VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 24

 16:14                                  

VN rubber industry experiences strong profit growth in 2021

Rubber is one of the industries posting good performance despite many sectors struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its fourth-quarter financial statement, Vietnam Rubber Group (GVR), one of the leading rubber companies in Viet Nam, said that its net revenue rose 6,6 per cent year-on-year to VND9.6 trillion (US$4.2 million). Of which, revenue from producing and trading latex still plays a key role, with a gain of nearly 19 per cent to VND7.46 trillion.

Vietnam Rubber Group said that the country's rubber industry will benefit from both export volume and value due to tight global supplies, especially in Southeast Asia as the region is severely affected by the weather, leading to a decrease in the production of natural latex.

Therefore, the price of latex is expected to continue to rise sharply.

The two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Singapore is estimated at 1.3 billion USD in the first two months of 2022, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, over the past time, the structure of Vietnam's exports to the Singaporean market is relatively stable with numerous items earning high turnover such as computers, electronic products and components, means of transport and spare parts, phones and accessories, and glass and glass products.

In addition, agricultural and aquatic products are potential commodities that Vietnam has strengths to promote its export to Singapore.

Vietnam is currently Singapore’s fourth biggest exporter of aquatic products, accounting for 12 percent of the country’s total import of this group of commodity.

Meanwhile, Vietnam mainly imports machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts, computers, electronic products, chemicals, and cosmetics from Singapore. In January-February, the import value is estimated at 643 million USD, down 2.3 percent year-on-year.

Programme to help Vietnamese, RoK firms beef up trade cooperation

A trade promotion programme between representatives of 58 enterprises from Incheon, Jeonju, Daegu, Gyeongbuk of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnamese potential firms will be held virtually on March 21-25 by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Hanoi.

During the five-day event, Korean businesses will introduce their high-quality products, including cosmetics and beauty equipment, supplementary foods, foods and beverage, consumer goods, household items, and mother and child products, KOTRA Hanoi said. 

The event will offer a good chance for Vietnamese enterprises to expand partnership with RoK suppliers, watch directly sample products sent from the RoK. Businesses of the two countries will also receive consultancy from the KOTRA Hanoi.

As many as 17 firms from Incheon will attend the programme, while Jeonju - a culinary city of the RoK, will send 10 typical businesses to the event.

Following successful trade promotion activities over the last two years, KOTRA Hanoi plans to host about 70-80 similar events in both face-to-face and online forms in 2022, which are expected to contribute to speeding up economic recovery for the two countries’ business communities.

Pangasius exports exceed expectations

Exports rose quite sharply thanks to a surge in shipments to markets such as Brazil (48.6 percent increase), Colombia (68.5 percent) and Russia (72.8 percent).

The association said exports were up also thanks to the US increasing buying amid an increasing Covid-19 vaccination rate and reopening of restaurants.

Exports to the US in fact doubled from 2020 to 370.6 million USD.

Meanwhile, exports to China were down 12.6 percent to 450 million USD, or 27.8 percent of total exports. Exports to the EU declined for a fourth straight year, falling 17 percent to 106.2 million USD.

VASEP said the pandemic had a major impact on pangasius trade with many countries including France, Italy and Germany.

It forecast exports of the fish reach 1.7 billion USD this year.

Businesses struggling due to high gasoline prices

As gasoline prices rose to the highest level in eight years in February, the logistics industry is under increasing pressure, forcing businesses to bump up service prices.

Manufacturing enterprises are also expected to face many difficulties as costs soar.

On February 21, a litre of RON95 gasoline was VND26,287(US$1.14); a litre of E5RON92 gasoline cost VND25,532.

With added pressure on freight rates, the price of many consumer goods increased, especially as businesses attempt to recover after months of inactivity.

The increase in gasoline prices has also had an impact on consumer goods. At some markets in HCM City many small traders said that prices increased sharply compared to early this year.

In the bigger picture, the increase in gasoline and oil prices will lead to an increase in transportation charges, and an increase in the price of consumer goods will most likely affect CPI and inflation.

Shortage of spare parts puts pressure on automobile makers

The shortage of spare parts, especially semiconductors, is seriously affecting the production and assembly of domestic automobile makers.

Reports of the General Department of Customs showed in January 2022, automobile manufacturers and assemblers in Viet Nam spent US$395 million importing auto spare parts, down 7.8 per cent compared to the previous month.

Currently, most spare parts for auto companies are imported, so the global shortage greatly affects the domestic auto industry.

Though the domestic supporting industry has also seen certain growth, the developments are still not as expected. The country has so far had 21 enterprises that obtained certificates to participate in the production of components for the auto industry against five in 2017, but they have met only a very small part of the local demand.

Truong Thi Chi Binh, vice president and general secretary of the Vietnam Supporting Industries Association, said there are only 20-30 enterprises in the country qualified to produce auto components and the components cost 10-20 per cent higher than that of other countries in the region due to low output.

Automotive expert Nguyen Minh Dong said in order to encourage foreign enterprises to invest in the production of auto components, the Government needs to impose high taxes on components that are simple and easy to produce with small investment capital. As for complicated components, they should be exempt from tax to help auto manufacturers create products with reasonable prices.

Gold prices set new peak of VND64.6 million per tael

Local gold prices passed historical highs set a few days ago to reach more than VND64 million per tael on February 24.

At 10 a.m. the buying and selling prices for gold bars quoted by Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC) stood at VND63.9 million and VND64.6 million per tael, respectively, representing rises of VND600,000 and VND700,000 per tael compared to the prices recorded the previous day.

Simultaneously, DOJI Gold and Gems Group were trading gold at VND63.6 million for buying and 64.4 million for selling per tael, marking increases of VND400,000 and VND600,000 per tael from the day before.

The world’s gold prices are equivalent to VND52.85 million per tael when converted in the domestic exchange rate, VND11.4 million per tael lower than SJC gold prices in the Vietnamese market at the same time.

Vietnam car imports down sharply in January

The volume of imported completely built-up (CBU) automobiles fell more than 70 per cent to 4,524 units valued at US$127 million in January compared to December 2021 with imports from Indonesia down sharply, reports the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Imported CBU automobiles reached 15,196 units with a value of $433 million in December.

It is reported that the majority of imported CBU vehicles in Viet Nam came from Thailand, Indonesia, China and Japan. The volume of cars imported from these markets reached 3,653 units, accounting for 87 per cent of the total number of imported vehicles into the country in January. Of this figure, Thailand accounted for 2,595 units, followed by China with 584 units, Indonesia with 474 units and Japan with 284.

Vehicles with less than nine-seat and buses, trucks, and specialised vehicles were imported into Viet Nam and were down by 53 per cent to 4,528 units. Of this figure, buses, trucks, and specialised vehicles reached 4,008 units for $99 million.

The less than nine-seater cars were registered for import in January, mainly came from Thailand with 2,488 units or down 54 per cent, and Indonesia with 472 units, a decline of 76 per cent compared to December.

In January, only 12 vehicles with more than nine-seat were imported into the country, mostly coming from Russia. Meanwhile, 260 trucks were imported worth $11.7 million with a 93.5 per cent decrease in volume and 90.5 in value compared to December. And some 244 specialised vehicles were imported, worth $16 million with a decline of 90.6 per cent in volume and 86.3 per cent in value.

Timber and wood products cross US$1.5 billion in January

Timber and wood products in January surged by 8.3% to reach US$1.55 billion compared to December, 2021, and were up 14.3% from the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

This also marks the third time that the export of timber and wood products has exceeded the threshold of US$1.5 billion per month.

The export value of timber and wood products to the majority of major markets increased in January, of which the United States took the lead with US$928.2 million, up 12.8% on-year. This was followed by Japan with US$153 million and China with US$134.4 million.

With an export turnover of over US$1.5 billion, timber and wood products are among seven groups of export commodities which saw a turnover of more than US$1 billion in January.

These products are also among the top three commodity groups that have witnessed double-digit growth, behind only garments and textiles.

Digitalisation fuels Vietnam’s economic growth

Vietnam’s fast-growing digital economy is likely to help the country become a high-income economy by 2045, according to an article recently published on eastspring.com.
 
Namely ‘Vietnam’s digital boom to lift the economy’, the article noted while there will be challenges to overcome, such development will also present many opportunities for investments across sectors.

According to the author, Vietnam is popular for its golden demographic population, with nearly 56 percent of its people are under 35, the highest among countries in the region with similar income levels.

The article also wrote Vietnam’s middle-income class earning above 700 USD a month is estimated at one third of the population and expected to double its size by 2030. Such growth will underpin domestic consumption for services and higher value-added products.

Vietnam to get highest trade, income gains among RCEP members: WB

Vietnam is expected to register the highest trade and income gains among Regional Comprehensive Economic (RCEP) members, according to a World Bank (WB)’s working paper.

To estimate the economic and distributional impacts of RCEP in Vietnam, WB constructed a baseline and four alternative scenarios. The baseline reflects the business-as-usual conditions, where the tariff schedules of previous agreements, including the most recent CPTPP, have been implemented, in parallel with the US-China trade war.

In the baseline, between 2020 and 2035, the average trade weighted tariff imposed by Vietnam declines from 0.8 percent to 0.2 percent, while the tariffs faced by Vietnam are reduced from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent. To measure the effects of RCEP, the policy scenario will be compared against this baseline.

The four policy scenarios will measure the RCEP implementation incrementally. The first scenario, the Tariffs scenario, is exclusively the implementation of tariffs according to the RCEP tariffs’ reduction schedules.

In the second scenario, the RCEP scenario, WB implemented reductions of tariffs and of non-tariff measures, including the tariff reduction of 35 percent on agricultural goods; 25 percent on manufacturing goods; and 25 percent on services.

Reference exchange rate up 1 VND

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,131 VND/USD on February 24, up 1 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,825 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,437 VND/USD.

The opening hour rates at commercial banks stayed stable.

At 8:30am, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,650 VND/USD and the selling rate 22,960 VND/USD, unchanged from February 23.

Visa, VNPAY join hands to speed up digital payments in Vietnam

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, and VNPAY, Vietnam’s prominent fintech company, inked a strategic partnership to enhance the digital payments experience in Vietnam during a ceremony held in Hanoi on February 23.

The two companies will make cashless payment more accessible in Vietnam through expanding and strengthening the fintech company's affiliate network of accepting merchants, as well as rolling out new services including Visa’s Tap to Phone acceptance solution, virtual Visa prepaid cards, fund transfers powered by Visa Direct service, and the Visa Instalment Solution (VIS), among others.

According to Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes study 2021, 80 percent of consumers in Vietnam are interested in using mobile contactless payments like tap to phone, said Dang Tuyet Dung, Country Manager of Visa Vietnam and Laos.

VNPAY operates a network of nearly 200,000 locations nationwide, which accepts payment through the VNPAY-POS, VNPAY-QR and VNPAY-QR payment gateway.

Ample room remains for Vietnam-Singapore trade growth

Vietnam is anticipating a great chance to further promote its trade with Singapore, which has yet to be on par with the potential of both nations, as President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is scheduled to pay a State visit to the city-state from February 24-26.

Despite adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade hit 8.3 billion USD in 2021, up 23.3 percent from the previous year. In January 2022, the figure reached 783.9 million USD, an increase of 6.8 percent year on year.

As of February this year, Singapore had 2,860 valid projects worth 66 billion USD, ranking second among 140 nations and territories worldwide pouring capital into Vietnam. Notably, in 2021, Singapore took the lead among all foreign investors with combined registered investment of over 10.7 billion USD, accounting for 34.4 percent of the total capital attracted by Vietnam.

Guidelines on supervision, assessment of foreign investment issued

The Minister of Planning and Investment has issued a circular giving guidelines on the supervision and assessment of foreign investment activities in Vietnam.

Accordingly, Circular 02/2022/TT-BKHDT is applicable to state management agencies related to foreign investment activities, including ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People's Committees, investment registration agencies, agencies tasked with state management of investment in accordance with legal regulations on investment, foreign-invested economic organisations and projects operating in Vietnam.

The circular stipulates the principles for foreign investment management, one of which is not to hinder or affect the normal operations of foreign-invested organisations and projects during the process of supervision and evaluation.

The circular will take effect on April 1 this year, replacing Circular 09/2016/TT-BKHDT dated June 30, 2016.

Capital market development helps raise confidence in investor protection

The capital market will continue to play a vital role in national development moving forward, according to international investors at the recent Vietnam Business Forum (VBF).

Despite this optimism, a number of solutions have also been proposed by various experts to accelerate the development of the Vietnamese capital market. In particular, it remains necessary to focus on solutions aimed at strengthening investor protection, thereby increasing confidence in the market, as well as its overall attractiveness for foreign financiers.

According to an assessment conducted by the Capital Market Working Group of the VBF, it can be viewed as essential to continue to improve the hardware and software infrastructure of the market.

The country boasts a solid legal system, although it still requires improvements to be made to ensure the consistency of legal provisions applicable to the debt and securities markets.

Outbound tours set to rise in March and April

The demand for outbound tours is projected to grow once the nation fully reopens its borders to international tourism on March 15, according to tour operators.

Some of the destinations that Vietnamese tourists can consider include Thailand, Cambodia, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and the United States.

Many outbound tours in March and April have already been fully booked with travel firms urgently preparing to launch European tours or Australian tours.

In the near future, Dat Viet Tour Company is set to organise a group of tourists to Cambodia in support of the Vietnam U23 national team, along with a group of tourist heading to Dubai in April.

Furthermore, Hanotours company will kick off eight delegations to Dubai in March and April, while tours to the Western Europe will begin in March.

Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, deputy director of the Marketing Department at Vietravel Company, said the firm is gradually restoring foreign markets, adding that outbound tourism will flourish in the summer season this year.

Vu Giang Bien, director of PATTOURS, predicts that the international destinations, which will attract Vietnamese tourists will be Asia, along with the European, Russian, and African markets.

Promising start to the year for wood exports

After a trade surplus of $11.8 billion in 2021, the wood industry brought in export revenue of approximately $1.6 billion in the first month of 2022, heightening expectations for the remainder of the year.

According to the latest data from the General Department of Customs, in January the total export value of wood and wooden products stood at just over $1.5 billion, a 14.3 per cent jump on-year.

Along with March and June last year, this is the third time the sector’s monthly export turnover has exceeded the $1.5 billion mark.

As a result, wood and wood products have made it into a shortlist of export items with a turnover surpassing $1 billion in the first month of the year and are in the top three of goods with double-digit growth, ranking second after textiles and garments.

Air passengers rebound in early 2022

The number of air passengers in February reached over six million, up 57.8 per cent on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

The number included 105,000 international arrivals, up 350 per cent from the same period last year, while the rest was domestic tourist travellers, up 56.1 per cent on-year.

During the month, cargo transport by air rose 27.6 per cent on-year.

The recent positive signals stir hope that the sector is likely to strongly rebound this year after suffering a bad 2021 due to the pandemic.

Hoa Phat ramps up medical oxygen supply

Due to the rising demand for medical oxygen for Covid treatment, Hoa Phat Group has announced that it is reducing the oxygen volume for steel production to ramp up its supply of medical oxygen from January to March.

This plan is aimed at sharing the difficulties of the health sector and following the Industry and Trade Ministry’s call to enhance medical oxygen production and supply for Covid treatment.

During the period of reducing oxygen for steel production, the group will be increasing the consumption of pulverized coal and foundry coke to not affect its steel production target.

Due to its change, the group’s production cost is expected to increase some VND40 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Khanh Hoa eyes VND4t in tourism revenue in 2022

The tourism sector in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa is looking to earn VND4 trillion in revenue this year, up 80% year-on-year, according to a local tourism official.

The coastal province is expected to welcome over 1.2 million tourists this year, up 100% year-on-year, with 1.16 million domestic visitors and 40,000 international ones, Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, director of the provincial Tourism Department, told a tourism conference held in the province on February 22.

Domestic tourism would also be developed into a spearhead economic sector under the province’s tourism recovery program. Therefore, the province will ramp up efforts to promote local tourism and attract tourists throughout 2022, the official said.

The provincial tourism sector had earlier made the most of opportunities to overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and made preparations to recover in the new normal. As a result, in the last three months of 2021, the province served nearly 122,000 visitors, with some 4,600 of them being international travelers, and achieved over VND450 billion in revenue.

Hanoi ready to assist businesses in developing supporting industries 

With the advantage of technology and manpower, Hanoi is poised to be a pioneer in helping local businesses develop supporting industries, becoming an example for other localities nationwide, Dam Tien Thang, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said.

At a recent meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on mechanisms and policies for the development ofsupporting industries, Thang said, the city’s authorities have approved the supporting industry development program for the 2020-2025 period with the goal of increasing investment attraction and improving the capacity of supporting industries in Hanoi.

Under the program, the city will form a supporting industry network, which will promote linkage among multinational corporations, manufacturing and assembly enterprises in Hanoi and nationwide, especially in the fields of automobile and motorbikes, mechanical engineering, and mobile phones.

The city will enhance the investment of local enterprises in the Hanoi Southern Supporting Industrial Park, other industrial and high-tech zones, and industrial clusters in the area. Especially, the city will speed up the investment progress and complete the technical infrastructure of Hanoi Information Technology Park and industrial zones in Soc Son and Dong Anh districts.

Ministries urged to mull over new environmental tax on fuel

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Trade and Industry in mulling over reduction of environmental tax on fuel and report to the Prime Minister prior to February 28.

The Government chief made the request as fuel prices are now at historic high.

The new policy on environmental tax shall be decided by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly at the proposal of the Government.

Under current regulations, the environmental tax on RON 95 gasoline is VND4,000 per liter.

In addition to the environmental tax, gasoline is also subject to special consumption tax (8-10 percent), import tax (8 percent), and value-added tax (10 percent).

Source: VNA/SGT/VIR/VOV/VNS/Hanoitimes

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 25

16:30                                  

1 billion USD tourism project kicked off in Ninh Thuan

The F.I.T and Crystal Bay groups on February 25 began the construction of the over-1-billion-USD Cap Padaran Mui Dinh project in the south-central coastal province of Ninh Thuan’s Thuan Nam district.

In its first phase, the 64ha Bai Trang resort will be built at a cost of about 150 million USD.

Emmanuel Delarue, CEO of the NDA Group – the design unit of the Cap Padaran Mui Dinh project, said that the design of Bai Trang hotel, which reflects the local Champa architecture, won the first prize at the 2019 Cityscape Awards.

Vietnam to import 2.4 million cubic meters of fuel in Q2

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to ramp up fuel imports and asked 10 firms to import 2.4 million cubic meters of petrol and oil in the second quarter of 2022 to secure supply in the local market.

The increased imports are meant to ease the fuel shortage faced by many parts of the country due to falling domestic production, local media reported.

The 10 wholesale fuel firms are Petrolimex, PVOil, Hai Ha Waterway Transport Co, Hai Linh Company, Nam Song Hau Trading Investing Petroleum JSC, Xuyen Viet Oil Travel and Transport Trading Co., Thanh Le Corporation, PETIMEX, Thien Minh Duc Group, and MIPEC.

The firms have been asked to ensure that the fuel they import is not lower than the assigned volume, comply with regulations on fuel trading, and furnish their invoices and import-export receipts.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) has offered a preferential tax rate of 5 percent for 55,112 tonnes of rice imported from Vietnam, according to the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The RoK’s Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp (aT) has issued an international tender to purchase 27,791 tonnes of rice sourced from Vietnam. The rice includes non-glutinous brown long grain and long grain rice.

The deadline for registration to participate in the tender is February 25. Businesses can submit documents directly to the aT or through its electronic bidding system at www.atbid.co.kr. They should deliver five bags of rice samples with 2kg each to the corporation.

The RoK has applied a preferential tax rate of 5 percent for 408,700 tonnes of imported rice since 2020, the department said, adding that the tax rate applied for others is 513 percent.

Stocks tumble on Russia-Ukraine military conflict

The VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange dropped 1.15%, or 17.45 points, to close at 1,494.85 points today, February 24.

Losing stocks outnumbered winning ones by 396 to 75. Some 1,160 million shares worth more than VND35 trillion changed hands on the southern market, soaring 67% in volume and 56% in value against the previous session.

In the VN30 basket, which comprises the 30 largest caps, 24 tickers dived and only five gained ground. Bank stocks TPB, HDB and CTG suffered the steepest decline as they ended 2.9-3.2% lower.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 1.73%, or 7.66 points, to close at 434,88 points, with 185 losing stocks and only 64 winning ones. More than 158.8 million shares worth some VND4.74 trillion were transacted on the northern market.

PM urges Dong Nai to hand over land for Long Thanh airport

The prime minister has urged Dong Nai Province to hand over land for the Long Thanh International Airport project by no later than September this year. For the big-ticket project, the Government requires 5,000 hectares of land in the province.

The chairman of the provincial government has been asked to be in charge of the land handover to ensure that 1,810 hectares, or a part of the total land required, is handed over in February, according to a recent announcement from the Government Office.

After the land handover, it would be necessary to start work on site leveling and speed up the design work for the traffic connectivity systems. In addition, preparedness for selecting contractors will need to be fast-tracked.

Lang Son to continue denying entry to fresh fruit trucks till Mar 5

According to the department, although it had issued a document announcing that it would stop allowing passage to vehicles transporting fresh fruits for export to China from February 16 to 25, around 50 vehicles transported fresh fruits to the province per day during the period, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

It was expected that the fresh fruits would be consumed locally or transported to Cao Bang Province for export to China. However, the vehicles ended up being parked in Lang Son City as their drivers waited for opening of access to border gates, creating difficulties for the provincial authority in ensuring traffic safety and dealing with the backlog at border gates.

At present, an average of 90–100 vehicles have been completing customs procedures per day, officials said.

Meanwhile, more than 1,900 vehicles are currently stuck at the border gates in Lang Son, they informed. It will take 15–17 days to clear the backlog, they said.

