắp cánh ước mơ” and use of the hashtags #kiehlsxbluedragom #kiehlsxquangdang and #chapcanhuocmo. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/KiehlsVietnam. Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has operated in Việt Nam since 2003. It has affected the lives of more than 50,000 children and families, rescued 364 young women from forced marriage or brothels, directly rescued 401 children from their places of slavery, and transformed the lives of over 2,000 street kids and children in crisis in Hà Nội. Kiehl’s is among 34 different brands of the L’Oreal Group. L’Oreal Việt Nam opened in 2007. Last year, Kiehl’s and Việt Nam Autism Network (VAN) created a project called “Chung Tay Giúp Đỡ Trẻ Em Tự Kỷ” (Supporting Autistic Children Together) as part of a global campaign for Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organisation in the US. Two missing victims found in Sài Gòn River  Rain hinders the salvage operation of the sand barge on the Sài Gòn River. — Photo vov.vn The bodies of the captain and a crew member of the barge that crashed into a container ship on the Sài Gòn River in HCM City on Wednesday were found on Thursday. The two bodies were found floating on the Sài Gòn River some 50 metres from the barge collision on Thursday afternoon. The bodies were handed over to their relatives. The salvage operation of the barge is underway, expected to be finished by this evening as the entire body of the barge will be completely floated to tow to shore. The incident occurred on Wednesday morning in front of ELFGAS Port when the 8,500-tonne Prosper from Mongolia crashed with the 895-tonne barge BTr.7759 from southern Bến Tre Province, which was carrying 600 cubic metres of sand. The collision injured one crew member and the barge sank, along with the captain and another crew member who were found yesterday. Cow breeding yields high income for farmers in Tiền Giang  Tiền Giang Province is encouraging farmers to breed oxen and raise cows to earn higher incomes. Farmers who breed oxen and raise cows in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang have greatly improved their income. Nguyễn Thị Hồng Hạnh, who has 3.3ha of farmland in Gò Công Tây District’s Thạnh Trị Commune, cultivates rice and vegetables, and breeds cows on her farm. She earns a profit of nearly VNĐ500 million (US$22,000) a year from her mixed farming model, she said. Of the profit, VNĐ100 million is from the sale of calves from breeding cows. Farmers breed cows and raise oxen under a model in which they plant crops and breed fish and animals. The garden–pond–animal pen model or other mixed production models are considered useful for farmers who lack sufficient land and for those affected by climate change. Bùi Văn Hòn, who was the first farmer to breed cows and oxen in Gò Công Đông District’s Tân Đông Commune, is breeding five cows and raising eight oxen for sales of meat. Hòn has only 1ha of rice which does not yield enough profit for his 10-member family. But now he earns a good living from raising cows and oxen. Farmers in Tân Đông Commune, which is affected by saltwater intrusion, have adopted Hòn’s model. Gò Công Đông has 6,315 oxen and cows, according to the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau. The cow and oxen model has reduced poverty in the province’s coastal areas, islets and outlying areas, according to local authorities. In recent years, authorities encouraged farmers to switch from ineffective rice fields to the garden – pond – animal pen model. In 2012, Nguyễn Văn Trọng, who lives in the outlying Mỹ Phong district in Mỹ Tho City, shifted his 9,000 sq.m of a rice field to the garden - pond – animal pen model. Trọng plants Xiêm coconut, green-skin and pink-flesh grapefruit, as well as grasses for breeding oxen and raising giant gourami. With the model, he earns a profit of VNĐ300 million ($13,200) a year, far more than what he earned from rice. He regularly attends training courses on farming and animal breeding techniques. Trọng also donates dozen of million of đồng a year to help the poor, and has helped build transport and irrigation infrastructure in his commune. He has been honoured by city authorities as an excellent farmer in Mỹ Tho City for his results in production and trading of agricultural products. Nguyễn Hoàng Đảm, deputy chairman of the Mỹ Tho City People’s Committee, said Trọng’s garden – pond – animal pen model was suited for the city’s outlying areas. The province, which is the delta’s largest cattle producer, targets increasing its oxen and cows to 121,000 heads by the end of this year, from 116,000 heads, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Central province begins solar power project at log farm  Solar pannels are installed for a sun-powered pumping system at a log farm in Phú Yên Province. It’s the second ’green power’ project in agroforestry in the province. The central province of Phú Yên began a solar-powered watering system for log farms in Tuy An district after one-year pilot project using sun-powered pumping systems for sugarcane farms in Sơn Hòa district. The province said the solar power system, built with total investment of VNĐ110 million (US$4,800), will supply more than 4,700 kilowatts per hour (Kwh) per year, cutting three tonnes of carbon emissions into the environment. The renewable energy system will help farmers save 110 litres of fuel for the diesel generator-driven pumping system, while supplying 16 cubic metres of water for farming each day. It’s the second off-grid solar power system that has been developed on a farm in central Việt Nam. According to the project developer, the HCM City-based SolarBK company, the system uses a Solar System Operation Centre (SSOC) control application on a smart phone for remote operation. Tuy An district has grown of 300ha forest, marking 18.5 per cent of forest coverage. Last year, the province officially launched the first stage of a 30MW (Megawatts) biomass power plant. Tuy Hòa city in the province also launched a solar-powered public lighting system and automatic watering at a public park in 2017. One dies, 21 injured in truck-tractor accident  The accident scene. — Photo soha.vn At least one person died and 21 others were injured in a crash in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on Friday morning. The accident happened at 5.30am when a truck hit a tractor that carried a trailer carrying 21 people in Kông Chro District’s An Trung Commune. According to witnesses, the truck was heading to Đak Pơ District from Ia Pa District and hit the tractor travelling in the same direction. The crash killed a 13-year-old boy on the spot and injured 21 others. Five people were seriously injured and were taken to the local hospital for emergency treatment. The accident was initially believed to be caused by truck driver Đặng Ngọc Thuận violating traffic regulations when he tried to pass. Thuận, 27, is from central Phú Yên Province. Right after the accident happened, local authorities visited the victims and provided initial financial support worth VNĐ5 million (US$217) for families of victims who died and VNĐ500,000 to VNĐ2 million for families of injured people. This is not the first time a traffic accident has involved tractors and other farm vehicles that transport people. This time of year, local people are harvesting crops so they often use such vehicles to transport farmers to the fields. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Võ Ngọc Thành urged authorities of districts and communes to take measures to prevent the use of tractors to transport farmers to ensure traffic safety. Business-school ties help train workers  More than 70 per cent of labourers working at industrial zones in the city are from other provinces and mostly unskilled.— Photo danviet.vn A final year mechanics student at HCM City’s Technical College Dương Quang Thiện spends his time taking a training course at Lập Phúc Company. “Thanks to the course, I have chances to practise my technical skills and get more experience,” he said. The enterprise and the school launched the collaboration to equip students with practical skills that match business requirements. Thiện and 17 other students taking the course hope that after graduation they will be offered a position at the company. Lập Phúc mould-making company is one of domestic ones in HCM City to co-operate with universities and colleges to launch training courses for students to attract skilled graduates. Small domestic firms in HCM City lack skilled labour due to more attractive foreign direct investment firms and workers moving overseas. Nguyễn Văn Trí, director of Lập Phúc Company, told Nông Thôn Ngày Nay (Countryside Today) that after spending time training labourers, many workers left their jobs. “The labour force plays a key role in ensuring sustainable development of enterprises. We (enterprises) have no choice but to actively lead training high-quality labour force for ourselves,” he said. Lập Phúc Company is also working with Nguyễn Tất Thành University to train hundreds of mechanics students and is also holding factory visits for students. According to a survey, more than 70 per cent of labourers working at industrial zones in the city are from other provinces and mostly unskilled. It is difficult to have a stable training plan because the number of labourers fluctuates, Trí said. Authorities-company-school Trí suggested the city authorities co-operate with schools in the city and other localities to offer training to more workers. “Enterprises themselves must offer stable wages to attract skilled labourers,” he said. Nguyễn Trọng Hoài, principal of HCM City’s Economics University, said that HCM City’s authorities should train workers not only for the city but for the whole country and ASEAN region. He proposed the city follow the model of developed countries in which authorities take a leading role in lining schools and enterprises to train high-quality workers in key sectors. Local authorities should also link schools with industrial zones and encourage sectors to announce the number of skilled labourers they need. Sử Ngọc Anh, director of the city’s Department of Planning and Investment, said that the city will focus on measures to improve labourers’ skills for not only short-term production but also long term technological development targets. A trendy collaboration Co-operation between local apprenticeship centres and enterprises also occurs in central Quảng Nam Province. Sixteen local apprenticeship centres have launched training courses at school and offer on-the-job training at local enterprises so students can get used to the working environment and technology. By the end of this year, the province aims to have more than 20,000 new workers who graduated from apprentice schools, making the number of skilled workers in the province account for nearly 60 per cent of its total workforce. Phạm Hải Anh, head of Student Affairs of Economic and Technical College of Quảng Nam Province, said the school has trained students following the direction of enterprises. Companies have also worked with the school to compile training curriculums. Hội An South Development Limited Company and the provincial culture, art and tourism intermediate school have worked together to offer hotel and tourism service training to locals. According to the local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, sectors of textiles, mechanics, hotel and restaurant services offer the highest number of jobs for local people. Drug traffickers arrested in Sơn La  The drugs that police found after a raid into a house in Mộc Châu Town, Sơn La Province late Thursday evening. Police found two men packing heroin and synthetic drugs at a house in Mộc Châu Town in the northern province of Sơn La late Thursday evening. They seized about 15 bricks of heroin, three kilos of crystal meth and 6,000 methamphetamine pills. The suspected drug traffickers – Hà Văn Thành, 37, residing in the district’s Lóng Sập Commune, and Trần Hữu Thụ, 41, of Mường Sang Commune – ran to the top of the four-storey house, intending to run away and destroy evidence, but they failed. Reaching Thành’s place, police found another brick of heroin and 1,000 meth pills. Meanwhile, police in Mai Sơn District in the same province recently arrested another drug trafficker, Sồng A Hờ, born in 1974 and residing in Cò Nòi Commune. Hờ admitted buying the drugs from a stranger in Phiềng Khoai Commune of the province’s Yên Châu District for VNĐ80 million (US$3,470) to sell for profit. Authorised agencies seized 12,000 methamphetamine pills, a motorbike and other relevant items. In addition, when searching his house in Cò Nòi’s Phiềng Hy Village, police discovered four packages, allegedly containing opium resin. The cases are under investigation. Sơn La police last Friday concluded a massive raid into the hideouts of two major drug lords, who were both killed following tense resistance. The leaders of major operations that trafficked drugs from Laos via Việt Nam to a third country, they were shot and killed during the raid that involved more than 300 police officers. Farmers grow more honeydew melons by irrigation drip method  Honeydew melons grown in membrane houses and watered by a drip irrigation system have brought higher incomes to farmers in Tiền Giang Province. — Photo www.tiengiang.gov.vn Tiền Giang Province is growing more honeydew melons via a drip irrigation method and in membrane houses to raise farmers’ incomes, according to the province’s Department of Science and Technology. The department’s Centre for Biotechnology Application has helped local farmers who used traditional cultivation methods to shift to the high-tech method. Vương Thị Mỹ Thanh, deputy director of the centre, said the 500sq.m membrane house and an auto-drip irrigation system cost a total of VNĐ150 million (US$6,535). Four crops of honeydew melons are sold at an average price of VNĐ30,000 ($1.3) per kilogramme. Each 500sq.m of honeydew melons produces 1.5 tonnes per crop, earning a profit of VNĐ22.5 million ($980). Growers could produce about 30 tonnes of honeydew melons per hectare per crop, earning a profit of VNĐ450 million ($19,607) for each crop. Ngô Hữu Nguyền, a farmer in Chợ Gạo District’s Bình Phục Nhứt Commune, said he was now growing honeydew melons in a 400sq.m membrane house. Thanks to the high-tech method, each year he can grow four crops and harvest about four tonnes, with a profit of over VNĐ60million ($2,614). Meanwhile, a farmer living in Mỹ Tho City Nguyễn Văn Ba invested VNĐ150 million to build a 550sq.m membrane house, producing 1.5 tonnes of honeydew melons per crop with a high net profit of VNĐ90 million ($3,920) a year. “Growing crops for a short time in a membrane house helps control insects and disease, recoups the initial investment, and saves water resources,” he said. In particular, 10 farming households in Gò Công Đông District’s Tân Tây Commune are building a network of membrane houses with a total area of 1,548sq.m, reaching a net profit of VNĐ200 million ($8,714) each year. Farmers in neighbouring provinces of Vĩnh Long, Bến Tre and Long An are also using the drip irrigation and membrane house methods. Most farmers with small fields can reap the benefits of such methods, particularly in cities and provinces of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta region that are seeing rapid urbanisation. HCM City coastal district efficient at alleviating poverty  Mangrove forests in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District. The coastal district has taken several effective measures to help poor and near-poor households escape poverty in recent years. — VNA/VNS HCM City’s outlying Cần Giờ District has helped many poor and near-poor people rise above the poverty line in recent years through effective measures. Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Dung of the district’s An Thới Đông Commune has managed to escape poverty since last year thanks to a preferential loan of VNĐ7 million (US$300) from the commune’s poverty reduction fund. With the loan and her small savings, Dung bred cows and pigs. After earning some money from this, she bred shrimp and grew bananas and vegetables around shrimp ponds to earn additional incomes. She said: “Previously, my family lacked money and so could not escape poverty. Thanks to the preferential loan and competent agencies helping us with farming techniques, my family has escaped poverty.” Cần Giờ is the city’s only coastal district, and its average income last year of VNĐ43.78 million ($1,900) was lower than that of other outlying districts. Last year, it provided preferential loans worth more than VNĐ200 billion ($8.8 million) to nearly 10,000 poor and near-poor households, according to its People’s Committee. It also provided vocational training to nearly 1,770 workers and jobs to 3,600 poor people, and motorbikes, fishing tools, motor boats, industrial and family sewing machines to 54 poor households. It built charity houses for 109 poor households and gifted health insurance cards to more than 27,700 poor and near-poor people. As of the end of last year, the district had nearly 2,820 poor and 3,830 near-poor households, representing 15.4 per cent poverty and 20.9 per cent near poverty. The district targets to reduce poverty and near poverty by 9.2 percentage points and 7.6 percentage points this year. To sustainably reduce poverty, local authorities have encouraged farming households to use their unfertile rice fields to breed aquatic creatures and swifts for harvesting nests and high-value crops. Cần Giờ has an area of more than 70,400ha, including a 33,000ha mangrove forest. But with the soil in more than half the places affected by alum and saltwater, the only aquaculture and tourism are possible and they are the district’s two key sectors. The Cần Giờ mangrove forest is recognised by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve. The district People’s Committee has collaborated closely with the Fatherland Front Committee for a programme to reduce poverty in 2018-20. Seven detained after explosion at HCMC police station  The site of the explosion at a police station in Tân Bình District, HCM City. The HCM City police have launched criminal proceedings against seven people after seizing TNT explosives during a raid. Four are being held on suspicion of conducting terrorist activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration, and three others in connection with the illegal trading of explosives. The information was released by the force at a press conference in the city on July 5. According to Major General Phan Anh Minh, Deputy Chief of the city’s Police, a big explosion occurred on June 20 at a police station in Tân Bình District, injuring one officer and damaging property. After more than 10 days investigating, the city’s police, in coordination with their counterparts from the neighbouring province of Đồng Nai, arrested seven suspects. They seized nearly 10kg of TNT explosives, as well as other materials used to make bombs, used for similar attacks. After his arrest, Nguyễn Tuấn Thanh – born in 1990 – is alleged to have confessed that his father Nguyễn Khanh – born in 1964 and residing in Trảng Bom District, Đồng Nai Province – told him to make explosives with remote activation detonators. Police say both admitted to having close relationships with Ngô Hùng, the self-proclaimed commander-in-chief of the Việt Nguyễn dynasty, currently living in the US. Hùng appointed Khanh as Governor of the Đồng Nai autonomous region and Thanh as Major General. Afterwards, Hùng transferred VNĐ120 million (US$5,214) to Khanh and assigned him to organise the production of explosives which would be detonated at police stations. It is alleged that following Hùng’s order, Khanh assigned his nephew, Dương Bá Giang – born in 1971 and residing in Đồng Nai Province – to make the explosives. Thanh was responsible for supporting Giang. Police say after receiving two bombs created by Giang, Khanh handed them to Vũ Hoàng Nam – born in 1996 and living in Tân Bình District, HCM City – and asked him to detonate them at police stations. On June 20, Nam is accused of throwing two bombs into the police station at Ward 12 in Tân Bình District, injuring himself in the process. Khanh allegedly gave another bomb to Nguyễn Xuân Phương – born in 1988, residing in Biên Hòa District, Đồng Nai Povince – and asked him to create a blast at Tam Hiệp police station in Biên Hòa District. But police say Phương left the bomb in a deserted location, falsely reporting back to Khanh that he had successfully planted it but that it may have failed to blast. Khanh told the police that he bought explosives from a group of people in Đắk Mil District, Đắk Nông Province. On the basis of this, the police arrested three more suspects. However, those arrested have told police they did not know Khanh would use the explosives for terrorist purposes. According to the investigation authorities, the reactionary Việt Nguyễn dynasty group has enlisted several people to disturb public order in HCM City, filming and posting the incidents on social networks, with many further events planned. The police are expanding the investigation and hope to arrest more suspects. Speaking at the press conference, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyễn Thiện Nhân asked the police to continue collecting more evidence relating to the case, as well as coordinating with other countries to prevent terrorism. He urged relevant agencies to increase communications to raise public awareness of legal obedience and spread a thorough understanding of the Party’s and State’s policies to promptly detect and prevent terrorist plots. Knowledge management will be applied at MoFA  Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affair Lê Hoài Trung said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will apply knowledge management (KM) in the daily work of officials and civil servants in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the diplomatic sector. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) will apply knowledge management (KM) in the daily work of officials and civil servants in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the diplomatic sector, said Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affair Lê Hoài Trung. Addressing the workshop on applying knowledge management in the public sector, which was organised by the MoFA on Wednesday in Hà Nội, he said KM was a modern model which had been adopted by many big corporations all over the world. Many countries had applied KM including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, he said. Trung said the ministry would complete and implement the KM strategy soon, possibly in August this year, adding that it had begun studying experiences from other countries and had drawn lessons from them since 2017. Participants at the workshop discussed issues relating to KM trends and the benefits of KM. According to Johannes Schunter, KM specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji, the UNDP has set up strategies to focus on knowledge sharing through investment in human and technology since 2009. The target of the application of KM in UNDP was to enhance the organisation’s global leadership to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development, strengthening institutions to provide basic services, reduce risks of conflicts and natural disasters and enhance practical actions with priority given to poverty and inequality. Margaret Gair, a specialist from the United Kingdom, said KM was about connecting people and enabling them to share and seek out knowledge that helps them work more collaboratively and effectively. The application of KM helped leaders throughout the organisation access information and knowledge easy, thus improving the effectiveness of its operation. Participants attending the workshop also agreed on the need to apply KM in Việt Nam. Nguyễn Sỹ Cương, deputy chairman of the National Assembly for External Affairs, said that although KM was a new concept, it was necessary for all organs of government to apply the model to overcome shortcomings in information management and sharing. Vĩnh Long Province continues administrative reform  Members of the avail of an inter-agency one-stop-shop policy at a government office in Vĩnh Long Province. The Mekong Delta province of Vĩnh Long will review and streamline procedures as part of its administrative reform and efforts to improve the quality of public services. Vice chairman of its People’s Committee, Lê Quang Trung, said on Thursday that the province would speed up work on a proposed public administrative centre and adopt a competitiveness valuation index to rate government agencies and district people’s committees. Nguyễn Phi Hùng, deputy head of the province’s Department of Home Affairs, said administrative reforms effected in the first six months of this year have helped improve the investment and trade environment and the province’s competitiveness, benefiting the public and businesses. There are 1,762 administrative procedures in use: 1,134 at level 2 (the user to download the required forms to be printed out and filled in), 497 at level 3 (forms can be filled online) and 29 at the highest level, level 4 (forms can be filled and payments can be made online). Following the improvements made this year nearly 92 per cent of administrative procedures can be completed through single-door and inter-agency one-stop-shop policies at the provincial level and more than 99 per cent at the district level. Eighteen agencies functioning under the People’s Committee, eight districts and Vĩnh Long city and 109 communes, wards, and towns have adopted a single-door policy. Five other agencies have adopted an inter-agency one-stop-shop policy. Besides, 239 administrative agencies in the province have achieved ISO 9001:2008 quality certification. Its Public Administrative Reform Index rating last year was 74.77 points, putting it in 44th place out of the country’s 63 provinces and cities. The province’s speed of administrative reforms has been slower than that of many other provinces and cities. The province’s Việt Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) score last year was 37.66 out of 60, putting it in 14th place. Improved responsiveness to public problems and a crackdown on corruption in the public sector and public services helped it improve its score. The province’s Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services last year was 82.3 per cent, 1.4 percentage points higher than the country’s average. VNN |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 10/7 Vinamilk’s products present in 43 countries  Dairy giant Vinamilk’s products have hit supermarket shelves in 43 countries and territories across five continents. Vinamilk has ten large-scale Global GAP farms nationwide with all its 120,000 dairy cows imported from Australia, the US and New Zealand. Four years ago, a Vinamilk dairy farm in the central province of Nghe An became the first in Southeast Asia and the third in Asia to receive a Global GAP certificate. This means the farm met domestic and international quality and safety standards. Every day, the firm collects some 750 tonnes of fresh milk from its farms and 8,000 farming households daily, enough to produce three million glasses of milk per day. The company plans to increase its herd of cows to 200,000 in 2020 to double its daily fresh milk output. Currently, Vinamilk owns 13 plants, including a mega-factory in the southern province of Binh Duong. Equipped with advanced technology in automation, the factory operates on an automatic basis, from the feedstock input to the final produce storage under the control of the central computing system. The milk factory can meet the demand for liquid milk for the entire Vietnamese market. It can provide 400 million litres of milk per year and productivity will be raised to 800 million litres after Vinamilk expands the factory. After gaining a foothold in foreign markets with its traditional items of powdered milk for infants and toddlers and condensed milk, Vinamilk has recently begun the export of fresh milk, yogurt and fruit juice. Since 1997, the dairy giant has earned 2 billion USD from exports. It is working to expand operations abroad, especially in emerging markets like Laos and Myanmar. It has also paid attention to market research activities to expand its presence in new markets in Africa. Regarding domestic markets, Vinamilk was the most chosen consumer brand in Vietnam for four consecutive years from 2014-2017, according to the 2018 edition of Kantar Worldpanel’s Brand Footprint report. With high Consumer Reach Points, Vinamilk was the most chosen dairy brand in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, and rural areas across the country in 2017. Vinamilk is aiming for revenue of 55.5 trillion VND (2.46 billion USD) and post-tax profit of 10.75 trillion VND (477 million USD) this year, up 8.5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. How Vietnamese firms can keep international talent Most Asian companies, including those doing business in Viet Nam, believe it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit international talent though 40 per cent (75 per cent in Viet Nam) plan to increase their international headcount in the next 12 months, according to a new report. “How to attract and retain the right talent to grow your business internationally,” by London-based professional recruitment firm Robert Walters said the greatest challenges are due to the high salaries expected by applicants despite lacking the skills required. Adrien Bizouard, country manager, Robert Walters Viet Nam, said: “With this report, targeted at Asian companies looking to internationalise, we hope this serves as a strategic roadmap on how to equip Vietnamese businesses with the talent they need.” In Viet Nam, when asked “What are the top three reasons for leaving their previous Asian companies,” 57 per cent of the respondents indicated low transparency in company decisions and changes compared to only 35 per cent in Asia. This was followed by the lack of professional training and personal development programmes (55 per cent). The third reason (53 per cent) was they could not see a progression in their career paths. Besides common motivating factors such as pay and benefits or company reputation, promotion opportunity was by far the most popular response (63 per cent) to the survey question on what motivates international talent to work in an Asian business. The report suggested that Vietnamese companies should build their employer proposition to attract talent by providing a competitive salary range and highlighting their expansion strategies for the future besides identifying and promoting their advantages over Western companies. Vietnamese companies should build and maintain a unique company culture through fostering close relationships within the firm at all levels, and create a culture of collaboration and teamwork which could turn into an advantageous factor, it said. “They should provide structured training and career development programmes that would support employees in professionally shaping their careers with the option of implementing a job rotation programme to allow staff to gain an overview of the business and variety of skills.” Asian companies are growing in international status and changing the global business landscape: 40 per cent of the companies in the latest global FORTUNE 500 list are Asian, more than from any other continent. The need for international growth was recognised by a majority of the survey’s respondents, with 70 percent of Asian firms and 67 per cent of Vietnamese firms stating that they plan to grow their international footprint within the next three years. The report was based on interviews with more than 5,000 HR professionals, hiring managers and candidates in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Viet Nam. VN seeks stronger ties with Brazil Addressing a Viet Nam-Brazil trade and investment forum with the participation of representatives of about 100 enterprises from both countries, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue highlighted the potential for bilateral cooperation. On Tuesday, the Deputy PM visited Sao Paulo, the largest financial and industrial hub of Brazil and one of the most important in the Americas, as part of his ongoing visit to Brazil. Viet Nam had recorded a high growth rate over the past decade, and would be a gateway for Brazil to access ASEAN markets and free trade areas of which Viet Nam is a member, while Brazil could help Viet Nam penetrate the South American trade bloc (MECOSUR), he said. Deputy PM Hue expressed his belief that ties between the two countries would thrive in the future through specific programmes. Viet Nam could become a top importer of Brazil’s maize and soybean, and would consider buying beef from the country, he said, suggesting that Brazil import more coffee, tra fish and shrimp from Viet Nam. He underscored that Viet Nam was willing to co-operate with Brazil in farming machine manufacturing, safe agricultural production, tourism, education and training, and pharmaceuticals. Alencar Burti, President of the Sao Paulo Chamber of Commerce, said that the forum created a chance for Viet Nam to attract more investment from Sao Paulo, and foster partnership between the business communities of both sides. Along with the agreements signed on aviation, agriculture and cooperation deals between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries, Viet Nam and Brazil finalised agreements on defence, especially in the defence industry, while heading towards the signing of an investment protection agreement and another on double taxation avoidance. Earlier the same day, at a meeting with Ambassador Rubens Barbosa, President of the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo State (FIESP), Deputy PM Hue proposed that the FIESP strengthen cooperation with Viet Nam’s big cities such as HCM City, while engaging in the restructuring and acquisition of State-owned enterprises as well as the reform of banking system and the construction of agricultural processing plants in Viet Nam, thus deepening involvement in Viet Nam and ASEAN markets. During his stay in Sao Paulo, Deputy PM Hue also held meetings with some leading enterprises and business associations of Brazil such as the Brazilian Association for Fisheries Promotion (ABRAPES), the Brazilian Association of Fisheries Industries (ABIPESCA), aerospace companies Embraer and Avibras and Eurofarma medical company. Vinatex reports 14% surge in profits Vinatex, the nation’s premier textile and garment company, reported a pre-tax profit of VND394 billion (US$17.3 million) for the first half of this year, a 14 per cent year-on-year rise. Its revenues were up 7 per cent to VND9.3 trillion. Vinatex targets profits of VND787 billion on consolidated revenues of over VND20.3 trillion this year, representing a rise of 5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. It plans to pay dividends of 6 per cent for 2018. Central bank lowers dollar rate to keep exchange rate steady The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has stepped in to steady the dollar-dong exchange rate by selling the greenback on Tuesday at 1 per cent lower than the previous day’s rate. Commercial banks were able to buy from the central bank’s Operation Centre at VND23,050. The SBV also cut the daily reference exchange rate by VND5 to VND22,630 to the dollar. With the current trading band of 3 per cent, the ceiling rate for banks during the day was VND23,309 and the floor rate was VND21,951. Following the move, Vietcombank reduced both buying and selling rates by VND5 to VND23,000 and VND23,070, but other lenders continued to hike their rates. BIDV increased both by VND20 to VND23,010 and VND23,080. Techcombank’s buying rate was VND22,980, up VND50 from the previous day, and selling rate was VND23,080. Earlier SBV Governor Le Minh Hung had told an online conference between the Government and localities that the central bank was willing to intervene in the foreign exchange market if supply or demand problems arose. The dollar has appreciated significantly against the dong recently. According to Nguyen Duc Do, deputy head of the Economics and Finance Institute, besides the appreciation of the dollar following the US Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hike and the accelerating US-China trade war risk, there is also a psychological factor at play following rumours that the rate would remain upward bound. But he expects the SBV to take strong measures to prevent the dollar from strengthening to much against the dong to prevent a repeat of the dollar hoarding a few years ago. Besides, it also needs to keep the exchange rate steady to enable the Government to achieve its goal of keeping inflation below 4 per cent this year, he added. VME returns to Ha Noi in August The Viet Nam Manufacturing Expo (VME) 2018 will return to Ha Noi in August, showcasing a wide range of machinery and industrial know-how from over 200 brands. The event’s organiser - Thailand’s Reed Tradex - delivered the information at a press conference held in the capital on Wednesday. “In recent years, Viet Nam made strategic moves to speed up the manufacturing sector towards a new industrial revolution - Industry 4.0,” Suttisak Wilanan, Deputy Managing Director of Reed Tradex said. “Manufacturers can’t ignore calls for abilities in customisation, precision, high-speed production, and the transformation from analog to digital operations in the era of Industry 4.0. Those who fail to do so will fall behind their customers’ growing demands,” he said. He added that in the era of Industry 4.0, integration of several new technologies have opened up new kinds of automated systems such as ‘collaborative robots’, or Cobots - a robotic system designed to safely work alongside humans. During VME 2018, Reed Tradex will co-ordinate with Universal Robots to organise a practical ‘Cobot Showcase’ in order to promote the potential applications of Cobots, while working closely with human operators. The forthcoming event will be also held along with four others to create a comprehensive platform for manufacturing, Suttisak Wilanan said. These events include Viet Nam Sheet Metal – an extraordinary edition of Viet Nam’s only sheet metal fabrication technology and machinery exhibition and Viet Nam Electronics Assembly – an international exhibition on machinery and technologies for electronic parts and components manufacturing industry. Two others are Robot X – the most comprehensive series of events on industrial robots in ASEAN and Industrial Components & Subcontracting Viet Nam – a sourcing platform for industrial parts and components. Business-matchmaking activities to support all participants finding the right target agents, suppliers or future business associates and a competition to search for the best welding master and encourage Viet Nam’s industrialists to see the importance of upgrading their welding skills will be also held on the sidelines of VME 2018. The three-day event will open its doors at the Ha Noi International Exhibition Centre on August 8. TMV’s first batch of automobiles enters Việt Nam Toyota Motor Việt Nam (TMV) has imported 200 cars through Hiệp Phước Port in HCM City after six months of suspending imports to Việt Nam. This is the first batch of automobiles from the Japanese automaker since the Government’s decree 116 went into effect early this year. The firm previously said they were unable to meet Việt Nam’s stringent checks of imported vehicles under Decree 116 on the production, assembly, import and warranty of automobiles, which was issued just as Việt Nam eliminated tariffs on automobiles imported from ASEAN members. Under which, this new batch of automobiles, imported from Thailand, will enjoy zero per cent import duties and have to pay only special consumption tax and value-added tax. The firm is making necessary import procedures for the batch, which is expected to roll out to the market next month. According to report from the General Department of Customs, the total import value of cars reached 8,534 units, worth more than US$223 million. Of which, imports from Thailand made up 84.5 per cent, reaching 7,212 units. Value of coffee exports to Indonesia soars The value of Vietnam’s coffee exports to Indonesia saw a sharp rise in the first five months of the year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The country recorded an 8-fold increase in export value to Indonesia, reaching US$102 million, up 97.1% against the same period last year. Indonesia are driving up their imports of Vietnamese coffee as it is reasonably priced and has a good quality for the purpose of processing instant coffee, domestic consumption or re-export. Vietnam’s coffee exports also posted a sharp increase to other markets such as Russia (up 76.8%), the Philippines (54.1%), Algeria (10.8%), and Japan (5.8%). In the first half of the year, coffee exports are estimated to reach 1,042 million tons worth US$2.01 billion, up 11% in volume but down 4.7% in value compared to the corresponding period last year. Germany and the US remained the two largest importers of Vietnamese coffee in the first five months with export values hitting US$209 million and US$174 million respectively. The average export price of coffee stood at US$1.929 per ton in the first half of the year, down 14.23%, while the export price for June was US$1.914 per ton, down 2.3%. On the domestic market, the coffee price was on a downward trend in June, hovering at VND36,000 per kilo, down VND700 per kilo against the corresponding period of the previous month. According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the global coffee output for the 2017-2018 period is estimated to increase 1.2% to 159.66 million sacks (60kg). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts that the global coffee output for the 2018-2019 period will reach 171.2 million sacks. Vietnam textile firm bets on eco-friendly products While higher prices and low awareness have limited consumption in the domestic market, one firm is optimistic that this will change. For price conscious Vietnamese consumers, an organic product more expensive than its normal version is not an attractive option, but one firm has decided to be persistent. The Phong Phu Textile and Garment Company introduced its made-in-Vietnam eco-friendly towel brand last December, attracting media attention as one of the first firms in the country to produce an organic textile product. The Mollis Organic towels are made from 100 percent organic cotton. No genetically modified organism, chemical fertilizer or pesticides are used in the making of this product, the company asserts. The company would strive to bring organic products to its customers although their production costs are high and profits uncertain, Pham Xuan Trinh, CEO of the Phong Phu Textile and Garment Company, told VnExpres International. The company prices its organic towels from VND60,000-VND250,000 (US$2.62-US$10.91) depending on the size, about 20% higher than conventional products, while made-in-China towels are sold for just VND15,000 (US$0.65). Since awareness of the importance and advantages of organic products is relatively low among a majority of Vietnamese consumers, Phong Phu is struggling to sell its organic towels to local customers. “We’ll continue to invest in organic products despite low profits with the hope that one day Vietnamese customers will see the true value of organic products,” he said. The company spent VND4 billion (US$174,600) last year on research and development for its organic products. As Vietnam’s conditions are not currently suitable for growing organic cotton, the company imports its material from Bangladesh, India and Israel. The processing and manufacturing processes happen in Vietnam. The company has so far exported its organic towels to Japan and South Korea, aiming at the high-income customers in these countries. Phong Phu recorded a profit of VND149 billion (US$6.5 million) in the first half this year, a growth of 7% from the same time last year, but most of it came from conventional non-organic products, including towels and denim jeans. Vietnam, UK cooperate in building information model development  Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction and the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office on July 5 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in applying a building information model (BIM) in Vietnam’s construction industry. As part of activities in the global technical infrastructure programme funded by the UK Government’s Commonwealth Fund, this aims to build a master strategy of digitalisation in the field in Vietnam. Under the MoU, the UK Government, through the UK’s digital construction institute, will work with the Steering Committee of BIM (Ministry of Construction’s Institute for Construction Economics) to develop standards and guidelines and support the implementation of a number of BIM pilot projects in Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh said that Vietnam is in the period of renovation and development, so its demand for construction investment is very large. In recent times, the Government and the Ministry of Construction have always paid special attention to managing the investment efficiency of projects, he noted. Vietnam’s goal is to strengthen the control of quality, transparency and publicity of construction investment projects, in order to shorten construction progress and reduce losses. According to Sinh, the Prime Minister approved the BIM project in construction and operation of projects in Decision No. 2500 / QD-TTg dated December 22, 2016 with the aim of improving productivity, quality and efficiency in the building sector. The UK has extensive experience in urban development and management, planning and construction, and it is also very successful in the BIM model, he noted, adding that cooperation with the UK side is hoped to help Vietnam complete institutions and standards in construction activities, thus early applying the BIM model in construction investment. Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the Department for International Trade of the UK said she was impressed by Vietnam's great potential and demand for both public and private technical infrastructure projects. The UK has built a world-class system for using BIM in public works to save construction costs, she stressed. With its experience, the UK Government would like to provide information about the BIM application for Vietnam, thus helping the Southeast Asian nation successfully implement this model. UK companies, which boast expertise in executing high-quality infrastructure projects around the globe, can help Vietnam implement investment projects in this field efficiently and sustainably, she affirmed. The application of BIM in the construction industry is expected to contribute to raising productivity, quality and efficiency in construction investment activities and operation management. This is an important solution to approach the 4th Industrial Revolution of the construction sector.  