Vehicles transporting fresh fruits to Lang Son for local consumption will not be allowed to travel to the border gates during the new suspension period, they added.

Some train services to be curtailed due to low passenger demand

The local railway sector will continue to suspend some train trips on the north-south route from March 1 due to a sharp decline in the number of passengers, said a representative for Saigon Railway Transport JSC.

On the Hanoi-HCMC route, trips on the following pairs of trains will be operated daily–SE3/SE4, SE5/SE6, SE7/SE8, and SE11/SE12. Meanwhile, the SE21/SE22 trains on the HCMC-Danang route will be suspended, Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Besides, trains linking HCMC and Nha Trang will only be operated on the weekends. The SNT2 train, which runs from Saigon to Nha Trang station, will depart on Thursdays and Fridays, while the SNT1 train on the other leg will depart on Fridays and Sundays.

On the HCMC-Phan Thiet rail route, the SPT1/SPT2 trains will offer services on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

In the north, Hanoi Railway Transport JSC has suspended the NA1/NA2 trains on the Hanoi-Vinh route since February 21.

FLC Group cooperates with RoK firm in service packages

Bamboo Airways and TD&T Co.,Ltd of the Republic of Korea (RoK) will cooperate in conducting charter flights bringing tourists from the RoK’s Incheon to Quy Nhon city in the south-central province of Binh Dinh for golf and leisure services of the FLC Group.

A comprehensive cooperation agreement was reached by FLC Group, its Bamboo Airways and TD&T within a seminar on Vietnam’s aviation in Quy Nhon on February 24.

Golf FLC Biscom and FLC Hotels & Resorts will also ink contracts with TD&T to provide FLC Group’s golf and luxury tour packages for Korean holidaymakers.

First study on consumer sentiment in real estate in Vietnam released

The Vietnam Consumer Sentiment Study was announced by Batdongsan.com.vn in a virtual event on February 24. It is the first of its kind in Vietnam looking into consumers’ sentiment in real estate.

In Vietnam, the study had been conducted online since last November, attracting 1,000 respondents. It aims to measure consumers’ perception on the property market and their expectations about the market outlook and future trends. The study will be released twice a year.

The study also shows that 52 percent of the respondents find property prices in Vietnam too high and the high prices remain the biggest challenge to potential buyers. Up to 72 percent believe that the prices are going down because of COVID-19, while 31 percent expect that property prices will continue to rise by over 10 percent within the next 5 years.

Vietnam, Chinese province eye to build safe export process at border gates

Representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade has coordinated with authorities of China’s Yunnan province in holding a teleconference on customs clearance of goods and pandemic prevention and control cooperation at border gates between the two sides.

During the event, they agreed to study a safe export process, and coordinate in building “green (safe) zones” at the border gates.

A mechanism for information exchange between border localities of Vietnam and Yunnan province will be created.

The ministry proposed permitting a third party to conduct COVID-19 tests using the RT-PCR method for Vietnam’s vehicles and exports.

It also asked the Chinese side to resume and extend the customs clearance time at several suspended border gates, and speed up the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between it and Yunnan authorities to create a framework for comprehensive collaboration in bilateral trade and economics.

The Yunnan side stress the need for both sides to maintain efforts to ensure pandemic prevention and control for the safety of both peoples.

Bright prospects ahead for coffee exports due to high export prices

There are bright prospects moving forward for local coffee exports this year with export turnover reaching US$3 million last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Especifically, coffee exports during the last month of 2021 witnessed a spectacular jump with 169,000 tonnes worth US$379 million, an increase of 57.6% in volume and 56.9% in value compared to November, 2021.

Most notably, processed coffee exports last year surged by 2.9% to reach US$569.46 million on-year. The nation currently exports processed coffee to more than 100 countries and territories globally, with the major markets including ASEAN, Europe, China, and the United States.

Gold prices climb to approximately VND67 million per tael

Local gold prices continued to rise on February 25, reaching approximately VND67 million per tael.

This comes following the morning trading session in which the Saigon Gold and Jewelry Company quoted its SJC gold price at VND65.5 million for buying and VND66.4 for selling.

These latest price changes represent rises of VND550,000 for buying and VND750,000 for selling in comparison with the prices recorded on February 24.

Furthermore, DOJI Group listed each tael of SJC gold at between VND65 million and VND66.4 million for buying and selling, thereby marking respective decreases of VND200,000 and VND1.1 million compared to the previous trading day.

Vietnamese specialty spices set to enter US supermarkets

Various types of salt and dipping sauce from various Vietnamese regions will hit the shelves of many supermarkets and restaurants in the United States from the third quarter of this year.

Food manufacturer Dh Foods recently signed a co-operation agreement with Heritage Beverage (HB), an importer and distributor of high-end Vietnamese products in the US.

The deal will see HB exclusively distribute Dh Foods' Vietnamese specialty spices to the US through such channels as Whole Foods, Costco, Cost Plus, Safeway, Albertson's, and Kroger, along with a number of Vietnamese restaurants in the US.

Tuna exports to US soar by 210%

Vietnamese tuna exports to the United States saw a year-on-year surge of 210% in January to reach nearly US$44 million, accounting for roughly 50% of the total export value of the product, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Frozen tuna fillets coded HS0304 remain the key export product, accounting for more than 66% of total export value.

Most notably, some products such as frozen tuna fillets coded HS0304 and HS16 increased by 172% and 278%, respectively, against the same period last year.

Farm profits threatened by soaring fertiliser prices

This year, due to higher fertiliser prices and low rice prices, the costs rose to VND3 million per sao while the revenues fell to VND5 million per sao, dragging down his profits.

Not only rice and coffee farmers are being hard-hit by high fertiliser prices, but also dragon fruit farmers. Dragon fruit farmers have been selling their produce at a loss since China tightened its COVID-19 preventive measures. Now, mounting fertiliser bills are adding to their woes. Many dragon fruit farmers in Binh Thuan Province said that they were likely to go bankrupt if the situation did not improve.

Parts of fertiliser used in Viet Nam are imports so its fertiliser prices normally move in line with the world market’s prices. Vietnamese fertiliser importer and supplier Vinacam forecasted that DAP fertiliser prices would continue to rise until China gets its exports back to normal.

In response to the continuously soaring prices, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued Directive No.653, urging authorities to instruct farmers how to efficiently use fertiliser to reduce farming costs.

Farmers have been called on to replace inorganic fertiliser with that made from domestic waste and compost, and organic fertiliser to cut costs further.

Viet Nam-India trade exceeds $13 billion

Two-way trade between Viet Nam and India in 2021 surpassed US$13 billion for the first time, up 36.5 per cent compared to the previous year.

The Viet Nam Trade Office in India cited data from the General Department of Viet Nam Customs, saying that Viet Nam exported $6.25 billion worth of goods in the year, up 20 per cent year-on-year; while India’s figure was $6.95 billion, up 56 per cent.

Viet Nam’s main exports to India in December last year were metals ($79.3 million); computers, electronic products and components ($78.8 million), phones and components ($76.7 million), other goods ($75.2 million), machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts ($49.8 million). Those that recorded strong growth included pepper (up 101 per cent), coffee (up 90 per cent), and rubber products (up 88 per cent).

Plastic raw materials, chemicals, rubber, and coal were Vietnamese items that witnessed the strongest growth in 2021, surging 231 per cent, 162 per cent and 138 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, mobile phones and components continued to record the largest export turnover, hitting more than $1.28 billion, accounting for about 21 per cent of Viet Nam’s total export value to India in 2021, the department said.

Bamboo Airways launches regular direct flights to Germany

Bamboo Airways has launched a direct route between Vietnam and Germany, with the first flight on the route taking off from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 25 morning.

This is also the first regular direct fight to Europe conducted by the carrier this year, as part of its plan to expand the international network in the time ahead.

Initially, there will be two flights per week between Hanoi and Frankfurt. The frequency will be increased based on market demand.

An Giang official suggests building trademark for Mekong Delta catfish

Director of An Giang province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Nguyen Sy Lam has suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) collaborate with relevant agencies to accelerate the building of a trademark for tra fish (catfish) in the Mekong Delta.

He made the proposal during a working session on February 23 with a delegation from the MARD led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, which reviewed the province's production in 2021 and launched tasks for 2022.

An Giang province has 1,230 hectares of catfish farming of which enterprises and affiliate households account for 1,049 hectares producing 400,000 – 450,000 tonnes of catfish per year. There are 21 processing plants with a capacity of 323,000 tonnes of catfish in the locality.

Banks to leverage EVFTA adjustments

With commitments under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, local authorities are contemplating relaxing foreign ownership constraints that have previously hindered bank mergers as mandated by the accord.

Several local institutions are assertively attempting to bolster their overseas space to be more competitive on an elite scale. But Viet Capital Securities (VCSC) expressed concerns that the foreign ownership limit (FOL) legislation would make it impossible for all Vietnamese banks to expand their foreign space.

Sacombank and HDBank, however, might be the exception, as they are being rumoured to be among potential lenders to partner with international financial institutions rooted in Europe.

SOCBs, particularly VietinBank, which is the only one whose state ownership percentage is now close to the 65 per cent limit, would reap the benefits due to the vast potential of international deep-pocketed financiers. However, in February 2021, Decision No.22/NQ-CP superseded Decision 58, which mandated that at least 65 per cent of the voting shares in SOCBs must be held by the state, effective to 2025. Thus, VCSC does not anticipate any significant growth in FOL available for them in the near term.

For this EVFTA manifesto, VCSC perceives that Sacombank is the most sensible candidate, given that 32.5 per cent of the bank’s outstanding shares are now held as collateral for an unpaid obligation that has been settled with the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC).

In late January, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), LeapFrog Investments, and DEG invested $165 million in convertible Tier 2 bonds issued by HDBank. IFC and its asset management company, as well as LeapFrog Investments and DEG, have subscribed $95 million, $60 million, and $10 million respectively to US dollar-denominated five-year-plus-one-day convertible Tier 2 bonds. The investors will have the option to convert the bonds into common shares of HDBank over the mutually agreed period.

F88 targets to go public in 2024 to reach $1 billion valuation

Phung Anh Tuan, chairman cum CEO of F88 – a major pawnshop chain in Vietnam – revealed that the company is aiming for a market valuation of roughly $1 billion if its plan to go public in 2024.

Specifically, the company targets to file for an initial public offering on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, according to Bloomberg.

Tuan said that F88 is in discussions with possible strategic shareholders, but he refused to provide further details. Mekong Capital and Granite Oak Advisors Ltd. are the company's major investors at this time.

F88 intends to boost its countrywide shop count to 800 by the end of this year, up from 521 by the end of 2021. Tuan went on to say that, in addition to its own branded locations, F88 would continue to develop via collaborations with prominent merchants and technology businesses, as Bloomberg reported.

With 521 transaction points, F88 is the biggest pawnshop chain in Vietnam, at least for the time being. However, the majority of the chain's business capital is raised via the issuance of bonds, which carry a hefty interest rate of 12 per cent per year.

More IPOs anticipated in coming months

Along with new stock issuances from listed firms, the market has been fuelled with lucrative initial public offerings (IPOs) from up-and-coming players.

The IPOs of Ton Dong A JSC and Nova Consumer JSC are expected to land within the next two weeks. Both firms opt for applying the book-building method for price discovery.

Ton Dong A plans to offer a total of 15.3 million stocks, of which nearly 3 million would be sold to existing shareholders and the remainder to the public.

According to Nova Consumer’s IPO plan, the company will sell 10.9 million shares entirely to the public at a starting price of $1.89, to raise around $20 million.

The majority of the sum would be used to acquire Sunrise Foods Co., Ltd., which owns more than 99 per cent of Anco Family Food, aiming at developing the company’s food chain.

On February 22, Picomat Plastic JSC, a leading PVC foam board manufacturer, finalised its IPO in auction form at the Hanoi Stock Exchange. With 120 individual investors joining the auction, ordered volume surpassed what was offered by 14.6 per cent.

Through a traditional auction, the Binh Duong Trading and Development JSC (TDC), in which leading contractor Becamex holds a 60 per cent stake, also completed its IPO on the same day. With 35 million stocks on offer, only four local individuals took part in the auction, buying out 50,000 shares.

Thu Thiem auctions: Two winners yet to pay land use costs

Two of the four enterprises that won the auctions for four land lots in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in HCMC’s Thu Duc City on December 10 last year have proposed canceling their purchase contracts, while the remaining two have yet to pay the land use entitlement costs, according to the HCMC Tax Department. Seventeen days have passed since the deadline for the payment of the entitlement, it said.

On December 12 last year, Dream Republic Corporation won the auction for the 3-5 land lot and Sheen Mega JSC for the 3-8 land lot. The two lots spanning some 6,400 and 8,500 square meters, respectively, were auctioned for VND3.82 trillion and VND4 trillion, or 6.6 and four times higher than the starting price of over VND578 billion and VND1 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, lots 3-9 and 3-12 covering an area of over 5,000 and 10,000 square meters, respectively, fetched more than VND5 trillion and VND24.5 trillion, or seven and 8.3 times higher than the starting price, respectively.

However, Viet Star Real Estate Investment Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Tan Hoang Minh Group, and Binh Minh Trading and Development Investment Co. Ltd., who won the auctions for the two plots, have proposed canceling their purchase contracts, which would entail their losing their deposits of nearly VND600 billion and VND140 billion, respectively.

On January 6, the HCMC Tax Department had asked the winners of the land auctions to pay the registration fee and half the land use cost by no later than 30 days. The remaining land use cost was to be submitted within 90 days of the announcement.

Though the first deadline passed 17 days ago, the enterprises have yet to fulfill their obligations.

After the April 6 deadline for the payment of the remaining land use cost, if Dream Republic Corporation and Sheen Mega JSC fail to pay the fee and cost, the HCMC Tax Department may freeze their bank accounts, seize their invoice amount, or even revoke their licenses. However, the penalties will need to be in line with the articles of the land sale contracts.

Rules of Origin of RCEP defined

The Minister of Industry and Trade has promulgated Circular No. 05/2022/TT-BCT on Rules of Origin of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The Circular, which is scheduled to take effect on April 4, 2022, stipulates the Rules of Origin, including cases of originating goods, De Minimis, minimal operations and processes, direct consignment and operational certification procedures.

Accordingly, originating goods of Viet Nam exported to member countries of RCEP are considered for preferential tariff under the RCEP Agreement when a C/O is issued in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

Originating goods imported into Viet Nam from member countries shall be considered for preferential tariff under the RCEP Agreement upon submission of C/O or self-certification of origin of goods issued by the approved exporter.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade internalized the provisions on tax differences because some countries in the RCEP such as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam apply different import tariff rates for the same product from the partner countries.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/VGP/VIR

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES FEBRUARY 24

16:33      

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc leaves Hanoi for State visit to Singapore

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife left Hanoi on February 24 afternoon for a State visit to Singapore from February 24-26 at the invitation of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob.

The President is accompanied by Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang, Chairman of the Presidential Office Le Khanh Hai, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, among others.

President Phuc’s State visit takes place in the context that the bilateral ties are developing significantly in all fields and it has great significance at a time when the two are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.

It is the first foreign trip of President Phuc in 2022, and the first by a head of state to Singapore since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It aims at affirming Vietnam's determination to boost economic development and create a favourable business environment, thus delivering an important message helping Singaporean investors feel secure to do business in Vietnam.

Ministry of Health publicises prices of Molnupiravir drugs produced in Vietnam

The Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under the Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced the prices of COVID-19 treatment drugs containing active ingredient Molnupiravir produced by three Vietnamese manufacturers.

Accordingly, a pill of Molravir 400mg made by Boston Vietnam Pharma costs 11,550 VND while the prices of Movinavir 200mg manufactured by Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical, and Molnupiravir Stella 400mg produced by Stellapharm J.V Co., Ltd. are 8,675 VND and 12,500 VND a tablet, respectively.

These drugs are sold to COVID-19 patients for home treatment provided that they show proof of being infected with coronavirus and prescriptions from doctors.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam officially licensed the three COVID-19 drugs on February 17.

These drugs are used to treat mild to moderate adult COVID-19 patients with at least one risk factor that could enhance the progression of the disease, according to the MoH. The drugs should not be used for pregnant women or those who are planning to become pregnant, nursing women, and children under 18 years old.

Government leader orders faster vaccination rollout

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested the completion of administering booster shots to those aged 18 and above within the first quarter of 2022 amid complex and unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a February 23 dispatch to ministries, sectors and localities, the Government leader asked for extra efforts to give second doses to children aged from 12 to 17 in February.

The Ministry of Health was assigned to speed up the purchase of vaccine for children from 5 years old, and gain early access to new vaccines, drugs, technologies and test kits in the world.

The leader also stressed that inspection and examination of prices and quality of vaccines, drugs, biological products and test kits must be strengthened.

Localities should focus on encouraging residents to get vaccinated, with special attention to the elderly and those with underlying diseases or unable to walk.

Vietnam, US foster cooperation in crime prevention and combat

Minister of Public Security General To Lam held online talks with Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Asher Wray on February 23.

At the talks, Lam said on the foundation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on transnational crime prevention and control, the two sides have taken the initiative in carrying out cooperation activities in criminal justice and reaped fruitful results in the fight against transnational crimes related to the two countries.

In particular, they regularly exchanged information, supported each other during investigation, prosecution and trial, notably cases involving high-tech crimes, drugs and obtaining property by deception.

The FBI was urged to help speed up the signing of agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition, and the transfer of sentenced persons, as well as enhance information exchange to prevent and fight crimes.

Vietnam ready for citizen protection in Ukraine: spokesperson

The Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine is working on plans to be ready for citizen protection when necessary, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on February 23.

The citizen protection hotlines are working round the clock, she said, adding that about 100 Vietnamese citizens are living in Donetsk and Lugansk, and they are in a stable condition.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the embassy to suggest local competent agencies take measures to support and ensure safety of Vietnamese citizens and businesses in Ukraine, as well as their assets.

For assistance, Vietnamese citizens can contact the embassy’s hotline at: + 380 (63) 863 8999 or contact the ministry’s Consular Department at + 84-981-848-484.

Only close contacts must quarantine if positive cases found in schools

As schools up and down the country return to in-person learning for the first time in months, guidelines are being updated on how to deal with the inevitable situation of positive cases being found in the classroom.

The Ministries of Health, and Education and Training have decided that only close contacts of any positive cases found must self-isolate; the rest of the school can continue as normal, after testing.

Students who have not been in direct contact with the COVID-19 student, and provide a negative rapid test result, will be allowed to continue school as normal.

Those who had direct contact with the positive COVID-19 case will have to self-monitor at home, regardless of if their rapid test result is negative.

Those who have received two doses of vaccine, or have recovered from COVID-19 within the past three months, are required to take a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on the fifth day.

If the test result is negative, the student can return to school as normal though the school and students' parents have to continue monitoring the students' health for the next five days. 

US willing to assist Vietnam in renewable energy development: US Special Presidential

The US stands ready to support Vietnam in renewable energy development, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said at a meeting with Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh in Hanoi on February 23.

Vietnam has great potential and advantages in clean and renewable energy development, Kerry said, while speaking highly of the country’s policies, orientations and achievements in this sphere.

He affirmed that the US attaches importance to the comprehensive partnership with Vietnam, and expressed his belief that the good relationship will grow further in the time ahead.

For his part, Anh praised Kerry’s contributions to the multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and the US, thanked the US government and people for their donations of COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam over the past time.

He called on the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to make more contributions to planning and implementing US policies on climate change response globally, and in Vietnam in particular.

AFF U23 Championship: More players to be sent to Vietnam team

Vietnam have sufficient players for the semi-final match against Timor Leste at the ongoing 2022 AFF U23 Championship, head coach Dinh The Nam said at a press conference on February 23.

The game will kick off at 7pm on February 24.

Seven more Vietnamese players tested positive for COVID-19 on February 23 morning. The squad had only 10 players and faced risks of player shortage for the upcoming semifinal match.

Four more players, including one goalkeeper, two defenders and one forward, have been called up and will travel to Cambodia by road on February 24 morning.

The latest call-ups will be the last reinforcements for Vietnam, as each team is allowed to make 10 substitutions for players contracting with COVID-19.

Nearly 1,870 tonnes of rice earmarked for pandemic-hit provinces

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has signed a decision assigning the Ministry of Finance to allocate nearly 1,870 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in three provinces.

Specifically, the north-central province of Nghe An will receive about 701 tonnes of rice while the Central Highland provinces of Dak Lak and Gia Lai will be given close to 1,015 tonnes and 153.3 tonnes, respectively.

Exhibition in Canberra spotlights Vietnamese Tet celebrations

An art exhibition aiming to promote Vietnamese people's tradition of welcoming the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival is being held in Canberra, Australia, attracting the attention of a large number of local residents.

The exhibition entitled “Happy New Tet” is organised by the Vietnam Centre. It features unique artworks, including Vietnamese ceramic products and woodblock-printed pictures.

This is the second art exhibition organised in Australia by the Vietnam Centre after the first in 2019. It plans to expand its operations to other fields to connect people across Australia who have the desire to learn about Vietnam in general and Vietnamese culture in particular.

The exhibition will run until February 24 

Binh Duong to host activities marking 30 years of Vietnam-RoK ties

An array of cultural activities will take place in the southern province of Binh Duong in celebration of the 30th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) diplomatic ties.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, the events will be organised at the World Trade Centre in Binh Duong New City of the province.

A festival highlighting the RoK’s culture and events on the strategic cooperation agreement between Binh Duong and Gangnam district of the RoK’s Seoul capital city will be held starting February 25, with an aim to promoting trade and cultural exchanges.

On the occasion, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and the World Trade Centre will join hands to arrange exhibitions, cultural exchanges workshops, along with a Vietnam-RoK concert and Taekwondo performance, among others.

Government urges issuance of cards for vehicles to use e-toll collection service

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a document requesting ministries, sectors and localities to urgently issue identification cards for vehicles to use non-stop electronic toll collection (ETC) service.

According to a report of the Ministry of Transport, the number of vehicles with identification cards to use the ETC service nationwide remains low, reaching only about 50 percent.

The Prime Minister requested ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and agencies under the Government, chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and heads of socio-political agencies and organisations at all levels to direct the issuance of identification cards for all vehicles under their management scope, in order to satisfy requirements for using the ETC service from June 1, 2022.

Toll collection service providers have been demanded to well organise the work in a quick and convenient manner, and have solutions to immediately deal with technical errors of ETC systems (if any).

Quang Tri: Over 25,000 ha of land cleared from war-left UXOs

The central province of Quang Tri has so far cleared over 25,000 ha of land from war-left landmines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) and safely handled 765,000 UXO items.

Besides funding from the budget, the locality has mobilised over 110 million USD from donors for the settlement of wartime UXO consequences.

Quang Tri is the most polluted locality in terms of UXOs in Vietnam, with over 82 percent of its land area contaminated. War-left landmines and bombs have killed over 3,430 people and injured 5,100 since the war ended in 1975.

Since 1995, the local authorities have cooperated with international organisations to carry out demining activities.

Number of passengers via airports in February sees 58% rise

The number of passengers travelling through local airports in February grew by 57.8% to reach over 6.1 million passengers against the same period from last year, according to statistics released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Of the figure, 105,000 were international visitors, an increase of 350% compared to February, 2021, while domestic visitors reached over 6 million arrivals, a year-on-year rise of 56.1%.

Cargo being transported through airports soared by 27.6% to 113,000 tonnes compared to February, 2021.

The Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) operated roughly 60,500 flights in February, marking an increase of 157% compared to last year’s corresponding period, of which there were 13,200 transit flights, up 67.4%.

February also saw domestic airlines transport more than three million passengers, an increase of 56.8% compared to February, 2021. Of the total, there were 39,400 international visitors and roughly three million domestic tourists.

Several V.League 1 games to allow spectators for first round of matches

A number of stadiums will permit a limited number of spectators upon the start of the 2022 V.League 1 season when it kicks off on February 25 and February 26.

Hanoi’s Culture and Sports Department has granted permission for Hanoi FC to host their home match against Dong A Thanh Hoa FC on February 25 with around 5,000 spectators in attendance, equal to 50% of the Hang Day Stadium's capacity.

The game between Binh Dinh FC and Viettel FC will also see the attendance of 15,000 spectators, equivalent to 70% of Quy Nhon Stadium’s capacity on February 25.

When Binh Duong FC take on Song Lam Nghe An at home turf, 4,000 fans will be allowed inside the Go Dau Stadium on February 25.

For Nam Dinh FC, they have been granted permission to distribute a maximum of 10,000 tickets for the game against Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC at the Thien Truong Stadium on February 26.

Nine fishermen rescued off Ly Son Island

Nine fishermen in the central province of Quang Ngai have been rescued off the local island of Ly Son.

At around 2 am on Wednesday, while travelling from the Paracel Islands to the mainland, fishing boat QNg 96237TS with nine crew suddenly sank due to rough waves and strong wind.

Captain Mai Van Chi managed to contact local authorities for help.

The coast guard immediately sent a rescue boat o the trawler which had capsized around five nautical miles from Ly Son Island.

Due to the rough sea, it took the rescue boat two hours to save five of the nine fishermen. With great effort, the rescue team saved the remaining four at around 11 am on the same day. All of the boat fishermen used round coracle boats to survive. The fishermen are being medically monitored.

Nearly 30 labour strikes occur around Tet

As many as 28 industrial disputes happened in Vietnam around the Lunar New Year or Tet holiday, according to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.

The strikes which occurred in 11 cities and provinces were mostly related to salary and benefit disagreements.

According to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, by January 26, 19 companies in 11 cities and provinces still owed a total salary of VND44.5 billion (USD1.91 million) to their workers. Meanwhile, 59 firms in the localities owed social insurance worth VND82.1 billion to their staff.

The federation said that more than one million workers did not return to their hometown for Tet this year, accounting for 46.69 percent of migrant workers of the country. To date, around 85-95 percent of workers have returned to work after Tet.

Smuggling tycoon Muoi Tuong gets 8-year jail term

Nguyen Thi Kim Hanh, 53, also known as Muoi Tuong, a smuggling tycoon in An Phu District of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, was sentenced to eight years in prison for illegally transporting US$470,000 from Cambodia to Vietnam on June 24, 2019. She was also fined VND50 million, the local media reported.

The An Giang People’s Court also handed down a jail term of four years each to Pham Thanh Sang, Ho Tuan Linh, Nguyen Van Le and Nguyen Van Minh, all residing in An Phu District.

Muoi Tuong has been prosecuted in six cases: helping others go abroad illegally and smuggling refined sugar in 2018, smuggling 51 kilograms of gold in 2020, illegally transporting US$470,000 across the border in 2019, illegally transporting US$200,000 across the border in 2020 and laundering money in 2021.

The case involving the illegal transport of US$470,000 across the border is Muoi Tuong’s first case put up for trial.

Ministry requires to shorten North-South expressway progress

The Ministry of Transport yesterday required management boards and contractors to review and re-build the plans to shorten construction progress by three months to 11 component projects under the investment and construction project of North-South expressway’s some Eastern sections in the phase from 2017 to 2020 and the My Thuan – Can Tho expressway project.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) required the relevant units to find solutions to accelerate the progress and ensure the quality and safety of the work. In case of failing to ensure the progress of the works, the contractors will be rejected in the next bidding packages in the period of 2021 – 2025.

According to the MoT, 11 component projects under the North-South expressway to the East in the period 2017 – 2020 had their accumulated works volume value of around VND16,218 billion (US$711 million) out of VND56,709 billion (nearly US$2.5 billion), accounting for 28.6 percent and 1.4 percent behind schedule.

The expressway projects being required to be built this year are Mai Son – National Highway No.45, Vinh Hao – Phan Thiet, Cam Lo – La Son, Phan Thiet – Dau Giay. The rest will be completed in 2023 or 2024.

Vietnam futsal team crowns Fair-Play 2021

The Fair- Play 2021, organized by Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper yesterday once again nominated the Vietnam Futsal Team for the second time.

Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang (Viettel FC) won the second prize of Fair Play 2021 with 409 points while Tran Minh Vuong (Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC), Coach Vu Hong Viet (Assistant of the national team) and striker Hoang Dinh Tung (Thanh Hoa) received the third, fourth and fifth prizes, respectively.

On the occasion, the organizing board also honored Doan Thi Kim Chi, who is Coach of HCMC Women’s Football Team cum Assistant Coach of the National Women Football Team.

The Fair-Play is a title for individuals, teams with their great contributions and influences on Vietnam football.

Miss Universe Vietnam beauty contest 2022 starts

Miss Universe Vietnam beauty contest 2022 has officially been returned after a temporary halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the pageant themed “Vinawoman – Vietnamese women's stuff” will see its qualifying rounds which will take place in Hanoi on March 24-25 and HCMC on March 19-20.

The jury of the contest will select 70 outstanding contestants for the reality TV competition series and narrow down to 40 candidates in the seminfinal round that will take place in provinces and cities of Ben Tre, Long An, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and HCMC.

The reality TV show will be aired on Vietnam Televison’s channels in the middle of April. The climax night is expected to take place on June 1 and broadcast live on VTV3 channels and some others of local TV stations.

Vietnam calls on relevant parties in Ukraine crisis to exercise self-restraint

Viet Nam called on parties concerned in the Ukraine crisis to exercise self-restraint, enhance dialogue efforts and step up diplomatic measures to peacefully settle differences with respect for the United Nations Charter and fundamental principles of international law, thus contributing to ensuring peace, security, and stability in the region and the world.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang made the above statement on Wednesday in response to reporters' query on Viet Nam's reaction to the recent situation in Ukraine.

Le said Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine has maintained contact with the Vietnamese community in the country and stands ready to take neccessary measures to protect Vietnamese citizens there.

About 100 Vietnamese citizens are living in Donetsk and Lugansk, according to the Embassy.

Citizens who need support can contact the Embassy's hotline: + 380 (63) 863 8999 or the Foreign Ministry's Consular Department + 84-981-848-484.

AFF futsal champs''easy' group promises VN Asian tournament slot

VN is in an easy Group B at the AFF Futsal Championship, hoping to secure a slot at the continental tournament after a recent draw in Bangkok, Thailand.

The two-time World Cup participants are to play Australia, Myanmar and East Timor. Group A gathers Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei and the hosts.

Australia is the most powerful team Group B as they are No 33 in the world while Việt Nam are No 38.

Australia has also competed in the World Cup twice but were eliminated from the group round. The team could not find a berth in the 2021 World Cup where Việt Nam were in the quarter-finals. They have not taken part in the regional competition from 2016 to 2021.

Myanmar has made remarkable progress in futsal as they were in three semi-finals of the last four AFF Championships. Meanwhile, East Timor are too weak to think about the top two teams in the group.

The AFF Championship will be held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok from April 3-12. The four best teams from the group round will advance to the semi-finals.

Vietnam-WEF partnership helps reduce plastic waste, develop circular economy

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on February 23 had a working session with Joo-Ok Lee, Head of the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Regional Agenda – Asia Pacific, to discuss cooperation in coping with plastic waste and developing the circular economy.

Lee thanked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) for backing activities of the Vietnam National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) implemented by the WEF in recent times, and expressed his hope to continue receiving its support in the coming time. He also shared information related to plans of the NPAP in the future.

The official revealed that, in 2022, the WEF will host major conferences which are expected to attract the participation of political leaders, entrepreneurs and academic researchers around the world, to outline agendas at the regional and global levels. He hoped that Vietnam would attend and share cooperation models and initiatives on reducing plastic waste, and developing the circular economy.

Launched in December 2020, the NPAP has greatly contributed to communication activities on plastic waste in the Southeast Asian nation, helping raise public awareness of the use of plastic bags and other single-use plastic products.

Da Nang adopts incentives to attract more tourists

The central city of Da Nang is rolling out measures to attract more MICE (meeting, incentives, conferences and events) tourists, given the positive signs on the recovery of the tourism sector this year.

According to Nguyen Thi Hoai An, director of the city’s Tourism Promotion Centre (TPT), MICE groups with more than 50 guests will be welcomed and supported.

They can enjoy entrance fee discounts, receive gifts or get assistance in the organisation of events, she said, adding that the programme will be carried out from February to the year-end.

The TPT will coordinate with the Da Nang Tourism Association in calling on tourism firms to register for incentives relating to products and services for MICE guests to increase the city’s attraction.

Source: VNA/SGGP/VOV/VNS/SGT/VGP/Dtinews

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES FEBRUARY 28

16:18  

Traffic accidents continue to fall in February

A year-on-year drop of 15.4 percent was recorded in the number of traffic accidents from January 15 to February 14 to 1,011 cases, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

The committee said that 3.73 percent and 25.4 percent declines were also seen in the number of deaths and injuries, respectively, to 620 and 661.

Of the accidents, 1,000 cases were on road, claiming 614 lives and injuring 657 others, falling by 15.11 percent, 2.69 percent and 25.59 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, there were seven railway accidents, and four waterway and no maritime accidents.

The figures raised the total number of accidents in the first two months of 2022 to 1,974, with 1,185 and 1,260 injuries. Compared to the same period in 2021, the number of cases fell 21.51 percent, while the number of deaths and injuries dropped 7.06 percent a d 30.88 percent, respectively.

Vietnam’s U23 football team welcomed home

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) held a ceremony on February 27 in Ho Chi Minh City to welcome home the U23 team who triumphed at the recently-concluded AFF Championship in Cambodia.

Vietnam defeated Thailand 1-0 at the final to earn the title on February 26, winning over the regional rivals twice in the tournament.

It is the first time that Vietnam has triumphed at the regional U23 Championship. The tourney helped the players sharpen their skills, techniques, mettle and competitive spirits, contributing to the development of Vietnam’s football, he added.

At the welcome ceremony, the VFF presented 2.7 billion VND (118,320 USD) to the team, which was also showered with bonuses from firms and sponsors.

Earlier, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated the team for overcoming challenges, especially COVID-19, to seize victory and qualify for the final of the 2022 AFF U23 Championship.

Cultural, musical event held at Italian university to explore “Vietnam soul”

A cultural and musical event named “Vietnam Soul” has been held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, featuring various performances by students who learn Vietnamese language at the Department of Asian and North African Studies.

The performances, directed by Le Thi Bich Huong, a Vietnamese lecturer, were taken to the stage by first to third-year students, who do not want to learn Vietnamese just from books but also from traditional cultures.

The event was opened with a signature Bac Ninh “quan ho” (love duet) folk song called “Moi Trau” to welcome the guests and express the hospitality.

The performers also enthralled the audience with “cheo” (Vietnamese traditional opera) and “cai luong” (reformed opera) singing, a traditional costume fashion show and Vietnamese poem reading, among others.

Students of 1st - 6th grades in Hanoi’s suburban areas return to online learning

Students from the first to sixth grades in the 18 suburban districts and town of Hanoi will return to online learning from February 28, part of local efforts to curb COVID-19 transmission.

The Hanoi People’s Committee made the decision on February 27 basing on the proposal submitted by the Department of Education and Training.

The move was prompted by a surge in the rising number of new infections in the community, including in educational establishments, the fact that students of these grades are yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as parents’ concern.

The municipal People’s Committee also assigned the district-level administrations to base on the COVID-19 situation in their localities, proposals by local educational establishments, and opinions from students’ parents to flexibly switch between in-person and online learning so as to ensure safety for both students and teachers.

COVID-19: 86,990 cases recorded on February 27

A total 86,990 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm February 26 to 4pm February 27, according to the Ministry of Health.

Hanoi continued to record the highest number of infections with 11,517 cases, followed by Quang Ninh with 5,997.

The national tally now stands at 3,321,005 cases, with a total of 205 infections of Omicron.

The day also saw 35,866 people given the all-clear and 94 deaths.

February 26 witnessed 125,533 doses of vaccines administered, raising the total to 193,408,292.

Embassy delivers supports to needy Vietnamese Cham people in Malaysia

Over 100 relief packages were delivered to disadvantaged Vietnamese Cham people in Charating, the Malaysian state of Pahang, on February 26 as part of a series of charitable events co-held by the Embassy of Vietnam and Thuong Le charity group.

The embassy staff also took the occasion to help the people resolve consular issues in an attempt to allow them to better integrate into the local community.

There are about 2,000 Vietnamese Cham people living in Malaysia, many of whom moved here before 1980 while the others about a decade ago.

Vietnam’s naval officers attend int’l maritime seminar in India

A delegation of the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) on February 27 attended an international maritime seminar that was part of the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2022 in India, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.

The event was attended ambassadors and naval representatives of the 39 countries participating in MILAN 2022. Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau and the VPN delegation led by Colonel Nguyen Van Ngan, Deputy Chief of the Staff of Naval Region 4, took part in the workshop.

The Vietnamese delegation’s presence at MILAN 2022 demonstrated the country’s sense of responsibility as an active member who is ready to cooperate with others for common interests as well as for maritime stability, safety, and security in the region and the world at large, according to Quan doi Nhan dan.

National Film Festival on Traffic Safety honours 22 outstanding works

Winners of the 2021 National Film Festival on Traffic Safety were announced at a ceremony on February 27 in Hanoi.

The organising board presented two first, four second, six third prizes as well as ten consolidation prizes to outstanding works chosen from 210 entries.

The first prize went to “Nhanh hay cham” (Quickly or slowly” reportage video by journalists from Dong Thap Radio and Television Station and “Nga ba duong” (T-junction) by some authors from Cam Le District's Youth Union (Da Nang City).

Five most favourite works voted by the audiences were also presented at the ceremony.

Czech forum opens up study opportunities for Vietnamese youths

The Vietnam Youth and Students Association, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Students Association in the Czech Republic, recently held the Study in Czech Republic Forum 2022, opening up learning opportunities for young Vietnamese people.

The organisers and speakers provided participants with an overview of studying in the Czech Republic such as registration procedures, information about training institutions, majors, languages, scholarships and tuition fees, as well as accommodation, Czech customs and habits and career opportunities.

Speakers also answered questions from parents and young Vietnamese who are interested in studying in the Czech Republic in 2022 and the coming years. At the forum, Vietnamese students and alumni also shared their own practical experience during their study and research in this country.

613,000 USD allocated to add GPS signal lighting on waterways

Nearly 14 billion VND (613,228 USD) has been allocated to replace and install new GPS signal lighting systems using solar energy on more than 30 national waterways in the northern and central regions in 2022, according to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration.

From 2017 – 2019, the administration installed more than 2,500 night-time GPS signal lights using solar power on a trial basis. The automated lights are connected with the centre for monitoring waterway traffic safety.

The project receives about 6.8 billion VND in funding provided by the Government of Australia’s Aust4Transport Programme.

National Music Festival 2022 to start in March

The National Music Festival 2022 will start next month in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the Vietnam Musicians’ Association (VMA) has announced.

Music composers, artists, producers and music-lovers from 19 provinces and cities nationwide will compete in the festival, slated for March 10-12 in Buon Ma Thuot city.

The event is organised by the VMA in collaboration with the provincial People's Committee, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Association of Literature and Arts and the VMA branch in Đak Lak.

It aims to honour outstanding artists, promote their new musical works and continuously encourage their exploration and creation in the fields of composing, producing, performing, music theory and training.

Within the framework of the festival, there will be a seminar themed “Central Highlands’ Folk Music in Today’s Musical Life,” which aims to find out ways to create musical works that are in tune with the current life and honour the unique identity of folk and traditional music of the Central Highlands ethnic groups.

Bamboo Airways ready to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine

Bamboo Airways has developed plans to bring home Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine if it gets the green light from authorities, according to a CEO of the budget airline.

Preparations are underway following the Prime Minister’s February 26 telegram on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine where growing armed conflicts are occurring, said Huong Tran Kieu Dung, vice president of Bamboo Airways’ Board of Directors.

The PM’s telegram states that the armed conflict in Ukraine is occurring in a complicated manner, directly threatening the safety of life and property of people and businesses, including about 7,000 Vietnamese expatriates residing there.

One of Vietnam’s top concerns is to ensure the highest security and safety for Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine, said the PM in the telegram.

The Prime Minister directed relevant ministries and agencies to carefully prepare necessary options, including repatriating home Vietnamese people and family members from Ukraine. He reminded the Ministry of Transport to direct airlines to prepare such a repatriation plan.

Vietnam wins 9 gold medals at SEA Pencak Silat Champs 2022

Vietnamese martial artists have brought home nine gold medals from the eighth Southeast Asian Pencak Silat Championship which was held in Singapore from February 25-27.

After winning two gold medals in their opening games on February 26, nine Vietnamese athletes qualified for the final games in the Tanding (combat) event, and seven of them clinched golds in different weight categories on the last day of the competition.

It is noteworthy that young Vietnamese athletes such as Nguyen Tan Sang, 23, Le Thi Van Anh, 22, and Vu Van Kien, 24, all secured victories, cherishing Vietnamese hope at the 31st Southeast Asian games (SEA Games) due to be held in May 2022.

Vietnamese man stabbed to death in Japan

A Vietnamese man has been stabbed to death at JR Asahikawa station of Japan’s Asahikawa city in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan’s NHK reported on February 27.

The police received a report at around 4:40 pm on February 27 (local time) that someone had been stabbed with a knife in the station premises.

According to the police, the person who was stabbed is a Vietnamese national who is 35 years old and living in the locality. The man was transferred to a nearby hospital but he did not survive.

Security camera footage shows the victim had been stabbed by a Vietnamese man in his 20s, who is also living in Asahikawa city, NHK reported.

Several hours later the police arrested the suspect and brought him to the police headquarters for investigation. The weapon has yet to be found.

HCM City proposes faster work on key traffic projects

The proposal, submitted to the Ministry of Transport, refers specifically to several projects including the 58-km Bến Lức-Long Thành Expressway running through the city and the provinces of Long An and Đồng Nai; and expansion of the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway.

The city has also proposed that a pre-feasibility study for the high-speed HCM City-Cần Thơ railway be speeded up.

With regard to the HCM City-Mộc Bài Expressway, the Government has been requested to allocate VNĐ5.9 trillion ($258 million) for site clearance, compensation and resettlement work on the section that runs through the city.

The 53km-expressway has an estimated total capital investment of VNĐ15.9 trillion ($695.3 million). It is expected to begin construction in 2023 and be completed in 2026.

The total capital allocated under the city’s mid-term investment plan for the 2021-2025 period is VNĐ142 trillion ($6.23 billion), which is only 20 per cent of its actual need.

It is, therefore, proposing that the Government increase its capital allocation under the plan to ensure implementation of planned projects or remove some projects from the list.

HCM City prepares to tackle rising COVID-19 infections among children

Early detection of infections, vaccination and preparation of hospital beds for treatment are two main measures in HCM City’s response to the rising number of children infected with COVID-19.

The HCM City Department of Health has sent to relevant units an urgent document on guidance and care for COVID-19 infected children.

According to the city’s Centre for Disease Control, between February 14 and 22, the number of infected children was three times that of the previous week (February 7-13). Most of the positive cases detected in children were infections with the Omicron strain, identified as a worrying variant by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of rapid transmission.

The department has asked all public and non-public medical clinics, hospitals and treatment facilities in the city to ensure early detection of infections among children as well as prompt treatment for those with abnormal signs.

To better protect children, especially children under 12, the city has developed a plan on vaccination for children aged 5-11.

The city’s Department of Education and Training has asked all kindergarten, primary and secondary schools to make a list of students aged 5-11 years to prepare for vaccinations. The plan is to vaccinate all children born on and before April 1, 2017.

HCM City targets comprehensive digitisation

HCM City plans to speed up digital transformation to achieve its goals of becoming a digital government and smart city this year.