Lotte Duty Free opens second outlet in Vietnam Lotte Duty Free, a subsidiary of Lotte Group, will co-operate with a local firm to open a new airport duty free store in Cam Ranh International Airport of Nha Trang, which is a part of its plan to solidify its foothold in Vietnam, according to newswire Koreaherald. The new store will mark its second airport outlet in Vietnam as well as Southeast Asia, and its seventh overseas location. The company has secured exclusive rights to run the store until 2028, taking up 1,680 square metres at Cam Ranh International Airport’s new terminal, according to officials. The Nha Trang business will be run by local joint venture Phu Khanh Duty Free, in which Lotte has a 60 per cent holding. The company expects to attain some KRW700 billion ($644 million) in sales over the upcoming 10 years of operation. Its revenue target is considered feasible as Nha Trang has recently become the largest tourist destination in central Vietnam, attracting some 1.2 million foreigners last year. Lotte Duty Free CEO Jang Sun-wook stated that it aims to open additional outlets in Vietnam’s major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over the next three years. Furthermore, its positive results with the first outlet in Danang International Airport also contributed to their confidence. Earlier in November last year, Lotte Duty Free officially opened its first outlet in Vietnam at Danang International Airport, also through a joint venture with Phu Khanh Duty Free, after starting pilot trading operations in May. This was the first duty-free outlet in Vietnam established by a Korean operator. At the time, Lotte Duty Free CEO Jang Sun-wook stated that Lotte Duty Free would thrive in the Vietnamese market by offering a combination of differentiated services. According to newswire The Investor, on February 14, Lotte Duty Free reported that the firm’s outlet at Danang International Airport earned $463,649 in net profit. Regarding local players in the duty-free sector, over the course of 25 years, the Southern Airports Services JSC (SASCO) has proven itself to be the most competent player in the field of airport services in Vietnam. As of May, the firm ran 20 duty-free stores of international standard, selling more than 12,000 items from well-known international brands. The shopping precinct has proven to be the most commercially attractive area in airports . Boasting more than 30,000 traditional handicraft items and regional Vietnamese specialties, SASCO Shop provides enjoyable shopping for tourists. According to its financial statement for the third quarter of last year, the duty-free chain contributed a large part to SASCO’s consolidated revenue. Notably, in the last nine months of last year, the firm earned VND818 billion ($35.64 million) in revenue from duty-free stores, equalling VND91 billion ($3.96 million) per month. DHG approved to abolish FOL Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) has recently been approved to lift the foreign ownership limit (FOL) to 100 per cent, according to information published on its website. The move will open the doors for old and new investors to increase their holdings in Vietnam’s biggest publicly-traded drug maker. At present, Taisho Group from Japan is the biggest foreign shareholder in DHG after the purchase of 650,000 shares, or 0.5 per cent of the charter capital, to increase its holding to 24.95 per cent, equaling 32.606 million shares. This year, DHG aims to make a net revenue of VND4.017 trillion ($178.53 million), down 1.1 per cent compared to the actual revenue in 2017, while its pre-tax profit is set to rise by 6.7 per cent on-year to VND768 billion ($34.13 million). The runner-up is FTIF Templeton Frontier Markets Fund with 7.95 per cent. Meanwhile, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is the biggest stakeholder with 43.3 per cent. Regarding the business results of DHG, despite having Taisho Group on board, DHG still saw a 4.4 per cent fall on-year in its gross profit in the first quarter of 2018. DHG made a net revenue of VND908.4 billion ($40.37 million) during the period, up 3 per cent on-year and meeting 25.67 per cent of the company's annual target. The drug maker also reported a gross profit of VND378.4 billion ($16.8 million), down 4.4 per cent on-year, thus meeting 22.3 per cent of the company's yearly target. DHG blamed the fall on the rise in the cost of goods sold during the period. This year, DHG aims to make a net revenue of VND4.017 trillion ($178.53 million), down 1.1 per cent compared to the actual revenue in 2017, while its pre-tax profit is set to rise by 6.7 per cent on-year to VND768 billion ($34.13 million). Italian companies eye Vietnamese furniture and interior design market Italian companies are looking for opportunities to enter the Vietnamese market and capitalise on the rising demand for furniture and interior design. A delegation of seven Italian companies in the field of furniture, kitchen, lighting, and artistic mosaics paid a working visit to Vietnam last week to explore the market and find potential partners. The well-known Italian brands include Badari Lighting, Cantori, Diemme Cucine, Formitalia, Officina Luce, Sicis, and Versace. According to Paolo Lemma, chief representative of ITA in Vietnam, Vietnam’s furniture imports over the last three years grew at an average annual rate of 33 per cent. Italy leads in the EU and is third worldwide as a source market, accounting for almost 7 per cent of Vietnam’s furniture imports. In addition, Vietnam’s urbanisation rate grows by 3.4 per cent each year, making it the fastest in Southeast Asia. The supply of residential buildings, hotels, and resorts is increasing at an annual average of 20 per cent, especially in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and main tourist destinations. The development of the country’s real estate market is expected to continue to have a major impact on high-end furniture demand. To tap into the market’s growth, ITA/ICE Italian Trade Commission—the Trade Promotion Section of the Italian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City—and Federlegno Arredo Eventi have organised a premier business mission to Vietnam to explore the market for Italian furniture and interior design products. The mission included a full immersion programme for the Italian delegates to get to know the state of the Vietnamese real estate industry and furniture trends in the country. The delegation met with major Vietnamese property development corporations and visited a number of high-end residential projects as well as luxury furniture showrooms in the city. The first meeting was with Hoa Binh Corporation, one of Vietnam’s five leading general contractors in large-scale projects such as the Le Méridien four-star hotel, Saigon Centre Complex, the expanded terminal at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, and Cocobay Danang. The delegation also had business meetings with Coteccons Group and Boho Décor, Cofico JSC, Phat Dat Real Estate Development Corporation, and Cao Dong Design. Italian furniture and interior design companies want to expand their presence in Vietnam as the country is a fast-growing market with a large population and rising income levels. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is also expected to open up new opportunities for both Vietnamese and European companies, including those from Italy. EPTC signs agreement to purchase electricity of Trung nam Group Electric Power Trading Company (EPTC) under Electricity Vietnam Group (EVN) signed a deal to buy electricity with Trungnam Solar Power on Tuesday. According to Trungnam Solar Power, work on the solar power plant will start on July 7 at the Trung Nam wind power farm in Bac Phong and Loi Hai communes in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan. With a total capacity of 204MW, it is scheduled for completion in June 2019. The plant covering 264 hectares is designed with over 705,000 battery sheets connecting with 45 inverter convert station and the national grid. It costs nearly VND5 trillion ($216.8 million). It is expected to produce between 401 and 450 million kWh of electricity per year. Once it is operational, the plant will supply more electricity for the national grid in Ninh Thuan Province particularly and the country generally. After a long time for negotiation, Trung Nam will sell electricity at a price of VND2,086 (US$9.35 cent) per kWh, according to the agreement with EPTC. Speaking at the signing ceremony, deputy director of EVN Le Khac Hung highly appreciated Trungnam Group and its Solar Power subsidiary promising EPTC will work closely with investor to operate the project on set schedule. Viber community officially introduced in Vietnam Viber, one of the popular communication applications on mobile devices, officially introduced its community in Vietnam yesterday in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). This signals its promising return with more services for users. “Vietnam is a very potential market to us. Right at its debut, Viber has become one of the major choices of the Vietnamese to keep in contact with others. It is now our honor to introduce the international Viber Community to the Vietnamese market”, said Anubhav Nayyar, Head of the Marketing and Business Development of Viber in the Southeast Asian area. In this event, Viber presented its Beauty Community, Pet Lover Community, and Football Community, which are now taking full advantage of all features serviced by Viber to connect and manage their groups. Thanks to Viber’s new features, members of these communities can access all the history of their groups and participate in group talks using such actions for messages like inserting GIF, stickers, photos, video along with the traditional text. All these are approved by the group’s administrator. Viber ensures the confidentiality of all users in that their phone numbers will be hidden from other members’ view. The only information available in the chat room is members’ names. Senior administrators of the community will monitor the roles of all members. They can add new members and assign anyone administrator or senior one, ban or block members if needed, and decide which members are allowed to participate in which conversations or invite new people into the community. Senior administrators can develop their community more and change its status to public by providing link sharing, or they can hide it at any time. They can also activate the feature to earn money in accordance with the community’s policy and goals. Viber, in this case, will help to boost the revenues. Senior administrators can assign junior ones the task of helping them censoring conversations via the option of erasing one or all messages of any member, pinning notes to guide conversations. Administrators can add or remove members when needed. New procedures for sales promotions remain complicated New procedures for sales promotion programs are still complicated, as seen in a number of new Government decrees drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, businesses have complained. This is in contrast with the fact that the Government praised the ministry last year for simplifying and eliminating 675 procedures. In May this year, the ministry officially approved a comprehensive plan for further simplifying a host of administrative procedures and investment and business conditions within the ministry’s jurisdiction. This is the first effort toward administrative procedure simplification in 2018 and the third of its kind for the industry and trade sector. However, some new decrees have made doing business more difficult. On May 22, the Government issued a new decree on sales promotion activities, where Decree 81 replaced Decree 37/2006. Written by the trade ministry, the new decree takes effect from the middle of this month. According to Article 17 of the new decree, traders must notify their local department of industry and trade of their promotion activities at least three days before the start of the program. Specifically, they must send out documents announcing the contents of their programs in accordance with the approved model document. If multiple traders are running a joint program, the document should state all their names and their specific responsibilities. For the first time, submissions of notifications of promotion campaigns can be made online instead of by the physical submission of documents. At first glance, the regulations appear to be a significant achievement for administrative reform, removing business conditions for enterprises wishing to launch promotion programs without permission. However, some enterprises found the regulations unnecessarily complicated. They cited the first appendix of the new decree, noting that they are also being asked to enclose copies of relevant agreements or contracts. This means if a program has hundreds of traders from various provinces and cities involved, hundreds of agreements or contracts must be included in the submission to their local watchdogs. The second appendix asks traders to report the results of their programs. They are told to store receipts and relevant documents for their reports in line with prevailing regulations. The move is intended to facilitate the inspection, management and supervision efforts of the regulators. The top official of a beer production company told the Daily that if as many as 200 of his agents were to run a promotion campaign across the country, he would have to store hundreds or even thousands of minutes or winning affirmations for his reports. As such, the situation will create major problems for traders like him. Further, promotions are the result of the internal management of a business, so an enterprise should be held solely accountable for the results of its promotion campaign if problems arise, he added. Meanwhile, local watchdogs will have to spend a great deal of time checking piles of applications, copies of agreements or contracts, minutes and winning affirmations. As such, the new decree will also cause State management agencies a slew of unnecessary consequences. The Anam among world’s leading luxury resorts The Anam, a new 117-villa and 96-room resort overlooking the pristine Long Beach in central Vietnam, has been selected to join Traveller Made, an exclusive network of the world’s top luxury properties and tourism operators. The Anam underwent a stringent pre-selection process by two steering committees presided over by luxury hoteliers and incoming agencies. The resort was selected based on its ability to provide luxurious one-of-a-kind travel experiences. “To join Traveller Made’s community so soon after our grand opening in April last year is a fantastic achievement. It’s a seal of approval that connects us to the top people in travel agencies and we look forward to introducing Traveller Made’s clients to our breathtakingly beautiful part of the world,” Pham Van Hien, chairman and owner of The Anam, said in a statement. Binh Thuan aims to become national sea tourism hub The south-central province of Binh Thuan has seen a 12 percent growth in the number of visitors so far this year, thanks to the locality’s efforts to develop a safe and friendly tourism environment and enhance service quality. In June, Binh Thuan welcomed 430,000 visitors, pushing the total number of tourists to the province to around 2.6 million in the first six months of 2018, a rise of 11.6 percent year-on-year. Of the total, 334,000 were foreigners, mostly Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Thai – a rise of 13.9 percent for this majority demographic year-on-year. Binh Thuan’s tourism revenue in the January-June period was estimated at 6.35 trillion VND (279 million USD), up 18.8 percent year-on-year. In recent years, Binh Thuan has become popular among tourists thanks to its beautiful landscapes, stunning beaches, and friendly and safe environment. It has 192km of coast featuring idyllic beaches, impressive landscapes, a clean environment, along with many national historical and cultural relics and festivals. The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with the Tourism Association of the province to launch a summer promotion programme for 2018, with reductions in hotel and tourism service prices by 10-50 percent across the province, along with many other promotional offers. To complete its goal of luring 5.75 million visitors in 2018, including 670,000 foreigners, and a revenue of 12.85 trillion VND (565.4 million USD), the province will continue applying comprehensive measures such as raising public awareness of building a culture of healthy and friendly behaviour for tourism activities. The department will closely inspect accommodation facilities and travel agents, control service prices to make sure goods and service prices are the same as listed prices, and strictly handle any violations. The provincial tourism sector will also increase the quality of products and tours, with top priorities on sea and island tourism, aiming to turn Binh Thuan into a sea sports-tourism hub for the nation. Seminar talks export of farm produce, seafood export to Middle East, Africa The Foreign Ministry held a seminar in Hanoi on July 5 on external relations and the export of farm produce and aquatic products to the Middle East and Africa. Speaking at the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam said Vietnam and countries in the Middle East and Africa share long-standing friendships that lay the foundations for all-round cooperation, especially in trade, industry, and investment. Nam emphasised the Middle East and Africa’s strong purchasing power with a total population of over 1 billion people. South African Ambassador to Vietnam Mpetjane Kgaogelo Lekgoro said South Africa has a market-oriented agricultural economy, including food, cereals, animal husbandry, processed meat, and farm produce. The country imports agricultural products and food, mostly wheat, chicken meat, palm oil, soybeans, fish, and boneless seafood. However, Vietnam accounts for only over 1 percent of South Africa’s imports. The deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, Tran Van Cong, said the Middle East and Africa are yet to impose strict requirements or certifications for agricultural products. The two sides are also yet to sign a free trade agreement while tariffs and technical barriers remain unstable. Payment risk is high as regional importers are unfamiliar with opening a letter of credit, and many of them ask for deferred payment while Vietnamese businesses prefer immediate payment, forcing many partners to seek other foreign suppliers. Deputy head of the MoIT’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets Do Quoc Hung hailed the Middle East-African region as a promising market with 70 countries and a population of over 1.6 billion. The region has a huge demand for goods, especially farm produce and aquatic products, due to severe environmental conditions. He said rice will continue to be a major currency earner in the near future. In order to facilitate the export of farm produce and aquatic products to the region, Hung suggested refining the legal framework, mechanisms, and policies, alongside prioritising the signing of trade agreements. Both sides need to actively promote bilateral collaboration via the joint committee channel, he said, adding that Vietnam needs to boost trade promotion and help firms join exhibitions and fairs to popularise their brands. The MARD, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Food Association, and export enterprises need to establish a cooperation mechanism to boost export to the region, he said, adding that the two sides should raise firms’ awareness of the potential of each other’s market. Participants at the event shared experience and discussed payment in export activities, economic diplomacy, and support for businesses.  VNN |
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Illegal scrap importers to face prosecution Illegal scrap importers are about to get their comeuppance, according to customs officials.
Businesses illegally shipping in scrap into the country would be prosecuted on smuggling charges this month, said director of the General Department of Customs Nguyen Van Can during an online conference last week. The conference between the general department and 35 customs departments of localities aimed to review customs work in the first half of the year and plan for the last half. A representative from the Customs Department of HCM City reported that more than 3,200 scrap containers are stuck at ports in the city. The situation is prevalent at Tan Cang Cat Lai, the largest container port in Vietnam. The port is facing stagnation with thousands of containers filled with plastic and paper waste. Many containers have been stored for 90 days or longer. As of mid-May 2018, the port was stockpiling more than 7,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of plastic and scrap paper and more than 3,000 TEUs of other commodities, stored for more than 90 days, accounting for 10 per cent of the port’s total capacity. The situation is partly attributed to changes in international trade policies, according to director of the HCM City’s Customs Department Dinh Ngoc Thang. China, for example, stopped importing 24 types of used and recyclable materials from January. The huge amount of those goods has to find its own way to other Asian countries including Vietnam. Additionally, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and local departments of natural resources and environment are in charge of granting scrap import licences for manufacturing materials. However, some local departments authorised agencies at lower levels to grant the licences while the licences cover many kinds of products, making it difficult for customs officials to follow procedures. There were also cases where businesses imported scrap without a licence or an expired licence, Thang said. However, these businesses still found ways to ship scrap into the country. The latest report of the General Department of Customs shows that in the first five months of the year, the country imported more than two million tonnes of steel scrap, worth US$744 million. The highest imported amount of scrap came from Japan, with 546,000 tonnes worth $200 million. In addition to the imports of steel scrap and machines, Vietnam also imported old boats and car tires. Most of the products have come through seaports. The General Department of Customs last month asked localities to tighten imports of scrap into Vietnam, as the metal could cause pollution and affect the environment. Local departments of customs should follow regulations on environment protection, said the department. According to Circular No 41 dated September 9, 2015, issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, scrap imports must meet environmental regulations. However, some businesses declared incorrect names and codes of products and gave fake confirmation when completing customs procedures. Director Thang of HCM City customs department said to tackle the problem, there should be regulations requiring scrap shipping service providers to ask import business to show import licences or to commit to receiving import licences before such products enter Vietnam’s seaports. Port management agencies or customs agencies should refuse to perform import procedures for businesses importing scrap into the country without a licence and report them to authorities, he said. He proposed ministries and agencies adjust methods and improve transparency for scrap import licensing activities. Director of the General Department of Customs Can said businesses importing scrap must have their products registered following the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s standards when doing customs clearance tasks. VNS |
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Ambassador highlights good results in Vietnam-Cambodia economic tiesPhnom Penh – Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh emphasised the goods results of the bilateral economic cooperation in an article published on the Khmer Times newspaper on July 10.  Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh (L) at a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (Photo: VNA) In the article, entitled “Cambodia-Vietnam economic cooperation yielding good results”, the diplomat highlighted some economic achievements of Cambodia in recent years. According to the latest figures of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia, the country has made impressive economic performances over the last few years. Its gross domestic product (GDP) rose by nearly 7 billion USD from 2013 to 2017, reaching 22.1 billion USD last year and it is likely to reach 24.5 billion USD by the end of 2018. Thanks to strong economic growth, the country’s per capita income has risen remarkably from 393 USD in 2013 to 1,435 USD in 2017 and is expected to rise to 1,568 USD by the end of this yar, he noted. Ambassador Minh attributed Cambodia’s such impressive growth partly to the good results of economic ties with Vietnam in recent years. Two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia in 2017 reached about 3.8 billion USD, up more than 25 percent from 2016. Of the total, Vietnam’s exports to Cambodia was 2.77 billion USD, rising 26.1 percent against the previous year. Vietnamese key exports to Cambodia included steel and iron products (521 million USD, up 69.7 percent year-on-year) and oil and petrol (375 million USD, up 30 percent). Meanwhile, Vietnam’s imports from Cambodia reached 1 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 40.6 percent, mainly timber and wood products (214 million USD, up 16.9 percent), cashews (168 million USD, up 46 percent) and rubber (138 million USD, up 64 percent). The ambassador wrote that leaders of Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to enhance the comprehensive cooperation between the two nations. As a result, they intend to raise the bilateral trade value to 5 billion USD in the coming years. With regards to investment, up to now, Vietnam has had 196 investment projects in Cambodia with a total registered capital of 2.94 billion USD, primarily focusing on agriculture and forestry. Vietnam is also among the top five foreign investors in Cambodia. Cambodia, in its turn, is running 18 projects in Vietnam with a total investment capital of 58.12 million USD. About 835,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Cambodia in 2017, making Vietnam the second-largest source of tourists to Cambodia, after China. Minh said the two countries signed the Framework Agreement on Vietnam-Cambodia Economic Connectivity in 2017, and they are working on the details of the Master Plan. On March 31, they signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. The countries are also completing negotiations to sign the Agreement on Border Trade. Furthermore, the recent 16th Meeting of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural and Scientific-Technological Cooperation took place in Hanoi on May 17 with great success. It laid out specific orientations for multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia, especially in economic sectors. The diplomat added: “I do believe that these economic frameworks will greatly help facilitate and further promote economic relations between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Royal Government of Cambodia, especially in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.” VNA |
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Party chief hails industry-trade sector as economic spearheadHanoi – Over the past 30 years of reform and integration, the industry and trade sector has become a spearhead economic sector, providing important momentum for national recovery and development, and helping Vietnam turn from a poor country into a middle-income nation, said the Party chief.  Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the working session. (Source: VNA) General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong made the remarks at a working session with leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on the implementation of the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, as well as major tasks for the remaining months of 2018 and the years beyond. The industry, trade, and service sector currently contributes over 80 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and about 70 percent to the State budget collection, he said. The Party leader said after the 12th National Party Congress in 2016, the industry and trade sector has faced a range of difficulties and challenges. However, the sector has made all-out efforts to complete its assigned tasks and make significant contributions to the country’s reform, integration, and socio-economic development, he stressed. He asked the MoIT to thoroughly grasp the strategic policies and guidelines of the Party; keep a close watch on the domestic and international situation in order to actively integrate into the world; build on the socialist-oriented market economy; and well handle relations between the State, market, and society. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh reported that industrial production has fulfilled and exceeded the set targets, up from 7.4 percent in 2016 to 9.4 percent in 2017. The rate stood at 10.5 percent in the first half of this year. Last year, Vietnam’s export turnover exceeded 200 billion USD for the first time, after the previous year came close with some 180 billion USD. The country ran a trade surplus of 2.7 billion USD in the first six months of this year, he said. Regarding the organisational apparatus, Anh said the MoIT has cut 675 business conditions, removed 420 out of 720 goods codes subject to pre-clearance inspections, scrapped 183 out of 508 administrative procedures, and implemented 154 out of 298 online public services at levels three and four. The MoIT has also built and submitted for approval 110 legal documents, completing all of its set targets, helping remove obstacles for businesses. Besides this, the sector has worked hard to speed up capital divestment, equitisation, and rearrangement of State-owned enterprises practically and effectively, with the most noteworthy being the equitisation of Sai Gon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corporation (Sabeco), regaining 110 trillion VND (4.84 billion USD) for the State budget, the minister said. VNA |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 11/7 Prices of oil, petrol remain unchanged in latest adjustment The prices of oil and petrol were kept unchanged following the latest adjustment by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance on July 7. The two ministries review fuel prices every 15 days to adjust the prices in accordance with fluctuations on the world market. The ceiling price for E5 Ron92 and Ron95-III are maintained at 19,611 VND per litre and 21,177 VND per litre, respectively. Meanwhile that for diesel oil 0.05S stands at 17,455 VND per litre, down 5 VND per litre. The prices of kerosene and fuel oil (FO) 180CTS 3.5S are not more than 16,243 VND per litre and 14,756 VND per litre, up 189 VND and 319 VND per litre, respectively. The global price for RON92, which is the base for the production of E5 petrol, stood at 80.935 USD per barrel in the 15-day period prior to July 7. RON95 was sold at 82.761 USD per barrel, diesel 0.05S 86.297 USD per barrel, kerosene 87.370 USD per barrel, and FO 180CST 3.5S 459.223 USD per tonne. The petrol price stabilisation fund has been used constantly and at a high level over the past time, particularly for petrol products, to mitigate the impacts of global rising commercial oil and petrol prices and contribute to curbing inflation. This time, subsidies for E5 RON92 are 922 VND per litre (previously 870 VND per litre) and 161 VND per litre for RON95 (previously 198 VND per litre). Agreement inked to boost businesses’ technology transfer The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Business Associations (HUBA) has signed an agreement with the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) to promote their members’ partnership in transferring technology and expanding investment chances. Speaking at the signing ceremony on July 7, HUBA Chairman Chu Tien Dung said boosting the connectivity and technology transfer between FDI and domestic businesses is a target of his union’ cooperation with foreign business associations in Vietnam in the time ahead. Vietnam has been attracting a relatively big flow of foreign investment, but FDI firms’ transfer and domestic companies’ absorption of technology remain modest, he noted. He attributed the problem to Vietnamese enterprises’ lack of necessary preparations for receiving new technologies. Meanwhile, the country’s FDI attraction policy hasn’t had binding conditions forcing foreign businesses to transfer technology to or support the development of domestic ones. As a result, for a long time, FDI businesses only focused on capitalising on raw resources like natural resources and low labour cost while not paying much attention to making use of the business development ecosystem or intelligence resources to improve the value of Vietnamese contribution to their products. The country also lacks a concrete plan or strategy for enhancing the connectivity between FDI and domestic firms. There are very few technology transfer projects between the two sides at present, and they have been carried out only between certain businesses or localities, Dung said. He noted that the agreement between HUBA and AmCham is one of the first steps to improve bilateral cooperation to support their member entrepreneurs and businesses in transferring technology, expanding investment chances and developing the market in the two countries. Executive Director of AmCham Vietnam John Rockhold said trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the US are developing well. To boost the connectivity between US and Vietnamese firms, AmCham will actively realise the cooperation deal. In particular, they will regularly organise meetings and exchanges between enterprises to share experience and discuss investment and business opportunities. AmCham will also encourage US companies to share experience, assist and transfer new technologies, and seek and introduce development supporting resources to Vietnamese firms to build a basis for cooperation and mutual support towards sustainable development in the future, he added. Da Nang Port handles over 774,000 tonnes of cargo in June Da Nang Port in the central coastal city of Da Nang, handled over 774,000 tonnes of cargo during June, the highest level so far, according to Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines). In particular, the volume of cargo transported through the port on container ships reached a record of 32,406 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) over the month, up nearly 4 percent compared to the highest level of 31,280 TEUs in December 2017. The port received over 4 million tonnes of cargo in the first six months of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 6.14 percent. It welcomed 912 ship arrivals, including 551 container ones, a year-on-year rise of 3.3 percent. Those commodities with high growth include clinker (up 141 percent), wood chip (up 80 percent), coal (up 40 percent), cement (up 88 percent), and equipment (up 64 percent). As an important seaport in the city, Da Nang Port also welcomed a large number of cruise ships. In the January-June period, the port received 71 cruise liners, up 36 percent from the previous year’s same period, while serving 107,381 tourists and crew members, up 7.6 percent. The increased presence of high-end cruise ships, such as Costa Atlantica and World Dream, has affirmed the port’s brand value in regional and global tourism maps. Located within Da Nang Bay and shielded by Hai Van mountain and Son Tra peninsula, Da Nang Port is capable of receiving vessels of up to 50,000 DWT. It is a gateway to the east-west economic corridor and is connected with an extensive road network, as well as aviation and railway routes. Currently, the port serves containers, cruises, and high-capacity vessels, while also providing them with logistics services. According to the Ministry of Transport, Da Nang city’s port system will handle 29 million tonnes of cargo by 2030. Da Nang has become increasingly popular among tourists at home and abroad, thanks to its beautiful landscapes, friendly people and good services. According to the municipal Department of Tourism, the number of visitors to the central coastal city is increasing with annual average growth of 20.06 percent in the 2013-2017 period. In 2017, the city welcomed 6.6 million tourists, 2.1 times higher than the figure in 2013. The tourism industry generated 186,770 jobs in 2017 and grossed over 19.5 trillion VND (854.1 million USD) in revenues, 2.5-fold increase from 2013. This year, the city was ranked second in the list of the 10 most popular destinations among solo or couple travelers, according to the Republic of Korea’s Ticket Monster Inc. The website said people who plan to travel abroad with family members chose Da Nang as the most popular destination. The city is also the second-most popular destination among couple of travelers, followed by Bangkok (Thailand) and Guam (the US), it said." The US’s New York Times listed Da Nang among 52 places to go in 2015. The city was recgonised as one of the world’s 20 low-carbon cities at the 44th APEC Meeting on Energy in the US in 2012. Da Nang International Airport was ranked third among the best airports in the world in 2014, according to a survey by Dragon Air. The InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort won the Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort in 2014 thanks to its perfect combination of traditional beauty and modern, luxurious standards. The US’s Forbes Magazine selected My Khe Beach in Da Nang as one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet in 2013. The cable line that takes visitors to the peak of Ba Na Hills at an altitude of 1,487 metres in just 17 minutes and is able to carry 3,000 passengers per hour won four Guinness Records in 2013. Sun Wheel, which is 115 metres in height and situated in Asian Park, Hai Chau district, Da Nang, was listed among the 10 tallest wheels in the world. Mini Thailand Week 2018 opens in Can Tho The Mini Thailand Week 2018 kicked off in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 6 with 123 booths, as part of the cooperation activities to promote trade between Vietnamese and Thai enterprises. The event attracted 73 companies offering various kinds of products such as food and beverages, healthcare products and cosmetics, household utensils, leather-made products, and jewellery and accessories. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Thai Deputy Consul-General in Ho Chi Minh City Somrudee Poopornanake said trade between Vietnam and Thailand reached 16.6 billion USD in 2017, the highest level so far. The Mini Thailand Week 2018 aims to increase bilateral relations and boost two-way trade to 20 billion USD by 2020, as set by the two countries’ leaders. The Director of the Can Tho Investment-Trade-Tourism Promotion Centre, Nguyen Khanh Tung, said the event, which will run until July 8, will create good opportunity for enterprises to explore trade and investment opportunities, as well as expand their business network in the south of Vietnam, especially the Mekong Delta. According to the Asian-African Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, strong growth was seen in the Vietnam-Thailand trade revenue over the past years. Last year, Vietnam mostly exported telephones and accessories, computers and electronic products, crude oil, transport vehicles, and spare parts to Thailand. Meanwhile, Thailand exported many agricultural products to Vietnam, especially fruit. In the first four months of this year, Vietnam imported 203 million USD worth of Thai fruit, up over 28 percent year-on-year. Thai products are competitive due to their high quality and reasonable prices. Thai businesses have also been active in organising trade promotion activities and invested strongly in distribution channels in Vietnam. Ha Nam province takes various measures to lure more investors The northern province of Ha Nam has been striving to lure more investment with a series of measures, according to Nguyen Van Oang, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment. The provincial authorities have been regularly holding dialogues with local businesses to learn about and remove their problems. They have also initiated incentives and reclaimed idle land spaces from projects in breach of the Law on Investment and the Land Law. At the same time, Ha Nam has diversified forms of investment promotion and actively called for investors, introducing them to local business opportunities. The province has been focusing on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) firms and large domestic enterprises in projects in the supporting, and processing and manufacturing industries. Priority has been also given to projects using environmentally-friendly and energy-saving technologies to prevent pollution and projects contributing greatly to the local budget. Furthermore, the province has been working on enhancing the quality of services in its industrial parks (IP), as well as fast-tracking the implementation of key projects such as Tam Chuc tourism complex, Kim Bang Golf Course, Nam Cao University and a top-quality health service facility. Infrastructure at the IPs has been improved – particularly with the construction of facilities for the livelihood of workers such as residential houses, hospitals, and schools – while support has been provided to companies in the IPs in terms of labour recruitment and legal consultancy. According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Ha Nam drew in 54 investment projects, including 22 FDI and 32 domestic ones, and approved capital rises in 19 other projects, in the first half of 2018. The projects have brought a total of 371 million USD in investment to the province. To date, the province is home to 792 valid projects, including 229 FDI projects, with a total investment of 7.19 billion USD. Dak Lak attracts 109.6 million USD in investment The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has attracted dozens of projects with a large amount of investment, thereby helping to foster the locality’s socio-economic development, said a local official. Since the beginning of 2018, the province has approved 31 projects with a total investment of 2,488 billion VND (around 109.6 million USD), up three projects and 104 percent in terms of capital as compared to the same period last year, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuan Ha. The newly-approved projects mainly focus on industry, solar energy, wind power, agricultural-forestry product processing and tourism, he said. In the recent past, Dak Lak has stepped up investment promotion by introducing its potential, investment opportunities and key projects at overseas and domestic conferences, and working directly with foreign investors. The province has provided both domestic and foreign investors with updated information about the list of projects calling for investment and its investment environment as well as removing their difficulties and obstacles during the process of implementing projects. In addition, Dak Lak has also publicised its investment incentives such as land rental reduction and exemption, and import tariff exemption for equipment, materials, transport vehicles and goods to serve projects in the province. To draw more projects in the time ahead, the province plans to continue increasing investment promotion activities and working closely with ministries and sectors to grasp investment orientations and priorities of investors and donors. Opportunities, challenges for accounting, auditing in Industry 4.0 Opportunities and challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) for accounting and auditing sectors were spotlighted at a workshop in Hanoi on July 6. Dang Van Thanh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors (VAA), said accounting is one of the fields taking the lead in information technology (IT) application. Big data technologies enable faster accounting practices and data access over a short period of time. Pham Sy Danh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA), cited the results of a VACPA survey which demonstrated that accounting and auditing businesses believe that the Industry 4.0 will greatly affect their sectors. They believed it would provide tools, helping them to not only improve service quality, but also expand their market to other countries thanks to ease of online communications. According to the VACPA survey, the biggest challenges facing the sectors include the need for personnel with IT skills and the big financial investments. While it is more difficult to control accounting data, competition in the field is increasingly fierce. Over the next three to ten years, smart systems and software are forecast to automate complicated processes like finalising financial agreements, and support outsourcing trends, the survey indicated. Sharing experience from other countries, Narayanan Vaidyanathan, head of Business Insights at the London-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said cloud computing is widely applied in accounting in many countries since it supports access to information from anywhere. It helps businesses boost the scale of their services regardless of whether their IT systems can keep up with the expansion. He called on businesses to partner with prestigious cloud storage providers in order to steer clear of technological problems. The Industry 4.0 does however pose some major security challenges, especially those regarding information about management accounting, payments, and investment activities. As such, it requires the financial system to be more responsible for the safety and privacy of accounting information, he added. VAA Chairman Thanh said to capitalise on the advantages and mitigate any negative impacts from the Industry 4.0, it is necessary to reform accounting processes, from collecting to handling, to importing and exporting data. Meanwhile, the risks for handling accounting data when the IT system is connected to the internet also need to be fully identified and evaluated, he noted. Quang Binh looks to expand links with Singaporean partners An investment promotion workshop was held in Singapore on July 6 to introduce the strengths, policies, and opportunities of the central province of Quang Binh to Singaporean investors. Speaking at the event, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Hoai gave participants details of Quang Binh’s advantages and investment incentives in spearhead economic fields such as tourism, renewable energy, communications, and transport. Hoai highlighted Quang Binh’s 116km of coastline with many nice beaches. It has the World Natural Heritage Site Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which covers 120,000ha of primeval forest and nearly 400 caves, including those ranked among the world’s most magnificent caves, such as Son Doong, Phong Nha, and Thien Duong. The locality is in a strategic position in the East-West Economic Corridor, serving as an important gateway for trade links between Vietnam and Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and other countries in the region. Quang Binh is now home to over 440 investment projects, including 23 foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of 763 million USD, he noted. The province will apply the highest incentive level for investment projects in desired fields, Hoai said, adding that it will also provide other support for enterprises related to land clearance, labour training, and infrastructure construction. In his speech, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) Douglas Foo praised Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements in recent years. He said 2018 would mark an important milestone in the strategic cooperation between Singapore and Vietnam as the two countries are celebrating the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties. SMF will work to conduct more surveys and organise forums to promote the exchange of information between the two countries’ enterprises, thus supporting Singaporean firms in expanding their investment in Vietnam’s provinces and cities, including Quang Binh. He expressed his belief that the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the SMF and Quang Binh will enable Singaporean businesses and investors to further increase their investments in the province. At the event, Quang Binh’s officials signed MoUs on cooperation with the SMF, SOFOS Capital Management Pte Ltd, and Kinder World Education Group of Singapore. Country’s most modern poultry processing plant built in Thanh Hoa Construction work started on the country’s most modern poultry processing plant in the north central province of Thanh Hoa on July 6. The 300 billion VND (nearly 13.1 million USD) Viet Avis plant in Hoang Quy commune, Hoang Hoa district, is invested by the Master Good group of Hungary and the local Phu Gia company. In the first phase, it will have a processing capacity of 2,500 chickens per hour. The event was attended by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and representatives from Thanh Hoa People’s Committee and Hungary’s Ministry of Agriculture. From now to 2020, Master Good and Phu Gia companies will also invest in a chain of around 100 farms in 10 districts to supply chickens for the plant, which will export products to European countries. According to Thanh Hoa’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the livestock sector in the province has developed strongly in recent years in both scale and product quality. Regarding poultry, the province currently has 18.3 million fowls, supplying 36,327 tonnes of meat per year. The province is restructuring the livestock sector towards value chains with large-scale and hi-tech farms. It aims to have 23 million heads of poultry by 2020, producing 47,000 tonnes of meat (live weight) and 160.25 billion eggs. Over 2.8 trillion VND raised from G-bonds The State Treasury of Vietnam has recently raised 2.81 trillion VND (123.7 million USD) via an auction of Government bonds (G-bonds) held by the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). The auction had planned to sell 6 trillion VND (264.3 million USD) worth of G-bonds with a 5-year, 7-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, and 30-year maturity. As much as 200 billion VND (8.8 million USD) was mobilised from five-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 3.45 percent, 0.35 percent higher than that of the previous auction on June 20. Ten-year bonds were sold for 1 trillion VND (44 million USD) with an annual yield rate of 4.4 percent, up 0.03 percent from that of the previous auction on June 27. As for 15-year bonds, 110 billion VND (4.88 million USD) was raised at an interest rate of 4.7 percent per annum, equivalent to that of an auction on June 27. Meanwhile, 20-year bonds raised 300 billion VND (13.2 million USD) at a yearly rate of 5.22 percent, marking a 0.02 percent increase from that of an auction on June 27. Last year, Vietnam sold some 159.9 trillion VND, or 7.03 billion USD, worth of G-bonds with an average maturity of 13.52 years and annual interest averaging 6.07 percent, down 0.2 percentage points against 2016. The interest rates of Government bonds have been on the rise lately, after a long period of decline throughout 2017 and the first four months of 2018. Firms play crucial role in Hai Phong’s industrial development: official  Enterprises in industrial parks and economic zones are important driving forces for industrial development in the northern port city of Hai Phong, a local official has said. Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tung affirmed this during a conference on July 5, which aimed to review the investment attraction into the city’s industrial parks and economic zones in the 2013-2018 period. Over the last 25 years of development, the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA) lured 262 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total capital of 12.3 billion USD, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the FDI poured into the city. It also granted licences to 127 domestic projects worth over 97.3 trillion VND (4.3 billion USD). Notably, a new wave of investment from Japan and the Republic of Korea was poured into Hai Phong from 2013-2018 with the total investment of 9 billion USD, which made up 73 percent of the total FDI attracted by the city in the last 25 years. Also in the reviewed period, domestic investors injected over 70,000 VND in projects in the city, accounting for 70 percent of the city’s total domestic investment. Director of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority Pham Van Moi said enterprises in industrial parks and economic zones have respectively contributed over 60 percent and more than 70 percent of Hai Phong’s industrial production value and export turnover, creating over 100,000 jobs for locals. Their contribution has accounted for nearly 20 percent of the local budget collection, helping the city re-invest and improve its infrastructure system and social welfare. With its efforts to improve investment and business environment and facilitate investors’ operation in the city, Hai Phong’s Provincial Competitiveness Index in 2017 ranked ninth among 63 provinces and cities nationwide, up 19 places compared to that in 2015. It has been also named among top 10 attractive investment destinations in Vietnam. In recent years, the municipal authority has paid attention to developing and upgrading the transport infrastructure system to link the city with other northern localities. The city plans to build passenger terminal 2 in Cat Bi International Airport, a number of transport routes, ports in the Hai Phong Port, other infrastructure facilities serving tourism, education, entertainment centres and urban areas. Chairman Tung took the occasion to call on investors to help the city promote its image and introduce its investment environment to others. More efforts will be done to accelerate administrative reform and enhance State management, thus swiftly addressing difficulties facing enterprises, especially those related to land clearance. In the first two months of 2018, Hai Phong’s industrial production index went up 20.61 percent year on year. Its export revenue reached 1.14 billion USD, up 24.14 percent. Up to 16 million tonnes of cargo were handled at the Hai Phong Port, up 18.34 percent. It contributed over 9.1 trillion VND (400 million USD) to the State budget. Israeli city seeks partnership importing Bac Lieu’s shrimps A delegation from the Israeli city of Nazareth, led by its Deputy Mayor Youset Ayad, worked with authorities and toured shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu on July 6, seeking partnership opportunities for importing shrimp. At the working session, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Thanh Trung briefed the delegation on the strength and potential of the local industry. Bac Lieu has a reputation for its agriculture, with its spearheaded economic sectors being aquatic farming and seafood processing for export, Trung said. The province has more than 130,000ha of shrimp farms, each hectare annually yielding more than 170 million VND (7,403 USD) of profit on average. In early 2018, it began the construction of a high-tech agricultural park for shrimp farming, which spans 419ha across Hiep Thanh commune. The entire project costs 3.217 trillion VND (138.33 million USD), considered the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia and a step towards turning Bac Lieu into the centre of Vietnam’s shrimp industry. The province also hopes to develop tourism development and calls for investment in the healthcare and private education sectors, the provincial leader added, mentioning the local potential for clean energies like wind and solar power. Trung said he expects the field trip in Bac Lieu by the Israeli delegation will create favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation in the shrimp sector and other fields of common interest. For his part, Youset Ayad said Nazareth city is looking for partnerships overseas and Bac Lieu in Vietnam is among its target destinations. The delegation toured a number of local companies, which raise and process shrimps for export. They included the Viet Uc Bac Lieu JSC and Thien Phu Seafood Company. Hanoi: Seminar on reforming State monopoly in network industries The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and the Australia-Vietnam Economic Reform (Aus4Reform) Programme held a scientific seminar in Hanoi on July 6 on reforming State monopoly in network industries. The event aims to help the Vietnamese Government achieve its goals of improving the business climate and shifting to a better market economy, bringing higher, more comprehensive, and better quality growth. CIEM Director Nguyen Dinh Cung said the programme affords scientists, experts, managers, and policymakers along with the business circle a chance to present opinions on the field and suggest measures to continue the process of reform towards a healthy and fair business environment and improving Vietnam’s competitiveness. Participants suggested restructuring the economy in tandem with stepping up the reform of State-owned enterprises and narrowing the fields of State monopoly. The power sector should ensure independence among manufacturing, transmission, distribution, and free price negotiations with customers; publicise their electricity price structure; and launch an independent supervisory agency for the sector. Experts proposed continuing to restructure the Vietnam Railway Corporation, attracting private investment in railway services, and establishing an independent supervisory body. Regarding aviation, they called for ensuring airlines’ fair and equal access to airport infrastructure at reasonable costs, issuing a mechanism to manage airport management units, and reducing the Airport Corporation of Vietnam’s monopoly over airports. In the telecommunication sector, participants underscored the need to drastically equitise State-owned enterprises, especially the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group and MobiFone Corporation, while building a system to safeguard against possible monopolies. The Australia-Vietnam Economic Reform (Aus4Reform) Programme is expected to benefit at least 1 million private firms by 2020, contributing to increasing the number of female-led enterprises, while also facilitating Australian investment in Vietnam thanks to a more competitive and transparent business environment. An Giang earns 388.3 million USD from exports in H1 The Mekong Delta province of An Giang earned over 388.3 million USD from its exports in the first half of this year, up 10.5 percent year on year, said Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Vo Nguyen Nam. Major currency earners include rice, aquatic products, and apparel. Rice remains promising as firms have actively expanded their foothold in new and traditional markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. Rice exports surpassed 217,450 tonnes during the period, raking in 109.1 million USD, up 31.3 percent in volume and 43.2 percent in value. It was shipped to 35 countries, of which 13 in Asia, 10 in Africa, five in Europe, four in Oceania, and three in America. More than 58,920 tonnes of frozen aquatic products were shipped abroad, earning 139.5 million USD, equivalent to 97.7 percent of the previous year’s volume but up 22.3 percent in value. This year, An Giang has provided support for its enterprises, regularly updating information about domestic and foreign markets while also ensuring power supply for manufacturing and legal support for firms. It held seminars on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) for businesses, farmers, cooperatives, and officials. The province has also piloted a system to trace the origins of fruits and vegetables, building schemes to develop rice, pork, and mango trademarks in Cho Moi district to improve the quality of local farm produce, thus meeting demands at home and abroad. Vietfood Beverage-Propack expo to open in HCM City Around 600 domestic and foreign businesses will take part in the VietFood, Beverage and Professional Packing Machines (VietFood & Beverage – ProPack) international exhibition in HCM City from August 8-11. The annual event is part of trade promotion activities organised by the sector. In 2015, around 250 businesses participated in the event, while 500 attended the event in 2017. Major local brands such as Sabeco, Habeco, Tan Hiep Phat, Heineken, Golden Farm, Rang Dong Plastic and Duy Tan Plastic will be showcasing this year. The four-day exhibition will include a wide range of sidelines activities, meetings and visits to factories and industrial zones to present businesses with information and trade opportunities. According to the organising board, last year’s event drew around 10,400 commercial visitors, most of whom were business owners, food and beverage companies, importers, distributors, retailers, and hotel and restaurant owners. Foreign start-ups receive mentorship for Viet Nam entry Six start-ups from Malaysia and Singapore connected with entrepreneurs in Viet Nam to receive mentorship in how to penetrate the local market and network at a programme organised by the Saigon Innovation Hub on Monday. Nguyen Phi Van, chairwoman of SIHUB, said the programme to assist foreign start-ups in Viet Nam is part of its Runway to the World programme, a start-up exchange programme between Viet Nam and developed regions such as the US and Asia Pacific. Its future plans involve global link-ups and further promotion of FDI start-ups in many countries around the world, she said. “Start-ups should focus on a long-term, global vision from the beginning since it affects how businesses develop and strategies. “If a business focuses solely on doing well in its own country first, its business structures and strategies may be so used to operating domestically that expanding globally may be harder in future if it decides to do so.” The three-month programme aims to help the foreign start-ups, most of which have created apps for various functions, understand and network in the Vietnamese market. Hoh Hon Bing of Teleme, which has created a healthcare app, said Viet Nam presents a great opportunity with its growing educated middle class and mobile phone penetration. Tran Hung Thien, general manager of GCOMM, a market research company, said Viet Nam is an attractive country for foreign investors with its high economic growth rate, a young population, affordable labour, and favourable policies. Experts at the event also advised the start-ups to show a long-term commitment to their stakeholders and carefully research regulations related to taxes, imports and setting up businesses in the specific area they seek to set up. Foreign condo buyers flock to Phu My Hung City Centre In the first half of this year many foreigners bought housing at its projects, including new ones and ones under construction like Scenic Valley, Riverpark Premier, Nam Phuc Le Jardin, and Phu My Hung Midtown’s second and third phases, it said. For instance, over 20 per cent of Phu My Hung Midtown Project has been sold to foreigners, it said. Late last week, when the company held the sales event of its new project, Urban Hill, more than a fifth of the 500 prospective buyers who turned up were foreigners. Many foreigners have even bought Phu My Hung units on the secondary market, the corporation said, revealing that foreigners’ buying has reached the maximum legally permitted level of 30 per cent at most of its housing projects. So Phu My Hung has now limited confirming transfer for foreigners. At Urban Hill, before the sales event late last week, the company announced it would stop accepting applications from foreigners if their purchases reach 30 per cent. When the sales event was held, over 500 customers turned up and 20 per cent of them were from the US, Africa, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. At the sales event only 164 apartments were on sale. Within an hour 96 per cent were sold. Within three weeks of the launch of the project Phu My Hung received over 600 applications and it allotted units to 500 buyers. Over 500 customers turned up and 20 per cent of them were from the US, Africa, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Though there is a huge supply of housing in HCM City, foreigners only buy at projects developed by prestigious developers, and this makes sense, experts said. This is the normal psychology of foreigners buying property in a strange country, they pointed out. Besides, not all the apartment projects in the market can meet the foreign buyers’ requirements, they said. For foreigners, besides the developer’s prestige, they also care for other factors like size, location and price and especial, the most important requirement is a good living environment, they said. This is a major hurdle for developers seeking to attract foreign customers because few projects in the city can meet their demands like many amenities, a peaceful environment and modern infrastructure. By meeting these demands, Phu My Hung City Centre has become the ideal spot for many foreigners who seek to settle down in the city. One more reason for people to buy housing from Phu My Hung Development Corporation is its policy of determining buyers from the applications it gets. Foreigners buying at Phu My Hung projects have revealed that when buying they worry about neighbours because of the differences in culture and lifestyle, and that is why they are delighted to know that the developer carefully identifies its customers when selling apartments. Phu My Hung recently announced that to meet the demand from foreigners it plans to develop a new project in the Southside District of the Phu My Hung City Centre. The project will be named Happy Residence Premier, a deluxe version of the Happy Residence, which has been very successful in attracting foreigners. Ceramics firm Viglacera sees profits up 4 per cent State-owned glass and construction ceramic producer Viglacera plans to earn VND950 billion (US$41.65 million) in pre-tax profit in 2018, up 4 per cent year-on-year, the company announced in its annual shareholders’ meeting on Friday in Ha Noi. The company, whose stocks are traded on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange under the code VGC, aims to attain VND9.1 trillion in revenue, down slightly from the previous year’s figure of nearly VND9.2 trillion, it revealed. As for the parent company, VGC set a pre-tax profit growth target of over 11 per cent in 2018. It plans to keep the dividend payment ratio the same as in 2017, at 9.5 per cent. In 2017, VGC’s consolidated pre-tax profit was VND913.8 billion, equivalent to 108 per cent of the annual plan approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders, up 19 per cent compared to 2016. Of this, pre-tax profit earned by the parent company reached VND566.5 billion in 2017, fulfilling 115 per cent of the annual plan, up 28 per cent compared to 2016. VGC’s development investment plan in 2018 will focus on high-tech building materials, green projects and urban housing projects. The company plans to set up Yen Phong Super White Float Glass Co Ltd in Yen Phong Industrial Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh. It plans to hold a 51 per cent stake in the company and invest in plant processing super white float glass, which is used for making solar panels, with a capacity of 650 tonnes per day. The company is also preparing to invest in the expansion of Dong Van IV Industrial Zone in the northern province of Ha Nam. Regarding the real estate segment, VGC will focus on workers’ housing and social housing in industrial parks as well as resorts. It is expected to invest in worker housing in the northern province of Bac Ninh, the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau and develop Van Hai Ecological Tourist Zone in the northern province of Quang Ninh. In the field of overseas investment, Viglacera will continue to promote trade cooperation in joint venture investment projects to produce sanitary ware ceramic tiles. It will boost the investment and development of Viglacera Industrial Park in Mariel Special Zone in Cuba. The company will also invest in hotels, resort villas and golf courses in Cuba, which, according to VGC, will open up many opportunities for Viglacera in Cuba. In 2018, the government’s plan to divest capital from Viglacera will create a fundamental change in State ownership— down to 36 per cent, and involvement of investors in corporate governance, contributing to the development of VGC. VGC shares ended trading on Sunday down 4.2 per cent, settling at VND20,600 per share. Viglacera was established in 1974 under the decision of the Ministry of Construction. In 2014, the company became equitised and changed its mode of operation with a charter capital of VND2.64 trillion. The company specialises in construction and construction material and real estate trading. Viglacera aims to become a multinational company, operating mainly in standardised construction material manufacturing and real estate investment, with priorities given to industrial zones and residential areas. Tiền Giang eco-tours exceed expectations The number of Vietnamese and foreigners visiting eco-tourist destinations in Tiền Giang Province totalled more than 950,000 visitors in the first six months of the year, an increase of 12 per cent over the same period last year. — Photo sinhcafetravel.vn The number of Vietnamese and foreigners visiting eco-tourist destinations in Tiền Giang Province was up 12 per cent over the same period last year, according to the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The province attracted more than 950,000 visitors, including 316,000 foreigners, in the first six months of the year. It earned VNĐ567 billion (US$5 million), an increase of 26 per cent compared to the last season. Travel agencies launched several special eco- tours at affordable prices to satisfy increasing demand among Vietnamese and foreigners. Famous tourist sites include Cái Bè Floating Market in Cái Bè District, Đồng Tháp Mười Ecological Conservation Area in Tân Phước District and Tân Thành Beach in Gò Công Đông District. Local hotels, lodges and restaurants are offering quality services at reasonable prices, while local authorities have worked with HCM City and neighbouring provinces of Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta region to launch new river tours. Three projects on infrastructure serving tourism at Thới Sơn Isle, Cái Bè and Tân Phú Đông are expected to be completed by 2020. VNN |
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Social News 11/7 Thanh Hoa province holds oil spill response drill  A drill was held in the central coastal province of Thanh Hoa on July 10 to provide local relevant forces with necessary knowledge and skills to cope with oil spills and improve search and rescue efforts. The event was jointly organised by the provincial Steering Committee for Oil Spill Response and the environmental incident response centre of the SOS Environment JSC. According to the hypothetical scenario, an oil spill occurred due to a collision between two tankers in the waters near the Nghi Son International Port. The incident posted a serious risk of fire and explosion, and had two crew members to be rescued urgently. Right after the incident, the port’s security force asked for support from the environmental incident response centre, the provincial fire fighters, and the provincial border guard force. The border guard station at Nghi Son border gate, flotilla 2 with 20 officers and soldiers onboard were dispatched to the site to guide boats away from the oil-spilled area, and two crew members were taken to hospital. Other efforts were made to minimise the amount of oil spilled into the sea and isolate the spilled oil by using floats to surround the crashed vessels, and pumps to collect the spilled oil. Le Van Hung, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Thanh Hoa Border Guard Command said the drill was successfully organised with smooth coordination among rescue forces. It contributes to raising public awareness of the importance of oil spill incidents, thus giving effective assistance to relevant forces to deal with oil spills in real situations. Expats affected by Phnom Penh fire receive support
 At the fire site Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, the Khmer-Vietnamese Association and Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia on July 10 afternoon visited Vietnamese families in Phnom Penh affected by the blaze which took place early morning the same day. Ambassador Vu Quang Minh thanked local authorities and the Cambodia Red Cross Society for their timely support to the victims, and pledged that the embassy and relevant units will continue to mobilise assistance for them. The fire began at 3.30am on July 10 in Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh, destroying 59 houses and assets of 67 households, including 58 households of Vietnamese Cambodian people. The initial conclusion shows that the fire was caused by an electrical fault. Firefighters used 32 fire engines, but the road was so small and the houses were made of wood so that the fire trucks found it hard to battle the fire. Following the incident, the Vietnamese Embassy and the Khmer-Vietnamese Association sent officials to the site and had working sessions with local authorities and police to seek aid for the victims. US servicemen’s remains repatriated
 A repatriation ceremony of remains of US servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam was held at Da Nang International Airport on July 8 (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) A repatriation ceremony of remains of US servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam was held at Da Nang International Airport on July 8. Attending the ceremony, for the Vietnamese side, were representatives from the Board of Directors of Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP) and, for the US side, were Mary E. Tarnowka, US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Colonel Tuan T. Ton, Defense Attache of the US Embassy in Hanoi, representatives of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the US MIA Office in Hanoi. The Vietnamese side’s representative handed over to the US side two boxes of remains which were recovered by joint and unilateral excavation teams during the 131st Joint Field Activities from May to July, 2018. The remains had been jointly reviewed and concluded by Vietnamese and US forensic specialists in Da Nang that they might be associated with the US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam and were recommended to bring to Hawaii, the US, for further review. Addressing at the repatriation ceremony, the US Government’s representative expressed deep gratitude and high appreciation for the steadfast humanitarian policy, good-will, the full and the increasingly efficient cooperation of the Vietnamese Government and people. The seeking of the remains of US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam is humanitarian cooperation between the Vietnamese Government and the US Government. This is the 144th hand-over of American missing servicemen’s remains since 1973. First Vietnamese language class for expats opens in Thailand The first-ever Vietnamese language class for overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in Thailand was opened at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok on July 7. The class, with 10 learners in attendance, is jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in conjunction with the association of Thai people of Vietnamese origin and the Thai-Vietnamese business association. Addressing the opening ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang emphasised that the Party and State of Vietnam always pay due attention to teaching Vietnamese language for overseas Vietnamese. With the support of the Thai royal family and government, and the large number of Vietnamese, Thailand has favourable conditions to organise such classes, the diplomat said. Vietnamese language classes are expected to help Vietnamese families abroad preserve their mother tongue and encourage young generations contribute to their homeland, he added. Training course on UXO actions opened for military officials
 Vietnam has made efforts in the settlement of left-over unexploded ordnances (UXO) A training course on bomb and mine operations jointly held by the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), with the support of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Government, opened in Hanoi on July 9 for officials of the Ministry of Defence. Addressing the opening ceremony, VNMAC Vice General Director Nguyen Van Nghiep said that in order to catch up with the fourth industrial revolution, the management of work relating to the settlement of left-over unexploded ordnances (UXO) will now be implemented with computer software instead of on paper, which makes the work faster, more convenient, and accurate. The training contents have been built by the UNDP and the VNMAC along top practice methods applied in technical support projects across the world, with less focus on theory and maximum time spent practicing, he said. Trainees will be divided to groups of 10 for tasks practicing with modern equipment and tools. Nil Chirstensen from the UNDP said that the programme has held bomb and mine action projects in 20 countries, with an aim to improve the skills and capacity of agencies in making plans, and defining prioritised bomb and mine actions. The course is expected to provide a new approach through the globally-successful lessons, offering trainees insight into bomb and mine clearance. It draws lecturers with 20-30 years of experience, along with speakers from many international organisations. The course is part of a cooperation project between Vietnam and the RoK on coping with the consequences of bombs and mines, focusing on the management of information, quality control, and bomb and mine detection and clearance. The project will be implemented over three years until 2020 in the two provinces of Quang Binh and Binh Dinh, where about 30-40 percent of land area is still polluted by bombs and mines left by the war. It is comprised of 21 detection and 52 clearance groups operating from late 2018, over a total area of 20,000 hectares. HCM City police complimented for anti-terrorism efforts
 Ho Chi Minh City’s police units were applauded for their glorious achievements in fighting terrorism. Ho Chi Minh City’s police units were applauded for their glorious achievements in fighting terrorism in the past time, especially the raid on a group of people conducting terrorist activities at a police station in Tan Binh district on June 20. Deputy Minister of Public Security Sen.Lieut.Gen Bui Van Nam on July 9 spoke highly of the municipal Police’s resounding success in ensuring social order and security while asking the force to continue their efforts to fulfill the entrusted missions in the coming time. With their excellent performance, four units under the city’s Police were awarded 15 million VND (660 USD) each. They money was drawn from the crime prevention and combat fund. Earlier, the Ho Chi Minh City police had launched criminal proceedings against and put into temporary detention four suspects with charges of conducting terrorist activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration, and three others of illegal trading of explosives. According to Major General Phan Anh Minh, Deputy Chief of the city’s Police, a big explosion occurred on June 20 at a police station in Tan Binh district, injuring three people and damaging some property. After over 10 days investigating, the municipal Police, in coordination with their counterpart from the neighbouring province of Dong Nai, arrested seven suspects. They seized nearly 10kg of TNT explosives, as well as other materials used to make explosives, together with eight explosives to be used for similar attacks. After his arrest, Nguyen Tuan Thanh – born in 1990 – confessed that his father Nguyen Khanh – born in 1964 and residing in Trang Bom district, Dong Nai province – told him to make explosives with remote activation detonators. Both admitted to having close relationships with Ngo Hung, the self-proclaimed commander-in-chief of the Viet Nguyen dynasty, currently residing in the US. Hung appointed Khanh as Governor of the Dong Nai autonomous region and Thanh as Major General. Afterwards, Hung transferred 120 million VND (5,214 USD) to Khanh and assigned him to organise the production of explosives which would be detonated at police stations. Following Hung’s order, Khanh assigned his nephew, Duong Ba Giang – born in 1971 and residing in Dong Nai province – to make the explosives. Thanh was responsible for supporting Giang. After receiving two bombs created by Giang, Khanh handed them to Vu Hoang Nam – born in 1996 residing in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City – and asked him to detonate them at police stations without clear addresses. On June 20, Nam threw two bombs into the police station at Ward 12 in Tan Binh district, injuring himself in the process. Khanh gave another bomb to Nguyen Xuan Phuong – born in 1988, residing in Bien Hoa district, Dong Nai province – and asked him to create a blast at Tam Hiep police station in Bien Hoa district. However, Phuong left the bomb in a deserted location, falsely reporting back to Khanh that he had successfully planted it but that it may have failed to blast. Khanh told the police that he bought explosives from a group of people in Dak Mil district, Dak Nong province. On the basis of this, the police arrested three more suspects. However, they said they did not know Khanh would use the explosives for terrorist purposes. According to the investigation authorities, the reactionary Viet Nguyen dynasty group has enlisted several people to disturb public order in Ho Chi Minh City, filming and posting the incidents on social networks, with many further events planned. The police are expanding the investigation to arrest more suspects. Workshop highlights historical significance of Khe Sanh victory
 Senior Lieutenant General Le Chiem, Deputy Minister of National Defence, speaks at the workshop on July 9 A workshop remembering the Battle of Khe Sanh, 50 years ago, was held in the central province of Nghe An on July 9. Prior to the General Offensive and Uprising in Spring 1968, the US imperialists built Road 9 through Khe Sanh in central Quang Tri province, as a special strategic position. Khe Sanh became the region which gathered the largest number of US soldiers and weaponry, aimed at suppressing the assistance from the north to the south of Vietnam. During 170 days of fierce fighting at Khe Sanh, the Vietnamese armed forces and people had put out of action 11,900 enemies, shot down 480 aircraft of different kinds, destroyed 120 military vehicles and hundreds of artillery, and seized a substantial amount of weapons. With the victory on July 9, 1968, Huong Hoa district in Quang Tri province became the first district in the south to be liberated. Senior Lieutenant General Le Chiem, Deputy Minister of National Defence, said the workshop aimed to highlight the historical significance of the victory. Workshop participants analysed the domestic and international context of the battle, as well as the preparations and coordination of the Vietnamese armed forces and local people that contributed to the victory. The direction and creativity of the Vietnamese Party played a crucial role in the victory, according to Major General Nguyen Van Bao, Director of the Political Academy under the Ministry of National Defence. The triumph demonstrated a mix of strategic and accurate decision-making, appropriate selection of combat zones, and excellent implementation of diversionary tactics by the Vietnamese army, he said. The workshop received 80 reports analysing the developments of the battle, the build-up behind the victory, and its historical significance. Cargill raises 6 billion VND for community projects in Vietnam
Cargill inaugurates its 86th school in Vietnam's northern province of Nam Dinh. (Source: http://www.cargillfeed.com.vn) Cargill Cares Council, Cargill Incorporated’s international charity fund raiser, has mobilized nearly 6 billion VND (264,300 USD) in June to implement community projects in Vietnam. Since its establishment in 1997, the employee-led council has raised over 120 billion VND (5.2 million USD) in Vietnam to build 87 schools in 47 cities and provinces nationwide. It has also carried out other community projects such as digging wells to supply clean water in the country’s poor rural areas. Cargill recently built two schools in central Quang Tri and northern Nam Dinh provinces and plans to build another in Quang Tri in August. Stoney Su, chief representative of Cargill Vietnam, said the school building programme is providing quality education for about 14,000 students a year. The Cargill Cares Council plans to build 100 schools by 2020. Vietnam attends World Cities Summit in Singapore
 Participants at an exhibition held in the framework of the the World Cities Summit Officials from Vietnamese localities namely Hanoi, Binh Duong, Quang Ngai and Hai Phong, and representatives from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs are joining foreign mayors, governors and officials from 125 countries and territories around the world at the World Cities Summit (WCS) Mayors Forum in Singapore on July 7-8. Themed “Livable and Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration”, the event explores how cities can be more liveable and resilient through better governance and planning, technology and social innovations, as well as collaborations with various stakeholders and other cities. The forum, a highlight of the WCS which is taking place from July 6-11 also focuses on how to tap breakthrough innovations to create development momentum for cities, and to attract funding for infrastructure projects. In his opening remarks at the event, Singaporean Minister of National Development Lawence Wong emphasised that cities around the world are facing common challenges in urban governance, city planning, resilience and innovation. As chair of ASEAN in 2018, Singapore has paid attention to "resilience and innovation", aiming to create a channel for and leaders to debate solutions to the design and construction of urban areas and share experiences to connect cities worldwide, he said. Nguyen Van Suu, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, discussed the vision and strategy for smart city and e-government development in Vietnam and Hanoi in particular. He stressed that amidst international integration and the 4th Industrial Revolution, the development of smart and sustainable cities is important for all big cities, including Hanoi. Hanoi is determined to accelerate the building process of people and business-centric intelligent cities, aiming to become an intelligent city by 2030, Suu said, expressing the hope to foster international cooperation in technology and knowledge transfer with localities, businesses and partners worldwide. Delegates to the summit discussed measures to create creative breakthroughs and adapt to new technologies to boost the development of cities. They also concentrated on governance solutions to mobilise finance from the private sector to invest in infrastructure development, towards harmonising the public interest and short-term commercial profits. Chairman of the Mayors' Committee of Singapore Low Yen Ling and CEO of Pontiac Land Group Melissa Kwee briefed participants on the outcomes of the 6th Meeting of Governors/Mayors of ASEAN Capitals (MGMAC) and the World Cities Summit Young Leaders Symposium. They called for a joint effort from mayors, governors and leaders to address global challenges, towards building livable and sustainable cities. During the 6th MGMAC, the Vietnamese delegation joined the signing of the Singapore Declaration on sustainable environment and attended the ASEAN Smart Cities Network Inaugural Meeting. Vietnamese delegates will also participate in the fourth Lee Kuan Yew Prize Award Ceremony and seminars on urban governance, planning, improving the resilience of cities, application of breakthrough innovations in urban construction and cooperation among cities. Initiated by the Singaporean Government, the annual event is a platform for government leaders and industry experts to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge partnerships.  Long An province cracks down on smugglers
Long An Province’s anti-smuggling forces have strengthened border patrols, supervision and inspections to prevent and fight smuggling at border areas (Illustrative image. Source: baolongan.vn) The Mekong Delta province of Long An has made significant achievements in preventing and fighting smuggling and trade fraud at border areas. In the first six months of the year, 497 cases of smuggling and trade fraud were uncovered, while 1.2 million packages of smuggled foreign-made cigarettes, 240 bottles of foreign wine, and more than 24 tonnes of sugar were seized. The province fined a number of cases, collecting nearly 5.5 billion VND (238,740 USD) for the State budget, and prosecuted 17 cases involved trade and transport of prohibited goods. The province’s investigation police office has decided to start criminal proceedings against many of the violators. The My Quy Tay Border Gate Economic Area in Duc Hue district has long been seen as a transit point for cigarette smuggling from Cambodia into Ho Chi Minh City. Thanks to more frequent inspections, the number of smuggling cases has fallen. Lieutenant Colonel Trinh Anh Kiet, the district’s deputy police chief, said that smuggling of cigarettes in the district had been placed under strict supervision. Several cases involving trade and transport of banned goods in large numbers have been strictly punished, acting as a deterrent to repeat offenders, according to Kiet. In the first months of the year, the district’s anti-smuggling police discovered more than 20 cases involving storage and transport of prohibited goods. The police said they would prosecute seven of the cases and charge a total of eight people. Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Trai, deputy police chief of Kien Tuong town, said that smuggling and transport of prohibited goods at the town’s Binh Hiep International Border Gate had decreased significantly. He said that authorities had compiled a list of masterminds and retailers suspected of involvement in storing and transporting banned goods and illegal cigarettes. Since the beginning of this year, the town police have discovered 34 cases of cigarette smuggling, with a total of 77,980 packages. Tran Van Can, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, has directed the province’s anti-smuggling forces to step up patrols and control of smuggling and trade fraud. Officials, civil servants and soldiers who engage in smuggling and trade fraud must be punished, he said. More jobs need to be created for people in border areas so they will not turn to smuggling, he added. The province will also raise public awareness about laws on smuggling and trade fraud via the media. Nghe An province works hard to lure more visitors
 Cua Lo beach of Nghe An province The north central province of Nghe An has been taking numerous measures to promote the province’s tourism in both domestic and foreign markets. The province is striving to welcome 5-5.5 million tourists by 2020 and increase tourism earnings by 17-18 percent each year. It also aims that tourism will account for 4.5-5 percent of the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and generate jobs for more than 45,000 labourers. Nghe An has been working with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association to participate in annual tourism promotion events in traditional foreign markets of Thailand, Laos, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The province has also promoted itself in new and potential markets such as France, Germany, the UK, Russia, the US, Canada and India. Several fam trips are arranged in a year for foreign delegations to explore the province. Accordingly, tourism publications with updated maps and information have been introduced in various languages to serve international tourists. New tourism kiosks have been set up recently in Nam Can and Thanh Thuy border gates. In addition, Nghe An has drawn more investment in high-quality tourism services to meet current demand and increase tourist’s expenditure in the province. Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Nguyen Manh Cuong affirmed that Nghe An has built a mechanism to encourage the participation of local organisations and people in tourism and investment promotion. The province will collect visitors’ opinions to devise suitable methods for tourism promotion, along with local tourism products and services, he added. Training classes have also been organised to improve qualifications of tourism workers in terms of tourism knowledge, service skills and foreign languages. Nghe An received more than 3.5 million visitors in the first half of 2018, including nearly 70,800 foreign tourists, a year-on-year rise of 18 percent. Voluntary campaign launched in Ho Chi Minh City
 The 17th Ky Nghi Hong (pink holiday) campaign in Ho Chi Minh City was launched on July 8 As many as 1,000 young people and workers gathered at the launching ceremony of the 17th Ky Nghi Hong (pink holiday) campaign in Ho Chi Minh City on July 8. The annual campaign, to last until August 12, is expected to attract more than 50,000 youths and workers who will be assigned to 24 districts in HCM City, several provinces in the southern, central and Central Highlands regions and some localities of Laos. Divided into nine teams, the volunteers will popolarise laws among the public, provide local farmers with knowledge about agriculture, forestry and fishery, improve water and power systems, repair and build facilities, provide health care and organise cultural and sport events, among others. They will present 500 sets of gifts to social policy beneficiaries, heroic Vietnamese mothers, workers and families in difficult circumstances, as well as officers and soldiers working in border and island areas. The volunteers are expected to mobilise the donation of at least 2,000 units of blood during the campaign. In that spirit, a blood donation drive was held right after the launching ceremony of the campaign. Young scientists voluntarily join agricultural restructuring
Scene at the ceremony Over 300 youths in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on July 8 took part in the launching ceremony of a voluntary programme designed to call on young intellectuals and scientists join hands in agricultural restructuring. Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee Bui Quang Huy said the programme has been carried out over the past three years, under which young lecturers and students were sent to disadvantaged areas across the country to participate in agricultural restructuring. Twenty-six teams of excellent lecturers and students transferred more than 30 agricultural production models, opened 73 training courses on application of new technologies in farming and farm produce processing for local famers. Based on the fruitful outcomes in the past three years, the programme’s scope of eligible participants has been expanded this year to promote a greater role of young people in agro-forestry-fishery technological application, Huy added. At the launching event, 10 teams were selected for the campaign. As planned, during this year’s the summer, provincial and municipal youth unions in collaboration with universities, and agricultural science institutes will establish 98 teams of volunteers to work in all 63 provinces and cities. Between July 8 and August 31, they are expected to transfer 336 farming models, organise 261 training classes on new agricultural technologies. The programme is estimated to cost 9.2 billion VND (401,000 USD) and draw nearly 1,500 youths. After the event, various activities were held, including health checks-up for residents, environmental cleaning, and training the cultivation and harvest of tea in line with VietGap standards. Litter in canals, sewers worsens floods in HCM City
 Heavy rains and excessive amounts of rubbish have worsened flooding in HCM City (Photo: laodong.vn) An excessive amount of rubbish and litter is blocking drains and sewers in Ho Chi Minh City, worsening flooding in the rainy season. Bui Quang Truong, head of the city’s Urban Drainage Company’s rainwater management system, said that locals were trying to prevent odours from drains by dumping trash or covering trench drains and sewers with wooden sticks, plastic bags and other items. “Every rainy season, sewer workers conduct periodic inspections to remove items blocking the sewers,” he said. “Some locals don’t want us to do this, and will reblock them after we remove the rubbish." Before, during and after rains, sewer workers are sent to flood-prone areas to collect rubbish and clear the sewage system. However, these areas are a small part of the 1,400km-long sewer and 80,000 tunnels that the company currently manages, Truong said. According to environmental experts, nearly 40 percent of the drainage capacity of the sewer system is affected by excessive amounts of rubbish. Flooding is often seen along streets in Binh Thanh district, Tan Binh district, and districts 5 and 6, especially in Cho Lon. Sewer worker Le Van Long said that locals blame the authorities for not protecting the environment, but that it is actually the locals who cause the problem. Long said that he had to dive into the water to clear rubbish from one canal, but then “it became full of trash again”. Ho Long Phi, Director of the Centre of Water Management and Climate Change under the HCM City National University, said that environmental awareness among local residents must be improved through education campaigns. While people should proactively protect the environment, stricter punishment is also needed, he said, adding that it was also essential to assign responsibility to a group of households living near each sewer entrance. Huynh Minh Nhut, Director of the HCM City Urban Environment Company, said that management tasks were unclear and waste collection was inefficient. Units of the HCM City Department of Transport are responsible for road maintenance and clearing garbage blocking the sewage system, while environmental sanitation workers take care of garbage collection on the roads. Nhut said the city should form a specialised unit to clear rubbish from sewers. At a recent meeting on socio-economic development, Chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong agreed that excessive garbage and heavy rainfall had overloaded the drainage capacity of the sewage system. As a result, severe flooding on a large scale could occur, he said, adding that locals’ small actions can also help the effort to clear rubbish. Cuban Workers' Federation delegation visits Ninh Binh
 Participants in the meeting between the Cuban Workers' Federation delegation and Ninh Binh leaders A delegation of the Cuban Workers' Federation (CTC), led by its Secretary General Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, visited the northern province of Ninh Binh on July 7. At the working session with the Cuban delegation, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thanh said under the leadership of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and provincial leaders, trade unions at all levels in Ninh Binh province have shown their role in caring for and protecting legitimate benefits of workers. Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, who is also Politburo member of the Communist Party of Cuba and member of the Council of State, lauded growth potential of Ninh Binh province. He reviewed joint activities between the two countries’ trade unions, praising effective outcomes of bilateral experience exchange, particularly on protecting workers’ interests in foreign-invested companies. He expected the bilateral cooperation will be strengthened and more and more Vietnamese enterprises will invest in Cuba. VGCL President Bui Van Cuong said Vietnamese and Cuban trade unions share a close relationship thorough experience and cultural exchanges and mutual support at international forums. Cuong believed the Cuba delegation’s visit to Vietnam would contribute to caring for and protecting workers’ rights and interests in both nations. At the session, the Ninh Binh Confederation of Labour introduced to the Cuban guests its labour-related affairs. Ninh Binh is home to 2,600 operating enterprises, of which 50 are foreign-invested businesses. The province has 1,077 grassroots-level trade unions with 83,000 members. Deputy PM presents gifts to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers
 Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh on July 8 visited and presented gifts to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Long An Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh on July 8 visited and presented gifts to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Long An and Tien Giang on the occasion of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27). In Long An province, Binh handed over 20 sets of gifts to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers in Dong Thap Muoi district. The Deputy PM affirmed the Party’s and State’s consistent policy of caring for and improving the material and spiritual life of Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, war invalids and revolutionary contributors. He stressed that implementing policies towards revolutionary contributors is the responsibility of the entire society, helping ensure social progress and equality, and consolidate the great national unity bloc. The official called on organisations, agencies, officials, Party members and people in Long An to participate in the work. On this occasion, Binh handed over 250 bicycles to poor students in Dong Thap Muoi district. The bicycles valued at 600 million VND (26,400 USD) were mobilised by the People’s Public Security Newspaper via the fund in support of ethnic minority and poor students. Also on July 8, the Deputy PM and donors presented gifts to 43 Heroic Vietnamese Mothers and 277 poor households and social policy beneficiaries, along with 100 bicycles to poor students in Cai Lay township and Cai Lay district of Tien Giang province. Binh lauded efforts made by the Party Organisation, authorities and agencies of Tien Giang in supporting Heroic Vietnamese Mothers and social policy beneficiaries, as well as their attention to the education system, especially in rural and remote areas. VNN |
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VN is Southeast Asia’s new industrial powerhouse HCM CITY — In the last 20 years Việt Nam has switched from being an agricultural economy to one of the brightest manufacturing hotspots in South East Asia, according to the latest report from Jones Lang LaSalle.