City leaders have pointed out three major areas of focus: governing the city in the new situation (after the pandemic), building databases and linking all databases related to governance and reforming governance and finding new driving forces for future growth.

According to the Department of Information and Communications, the city will implement comprehensive technology solutions and exploit shared data for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and hastening economic recovery.

The databases contain information about the public, enterprises and land.

Vinh Phuc works to promote values of Dong Dau archaeological site

The northern province of Vinh Phuc has decided to invest in a project to construct Dong Dau Park in Yen Lac township of Yen Lac district to develop the cultural and historical values of its Dong Dau archaeological site.

The project, which has a total investment of 90 million VND (3,943 USD), covers over 5.4 hectares.

Scheduled to be completed in 2025, tt is expected to contribute to promoting the historical and cultural values of the site, thus combining with the Gia Loan temple and Bien Son pagoda to create a highlight for the spiritual tourism of Yen Lac district and Vinh Phuc province as a whole. It is also designed to expand the green space for local residents.

The site has total area of 8.5 hectares in Dong village of Yen Lac township. It was uncovered in 1962 and became a national-level historical-cultural relic site in 2000. Through repeated work, archeologists have found a large number of items typical for four cultural periods of Phung Nguyen, Go Dau, Go Mun and Dong Son.

More areas in Hanoi face high risks for Covid-19 infection

According to the Hanoi People’s Committee, by Friday, 283 communes, wards and towns in Hanoi were listed as areas at low risk of Covid-19 infection; while the figure for medium and high risks was 222 and 74 areas respectively.

The high-risk areas are located in Ba Dinh, Bac Tu Liem, Chuong My, Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Dong Da, Gia Lam, Ha Dong, Hai Ba Trung, Hoai Duc, Hoan Kiem, Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Me Linh, Nam Tu Liem, Quoc Oai, Soc Son, Tay Ho, Thach That, Thanh Oai, Thanh Xuan and Thuong Tin districts.

Hanoi has topped the countries in daily Covid-19 cases. On Saturday, the city recorded the highest number of infections with 10,783 cases.

Omicron now the dominant variant in HCM City

New COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in Ho Chi Minh City in recent days, and Omicron is currently the dominant variant here, according to the city’s centre for disease control (HCDC).

The southern hub recorded 1,356 new infections and 334 cases of hospitalisation on February 22, both higher than the previous days, but the numbers of severe cases and deaths are still low.

The HCDC said from February 10 to 17, 70 of the 92 samples sent to the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, equivalent to 76 percent, tested positive for Omicron. Gene sequencing results also showed that all the 26 samples randomly selected from those 70 samples were positive to this variant.

Facing the spread of Omicron, HCM City is stepping up anti-pandemic measures, including the second phase of the spring vaccination campaign, scheduled to wrap up at the end of February, during which it has administered the first dose to more than 6,000 people, the second to over 26,000, and additional and booster to over 85,000.

MPI and UNDP collaborate on launching climate guidance book

On February 23, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment  Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc received UNDP resident representative Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen.

Wiesen announced organising a conference for the launch of the CPEIR. With the assistance of six ministries and 29 cities and provinces, the review provides trends on allocating climate change finance and a proper way for mobilising resources for Vietnam. The CPEIR is a useful reference for all ministries and agencies of Vietnam to review and assess the mobilisation and allocation of finance in the global fight against climate change.

Caitlin Wiesen said that UNDP would like to work with the MPI to carry out research projects, develop a climate finance strategy, mobilise climate finance for strategic development in Vietnam, and develop a national programme.

MPI Deputy Ngoc highly emphasised that the MPI will work closely with UNDP to successfully organise the CPEIR announcement workshop.

The deputy minister stated that the MPI will closely coordinate with UNDP to implement all activities. UNDP is expected to continue to act as a bridge to help the ministry access appropriate financial resources such as the Green Climate Fund, develop an appropriate climate finance strategy for Vietnam, and effectively implement the national strategy on climate change and green growth.

Meteorologists recommend proactively dealing with cycle of natural disasters

Meteorologists considered that the recent bitterly cold front over the Northern and North- Central regions was the coldest wave since the beginning of the winter-spring season of 2021-2022.

The statistics showed that there have been four record cold spells in history from 2008 to now. According to the experts, severe or extreme colds have changes in the cycle; therefore, the localities need to proactively deal with ahead natural disasters to minimize damages.

According to Head of the Climate Forecast Division under the National Center for Hydrology Meteorology Forecasting (NCHMF) Nguyen Van Huong, temperatures in the Northern region will tend to decrease gradually from next month.

It is forecast that weather and natural disasters will have many changes in the cycle compared to every year falling from March to August. Particularly, the average temperature in the country will reduce by 0.5 degrees Celsius to 1 degree Celsius lower than the average of many years in March and April.

As for March, temperatures in the Northern, North- Central and Mid-Central regions will decrease 0.5 degrees Celsius to 1 degree Celsius as low as the same period annually.

Central region in short supply of Covid-19 rapid test kits

In recent days, the Central provinces have continuously recorded a high number of Covid-19 cases in the community, with more than 1,000 community transmissions per day in some provinces. Therefore, the demand for rapid testing has surged drastically, leading to a scarcity of rapid test kits in some localities, such as Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh provinces, or even out of stock in some places.

At large pharmacies in Nui Thanh District in Tam Ky City of Quang Nam Province, rapid test kits are scarce. The prices of test kits have increased continuously from suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, so local pharmacies dare not to import a large volume of test kits. Along with that, recently, the number of people infected with Covid-19 has climbed quickly, causing test kits to be out of stock sometimes.

As for the inner cities and rural areas of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces, the prices of Covid-19 test kits of all kinds have soared sharply, and many localities were almost out of stock. In Phu Cat District in Quy Nhon City of Binh Dinh Province, the test kit price jumped from VND60,000 per kit to VND110,000 per kit. In Quy Nhon City alone, at Long Chau Pharmacy in Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, test kits were sold at VND85,000-VND110,000 per kit on the morning of February 26. Many other pharmacies no longer have test kits for sale.

Many medical facilities in Quang Nam Province have also stopped providing rapid testing service due to the shortage of test kits because the number of F0 and F1 cases has surged rapidly after the Lunar New Year, causing the units to run out of medical-biological products. According to Dr. Pham Thanh Binh, Director of Tam Ky City Medical Center, currently, the number of allocated test kits is only enough to use for F0 cases in concentrated treatment facilities. The center has proposed to allocate more test kits because the number of people infected with Covid-19 in the area is increasing day by day.

A leader of the Quang Nam Department of Health said that the department has been actively looking for sources to increase the necessary reserve of test kits. Localities also need to strengthen searching supplies, at the same time, propagandize people to only test following the new guidelines of the Ministry of Health. Particularly, F1 cases injected enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccine only test on the last day of the isolation period to avoid causing waste and scarcity.

Source: VNA/SGT/VOV/SGGP/VNS/VGP

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES FEBRUARY 28

14:42

Traffic accidents continue to fall in February

A year-on-year drop of 15.4 percent was recorded in the number of traffic accidents from January 15 to February 14 to 1,011 cases, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

The committee said that 3.73 percent and 25.4 percent declines were also seen in the number of deaths and injuries, respectively, to 620 and 661.

Of the accidents, 1,000 cases were on road, claiming 614 lives and injuring 657 others, falling by 15.11 percent, 2.69 percent and 25.59 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, there were seven railway accidents, and four waterway and no maritime accidents.

The figures raised the total number of accidents in the first two months of 2022 to 1,974, with 1,185 and 1,260 injuries. Compared to the same period in 2021, the number of cases fell 21.51 percent, while the number of deaths and injuries dropped 7.06 percent a d 30.88 percent, respectively.

Vietnam’s U23 football team welcomed home

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) held a ceremony on February 27 in Ho Chi Minh City to welcome home the U23 team who triumphed at the recently-concluded AFF Championship in Cambodia.

Vietnam defeated Thailand 1-0 at the final to earn the title on February 26, winning over the regional rivals twice in the tournament.

It is the first time that Vietnam has triumphed at the regional U23 Championship. The tourney helped the players sharpen their skills, techniques, mettle and competitive spirits, contributing to the development of Vietnam’s football, he added.

At the welcome ceremony, the VFF presented 2.7 billion VND (118,320 USD) to the team, which was also showered with bonuses from firms and sponsors.

Earlier, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated the team for overcoming challenges, especially COVID-19, to seize victory and qualify for the final of the 2022 AFF U23 Championship.

Cultural, musical event held at Italian university to explore “Vietnam soul”

A cultural and musical event named “Vietnam Soul” has been held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, featuring various performances by students who learn Vietnamese language at the Department of Asian and North African Studies.

The performances, directed by Le Thi Bich Huong, a Vietnamese lecturer, were taken to the stage by first to third-year students, who do not want to learn Vietnamese just from books but also from traditional cultures.

The event was opened with a signature Bac Ninh “quan ho” (love duet) folk song called “Moi Trau” to welcome the guests and express the hospitality.

The performers also enthralled the audience with “cheo” (Vietnamese traditional opera) and “cai luong” (reformed opera) singing, a traditional costume fashion show and Vietnamese poem reading, among others.

Students of 1st - 6th grades in Hanoi’s suburban areas return to online learning

Students from the first to sixth grades in the 18 suburban districts and town of Hanoi will return to online learning from February 28, part of local efforts to curb COVID-19 transmission.

The Hanoi People’s Committee made the decision on February 27 basing on the proposal submitted by the Department of Education and Training.

The move was prompted by a surge in the rising number of new infections in the community, including in educational establishments, the fact that students of these grades are yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as parents’ concern.

The municipal People’s Committee also assigned the district-level administrations to base on the COVID-19 situation in their localities, proposals by local educational establishments, and opinions from students’ parents to flexibly switch between in-person and online learning so as to ensure safety for both students and teachers.

COVID-19: 86,990 cases recorded on February 27

A total 86,990 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm February 26 to 4pm February 27, according to the Ministry of Health.

Hanoi continued to record the highest number of infections with 11,517 cases, followed by Quang Ninh with 5,997.

The national tally now stands at 3,321,005 cases, with a total of 205 infections of Omicron.

The day also saw 35,866 people given the all-clear and 94 deaths.

February 26 witnessed 125,533 doses of vaccines administered, raising the total to 193,408,292.

Embassy delivers supports to needy Vietnamese Cham people in Malaysia

Over 100 relief packages were delivered to disadvantaged Vietnamese Cham people in Charating, the Malaysian state of Pahang, on February 26 as part of a series of charitable events co-held by the Embassy of Vietnam and Thuong Le charity group.

The embassy staff also took the occasion to help the people resolve consular issues in an attempt to allow them to better integrate into the local community.

There are about 2,000 Vietnamese Cham people living in Malaysia, many of whom moved here before 1980 while the others about a decade ago.

Vietnam’s naval officers attend int’l maritime seminar in India

A delegation of the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) on February 27 attended an international maritime seminar that was part of the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2022 in India, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.

The event was attended ambassadors and naval representatives of the 39 countries participating in MILAN 2022. Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau and the VPN delegation led by Colonel Nguyen Van Ngan, Deputy Chief of the Staff of Naval Region 4, took part in the workshop.

The Vietnamese delegation’s presence at MILAN 2022 demonstrated the country’s sense of responsibility as an active member who is ready to cooperate with others for common interests as well as for maritime stability, safety, and security in the region and the world at large, according to Quan doi Nhan dan.

National Film Festival on Traffic Safety honours 22 outstanding works

Winners of the 2021 National Film Festival on Traffic Safety were announced at a ceremony on February 27 in Hanoi.

The organising board presented two first, four second, six third prizes as well as ten consolidation prizes to outstanding works chosen from 210 entries.

The first prize went to “Nhanh hay cham” (Quickly or slowly” reportage video by journalists from Dong Thap Radio and Television Station and “Nga ba duong” (T-junction) by some authors from Cam Le District's Youth Union (Da Nang City).

Five most favourite works voted by the audiences were also presented at the ceremony.

Czech forum opens up study opportunities for Vietnamese youths

The Vietnam Youth and Students Association, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Students Association in the Czech Republic, recently held the Study in Czech Republic Forum 2022, opening up learning opportunities for young Vietnamese people.

The organisers and speakers provided participants with an overview of studying in the Czech Republic such as registration procedures, information about training institutions, majors, languages, scholarships and tuition fees, as well as accommodation, Czech customs and habits and career opportunities.

Speakers also answered questions from parents and young Vietnamese who are interested in studying in the Czech Republic in 2022 and the coming years. At the forum, Vietnamese students and alumni also shared their own practical experience during their study and research in this country.

613,000 USD allocated to add GPS signal lighting on waterways

Nearly 14 billion VND (613,228 USD) has been allocated to replace and install new GPS signal lighting systems using solar energy on more than 30 national waterways in the northern and central regions in 2022, according to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration.

From 2017 – 2019, the administration installed more than 2,500 night-time GPS signal lights using solar power on a trial basis. The automated lights are connected with the centre for monitoring waterway traffic safety.

The project receives about 6.8 billion VND in funding provided by the Government of Australia’s Aust4Transport Programme.

National Music Festival 2022 to start in March

The National Music Festival 2022 will start next month in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the Vietnam Musicians’ Association (VMA) has announced.

Music composers, artists, producers and music-lovers from 19 provinces and cities nationwide will compete in the festival, slated for March 10-12 in Buon Ma Thuot city.

The event is organised by the VMA in collaboration with the provincial People's Committee, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Association of Literature and Arts and the VMA branch in Đak Lak.

It aims to honour outstanding artists, promote their new musical works and continuously encourage their exploration and creation in the fields of composing, producing, performing, music theory and training.

Within the framework of the festival, there will be a seminar themed “Central Highlands’ Folk Music in Today’s Musical Life,” which aims to find out ways to create musical works that are in tune with the current life and honour the unique identity of folk and traditional music of the Central Highlands ethnic groups.

Bamboo Airways ready to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine

Bamboo Airways has developed plans to bring home Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine if it gets the green light from authorities, according to a CEO of the budget airline.

Preparations are underway following the Prime Minister’s February 26 telegram on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine where growing armed conflicts are occurring, said Huong Tran Kieu Dung, vice president of Bamboo Airways’ Board of Directors.

The PM’s telegram states that the armed conflict in Ukraine is occurring in a complicated manner, directly threatening the safety of life and property of people and businesses, including about 7,000 Vietnamese expatriates residing there.

One of Vietnam’s top concerns is to ensure the highest security and safety for Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine, said the PM in the telegram.

The Prime Minister directed relevant ministries and agencies to carefully prepare necessary options, including repatriating home Vietnamese people and family members from Ukraine. He reminded the Ministry of Transport to direct airlines to prepare such a repatriation plan.

Vietnam wins 9 gold medals at SEA Pencak Silat Champs 2022

Vietnamese martial artists have brought home nine gold medals from the eighth Southeast Asian Pencak Silat Championship which was held in Singapore from February 25-27.

After winning two gold medals in their opening games on February 26, nine Vietnamese athletes qualified for the final games in the Tanding (combat) event, and seven of them clinched golds in different weight categories on the last day of the competition.

It is noteworthy that young Vietnamese athletes such as Nguyen Tan Sang, 23, Le Thi Van Anh, 22, and Vu Van Kien, 24, all secured victories, cherishing Vietnamese hope at the 31st Southeast Asian games (SEA Games) due to be held in May 2022.

Vietnamese man stabbed to death in Japan

A Vietnamese man has been stabbed to death at JR Asahikawa station of Japan’s Asahikawa city in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan’s NHK reported on February 27.

The police received a report at around 4:40 pm on February 27 (local time) that someone had been stabbed with a knife in the station premises.

According to the police, the person who was stabbed is a Vietnamese national who is 35 years old and living in the locality. The man was transferred to a nearby hospital but he did not survive.

Security camera footage shows the victim had been stabbed by a Vietnamese man in his 20s, who is also living in Asahikawa city, NHK reported.

Several hours later the police arrested the suspect and brought him to the police headquarters for investigation. The weapon has yet to be found.

HCM City proposes faster work on key traffic projects

The proposal, submitted to the Ministry of Transport, refers specifically to several projects including the 58-km Bến Lức-Long Thành Expressway running through the city and the provinces of Long An and Đồng Nai; and expansion of the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway.

The city has also proposed that a pre-feasibility study for the high-speed HCM City-Cần Thơ railway be speeded up.

With regard to the HCM City-Mộc Bài Expressway, the Government has been requested to allocate VNĐ5.9 trillion ($258 million) for site clearance, compensation and resettlement work on the section that runs through the city.

The 53km-expressway has an estimated total capital investment of VNĐ15.9 trillion ($695.3 million). It is expected to begin construction in 2023 and be completed in 2026.

The total capital allocated under the city’s mid-term investment plan for the 2021-2025 period is VNĐ142 trillion ($6.23 billion), which is only 20 per cent of its actual need.

It is, therefore, proposing that the Government increase its capital allocation under the plan to ensure implementation of planned projects or remove some projects from the list.

HCM City prepares to tackle rising COVID-19 infections among children

Early detection of infections, vaccination and preparation of hospital beds for treatment are two main measures in HCM City’s response to the rising number of children infected with COVID-19.

The HCM City Department of Health has sent to relevant units an urgent document on guidance and care for COVID-19 infected children.

According to the city’s Centre for Disease Control, between February 14 and 22, the number of infected children was three times that of the previous week (February 7-13). Most of the positive cases detected in children were infections with the Omicron strain, identified as a worrying variant by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of rapid transmission.

The department has asked all public and non-public medical clinics, hospitals and treatment facilities in the city to ensure early detection of infections among children as well as prompt treatment for those with abnormal signs.

To better protect children, especially children under 12, the city has developed a plan on vaccination for children aged 5-11.

The city’s Department of Education and Training has asked all kindergarten, primary and secondary schools to make a list of students aged 5-11 years to prepare for vaccinations. The plan is to vaccinate all children born on and before April 1, 2017.

HCM City targets comprehensive digitisation

HCM City plans to speed up digital transformation to achieve its goals of becoming a digital government and smart city this year.

City leaders have pointed out three major areas of focus: governing the city in the new situation (after the pandemic), building databases and linking all databases related to governance and reforming governance and finding new driving forces for future growth.

According to the Department of Information and Communications, the city will implement comprehensive technology solutions and exploit shared data for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and hastening economic recovery.

The databases contain information about the public, enterprises and land.

Vinh Phuc works to promote values of Dong Dau archaeological site

The northern province of Vinh Phuc has decided to invest in a project to construct Dong Dau Park in Yen Lac township of Yen Lac district to develop the cultural and historical values of its Dong Dau archaeological site.

The project, which has a total investment of 90 million VND (3,943 USD), covers over 5.4 hectares.

Scheduled to be completed in 2025, tt is expected to contribute to promoting the historical and cultural values of the site, thus combining with the Gia Loan temple and Bien Son pagoda to create a highlight for the spiritual tourism of Yen Lac district and Vinh Phuc province as a whole. It is also designed to expand the green space for local residents.

The site has total area of 8.5 hectares in Dong village of Yen Lac township. It was uncovered in 1962 and became a national-level historical-cultural relic site in 2000. Through repeated work, archeologists have found a large number of items typical for four cultural periods of Phung Nguyen, Go Dau, Go Mun and Dong Son.

More areas in Hanoi face high risks for Covid-19 infection

According to the Hanoi People’s Committee, by Friday, 283 communes, wards and towns in Hanoi were listed as areas at low risk of Covid-19 infection; while the figure for medium and high risks was 222 and 74 areas respectively.

The high-risk areas are located in Ba Dinh, Bac Tu Liem, Chuong My, Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Dong Da, Gia Lam, Ha Dong, Hai Ba Trung, Hoai Duc, Hoan Kiem, Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Me Linh, Nam Tu Liem, Quoc Oai, Soc Son, Tay Ho, Thach That, Thanh Oai, Thanh Xuan and Thuong Tin districts.

Hanoi has topped the countries in daily Covid-19 cases. On Saturday, the city recorded the highest number of infections with 10,783 cases.

Omicron now the dominant variant in HCM City

New COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in Ho Chi Minh City in recent days, and Omicron is currently the dominant variant here, according to the city’s centre for disease control (HCDC).

The southern hub recorded 1,356 new infections and 334 cases of hospitalisation on February 22, both higher than the previous days, but the numbers of severe cases and deaths are still low.

The HCDC said from February 10 to 17, 70 of the 92 samples sent to the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, equivalent to 76 percent, tested positive for Omicron. Gene sequencing results also showed that all the 26 samples randomly selected from those 70 samples were positive to this variant.

Facing the spread of Omicron, HCM City is stepping up anti-pandemic measures, including the second phase of the spring vaccination campaign, scheduled to wrap up at the end of February, during which it has administered the first dose to more than 6,000 people, the second to over 26,000, and additional and booster to over 85,000.

MPI and UNDP collaborate on launching climate guidance book

On February 23, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment  Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc received UNDP resident representative Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen.

Wiesen announced organising a conference for the launch of the CPEIR. With the assistance of six ministries and 29 cities and provinces, the review provides trends on allocating climate change finance and a proper way for mobilising resources for Vietnam. The CPEIR is a useful reference for all ministries and agencies of Vietnam to review and assess the mobilisation and allocation of finance in the global fight against climate change.

Caitlin Wiesen said that UNDP would like to work with the MPI to carry out research projects, develop a climate finance strategy, mobilise climate finance for strategic development in Vietnam, and develop a national programme.

MPI Deputy Ngoc highly emphasised that the MPI will work closely with UNDP to successfully organise the CPEIR announcement workshop.

The deputy minister stated that the MPI will closely coordinate with UNDP to implement all activities. UNDP is expected to continue to act as a bridge to help the ministry access appropriate financial resources such as the Green Climate Fund, develop an appropriate climate finance strategy for Vietnam, and effectively implement the national strategy on climate change and green growth.

Meteorologists recommend proactively dealing with cycle of natural disasters

Meteorologists considered that the recent bitterly cold front over the Northern and North- Central regions was the coldest wave since the beginning of the winter-spring season of 2021-2022.

The statistics showed that there have been four record cold spells in history from 2008 to now. According to the experts, severe or extreme colds have changes in the cycle; therefore, the localities need to proactively deal with ahead natural disasters to minimize damages.

According to Head of the Climate Forecast Division under the National Center for Hydrology Meteorology Forecasting (NCHMF) Nguyen Van Huong, temperatures in the Northern region will tend to decrease gradually from next month.

It is forecast that weather and natural disasters will have many changes in the cycle compared to every year falling from March to August. Particularly, the average temperature in the country will reduce by 0.5 degrees Celsius to 1 degree Celsius lower than the average of many years in March and April.

As for March, temperatures in the Northern, North- Central and Mid-Central regions will decrease 0.5 degrees Celsius to 1 degree Celsius as low as the same period annually.

Central region in short supply of Covid-19 rapid test kits

In recent days, the Central provinces have continuously recorded a high number of Covid-19 cases in the community, with more than 1,000 community transmissions per day in some provinces. Therefore, the demand for rapid testing has surged drastically, leading to a scarcity of rapid test kits in some localities, such as Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh provinces, or even out of stock in some places.

At large pharmacies in Nui Thanh District in Tam Ky City of Quang Nam Province, rapid test kits are scarce. The prices of test kits have increased continuously from suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, so local pharmacies dare not to import a large volume of test kits. Along with that, recently, the number of people infected with Covid-19 has climbed quickly, causing test kits to be out of stock sometimes.

As for the inner cities and rural areas of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces, the prices of Covid-19 test kits of all kinds have soared sharply, and many localities were almost out of stock. In Phu Cat District in Quy Nhon City of Binh Dinh Province, the test kit price jumped from VND60,000 per kit to VND110,000 per kit. In Quy Nhon City alone, at Long Chau Pharmacy in Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, test kits were sold at VND85,000-VND110,000 per kit on the morning of February 26. Many other pharmacies no longer have test kits for sale.

Many medical facilities in Quang Nam Province have also stopped providing rapid testing service due to the shortage of test kits because the number of F0 and F1 cases has surged rapidly after the Lunar New Year, causing the units to run out of medical-biological products. According to Dr. Pham Thanh Binh, Director of Tam Ky City Medical Center, currently, the number of allocated test kits is only enough to use for F0 cases in concentrated treatment facilities. The center has proposed to allocate more test kits because the number of people infected with Covid-19 in the area is increasing day by day.

A leader of the Quang Nam Department of Health said that the department has been actively looking for sources to increase the necessary reserve of test kits. Localities also need to strengthen searching supplies, at the same time, propagandize people to only test following the new guidelines of the Ministry of Health. Particularly, F1 cases injected enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccine only test on the last day of the isolation period to avoid causing waste and scarcity.

Source: VNA/SGT/VOV/SGGP/VNS/VGP

2022: A year to ‘live with’ and to ‘overcome’ the pandemic

15:06

The year 2022 will not only be the time to live with but overcome the Covid-19 pandemic with a proactive attitude. 

VietNamNet talks with National Assembly deputy Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) and former Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), about solutions to implement the VND350 trillion fiscal and monetary support package for socio-economic recovery and development.

What is the meaning of this support package in your opinion?

The Government is working on the implementation of two programs at the same time: pandemic prevention and control and socio-economic recovery and development.

Among the solutions offered by the Government, there is the fiscal and monetary policy. This is a special policy, with a specific nature, that is different from usual fiscal and monetary policies. Since making such fiscal and monetary policies is the function of the National Assembly, the Government has submitted it to the National Assembly for approval.

The National Assembly held an extraordinary session to consider and approve the Government's proposals, which was a very responsible response, demonstrating the National Assembly's companionship and initiative with the Government in the response process to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This support package has a large enough scale and resources, can affect both supply and demand, has central goals, identifies the right subjects that need support to solve urgent problems, and avoids wasting resources.

With this support package, in your opinion, how should we fight the pandemic to achieve the goal of socio-economic recovery and development set by the National Assembly?

We have passed through different stages of disease prevention and control and socio-economic development. In the early period we pursued the goal of “Zero Covid”, launched a war against Covid-19, then we have moved on to the phase of living with Covid-19, in other words, safe, effective, proactive adaptation within the safety threshold.

I think at the present stage, we not only have to live together but have to overcome Covid-19 with a proactive attitude. This is the message that I proposed to the Government in April 2020: preparing to live with the pandemic and preparing an economic recovery program for the next two years with specific solutions.

In the end, humanity will have to treat Covid-19 like a seasonal flu in order to resume normal socio-economic activities.

We are in an unusual situation, so measures must also be of an unusual nature as the ones discussed at the recent extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The package of fiscal and monetary solutions is a specific solution for this period.

In your opinion, how can this policy package be absorbed into the economy to restore socio-economic development in the next two years as proposed by the National Assembly?

I think we need specific solutions for all socio-economic sectors, not just fiscal and monetary measures. That means the mechanism should be more open, a specific mechanism for business investment in the whole society and applied at least during the economic recovery period for the next two years.

We offer monetary and fiscal solutions and we say that the monetary solution must be appropriate, suitable for the absorptive capacity of the economy and the tolerance of the monetary and fiscal system. But the absorption of the economy depends greatly on other institutional reforms, not just monetary and fiscal solutions.

Thus, the fiscal support package and the financial and monetary support package are called monetary support packages. Besides, non-financial and non-monetary support packages are "soft" support packages, which are very important institutions, mechanisms and policies.

Because money is limited, the institutional support package has huge room. In relation to other economies, our competitiveness is not high so our business environment needs more improvement. That is the room for institutional reform.

But institutional reform needs time, so is it appropriate in such a special situation at present?

This is an opportunity to promote reform. In normal conditions, solutions to support businesses, and solutions to simplify institutions are very controversial, but at the time businesses and the economy are in difficulty, and it is easy to agree with each other. When piloting measures in the response phase, if they are operated well, those reforms can become habits of thought and become regulations.

Institutional support and the reduction of administrative procedures are a very important basis. Besides, market opening is also very significant. We need a steadfast plan to open the market without delay or faltering because of Covid-19.

Are you worried about the differences in pandemic-fighting policies among localities?

The Government's determination to open the market must be steadfast. I emphasize that we must try to maintain production and business according to a consistent plan. Open in the broadest sense, open for economic activities, no blockades, no siege, and even open the border.

What do you expect from this support package?

Opening up and institutional reform must go hand in hand with fiscal and monetary policies to support the socio-economic recovery and development program.

In addition, there are other measures to improve the capacity of enterprises. Currently, ministries and agencies have many capacity building programs for businesses such as digital transformation, green transformation, improving corporate governance, human resource training, and trade promotion.

Thus, opening the market to create a path, creating space for activities; institutional reform to remove constraints and create more favorable conditions; and supportive measures to promote and support businesses.

I hope all of those will form an ecosystem for businesses to strongly enter the economic recovery phase.

VNN

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 2

15:58               

Vietnamese export, import affected by Russia-Ukraine conflict

The prices of Vietnamese exports and imports, especially aquatic products and fertilizers, have headed towards highs due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Russia is a promising market of Vietnamese agricultural products in terms of both export and import.

The armed conflict will significantly affect Vietnam’s export of farm products to Russia as well as its import from the country in the short run, he stressed.

In addition, the US, the European Commission, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy have announced the removal of a number of Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, which would hinder transactions in the time ahead.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong pointed out difficulties in payment as a result of the conflict. However, Russia’s demand for farm products would increase in the time ahead as the Russia-Ukraine war has led to a supply crunch, which is a good opportunity for Vietnam, he said.

Vietnam may export agricultural products to Russia at high prices if the Southeast Asian nation changes the payment methods flexibly, the economist suggested.

Phong also thought that Vietnamese agricultural products can still access the Russian market, and Vietnamese firms can even open production establishments in the country which has high demand for farm produce, especially in the winter.

Some domestic exporters said they are also affected by the suspension of flights to Russia.

Domestic gold prices climb to all-time high of over VND67 mln/tael

Gold bar prices in Vietnam skyrocketed to more than VND67 million per tael, the highest recorded figure in history on March 2 after nosediving to VND66 million per tael the previous day.

At 9:25 a.m. on March 2, the Saigon Gold and Jewelry Company quoted its SJC gold price at VND66.55 million per tael for buying and VND67.35 million per tael for selling in Ho Chi Minh City, and VND66.55 million per tael for buying and VND67.37 million per tael for selling in Hanoi.

These latest price changes represent rises of VND1 million in terms of both buying and selling compared to March 1 transactions.

Simultaneously, Phu Nhuan PNJ Company listed each tael of SJC gold at between VND65.65 million and VND66.4 million for buying and selling respectively.

In the global market, the March 2 trading session witnessed gold prices hover at roughly US$1,945.8 per ounce, an increase of US$37 per ounce from the previous day.

Vietnam welcomes some new policies in March

New rules on real estate business, registration fees for battery-driven electric cars, and the management of product traceability are among the new policies of the government to take effect from March.
Vietnam welcomes some new policies in March

Decree No.02/2022/ND-CP dated January 6 is guiding the implementation of some regulations in the Law on Property Trading.

The regulation includes conditions for businesses and individual property traders; types of contract models for real estate businesses; transfer of house rental and buying contracts; and others.

Also from March 1, the registration fees for battery-driven electric cars are to be zero per cent within the next three years following Decree No.10/2022/ND-CP issued on January 15.

In the following two years, for the first time of payment of the registration fee, the rate will be 50 per cent of that applied for petrol-fueled cars with the same number of seats.

Meanwhile, starting from March 15, Decree No.13/2022/ND-CP dated January 21 will amend some regulations in previous decrees guiding the Law on Product and Goods Quality and the Law on Measurement.

Accordingly, Decree 13 adds the regulation on the management of product traceability. The Ministry of Science and Technology will take responsibility for this issue.

Establishment of steering committee for international financial center in HCMC proposed

The HCMC government has proposed the prime minister establish a national steering committee to develop an international financial center in the city led by a deputy prime minister.

HCMC Chairman Phan Van Mai on March 1 sent a document on the progress of the center’s development to the prime minister and the Ministry of Finance, Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Accordingly, the national steering committee should include leaders of the Ministries of Planning-Investment, Finance, Justice, Natural Resources-Environment and Construction, the State Bank of Vietnam, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam and the HCMC government.

The city has completed the draft plan on the center’s development, clarifying the international financial center model in HCMC, action plans and proposals on policies.

In addition, the city held a seminar to consult with experts and representatives of financial and economic organizations and universities over the draft plan. The city will continue improving the draft plan and work with the relevant ministries and agencies.

The HCMC government expected to submit the plan to the prime minister in April.

Dat Xanh invests VND12.5 trillion in property project in Dong Nai

Dat Xanh Group (DXG) has announced that its subsidiary Ha An Real Estate Investment and Trading JSC would conduct a project which will require an investment of VND12.5 trillion and cover 152 hectares of land in Dong Nai Province.

The director board of Dat Xanh has assigned the general director of Ha An to negotiate and sign contracts relating to the execution of the project.

Earlier, DXG had approved the issuance of a maximum of VND4 trillion worth of bonds this year.

The group had later passed a resolution to contribute an additional VND4 trillion to Ha An Real Estate Investment and Trading JSC, raising its ownership at the subsidiary to nearly VND12.8 trillion, or 99.99%.

In addition, DXG has transferred 99.99% of its shares, valued at nearly VND2.5 trillion, in Hoi An Invest and its entire capital, which is higher than VND255 billion, at Xuan Dinh Company to Ha An.

Over 1,650 Vietnamese firms receive codes to export farm produce to China

As of March 1, 1,656 Vietnamese firms had received codes granted by China, enabling them to export farm produce and food products to the Chinese market.

According to the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), as of March 1, 1,656 Vietnamese exporters with 1,776 products had received codes in line with the new regulations on farming region supervision and origin tracking of farm produce under Orders 248 and 249 of China.

Of the total firms, 779 are exporters of aquatic products, 187 are recommended to the Chinese side by the MARD's Plant Protection Department, and 11 are milk producers.

According to the SPS Vietnam, the current biggest difficulty is the slow approval process of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) without any regulation on the duration for approving the issuance of codes for businesses.

Crude oil, real estate drive HCM City’s budget collection

Surging crude oil prices and earnings from real estate have pushed up Ho Chi Minh City’s state budget collection by nearly 15 percent in the first two months of 2022, as compared with the corresponding time last year.

The municipal Statistics Office reported that the southern economic hub collected some 88.04 trillion VND (3.85 billion USD) in January and February, completing 22.8 percent of the estimate for the whole year.

The city’s domestic collection reached 66.32 trillion VND, meeting 25.6 percent of the estimate and up 17.2 percent year-on-year.

Notably, the city earned 3.21 trillion VND from crude oil in the months, a year-on-year rise of 77.7 percent; and exports and imports amounted to 18.5 trillion VND, up 1.4 percent.

Local budget revenue stood at 27.28 trillion VND, 16.2 percent of the estimate and up 79.2 percent from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, HCM City’s budget spending decreased 39.6 percent to 5.78 trillion VND, or 5.8 percent of the estimate.

Reference exchange rate down 4 VND on March 2

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange for the US dollar at 23,133 VND/USD on March 2, down 4 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,827 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,439 VND/USD.

The opening-hour rates at commercial banks fluctuated in different directions.

At 8:30am, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,645 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,955 VND/USD, both up 5 VND from March 1.

Meanwhile, BIDV raised the buying rate by 10 VND to 22,675 VND/USD and reduced the selling rate by 25 VND to 22,955 VND/USD.

U.S. becomes largest importer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products

The United States surpassed China to become the largest buyer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products with a total value of US$2.3 billion in the first two months of the year, making up 28.2%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In a report on the import-export of agro-forestry-fishery products in February issued on March 1, Vietnam’s total import-export revenue from agro-forestry-fishery products reached nearly US$14.2 billion in the two months, up 15.8% year-on-year, including US$8 billion from exports and US$6.2 billion from imports.

China was the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products with nearly US$1.3 billion, followed by Japan with US$586 million and South Korea with US$376 million.

Over the past many years, China has always been the largest export market of Vietnam.

Ample room to boost Vietnamese coffee presence in Algeria

There remains plenty of room to boost Vietnamese coffee exports to Algeria, as coffee is the leading export item to this market, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria.

Algeria is a country that is unable to grow its own coffee, meaning it has to import the product to fully meet domestic demand. Every year sees the North African country import approximately 130,000 tonnes of coffee beans of all kinds with a value of US$300 million.

Apart from green coffee, Vietnamese enterprises can promote the export of processed and instant coffee with a higher added value.

Last year witnessed Vietnamese coffee exports to Algeria surge by 6.3% to reach US$99.68 million, making up 65% of the country’s total export value, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria.

Shrimp exports enjoy positive growth in most major markets

The opening months of the year saw positive growth in terms of Vietnamese shrimp exports, with many local businesses boosting production and fulfilling orders signed in late 2021.

According to statistics compiled by Vietnam Customs, shrimp export turnover in January reached over US$313 million, marking a rise of 43% over the same period from last year. Of the figure, the export value in most major markets enjoyed positive growth.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in January the export value of white-leg shrimp hit nearly US$238 million, thereby marking a year-on-year rise of 39%, while that of black tiger shrimp reached approximately US$43 million, up 92%. Among exported shrimp products, the export value of processed black tiger shrimp witnessed the highest increase of 157%.

According to local shrimp processing enterprises, the nation’s flexible adaptation to COVID-19 indicates optimistic signs for Vietnamese shrimp export activities in the coming year. However, a lack of raw materials at the beginning of the year, coupled with high sea freight rates and production costs, continue to represent great challenges for local businesses.

Vietnamese honey risks losing US market due to high anti-dumping tariff

The local beekeeping sector is at risks of being negatively impacted in the event that the United States imposes an anti-dumping tariff of up to 400%, according to industry insiders.

This comes amid the US Department of Commerce planning to apply its highest ever tariff rate of over 412% on raw honey imported from the nation, which exports more than 85% of its honey to the US market.

The final conclusion on the application of the tax rates is set to be issued by the US Department of Commerce in April.

Currently, there are roughly 35 Vietnamese companies exporting honey, with an annual turnover reaching between US$70 million and US$100 million.

NA chairman orders supervision of Nghi Son Refinery’s finance

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has asked agencies under the NA to supervise the finance of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC and the domestic fuel supply.

Specifically, the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee was assigned to supervise the operation and financial capacity of Nghi Son, the local media reported.

The NA Chairman also asked NA’s agencies to supervise the deployment of the NA’s Resolution 42/2021 which allows the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group to use the after-tax profit to subsidize Nghi Son’s products. The Government must report the subsidy to the NA annually.

The NA’s Finance-Budget and Economic Committees were also asked to keep a close watch on the production and import of fuels to ensure the fuel supply and stabilize the local fuel market.

Tra fish prices hit three-year high

Tra fish prices soared to VND30,000-VND32,000 per kilogram, the highest level since 2019, resulting in tra fish farmers earning profits of VND5,000-VND7,000 for each kilogram sold.

Many local farmers attributed the price hike to a scarcity in tra fish supply, as many tra fish farming households suspended operations after they suffered consecutive losses.

Duong Nghia Quoc, chairman of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, advised localities to control tra fish farming areas, avoid raising the fish en masse and closely cooperating with local exporters to prevent the oversupply of fish and the sharp drop in price.

In 2022, the local tra fish sector looks to produce over 1.6 million tons of tra fish products and achieve over US$1.7 billion in export revenue.

Disbursed public investment capital close to 9% in two-month period

Disbursed investment capital from the State budget during the initial two months of the year stood at an estimated VND46.3 trillion, equal to 8.8% of the year plan and growing by 10.4% over the same period from 2021, according to data provided by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Disbursed investment capital from the State budget in February was estimated to be at VND20,500 billion, an increase of 9.9% over the same period from last year.

Most notably, disbursed investment capital managed by the Government reached VND6,400 billion, equal to 6.4% of the yearly plan, an increase of 10.1% over the same period last year.

Disbursed investment capital managed by localities hit a figure of VND39,900 billion, equivalent to 9.3% of the year plan, up by 10.4% on-year.

These banks have the most extensive networks in Vietnam

As of December 31, state-owned commercial banks continued to hold the top spot when it comes to their branch network.

In terms of the number of branches, Agribank has maintained its position as the biggest bank in the country with 939 locations (171 first-grade branches, 768 second-grade branches).

Meanwhile, BIDV has 189 branches, VietinBank has 155 branches, and Vietcombank has 89 branches.

After the deal of MHB and BIDV in 2015, BIDV extended its nationwide network.

Regarding private commercial banks, Sacombank, boasting 109 branches, holds the top spot in the group.

MB (99 branches), LienVietPostBank (76 branches), HDBank (72 branches), VPBank (66 branches), and MSB (62 branches) are the next most popular banks in Vietnam. This is partially due to the former deals between local banks, such as Sacombank and Southern Bank or HDBank and Dai A Bank.

DongA Bank has maintained its nationwide network effectively despite being under special supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam since 2015.

Divestment plans at State-owned enterprises attract little attention

Many State-owned enterprises have announced their auction schedule for capital divestment plans, but not all of them are attracting customers.

Among the 122 million shares of Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank or LPB) brought to auction by the Vietnam Post on HNX recently, only 800 shares were registered for purchase by a few individual investors.

The recent auction of 35 million shares of Binh Duong Trade And Development JSC (TDC) with a starting price of VND27,900 per share was also regarded as a failure as only 50,000 shares were sold to four individual investors.

The auction of the capital portion of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) at Chau Duc Urban Development and Construction Joint Stock Company was also recently cancelled due to no investors participating.

NTP stock of Tien Phong Plastic JSC has reached a price of approximately VND70,000 per share at the end of January 2021 after SCIC announced a plan to divest capital in February, but the divestment has not yet been confirmed and NTP shares have dropped 10 per cent from its market price.

Similarly, BMI shares of Bao Minh Corporation also touched VND45,800 per share, but now are trading around VND38,000 per share.

At the end of last week, some investors registered to buy shares of HUD1 Investment and Construction JSC (HUD1) without carefully considering the health of this business. Interested investors must register to buy the whole lot with a starting price of VND75 billion, equivalent to the market price of HUD1 being traded on the floor.

The long-term capital contribution investment with Dai Thien Loc Company of VND13 billion to implement the Lien Bao-Bac Ninh project which has lasted since 2011 also faces potential risks in terms of investment.

Viet Nam's tuna exports up strongly in January

Viet Nam's tuna export turnover in January reached US$88 million, up 108 per cent over the same period in 2021, according to the General Department of Customs.

The tuna exports grew very strongly to most of Viet Nam's major tuna export markets.

Frozen tuna fillets were still the main products in Viet Nam's tuna exports, accounting for more than 66 per cent of total exports in January.

Of which, Viet Nam saw a strong increase in exported frozen tuna fillets and other processed tuna (mainly frozen tuna loin) at 172 per cent and 278 per cent, respectively, over the same period.

The large export markets for Vietnamese tuna products have had a strong recovery in consumption demand when those opened after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. They included the US, Europe, Israel, Italy, Canada, Japan, CPTPP, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The US was still Viet Nam's largest tuna export market in January with an export value of $44 million, up

Low interest rates put pressure on non-life insurers

Though the economic recovery can give non-life insurers opportunities to improve revenue, it will be still difficult for them to increase profits as the majority of their investment portfolios are bank savings and government bonds, whose interest rates are forecast to remain at low levels this year.

According to the current legal regulations, non-life insurers have to use at least 70 per cent of their capital to deposit at banks or buy government bonds to ensure the insurers’ capital safety. Therefore, the current low interest rates of the two channels are a disadvantage for insurers to increase their profits.