Việt Nam is Southeast Asia’s new industrial powerhouse. — Photo CafeLand.vn “Việt Nam is establishing itself as the industrial powerhouse of Southeast Asia,” Stephen Wyatt, Việt Nam country head of the US property services company, said. “We expect the industrial market will enter a new phase and move up the value chain in the future, moving away from labour intensive to capital intensive.” In 1986 there was 335 hectares of land dedicated to industrial parks, and now the figure is 80,000ha. The report said: “This phenomenal growth can be attributed to Việt Nam establishing itself as an export-driven economy, dedicated industrial and economic zones, numerous free trade agreements, strong economic growth and a young, plentiful, low-cost workforce.” China continues its move away from labour-intensive industries and up the value chain which has led to companies relocating to other Southeast Asian countries. Due to its close proximity and geographical location, Việt Nam is one of the largest beneficiaries of this migration. The country is strategically located between China and Singapore with 3,260km of coastline, providing excellent access to the East Sea, one of the world’s major shipping routes. Roughly, 40 per cent of cargo transported from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific crosses the East Sea before arriving in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. Many commentators predict the logistics market to be the standout performer over the next five to 10 years. The rapid growth of the middle-income population creating more disposable income and a growing obsession with e-commerce will put significant demand on logistics facilities. According to the Asian Development Bank, Việt Nam spends 5.8 per cent of its GDP on infrastructure, the highest in the region. In order for Việt Nam to enter the next phase of the industrial/logistics cycle and become more competitive than other countries in the neighbourhood, it is critically important that significant expenditure continues on infrastructure, including highway networks, deep-sea ports and upgrade of utilities, including renewable energy. One of the challenges for Việt Nam over the next few years will be the ability to adapt and embrace the inevitable disruption and changes brought about by technology and automation, now commonly known as industry 4.0. All these initiatives have led to significant investment by large foreign companies. The best case study is Samsung, which has reportedly invested over US$17 billion in Việt Nam. This has provided confidence to many other foreign companies from around the globe to set up operations in the country. The industrial property market in the country, including industrial land, ready-built factories, warehouses and logistics properties, is in a nascent stage of development. The market is concentrated in three key zones: the Northern, Central and Southern Key Economic Zones. The southern region was the first hub and home to conventional sectors while the north has attracted more advanced high-tech industries and is strategically located close to China. The central region is a relative newcomer. Greg Ohan, deputy CEO of BW Industrial, Việt Nam’s largest ‘for-rent’ industrial developer, said from a real-estate developer’s perspective his company’s focus is on supporting the country’s industrial upgrade. “We will be a key force in the nation’s industrial and logistics real estate sector driving the development and upgrade of other sectors such as manufacturing and e-commerce.” VNS |
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Emerging security order in Indo-Pacific highlighted at workshopNew Delhi -An international workshop on emerging security order in the Indo – Pacific: issues and challenges took place in New Delhi, India from July 14-15.  At the event (Source: VNA) Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said the Indo-Pacific region is attracting attention in the context of rapid changes in regional and world situation and in power balance along with increasing grave challenges to peace, stability and development. He noted that the current situation in the East Sea is one of the threats to peace, stability and freedom of navigation, aviation and trade in this region. The world is witnessing activities to reclaim and construct artificial islands in the East Sea and militarisation via the installment of equipment and weapons, which the Ambassador said is threatening not only the sovereignty of Southeast Asian nations but also the freedom of maritime, aviation and trade of countries outside the region. The diplomat emphasised the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the East Sea in particular to Vietnam, noting that the country holds sovereignty of not only the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos but also 3,000 other islands and islets. With a coastline of 3,260km stretching from the north to the south, Vietnam has more than 1 million sq.km of exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said the East Sea is vital to the Vietnamese economy as it is the country’s main gateway to the world, adding that if the East Sea is occupied, not only Vietnam’s security will be threatened but its economy will also be seriously hurt. In addition, the Indo – Pacific is also of vital importance to Vietnam as most of its biggest strategic and economic partners are located in the region. The ambassador recalled President Tran Dai Quang’s speech to Indian statesmen, professors, researchers, scholars and students at Nehru Memorial Museum in India in March this year, in which the President called on countries to share a common vision about an open region based on international law and sharing common interest in maintaining peace, stability and inclusive prosperity, in which no country, no ethnic group and no population are left behind. All countries should strive to defend freedom and unobstructed traffic of maritime, aviation and trade routes so that the Indian Ocean – Pacific will not be divided into sub-regions that are manipulated by powerful countries, impeded by protectionism and divided by insular nationalism, he said. Ambassador Thanh also urged countries to establish effective mechanisms to maintain peace, stability and the rule of law, ensure common security, prevent conflicts and war, and effectively cope with traditional and non-traditional security challenges. He stressed that Vietnam’s viewpoint on the Indo-Asia-Pacific region has many similarities with Indian PM Narendra Modi’s vision about the Indo – Pacific as outlined in his keynote speech at the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore in June 1, stressing that both Vietnam and India want to engage in instead of confronting in the settlement of regional issues. Participants at the event shared the view that the Indian Ocean – Pacific is emerging as the most important region with its status as a geopolitical and geo-economical hub, a busy trade corridor of the most importance globally with nearly two-thirds of petrol and one third of global cargo going through it. However, the lack of cooperation rules and trust building measures, along with unsettled disputes and competition for scarce natural resources are seriously threatening regional peace and stability. The event at the Indian Council of Social Science Research was co-hosted by the Centre for Canadian, US & Latin American Studies under Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Kalinga Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Studies. VNA |
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School food vendors seek other buyers Suppliers of foods to pre-schools in HCM City are scrambling to join food distribution chains due to fears that unattached sellers would have their contracts terminated.
A shop selling vegetables and fruits at Ben Thanh Market. State pre-schools in Districts 3 and 5 have been piloting a food “safety chain” starting this school year, which requires food suppliers to be members of distribution chains or source their foods from such chains. According to Dao Van Duc, deputy chairman of the Phuoc An Production and Service Coop based in the city’s Binh Chanh District, said the co-operative has received orders from sellers who supply food to pre-schools in the district. Its products are in demand because they come with distribution chain certification, and it has mapped out expansion plans, he said. Đức said schools need many kinds of foods including rice, vegetables, fruits, meat, and eggs while there are few suppliers with distribution chain certificates. A number of food suppliers are pushing back saying pre-schools should buy food that has quality certification like VietGAP, GlobalGAP, ISO, and HACCP rather than distribution chain certification. Applied for fresh food The trial of the food safety chain at pre-schools is part of an agreement signed by the HCM City Food Safety Management Board and the city Department of Education and Training to ensure food safety at schools. The agreement encourages buying foods not just with distribution chain certification but also quality certification like HACCP, ISO 22000: 2005, VietGAP, and GlobalGAP. However, some food suppliers and preschools mistakenly believe that only food from distribution chains are acceptable, Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourers) newspaper reported. This is also the reason why many food suppliers and shops selling sweet egg custard, dumpling and milk have applied to join distribution chains, afraid they might lose their contracts otherwise. Le Minh Hai, deputy chief of the HCM City Food Safety Management Board, has written to the Department of Education and Training saying certification would be required soon for fresh foods such as vegetables and fruits, meat, eggs and aquaculture products but not for processed foods. According to the board, it has granted 203 distribution chain certificates to 109 individuals and organisations who can supply 94,000 tonnes of food a year. These include over 48,000 tonnes of pork, 17,000 tonnes of chicken, nearly 6,500 tonnes of cow and buffalo meat, over 16.4 tonnes of vegetables and fruits, and 519 million chicken eggs. They buy the products from renowned producers and distributors such as Vissan, Sagrifood, Ba Huan Egg, Vinh Thanh Dat, CP, VinEco Vegetables, and Phuoc An, Nga Ba Giong and Phu Loc co-operatives. The list of food suppliers possessing distribution chain certificates is published on the board’s website. VNS |
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Social News 16/7 2018 International Conference on higher education held in HCMC The Annual International Conference on higher education was jointly held by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Training Center in Vietnam (SEAMEO RETRAC) and the British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE) for the fourth year in a row in HCMC last week. Focusing on “Leadership and Management in Higher Education in a Globalized World: Innovations and Best Practices,” the conference is a global platform for discussion, collaboration and intellectual exchange among international educational leaders, academicians and professionals in related areas of higher education. This 2018 conference’s main goal was to update the participants with trends and practices in leadership and management in higher education. Thereby, they can be better prepared to face challenges at their workplace. The conference also covered a wide range of topics relating to innovations and best practices in higher education leadership and management. It provided academicians and professionals with unique opportunities for presenting and exchanging research-based results related to innovations and best practices in leadership and management in higher education from global higher education institutions. Additionally, the 2018 International Conference helped develop a global network and linkages among policy makers, educators, leaders and researchers as well as professionals working in the field of international higher education for future development. The event featured speeches and presentations by international experts including Allan Cahoon, President and Vice Chancellor of Royal Roads University; Paul Dangerfield, President of Capilano University; Elizabeth Hendrey, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of Queens College; Henri-Claude de Bettignies, Senior Advisor to the Board of The HEAD Foundation; and N. Varaprasad, Principal Consultant at Singapore Education Consulting Group. Notably, the conference was attended by a delegation of 15 Canadian educators coming to share best practices with their counterparts from the region, according to the Consulate General of Canada in HCMC. Viet Tri-Ba Vi Bridge across Red River to open for trial run on July 31
The Viet Tri-Ba Vi bridge across the Red River A new bridge spanning the Hong (Red) River and connecting Hanoi’s Ba Vi district and Phu Tho province’s Viet Tri city will be open for trial run on July 31 after two years of construction, according to its investor Phu Ha BOT Co Ltd. Le Minh Nghia, director of the Phu Ha BOT said the Viet Tri-Ba Vi bridge will be put into commercial run on October 1. A toll station will be located at Phu Cuong commune of Ba Vi district, with the fee starting from 35,000 VND per car. Built at total investment of 1.46 trillion VND (63.64 million USD), the Viet Tri-Ba Vi bridge is a link between National Route 32 and National Route 32C. The main bridge is 1.55 km long and the approaching roads have a combined length of 7.8km. The new bridge is expected to help facilitate traffic between Hanoi and the midland province of Phu Tho, thus boosting local economic development and tapping the potential for tourism and service of Phu Tho province. At a working session on July 15, Chairman of Phu Tho province’s People’s Committee Bui Minh Chau proposed changing the name of the bridge from Viet Tri-Ba Vi to Van Lang. Transport Minister Nguyen Van The has asked relevant agencies to consider the proposal. Phu Tho province has great potential in manufacturing, assembling industry, construction material production, hi-tech agriculture and forestry. There is also large room for tourism development in the province, which is home to two world cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO, which are the worshipping of Hung Kings and the traditional “xoan” singing. Thua Thien – Hue focuses attention on One Commune-One Product
Paper flower making in Thanh Tien village in Phu My commune of Thua Thien - Hue. The village is well-known for its 300-year craft of making paper flowers. The central province of Thua Thien – Hue has defined priorities for its One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme during 2018-2020, which are mostly local specialties and services. There are six groups of products being targeted, which are food, beverages, herbal medicines, fabric and garment making, souvenir-decoration-interior, and rural tourism and sale services, in line with the national OCOP programme. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Phuong said the OCOP programme responds to both the needs of developing tourism and building new style rural areas in combination with restructuring the agricultural sector. The provincial agricultural department is assigned to coordinate with local administrations to make a list of key and advantageous products of each locality along with assessment of the technological level, capital and labour related to each product, towards building the OCOP project to be carried out in the province during 2018-2020. In 2015-2017, Thua Thien – Hue spent more than 42 billion VND (over 1.82 million USD) on a similar programme called One Village – One Craft – One Product. It will continue to implement this scheme in 2018 and beyond. The OCOP programme is expected to create more jobs for the rural workforce, who are usually idle outside of the two main cultivation crops of Winter-Spring and Summer-Autumn. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) launched the One Commune, One Product (OCOP) programme worth nearly 45 trillion VND (about 2 billion USD) in May this year. According to the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development, OCOP is an economic development programme in rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values, contributing to the implementation of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development for 2016-2020. The programme aims to produce and offer quality products and services that are competitive at home and abroad, with priority given to cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is also expected to raise local income and meet national criteria on new-style rural areas for 2016-2020. Ca Mau tightens control of fishing fleet  The southernmost province of Ca Mau is tightening control of local fishing vessels operating at sea in line with national efforts to fight illegal, unreported and uncontrolled (IUU) fishing. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Hai said along with bolstering educational campaigns for fishermen on relevant laws and regulations, authorised agencies have applied strict sanctions against owners of fishing ships violating foreign waters. He said local agencies are working to ensure that every worker in the fishing industry from fisherman to small trader, every local official and organisations involved in fisheries know about the EC’s yellow card warning Vietnam about IUU. Fishing vessel owners will have their operating licence withdrawn and will be refused new licence if any of their vessels is found to be arrested overseas or detected to have violated foreign waters though the satellite-based monitoring system. The chairman has instructed relevant agencies and local administrations to remove Movimar satellite geo-positioning devices from fishing ships under 24m in length to transfer to vessels of 24m and longer. He stressed that authorized agencies will take strong measures against fishing ships and individuals who fail to turn on Movimar devices around the clock when going fishing offshore. Ca Mau will promptly upgrade the GPS-integrated VX-1700 satellite communication machines which have been installed on ships and port management units to ensure automatic reports on ship arrivals. On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing. A working delegation from the EC’s General Directorate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries visited Vietnam from May 16-24 to inspect the country’s implementation of the EC’s nine recommendations related to the fight against IUU fishing. The nine recommendations included revisions to the legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules, applicable to the conservation and management of fisheries resources; ensuring the effective implementation and enforcement of the country’s revised laws; and strengthening the effective implementation of international rules and management measures. The EC’s delegation said the Vietnamese localities’ efforts against the IUU fishing remained particularly weak in some specific areas. The EC inspectors will return to Vietnam in January 2019 to review the country’s progress in addressing its “yellow card” warning. Over 60,000 HCM City students join “Green Summer” campaign
At the launch ceremony The HCM City chapter of the Vietnam Youth Federation on July 15 held a ceremony to launch the 25th “Green Summer” voluntary campaign, attracting more than 60,000 students to social activities. Speaking at the ceremony, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan highly valued the outcomes reaped from the previous drives which, he said, manifested youth’s dynamism, creativity and voluntary spirit. The official stressed that the annual campaign serves an environment for young people to demonstrate skills and devotion, that is why the youth should bring into full play their role in voluntary activities for the benefit of the community and to create a spill-out effect among the people in general. According to Ngo Minh Hai, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Youth Union Committee and head of the 2018 campaign, this year’s drive aims to mobilize youth to building at least 50 houses for the poor, repair electricity systems for 500 households, improve skills of foreign languages and IT for at least 20,000 children, upgrade 40km of roads, besides others. The campaign will last from July 15 – August 12, focusing in the city’s 5 suburban districts, border and island localities in the central and Central Highlands regions, as well as in Laos. The voluntary activities will focus on strengthening civilized way of life, protecting the environment, climate change resilience, new-style rural area building, and social welfares. Particularly, participants will concentrating on IT training, agriculture consultancy, agriculture science and technology transfer, teaching the Vietnamese language to children, and sport and cultural exchanges with villagers in Laos. Many participants have expressed their pride for joining the annual drive for the first time, and pledged to do their best to help the community. They also described this drive as a good chance for them to bring their knowledge into the real life, to the benefit of locals. VN Summer Camp: Young expats learn history in Dong Loc T-junction  A young overseas Vietnamese girl offers incense at the Dong Loc T-junction monument in Ha Tinh on July 15. Young Vietnamese overseas taking part in the Vietnam Summer Camp 2018 offered incense and flowers at the Dong Loc T-junction monument in the central province of Ha Tinh on July 15. Some 120 young Vietnamese from 30 countries and territories saw with their own eyes the relics from the anti-US war and listened to stories about the sacrifice of ten young unmarried girls who were volunteers helping with logistics at the T-junction during the war. The youths, aged 16 – 24, has been on a tour across Vietnam to learn about their roots. They are provided with opportunity to visit popular tourist destinations and historical relics, meet with local young people and learn Vietnamese language and traditional customs. This year’s camp which lasts until July 25 features a big programme of activities across 11 localities from the North to the South. After Ha Tinh, the young expats will take a trip to Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park and engage in a charitable event in the central province of Quang Nam. They are scheduled to finish their journey in Buon Ma Thuot, the capital city of Dak Lak in the Central Highlands on July 23. Yesterday, they visited the central province of Nghe An where they paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh and presented gifts to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, war invalids and Agent Orange/dioxin victims. Initiated in 2004, the Vietnam Summer Camp has attracted about 2,000 young people from various countries and territories. Each camp had a specific theme and events designed to bring different experiences and lessons on the Vietnamese culture and history for the participants, who previously had little experience in the country. Underwater medicine, hyperbaric oxygen association set up The National Association of Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Oxygen was established by the Vietnam National Institute of Maritime Medicine and Maritime Health Association during a congress on July 13 – 14. Held in the northern city of Hai Phong, the first congress of the National Association of Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Oxygen elected Prof. Dr. Nguyen Truong Son as Chairman while 29 others were selected for the association’s executive committee. According to newly-elected chairman Son, Vietnam is a coastal nation with territorial waters tripling the land area and a large maritime workforce. However, health care services for underwater diseases and diving emergencies face many challenges due to a lack of specialized medical workers, tools and facilities, he said. Meanwhile, hyperbaric medicine has been increasingly applied for treatment and emergency care of serious diseases at hospitals and medical facilities across the country. The new approach is applicable to treatment for victims in drowning accidents or bitten or stung by marine animals. However, knowledge on this field remained limited so the treatment effectiveness is below expectation, the expert noted. At the congress, delegates discussed and exchanged ideas about 15 studies in underwater medicine and hyperbaric oxygen and the use of hyperbaric medicine in health care service delivery. Hung Yen police deal heavy blows on drug-related crimes  So far this year, the police in the northern province of Hung Yen have detected and dealt with nearly 160 cases related to drug, arresting almost 250 criminals in the province’s localilties. Besides, they have also seized thousands of grams of heroin, over 2,000 grams of drugs of various kinds, more than 100 poppy plants, 100 ml of methamphetamine and nearly 30 grams of ketamine. Legal procedures have been launched for up to 128 cases with 155 accused, while 19 cases with 63 people have got administrative punishments and 66 addicts been sent to detoxification centers. The force have also successfully busted two large cases of illegally trading and smuggling drugs from Son La province, with the involvement of many women. The cases are those of smuggling five cakes of heroin weighing nearly 1.8 kg and trading 28 cakes of heroin totaling 9.9 grams, with the latter being the largest so far in the province. Authorities have pointed out that the root causes of the hike in drug-related cases are the poor sense for law of local, the temptation by the huge profit and the low effectiveness of the law popularization. They also have concluded that the crime is also causing other social evils like theft, robbery and murder, leading to the poor security and order in the locality. Hung Yen police are striving to take strong measures to gradually erase the crime from the province. Tien Giang builds budget apartments for industrial park workers
 Planning of the residential complex for workers in Tien Giang's industrial parks is on display. More than 1,000 affordable apartments will be built for industrial park workers at a complex in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, according to Chairman of the provincial Federation of Labour Truong Van Hien. The residential complex for workers in local industrial parks will be constructed at an estimated cost of 677 billion VND (29.8 million USD). Tien Giang is among the first three provinces in the country alongside Ha Nam and Quang Nam allowed by the government to build such complex, Hien said. Each project will include, besides low-cost residential buildings, a building for trade unions of industrial parks, a nursery school, a supermarket, and a park and recreation area, to serve the workers and their families, he added. In Tien Giang, the 3-hectare complex will be located near My Tho Industrial Park and Trung An Industrial Cluster, comprising 12 five-storey and two 12-storey buildings, and row houses. It will provide over 1,000 budget apartments, 30 sqm or 45 sqm in size each, able to accommodate about 5,000 workers. These apartments can be rented or purchased at low prices. The project is expected to break ground in August 2018 and to be put into use in 2020. Quang Nam wants more tourism services around My Son Sanctuary
A corner of My Son Sanctuary in the south-central coastal province of Quang Nam The south-central coastal province of Quang Nam is calling on companies at home and abroad to develop high-quality tourism services around My Son Sanctuary. Ho Tan Cuong, deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said his agency and the management board of My Son Cultural Heritage are planning to call for investors to set up lodging, dining and entertainment services around the World Heritage site. Cuong explained that the move aims to present more high-quality services so that tourists will spend more money. “In addition to the preservation and protection of the site, we also want to have links with nearby regions. This will create (favorable) conditions for tourists to stay overnight at My Son and study our heritage site more thoroughly,” he remarked. He admitted that the number of tourists to My Son has been modest, as there is a shortage in tourism services and the road infrastructure is inadequate. Representatives of some tourism companies in neighboring Danang City told the Daily that their tours to Quang Nam include both My Son Sanctuary and Hoi An City. While the Tra Hue Vegetable Village in Hoi An offers services that allow tourists to stay overnight and get hands-on experience of farming, similar services in My Son are quite basic. Tran Luc, deputy director of the Danang branch of Saigontourist, said the company serves an increasingly large number of Western tourists to My Son. Many tourists have expressed interest in staying overnight around My Son so that they can study the sanctuary more thoroughly. However, they were unable to do so due to the lack of high-quality services. Data from the local tourism watchdog shows that the number of tourists to My Son has not increased in recent years. The deputy head, Cuong, said the destination is expected to welcome 350,000 tourist arrivals this year, which is equal to that of 2017 and is still an optimistic figure. He added that more than 204,000 visitors came to the sanctuary in the first half of this year, a year-on-year rise of 12%. The My Son Sanctuary, a complex of over 70 Hindu tower temples built by the ancient kingdom of Champa between the 4th and 13th centuries, was recognized as a World Heritage site in 1999 by the UNESCO. While restoring and embellishing the site, experts have recently discovered 275 artifacts, including the unique artifacts of the Champa Sculpture. Hải Hòa Beach puts swimmers at risk
Hải Hòa Beach in Tĩnh Gia District in the central province of Thanh Hóa lacks facilities to ensure safety for swimmers and beach goers.— Photo vov.vn Hải Hòa Beach in Tĩnh Gia District in the central province of Thanh Hóa lacks facilities to ensure safety for swimmers and beach goers. The Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) radio reported on Friday that though thousands of visitors flock to the beach daily during the summer, the province has hardly invested in works to ensure public safety. At the Hải Hòa Beach, there is no beach observation tower, no warning system, no boats for search and rescue activities and the area where people can swim is not marked at all. Vice chairman of the district People’s Committee Lê Thế Kỉ said a group of staff was assigned to patrol along the coast and deliver assistance to beach goers in emergency cases. The district also asked the Hải Hòa Commune People’s Committee to build beach observation towers. “Problems remained in managing the beach and ensuring public safety there. Local authorities are seeking solutions,” Kỉ said. Colonel Lê Văn Cửu, director of the province’s Fire Prevention and Prevention Department, said the department sent fire fighters to the beach for search and rescue activities after seeing risks to public safety because of insufficient safety works. On July 11, a 25-year-old man drowned while swimming at Hải Hòa Beach. He and his four friends were swept hundreds of metres off the coast. For the last few years, Hải Hòa has been known as a beautiful beach in Thanh Hóa Province with abundant white sands, clean blue water and smaller crowds than at other beaches in the same province. Visitors to the beach said that they chose to spend their summer vacations at Hải Hòa beach because of its beauty, quietness and reasonable service prices. Few people said they cared about safety measures and warning systems. Thanh Hóa Province, with about 100 km of coast, has famous beaches including Sầm Sơn, Hải Hòa, Hải Tiến and Hải Thanh. Some beaches have been open for tourism with the advantage of natural beauty but also the disadvantage of poor infrastructure and little investment. Ninh Thuận to grow more of new, high-quality grape
A farmer tends his grape farm in Ninh Thuận Province’s Ninh Hải District. The south central province of Ninh Thuận, the country’s largest grape producer, plans to expand cultivation of NH 01-152, its new grape variety, because of its excellent quality and other outstanding characters. The variety, created by the Nha Hố Research Institute for Cotton and Agriculture Development, has been grown on a pilot basis but is in great demand already. Grown for eating fresh, it is crunchy and semi-sweet with firm flesh, a slight fragrance and just one or two seeds. Phan Công Kiên, deputy head of the research institute, said the institute is working with local agencies to transfer intensive farming techniques to farmers for growing the variety, which would gradually replace certain degraded varieties in the province. In the third quarter of this year the institute and relevant authorities would seek approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to grow the grape commercially, and subsequently introduce it to more farmers, he said. It is now grown on nearly 6ha in major grape growing areas like Ninh Hải, Ninh Phước and Ninh Sơn districts, Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm City and the neighbouring province of Bình Thuận. Nguyễn Khắc Phòng, who grows the grape on his 2,000sq.m farm to Vietnamese good agricultural practice (VietGAP) standards in Ninh Hải District’s Vĩnh Hải Commune, said he recently harvested the first crop, and it yielded one tonne per 1,000sq.m, fetching him an income of nearly VNĐ200 million (US$8,800). The cost of growing NH 01-152 is VNĐ30 – 40 million ($1,300 -1,700) per 1,000 square metre, the same as other grape varieties, but the income is higher, he said. The variety is suitable for growing in the province’s hot and dry weather and soil conditions and is resistant to diseases. It yields two crops a year. Traders pay VNĐ100,000 – 200,000 per kilogramme of the grape. The province People’s Committee has instructed relevant agencies to co-operate with the research institute to grow the new variety. The province plans to create a large-scale field for planting the grape in Vĩnh Hải Commune this year, and this is also expected to be a tourist attraction. The south-central province has more than 1,300ha of land under grapes, mostly the cardinal and NH01-48 varieties. Hải Phòng to become green, smart city
 Tân Vũ Port in Hải Phòng City. Hải Phòng is projected to become a green city and a major maritime service hub by 2025. The vision is part of the general plan for the northern port city by 2025 towards 2030 which has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. According to the plan, the northern port city will be developed into a hub for the key northern economic region and a green smart city with unique architecture and synchronized socio-economic infrastructure. It is also expected to become a key point connecting transportation of the country and the gate to the sea of northern localities and the Việt Nam-China economic corridor. The city needs to focus on industrialisation and modernisation based on advanced science and technology and human resources while maintaining a balance between economic development and environmental protection. Key industrial sectors with high added value such as green and high-tech industry, maritime industry and electronic sector should be developed, the PM said. The city should develop its economy along with defence and security protection while improving the quality of life for citizens. Gross Regional Domestic Product of the city is expected to account for 19.6 per cent of the GDP of the key northern economic region and 4.86 per cent of nationwide GDP by 2020. Annual Gross Regional Domestic Product per person is set to reach VNĐ86.3 million (US$3,750) by 2020. Services including sea transport, logistics, airlines, banking-finance, commerce and tourism are set to be developed. A logistics centre for the key northern economic region will be located at Nam Đình Vũ Industrial Zone. Tourism is set to become a spearhead economic sector with high-quality, professional and environmentally-friendly services. Cát Bà, Đồ Sơn beaches are planned to be developed into nationwide and world-class tourism spots. Air quality safe at Yazaki: test results
 Workers in front of Japanese-invested Yazaki Co, Ltd in northern Quảng Ninh Province’s Đông Mai Industrial Zone. The air quality measured at the warehouse of Japanese-invested Yazaki Co, Ltd in northern Quảng Ninh Province, where nearly 100 workers became disoriented and lost consciousness last Friday, has been declared safe, the provincial inspection team has announced. At a working meeting with representatives of Yazaki Co, Ltd in Đông Mai Industrial Zone on July 12, the inspection team said it had conducted quick tests on the air quality at four different locations around the warehouse. Results showed that the air monitoring index was safe. Previously, the inspection team had conducted air quality tests on July 7, 10 and 11. The monitoring air index was within the allowable limits of the national regulations for a safe working environment. The inspection team said that the company had taken measures to improve the working environment for the workers of the company. Ten more fans and three steam fans had been installed in the warehouse, raising the total number of fans to 49. The company had opened seven vented doors to bring cooler air from the factory to the warehouse. At about 8am on July 6, nearly 100 people were knocked unconscious after beginning work at Yazaki Co, Ltd in Đông Mai Industrial Zone in Quảng Yên Town. As many as 70 workers were hospitalised for treatment, and the rest were immediately evacuated from the workplace. The provincial Department of Health invited doctors from Hà Nội’s Bạch Mai Hospital to take air samples for tests to find out the cause of the incident. Test results from the Việt Nam-Sweden Hospital showed that the health indices of these workers were normal and did not show the presence of formaldehyde. Initial evaluation by specialists showed that the amount of formaldehyde gas at Yazaki Co, Ltd on the day of the incident was between 4-5 mg per cubic metre of air, four to five times higher than the permitted level. The formaldehyde levels were back to normal on the following days. The provincial People’s Committee directed the departments and authorities of Quảng Yên Town to implement urgent measures to ensure a safe working environment for the workers of the company. Quang Ngai takes action on 1,500 tonnes of garbage left untreated
 Rubbish has been piling up near Lê Trung Đình Market in Quảng Ngãi City. The People’s Committee of central Quảng Ngãi Province has urged Quảng Ngãi City authorities to take measures to quickly handle 1,500 tonnes of garbage left in the inner city over the past six days. The request was made at an urgent meeting between the committee and relevant authorities yesterday. Trash was seen piling up after residents living near Nghĩa Kỳ landfill in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune blocked garbage trucks from entering the site since July 6. Nguyễn Tăng Bính, deputy chairman of the committee, said that the garbage would be sent to Đồng Nà landfill in Tịnh Thiện Commune, ten kilometres from the central city, instead of the landfills in Đức Phổ and Bình Sơn districts as planned. Bính said sending garbage to the two districts could easily cause more problems as they would not be able to handle the large amount, leading to protests by local residents over possible pollution. He urged the city’s People’s Committee to promptly collect garbage piling up so as to minimise pollution and possible effects on residents. Bính said he hoped people living near Đồng Nà landfill would share their difficulties with the province, and urged people to classify garbage at home to reduce pollution from domestic rubbish. The provincial committee would report the situation to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to ask for permission to re-open Đồng Na landfill. It would also develop plans to deal with the garbage that has been left in the city over the last several days. Bính affirmed that moving the refuse was a temporary solution. Nghĩa Kỳ landfill in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune was responsible for the storage and treatment of rubbish in Quảng Ngãi City and surrounding districts of Tư Nghĩa, Sơn Tịnh and Nghĩa Hành. The province would hold talks with residents to solve all their complaints about the pollution caused by the landfill. In terms of waste treatment, the province would ask local authorities to publicise the permitted distance between the dumping site and residential areas. The province would not approve any project likely to cause environmental pollution in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune. In addition, the province required the North Investment and Development Construction JSC to strictly follow the construction progress of a waste treatment plant as planned. The company would have its investment licence revoked if it failed to complete the construction of the plant before September 30. At the meeting, vice chairwoman of Tư Nghĩa District’s People’s Committee Nguyễn Thị Phương Lan said that residents living near Nghĩa Kỳ landfill had suffered horrible odours for years and had reported pollution to local authorities many times, but witnessed no improvement. Phạm Tấn Hoàng, chairman of the Quảng Ngãi City's People’s Committee, said that about 250 tonnes of garbage was discharged each day. In the meantime, Đồng Na landfill could only handle that amount of garbage for the next 20 days. Authorised agencies need to work together to come up with long-term solutions for refuse in the city, he added. On June 10, talks were held between provincial authorities and local residents to address pollution at Nghĩa Kỳ landfill after local people blocked garbage trucks from entering the dumping site. However, local people were not satisfied with the temporary solutions offered by the province. VNN |
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Government News 16/7 HCMC Party Committee office chief reprimanded Thai Thi Bich Lien, head of the Office of the HCMC Party Committee, has been reprimanded for her involvement in a State-owned enterprise’s controversial sale of land to a private business. At the 17th conference of the HCMC Party Committee on July 7, Lien was found to be accountable for a decision by Tan Thuan Investment and Construction Co Ltd, an enterprise under the HCMC Party Committee office, to transfer over 30 hectares of land in the Phuoc Kien Residential Complex in the outlying district of Nha Be to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Company in June 2017. In the transaction, the land price was as low as VND1.29 million (US$55.9) per square meter. Therefore, the total value of the deal was VND419 billion (US$19.2 million). In December 2017, the Standing Board of the HCMC Party Committee asked the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment to assess the value of the area. According to the department, it should have cost around VND574 billion (US$24.9 million), meaning Tan Thuan could have caused a loss of VND155 billion (US$6.73 million). The Standing Board that month requested the SOE to cancel the land sale contract. On June 4, the HCMC Party Committee’s Inspection Board dismissed Tan Thuan’s general director Tran Cong Thien from all Party duties and proposed the Party Committee office remove Thien from the company’s board and his post of general director of the firm. Inspectors of the HCMC Party Committee proposed the Standing Board order the Party Committee of the HCMC People’s Committee to instruct the city government to launch a comprehensive probe into Tan Thuan to determine whether Tran Cong Thien and other individuals have committed any irregularities. Emerging security order in Indo-Pacific highlighted at workshop