Besides, the insurers are not also allowed to invest much in real estate and stock markets, which are forecast to have positive growth in 2022, due to the control of the ratio in their investment portfolios. According to Law on Insurance Business, non-life insurers are allowed to spend a maximum of 35 per cent of their idle capital from insurance reserves to invest in securities, corporate bonds, fund certificates, capital contribution to other businesses; and a maximum of 10 per cent of their idle capital in real estate. The two channels therefore will be unlikely to account for a high proportion of the insurers’ total profits.

Industry insiders said the key solution to maintain stable profits for non-life insurers this year is still to strictly control the compensation rate and increase effectiveness from investment activities.

CPI rises as food and fuel spike

Viet Nam's CPI has increased by 1 per cent in February and 1.42 per cent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam.

The office said the increased CPI was a result of rising global petrol prices and the after effect of the Tet holiday, which typically raises prices due to a spike in demand.

In the first two months of 2022, CPI climbed by 1.68 per cent over the same period last year, and core inflation by 0.67 per cent.

In February, among the 11 commodity and service baskets, 10 reported increases, with the highest seen in transport. Meanwhile, prices of post and telecommunications declined by 0.04 per cent.

The GSO pointed out that core inflation in February rose by 0.49 per cent over the previous month, and by 0.68 per cent over the same period last year. In the first two months, core inflation increased by 0.67 per cent year-on-year, lower than the general average CPI, which reflects the fluctuation of consumer prices mainly due to rising prices of food and fuel.

Energy projects to be inspected

The Government Inspectorate will conduct a comprehensive examination of renewable power plants.

According to a decision from the government’s Deputy Inspector General Le Sy Bay, any projects under the Power Development Plan (PDP) built between 2011 and 2021 will need to be looked at.

The inspection will take 85 days, focusing on the planning, management, and implementation of the schemes.

This decision has been sent to the people's committees of several provinces that have recently developed renewable energy programmes.

These facilities, especially solar projects, have overloaded the power transmission system, limiting output, reducing development potential, and damaging investors.

New steering committee suggested to resolve issues for supporting industries

The government should establish a national steering committee, headed by a deputy prime minister, to promptly resolve problems and challenges facing supporting industries, according to Nguyen Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries (VASI).

Local content by Vietnamese firms in supporting industries remains low, according to Hoang, around 1 – 2 percent in hi-tech industry, 5 – 20 percent in automobile, 15 – 20 percent in mechanical engineering, 5 – 10 percent in electronics, and 30 percent in footwear and garment-textile.

As a result, Vietnam had to import billions of USD worth of components for production annually, he stressed.

The official further noted that just 0.2 percent of the nearly 1 million Vietnamese enterprises operate in supporting industries, far below that of regional peers.

Hoang recommended the government to provide exclusive incentives in terms of funding for enterprises in supporting industries and connect domestic producers with major international corporations doing business in Vietnam to help them engage more deeply in supply chains. 

Poor-performing State firms – focus of restructuring: PM

The restructuring of State-owned enterprises should focus on poor-performing and loss-making firms, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested.

A notice dated February 28 issued by the Government’s Office regarding the PM’s conclusions at a Cabinet meeting on the project on restructuring State businesses for 2021-2025 further said that at the meeting, the leader stressed the need to consolidate institutions, mechanisms and policies to ensure that State enterprises play a key role in the national economy.

The restructuring does not mean the equitisation of businesses, the PM said, adding that more efforts are needed to reform administrative procedures in order to accelerate the process, divestment and restructuring of enterprises.

He also ordered improving business administration, taking solutions to effectively allocate State resources, utilising such resources as capital, land and brands at businesses, closely managing capital and assets of the State and enterprises in line with legal regulations.

Vietnam to import additional petroleum and adjust tax

Increasing petroleum imports and raising related taxes is deemed an effective solution to offset the shortfall in domestic output. By doing so, the retail selling price of gasoline is hoped to be reduced.

According to the latest decision issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), 10 petroleum retailers and distributors will import an additional 2.4 million cubic metres of petroleum in the second quarter of 2022. Of which, the volume of imported gasoline amounts to 840,000 cu.m and oil to about 1.56 million cu.m.

Importing distributors and retailers include Petrolimex, PVOil, Hai Ha Waterway Transport Co., Ltd., and Hai Linh Co., Ltd., among others.

According to the MoIT, it is expected that Nghi Son Oil Refinery will operate at 85 per cent of its capacity from March 15 and at full capacity from April. However, the increase in imports in the coming time is to ensure supply for the domestic market as global oil prices are forecast to increase.

Goertek commits additional $306 million to its multimedia equipment project in Bac Ninh

Goertek, one of three major suppliers for Apple in Vietnam, has poured additional funds into its project in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

China-backed Goertek, the world’s renowned supplier of acoustic components, has expanded its investment capital by $306 million for its factory for electronic and multimedia equipment located in Bac Ninh's Que Vo Industrial Park.

This is the second biggest project the company has undertaken since the start of 2022.

Vietnam aims to complete five crucial transport projects this term

The government on March 1 held an online meeting with cities and provinces about the pre-feasibility studies of five key national transport projects.

The projects are the Beltway 4-Hanoi, the Beltway 3-Ho Chi Minh City, Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot Expressway; and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway. Altogether, they have a total length of over 500km.

Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said infrastructure development, including transport infrastructure, is one of the country’s three strategic pillars. The government targets to have 2,000km of expressways in this term.

Vietnam sets up steering committee for 6G development

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has signed a decision on establishing a steering committee for studying and developing 6G.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung is the leader of the steering committee; Deputy Minister of MIC Pham Duc Long is its deputy head. The committee's members include leaders of MIC departments and agencies, as well as its state corporations like Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone.

The steering committee is to study and submit to authorised agencies the orientation, strategy, and policies to create a legal environment for developing 6G standards and applications, as well as information security, production, and commercialisation of 6G devices in Vietnam.

The committee will also collect studies and development standards from international organisations and nations worldwide. From there, the committee can work on forecasts about local and international telecoms market development, and then build a roadmap for study, production, and commercialisation of 6G devices, a 6G pilot, and supporting policies for Vietnamese firms.

MPI recognises UOB for supporting companies to invest nearly $3.7 billion

The award was presented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to UOB on February 26 in recognition of the bank’s continued efforts in facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Vietnam and supporting companies in the country. UOB is the first Singaporean bank to receive the award.

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO at UOB, receives a certificate of merit from Do Nhat Hoang, director general at the MPI 's Foreign Investment Agency in the presence of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

UOB has helped more than 200 companies from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and China to invest in Vietnam since signing an MoU with Vietnam’s Foreign Investment Agency in 2015.

These companies have projected to invest more than $3.39 billion and create more than 20,000 jobs in Vietnam.

The bank is also set to facilitate a pipeline of $2.43 billion potential investments from companies in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and consumer goods in the next three years. These investments are expected to create another 13,000 jobs in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s manufacturing maintains growth momentum in Feb

The Vietnamese manufacturing sector remained in recovery mode in February, seeing growth accelerate further and confidence maintained, according to the latest report of IHS Markit.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 54.3 in February, up from 53.7 in January and signaling a pick-up in growth for the fourth month running.

Business conditions improved in each of the past five months following the disruption caused by the Delta wave of the Covid pandemic in 2021.

The improving growth momentum overall was again supported by stronger customer demand. New orders increased sharply and the rate of expansion quickened to a 10-month high. Improving international demand was also reported in February, leading to another marked rise in exports.

Vietnam posts US$2.3-billion trade deficit in Feb as imports soar

Vietnam incurred a trade deficit of US$2.3 billion in February as imports grew faster than exports, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Data of the GSO showed that in February, exports rose 13.2% against the same period last year to US$22.95 billion, while imports surged 21.9% to US$25.28 billion. For the first two months of the year, exports reached US$53.7 billion, a 10% year-on-year rise.

The domestic sector got US$14.2 billion from exports, soaring 24 % year-on-year and accounting for 26.6% of the total. The foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, fetched US$39.5 billion, rising 6% and accounting for 73.4%.

On the other hand, Vietnam spent US$54.7 billion on imports, increasing 16% year-on-year.

Imports of the domestic sector reached US$18.2 billion, rising 17% year-on-year and making up 33% of the total, while the foreign-invested sector imported goods worth US$36.4 billion, increasing 15%.

The United States was Vietnam’s biggest export market, spending some US$18.3 billion on Vietnamese goods. Meanwhile, China was Vietnam’s largest supplier, exporting goods worth US$20.8 billion to Vietnam.

Source: VNA/SGT/VOV/VNS/VIR/VGP/SGGP

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 1

16:02   

Prompt moves taken to ensure safety for Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine: spokeswoman

 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has been working with relevant authorities, domestic airlines, and representative agencies in Ukraine and surrounding areas to make plans for ensuring security, safety, and conditions necessary for evacuating Vietnamese citizens from war zones and repatriating them if they wish.

MoFA Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang made the remark on March 1 in response to reporters’ question about Vietnam’s reaction to the tensions in Ukraine and moves to protect its citizens there.

She noted that Vietnam has paid close attention to and kept a close watch on the developments in Ukraine, as well as the situation of Vietnamese people in this country. There are about 7,000 Vietnamese people in Ukraine at present, and they have not suffered from any damage.

Prioritising the ultimate safety of the lives, property, and legal and legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine, since tense developments began, the MoFA has promptly moved to protect citizens.

The ministry has directed the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine to keep frequent contact with the Vietnamese community there, operate hotlines around the clock so as to receive information and provide timely support, ask the host country’s authorised agencies to assist and ensure safety for Vietnamese citizens and businesses, and coordinate with agencies in Vietnam to have citizen protection plans ready, according to Hang.

She added the MoFA and the embassy have also issued recommendations and safety guidance for the overseas Vietnamese. The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs set up a communication channel with Vietnamese associations in Ukraine to stay updated on their situation and give them safety guidance while requesting associations in nearby countries to prepare for helping Vietnamese people in Ukraine.

Vietnam’s representative agencies in Poland, Russia, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia have been ordered to keep the citizen protection hotlines available; liaise with the host countries’ agencies to update information about the Vietnamese coming from Ukraine; ask for the facilitation of Vietnamese people’s entry, transit, and temporary stay; provide evacuated Vietnamese with essential goods; and coordinate with Vietnamese associations to aid the evacuation.

The MoFA has also asked authorities of the relevant parties to create a “safe corridor” for Vietnamese people to evacuate, the spokeswoman went on, saying that Vietnam has called on agencies of the United Nations and the host countries to help provide the conditions necessary for citizen safety and evacuation.

As of March 1 noon, about 200 Vietnamese were helped to move out of war zones. The Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine is continuing to gather the citizens’ needs in order to carry out appropriate plans, Hang added.

COVID-19: New cases almost reach 99,000 on March 1

A total 98,762 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours from 4pm February 28 to 4pm March 1, including 19 imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

Hanoi continued to record the highest number of infections with 13,323 cases, followed by Quang Ninh with 4,011 and Bac Ninh with 3,933.

Besides, the northern province of Ha Giang supplemented 15,382 cases after verifying information.

The national tally reached 3,557,629.

There are 3,851 patients in critical conditions, while an additional 86 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 40,338, accounting to 1.1 percent of the caseload.

Fine arts museum opens new space for contemporary artworks

A space dedicated to contemporary artworks is opened at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum (VNFAM) on February 25.

On display are 65 drawings and sculptures which were created from 1986 onward.

The show is being uploaded on the iMuseum VFA app to help enhance visitors’ experience in both in-person and virtual forms.

HCM City opens training course on COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 - 11

The Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) on March 1 opened a training course on safe COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 - 11.

The course, which will last until March 11, will provide training for about 1,350 members of local vaccination teams, with guidance given by experts from three children’s hospitals in the city.

About 963,000 children aged 5 - 11 in HCM City need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

On February 5, the Government issued a resolution on purchasing COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer for children aged between 5 and under 12.

The number of COVID-19 cases among local children has been on the rise, especially when schools have reopened. From February 13 to 26, there were 2,659 confirmed cases who are children under 18, according to the Department of Education and Training.

At least 80 percent of total communes hoped to be new-style rural areas by 2025

The national target programme on new-style rural area building for 2021 - 2025 has recently been approved by the Prime Minister, aiming to have at least 80 percent of the communes nationwide earning the status by 2025.

Among the detailed targets for 2025, the programme looks to have at least 80 percent of the communes recognised as new-style rural areas, with about 40 percent meeting advanced standards and at least 10 percent being model areas.

At least 50 percent of the district-level localities are hoped to earn the new-style countryside status, with at least 20 percent meeting advanced standards or named model areas.

In this programme, Vietnam will also strive for about 17 - 19 provinces and centrally-run cities completing the building of new-style rural areas.

Deputy PM requests inter-sectoral inspections in ensuring aviation security

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has requested inter-sectoral inspections in ensuring aviation security, as well as in preventing and combating terrorism and illegal intervention in civil aviation activities in provinces and cities with airports.

In a notice dated March 1, Minh, who is Head of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee (NCASC), praised agencies and member units of the NCASC, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities with airports and aviation enterprises for their efforts to complete the tasks last year, especially amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of flights, passengers and the volume of cargo decreased sharply last year and production and business activities of aviation firms was seriously affected by the pandemic. However, ministries, agencies and localities have focused their resources on pandemic prevention and control and effectively implemented measures to ensure aviation security, he said.

The NCASC was requested to organise training for its members in line with the pandemic situation as well as conduct inter-sectoral inspections over coordination in guaranteeing aviation secuirty, and terrorism prevention and combat.

Gov’t sets up appraisal council for press network planning

An appraisal council with representatives of several ministries and agencies has been established to evaluate the development plan for press, radio and television, electronic information and publishing networks for 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

The appraisal council will be headed by Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications and Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications will be the council’s vice chairman, according to Decision 276/QD-TTg signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

The council’s members include leaders of ministries of Public Security, National Defence, Justice, Planning and Investment, Finance, Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as representatives from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, Nhan Dan newspaper, Vietnam News Agency, Radio The Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam Television, among others.

Hanoi asked to be ready for COVID-19 peak in next two weeks

Hanoi must prepare necessary medical plans to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that is forecast to reach its peak in the next two weeks, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh has ordered.

More than 10,000 new patients are reported in Hanoi on a daily basis, causing pressure on the treatment work.

So far, the city has prepared 2,180 beds, of which only 1,000 bed are being used. F0 cases treated at home account for 96 percent of the total infections reported in Hanoi.

The municipal health system is not overloaded in treating patients, Director of the municipal Health Department Tran Thi Nhi Ha affirmed, adding that it has prepared plans to meet even when the number of cases doubles.

International arrivals to Vietnam surge in first two months

Vietnam welcomed 49,200 foreign tourists in the first two months of this year, representing a year-on-year surge of over 71 percent.

The General Statistics Office reported that the majority of international holiday-makers arrived in Vietnam by air, accounting for more than 87 percent of the total foreign arrivals.

In February alone, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam increased by over 49 percent month-on-month, and more than 196 percent compared to the same period last year.

The positive results were attributed to Vietnam’s pilot roadmap for re-opening its door to foreign tourists, and the resumption of international air routes.

The tourism industry is implementing the second phase of a pilot programme on welcoming international visitors, while making necessary preparations to fully open tourism activities from March 15.

This year, the sector is expected to serve 65 million holiday-makers, including 5 million foreigners.

Writing contest on protecting Party's ideology, refuting hostile views launched

The second essay writing contest on protecting the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s ideological foundation and refuting wrongful and hostile views was launched during a press conference in Hanoi on March 1.

The contest, the second of its kind, is organised by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, the Central Theoretical Council, the Communist Review, the Nhan dan (People) Newspaper, and the Vietnamese Journalists’ Association.

The entries can be submitted from now until July 30. The award ceremony is slated for October. Last year, the contest was successful with 8,129 entries.

Long An soldiers strive to find martyrs' remains in Cambodia

A team of soldiers from the Military High Command of southern Long An province is striving to search for remains of Vietnamese volunteers and experts who laid down their lives during the wartime in Cambodia.

The head of the team, Sen. Lieut. Col. Tran Chi Cong, said that it recently had working sessions with authorities of Cambodia’s Pailin and Battambang provinces where the soldiers perform their mission.

Representatives of the two provinces pledged to create all favourable conditions for the team, showing their hope to continue tightening solidarity and friendship between Pailin and Battambang and Long An, and between Cambodia and Vietnam at large.

On February 26, the team unearth remains of two martyrs in Sala Krau district of Pailin province. They expect to find remains of another 80 during this dry season which will last until the end of April. Since 2001, the team has detected and repatriated remains of about 280 matyrs.

HCM City: Festival honouring traditional dress to begin this month

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism on March 1 announced the 8th municipal ao dai (traditional long dress) festival will kick off on March 5 and last until April 15.

The festival will introduce the beauty and convenience of ao dai, making it a familiar garment of people in contribution to preserving the nation’s cultural identity and promoting the image of the country and Vietnamese people.

The opening ceremony on March 5 will treat the public to a display of more than 300 ao dai models from 15 outstanding collections by renowned local designers.

The festival is planned to feature a peace demonstration of over 2,000 people wearing the dress, an art programme, an exhibition, and a fashion design contest, among others.

Youth Month 2022 promotes creative spirit among young people

The Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) launched the Youth Month 2022 themed “Creative youth” during a ceremony in Hanoi on March 1 on the occasion of the 91st founding anniversary of the union.

Activities during the month will focus on popularising and educating the glorious traditions of Vietnamese youth and the HCYU; promoting creativity and voluntary spirit of the youth for community; supporting young people in starting a business and integrating into the world; taking care of children and teenagers; and building strong youth organisations.

A dialogue between the First Secretary of the HCYU Central Committee and youth union members and young people, a programme to award 10 Vietnam outstanding young faces in 2021 and present the Ly Tu Trong Award 2022 will be held within the framework of the month.

Children aged 5-11 to get 0.2ml of Pfizer vaccine each dose

Children aged between 5 and 11 in Vietnam will be administered with Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine with a dosage of 0.2ml, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry on March 1 issued a decision amending Article 1 of a decision on conditional approval of vaccines for urgent needs in COVID-19 prevention and control.

People aged from 12 will receive 0.3ml of Pfizer each dose.

The Government recently decided to buy 21.9 million doses of Pfizer for children aged 5-11.

13th National Women's Congress to take place next week

The 13th National Women's Congress will be held from March 9-13 in Hanoi, said Vice President of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Central Committee Nguyen Thi Minh Huong at a press briefing on March 1.

The congress, themed “Promoting tradition, solidairty, creativity and integration; building a strong association for the happiness of women and prosperity of the nation,” is expected to lure 1,000 delegates representing Vietnamese women from different social classes, ethnic groups, religions and sectors, along with about 200 guests.

Various activities will be held within the congress’ framework, including a photo exhibition, a texting campaign to raise funds to support at least 130 livelihood models worth 13 billion VND (569,800 USD) for women in border areas, and a dialogue on gender equality and women empowerment.

Dong Thap: yellow apricot tree collection sets world record

A collection of ten yellow apricot trees, including one aged over 100 years, by a resident in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has made a world record for its unique values, a rare one for Vietnam in the field of ornamental trees.

With a great passion for the plant, the owner Vu Duc Dong, born in 1972 in Sa Dec city, has spent decades and about 20 billion VND (876,616 USD) on forming and caring for his ten special trees.

Freshly accredited by the World Records Union (WorldKings), the collection has a 2m-high ancient tree of more than 100 years old, whose trunk is gold-inlaid with two words “Tue Sam” – the names of Dong’s parents. Its nine roots rising above the ground represent the images of nine dragons.

As his parents have nine children, the nine other trees of Dong’s collection, each having its own value, demonstrate many shapes featuring family affection.

All of the ten valuable trees are now on display at the Sa Dec Apricot Blossom Tree Club. Dong himself currently owns 14 record-making ornamental plants, with 19 related Vietnamese, regional, and world records already established.

Ministry, UNDP step up efforts on poverty reduction

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA)’s National Coordination Office for Poverty Reduction and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on February 28 signed a memorandum of understanding and launched a project on programme development and policy advising on multidimensional and sustainable poverty reduction for 2021-2023.

Vietnam’s poverty rate, which was 58.1 percent in 1993, decreased to 2.75 percent in 2020 and 2.23 percent in 2021. On January 18 this year, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 90/QD-TTg approving the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2021-2025 period, which focuses on investing in improving the capacity of the poor and clearly identifies the causes of poverty in order to radically and thoroughly solve the problem.

The launched project is a join work among the UNDP, the MoLISA, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). It has provided technical support for the MOLISA in a series of contents, such as researching and developing the national programme; studying and finalising the poverty line and instruments for multi-dimensional poverty measurement for the period 2021 - 2025 which are relevant to Vietnam; and researching and proposing solutions to support the poor affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; among others.

Policy reform aims to promote socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited, mountainous areas

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has signed a decision issuing an action framework on mechanism and policy reform to support the national target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas in the 2021-2030 period.

Under the scheme, as part of the efforts to improve the human development indicator, the Ministry of Education and Training this month will form a mechanism to implement the second phase of a project to strengthen the teaching of the Vietnamese language among pre-school children and primary pupils in the areas.

The ministry will also complete a draft circular on the organisation and operation of boarding schools for ethnic minority students and a similar circular for semi-boarding schools for ethnic minority students.

Projects funded by Vietnamese defence ministry handed over to Laos

The economic-defence team of Vietnam’s Army Corps 15 has handed over five projects as gift to Vang Tat hamlet cluster in Sanxay district, Attapeu provinces of Laos.

The facilities, including irrigation and water systems, an upgraded boarding school and rooms for boarders, have a total funding of over 4.1 billion VND (179,750 USD) sourced from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence.