At the event An international workshop on emerging security order in the Indo – Pacific: issues and challenges took place in New Delhi, India from July 14-15. Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said the Indo-Pacific region is attracting attention in the context of rapid changes in regional and world situation and in power balance along with increasing grave challenges to peace, stability and development. He noted that the current situation in the East Sea is one of the threats to peace, stability and freedom of navigation, aviation and trade in this region. The world is witnessing activities to reclaim and construct artificial islands in the East Sea and militarisation via the installment of equipment and weapons, which the Ambassador said is threatening not only the sovereignty of Southeast Asian nations but also the freedom of maritime, aviation and trade of countries outside the region. The diplomat emphasised the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the East Sea in particular to Vietnam, noting that the country holds sovereignty of not only the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos but also 3,000 other islands and islets. With a coastline of 3,260km stretching from the north to the south, Vietnam has more than 1 million sq.km of exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said the East Sea is vital to the Vietnamese economy as it is the country’s main gateway to the world, adding that if the East Sea is occupied, not only Vietnam’s security will be threatened but its economy will also be seriously hurt. In addition, the Indo – Pacific is also of vital importance to Vietnam as most of its biggest strategic and economic partners are located in the region. The ambassador recalled President Tran Dai Quang’s speech to Indian statesmen, professors, researchers, scholars and students at Nehru Memorial Museum in India in March this year, in which the President called on countries to share a common vision about an open region based on international law and sharing common interest in maintaining peace, stability and inclusive prosperity, in which no country, no ethnic group and no population are left behind. All countries should strive to defend freedom and unobstructed traffic of maritime, aviation and trade routes so that the Indian Ocean – Pacific will not be divided into sub-regions that are manipulated by powerful countries, impeded by protectionism and divided by insular nationalism, he said. Ambassador Thanh also urged countries to establish effective mechanisms to maintain peace, stability and the rule of law, ensure common security, prevent conflicts and war, and effectively cope with traditional and non-traditional security challenges. He stressed that Vietnam’s viewpoint on the Indo-Asia-Pacific region has many similarities with Indian PM Narendra Modi’s vision about the Indo – Pacific as outlined in his keynote speech at the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore in June 1, stressing that both Vietnam and India want to engage in instead of confronting in the settlement of regional issues. Participants at the event shared the view that the Indian Ocean – Pacific is emerging as the most important region with its status as a geopolitical and geo-economical hub, a busy trade corridor of the most importance globally with nearly two-thirds of petrol and one third of global cargo going through it. However, the lack of cooperation rules and trust building measures, along with unsettled disputes and competition for scarce natural resources are seriously threatening regional peace and stability. The event at the Indian Council of Social Science Research was co-hosted by the Centre for Canadian, US & Latin American Studies under Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Kalinga Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Studies. Algerian newspaper highlights FM Abdelkader Messahel’s Vietnam visit  Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel meets Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi The Vietnam visit by Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel from July 13-14 was given intensive coverage by Algeria’s daily Elmoudjahid. The newspaper reported on the meetings between the Minister and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, during which both sides discussed measures to boost bilateral ties and other issues of shared concern. Messahel also conveyed a message from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to President Tran Dai Quang, which emphasizes the long-standing friendship and solidarity shared by Vietnam and Algeria since the struggle for national independence. The Algerian FM reiterated Algeria’s commitment to lifting bilateral ties to match their political and historical relations and underscored the importance of further tapping potentials of the two nations, especially in tourism and energy, to bolster their sustainable and mutually-beneficial partnership. PM Phuc reaffirmed that Vietnam is ready to bolster all-around ties with Algeria for common benefits. The newspaper also reported that during their meeting, FM Messahel and Deputy PM Minh highlighted the need to make a quality leap in bilateral economic and trade ties, especially via developing joint activities and realising bilateral cooperation agreements. While discussing regional and global issues of shared concern, and issues regarding the fight against terrorism and organised crimes, they agreed to continue maintaining mutual consultation at global forums. The daily also quoted the Algerian FM as saying in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency reporter in Algiers that his visit aims to develop bilateral ties and strengthen the tradition of regular consultation between the two countries. The visit affords both sides a chance to review their bilateral relations, especially in the fields of economy, trade and investment, he said. Messahel described the visit as especially important to meeting the hope of both Presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Tran Dai Quang to lift bilateral ties to a greater height that matches the aspirations of the two peoples. According to the minister, while bilateral political ties are excellent, there is much to do with the economic cooperation, as two-way trade stood at just 360 million USD in 2017, mostly Vietnam’s exports to Algeria. Only one Vietnamese company - the oil and gas group PetroVietnam - is doing business in the African country. For this reason, he called for materialising commitments at the 11th meeting of the Vietnam – Algeria Inter-Governmental Meeting slated for November 2017, and creating more favourable conditions for enhanced ties, particularly in trade and investment. Dominican Republic wants to boost ties with Vietnam  President of the Senate Reinaldo Pared Pérez (left) receives Nguyen Duc Loi, CPV Central Committee member and General Director of Vietnam News Agency Leaders of the Government, parliament and many political parties of the Dominican Republic have affirmed their wish to develop ties with Vietnam during their meetings with Nguyen Duc Loi, a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, who is leading a CPV delegation on an official visit to the country from July 11-14. President of the Senate Reinaldo Pared Pérez, who is also general secretary of the Dominican Liberation Party (DLP) expressed his admiration of Vietnam’s economic achievement over the past years. He expressed the wish to increase the relations between the DLP, which is leading the ruling alliance in the Dominican Republic, and the CPV. The Senate President also pledged to inform relevant ministries and agencies on the outcomes of his meeting with the Vietnamese delegation in order to seek specific steps to push the bilateral cooperation forward. Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas confirmed the Dominican Republic’s plan to open an embassy in Hanoi to bolster bilateral ties across the fields. General Secretary of the United Left Movement (MIU) and Minister for Regional Integration Policies Miguel Mejía , and Senator Cristina Lizardo, a member of the PLD, said they are rejoiced at the new opportunities for development of both Vietnam and the Dominican Republic at a time when the Dominican Republic is looking to expanding relations with Asian countries, including Vietnam. They affirmed that the MIU and PLD are willing to work as a bridge for bilateral cooperative projects. During the meetings, Nguyen Duc Loi, who is also Director General of the Vietnam News Agency, reiterated the policy of the CPV and the Vietnamese State to intensify international integration, increase the sharing of experience and information, and coordinate actions with all political parties worldwide for the goal of peace, national independence, democracy and social progress. He briefed the host country’s officials on the development guidelines and policies of the CPV and the State of Vietnam during the past time As part of the visit,, made at the invitation of the MIU, the CPV delegation attended a ceremony to honour President Ho Chi Minh at the square and monument named after him in Santo Domingo, granted interviews to several TV channels and toured several administrative, economic, cultural and transport facilities. HCMC government urged to closely scrutinize China-U.S. trade war Vuong Duc Hoang Quan, a member of the HCMC People’s Council, has urged the HCMC government to closely scrutinize the trade war between the U.S. and China so as to have timely measures to cope with challenges and make the most of opportunities. At the ongoing ninth meeting of the council, Quan urged local enterprises and competent agencies to promptly assess both the positive and negative effects of the trade war to make good use of opportunities and minimize the negative effects on domestic production and trade activities with the two largest economies of the world. Quan noted that the city should look into the impacts of the trade war and prepare solutions to develop the city’s economy in the second half of the year and in the next two years, hinting at possible adjustments to the plan for the city’s socioeconomic development that was prepared for the Council’s session on July 6 when the trade war between China and the United States started. He stressed that Vietnam in general and HCMC in particular would benefit from the trade war by partially filling the market vacuum in the U.S., adding that local exporters, especially those in the textile-garment and footwear sectors, would have more opportunities to ship their products stateside. The United States is an attractive market for Vietnamese exports, including farm produce. The demand for agricultural products among U.S. consumers is likely to increase, and Vietnamese exporters should grab the opportunity. The trade war, however, has also created numerous obstacles to exporting Vietnamese commodities to China. For example, a 30% increase in the export revenue from the Chinese market in the first half of the year is a positive result, but maintaining this trend is also a major challenge as the Chinese market may face a commodity glut due to the trade war. Quan suggested the relevant agencies, especially taxation and market management agencies and the economic police force, look into the situation and work out effective solutions to respond to possible problems. Experts, on the other hand, forecast the US-China trade war would bring more challenges than opportunities for Vietnam. Due to the trade war, Chinese goods will most likely be channeled into other markets nearby, and Vietnam may suffer from such an influx. In addition, Chinese products subject to high import duties in the United States can be sent to Vietnam before being exported stateside. Moreover, the trade war may pose a high risk for a currency war, affecting foreign exchange rates. Waste treatment remains major concern The HCMC government annually spends up to nearly VND4 trillion (US$173.6 million) collecting, transporting, classifying and treating garbage, and dredging wastewater drainage systems. However, local residents have voiced their complaints over the environmental pollution caused by garbage. At the meeting of the HCMC People’s Council today, July 11, Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city daily discharges some 9,000 tons of garbage. Meanwhile, the city cannot completely collect waste thrown into the environment, thus obstructing sewers and causing odors. Phan Thi Thang, director of the HCMC Department of Finance, asserted the city annually allocates some VND2.85 trillion for waste collection, classification and treatment, and VND1.13 trillion for wastewater drainage system maintenance and improvement. Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the HCMC People’s Council, said the large investment in both waste treatment and wastewater drainage systems in the city is contributed by local people. However, the job in these two areas remains ineffective. Nguyen Toan Thang proposed asking investors of waste treatment complexes to apply waste-to-energy technology instead of burying garbage to avoid worsening environmental pollution. In the next five to ten years, HCMC will have 10 waste treatment plants which convert waste into electricity. The city government has called for investments in waste treatment projects using modern technologies. According to a master plan for solid waste treatment in HCMC in the 2016-2020 period, the city will employ advanced technologies to recycle waste to produce compost and reduce the volume of buried garbage to 60% while the remaining 40% of garbage will be used to generate electricity. Up to now, buried garbage accounts for up to three fourths of the total waste volume. VNN |
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EVFTA to introduce new dispute resolution tribunal Trade disputes between EU and Vietnamese enterprises will be handled by an intricate international resolution mechanism once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement takes effect, giving new hope to EU firms caught in legal limbo in Vietnam. The European Commission and Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade and Industry have agreed on the final text for the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), formally concluding the legal review of the document. They also concluded discussions on an investment protection agreement. It is expected that the EVFTA will be signed this September and take effect in early 2019. Notably, the EVFTA sets up a permanent dispute resolution system, under which disputes about one of the investment protection provisions included in the FTA-such as protection against expropriation without compensation, non-discrimination or fair and equitable treatment-can be submitted to a standing international and fully independent investment tribunal system. The system’s members will be appointed in advance by the EU and Vietnam, and will be subject to strict requirements of independence and integrity. “Cases will be heard by divisions of the tribunal which will be composed of three members-one from the EU, one from Vietnam, and a presiding member from a third-party country,” said a recently released guide to the EVFTA. “Decisions of the tribunal can be appealed at a permanent appeal tribunal, which will ensure legal correctness and certainty in the interpretation of the agreement.” “The usual grounds for non-enforceability of awards have been included in the grounds for appeal, meaning that a final award must be enforced and domestic courts cannot put into question the legal validity of the decisions. This represents an important advantage for European investors abroad,” the document went on to say. According to a German firm producing paper and paper-based products in a northern province of Vietnam, its year-long dispute with four Vietnamese partners will likely be solved if this international dispute resolution mechanism takes effect under the EVFTA. “If the dispute is solved, we may invest more in our factory,” a firm representative told VIR. “We have invested only slightly more than US$3 million so far.” The firm was established in April 2008 by Vietnamese businesspeople. During its operation, the firm imported machinery and equipment from a German company, which later became a stakeholder. However, after the stake purchase agreement was signed and the new joint venture was established in 2010, the German company’s chairman, who is also the joint-venture company’s chairman and deputy general director, found out that his Vietnamese partners had made no stake contributions to the joint venture and filed no legal documents. Under the Law on Enterprises, all stakeholders have to introduce all necessary documents on stake purchase within a period of 90 days after the enterprise is established. The firm later wanted to change its business registration certificate, but was refused because the Vietnamese stakeholders’ capital contribution failed to be specified, and therefore the names of the Vietnamese stakeholders cannot be removed from the certificate. “We have brought the case to court, but to no avail. The issue remains unsolved, and we are not sure when it can be resolved,” the representative said. “We think the case may be solved by the international dispute resolution mechanism under the EVFTA.” An expert from the EU Delegation to Vietnam told VIR that this special international dispute resolution mechanism “guarantees the respect of the substantive investment protection rules applicable to European and Vietnamese investors. The system strikes the right balance between protecting investors and safeguarding the right to regulate.” According to European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom, the EVFTA is “a great opportunity for European exporters” and “Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing countries in Southeast Asia, a market with significant potential for the EU’s agricultural, industrial, and services exports.” The EVFTA will eliminate over 99% of tariffs between the partners. Vietnam will liberalise 65% of import duties on EU exports to the country at entry into force, with the remainder of duties being gradually eliminated over a 10-year period. The EU will liberalise tariffs over a seven-year period. Vietnam has become the EU’s second-biggest trading partner in ASEAN, with the trade turnover of nearly US$55.9 billion last year. VIR |
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Social News 17/7 Binh Phuoc records nearly 1,000 malaria cases  The southern province of Binh Phuoc has recorded 973 malaria cases in the first half of the year, up by 66 percent year-on-year, including one death, reported by the provincial Department of Health on July 16. The cases were mostly found in the districts of Phu Rieng, Hon Quan, Bu Dop, Loc Ninh, Bu Dang and Bu Gia Map, and Binh Long town. In particular, Bu Gia Map discovered 666 cases, accounting for 68.5 percent of the total, much higher than the 349 cases recorded in the same period last year. This spike in diagnosed cases has been attributed to the prolonged rainy season in the area, as well as a rise in infections for those over the age of 15. The provincial health sector will work to prevent malaria, especially in ethnic minority areas and communities near forests, lakes, and rivers. It will also strengthen supervision over the discovery and treatment of malaria cases in district-level hospitals and commune-level medical stations. Public awareness of malaria prevention and control will also be raised, particularly of methods involving anti-mosquito sprays, hanging mosquito nets, long-sleeve clothing, and necessity of medical help once infected. Binh Dinh receives healthcare station built with US funding
 At the launching ceremony of Nhon Binh health care station (Photo: baobinhdinh.vn) A ceremony was held in Quy Nhon city of the south central province of Binh Dinh on July 16 to hand over a healthcare station to the locality, a project funded by the US Pacific Command and the US Embassy in Vietnam. The project to upgrade the Nhon Binh healthcare station has a total cost of more than 5.8 billion VND (249,400 USD). It is one of 31 facilities at commune level in Vietnam built with the financial assistance provided by the US, aiming to improve coastal localities’ capacity in responding to natural disasters. Along with providing healthcare services, the station can serve as a shelter for local residents in Nhon Binh in case of storms and floods, which occur frequently in the locality. Addressing the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuan Thanh thanked the US for helping to protect public health in disaster-hit areas. He stressed the significance of emergency aid and evacuation in natural disasters, especially storms and floods amidst climate change. Thanh also asked local officials to effectively use the facility to ensure safety and health for local people. Phu Tho: About 3,340 people receive free heart health screenings  Nearly 3,340 people received screening examinations for cardiovascular diseases during a humanitarian programme which took place in the northern province of Phu Tho on July 14-15. The programme was jointly held by the Phu Tho General Hospital, the Hanoi Heart Hospital, and the Phu Tho branch of military telecom group Viettel. More than 100 medical personnel from the Phu Tho general hospital participated in the programme. As a result of the screenings, 257 people were diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, 41 underwent surgery, while 36 others were hospitalised. Doctor Ngo Huu Ha, Deputy Director of the Phu Tho General Hospital, said the free screenings for cardiovascular diseases helped people in remote and mountainous areas gain access to the sector’s leading experts and modern equipment. Local residents were provided with the necessary diagnoses for timely counselling and treatment, he added. A cardiovascular health screening programme for children under 16 years old will be organised in the province during July 28-29. World Health Organisation (WHO) chief representative in Vietnam Kidong Park said high blood pressure and diabetes, which can easily be diagnosed and treated at grassroots medical stations, are the most prevalent of cardiovascular and non-communicable diseases in Vietnam and across the world. Statistics in 2015 showed that in Vietnam alone, only 43.1% of high blood pressure patients were diagnosed, and only 13.6% treated at medical stations. Violations found at Nhon-Hanoi metro line  The Government Inspectorate has announced violations found at the on-going Nhon-Hanoi Railway Project. The irregular inspection was carried out under the request of Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and complaint by Luong Xuan Binh, deputy head of Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board. The project is developed by Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board. French consultancy firm Systra was hired for USD10.6m. Three appendices later were signed and the total consulting rate increased to USD17.1m. According to the inspectorate, there are many shortcomings from the beginning. The contract contains many ambiguous contents that can be interpreted differently by both parties. Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board doesn't have experienced and capable employees to review and approve the project. They have to constantly ask for opinions from other agencies and hire foreign consultants, which has delayed the project and caused costs to rise. This was also the first time Systra works in Vietnam. They didn't understand many legal procedures and took a long time to reach agreement on many problems. Moreover, they also faced difficulties because of inconsistent requests from the management board. The Government Inspectorate said that even though responsibilities lie with both parties, the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board was most at blame. Concerning the bidding package for unexploded ordnance and mine clearance by Lung Lo Construction Company, violations were also been found in the evaluation and payment processes. The monitoring work was lax and the reports were not up to quality standards. It also failed to comply with the approved plans. Meanwhile, Luong Xuan Binh, deputy head of Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board, said he had been harassed by corrupt officials. However, the Government Inspectorate said they hadn't found concrete evidence to show that Binh and his family had been threatened. The inspectorate suggested reviewing the responsibilities of all related parties over the inflated cost and delayed project. Individual responsibilities in the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board must be clear. The Ministry of Defence should review individual responsibilities in member agencies over the bidding package for unexploded ordnance and mine clearance. The Ministry of Transport must also review their responsibility over the delayed project. Nhon-Hanoi metro line is 12.5km long with 8.5km elevated sections and 4km underground sections. The cost of the project has increased from USD783m to USD1.17bn. Two women killed as car crashes into cafe
 The scene of the accident Two women were killed and many others were injured when a car hit a cafe in Dak Lak Province on Sunday evening. The Traffic Police Department in Krong No District said on July 16 morning that the case was still under investigation. Initial reports show that at around 9 pm on July 15, the car was speeding from Cu Jut District to Dak Mam Town. It lost control while going down a slope and crashed into the parking lot of The One Cafe. Two women, born in 2000, were taking out their vehicles in the parking lot and killed on the spot. Four other people were injured and admitted to Krong No General Hospital, one of whom was in critical condition and had to be transferred to Dak Lak General Hospital. Dozens of motorbikes and the car were damaged. The driver ran away after causing the accident. According to the witnesses, the driver was a local man. Border residents join smuggling foreign currency and goods
 An officer at Móng Cai border gate Customs checks the entry/exit history of a local resident. — Photo quangninhcustoms.gov.vn Customs officials at Móng Cái Border Gate in the northeastern province of Quảng Ninh have seen their efforts to fight to smugglers hamstrung by border residents engaging in the illegal trade. Head of the province Customs Department Bùi Văn Khắng told Hải Quan (Customs) newspaper that smugglers disguised themselves as border residents to carry goods and money between Việt Nam and China. Under current regulations, border residents, defined as Vietnamese citizens with permanent residence in border areas, are exempt from customs duties on goods valued below VNĐ2 million (US$89) per person per day, and on no more than four days a month. Khắng said border residents were hired to collect and carry goods/money across the border to avoid taxes, which made it hard for customs officials to detect tax dodgers. He said that about 5,000 people used Móng Cái Border gate daily while there were only four or five customs officers working there on each shift. In the last six months, border officials there detected 26 smuggling cases with goods worth more than VNĐ 1.8 billion (US$78,000), with three cases ending with criminal charges. “Most people involving in the smuggling cases are border residents or labourers who regularly cross the border,” Khắng said. For example, on May 16, border gate customs found a Vietnamese woman hiding cash worth VNĐ 594 million ($25,700) on her body when entering Việt Nam from China’s Dongxing City, which borders Móng Cái City. Early this month, two Chinese nationals wanted to exit Việt Nam via Móng Cái Bordergate but ignored the customs checkpoint. After being asked to halt, they attempted to flee but were caught. They were then found with the equivalent of VNĐ600 million in Chinese yuan on their bodies. Under current regulations, goods traded and exchanged by border residents for direct consumption are not subject to medical quarantine, such as animals, plants and aquatic products, unless the relevant State body warns of an epidemic or contagious disease. Therefore, goods consumed by border residents are not subject to inspection and control in terms of food quality and safety, except for emergencies requiring immediate quarantine. Khắng asked for assistance from higher levels - the Việt Nam Customs- in collecting and processing information about imported goods to better control the quality of the imported goods and to curb smuggling. Veteran cải lương actor dies at 76
 Meritorious Artist Phương Quang and his partner, Meritorious Artist Thanh Vy, in the play Nàng Xê-Đa (Xê-Đa – The Pretty Woman), which helped them become famous cai luong stars. Photo from vnexpress.net Meritorious Artist Phương Quang, a star of cải lương (reformed opera), died Friday (July 13) in HCM City after five years of illness from degenerative brain disease. He was 76. Tôn Quang Bảo, Quang’s eldest son, said his father pledged to donate his body for medical research to Phạm Ngọc Thạch Medical University after death. Quang, whose real name is Tô Văn Quang, was born in Sông Bé Province (now Bình Dương Province). As a child, he admired People’s Artist Út Trà Ôn and studied cải lương singing by listening to Ôn’s performances on local radio programmes. When he was 18, he moved to Sài Gòn (now HCM City) to study music with composer and musician Văn Còn, who discovered his talent. Quang later worked for Kim Thành and Kim Chưởng, who were famous cải lương troupes in the South at that time. With a strong voice and appearance, he gained fame by playing heroic roles. His favourite plays included Hai chiều ly biệt (Farewell Evening), Mặt trời đêm (Midnight Sun), Người nhạn trắng (White Bird Man), and Sương gió biệt vương cung (Waves at the Palace). In 1966, he won best actor from Thanh Tâm Awards for his leading role in the play Tình Nào Cho Em (Love for You). Thanh Tâm was the most prestigious cải lương award at the time, given by Tiếng Dội (Echo) newspaper from 1958-1968. Quang became a bright star in the 1970s. In 1983, he joined Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, the leading troupe in the South, and played a leading role in Nàng Xê-Đa (Xê-Đa – The Pretty Woman). The play was staged from 1983 to 1993 with 1,500 performances across the country. It was broadcast many times on television stations in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta region. He also performed in Tình yêu và lời đáp (Love and Response), winning the Golden Prize for best actor at the National Professional Theatre Festival in 1985. The artist’s family held a commemoration ceremony at his house in District 7 on July 14 with veteran cải lương artists like People’s Artist Bạch Tuyết, Meritorious Artist Thanh Vy, and Lệ Thủy. Documentary about late Lao president sent to Vientiane
A documentary film about the late Laos President Suphanouvong was transferred from the Việt Nam Cinema Association to a museum in Vientiane on Thursday. A documentary film about the late Laos President Suphanouvong was transferred from the Việt Nam Cinema Association to a museum in Vientiane on Thursday. The film was delivered to the Kaysone Phomvihane museum on the occasion of the 109th birthday of the late President. Entitled Suphanouvong President with Việt Nam, the film is a reflection of the life, career and notable architectural works of President Suphanouvong during his time in Việt Nam. It highlights the relationship of the President with Việt Nam and his contributions to the two countries’ revolutions. It also recreates the historic meeting between Suphanouvong and the late President Hồ Chí Minh in September, 1945 and his escape from Phonkheng prison in Vientiane in July, 1959. The documentary was filmed in April, 2017 on the 55th anniversary of the establishment of Việt Nam – Laos diplomatic relations and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Friendship Contract between the two countries. During a meeting with representatives from the Việt Nam Cinema Association, Singthong Singhapanya, acting head of the Kaysone Phomvihane museum, expressed his appreciation for the transferal of the film. “The film will contribute to the museum’s archives of the Việt Nam – Laos relationship and bear a significant meaning to Laos people, especially on the 109th birthday of President Suphanouvong,” he said. The documentary will be transferred to Laos Television Station and broadcast on the late President’s birthday, he added. HCMC book street earns $877,000
 HCM City Book Street’s cultural activities attract millions of local and foreign visitors each year. The HCM City Book Street on Nguyễn Văn Bình Street in District 1 earned a turnover of VNĐ20 billion (US$877,000) in the first six months of this year, up 5 per cent annually, according to the HCM City Book Street Company. Nearly 386,000 books on different topics were sold. “The street organised 11 book exhibitions and more than 100 cultural and book signing events, attracting dozens of leading domestic and foreign publishers, distributors and agencies,” said Quách Thu Nguyệt, deputy director of the Book Street Company. Book weeks and festivals on the street, including the book exhibition celebrating the 4th anniversary of Reunification Day (April 30), European Literature Week, and book event celebrating 20 Years of publishing Harry Potter, attracted more than 6,000 visitors per day and 10,000 per day during weekends and holidays. “We are working with local authorities to make the street a cultural tourist destination,” said Nguyệt. The company has been working with cultural and arts associations as well as museums to launch cultural exchange programmes and exhibitions on the street. The company has asked the city authority to maintain the long-term operation of two parking lots and build a new public toilet facility to serve the street’s visitors. Last year, the street attracted 2.4 million visitors, earning a turnover of VNĐ50 billion ($2.2 million), according to the Việt Nam Publishers Association. The book street, which opened in January 2016, features dozens of book stalls from more than 20 publishers. The city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to replicate the book street in the city’s Tân Phú and Thủ Đức districts, where the target audience will be students and young migrant labourers. All hands on board to boost sea tourism
 The HCM City Border Guard Command and the city Department of Tourism have signed an agreement to boost tourism through marine borders. Leaders of HCM City’s Border Guard Command and the city Department of Tourism sign an agreement to boost tourism through sea routes. They will exchange documents and information on State management of tourism activities as well as passenger departures, arrivals and transit at ports. In recent years the number of tourist arrivals in the city by sea has grown strongly, Col Tô Danh Út, commander of the Border Guard Command, said. The co-operation is vital to fuel the development of river and sea tourism, he said. Dozens of thousands of passengers and crew on hundreds of cruise ships and more than 10 military ships visit the city every year, according to Út. The Border Guard Command is assigned to manage two sea routes, the Cần Giờ route and the HCM City seaport route, he added. A total of 244,000 tourists visited the city last year by sea and the number continued to soar in the first half of this year, according to the department. Temple inaugurated in commemoration of Dong Loc volunteers  A temple in the central province of Ha Tinh has been dedicated to ten female volunteers who died heroically at the famous Dong Loc T-junction during the war against the US. The temple is dedicated to ten young women who have come to symbolise the indomitable spirit of Vietnam’s volunteer force. The temple was inaugurated on July 15 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Dong Loc Victory. It is part of the Dong Loc Memorial Complex and was completed following two years of construction. The Dong Loc crossroads was a key point on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and a target of heavy US bombings during the 1964-1972 period, with an estimated 48,600 bombs of various types being dropped from March to October 1968. Speaking at the ceremony, Ha Van Thach, a Ha Tinh official, emphasised that the Dong Loc Temple would be an address to educate later generations on the revolutionary traditions and patriotism. On July 24, 1968, ten young female volunteers aged between 17 and 24 were killed while on duty at the junction. The young women have become legends and their sacrifices have come to symbolise the indomitable spirit of Vietnam’s volunteer force during the American war. Lam Dong announces plan to double size of Bao Loc city The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has made plans to more than double Bao Loc city’s territory so that it can become a primary driver of economic development in the region. Bao Loc city’s size will be increased from its current 23,200ha to over 59,700ha under the local master plan to develop the city by 2040. After the expansion, the city’s territory will cover Bao Lam district’s five communes of Loc An, Loc Tan, Loc Thanh, Loc Nam, and Tan Lac. The move helps to speed up the urbanisation rate and build the city into a second-tier urban area by 2020. Bao Loc aims to reach the standards for first-tier city by 2040 and become an attractive destination in the province. The city’s population by 2030 is expected to reach 257,900 people, with the number rising to 320,000 by 2040. Some 3,800ha of land will be zoned off to build urban areas by 2030, while 4,800ha set aside for urban development by 2040. Bao Loc city, previously called B’Lao, is located 120km away from Da Lat city. From 1958, it was chosen as the administrative centre of Lam Dong province. However, after 1975, when Da Lat city became the provincial hub, Bao Loc returned to its previous name and became a town. In 1994, Bao Loc district was separated into Bao Lam district and Bao Loc town. Bao Loc was then recognised as a third-tier urban area in 2009, and upgraded into city in 2010. Bao Loc city is famous for its tea, coffee, sericulture, mining, and many tourist sites such as Damb’ri waterfalls, Nam Phuong lake, and Da Ban stream. Agricultural tourism has also been touted as a potential product in the province. Unlicensed taxi operator fined after overcharging foreign visitors in Nha Trang The operator of an unlicensed taxi in Nha Trang, a resort city in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa, has been fined VND8.5 million (US$371) after overcharging a group of Korean visitors. Nguyen Nhac Tan, chief inspector of the provincial Department of Transport, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on July 14 that the penalty had been imposed upon Dinh Thi Thanh Tuyen, the owner of car No. BKS 79A-15483. Tuyen was charged for operating passenger transport services without a permit. The driver of the cab was Nguyen Than, 38. According to reports, Than was driving the vehicle, which was disguised as a cab of Emasco Nha Trang Taxi Line, on the night of July 9 when he picked up a group of three Korean tourists. The passengers wanted to travel between the Havana Nha Trang Hotel on Tran Phu Street to Rosaka Nha Trang Hotel on Nguyen Thien Thuat, a journey that was about 1.4 kilometers. Than charged his passengers VND200,000 (US$8.73), which included the fare and “surcharges.” Such a journey would cost an average VND25,000 (US$1) to VND30,000 (US$1.31). As the visitors refused to pay the exorbitant price, Thanh started threatening them. Security guards of the hotel attempted to intervene and were also aggressively yelled at by the cabbie. He eventually lowered the fare to VND100,000 (US$4.37) but maintained his intimidating tone. The tourists had no choice but to pay. The incident was reported to the Khanh Hoa transport department, which later identified the car as an unlicensed taxi. Than also received a warning from the Khanh Hoa-Nha Trang Tourism Association for his inappropriate manners toward the foreign passengers. Building smart cities – trend of Industry 4.0 Vietnam has made progress in applying applications of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) in various areas of life, including smart urban development. According to Le Quoc Huu, Chief Architect of Smart City of mobile network operator Viettel, the Vietnamese Party and Government have given clear directions on using the advantages of Industry 4.0 and developing information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. Huu, who also joined a smart urban development project in Vietnam, said the Government has been stepping up the building of e-government recently. Most public services are now online (88%), he said, adding that major ICT and telecom groups such as Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Viettel, FPT and CMC Corporation have been setting up departments specialising in studying and developing technological applications and smart urban area solutions. Vietnam has several advantages for the work, such as good telecommunication infrastructure and a high rate of internet users (54% of the country’s population). In 2016, Vietnam ranked 79th among the 139 countries in networked readiness index (NRI) and stood third in terms of telecommunications affordability. However, there are still difficulties in building smart urban areas, especially limited capital and lack of international standards, Huu said. He referred to public-private partnerships as an effective way to mobilise social investment, particularly from enterprises, to build smart cities. At the recent Industry 4.0 Summit and Expo 2018 in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam is ready to overcome any challenges ahead, moving forward to grasp opportunities presented by Industry 4.0. He said Vietnam has been researching new global technologies – such as the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence – to improve its competitiveness and boost innovation. To optimise opportunities and minimise negative impact of Industry 4.0, the Vietnamese Government is determined to build long-term plans and concrete policies. The country also needs the support of development partners, businesses and international experts with the wave of scientific-technological breakthroughs as well as its increasing integration into the world, he added. Themed “Vision and Development Strategy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, the event was attended by Government officials and nearly 1,800 representatives from localities, domestic and foreign experts, businesses and embassies. Saigon bus driver wins passengers’ hearts with small acts of kindness If you have ever taken the No. 54 bus in Ho Chi Minh City, chances are you have been greeted by a warm, grey-haired driver who always finds ways to brighten up his passengers’ day through small acts of kindness at his own expense. From keeping a box of free candies which he gives to little children to keep them happy and calm throughout the ride to preparing small changes for forgetful bus riders to borrow, Le Xuan Huy never ceases to surprise his passengers. Huy is one of the drivers for Ho Chi Minh City’s No.54 bus route, which runs from the Cho Lon Bus Station in District 5 to the Mien Dong Bus Station in Binh Thanh District. “Children have a thing for candies and they can get carsick very easily, so a piece of candy might help them feel better,” he said in response to surprised looks from passengers after offering a candy to a child sitting in his mother’s lap. According to the bespectacled driver, he buys the candies with his own money because it makes him happy to bring happiness to others. “Driving a bus can be stressful at times, so this is how I keep myself happy and stress-free,” he said. Apart from candies, Huy also keeps a box full of small changes which he’s willing to lend to bus riders who forgets to bring their own money. Among his surprise gifts are keychains that he tends to give to students because “they like to wear these on their backpacks” “Whenever I see the keychain on someone’s backpack, I know they have been on my bus in the past,” he said joyfully. Huy is also known for his rule of not leaving any passengers behind, as he always stops to wait for those trying to catch up with the bus even if it has been way past a stop. At a time when buses in Vietnam are often complained for the unprofessional attitude of drivers and attendants, Huy’s acts of kindness have restored people’s confidence in the means of public transport. “I don’t think the impression he has made on me will ever fade,” said My Duyen, a frequent bus rider. K-pop academy brings Korean culture to Vietnamese kids  A “K-pop Academy” program and a festival celebrating the culture of the Republic of Korea (RoK) have been held at the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam, offering informative and exciting activities for Vietnamese children during the summer and inspiring a love of Korean culture among many of the country’s youth. Taking place for five weeks from June 11, the “K-pop Academy” program includes 7 K-pop singing and dancing classes taught by experienced Korean teachers. The culture festival features activities providing experiences of Korean culture such as watching Korean cartoons, making handicraft products with hanji paper, writing calligraphy, reading comic strips, making kimbap, discovering Korean tourism with 3D glasses, playing folk games, and drawing a collective picture on the theme of “Vietnam-RoK”. This is the third time such events have been held during the summer in Vietnam, attracting more than 100 trainees who are particularly interested in K-pop and Korean culture. This year’s program was selected as a typical global cultural project of the RoK Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which was organized simultaneously at all Korean cultural centres around the world. Park Hyejin, director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam, says she hopes the program will draw more Vietnamese teenagers who love Korean culture, particularly K-pop, and help to promote the cultural exchange between the two countries. VNN |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 18/7 Mobile World leader to sell VND41 billion worth of shares After five years of being a member of Mobile World’s Board of Management, this is the first time Robert Alan Willett registered to sell a large amount of MWG shares. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX), Willett has just registered to sell 415,000 MWG shares to reduce his ownership to two million shares. The transaction will take place between July 11 and August 9. On the stock exchange, the price of MWG has decreased by 20 per cent over the last month to around VND100,000 ($4.4) from VND130,000-140,000 ($5.7-6.1). At this price, Robert Alan Willett could gain VND41.5 billion ($1.83 million). Willett is former CEO of BestBuy International. He become a member of Mobile World’s board of management in April 2013 and has been a member of Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ)’s board of management since April 2018. At the end of May, the two sisters of Nguyen Duc Tai, chairman of MWG, surprised the market by registering to sell 90,000 MWG stocks due to “personal reasons.” Big shareholders and the chairman’s family members have been continuously registering to sell MWG shares as the mobile phone segment is becoming saturated. Since the beginning of the year, Thegioididong.com has closed 11 stores, sales in the last four months have been reducing continuously. Meanwhile, the Bach Hoa Xanh grocery chain has been facing many difficulties: it failed to reach the breakeven point and cut back on its expansion plan from 1,000 to 500 stores. After revising the schedule and focusing on the quality of each store, there has been positive signals in the last month driven by high sales. At the 2018 general shareholders’ meeting, Willett confirmed his belief in the future of Bach Hoa Xanh grocery chain, as well as the strategy of Mobile World. Credit Suisse AG allocates $200 million credit package to FLC Group On July 6, Credit Suisse AG’s Singapore branch allocated a senior secured term loan facility worth up to $200 million (VND4.6 trillion), to FLC Group under a credit agreement signed by the two parties. According to FLC Group, this facility, with a term of 2.5-3 years, is secured by shares in some of its subsidiaries and will be used to supplement its working capital. The disbursed fund will be allocated to implement and expand its projects and new business activities. With this facility, FLC Group proves to be highly rated both in prestige and development prospects by Credit Suisse AG as well as other international financial institutions. In recent months, FLC Group has seen positive results in real estate sales, with 2,000 new products sold in the most recent two months in four projects in Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh), Sam Son (Thanh Hoa), Halong (Quang Ninh), and Quang Binh. This is also the peak season in resort services offered by FLC Group. Apart from having developed an effective sales system supported by a network of thousands of brokerage staff from large real estate distribution agents throughout Vietnam, FLC Group has also made big steps with the establishment of Bamboo Airways. The airline’s establishment is part of FLC Group’s long–term strategy, which not only aims to satisfy the increasing market demand in the aviation market but also to improve the operational efficiency of its existing resorts. Credit Suisse has started operations in Vietnam in 2001 and is now one of the largest foreign capital arrangers in Vietnam, having arranged approximately $7 billion in funding for the Vietnamese government, local state-owned and private enterprises, as well as foreign enterprises in Vietnam. Credit Suisse has been recognised as the best foreign investment bank in Vietnam that arranges USD-denominated share and corporate bond issuances for local companies, as well as in M&A deals. However, Credit Suisse often targets large enterprises which have strong financial capacity and stable and rapid growth prospects in line with its rigid standards. Credit Suisse measures Vietnam as one of its key markets with the aim to double its profits in 2018, among its global strategy focusing capital and resources on the Asia-Pacific. The investment bank will continue to bring big foreign investors to Vietnam in several fields, such as aviation, infrastructure, and telecommunication. FLC Group is the latest partner of Credit Suisse in Vietnam, along with VPBank, Vietcombank, and FE Credit, among others. Credit Suisse announced that they conducted thorough research by their analysis and financial experts before signing this loan agreement with FLC Group. FLC Group has proved its prestige and strong financial capacity thanks to its effective business model, financial transparency, safe capital structure, and efficient business activities. The Swiss bank also appreciates FLC Group’s strategic focus on property investments and development in order to maintain its firm position in the Vietnamese resort real estate market, as well as the strategies to expand into aviation and high-technology agriculture, among others. Founded in 1856 in Switzerland, Credit Suisse provides financial services in investment banking, private banking, and asset management. Recognised as one of the world’s best investment banks, Credit Suisse proves their ability by remaining stable through the financial crisis without any government support. Local governments not permitted to receive direct foreign loans A new decree by the Government prohibits local governments from directly borrowing from international lenders, or to guarantee the borrowing of organizations and individuals, along with the issuance of bonds. Under Decree 93/2018/ND-CP on management of debts of local governments, local governments can receive loans to finance their overspending with projects in medium-term public investment plans to pay off original debts, if approved by municipal or provincial People’s Councils. Local governments’ borrowing must follow regulations as set by the laws on State budget and public debt management. Also, governments needs to ensure a five-year borrowing plan, a three-year debt management program and an annual borrowing plan within the upper cap, as informed by the competent authority, and the outstanding loan cap as stipulated by the law on State budget and the Government’s decrees, concerning special financial and budgetary mechanisms of certain localities. Prevailing special mechanisms for localities, such as Hanoi and HCMC, allow for capital mobilization of over 30% of capital for annual investments to meet local capital needs and accelerate investments. Government data reported that outstanding loans by local governments, as of early last year, were VND66.105 trillion, with advances on the State budget making up VND7.48 trillion, municipal bonds VND25.234 trillion and loans from commercial banks reaching VND1.356 trillion. Regarding local government loans from the Vietnam Development Bank, which were primarily from bonds guaranteed by the Government and from the Government’s foreign loans, they were not included in the calculation of outstanding loans of localities, as they were already in Government-guaranteed debts and foreign loans by the Government, to avoid overlaps. This year’s planned borrowing by localities has reached over VND21.513 trillion, with VND8.769 trillion in domestic loans and VND12.744 trillion from the Government’s on-lending loans, which is still within the permissible level. On-lending of ODA, concessional capital specified The Government has issued Decree 97/2018/ND-CP on on-lending of official development assistance (ODA) loans and foreign concessional loans provided by international donors. On-lending requirements applied to local governments, enterprises and public non-business units are stipulated in Article 36 of the law on public debt management. Regarding on-lending ratios assigned to local governments, localities with central budget allocations making up 70% or more of total local budget spending, the ratio is 30% of ODA and concessional loans. However, with localities which have central budget allocations accounting for 50-70% and below 50%, the ratio is kept at 40% and 50%, respectively. Localities which send off a proportion of their incomes to the central budget fund, except for Hanoi and HCMC, receive an on-lending ratio of 70%. Such a ratio for Hanoi and HCMC is 100%. The Ministry of Finance provides on-lending ratios of localities for every budgeting period by January 1 of the first year in such periods. As for public non-business units, those which can cover all regular expenditures and investment costs, the on-lending ratio is 100% of ODA and concessional capital used for investment projects. Meanwhile, the ratio is only 50% for units which can cover all regular expenditures and part of investment costs. Businesses are eligible to borrow ODA and concessional capital used for investment projects, but the loans cannot exceed 70% of the investment amounts approved by competent authorities. According to the decree, on-lending rates are as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 34 of the law on public debt management, including the law on public debt management and rates of the Government’s foreign loans, related fees in foreign lending agreements and fees of on-lending management and risk provisions. Lenders must make sure on-lending loans are used for the correct purposes and are applied effectively, according to decisions on investment approval, project documents and signed on-lending contracts. Also, borrowers have to pay off loans in full amounts and on time, according to on-lending contracts to the Ministry of Finance or authorized on-lending agencies. Accelerators, incubators back startups in HCMC Accelerators and incubators in HCMC have teamed up to organize supporting activities for startups and startup projects, aiming to attract more investment capital sources and help local startups connect with their international counterparts. Last Saturday, July 7, the Management and Startup Community, a group mainly operating on Facebook, signed an agreement with accelerators and incubators, such as Saigon Innovation Hub; Startup Wheel, which is a contest for startup ideas; Dubai-based Faster Capital Foundation; and Thai firm Reed Tradex, at a conference in the city to raise capital, themed, “Angel Meeting-Shark Tank Gathering.” The cooperation agreement is expected to strengthen ties among startup communities and centers, exhibition organizers and local startups in the city. Addressing the conference, Lam Minh Chanh, co-founder of the Management and Startup Community, said domestic startups needed the support of entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capital funds to help them connect with consulting experts and to seek investments. Some startups are still green and, therefore, have trouble developing their companies, including brand valuation or negotiations with investors to sell stakes, and even miss opportunities to receive funds from investors. According to Pham Thanh Hung, also known as Shark Hung, vice chairman of CENGROUP, early-stage companies need advice and tips on choosing the right markets and rolling out product promotions and development activities. Nguyen Manh Dung, investment director and head of the Vietnam and Thailand offices of CyberAgent Ventures, Inc., stated that investors had different methods of evaluating a certain startup brand based on the potential of the firm and expectations of the investors, while long-established enterprises were usually appraised by specific financial bodies. VCCI proposes end to minimum wage hikes from next year The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), representing employers in the nation, has suggested keeping region-based minimum wages unchanged from next year as annual minimum wage hikes place a heavy burden on enterprises. At the first meeting on the minimum wages in 2019, held by the National Wage Council in Hanoi on July 9, VCCI Vice Chairman Hoang Quang Phong said the VCCI had consulted domestic and foreign enterprises about the minimum wage spike next year, and most of them had agreed on the proposal. The reason behind the proposal is that employers want to improve their payment capability and boost the training of workers to help them meet working requirements and raise labor productivity. Minimum wage hikes can be adopted later. In addition, minimum wage spikes will put pressure on enterprises, particularly in terms of sharp increases in their expenditures for employees’ salaries and social and health insurance premiums, as well as for trade unions’ operations. Enterprises’ payroll funds are used to pay the monthly salaries and allowances for employees covered by social insurance. The monthly salary, which is used as the basis for calculating social, health, unemployment, occupational accident and disease insurance premiums, must not be lower than the region-based minimum wage. Mai Duc Chinh, vice chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL), operating on behalf of employees, noted that Vietnam’s gross domestic product in the first half of the year had expanded 7.08% year-on-year, the highest first-half growth rate since 2011. Employees are entitled to enjoy this economic development achievement, Chinh added. According to the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 27, the minimum wage must ensure the minimum living needs of workers and their families are met by 2020. To meet this goal, the VGCL proposed increasing the region-based minimum wage by 8% next year. Doan Mau Diep, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and Chairman of the National Wage Council, said that Vietnam will continue revising the region-based minimum wage until 2020 to ensure the interests of employees, especially those on a low income. According to Resolution 27, the government will not interfere in enterprises’ salary payment policies to encourage negotiations between employers and employees, Diep noted. Prior to the meeting, Le Dinh Quang, deputy head of the Labor Relations Department under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, said the confederation had earlier proposed increasing region-based minimum wages next year by 7.5-8%, or VND190,000-300,000 per month, Thanh Nien newspaper reported. The proposal was made based on a survey of laborers after Decree 141/2017/ND-CP on this year’s minimum wage came into force. Accordingly, the minimum wage, which accounts for 85% of the total income of laborers, can cover their basic daily needs but are not enough for savings. Vu Quang Tho, head of the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions and a member of the National Wage Council, pointed out that the institute had initially proposed raising the minimum wage by 10% but had later revised down the rate to 8%. The institute noted that the 8% hike was reasonable to satisfy workers’ minimum living needs, offset price hikes and increase labor productivity. Meanwhile, Pham Minh Huan, former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and ex-chairman of the National Wage Council, forecast a 5-6% increase in the minimum wage. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, former head of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, and Bui Sy Loi, deputy head of the Committee for Social Affairs of the National Assembly, shared the same view that a 6% hike was reasonable to balance the benefits to both enterprises and workers. Last year, the National Wage Council decided to increase this year’s minimum wage by 6.5%. Accordingly, the minimum wage for enterprises operating in region one is up by VND230,000; in region two, it is up by VND210,000; region three, VND190,000; and region four, VND180,000. SMEs see low benefits from FDI’s spillover effects  Local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), due to their poor capacity in global value chains, benefit little from the spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), heard participants of a workshop on trade facilitation. The People’s Committee of Can Tho City, the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC), and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organized the workshop, titled, “Trade Facilitation: Integrating SMEs into Inclusive Global Value Chains,” in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 9. More than 240 leaders and senior executives of SMEs across the country attended the workshop, which was aimed at executing a memorandum of understanding between the US-ABC and the VCCI, thereby providing participants with necessary integration information and skills. Though many international organizations consider Vietnam one of the world’s top potential manufacturing bases, only 21% of local SMEs are engaged in global supply chains, well below the average 46% of their ASEAN peers, according to Vu Tu Thanh, deputy regional managing director and representative of US-ABC in Vietnam. Thanh said even enterprises that are carrying out production and business chain activities have yet to tap the full potential of each stage, so they cannot create the highest added value at the lowest cost. Besides this, the relationships among these enterprises are not strong. Therefore, according to Thanh, local SMEs are not likely to get much benefit from the spillover effects of FDI enterprises through technology and knowledge transfer and productivity improvement. Vo Hung Dung, director of the VCCI branch of Can Tho City, noted that local SMEs are also faced with poor financial capacity, weak technology and manpower problems. They have limited access to loans and commercial sponsorships. As a result, Dung added, these enterprises do not have enough financial resources to join global supply chains. In addition, they face a shortage of skilled labor needed for entering the high value-added stages, including processing, retail distribution and marketing. Delegates at the seminar suggested various solutions for overcoming these obstacles. They recommended that the government speed up institutional reforms, enhance the business and investment environment and create leapfrogging stages in economic development. Meanwhile, local companies should update their market information, particularly for potential products and international standards, so that they can create long-term business plans. As Vietnam becomes a magnet for international investors, local firms should also be active in gaining access to large FDI corporations and seeking partnerships with them, thereby making steps toward gaining a foothold in global value chains. Truong Quang Hoai Nam, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Can Tho City, said as an economic hub of Vietnam’s southwestern region, Can Tho will, in the coming period, adopt a pioneering role in shifting production structures and industrial exports in a way that increases emphasis on products requiring advanced technology and offering high added value, as well as new products. Nam stated that the municipal authority will support enterprises in innovating their technology and equipment, as well as improving their product models and designs to keep pace with market demand. The senior city leader called on other localities in the southwestern region of the country to set out clear orientations in an upcoming master plan for the development of the food and foodstuff industry. He said these localities should work closely to upgrade infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure; pay special attention to scientific and technological investments; build logistics for the food processing and preservation sector; accelerate training and develop manpower; and create favorable conditions for SMEs in this sector. In a related development, Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy head of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told the delegates of the seminar that two out of 11 countries – Japan and Mexico – had ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Chile is expected to ratify the CPTPP, while Canada has submitted the trade pact to its congress. Australia and New Zealand will likely follow suit, Khanh claimed, adding that Vietnam plans to ratify the pact in a National Assembly session this October. He stressed that if at least six countries ratify the CPTPP later this year, the trade pact will take effect in early 2019. Nawaplastic lifts ownership in BMP to over 54.39 per cent After completing the purchase of an additional 1.17 million shares, Nawaplastic Industry Co., Ltd. (Nawaplastic), a subsidiary of Thailand’s SCG, has lifted its stake in Vietnamese plastic producer Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP) to 54.39 from 52.96 per cent. According to a disclosure by BMP, the transaction occurred between June 22 and July 5. Nawaplastic spent VND60 billion ($2.6 million) on the deal. The share volume is the remaining part of the 2.86 million shares that Nawaplastic failed to buy during previous transactions. Notably, Nawaplastic registered to buy 2.86 million BMP shares during transactions on May 14-June 12, however, the Thai investor ended up buying only 1.69 million shares as BMP did not match Nawaplastic’s target price. Established in 1977, BMP has cemented its position as the country’s leading manufacturer and trader of plastic pipes and fittings. Acquiring BMP serves for SCG’s petrochemical project in Vietnam. According to a representative of Ho Chi Minh Securities Corporation, BMP is considered a key part in SCG's petrochemical strategy in Vietnam. Notably, according to plan, once SCG’s $5.4 billion Long Son Petrochemical Complex comes into operation in 2023, BMP will become the plastic supplier of this complex. Vietnamese textile and garment expect rosier US exports Textile and clothing exports to the US might touch $13.8-13.9 billion this year, and experts assume the sector would see more import orders shifted to Vietnam due to the implications of the US-China trade war. In the first half of this year, the textile and garment sector was once again named among Vietnam’s major export areas after witnessing a 13.8 per cent jump on-year to $13.4 billion. The US and China's imposition of steep new tariffs affecting tens of billions of dollars worth imports isexpected to become major factors affecting global trade prospects this year. According to Huynh The Du, Fulbright University lecturer, there will be more opportunities for Vietnam to scale up export to the US in some fields where Vietnam has for years been directly competing with Chinese peers, such as textile clothing and footwear. Echoing the mindset, a representative from the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said that if Chinese textile and garment items incurred high tariffs in the US, it would be beneficial to China’s direct competitors, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Besides, when China’s textile and garment export faces a threat, the Chinese government might step up efforts to shift export production to neighbouring countries, including Vietnam, to make avail of these countries’ comparative advantages on labour costs and business expenses. There will be more opportunities for Vietnam to scale up export to the US in some fields where Vietnam has for years been directly competing with Chinese peers, such as textile clothing and footwear. According to Le Quang Hung, chairman of Saigon Garment JSC (Garmex Saigon), as labour costs in China rose sharply in recent years, the country has not invested in export production, which reduced its competitiveness against Vietnamese export products. In fact, some US importers, fuelled by the fear from the implications of the on-going US-China trade war, have shifted their import orders from China to Vietnam. “There is a concern that part of Chinese textiles and garments will flow into the markets of neighbouring countries, including Vietnam, after they fail to reach the US market, thus fuelling domestic market competition,” said Hung. According to Vitas’ figures, in the first six months of this year, Vietnam earned nearly $6.4 billion in textile and garment export turnover from the US, up 12.5 per cent on-year and representing 47.7 per cent of the sector’s total export value. General export performance is forecast to maintain this growth momentum in the remaining half of the year. Recent survey results by the General Statistics Office about quarterly production-business trends in the last six months of 2018 show that 93.7 per cent of surveyed firms believe that exports will increase in the second half of the year, with fiber and garment firms forecast a sharp growth in order intake. The survey involved 6,500 businesses in the processing and manufacturing industries. Arctech Solar becomes key equipment supplier for Trung Nam solar plant Supplying a tracking system for the VND5 trillion ($217.02 million) solar farm of Trung Nam Construction Investment Corporation (Trung Nam Group) not only marks the first tracking system project of Arctech Solar in Vietnam, but also creates the single-largest tracking system project in Southeast Asia. According to information published on Arctech Solar’s website on July 10, the company has recently inked its first deal in Vietnam with Trung Nam Group for a 258MWp solar power plant project located in Ninh Thuan province. According to the agreement, Arctech Solar will deploy its Arctech Skyline tracking system to this project. The Skyline tracking system can handle up to 20 per cent N-S slope with special designed torque tubes and a one-button commissioning function. All of these technologies are optimised to work in concert, giving Skyline better land adaptability and making it more cost-effective and quicker to install than regular trackers. Nguyen Tam Tien, CEO of Trung Nam Group, stated, "This landmark project marks a milestone in Vietnam's journey to grow the clean energy industry. We were cautious to select suppliers for this key equipment. We believe this project will have higher economic returns compared with fixed mounting structures by adopting the Arctech innovative Skyline tracking system." Previously, on July 7, Trung Nam Group organised the groundbreaking ceremony for the 204MW solar power plant. The power plant, the nation’s largest solar power plant to date, will have over 705,000 solar panels, and once operational in next June, it will produce a maximum output of approximately 450 million kWh each year, said Nguyen Tam Thinh, chairman of Trung Nam Group. The plant is also billed as the nation’s first “integrated sustainable energy project,” utilising both solar panels as well as turbines to harness wind energy. Arctech Solar is a world-leading manufacturer and provider of solar tracking solutions and racking systems. In the past nine years, Arctech Solar set up overseas subsidiaries/service centres in the US, India, Japan, Spain, and Mexico. As of the end of 2017, Arctech Solar has cumulatively installed 13.5GW capacity and completed 800 projects in 15 countries. With a production capacity of 6GW and 4GW in fixed mounting structure and tracker field, respectively, (a total annual capacity of 10GW), Arctech Solar is a reliable partner in the global PV tracking and racking industry. Tiki may suffer from losses for three more years As startup enterprises are commonly suffering losses, with examples of firms running in the red for an entire decade, Tiki may have a long three years ahead. After seven years, Tiki has accumulated nearly VND600 billion ($26.43 million) in losses, including VND308 billion $13.56 million) in 2016 and VND284 billion ($12.5 billion) in 2017. Its revenue in 2016 reached VND62.4 billion ($2.74 million), up six times against 2015. However, the e-commerce platform took losses of nearly VND179 billion ($7.9 million) in the same year due to overly high sales expenses. Accordingly, sales expenses in 2016 were over VND222.5 billion ($9.8 million), tripling against 2015. In fact, Tiki JSC only reported revenue from services, as well as e-commerce trading recorded by its subsidiary Tiki Trading. In 2016, the subsidiary’s revenue hit VND817 billion ($36 million) with the gross margin of 9 per cent. Despite this, Tiki Trading suffered a loss of VND41 billion ($1.8 million) as sales expenses exceeded the business’ profit. Suffering losses to succeed later is quite common for startups, while startups reporting profit from the get-go are really rare. Investors pouring money into the firms commonly expect returns in 5-10 years. Tiki CEO Tran Ngoc Thai Son also stated that the losses are part of the firm’s long-term development plan. Tiki is expanding its scale of operations by investing in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources, and technology. Maybe due to the firm belief in their development potential, Tiki and other e-commerce platforms receive high valuationes. In 2016, Tiki was appraised at VND1 trillion ($44 million) despite only being in business for six years. At the time, VNG Group poured VND383 billion ($17.02 million) to acquire 38 per cent in Tiki for VND104,000 ($4.57) per share. Thanks to this, Tiki recorded a surplus of nearly VND340 billion ($15 million) in late 2016. Different from other firms, the value assessment standards for startups like Tiki revolve not around profit, but market share, revenue, per customer purchase value, and the rate of returning customers. According to Financial Times, Tiki has annualised gross merchandise value—an indicator by which ecommerce sites measure their sales—of about $240 million, and delivers across Vietnam. Due to the satisfying revenue despite the losses, Tiki has even received foreign investment. In the middle of January 2018, Chinese-based JD.com poured VND1 trillion ($44 million) into the e-commerce platform. In the world, many of the contemporary giants look back on a difficult first decade. These include US-based Tesla Motors and sandwich chain Charleys Philly Steaks. For seven-year-old Tiki, three more years of losses is well within the realm of possibilities. Gemadept finalises divestment from Hoa Sen-Gemadept Port Gemadept Corporation (code: GMD) has just announced completing the divestment of its 51 per cent stake in Hoa Sen-Gemadept Logistics and International Port Corporation. Gemadept finalised the sale of its 51 per cent stake in the company to an undisclosed South Korean buyer. The transaction’s value was also not disclosed, but it is estimated at over VND104 billion ($4.6 million). According to its financial statement in the first quarter of 2018, Gemadept poured VND63.1 billion ($2.8 million) into Hoa Sen-Gemadept Port. Thanks to the transaction, GMD’s profit in the first quarter is over VND1.278 trillion ($56.3 million), twelve-times as much as in the same period last year. At the 2017 annual general shareholders’ meeting, Gemadept’s representative said that the Korean buyer plans to turn it into a port for carriers transporting liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas). He also stated that the divestment is part of their restructuring plans. Gemadept would divest from several other projects and pick strategic shareholders to continue growing in the logistics industry. In 2008, Gemadapt and Hoa Sen Group signed a deal to establish Hoa Sen-Gemadept Port, aimed to develop a logistics and port project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Gemadept held 51 per cent of the shares, while the Hoa Sen Group held 45 per cent. Gemadept is a Vietnamese company with an interest in ports, logistics, forestry, and real estate. The port it has just divested was one of six ports that it operates. After divesting the project, Gemadept plans to channel investment into the Gemalink deep water port in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area. Work on this port, which has a total area of 72ha, a 1,150m main berth, and a 370m feeder berth, has been suspended for many years due to the global economic downturn. Honda Vietnam refuses warranty for new vehicle Citing its policy of not repairing external damage, Honda Vietnam refused to fix the deformed rims of a Vision motorbike bought two months ago. At 7.30 PM on June 29 Nguyen Tien Dat (Ho Chi Minh City) and his wife were driving on Ba Thang Hai Street (District 10) at the speed of 45 kilometres per hour when they ran into a protruding manhole cover (Ba Thang Hai Street is currently under construction and some manhole covers are still several centimetres above the road surface). Afterwards, Dat took the vehicle to a nearby repair shop for checking, then discovered that the vehicle’s rims were warped and jutted out 1.5 cm toward the shock absorber part. As there was no damage to the tire, Dat and his wife drove the vehicle to the Honda dealership still that night. After 8 PM the same day, they took the vehicle to the Honda Vietnam dealer on Kinh Duong Vuong street (Binh Tan district’s An Lac ward) for repairs under the warranty. However, the dealer’s technical staff refused to repair and replace the damaged part because the damage occurred from an outside source, namely a pothole. Between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018, the total number of motorbikes sold by the five foreign-invested firms (Honda Vietnam, Yamaha Vietnam, Suzuki Vietnam, Piaggio Vietnam, and SYM) reached 3.28 million, including 2.38 million by Honda Vietnam, equaling 72.5 per cent of the total and exceeding the 69.3 per cent in the 2017 fiscal year. According to tieudung.vn, Duong Minh Duc, a staff of Honda Vietnam’s public relations department, said: “In the case of Dat, the technical department checked the vehicle and found that the vehicle ran over nails, reducing tire pressure, then hit a pothole, deforming the rear rim. This is external damage that does not come from the wear and tear of regular everyday usage, so Honda Vietnam cannot apply warranty for this case." However, Dat repeatedly claimed that there are no potholes on the road segment he drove on June 29 and his vehicle’s tires were not flat. As Dat required Duc proving flat tire, he receive an answer that reading carefully the user's manual. He also stated that he and his wife weight approximately 100 kilogrammes together, while the vehicle’s maximum carrying capacity is 162 kg. In addition, the vehicle’s maximum speed is 140km per hours, while he drove with the speed of 45km per hour. Thus, Dat claims that his use was well within what would be construed as ‘regular usage’ and the contents of the user's manual. Dat threatened to sue Honda Vietnam for violating the Law on Consumer Protection. Dat supposed that instead of sending staff to Ba Thang Hai street to verify whether there are any potholes on the road, Honda Vietnam blindly went on blaming external issues. Honda Vietnam has notexplained him how a vehicle bought two months ago was so easily damaged because of a little impact on the road? Furthermore, a damaged rim is not covered by the warranty. VNPT finds success in divestment plans Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) has divested successfully from some units to gain high profit, which is a good start to the divestments to come. VNPT has just announced that it has already handed over Post and Telecommunication Finance Co., Ltd. (PTF) to Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank). VNPT’s whole capital contribution to PTF should be transferred to SeABank by the August 22, 2018 deadline. Divestment from PTF is one of VNPT’s plans and a target assigned by the prime minister in 2016. In February 2018, VNPT auctioned its entire holding in PTF at the initial price of VND500 billion ($22 million), which is the charter capital of the company stated in the business certificate granted in 1998. After several rounds of public bidding, SeABank spent VND710 billion ($31.3 million) becoming the winner of the auction. “VNPT has successfully divested from PTF as well as seized the charter capital before,” stated the representative of the Department of Business Management of the Ministry of Information and Communications. Earlier, VNPT successfully auctioned off its stake in Aviation Information and Telecommunications JSC (AITS) to earn VND26.16 billion ($1.15 million). The group has doubled its initial investment of VND13.2 billion ($0.58 million). Tran Manh Hung, chairman of VNPT, said that the group’s divestment plan has been coming along smoothly. Three companies have been evaluated in June, including Telecommunication Technical Service JSC (TST), Viteco Telecommunications Technology JSC (Viteco VNPT., JSC), and Nha Trang Post Hotel. “These three companies received great attention from investors, so I think VNPT could divest them successfully,” said Hung. According to Decision No.2129/2017/QD-TTg of the prime minister approving VNPT’s restructuring plan in 2018-2020, the group will divest from 41 companies. Some of the auctions organised were unsuccessful as no investors registered to buy. In May 2018, VNPT auctioned the entirety of its 8.52 per cent stake in Saigon Postel Corporation (SPT) worth around VND102.5 billion ($4.5 million), with no success. Another item that VNPT have attempted to divest three times is its 71 million shares in Maritime Bank due to the hard conditions set for investors. Additionally, VNPT has been having difficulties in the divestment of several small construction units. The group expects that the successful divestment from PTF and AITS will provide momentum to its further divestments. Electrical technology & equipment exhibition to kick off in HCM City The 11th International Exhibition on Electrical Technology & Equipment (Vietnam ETE 2018) and the 8th International Exhibition on Products, Technologies of Energy Saving & Green Power 2018 (Enertec Expo 2018) will simultaneously opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July 18. The two-day events, jointly held by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, the Centre of Supporting Industries Development, and C.I.S Vietnam Advertising & Exhibition JSC, will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7. They will draw the participation of nearly 200 businesses, including renowned domestic and foreign-funded firms in Vietnam like the Ho Chi Minh City Power Company, Vietnam Electrical Equipment Joint Stock Corporation, Panasonic, Dien Quang Lamp JSC and Megasun JSC. There will also be hundreds of booths run by foreign enterprises from 10 countries and territories, including Germany, France, Sweden, the US, the Republic of Korea, China, and Thailand. The exhibitions will feature a networking space, gathering close to 50 foreign firms, who are looking for business partners in Vietnam. On the sidelines, there will be symposium on guiding enterprises’ application of the national set of standards for energy-saving construction projects. It is expected to discuss relevant topics on public management and experience in the management and building of these projects. Fact-finding tours to leading Vietnamese companies in HCM City and neighbouring localities will be organised to help investors gain an insight of their production capacity and operations. Currently, Vietnamese mechanical companies are able to produce more than 90 percent of spare parts and key equipment for the national grid. Many local businesses have become credible partners of the world’s top groups. They are striving to boost export of electric equipment to Southeast Asian, South American and African markets. Angola promising for Vietnamese investors Angola is a promising country for Vietnamese enterprises to do business and investment, thanks to its stable political system and numerous preferential investment policies. The statement was made by Dang Van Thanh, President of the Vietnamese Traders’ Club, at a Vietnam-Angola trade and investment promotion conference held in Hanoi on July 14. The event was held by the Angolan Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Traders’ Club, Investment Review reported. Participants were introduced to potential and advantages of Angola, as well as trade and investment cooperation opportunities with the country. Angolan Ambassador João Manuel Bernardo said that the event offered a chance for Vietnamese businesses to seek investment opportunities and trade collaboraton with Angola in fields Vietnam has strength such as agriculture, health and telecommunications. The Angolan government is stepping up investment attraction and carrying out activities to intensify connectivity with foreign enterprises, including those from Vietnam, he added. First Secretary at the Angolan Embassy Abel Paxe recommended Vietnamese businesses to boost exports to the African market in the fields of its demand, including rice, seafood, garment and textiles and confectionary. Vietnam attends Asia’s food fair in Singapore Vietnamese firms specialised in rice, coffee and spice are taking part in the 2018 Specialty and Fine Food Asia (SFFA 2018), which opened on July 17 in Singapore (Illustrative photo: Honeycombers Singapore) Vietnamese firms specialised in rice, coffee and spice are taking part in the 2018 Specialty and Fine Food Asia (SFFA 2018), which opened on July 17 in Singapore. The function draws the participation of nearly 200 businesses from 20 countries and territories worldwide. David Kwok, Business Manager of Co May company, which ships rice from Vietnam to Singapore, said Vietnamese rice has become more popular in Singapore. The company’s imports of Vietnamese rice now triples the amount recorded two year ago. Vietnamese rice has been sold at supermarkets and food centres across Singapore to meet the increasing demand of local consumers, he noted, adding that the rice will be introduced in upcoming international exhibitions to promote the brand and expand markets. As one of the leading exhibitions of the region, SFFA 2018 is an important trade platform for fine food producers and purveyors to meet distributors, retailers, restaurant owners and chefs. Creative ideas and modern equipment in food manufacturing sector are also introduced in the event. More than 160 firms from 30 countries and territories attended the event last year, with nearly 3,000 visitors. VNN |