UNHRC opens 49th session, Vietnam attends its high-level segment

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) opened its 49th session in Geneva on February 28, with the participation of many high-ranking leaders and representatives of 47 member countries and over 100 observers of the UNHRC, and inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations headquartered in Geneva.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son attended and delivered an online speech at a high-level segment of this session.

Tra Vinh earmarks 64.2 million USD to improve ethnic minority people’s life

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh will spend 1.4 trillion VND (64.2 million USD) on projects which aim at improving ethnic minority people’s living conditions over the next three years.

The sum, mobilised from central and local government resources and others, will be used to build infrastructure in areas where ethnic minority people reside, help poor people set up businesses or carry out agricultural production in sustainable methods and enhance the quality of human resources. It will also seek to improve health care services and promote traditional values of ethnic minority people in association with tourism development.

The province targets to raise the average income of ethnic communities to 80 million VND per person per year by 2025. The number of poor ethnic minority households will also be reduced by 3-4 percent each year. It will no longer have extremely difficult communes.

Expiry date of Cuba’s Abdala vaccine extended

The Ministry of Health has announced the extension of an additional three months to the shelf-life of Cuba’s Abdala vaccine against COVID-19.

On October 8, 2021, the Ministry of Health issued Decision No. 4749/QD-BYT on conditional approval of the Abdala vaccine for urgent needs in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the producer’s instructions for use, the shelf life is six months at storage conditions of two to eight degrees Celsius.

Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the Abdala vaccine is researched and approved on a rolling basis, meaning it is approved for completed portions while the manufacturer continues doing research on others.

According to the Ministry of Health's statement on February 28, based on additional studies assessing the stability related to the vaccine's shelf life, Vietnam’s specialised agencies have considered and appraised it.

Specifically, on February 23, the Drug Administration of Vietnam agreed to increase the shelf life of the Abdala vaccine from six months to nine months at storage conditions of two to eight degrees Celsius.

Ex-officials of Khanh Hoa prosecuted for land-related wrongdoings

Seven former officials of Khanh Hoa province have been prosecuted for violating land management regulations under Clause 3 of Article 229 in the 2015 Penal Code.

They consist of Nguyen Chien Thang and Le Duc Vinh, former chairmen of the provincial People’s Committee; Dao Cong Thien, former vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee; Le Mong Diep and Vo Tan Thai, former directors of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Le Van De, former director of the Department of Construction; and Tran Van Hung, former head of the land management division at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

From 2012 to 2015, the suspects, who were then leaders of the provincial People’s Committee and the departments, illegally handed over land, changed land use purposes, and granted land use right certificates in connection with the Cuu Long Son Tu ecological and spiritual tourism project and the Vinh Trung villa project in Nha Trang city, according to the indictment issued by the provincial People’s Procuracy.

Khanh Hoa police started a criminal case on the law violations related to those projects on June 8, 2021 and later started legal proceedings and detained the above-mentioned former officials to serve the probe.

Mekong Delta faces increasing saline intrusion

The Mekong Delta is seeing increasing saltwater intrusion caused by high tides this week, with salinity boundary of 4 g/l likely to penetrate up to 65km upstream, according the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Directorate of Water Resources.

The agency forecast that saltwater is expected to enter 35-50km deep into estuaries of the Mekong River, 55-65km into Vam Co River and 35-45km into Cai Lon River this week.

Though saline intrusion started affecting irrigation in areas 35-45km upstream during days when tides are high, freshwater supply remains sufficient for agricultural production.

In March, the salinity boundary of 4 g/l is predicted to penetrate 55-65km inland, 10-20km lower than that in 2020.

Saline intrusion is expected to decline from April.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VGP/SGT/SGGP

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 2

15:05               

French ship pays courtesy visit to Khanh Hoa

The Vendémiaire of the French Navy arrived at Cam Ranh International Port of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on March 1, starting its courtesy visit to the province until March 5.

The ship crew comprised of 100 officers and sailors led by Lieutenant Colonel Alain Gaborit. It is the fourth port call in Vietnam by the ship.

During its stay, the French officers will pay courtesy visits to leaders of the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee and Naval Region 4 High Command.

In addition, crew members will participate in contactless joint training activities with their counterparts of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

VN completes consultation on National Green Growth Strategy

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has announced that it has collected comments on a Government draft decision approving the National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030.

The overall goal of green growth is to accelerate restructuring the economy in conjunction with growth model transformation to achieve economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social equity. Green growth aims to facilitate a transition to a green and carbon-neutral economy, minimising the global temperature.

It will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity per GDP by at least 15 per cent by 2030 and at least 30 per cent by 2050, promoting sustainable consumption based on the principles of equality, inclusivity and raising resilience.

The strategy will focus on exploiting and efficiently using natural and energy resources with advanced science and technology as the foundation, applying digital technologies and digital transformation, developing sustainable infrastructure to raise the quality of growth, bringing competitive advantages and reducing the negative impact on the environment.

To solidify the strategy, ministries, agencies and localities are asked to focus on identifying specific actions, times and responsibilities for mobilising resources.

U.S. donation of 1.66 million Pfizer doses arrives in HCMC

A shipment of more than 1.66 million doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine donated by the U.S. arrived in HCMC on March 1, according to the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam.

Up to now, the U.S. has provided over 26 million doses of the Covid vaccine, mostly Pfizer, to Vietnam through the COVAX Facility, becoming Vietnam’s biggest donor of the Covid vaccine.

As of March 1, Vietnam had administered some 195 million doses of Covid vaccines nationwide, including 178.2 million doses for people aged 18 or older and 16.8 million doses for children aged between 12 and 17.

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday officially approved the Comirnaty (Pfizer BioNTech) Covid vaccine for use for children aged 5-11, with a dosage lower than that used in people aged 12 and above.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen, the procedures to purchase nearly 22 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines for children aged 5-11 have been “basically completed”.

Gov’t sets up appraisal council for press network planning

An appraisal council with representatives of several ministries and agencies has been established to evaluate the development plan for press, radio and television, electronic information and publishing networks for 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

The appraisal council will be headed by Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications and Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications will be the council’s vice chairman, according to Decision 276/QD-TTg signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

The council’s members include leaders of ministries of Public Security, National Defence, Justice, Planning and Investment, Finance, Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as representatives from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, Nhan Dan newspaper, Vietnam News Agency, Radio The Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam Television, among others.

The council will be responsible for organising the appraisal of the master plan on development of the network of press, radio, television, electronic information and publishing for 2021 – 2030 period, with a vision to 2050 in accordance with provisions of the law on planning.

600 local athletes to compete at 2021 VPBank Hanoi Marathon

Hundreds of runners from across VN will participate in the VPBank Hanoi Marathon 2021 (VPHM) on Sunday.

Due to the pandemic in the capital, the race organising committee has decided to trim the size of the event from the expected 10,000 people to 600 qualified full marathon runners to compete to be on the official track for the marathon at the 31st SEA Games.

The 42km full marathon starts from Mỹ Đình Stadium and is fully located in Nam Từ Liêm District.

The race will take runners through the National Sports Complex in Mỹ Đình, the F1 Racing Road and routes including Đỗ Xuân Hợp Road, Tân Mỹ Road, Lê Đức Thọ Road and Lê Quang Đạo Road.

The start times will begin at 5 pm on March 6 for the 42km full marathon within 5 hours of the cut-off time.

This year marks the first time a running event has been allowed by the Vietnam Athletics Federation (VAF) to introduce the National Record-Breaking Prize in the marathon.

Standard Chartered Vietnam launches carbon-neutral cards

Standard Chartered Bank has become the first bank to launch carbon-neutral credit and debit cards in Việt Nam. All new cards issued in Việt Nam will now be part of the carbon-neutral programme developed with Thales, the bank’s card manufacturing partner.

The cards will carry a carbon-neutral certification logo, in accordance with the Carbon Neutral Protocol, demonstrating their green credentials.

With the carbon-neutral programme, there is no need for cardholders to proactively opt-in or sign-up to play their part to reduce carbon emission. The programme, built on Standard Chartered’s commitment to sustainable and responsible banking, is one of the many ways the bank is reducing its carbon footprint.

MoH suggests COVID-19 control measures for tourism sector

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has suggested that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism adjust and supplement the contents of its draft plan to reopen tourism sector regarding COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

The MoH suggested conditions for specific tourist groups, under which visitors aged 12 years and above must have a certificate of full COVID-19 vaccination isssued by authorised agencies, with the last dose given at least 14 days and no more than six months from the time of departure, or a certificate of recovery from the disease or equivalent documents certifying that they have recovered from COVID-19, issued by a competent authority in the country of treatment within a period of not more than six months.

High-risk groups, including people from 65 years old, pregnant women and people with background diseases, should be advised to restrict their travel until a new instruction, while getting full COVID-19 shots before entering Vietnam.

Tourists should carry negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 (by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method) within 72 hours before entering Vietnam.

Foreign tourists must make health declaration before entering the country and use PC-COVID app throughout their stay.

Photo exhibition celebrates Women’s Day

An exhibition themed “Portraits of Women” is underway at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum in the central city of Da Nang to mark International Women’s Day (March 8).

The exhibition showcases photos taken by 15 young Vietnamese artists under the guidance of renowned photographers Maika Elan, Binh Dang and Nicolas Cornet.

The exhibition is an opportunity for young photographers to reflect themselves through inspirational stories about women, she said, adding that they will depict the topic in a modern method.

Outstanding works including Noi (Grandmother) by Nguyen Manh Quan; Chi Dau (Ms. Dau -the main character in classic Vietnamese literary work Tat den [Turn off light]) by Nguyen Kim Nhi and Cho ca Vinh Hien (Vinh Hien Fish Market) by Do Minh Hoang. The photo exhibition will run until March 23.

Cold wave weakens in north, salt intrusion increases in south

The intensity of cold waves is forecast to decline gradually in March so northern areas are likely to see light fog, rain, and scattered light rain, mainly at night and early morning, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The temperatures in the north region from March 11-20 are expected to be higher than the many-year average by 0.5 degrees Celcius.

Meanwhile, hot days are predicted to occur in the southern region, especially in the second half of March.

MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) - the dominant mode of intra-seasonal variability in the tropical troposphere, has the potential to contribute to an increase of local rainfall and showers in southern coastal areas in the first 10 days of the month, the centre said.

Notably, saltwater is likely to intrude upstream of the Mekong River at the highest-level from March 1-5, and between March 14-19.

Three more university training programmes meet int’l accreditation standard

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT)’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering under the Vietnam National University, HCM City (VNUHCM) has earned the Agency for Quality Assurance (AQAS)'s accreditation for three more of its training programmes.

The programmes - namely mechatronic engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial system engineering, were all tested online by AQAS in December 2021.

The accrediting unit used multi-dimensional methods to collect assessment of lecturers, students, graduates, and employers, for its accreditation.

As many as 36 training programmes of the HCMUT have met international accreditation standards, accounting for 25.53 percent of the total number of the university's training programmes.

Particularly, 32 out of 63 Bachelor's programmes of the university have satisfied international accreditation standards, accounting for 50.79 percent.

Completion schedule of HCM City Metro Line No.2 extended to 2030

Ho Chi Minh City's Metro Line No.2 (Ben Thanh-Tham Luong) is scheduled to complete in 2030 instead of 2026 as previously planned, according to the city Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

In its recent report to the city People’s Committee on the project, the authority explained that the slow ground clearance has led to the slow selection of contractors for bidding packages.

Currently, only 83.45 percent of the ground has been handed over to the project.

Metro Line No 2 will have 10 stations and span more than 11km through Districts 1, 2, 3, 10, and 12, and Tan Binh and Tan Phu districts. Trains will travel underground for about 9.2km. Completed, it will connect the Thu Thiem new urban area with downtown HCM City and neighbourhoods in the city’s northwestern section.

Germany removes Vietnam from list of COVID-19 high risk areas

Germany's Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) on March 1 decided to remove 60 countries and territories across the world, including Vietnam, from the list of the countries that are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, passengers entering Germany from Vietnam will no longer be subject to relevant strict regulations.

This new regulation will take effect from 00:00 on March 3, 2022.

Vietnam was classified by Germany as one of high risk COVID-19 areas from August 15 last year. Accordingly, passengers from Vietnam entering Germany were requested to test for SARS-CoV-2 following the RT-PCR method prior to their flight, make online health declaration, and be quarantined for 10 days after their entry.

Foreign arrivals rise 71.7% over two months

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam during the past two months has risen 71.7% year on year to 49,200, reported the General Statistics Office on February 28.

In February alone, Vietnam attracted 29,500 foreign visitors, up 49.6% month on month and up 169.6% year on year.

More than three fifths of the foreign arrivals (32,700) came to Vietnam from Asia, one fifth (10,100) from Europe, and 10% (4,800) from the Americas. The remainders came from Oceania and Africa.

The rise was attributed to the government’s decision to reopen all regular international air routes from 0:00 on February 15.

Vietnam to play China at U23 Dubai Cup 2022

U23 Vietnamese players will take on their Chinese opponents in the United Arab Emirates in March where the U23 Dubai Cup 2022 – an international friendly tournament- takes place.

According to the fixtures announced by the organizing board on March 1, Vietnam will play Iraq in their opening game on March 23, and then China three days later.

U22 Vietnam last faced U22 China in an international friendly in China in 2019 where the former coach by Park Hang-seo stunned the latter 2-0 with a brace from striker Nguyen Tien Linh.

At the U23 Dubai Cup 2022, 10 teams from Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Japan, Qatar, Vietnam, China, Iraq and hosts the UAE will play in a round robin format. Matches will be held at the Sevens, Dubai Police and Dubai stadiums.

VNSO spring concert to be held in Binh Duong

The Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) Spring Concert will take place in the Convention and Exhibition Centre of the southern city of Bình Dương on March 5.

The concert takes place in the framework of Bình Dương New City Culture Festival, and is free for locals in the city.

It will cover famed works by international and Vietnamese composers such as Light Cavalry, Intermezzo from Opera Cavalleria Rusticana, Bolero, Prelude from Opera Carmen, Die Moldau, A Town With An Ocean View from Kiki’s Delivery Service, One Summer’s Day from Spirited Away, Bài Ca Hy Vọng (Hope Song), and Mùa Xuân Đầu Tiên (The First Spring).

The VNSO Spring Concert will be conducted by Honna Tetsuji and performed by artists from the Việt Nam National Symphony Orchestra. Phạm Thu Hà will be the main singer. It will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube. The Convention and Exhibition Centre is at 1, Lê Lợi Street, Bình Dương City.

Documentary debuts on extraordinary life of Dr Alexandre Yersin

A special documentary on the outstanding life of Dr Alexandre Yersin and his career in Viet Nam has debuted in Hà Nội.

The Remarkable Life of Dr Alexandre Yersin (1863-1943) hopes to inspire young people, especially those working in health care research and development. The documentary is a result of collaboration between the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), embassies, research institutes and universities in Việt Nam.

The film highlights a “One Health” approach to address zoonotic diseases, in the context of emerging diseases, especially the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The documentary was directed by Stéphane Kleeb and produced by Vitascope Independent Film & Video Productions GmbH. The producers hope that it will highlight Dr Yersin’s extraordinary life and accomplishments in Việt Nam, while also discussing lessons learned from his interdisciplinary work serving local communities.

Dr Nguyễn Việt Hùng – the protagonist in the film – is also the co-leader of a programme on animal and human health at ILRI, and previously worked for the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and the Hà Nội University of Public Health.

Viewers can watch the film through links with fixed subtitles in English and Vietnamese at https://youtu.be/mxoRTvO2c1o and with a choice of French/English/Vietnamese subtitles at https://youtu.be/c88-mCVfna4.

‘Ballet Girls' art exhibition opens in Da Lat

Artworks inspired by ballet performances by Hà Nội-based artist Lê Anh Quân are being introduced to the public in Đà Lạt City in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng.

Những Bé Gái Ballet (Ballet Girls) presents 17 works that have been elaborately decorated and created from a variety of materials like mirrors, glass and wood. They are being displayed at Le Lycée Ballroom, a space designed on the concept of a French high school within Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa in Đà Lạt.

The exhibition will last until March 30.

Born in 1977 in Hà Nội, Quân graduated from the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts and became one of the few young painters who soon asserted their own style with constant creativity and artistic exploration.

He has successfully organised many exhibitions at home and abroad that have been highly appreciated by audiences and experts such as the Asian contemporary art group exhibition in New York in 2008, group exhibition Một Chuyến Đi (One Trip) in Berlin, Germany in 2015, group exhibition Amitié in Paris, France in 2019 and a solo exhibition at the Việt Nam National Museum of Fine Arts in 2019, among others.

Hoi An listed among 11 dream vacations around the world

Renowned US magazine Travel + Leisure has recently named Vietnam’s Hoi An ancient city among the top 11 dream international vacations, that are surprisingly affordable, based on analysts from Kayak.

Accordingly, Hoi An is described as one of those charming types of towns, that people didn’t think could possibly exist anymore. “The ancient town has buildings that date back to the 15th century, with pagodas, shrines, and tea houses, dotting practically every street”.

“Be sure to chat with the extremely friendly locals, for their genuine recommendations on where to get the best banh mi and silk clothing, while you're in town.”, noted the magazine.

The article also wrote, that thanks to an increase in flights between the US and Vietnam, American visitors can nab a round-trip flight to Da Nang Airport (about a 45-minute drive from Hoi An) in the low month of November.

Vietnamese film participates in Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022

This is the fifth movie in the well-known series Gai Gia Lam Chieu (The Tricky Ladies) directed by Bao Nhan and Namcito will participate in the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) 2022 that will be held from March 10-20 in Japan.

The film is nominated for the ABC TV Awards given by ABC TV through OAFF. It will also be screened in the New Action! Southeast Asia, a special program highlights new movements in Southeast Asian cinema, at 6:30 pm on March 12 and 1:45 on March 17 at the Cine Libre Umeda in Osaka.

Marking its 17th edition this year, OAFF will again select high-quality Asian films. The Competition section, which receives increased recognition every year, will again select films previously unreleased in Japan. This year’s event attracts 76 films from 31 countries and territories across the country.

HCMC-Con Dao high-speed boat service to be launched

The HCMC Department of Transport has thrown its support behind a proposal to launch a high-speed boat service between HCMC and Con Dao Island in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to meet the travel demand and develop waterway tourism.

The proposal was made by Greenlines DP Technology Co., Ltd and Phu Quoc Express JSC, the local media reported.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, the proposal is in line with the HCMC government’s plan to boost inland waterway transport development.

In addition, the project is on the list of waterway transport routes from the mainland to the islands, according to Circular 30/2021/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport.

Planned completion of HCMC’s second metro line delayed by four years

HCMC has proposed delaying the expected completion date of its second metro line project to 2030, four years later than the previous plan, although site clearance for the project has been nearly complete.

According to the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of HCMC, compensations for site clearance of the entire project have been 99.67% complete. Particularly, compensations in the districts of 1, 10, 12, Tan Binh and Tan Phu have been fully complete.

Over 80% of the compensated households have handed over their lands to the city.

MAUR said Germany’s KfW Development Bank, a sponsor of the project, has agreed with its proposal to delay the project’s planned completion until 2030.

HCMC’s largest Covid-19 ICU closed as critical cases decline

HCMC has suspended the operation of the Covid-19 ICU in Thu Duc City, restored it to its original function as an oncology hospital and also shut down three more Covid field hospitals.

Municipal vice chairman Duong Anh Duc made this decision following the proposal of the city’s Department of Health, after the number of Covid cases under treatment at local hospitals fell below 1,000 per day and new fatalities and severely-ill cases also declined.

The closure of field hospitals will also help healthcare frontliners recover and make preparations to cope with possible outbreaks.

The Covid ICU at the Oncology Hospital No.2 in Thu Duc City is the largest of its kind in HCMC as well as in Vietnam.

Vietnam not to limit number of reporters at SEA Games 31

The first 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) International Press Conference was hosted in Hanoi on March 1 with both in-person and online forms.

Regarding the reporter card for domestic and international reporters, the organizing board will start to receive registrations from March 15 and the SEA Games 31’s press center shall be put into operation from May.

Deputy Minister of the Information and Communications, Head of the Information and Communications Sub-Committee of the SEA Games 31 Pham Anh Tuan said that the country had planned the live television for 15 to 17 sports of Olympic and Vietnam’s strengths. As for the country requiring live broadcasts of their strong sports, they can directly work with Vietnam Television (VTV).

Representatives of the Information and Communications Sub-Committee affirmed that the organizing board will not limit the number of reporters performing their tasks at SEA Games 31 but all of the international reporters in the ASEAN region and other regions have to comply with the immigration regulations when they arrive in Vietnam.

Japan provides financial support for agriculture, education projects in Southern localities

Japan will provide US$310,000 to agriculture and education development projects in three Mekong delta provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Tra Vinh.

Japanese Consul General at Ho Chi Minh City Watanabe Nobuhiro signed the agreements to this effect on February 28.

The total funding include US$184,000 for development of organic agriculture in Dong Thap province and US$127,000 for promotion of inclusive education for children with disabilities in Kien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces.

Japan is currently the largest official development assistance (ODA) provider for Viet Nam with accumulative amount of JPY 2,578 billion (or US$23.76 billion).

Designs of Tran Hung Dao bridge to be exhibited for public comments

The People's Committee of Ha Noi has agreed with the proposal made by Management Board for Investment Projects of Traffic Construction to organize an exhibition for the results of architectural contest of Tran Hung Dao bridge, starting from March 1.

The bridge project is 31m wide and 5.5km long, connecting Hoa Kiem and Hai Ba Trung Districts to Long Bien District in the northern bank of the Red River.

The bridge has its starting point at the Tran Hung Dao-Tran Thanh Tong intersection in Hoan Kiem District and extended to Nguyen Van Linh Road in Long Bien District. The project will include different infrastructure such as water supply and drainage, trenches, tunnels, trees and lighting.

Base on public opinions, the city's Department for Planning and Architecture will submit a report to the Municipal People's Committee for consideration and approval of the architectural plan of the bridge.