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Social News In Brief 18/7 ACV plans to expand Tuy Hoa airport in Phu Yen province  The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is developing a plan to expand Tuy Hoa airport in the south central province of Phu Yen. The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is developing a plan to expand Tuy Hoa airport in the south central province of Phu Yen and build a new terminal with a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year in the 2020-2025 period. Last year, more than 337,000 passengers arrived at the Tuy Hoa airport, equaling 61 percent of its present capacity. By 2020, the airport’s capacity will reach 600,000 passengers per year, and by 2030 will be 3 million per year, according to the scheme to develop airway transport by 2020, which has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The Ministry of Transport gave instructions to ACV to inspect and adjust the plan for different airports so that it is in accordance with what was approved by the PM. ACV Director Le Manh Hung said that at present, the corporation was invested in different works including ensuring flight safety, night lights and the air traffic control tower to improve the Tuy Hoa airport’s effectiveness. At present three airlines access the airport with a frequency of 25 flights per route per week on Hanoi-Tuy Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City-Tuy Hoa and vice versa. Minister outlines measures to improve primary health care services  Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien announced a set of measures to enhance the quality of health care services at commune-level medical stations during an event on July 16. These include improving the capacity of medical workers; finding new operation methods; investing in human resources and facilities; applying information technology; designing special financial regimes; and enhancing communication work, said Tien at the opening of a training course on chronic disease care at commune-level medical stations held in Ho Chi Minh City. In the future, services for the treatment, control, and prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases – like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases – will be predominantly delivered by medical stations at ward and commune levels. A large network of ward- and commune-level medical stations have been set up across the country but the health sector has yet to make the most of them, she said, adding that it is a waste of resources as upper-level hospitals are becoming more overcrowded. “This is the time we have to develop primary care services to make drastic changes to the health sector,” the minister stated. Tien moved on to suggest that ward- and commune-level medical clinics need to pay more attention to developing traditional medicine in order to make it one of their special advantages. She expected that such primary care providers will win public trust with an increasing number of people visiting them over the next 10 years. Also speaking at the event, Director of the HCM City Department of Health Nguyen Tan Binh said the city is striving to have at least two doctors in each medical station, with larger ones having up to four or five doctors. The city is also the first in the country to establish satellite practices for district-level hospitals at a number of the city’s ward and communal medical stations, aiming to ease the overcrowding at higher-level health facilities and get people more confident in the primary care system, he added. According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam is aiming at having over 90 percent of the population’s health monitored, with 95 percent of the ward- and commune-level medical stations capable of providing preventative and treatment services for a selection of non-communicable diseases by 2025. To this end, the ministry has opened a number of training courses on improving the quality of family medicine-based care services for chronic diseases at ward- and commune-level medical clinics across the country. Hanoi and HCM City are the first two launching this course. The course opened in Hanoi on July 9 while others will take place in provinces, such as Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Ca Mau. Efforts to boost clean water supply  A worker works at the Yên Phụ water supply factory in Hà Nội. About three million people in Phù Đổng and Trung Mầu villages in Gia Lâm district, Hà Nội will have access to the first drinkable tap water in Việt Nam when a factory comes into operation on October 10. The factory will take water from the bottom of the Đuống River that runs next to the villages. In the first phase of the factory’s operation, clean water will be supplied to about three million people with the capacity of 150,000cu.m per day and then increase to 300,000cu.m per day. In the second phase, the capacity will hit 400,000cu.m per day. Đỗ Văn Đinh, project manager, told the Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that this factory can replace other water supply units if necessary. The clean water supply situation in Hà Nội has improved a lot. Almost 3.26 million people living in 12 inner districts have access to clean water from the city’s water factories, Lê Văn Dục, director of the Department of Construction, told the Kinh Tế Đô Thị (Urban Economy) newspaper. He also said in rural areas, the rate of people who have access to clean water increased from 37 per cent to almost 52 per cent in less than two years, from 2016 to May 2018. This number will continue to rise as by the end of 2018, the city will finish building water supply to 61,000 households with 244,000 people, raising the rate to 55 per cent. About ten years ago, people in Hà Nội still feared prolonged water cuts during summer, especially those at the end of water channels or on higher terrains. To those living on the outskirts such as Gia Lâm, Sóc Sơn, Đông Anh districts, the term ‘tap water’ seemed out of reach. Nguyễn Đức Miện, living in Hàng Bè Street in the centre of Hà Nội remembers: “We had to stay up late and wake up early to pump or catch water in our tanks and buckets to use during the day. “The reason is because the water pressure in this area is weak since we are near the dyke and the terrain is high. The water is stronger in early morning or late night.” Now, Miên says the water supply has improved considerably. Hà Nội is determined to give all people in rural areas access to clean water. The city plans to finish four water supply projects in 2018 that will increase water capacity by 335,000cu.m per day. Seven other projects are expected to finish from 2019 to 2020, increasing the capacity by 1 million cu.m per day. Currently, total water supply of all factories in Hà Nội reaches 900,000cu.m per day, while in peak periods during summer last year, people’s consumption exceeds one million cu.m per day. Poor weather prevents plane landing safety  An Airbus plane of Jetstar Pacific. A plane of Jetstar Pacific had to land at Cam Ranh International Airport in Khánh Hòa Province after a failure for landing due to bad weather at Đà Lạt City’s Liên Khương airport on July 16. — Photo courtesy Jetstar Pacific A Jetstar Pacific plan was forced to land at Cam Ranh International Airport in Khánh Hòa Province after failing to land due to bad weather at Đà Lạt City’s Liên Khương airport yesterday. The budget airline said the Airbus plane carrying 180 passengers from Hà Nội to Đà Lạt from 10.50am, was scheduled land at Liên Khương airport at about 12:20pm, but the pilot could not make a safe landing due to the poor weather. The plane then landed at Cam Ranh airport at 1:10pm before returning to Liên Khương airport at 2:13pm the same day. Jetstar Pacific said bad weather in Đà Lạt City also resulted in delays for flights from Đà Lạt to Hà Nội and other routes. Last week, a plane of the budget airline had a slight collision with a bird after landing at Đồng Hới Airport in Quảng Bình Province. Jetstar Pacific, a member of Jetstar Group, has grown from five aircraft in 2013 to 12 aircraft and flies on 32 domestic and international routes. Hospitals to review procedures after baby-switching incident The Health Department in Hà Nội has asked hospitals in the city to review the process of managing new-born babies including caring, bathing and handing them to parents after a case of parents receiving the wrong babies was discovered at Ba Vì District’s hospital. Hà Nội Obstetrics Hospital was asked to organise training courses and monitor the process at the obstetric departments of other city hospitals. Previously, the Ministry of Health requested the municipal Health Department to issue harsh penalties to medical workers involved with the six-year-old case of babies being switched at birth at Ba Vì Hospital. The mothers in this particular case are Phùng Thị Thu Hiền from Vân Trai Village of Tây Đằng Commune, and Vũ Thị Hương residing in Phú Mỹ Village of the district’s Phú Sơn Commune. On November 1, 2012, the two pregnant women were admitted to the hospital. The women gave birth to two healthy boys, with the second baby born 20 minutes after the first. After receiving their newborn child, Hiền and her husband were concerned they had received the wrong child. However, they were assured by hospital staff that no mistake had been made. The parents raised the child as their own, even though suspicions remained due to the child not looking like them. They eventually took the child for DNA tests at the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Science Institute. The DNA tests revealed that the baby is not their biological child, revealing the error of the maternity ward. The couple sent a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Health. Last week, the municipal Health Department asked the hospital to resolve the case and provide a report. After checking their records, the hospital admitted fault in the incident. Ba Vì Hospital’s director Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, on behalf of the hospital, said he bore the responsibility for the error, promising to help both families with completing paperwork for the two children within two weeks. Two nurses, Vũ Thị Thanh Mai and Nguyễn Thị Đức, who were in charge of the deliveries on that day were disciplined for their mistakes. The hospital paid for the DNA test and other fees and accepted to pay compensation to the two families as per the court’s decision. Can Tho authorities vow to punish encroaching Hau River resort  Con Khuong River Side Resort Project Duong Tan Hien, chairman of Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, said they would strictly punish the local firm who encroached on the Hau River for construction of a resort project. "We had a meeting on July 16 and agreed that this case should be strictly dealt with. However, we don't have the authority and will submit a report to the city people's committee for a final decision," he said. When being asked whether the authorities will carry out a forced remove, Hien suggested letting the investor, Linh Phuong Company, fix the wrongdoings and pay administrative fines. If Linh Phuong Company failed to fix the wrongdoings themselves, the authorities will remove the constructions. Dao Anh Dung, vice chairman of Can Tho City, said, "We've asked the Department of Construction, Department of Natural Resources and Environment to work with Ninh Kieu authorities to deal with this case and report the results within this week. We won't cover up for anyone." While constructing Con Khuong River Side Resort Project, Linh Phuong Company encroached on hundreds of square metres of the Hau River. Cai Khe Ward People's Committee suggested a VND110m administrative fine and ordered Linh Phuong to remove the encroaching construction. Since Cai Khe Ward People's Committee doesn't have the authority, to deal with this case, they reported the problem to the higher agencies on March 31 but nothing has yet been done. Construction surprisingly is still being carried out as usual. Six households evacuated because of subsidence  Houses in Dong Thap Muoi have cracked walls Subsidence in the middle of the wetlands of Dong Thap Muoi in the Mekong Delta has destroyed two houses and forced six households to evacuate. Dong Thap Muoi area, which spans Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap provinces, is often submerged under water for four to five months every year. According to the locals in Truong Xuan Commune in Dong Thap Province, they heard loud noises coming from the river in April and when they went out, there were large cracks on the ground around their sinking houses. Two houses were destroyed along with many personal possessions. Total damage is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of VND. A subsidence of 270 metres long recently occurred in Thuy Tay Commune, Long An Province, which is located between Duong Van Duong Canal and the National Highway N2. A one-metre-deep hole appeared inside a house and other houses experienced cracked walls. According to the Irrigation Department of Long An, heavy rains and thunderstorms may have weakened the foundation and caused the subsidence. Six households must evacuate while dozens of others are in the alarmed state. Power pylons nearby must also be relocated for safety. Meanwhile, the banks of Duong Van Duong Canal are still intact. The local authorities asked officials to monitor the area and other vulnerable spots and keep other residents away from the area. Da Nang Fatherland Front assists poor people  The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee of Da Nang city (VFF Da Nang) has carried out many activities to support local poor and ethnic minority people. Vice President of the VFF Da Nang Nguyen Dang Hai told the committee’s conference on July 16 that the organisation implemented numerous practical activities in the first half of 2018. Specifically, the committee presented 450 Tet (Lunar New Year) gifts worth VND281 million (US$12,200) to families belonging to Co Tu and Hoa ethnic minority groups and poor households in Hoa Vang district, along with 3,450 gifts worth more than VND1.7 billion (US$73,700) to the poor in the city during a New Year festival. The committee’s district, ward and commune chapters also mobilised resources to grant 50,170 presents worth VND26.5 billion (US$1.15 million) to local poor people. Additionally, the municipal front spent VND3.38 billion (US$147,000) from the “For poor people” fund on building 64 houses and repairing 45 houses for poor families. Units also intensified disseminations on food hygiene and safety, crime prevention and firefighting to raise public awareness of these issues. Dozens hospitalized after gas leak at Binh Duong ice water factory  Dozens of workers have been hospitalized after a gas leak at an ice water factory on July 16 in Hiep An ward, Thu Dau Mot city in the southern province of Binh Duong. The incident occurred at 9am as many people were working at the factory and they fled to other areas to avoid the strong smell in the factory. After ten minutes, many of the workers lost consciousness and were sent to hospital for emergency treatment. After the alarm was raised, dozens of firefighters and four fire engines were mobilised to the scene. Many ambulances and doctors were also dispatched to support the victims. Several nearby residents were evacuated to safe areas while firefighters had to wear gas masks to tackle the incident. The cause of the incident is being attributed to a gas leak at the factory. The case is still under investigation. Vietnam introduces culture, cuisine in Thailand  A Vietnamese culture and cuisine promotion week held by the Vietnamese Embassy, Thai Vietjet Air and Dusit Thani hotel kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand on the evening of July 16. Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hai Dang emphasized that cuisine is a special feature in Vietnam’s culture, which is appraised by the world. Vietnamese cuisine has been promoted in many countries, Ambassador Dang said, adding that Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand have attracted a large number of customers who show their love for Vietnamese dishes. The Ambassador said he hopes that the cultural week will help Thai and international friends gain an insight into Vietnam’s land and people through special dishes. The event drew the participation of representatives of embassies, international friends and overseas Vietnamese in Bangkok, who enjoyed special dishes cooked by Chef Bui Van Dam from Ho Chi Minh City and art performances presented by Hon Viet artists from Vietnam National Academy of Music. An exhibition of Vietnamese Thai painters was held on the sidelines of the event. Vietnam’s Cong Café to open first branch in RoK The Cong Café franchise will open its first overseas branch in the Yeonnam-dong neighborhood in Seoul on July 31. Since early this month, the café has been offering its signature drink, coconut coffee, at different locations in Seoul, signaling the establishment of its first store in the city, Korean newspaper Kookmin Ilbo reported. On July 16, the brand posted location maps showing the way to the new coffee shop on its Instagram account. Cong Café takes its name from word “Cong Hoa” (Republic) in the official nation name of Vietnam. The theme of the café chain has intrigued customers. It has a retro décor interiors, including lighting, wall color and background music. The café revisits the mood of the 80s in Vietnam, allowing customers a unique journey back in time. Cong café opened its first store in 2007 in Hanoi, and since then, the franchise has expanded to more than 50 stores in Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. Hai Phong honours brainy students  All of them are students at Tran Phu Gifted High School. The northern city of Hai Phong honoured four students who won prizes at the 59th International Mathematics Olympiad in Rumania and the 2018 Intel International Science and Technology Fair (Intel ISEF) during a ceremony on July 16. Trinh Van Hoan, a 12th grader, grabbed a silver medal and Tran Viet Hoan, at the same grade, claimed bronze at the International Mathematics Olympiad. Meanwhile, high school students Le Tuyet Quynh Anh and Pham Thi Minh Hue earned the Third Award for their biochemistry project – “Novel Bacteriophage Lysin: A Solution for Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in Vietnam” at the Intel ISEF. During the ceremony, the city presented awards and gifts worth a total of more than VND1.8 billion (US$77,400) to the winning students and their teachers at Tran Phu Gifted High School. Hoan was rewarded VND400 million (US$17,200) while the other three each received VND300 million (US$12,900). Last week, the northern port city adopted a resolution on incentives for the discovery and training of gifted students and to reward excellent teachers who educate students for national and international academic competitions. The budget for the rewards is estimated at about VND27 billion (US$1.16 million) annually. The rewarded students and teachers were the first in the city to benefit from the resolution. Speaking at the event, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee Le Van Thanh congratulated the students and teachers on their achievements which honours their school and families and brings pride to the city. He said the city’s leaders identified improving education as a top priority and the city has been heavily investing in upgrading educational facilities and enhancing the capacity of local teachers. The secretary urged the entire city, including state agencies and private sector, to work together to motivate and aid the development of talented people. The 59th International Mathematics Olympiad took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania from July 3 – 14, attracting contestants from 116 countries. All six Vietnamese students taking part in the competition brought home medals, including one gold by 12th grader Nguyen Quang Bin from Gifted High School of the Hanoi University of Natural Science at the National University of Vietnam. This year, Vietnam ranked 20th in the medal tally. The Intel ISEF is the world’s large pre-college science contest which aims to promote the development of science through education. Besides Anh and Hue from Hai Phong, Le Ha Khoa and Nguyen Phuong Nam from Nguyen Hue High School for Gifted Students in Hanoi received a Certificate of Honourable Mention for their study on concentration of urine neurotransmitters of Dopaminergic and Serotonergic system and the relationship to behavioural disorders in patients with online game addiction. This year, it was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the US from May 13 – 19, gathering nearly 1,800 students from 79 countries and territories with more than 1,400 projects. The Vietnamese delegation brought eight projects to the competition and was one of 43 countries and territories to win prizes. Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee visits Thủ Thiêm residents District 2 residents show a zoning map of the Thủ Thiêm new urban area issued on Jan 15, 1998 at a recent meeting with the authorities. Secretary of HCM City Party Committee Nguyễn Thiện Nhân yesterday spoke with families who have been affected by the Thủ Thiêm new urban area project in HCM City’s District 2, some of whom have refused to move and others who have already resettled in Bình Khánh Ward. The households who refused to move are living at temporary shelters set up by District 2 authorities in An Phú Ward. Nhân visited the families to talk to them about why they still refuse to move, and to discover the state of their current living and working conditions. Residents in the area are still waiting for the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate about the legal status of the project, including the project’s boundary and compensation and resettlement decisions. But the conclusion, expected on July 15, has yet to be announced. Nhân said the city had set up a special task force to determine the legal status of the project. The city People’s Committee will respond to residents in writing about the conclusion within a month after the findings of the Government Inspectorate and the direction of the Prime Minister are finalised. The task force will review, examine and propose solutions for residents within 45 days after the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate. Regarding compensation and resettlement issues, the task force will review each case and suggest solutions within 60 days after the Government Inspectorate issues its findings. Nhân said: “If the land (of a resident) is lying outside the project’s boundary, it will not be taken for the project.” At a meeting with 40 representatives of the affected residents, Nhân last month promised to find a satisfactory solution. On May 15, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ordered HCM City authorities and agencies to quickly settle the land disputes involving the Thủ Thiêm new urban area. Covering a total area of 657ha, the Thủ Thiêm new urban area is located on Thủ Thiêm peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown District 1 across the Sài Gòn River. Approved by the Government in 1996, the proposed financial district and mixed-use urban area of HCM City is set to become the largest inner-city development in Southeast Asia. To develop such a project, it has taken more than 10 years to complete site clearance of most of Thủ Thiêm peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already resettled. More than 99 per cent of land in the proposed area has been cleared. Search continues for missing fishermen Rescuers have saved four seamen and are searching for three others who remain missing after a fishing ship sank about 20 nautical miles from Cô Tô Island in the northern province of Quảng Ninh. The fishing ship, with seven crewmembers, sank on Sunday morning after encountering rough seas. Trần Như Long, secretary and chairman of the Cô Tô Island People’s Committee, on Monday morning, said that the fishing ship was from Thủy Nguyên District, the northern port city of Hải Phòng. Long said that although the district authorities had asked other fishing vessels for assistance. Rescue workers are facing difficulties due to strong waves and heavy rain. The island authorities called all fishing vessels operating at sea to return to harbour as the low depression was forecast to develop into a typhoon in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Cẩm Phả-Vân Đồn Port Authority of Inland Waterways on Monday morning also announced that it had temporarily stopped issuing certificates to leave port for all vessels working on the Vân Đồn-Cô Tô and Vân Đồn-Thanh Lân routes. VNN |
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Government News 18/7 Industry 4.0 requires Government to change itself: PM  PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the summit The Government needs to change itself in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) in order to be able to govern the country in the digital age, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Addressing the Vietnam ICT Summit in Hanoi on July 18, the Government leader said Vietnam has recorded marked achievements in e-Government building which began since 2000. He, however, admitted shortcomings in the work such as incomplete legal framework, lack of high-quality human resources, low safety level of the information infrastructure and low rate of public service users. PM Phuc highlighted the role played by the heads of agencies in e-Government construction, as well as the significance of information-technology (IT) in administrative reform. Vietnam is working to establish a National Committee on E-Government led by the PM, with members being ministers, he said, adding that the committee also sees the participation of representatives from the private economic sector in order to utilize the public-private partnership in this regard. The Government has assigned its Office to compile the Government’s resolution on major tasks and solutions in e-Government development during 2018-2020, with a vision towards 2025, PM Phuc said. He asked ministries, agencies and localities to continue to improve the quality of legal institutions and policies, creating a framework for the process. “A smart labour force plus creativity would serve as driving forces for economic development amidst the Industry 4.0,” the leader stressed. He also called for efforts in building technological platforms for the e-Government, including updating the e-Government architectural framework, completing the national database and building the national public service portal and the national information system, which serve as the IT foundation for e-Government building. Besides, it is necessary to diversify financial and human resources by identifying key and priority targets in both short and long terms, while promoting the role of businesses and improving the capacity of experts, he noted. The PM also emphasised the importance of information work so as to raise public awareness of the e-Government, digital Government, digital economy and digital infrastructure. Theme “Toward the digital government and economy,” Vietnam ICT Summit 2018 focused on e-Government Construction towards Digital Government, Digital Economy and Digital Infrastructure. Vietnam ICT Summit is a national and global Summit on IT policy, starting from 2011, organized annually by Vietnam Software and IT Services Association, under the sponsorship of Ministry of Information and Communications. The Summit gathers senior government leaders, ministries, provincial leaders, business enterprises, IT-application enterprises, experts and media, in order to share vision, growth potential, strategies and especially big solutions for the development, bringing IT as a foundation for creating development method to modernize the country. The Summit annually delivers the message about policies, technology, recommendations to the Communist Party, the Government, management agencies and business community, the society in order to push application and develop IT.-VNA Cuba, Fidel – sacred words in Vietnamese’s heart: Party official  Nguyen Duc Loi, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and General Director of the Vietnam News Agency, speaks at the 24th Sao Paulo Forum in Havana, Cuba. Cuba and Fidel are two sacred words in the heart of every Vietnamese, said Nguyen Duc Loi, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and head of the Vietnamese delegation to the 24th Sao Paulo Forum in Havana, Cuba. Addressing the special plenary session of the forum on July 17, Loi, who is also General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), underlined that Fidel is a great leader of international communist and worker movements, and a symbol of revolutionary heroism, and aspirations for freedom and happiness. He highlighted that humanitarian internationalism initiated and led by Fidel had materially and spiritually supported many revolutions and movements for national liberation worldwide, including Vietnamese people’s resistance war against the US. The official recalled Cuba’s support to Vietnam in the past even when the Caribbean country was facing numerous difficulties as a result of the embargo imposed by the US, quoting Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro’s saying that “For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed its blood.” He also recollected Fidel’s historic visit to Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri in September 1973, the first trip by a foreign leader to a liberated area in Vietnam. During the trip, the Cuban Commander-in-Chief hoisted the Vietnamese liberation flag on top of a bunker formerly belonging to the enemy troops, and then urged the Vietnamese soldiers to “put up this glorious flag in the centre of Saigon.” His wish came true two years later. On this occasion, Loi congratulated the Mexican leftist force on the triumph of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the recent presidential election, and expressed his support for the revolutionary cause and social progress in a number of Latin American countries. The official noted his wish that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban people will successfully update the socio-economic model, and complete development targets set through 2030. During the plenary session, other leaders and politicians of Latin American, Caribbean, Asian and African countries also delivered speeches reiterating the universal and everlasting values of the ideology and model of Fidel. At the July 15-17 forum, many Latin American and Caribbean leaders committed to reinforcing solidarity between leftist forces in the region and the world. 625 delegates from 51 countries and 168 organisations across the world have adopted 45 resolution and statements on socio-political issues in the region. Created in 1990 as a result of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Sao Paulo Forum is a space for dialogue, which attracts about 100 political parties, organisations and progressive movements in the region. Soc Trang province to work to reinforce Vietnam-Cambodia ties  Officers of the Soc Trang Military High Command and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces pose for a photo at the working session on July 17 Officers of the Military High Command of southern Soc Trang province had a working session with visiting representatives of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces on July 17, stressing that the locality always respects the two countries’ bilateral traditional friendship and all-round cooperation. Col. Tran Van Lau, head of the command, informed the Cambodian delegation of local socio-economic developments and defence-security situation, especially ethnic minority and religious policies, in the first half of 2018. The province has implemented ethnic and religious policies well, particularly in rural areas inhabited by Khmer ethnic people. While the socio-economic developments and defence-security situation have been maintained, sustainable poverty reduction models have also been expanded, thus helping to improve locals’ material and spiritual life, he noted. He affirmed that Soc Trang always treasures the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive and sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia. It will work harder to promote the people-to-people diplomacy and solidarity between the two peoples. For his part, Lt. Gen. Yong Mao, deputy head of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces’ development agency, said their working visit to Soc Trang was an occasion to enhance the fine cooperation between the two countries and affirm their time-honoured solidarity. He thanked Vietnam, the Vietnam People’s Army and Soc Trang province for helping Cambodia get out of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime, voicing his hope that bilateral relations will become even stronger and reap more achievements in the future. Hanoi, UAE look to bolster bilateral ties  Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung (R) receives UAE Ambassador to Vietnam Obaid Saeed Bintaresh Aldhaheri. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) Hanoi will create favourable conditions for businesses from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to invest in the Vietnamese capital, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung. At a reception for UAE Ambassador to Vietnam Obaid Saeed Bintaresh Aldhaheri on July 17, Chung said both sides have great potential for cooperation, adding that Hanoi has many products that can meet demands of the UAE market, such as garments, leather shoes, agricultural products and food. The official affirmed the city always encourages cultural exchange activities with the Middle East country. Chung also expressed his hope that the UAE diplomat will do his best to elevate relations between the UAE and Vietnam to a new height. For his part, Aldaheri stressed that the UAE government sees Vietnam as an important partner. As the two countries will ink agreements in cultural and sport cooperation, he wished that Hanoi will back UAE in promoting tourism, and help UAE firms to invest in the city. He hoped that both parties will enjoy further cooperation, as well as sound growth in two-way trade. Congratulations to new chief of Italian Communist Party Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan on July 17 sent a message of congratulations to Mauro Alboresi on his re-election as General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party. Vietnam and Italy set up diplomatic relations in 1973. Italy is currently the fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the European Union while Vietnam is the biggest trade partner of Italy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Over the past five years, two-way trade neared 5 billion USD each year. Within 10 years, from the fourth place, Vietnam has become the largest ASEAN trade partner of Italy. Both sides are working to lift two-way trade to 6 billion USD for 2017-2018. Vietnam mainly exports footwear, aquatic products, coffee and apparel to Italy and imports mechanical machinery, transportation vehicles and leather materials. As of February 2018, Italy ranked 31st out of the 128 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 88 projects worth more than 388 million USD. The Italian government has added Vietnam into its list of 10 emerging markets prioritised for trade and investment ties. NA Chairwoman presents gifts to war invalids in Ha Nam  National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visits war invalids at Duy Tien nursing centre. National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visited and presented gifts to war invalids at Duy Tien and Kim Bang nursing centres in the northern province of Ha Nam on July 17 ahead of the 71st anniversary of Day of War Invalids and Martyrs (July 27). She also presented 10 TV sets to each centre and expressed her profound gratitude to war invalids and families of ex-revolutionaries for their dedication to the struggle for national independence and defence. The top legislator asked the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the provincial authorities to pay more attention to nursing centres for war invalids, affirming that the Party and State always attach importance to refining policies for those who rendered service to the nation. Duy Tien nursing centre, one of the five ones under the watch of the MoLISA, was established in May 1957. Over the past six decades, the centre has cared for thousands of war invalids, even nearly 700 during peak times. It now provides care for seriously wounded and sick soldiers with injury severity from 81 percent and above, including three females. The oldest patient is 87 years old and the youngest is 49. Founded in 1976, Kim Bang nursing centre has offered treatment and rehabilitation to more than 500 invalids and sick soldiers. It is caring for 114 soldiers from 12 cities and provinces, including 81 severely wounded ones. In the morning the same day, the NA Chairwoman offered incense and laid a wreath at a temple dedicated to war heroes in the province. Vice President presents gifts to policy beneficiaries in Dak Nong  Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presents gifts to policy beneficiaries and poor households in Quang Tin commune Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented gifts to policy beneficiaries and poor households in Quang Tin commune, Dak R’Lap district, the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on July 17. Thirty gifts each worth 2 million VND (86.9 USD) were handed over to policy beneficiaries, while 20 presents valued at 1 million VND (43.4 USD) granted to poor families. The “For the poor” fund of Quang Tin commune also received 30 million VND (1,303 USD). At a meeting with Dak R’Lap district’s leaders, Vice President Thinh praised achievements gained by the district’s Party Committee, authorities and people. She noted that along with socio-economic development, local authorities should give more heed to education and training, in order to ensure all children in the school age are offered chances to go to school. More attention should also be paid to the care for policy beneficiaries to make all of their families have the living standard equal or higher than the province’s average. On the occasion of the 71st War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27), the State leader expressed her profound gratitude for those who made great contributions to the struggle for national liberation. HCM City beefs up cooperation with Canada, Lithuania  Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (R) hosts Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Ping Kitnikone (Source: http://voh.com.vn) Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong hosted separate receptions on July 17 for outgoing Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Ping Kitnikone and outgoing Lithuanian Ambassador to China and Vietnam Ina Marciulionyte. Phong spoke highly of the significant contributions made by the Canadian ambassador to promoting bilateral cooperation. HCM City hopes Canada will pay more attention to collaboration in fields of its strength such as banking, finance and smart urban development, Phong said. He also suggested the two sides outline cooperation programmes in education and vocational training, saying nearly 5,000 Vietnamese students are studying in Canada, the largest number among Southeast Asian nations. Kitnikone said she hopes there will be more exchanges between the two countries’ businesses. She hailed the city’s potential and expected more Canadian enterprises will come to explore business opportunities in Vietnam’s southern economic hub. While receiving Marciulionyte, Phong described HCM City as an ideal investment destination for both domestic and foreign firms and a trade connection centre with many countries worldwide. Aiming to become a trade-finance hub of the country, HCM City encourages investment in improving transport infrastructure, building smart urban areas, developing high-added value industries and increasing human resources quality, he said. Phong believed that with strengths in science-technology, start-ups and innovation and food processing, Lithuania and HCM City will have more cooperation programmes in the coming time. Future connectivity between their businesses will contribute to promoting the two countries’ trade and investment relations, he added. Marciulionyte said she was impressed with the city’s dynamic development and hoped the two nations will soon sign agreements to implement cooperation in science, information technology and agriculture. She agreed that the commitment of HCM City to support the establishment of the Lithuanian consulate in the city will help propel bilateral relations forward. VNN |
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BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 19/7 F&N submits bid for Vinamilk: 16th time the charm F&N Dairy Investments Pte., Ltd has been repeatedly registering to buy more than 14.5 million shares to raise ownership in Vinamilk (code: VNM). F&N Dairy Investment Pte., Ltd has just registered to buy 14,512,467 VNM shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) between July 11 and August 9, 2018. If the transaction is successful, the investor will raise ownership from 254,246,968 shares (17.31 per cent) to 265,759,453 shares (18.31 per cent) in Vinamilk. This is the 16th time F&N Dairy Investments has professed to its ambition to raise ownership in Vinamilk. Earlier, the fund also registered but failed to buy the same amount of shares between June 6 and July 5, 2018. At the latest successful transaction, F&N registered to buy 14,512,636 shares from May 2 to 31, 2018, however, only 130,000 shares were matched. According to HSX, since 2017, F&N Dairy Investment has registered to buy VNM stocks 15 times via auction, failing at each turn. On July 5, VNM was lightly reduced to VND165,000 ($7.3). If this registration is successful, F&N expects to spend nearly VND2.4 trillion ($105.5 million) on 1 per cent of Vinamilk’s charter capital. F&N Dairy Investments is a subsidiary of Fraser & Neave Limited (F&N), a food and beverage, publishing, and former brewing and property conglomerate in Singapore held by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Lee Meng Tat is general director of F&N as well as member of Vinamilk’s Board of Management. Recently, another Singaporean foreign fund, Platinum Victory Pte., Ltd. also registered to buy more than 14.5 million VNM shares between June 13 and July 12, 2018 via auction or negotiated transaction. If this transaction is successful, the fund will raise its ownership from 154 million shares (10.61 per cent) to over 168 million shares (11.61 per cent). Reed Tradex ties up with VECOM to promote the trend of omnichannel retailing Thailand’s exhibition organiser Reed Tradex in collaboration with Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) will organise OnlineBiz Vietnam within the framework of Shop and Store Vietnam 2019 to cater to both online and offline retail. According to Suttisak Wilanan, deputy managing director of Reed Tradex, growth in Vietnam’s e-commerce industry is escalating with continual rise in Internet user number and e-commerce value, with spending per user up 14 per cent from last year. The country’s working age population (those aged between 15 and 64) accounted for 70 per cent of total population. With a young, tech-savvy population with high consumption demand, e-commerce in Vietnam has plenty of potential to grow. “The launch of OnlineBiz Vietnam will complement Shop and Store Vietnam (SSV) to serve both online and offline retail. This annual event will be a unique B2B solutions for retailers who look for omnichannel solutions to maximize their customer experience,” he said. On the same note, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, vice chairman of VECOM said that Vietnam’s e-commerce industry has enjoyed a compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent. The fast-growing e-commerce industry is changing consumer shopping behaviors as well as payment methods. He pointed out that the rise of online shopping in Vietnam has been fueled by a significant growth in the number of smartphone and Internet users. This encourages more traditional enterprises to sell products online to meet the sophisticated demand of the omnichannel shoppers. The first edition of Shop & Store Vietnam closed its curtain at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) on March 30, 2018. Shop & Store Vietnam 2018 attracted 70 brands from over 18 countries as well as 3,294 trade buyers. The event was brimming with a full spectrum of powerful retail technologies, solutions, and well known franchise brands from a diverse ranges of sectors such as food & beverages, beauty & health, education, retail store and many more by hundreds of key franchise brands and technology owners. The second edition of Shop & Store Vietnam is slated to take place at SECC from March 27 – 29, 2019. Especially with the cooperation with VECOM, all the participants at the event can discover latest trend and retail innovations, build network, and get insights and tips from specialists in concurrent e-commerce seminar that would respond to their business needs. Unusual lawsuit between Posco VST and Thanh Nam Group The lawsuit between Posco VST and Thanh Nam Group is somewhat unusual as the court has yet to hear the content of the lawsuit despite it being filed four years ago. Meanwhile, defendant Thanh Nam Group expects a fair and equitable trial to solve the roots of the problems soon. In May 2018, the Hanoi People’ Court has announced that it was unlawful for the South Tu Liem Court to dismiss the lawsuit between Posco VST and Thanh Nam on the ground that the statutory limitation has expired. According to the Hanoi People’ Court, the statutory limitation has yet to expire because there were debt reconciliation minutes between the two companies in 2015. Thus, the Hanoi People’ Court overruled the verdict of the South Tu Liem Court and returned the documents for further consideration. The lawsuit gained public attention because of its duration. The case was brought to the municipal court to resolve rather than the district court as prescribed by the regulations. Thanh Nam is a major steel supplier in Vietnam with products available in overseas markets such as South Korea, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, among others. Thanh Nam conducted numerous transactions with Posco VST. The two companies signed a contract under which Posco VST was to supply stainless steel to Thanh Nam in 2010-2013. However, Thanh Nam could not meet the payment planby the end of 2013, so Posco VST filed a lawsuit over a debt of more than VND58 billion ($2.52 million). Up to now, Posco VST has sued Thanh Nam three times. Posco VST first sued on March 2014 at the South Tu Liem Court to ask for VND58 billion in payment. The petition was returned due to insufficient documentation. In March 2015, Posco VST filed for the second time. However, the case was suspended because the representative of Posco VST was absent from court twice without justifiable reasons. In November 2016, Posco VST once again sued Thanh Nam. This time, the South Tu Liem Court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the statutory limitation has expired. The judgement was overruled by the Hanoi People's Court in the appellate hearing in May 2018. During the appellate hearing, Posco VST said that bringing a lawsuit was made difficult by the court. Meanwhile, Thanh Nam Group was furious because Posco VST, as the plaintiff, was absent from court several times. Therefore, the trial has yet to actually hear the contents of the lawsuit after being filed four years ago. According to Posco VST, the debts come from the purchasing and selling of goods between Thanh Nam and Posco VST during 2010 and 2013. Looking at the cumulative payments, the two companies would compare and determine their debt figures. On March 6, 2013, Posco VST and Thanh Nam Group made the debt reconciliation minutes. On November 27, 2013, the chief accountants of the two sides confirmed that Thanh Nam Group would pay Posco VST an amount of VND58 billion in total. Meanwhile, Thanh Nam said that Posco VST often makes invoices before delivery. In the debt reconciliation minute, it specifies “the debt created by the sales invoice” and that the “two sides continue to clarify the figures.” This means that the debt was only recorded on Posco VST's invoices but it was not based on goods delivered. According to Thanh Nam Group, there is no debt because the company has not received the number of goods delivered by Posco VST. Also, the two companies have yet to determine the actual amount of debt, hence the “continue to clarify the figures.” According to the representative of Thanh Nam, the company expects a fair and equitable trial to solve the roots of the problem soon. The prolonged dispute not only affects the company’s business, but also its prestige and image in the market. Thanh Nam said the VND58 billion debt is not based on any contract or specific invoice. In fact, the company has not received the agreed volume of goods from Posco VST. Even more, Posco VST cannot determine which contract and invoice the debt comes from. The representative of Thanh Nam said, “Posco VST cannot submit the goods delivery receipt as requested by Thanh Nam. Where are the goods they delivered?” Chairman cum general director fully divests La Vong Group After the big real estate projects of La Vong Group came under investigation, Le Van Vong, group chairman and general director, has divested all of his holdings in the group. La Vong Group JSC was established on August 2, 2003 with Le Van Vong as its legal representative. The group has VND500 billion ($22 million) in charter capital, which came from three founders, including VND300 billion ($13.2 million) from Le Van Vong, and VND100 billion ($4.4 million) each from Le Van Hai and Dang Thi Nhu Trang. However, according to nhadautu.vn, the group has just updated its business registration. Accordingly, Le Van Vong is no longer the legal representative of La Vong Group, and his responsibilities are taken over by general director Do Minh Dam. Notably, all three founders divested entirely from La Vong Group as of January 18, 2018. La Vong Group is known as the owner of numerous famous restaurants based on golden land plots in Hanoi, such as Lake View Coffee on the shore of Hoang Cau Lake, a series of restaurants at 2 Nguyen Thi Thap Street, and the World of La Vong Beer at 169 Hoang Ngan Street. The group also owns sizeable land plots in Hanoi to develop real estate projects. La Vong Group established New House Trade JSC to develop New House projects on an area of 27.5ha in Quoc Oai, 10 ha in Xa La (Hadong district). Additionally, it established Louis Invest., JSC covering offices for lease, premium apartments, and trade centres, and developing the 30.5ha Louis City Dai Mo project (in South Tu Liem district). Some of these golden land plots were assigned to La Vong Group without bidding for the BT (build-transfer) contract. On June 7, the prime minister has ordered an inspection of all projects of La Vong Group and its subsidiaries. The order was made after it came to public attention that the group received numerous golden land plots under shady circumstances to implement real estate and transportation projects in the form of BT contracts. The land use rights of some of the land plots were not auctioned as prescribed by regulations. Lazada to be inspected soon Against the large number of customer complaint letters related to Lazada’s low-quality goods and services, the Vietnam Competition Authority will collaborate with the relevant agencies to inspect the company’s (Recess Co., Ltd.) business activities in the time to come. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has just issued several warnings that some multi-level companies offer very popular food products on the market with new forms of distribution. The warning calls attention to the risk that consumers may be cheated. MoIT said that there are numerous fraudulent multi-level businesses that do not actually distribute anything. They remain only a network of sellers that get-by through continuous recruitment. These companies usually deliver the wrong products, low-quality items or fake goods that are different from the advertisements on their websites. Sometimes they post fake prices or cancel a successful order without any explanation. Their products have no labels and the companies cannot provide invoices, and food and functional food items are not preserved carefully to ensure quality. Based on these telltale signs of a fraudulent company, Recess Co., Ltd., the owner of e-commerce website Lazada.vn, is one of the companies that received the most complaints. In 2017, Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) received a large number of complaint letters related to the quality of products and services of Lazada.vn, as well as delays in delivery, goods being different from the advertisements, delivering used/old items or the wrong articles, repudiating liability, cancelling orders, fake promotions and wrong prices, selling goods that are not in the inventory, and abandoning customers. By the number of complaints, lazada.vn has made customers very angry this year. VCA worked with Recess and asked the company to resolve the complaints and explain its business process. The firm has resolved the complaints satisfactorily since then. However, “related to a large number of customer complaint letters on problems in Lazada’s business, VCA will collaborate with the relevant agencies to conduct an inspection of this company in the short time to come,” confirmed MoIT. There are many e-commerce websites that use the same methods as Lazada. Last month, several customers claimed that they bought a large batch of phone cards on FPT Group’s Sendo.vn e-commerce platform, but all of these cards had already been used, while Sendo’s communication manager stated that the company is only a link in the supply chain, thus it would be important to allocate responsibility to all parties involved. As a result, MoIT recommended customers to buy at the companies’ official websites or authenticated stores, not on intermediary websites. Meanwhile, in early May 2018, Lazada announced closing its office in Hanoi to focus its resources in Ho Chi Minh City. As more and more multi-level companies are cheating clients, MoIT recommended customers to protect themselves. Customers should choose reputable, licensed e-commerce websites or organisations that have clear contact on their websites for purchase. They should carefully review the terms and conditions of warranty, return, refund, and delivery on the websites before making a purchase. Consumers should also be wary of strange websites or social networking accounts that advertise big promotion or sell products and services at special low prices. According to MoIT, multi-level companies having the largest number of participants are Stella Ivy Cosmetic Co., Ltd. (also known as Oriflame Vietnam) with 371,547 members, accounting for 52.53 per cent of multi-level business officers nationwide, Amway Vietnam (11.18 per cent), New Image Vietnam (10.12 per cent), Herbalife Vietnam (6.21 per cent), and Tiens Vietnam Co., Ltd. (4 per cent). The total sales of multi-level businesses in 2017 hit VND8 trillion ($352.4 million), rising by VND330 billion ($14.5 million) over 2016. Herbalife Vietnam reported the highest revenue with more than VND2 trillion ($88 million), making up 25.62 per cent of the total. Three other companies had revenue exceeding VND1 trillion ($44 million), including Oriflame Vietnam, Amway Vietnam, and New Image Vietnam. The revenues of the remaining companies are under VND500 billion ($22 million). The revenue of multi-level businesses mainly comes from functional food (71 per cent), cosmetics (23 per cent), and home appliances, fashion clothing, and equipment and other items (6 per cent). Foreign shareholders nominated for Traphaco management board Two foreign shareholders of Traphaco Joint Stock Company, Super Delta Pte., Ltd. and Magbi Fund Limited, want to add two Koreans to the board of directors of Traphaco. This is one of the questions put to shareholders at Traphaco’s 2018 extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting. Notably, Super Delta nominated Kim Dong Hyu, who is the chief representative of Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.’s representative office in Vietnam, as a member of the management board. Besides, Magbi Fund nominated Lee Choonghwan, who is the fund manager of Mirae Asset Capital cum director of Magbi Fund. In November 2017, Magbi Fund and Super Delta became large shareholders of Traphaco after acquiring 16.63 million shares, equaling more than 40 per cent of its charter capital. Notably, Daewong, through Super Delta, completed the purchase of 6.3 million Traphaco shares, equaling a 15 per cent stake. On the same day, Magbi Fund also bought nearly 10.4 million Traphaco shares, equivalent to 25.6 per cent of the charter capital. Previously, Mekong Capital announced that its Vietnam Azalea Fund (VAF) divested its entire 24.99 per cent stake in Traphaco at VND141,500 dong ($6.23) per share for a total consideration of more than $64.5 million. Thereby, 25 of the 40 per cent held by Magbi Fund and Super Delta came from VAF’s divestment. In late-June, the Hanoi Department of Taxation issued a fine of nearly VND1 billion ($44,000) to Traphaco. Due to the erroneous declaration of value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT), Traphaco was fined for 20 per cent of the difference between its declared and actual tax obligations, equalling VND159 million ($7,000), according to Article 1 of the Law on Amendments and Supplements of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration. The company’s tax burden increased by VND795 million ($35,000) after the inspection, including VND715 million ($31,500) in CIT and VND80 million ($3,500) in VAT. Traphaco also has to pay VND20 million ($880) in penalty for late payment (as of June 15, 2018). Traphaco has to calculate and pay the additional late payment fees applicable between June 16 and the time the company repays the state. Tran Anh will delist from HNX due to Mobile World's neglect More than one year after merging with Mobile World and being neglected to focus on the Bach Hoa Xanh grocery chain, Tran Anh Digital World JSC (code: TAG) has just announced the management board’s resolution to cancel its listing by buying back 180,634 TAG stocks. Tran Anh will buy 180,634 TAG stocks, equaling 0.73 per cent of its total offered shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) before delisting. Currently, Tran Anh holds 102,614 TAG stocks since its latest transaction on December 3, 2015, while its parent company Mobile World, as of April 18, owns 24.63 million shares, equaling 99.27 per cent of the chartered capital. With the expected price of VND34,900 ($1.53) per stock, Tran Anh may spend VND6.3 billion ($277,533) buying back the stocks. The transaction will be performed under the form of auction or contract within less than 30 days of receiving approval from the State Securities Commission (SSC). Over one year after merging with Mobile World, Tran Anh’s business has shown unsatisfying, which can bee seen in the stock being put on alert on June 25 because of the corporation’s negative after-tax profit and the undistributed after-tax profit released in its financial report on March 31, 2018. This negative performance undermined interest in the stock, leading to little to no trading since late April. As in the past two months the TAG stock saw no trading, Tran Anh's move of buying back its stocks before delisting may be aimed at acquiring the stocks at the best price before a foreseen downturn due to poor business results. At the end of the transaction session on July 5, the TAG stock was priced at VND34,900 ($1.53). Tran Anh’s financial report stated that in the 2017 fiscal year (April 1, 2017–March 31, 2018), its sales revenue reached VND3.53 trillion ($155.6 million), down nearly 14 per cent against 2016. In addition, Tran Anh’s expenses to source goods occupied up to 88 per cent of its net revenue, leading to the gross profit of VND416.4 billion ($18.3 million), down more than 19 per cent on-year. Mobile World’s decision to focus on developing the Bach Hoa Xanh chain is supposed to be the reason behind Tran Anh’s slow business. At the Analyst Meeting on February 8 this year, Mobile World chairman Nguyen Duc Tai affirmed that the firm will target expanding the grocery chain with the investment of VND1.5-2 trillion ($66-88 million), and has no plans to develop Tran Anh or its pharmaceutical chain Phuc An Khang. Food safety investment to boost agricultural exports Investment in food safety can help Vietnam secure its $40 billion agriproduct export target in 2018, and with a project implemented to enhance food safety, higher export targets can be achieved in many years to come. Over the next three years, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with New Zealand, will build awareness for increased food safety standards and deliver customised training programmes to about 1,000 smallholder farmers based on the basic level of GLOBAL G.A.P. requirements and other relevant standards. This project will also provide a more intensive package of support to a maximum of 20 smallholder farmers, helping them acquire the GLOBALG.A.P. certification—an internationally recognised set of farm standards dedicated to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)—or equivalent standards. It will also find opportunities to connect the trained farmers with potential retailers and agribusiness firms who are looking for internationally-certified products. “Improving food safety standards in order to access new markets is key to achieving Vietnam’s $40 billion agriproduct export target in 2018 and beyond,” said New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Mathews. “We are very pleased to support IFC’s efforts to connect smallholder farmers with growing domestic and international markets. Promoting better agribusiness practices and food safety standards will benefit Vietnam’s farmers, businesses, and consumers.” “All levels, from the government to processors, need to work on the issue of food safety. This should be driven from the ground up rather than from the government down. There will be a cost for this, but if we want to be in the game, we have to spend that money,” said David Marks, poultry technical consultant for Dutch-backed feed company De Heus Vietnam. Marks told VIR that for a company like De Hues or Bel Ga, considerable investment would need to be put into food safety to provide salmonella-free feed or salmonella-free chicken. “That requires considerable work on the farm and in the feed mill to improve security.” According to Marks, there is generally a lack of understanding about food safety issues. “A lot of smallholders, and a lot of farmers generally, do not really know what salmonella is, and so education is needed.” According to IFC, the annual food consumption in the domestic market accounts for roughly 15 per cent of the gross domestic product, with an average annual growth rate of approximately 18 per cent. However, inadequate safety standards can inhibit the sector’s growth potential, jeopardizing consumer health and reducing market opportunities for local food producers in the modern food value chain. This project is a component of IFC’s broader Vietnam Food Safety Programme, which was launched in July 2017 in partnership with the Slovak Republic, aiming to address food safety standards and practices in the country. Within just a year, IFC helped40 poultry houses of two independent downstream poultry farms which source breeding chickens from Bel Ga JSC—a leading poultry breeding firm—to acquire the GLOBALG.A.P. certification. In an interview with VIR, managing director of Bel Ga Southeast Asia Fred De Vis noted that GLOBALG.A.P. helps the firm persuade its business partners, including broiler farmers and slaughter houses, to set up an internationally accepted quality management system. “If every partner in the supply chain is producing safe food, while at the same time protecting the environment as well as human and animal welfare, it will only be a matter of time before we can supply safe meat to all end consumers, and providing them a healthier and happier life,” said De Vis. “GLOBALG.A.P. also brings us the opportunities to export hatching eggs from Vietnam to other countries, to become part of a poultry meat value chain that exports poultry meat outside Vietnam (even to Japan having the highest food safety standards in the world), to improve and consolidate our internal organization and make all company members aware of the necessary rules and procedures, to improve the reputation of the company and to strengthen the marketing strategy.” By establishing a system for GLOBALG.A.P., which focuses on hygiene and biosecurity, antibiotic reduction, and traceability, among others, these two farms from Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai provinces have been able to supply about 3 million GLOBALG.A.P.-certified broilers, or 6 million kilogrammes of chicken meat, to the domestic market and also export them to Japan over the past year. “Implementing internationally-accepted food safety practices and systems is essential for the sustainable growth of the Vietnamese agribusiness sector. This will improve competitiveness and help increase sales for farmers and food producers,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. “IFC’s work in Vietnam builds on our experience in other countries around the world, where we helped local players grow and create new and better opportunities.” IFC has over 15 years of experience in providing food safety advisory services to agribusiness and retail clients globally. This work has helped 150 IFC clients from 30 countries attract $290 million in investment and generate over $230 million in new sales. Furthermore, clients benefit from improved efficiency and cost savings, which contribute to a stronger brand value. SAP SE and HUST sign MoU on training cooperation Germany-headquartered SAP SE, the market leader in enterprise application software, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hanoi University of Science and Technology on cooperation in the training of students in digital technology skills to help them adapt to automation and digitisation. The cooperation will enable the university to approach SAP’s sustainable digital transformation so as to develop a sound technology platform in its training system, while approaching new Industry 4.0 technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning, as well as design thinking. Students of the university (HUST), especially those majoring in IT, business administration, and ELITECH, will benefit from the MoU. “HUST always promotes education and research activities and technology transfer in the Industry 4.0 era. This is compatible with SAP’s digital transformation approach and design thinking. The cooperation with SAP will help the university achieve the training of high-tech workforce for Vietnam,” said Hoang Minh Son, rector of HUST. Scott Russell, president of SAP Asia-Pacific, expressed the company's long-term commitment to equip young people with necessary digital technology skills. "Human-beings are the key in the digital transformation process. Together with HUST, we committed to help Vietnam develop high-tech human resources to adapt to Industry 4.0." The cooperation with HUST will help SAP expand its partner network in Vietnam. HUST is a multidisciplinary technical university. It ranks first among the technology training universities in Vietnam. Currently, the number of HUST students is more than 35,000. The university recruits around 6,000 students annually. It is cooperating with hundreds of research organisations and education institutes, as well as regional and international businesses and groups to develop research and train high-quality workforce. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, SAP provides enterprise application software and software-related services worldwide. SAP Vietnam was established in 2008. It has a staff of over 100 at its two offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Taisho inches towards domination at DHG Taisho Group from Japan expressed interest in buying an additional 7.06 per cent (9.2 million shares) in Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG), as the next step in its plan to step-by-step acquire Vietnam’s biggest publicly-traded drug maker. Taisho’s announcement came after DHG was approved to lift the foreign ownership limit to 100 per cent. Taisho expects to pay VND120,000 ($5.21) per share, 20 per cent higher than the closing transaction price on July 4. Thereby, the Japanese firm will have to spend VND1.104 trillion ($47.91 million) on the deal. The transaction is expected to occur within 30-60 days the firm receives the approval from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam. After the deal, Taisho will increase its holding in DHG to 32 per cent. At present, Taisho is the biggest foreign shareholder in DHG after it purchased 650,000 shares (0.5 per cent of the charter capital) to increase its holding to 32.606 million shares (24.95 per cent). The runner-up is FTIF Templeton Frontier Markets Fund with 7.95 per cent. Meanwhile, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is the biggest stakeholder with 43.3 per cent. DHG’s step-by-step approach follows the script of Nawaplastic Industry Co., Ltd. and Binh Minh Plastic. Nawaplastic Industry Co., Ltd. (Nawaplastic) completed the purchase of an additional 120,260 shares in Binh Minh Plastic (BMP) on June 26-July 2 to increase its holding to 54 per cent, equalling 44.21 million shares. Former Eximbank Do Luong officer proposed for life imprisonment The Procuracy has just proposed to sentence Nguyen Thi Lam, the mastermind behind the appropriation of VND50 billion ($2.2 million) in Eximbank’s Do Luong branch, to life imprisonment and the bank will have to repay clients’ lost money. On July 5, the Nghe An People’s Court continues the first instance trial of Nguyen Thi Lam (31), former officer of Eximbank’s Do Luong branch in Vinh city, and 15 other defendants (also former officers of the bank), who were involved in the appropriation of VND50 billion ($2.2 million) from customers’ deposits. At the court, the representative of the Procuracy proposed life imprisonment for Nguyen Thi Lam for the charge of “abusing trust to appropriate property.” She has to return the appropriated money to the bank, and Eximbank will have to repay all clients in full. The Procuracy also proposed to seize the house of Nguyen Trung Hieu in Vinh city, to whom Lam claimed to have lent VND12 billion ($0.53 million), the amount she appropriated from customers. Dang Dinh Hong (45), former director of Eximbank’s Do Luong branch, was proposed a sentence of 36-49 months of imprisonment for “deliberately acting against state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.” 14 other defendants, all officers of Eximbank’s Do Luong and Vinh City branches, were proposed to receive suspended imprisonment or non-custodial reform, because they did not gain anything by aiding Lam in the crimes. At the court hearing, Lam’s two lawyers said that the life sentence is too strict. Lam used the clients’ money for investment and business and she would repay them without intention of appropriating money. VND7 billion ($308,370) of the VND50 billion ($2.2 million) Lam claimed to transfer to a foreign investor who could not be identified. The lawyers proposed the court to return the documents for further investigation. Earlier, between 2012 and 2016, as an officer of Eximbank’s Do Luong branch, Lam appropriated more than VND50 billion ($2.2 million) from various customers. She usually invited VIP guests to the bank to sign first and completed documents later. Using these signatures, Lam composed withdrawal orders herself and submitted completed documentation to the leaders. As a result, six clients were swindled. Client Nguyen Tien N. had more than VND31.6 billion ($1.4 million) withdrawn from his savings books and VND855 million ($37,700) in cash from his accounts. Nguyen Thi Kieu H. lost VND10.7 billion ($471,400) from her savings books. Vo Thi H. was swindled out of VND5.9 billion ($260,000) in savings. Up to date, Eximbank has issued around VND32 billion ($1.41 million) in compensation to these clients and is waiting for the conclusions of the court to identify whether the bank or defendant Lam has to repay customers. Bình Phước farmers reel in big profits from citrus fruits Fruit farmers in Bình Phước Province’s Bù Đốp District have struck it rich, especially those growing citrus like grapefruits and sweet mandarin, whose prices are high now. Nguyễn Thanh Hùng, who has 100 green skin and pink flesh grapefruit trees in a 4,000sq.m orchard in Thanh Bình Town, said each tree yields an average of 70 fruits a year. Since they fetch VNĐ40,000 per kilogramme, he hopes to earn around VNĐ300 million (US$13,200) this year, higher than other crops. In 2014 he began to plant his grapefruit trees, and faced initial difficulties since he was not well-versed in growing them, he said. “It is easy to grow grapefruit now since I have learnt farming techniques from farmers in other places and from agricultural experts.” The declining prices and outputs of the province’s key crops like pepper, cashew and rubber in recent years have made many farmers in Bù Đốp, which is on the Cambodian border, switch to citrus fruits. The south-eastern province is the country’s largest cashew producer and one of the largest pepper producers. The Bù Đốp District Agriculture and Forestry Centre has taught local farmers how to grow citrus fruits. Đỗ Hữu Đức, an official at the centre, said farmers who have switched to the fruits now have steady incomes. Lê Đình Sang in the district’s Tân Thành Commune said he earned VNĐ2 billion ($88,000) last year from his 1.8ha of king orange and sweet mandarin orchards, two or three times what he might have earned from rice or pepper. He used to grow rice and vegetables on his 3.8ha farm until, in 2014, he turned 1.8ha into orchards. This year he is growing king orange and sweet mandarin on another 4ha. Farmers in Bù Đốp have joined hands to grow citrus fruits in large quantities and ensure they are of high quality. Last year 18 farmers in the district’s Tân Tiến Commune set up a co-operative to grow green skin and pink flesh grapefruit on an area of 70ha to Vietnamese and global good agricultural practices (VietGAP and Global GAP) standards. The co-operative is eyeing exports soon. Nguyễn Văn Bắc, a member, said: “The demand for green skin and pink flesh grapefruit is huge in both the domestic and foreign markets.” There is not enough fruit grown to VietGAP standards to meet export demand, he said. Last year farmers in Bù Đốp switched from other crops to growing fruits on more than 100ha, according to the district Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau. Local authorities have encouraged farmers to turn low-yield rice fields and pepper farms into orchards. Bạc Liêu aims to attract 1.6 million tourists The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bạc Liêu plans to attract 1.6 million tourists by the end of the year, including 41,000 international tourists. Total revenue from the province’s tourism sector is expected to reach VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$56.4 million). In the first six months of the year, the province’s tourism sector saw significant growth. Tourism revenue was estimated at nearly VNĐ730 billion ($31.7 million), fulfilling 56.9 per cent of its target for the entire year and increasing by 10.45 per cent compared to the same period last year. Cao Xuân Thu Vân, director of the province’s Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the department had worked with local authorities to ensure a clean and comfortable environment for tourists, as well as safety, security and order in tourism activities. The province has implemented numerous activities to promote its tourism sector. It has encouraged travel agencies and tourism-related companies to participate in the local tourism association, and promote their brands at exhibitions, festivals and international fairs. In the coming time, the province’s tourism sector will draw up a detailed plan for development of tourism sites such as Tắc Sậy Church in Giá Rai Town, Lập Điền bird garden in Đông Hải District, and Phước Long stork garden in Phước Long District. It is also asking the Mekong Delta Tourism Association for formal recognition of popular destinations such as a wind power site and Hưng Thiện Pagoda. In addition, it plans to spend more to improve traffic infrastructure and the quality of services at tourism sites and areas. The province is calling for investment for the Nhà Mát coastal tourism area in Bạc Liêu City, Tắc Sậy tourism area in Giá Rai Town, a coastal eco-tourism area linking visits with the Bạc Liêu Wind-Power Plant, and express boat services on the Bạc Liêu City - Hòn Trứng Island - Côn Đảo Islands route. — VNS Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu invests in high-quality tourism Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province plans to pour more investment in high-quality tourism projects in an effort to increase the length of tourists’stays, according to Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, chairman of Việt Nam Tourism Association. The southern province will focus on building seaside resorts and developing ecological and spiritual tourism along with MICE events (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), Nguyễn Hồng Lĩnh, secretary of the province’s Party’s Committee, said at a conference in Vũng Tàu on Thursday. The number of visitors has risen nearly 13 per cent year-on-year, while tourism revenue also rose 15.9 per cent. But many visitors from HCM City and neighboring provinces such as Bình Dương and Đồng Nai stay only for a day or half-day, according to Lĩnh. To attract more long-term visitors, the province wants to develop world-class sites on Côn Đảo islands and at Bình Châu Hot Springs. Resorts and amusement parks, to be built on coastal areas of around 1,600 hectares, are expected to attract both MICE and holiday tourists. The 1,100-ha Long Hải-Phước Hải complex and its adjacent areas will accommodate high-end resorts, water and mountain sports, and traditional craft villages, while the 3,000-ha Bà Rịa-Núi Dinh complex will be earmarked for community and hi-tech agricultural tourism. At the Hồ Tràm-Bình Châu complex, which is 6,000 ha wide, seaside resorts, ecotourism services, high-end amusement parks and medical tourism services will be provided. A 600-hectare safari park has also been planned for this complex. Meanwhile, high-end water tourism, ecotourism and historical tourism services will be offered at the 1,000-ha Côn Đảo Island complex. The province has completed a coastal road from Vũng Tàu City to Xuyên Mộc District, forming a unique beach tourism route with luxury hotels and resorts along the coast. But there are still many sites where investors could develop high-end tourism projects. Located in the southern key economic zone and 100km from HCM City, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu boasts many strengths and a robust maritime economy, including ports, oil and gas exploration, and seafood exploitation and processing. Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province attracted 2,79 million visitors last year, including 363,000 foreigners. Electrical tech expos open in HCM City The 11th International Exhibition of Electrical Technology and Equipment (Vietnam ETE) and the 8th International Exhibition of Products, Technologies for Energy Saving and Green Power (Enertec Expo) opened today in HCM City. They feature 300 booths set up by 200 exhibitors, including leading enterprises such as the HCM City Power Corporation, the Vietnam Electrical Equipment JSC, ABB, Panasonic, Hitachi, Long Giang Electrical Equipment, Cong Luan Mechanical and Electrical JSC, APS Mechanical and Electrical JSC, and others. Businesses in the field of green energy such as Dien Quang, Rang Dong, Redsun, VES, and GEE are also taking part. In addition, many other enterprises from 10 countries and territories: Germany, France, the US, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand are also showcasing their products at the expos. On the sidelines will be a seminar on national technical regulations for energy-saving construction projects which will discuss public management of such projects. The exhibitions have a networking area where nearly 50 foreign firms will seek business partners in Viet Nam. Fact-finding tours to leading local companies in HCM City and neighbouring areas will be organised to help investors and businesses gain an insight into their production capacity and operations to explore co-operation. Organised by the HCM City Centre for Supporting Industries Development and C.I.S Vietnam Advertising and Exhibition Joint Stock Company, the exhibitions, on at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7, will go on until July 21. VNN |
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Article 2
HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Wednesday gave a warning to Minister of Information and Communications Trương Minh Tuấn as a disciplinary measure for his violations at the ministry.
Minister of Information and Communications Trương Minh Tuấn has received a warning from Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. — Photo vov.vn Previously, the Politburo of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee also issued a warning to Tuấn. Tuấn, a member of the Party Central Committee and the Party Committee of the Central Agencies Bloc for 2015-20, was also relieved from his post as Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) for the 2016-21 term. According to the Politburo, Tuấn must bear responsibility for the violations and wrongdoings committed by the ministry’s Party Committee during the 2011-16 term, when he was serving as a member of the MIC’s Party Committee and Deputy Minister of the ministry. He violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations, showing a lack of responsibility and lax leadership when tasked to direct the implementation of a project on purchasing 95 per cent of the share in the AVG Audiovisual JSC by the MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation. He also signed Decision No236/QĐ-BTTTT dated December 21, 2015 on the ministry’s approval of the project, as well as a number of related documents that ran against regulations, including documents beyond his assigned duty. In his capacity as Secretary of the MIC’s Party Committee and MIC Minister since April 2016, Tuấn is held responsible for the violations and wrongdoings committed by the committee for the 2016-21 tenure, the Politburo concluded. |
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