VN tennis aces face tough test at Davis Cup World playoffs

Vietnamese tennis players will face tough challenge at the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II playoffs as they play Dominican opponents, who rank 48th place in the tournament, 18 places higher than Vietnam.

Notably, games with Roberto Cid Subervi of the Dominican Republic (383rd place in ATP rankings) are worth watching as the 29-year-old player has climbed to 211st in the men's singles rankings and 262nd in the men’s doubles rankings.

According to schedule, the games are expected to take place on March 4 -5.

If Vietnam beat the Dominican Republic, then they will qualify for the 2022 Davis Cup World Group II. If they lose, the team will then have to play in Group III of the Asia-Oceania zone.

Vietnam triumphed in Group III of the Asia/Oceania zone in 2019, although they missed out on a place in World Group II after losing 4-0 to Morocco in the play-offs in 2020.

Source: VNA/VOV/VNS/SGT/ND/VGP/SGGP

Hydroelectricity: New mission from controversial energy source

16:30    

Despite its long history, hydroelectricity and its sustainable development have always been a matter of controversy. 

Despite its long history, hydroelectricity and its sustainable development have always been a matter of controversy. But in the future, hydropower will still be the world's largest source of renewable electricity generation, and will play an important role in reducing carbon emissions and improving the flexibility of the power system. In addition to new projects, countries will invest in expanding existing plants and types of stored hydroelectricity.

Over the past decades, Vietnam has made good use of this energy source.

The period from 1995 to 2005 was the peak of hydropower development in many countries. In Vietnam, many hydropower projects were built and put into operation, including large and multi-purpose hydropower projects like Ialy Hydroelectricity, Ham Thuan - Da Mi Hydroelectricity, Se San 3 Hydroelectricity, and Tuyen Quang Hydroelectricity, among others.

Since 2006, the largest hydropower projects of Vietnam were built, including Son La Hydroelectricity (2,400 MW), Lai Chau Hydropower (1,200 MW) and Huoi Quang Hydropower (560 MW).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in many cases, the growth of hydroelectricity has been facilitated by renewable energy development. As a result, over the past two decades, global hydropower capacity has increased by 55% and electricity generated from hydroelectricity has risen by 21%.

Advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectricity

According to the International Energy Agency, global hydropower capacity in 2050 will reach 2,000 GW, with output to double the current level, to about 7,000 TWh. Contributions will come mainly from emerging and developing economies. In the next two decades, to meet the sustainable development goals in the energy industry, including the 2oC reduction target under the Paris Agreement, the additional hydropower capacity will rise by about 800 GW.

East Asia and the Pacific are the leading regions for hydropower development in the future, especially China. According to China's plan, by 2050 the total installed capacity of hydropower will be 660 GW, equivalent to one-third of global capacity, with an estimated output of 2190 TWh.

Another country with a high output of hydroelectricity is Brazil. Currently, hydroelectricity accounts for more than 64% of the total electricity output in the country. Within the next 10 years, about 44 GW of hydropower will be available in the Amazon River region.

India is the world's 7th largest hydroelectricity producing country, and ranks 4th in the world for hydropower potential with about 148.7 GW untapped. However, India's potential is mainly small hydroelectricity, which accounts for more than 70% of the total estimated potential. Regarding the future development of hydropower, the Indian government has committed 40% of the total capacity of the system to come from clean energy sources. Thus, there will be about 20 GW of hydroelectricity that need to be built in the next 12-13 years.

According to the US Energy Agency, the US could add 50 GW of hydropower between now and 2050, another 6.3 GW will be added to the system through upgrade and expansion of hydro projects and existing plants, which includes the restoration of decommissioned hydroelectricity plants.

Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in hydroelectricity

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam currently takes the lead in hydropower but its large hydropower potential has almost reached the limit.

Laos and Myanmar will be new potential destinations to attract IPP capital sources for hydropower. The estimated hydropower potential in Laos is up to 18 GW, while it is 108 GW for in Myanmar. Small and micro-hydroelectricity is also a concern of ASEAN countries, especially countries with areas fragmented by oceans and many rivers and streams. Indonesia is currently investing in small off-grid hydropower to improve electricity shortages in remote areas. Similarly, in the Philippines, projects with a capacity of less than 1 MW only take about six months to build are the focus.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, the economic and technical potential of medium and large hydroelectricity in Vietnam is about 75-80 billion kWh, equivalent to about 20,000 MW of installed capacity. Vietnam's total medium and large hydropower capacity built by 2019 was about 17,930 MW.

Most of the remaining capacity has been invested in and is in the pre-construction stage or under construction.

In the period of 2020-2025, the country’s power system can add about 1,840MW from medium and large hydroelectricity plants (including expanded projects such as Hoa Binh, Yaly, Tri An). Small hydropower projects would contribute an additional 2,700MW in the period up to 2030.

In addition to conventional hydropower sources, Vietnam has the potential to build stored hydroelectric power sources.

According to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) entitled “Study on the master plan of stored hydroelectricity and optimization of power generation in Vietnam” in 2004, from 38 potential locations, the report selected 10 locations that can be developed under criteria such as construction cost, distance to grid connection, distance to protected areas, with eight locations in the North and two sites in the South.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that hydropower would continue to play an important role in the clean energy transition in Vietnam by providing cost-effective, low-carbon electricity and production services and improve reliability of the power system.

VNN

Number of hotels and resorts in Vietnam triple over 10-year period

16:34                                    

The number of hotel and resort projects with local and international brands in Vietnam has witnessed impressive growth, increasing from 36 projects in 2010 to 120 as of the end of January this year, according to statistics released by Savills Hotels.

Most notably, the average room capacity has also seen a four-fold increase to reach 32,000 rooms, with approximately 64 regional and international hotel brands currently making their presence in the country.

Experts revealed that previously, international and regional hotel operators had tended to focus on key markets such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc, with many now being keen on other tourist destinations such as Ho Tram, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, and Quy Nhon.

Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels APAC, said that several hotel owners have restarted their businesses, recruited personnel, and ramped up marketing activities as they strive to prepare for the recovery of the international tourism market.

He expressed his hope that hotels with a global distribution system can successfully accompany the Vietnamese tourism industry in attracting international visitors back in the near future.

This year, it is expected that the hospitality segment will see several international-branded projects come into operation at popular tourist destinations, including Regent Phu Quoc, Voco Hotel Da Nang, Best Western Plus Marvella Nha Trang, Radisson Resort Phan Thiet, and Mercure Da Lat.

The Savills Hotels expert pointed out that the presence of international brands will create greater momentum for the development of emerging markets, thereby helping the region attract more investors and turn them into international destinations in the future.

More and more Southeast Asian nations are gradually resuming tourism activities, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia, he said, adding that the local tourism industry needs to further step up advertising and promotional activities to secure its position on the international tourism map.

VOV

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 4

09:00

Retail sales of goods, services up 1.7 percent in January – February

The total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the first two months of 2022 posted a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent, hitting 876 trillion VND (over 38.35 billion USD), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Of which, retail sales of goods expanded by 3.1 percent, with significant growth seen in multiple groups, including cultural and educational items (12.7 percent), food and foodstuff (9.0 percent), and vehicles (4.3 percent). Meanwhile, revenue of clothing and household appliances respectively shrank 8.1 percent, and 9.1 percent.

Due to increased demand for food on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival in early February, the prices of food surged at some points of time but then returned to the pre-Tet level. Prices of energy and fuel products have also tended to increase following the global price trend.

Hai Phong has new logistics centre

KM Cargo Services (KMCS), a new logistics centre covering an area of two hectares, has been established at Dinh Vu Industrial Park in Hai An District, the northern port city of Hai Phong.

It is a joint venture among harbour operator Port of Hai Phong JSC, Sao A D.C Investment JSC from Viet Nam and marine transport company Korean Marine Transport Co Ltd with registered capital of VND34.8 billion (US$1.5 million).

The centre is located at Dinh Vu Industrial Park which houses a large number of factories and is near Hai Phong’s largest ports, such as Tan Vu and Dinh Vu. Travel to the facility by road is also easy as it is situated near the Ha Noi-Hai Phong Expressway and just 3km from Cat Bi International Airport.

Market extends rallies on pillar stocks

The stock market inched higher in the last minutes of Monday morning trading, boosted by gains in some large-cap stocks.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index rose slightly 0.85 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 1,505.85 points.

The index opened the session on a positive note, then reversed course, down 1.09 points, on the strong selling force of many pillar stocks. However, the benchmark ended the morning higher as rallies in some blue-chip stocks overweighed selling pressure.

The market breadth was positive, with 252 stocks climbing, while 202 declined. Liquidity remained at a high level as more than 579.4 million shares were traded on HoSE, worth over VND18.8 trillion (US$824.4 million).

Gains in some large-cap stocks drove the index's uptrend. The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in market capitalisation on the southern bourse, edged higher despite there being more stocks decreasing.

The VN30-Index increased by 1.91 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 1,524.4 points. In the VN30 basket, ten stocks jumped, while 19 slid, and one ended flat.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also extended gains, up 1.83 points or 0.41 per cent, to 451.14 points. 

Demand for insurance remains high in Viet Nam

Two years after the COVID-19 outbreak began in Viet Nam, people believe the end is in sight and they are in good shape healthwise, but concerns around personal finances remain, particularly among single women, according to new research from Manulife.

Manulife did the third Asia Care Survey, and more than two thirds (69 per cent) said it would be gone within a year and 77 per cent expected restrictions to be lifted within that timeframe.

Vietnamese had the most optimistic outlook in the region, including about the time it will take for the economy to recover with just a quarter (26 per cent) fearing it would take a long time, the lowest in the region.

The survey was done just as the Omicron variant was starting to spread.

Despite the generally sanguine outlook, 15 per cent said they had experienced job loss and 70 per cent said their income had fallen as a result of COVID.

Only 19 per cent of single women had savings on hand to last more than a year, well below the 33 per cent national average. It also found that three quarters (75 per cent) of single women were struggling to cope with COVID.

SoPa acquires Handycart

Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa), a leading Southeast Asian data-driven loyalty platform, announced that it had acquired the Ha Noi based Dream Space Trading Company Limited, the operator of Handycart, a leading online grocery delivery platform.

The newly acquired company will be integrated into SoPa’s F&B delivery vertical with SoPa’s existing merchant software platform #HOTTAB.

Handycart founder and CEO, Seo Jun Ho, has been named Head of the new Business Unit, managing Handycart and #HOTTAB in Viet Nam.

Founded in 2019, Handycart is an online grocery delivery app with a fleet of delivery vehicles that focuses on servicing the Korean restaurant market and F&B sector in Ha Noi.

Finance Ministry proposes reducing environmental protection tax on fuel

The Ministry of Finance has proposed reducing the environmental protection tax by VND500-1,000 on each liter of fuel until the end of this year to absorb the fuel price surge.

The ministry has announced a draft resolution on adjusting the environmental protection tax on fuel, except aviation fuel. Related agencies are requested to give feedback on the resolution no later than March 4.

The ministry proposed cutting the environmental protection tax from VND4,000 to VND3,000 per liter for gasoline, except ethanol, and from VND2,000 to VND1,500 per liter or kilogram for diesel oil, heavy fuel and lubricating oil.

Besides, the environmental protection tax would be halved from VND1,000 to VND500 per liter for kerosene, and from VND2,000 to VND1,500 for lubricant grease.

According to the Finance Ministry, if the tax cut is applied from April 1 until the end of this year, the State budget would lose some VND12 trillion, including value-added tax.

However, the ministry said fuel is the input of most industries, so cutting the environmental protection tax on fuel will help reduce production costs.

Trade Ministry says fuel supply adequate until end-Mar

Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, confirmed this at a Government press briefing yesterday, March 3, amid concerns over fuel undersupply in the country and many local gas stations having to shut down over inadequate fuel replenishment.

The fuel supply from domestic production meets 70-75% of the demand, even up to 80% sometimes. Domestic fuel production mainly comes from the Dung Quat and Nghi Son refineries.

In early January, due to financial woes, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC cut the output of its refinery to 80% and the refinery is now operating at 55-60% capacity. This has affected the domestic fuel supply, as the volume of fuel supplied to local fuel wholesalers under signed contracts declined.

To make up for the fuel shortage after the Nghi Son Refinery cut its production capacity, the Dung Quat Refinery had to increase its capacity to 105%. However, the 5% increase has yet to make up for the fuel shortage.

Regarding a scenario of domestic fuel supply in the upcoming time, Hai said the ministry had asked 10 fuel wholesalers with a major market share to import an additional 2.4 million cubic meters of fuel in the second quarter. The move is aimed at ensuring a sufficient fuel supply for local use even if the Nghi Son Refinery’s output fails to meet the market demand after May.

Vietnam to export two million tonnes of coal this year

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has licensed the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corp., Ltd. (Vinacomin) and Dong Bac Corporation to ship abroad more than two million tonnes of coal this year.

Vinacomin is allowed to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of coal dust and 800,000 tonnes of lump coal, while Dong Bac, a business run by the Ministry of Defense, is set to export up to 30,000 tonnes of lump coal.

As a result, the total amount of coal exported by the two enterprises this year will increase by nearly half a million tonnes compared to 2021.

Last year both Vinacomin and Dong Bac were allowed to ship abroad 1.55 million tonnes of coal.

Oil and petroleum products imports in Feb three times higher than ordinary months

Vietnam imported 1.45 million cubic meters of oil and petrolem products in February, three times higher than the ordinary months amid global oil market uncertainties, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry said the surging imports helped ensure a sufficient supply of oil and petrolem products in the first quarter of 2022.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine military conflict, supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing demand for fuels among countries to boost economic recovery have led to oil prices surging.

In late January, the Ministry of Industry and Trade asked fuel traders to take immediate action to replenish fuel stockpiles, especially at a time when domestic fuel production is falling.

The ministry also assigned 10 wholesale fuel firms to import 2.4 million cubic meters of petrol and oil in the second quarter of 2022 to secure supply in the local market.

Electronics producer adds over 305 mln USD in investment to Bac Ninh facility

The northern province of Bac Ninh on March 3 officially licensed electronics manufacturer Goertek Vina a to raise its investment in its facility at Que Vo Industrial Park to 565.7 million USD from 260 million USD.

According to Goertek Vina CEO Yoshinaga Kazuyoshi, the company, which produces electronic devices, network equipment and multimedia audio products, now employs over 30,000 workers. Last year, its revenue rose by 20.4 percent to 3.28 billion USD despite COVID-19.

Bac Ninh raked in more than 1.3 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first two months of this year, making it the country’s largest FDI recipient during the period.

Vietjet joins hands with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to promote tourism recovery

Thai Vietjet, an affiliate of Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet Air, in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for cooperation in the field of tourism as strategic partners in implementing joint marketing activities, to promote and increase the number of inbound tourists, specifically from Vietnam and Cambodia markets, to Thailand.

The agreement was developed as a result of relentless efforts and successful actions together for tourism promotion in domestic and international markets, with aims to collaborate and create joint promotional activities, and also to organise joint agent and media familiarization trips to Thailand and share travel and tourism information that contribute to the recovery of aviation and tourism industry in the soonest time.

Reference exchange rate up 8 VND on March 4

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,151 VND/USD on March 4, up 8 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,845 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,457 VND/USD.

Vietnamese firms join largest event for professional online sellers

Fourteen Vietnamese firms recently showcased their products at the "White Label World Expo London 2022", which was the UK’s largest event for professional online sellers.

The event, held on March 2-3 at the Excel convention centre in London, attracted 500 businesses and 7,000 visitors. It offered a major opportunity for Vietnamese firms to promote their products, and seek business partners and export chances to the UK and Europe.

At the expo, Vietnamese firms and their UK partners signed three strategic economic cooperation agreements totalling 300 million GBP (400.45 million USD).

They comprised an agreement on credit support for Vietnamese exporters, another on legal assistance for firms joining the UK and European markets, and one on the provision of tourism services on a cruise ship in the UK.

Vietnam’s manufacturing recovery continues in February

In a report released on March 1, IHS Markit said the Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 54.3 in February, up from 53.7 in January and signalling a pick-up in growth for the fourth month running.

Business conditions have now improved in each of the past five months following the disruption caused by the Delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

According to the report, the improving growth momentum overall was again supported by stronger customer demand. New orders increased sharply and the rate of expansion quickened to a ten-month high. Improving international demand was also reported in February, helping lead to another marked rise in exports.

Higher new orders and stable business conditions contributed to a fifth successive increase in manufacturing production. As was the case with new business, the rate of expansion in output was the most marked since last April.

Hopes of continued new order growth should the COVID-19 pandemic be brought under control supported optimism in the year-ahead outlook for production, with more than half of respondents expecting output to increase over the coming year.

Ministry looks to address hurdles in agro-exports to Russia, Ukraine

The Russia-Ukraine tension may deliver a major blow to agricultural trade between Vietnam and both the countries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said.

The trade will be affected by Russia being disconnected from the SWIFT payment system, the disruption of the supply chain in export-import as major shipping companies have suspended their service to Russia, rising transport cost, and declining demand in Russia, Ukraine and related countries.

Vietnam exported about 550 million USD worth of agro-forestry-aquatic products to Russia last year. Of the figure, coffee export raked in 173 million USD and aquatic products 164 million USD.

Furthermore, Vietnam imported input materials for agricultural production from Russia and Ukraine such as wheat, maize and fertiliser. The country purchased about 500 million USD of agro-forestry-aquatic products from Russia last year.

The MARD will closely join hands with trade associations and the State Bank of Vietnam to support payments for businesses whose products have already been sent to Russia but payment is being affected by stagnant financial transactions, the official added.

HCM City steps up communications to promote tourism

Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism on March 3 announced a draft communications plan to promote a vibrant southern destination on domestic and international media platforms this year.

Accordingly, with a highlight on the theme of Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City, the plan is expected to popularise local destinations, people, cultural identities, products, and cuisine, targeting domestic and foreign visitors. It features the production of television commercials and under-60-second films about local destinations and tourism products; the appointment of a tourism ambassador; and advertisements on international media channels.

Regarding the city’s welcoming of foreign tourists, director of the department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said a number of solutions have been prepared for the implementation of specific programmes in line with the Government’s tourism reopening direction in the coming time.

VN moves towards cashless society

An ecosystem for cashless payment is essential for Viet Nam to encourage people to switch from cards to contactless and digital payment, an important factor in the country’s digital transformation.

National Payment Corporation of Viet Nam statistics show that around 1.86 billion cashless payment transactions worth VND23.6 quadrillion were made in 2021, rising by 169 per cent and 164 per cent, respectively, compared to 2020 and 2019.

According to Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long, about 50 per cent of the population do not have bank accounts and most use cash for payments worth less than VND100,000.

The project on the development of cashless payments in Viet Nam for 2021-25 is creating a crucial legal framework for the development of the cashless payment ecosystem.

Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Nguyen Thi Hong said that the central bank would improve the legal framework on cashless payment and fintech sandboxes to promote cashless payment.

In addition, the infrastructure will be improved to enable linkage between banks and payment intermediaries with goods and services providers ensuring instant processing and round-the-clock operation.

Textile and garment industry focuses on domestic market

With nearly 100 million people, the domestic market is considered fertile land for textile enterprises to boost production and dominate the market.

However, in the face of increasingly fierce competition from major fashion groups globally, domestic enterprises need to have a roadmap and direction to avoid losses at home.

Textile and garment enterprises have mainly focused on exports and have not paid much attention to the domestic market.

Facing difficulties caused by the pandemic, especially when the export market declined, businesses have boosted investment in researching, changing product structure and promoting market development.

The Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association will continue to accompany the business community on counterfeit goods by linking with market management agencies and mobilising consumers through communication channels.

Source: VNA/SGT/VIR/VNA/VNS/SGGP

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 4

09:31      

Singapore launches vaccinated travel lane with Vietnam

As Vietnam is scheduled to reopen its borders for international tourism from March 15, Singapore has decided to launch the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) with Vietnam, restoring two-way quarantine-free travel.

This is among the outcomes of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s State visit to Singapore from February 24 to 26, expected to help further boost post-pandemic recovery of the two countries.

In an announcement on March 4, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) applications for travellers from Vietnam will open at 10am (Singapore time) on March 13.

Short-term visitors and work permit holders eligible to travel on the VTL must apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL. Fully vaccinated Singapore citizens, permanent residents, all other long-term pass holders and In-Principle Approval (IPA) holders, and children aged 12 years and below in the calendar year do not need to apply for a VTP to enter Singapore under the VTL.

Foreign Ministry submits visa waiver proposal to PM

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent the Prime Minister a proposal to reinstate a visa waiver for international tourists to help the Covid-battered tourism industry recover.

The visa waiver reinstatement will be in line with the Law on Foreigners’ Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence in Vietnam 2014, as well as international treaties of which Vietnam is a signatory.

Vietnam will reinstate the visa waiver for those coming from 13 countries, comprising Japan, South Korea, Russia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus.

Regarding vaccine passports, as of March 2, Vietnam had reached agreements on the mutual vaccine passport recognition with Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey and Singapore.

Most Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine evacuated from battle zone: spokesperson

The Party and State of Vietnam give the highest priority to citizen protection measures so as to ensure safety of lives, assets, and legitimate and rightful interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities, as well as staff members of Vietnamese representative offices in Ukraine, said spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

She made the remark during the ministry's regular press conference held virtually on March 3, in response to reporters’ question about the situation of the Vietnamese community in Ukraine and citizen protection work.

As of March 3 afternoon (Vietnam time), most Vietnamese citizens in Kyiv, Odessa and hundreds of people in Kharkov had been evacuated from the battle zone and helped to travel to neighbouring countries.

More than 400 people had arrived in Moldova and were set to move on to Romania; while 600 had reached Poland, 70 others to Romania; about 30 to Slovakia and 50 to Hungary. Vietnamese ambassadors and staff at the embassies had met the citizens and provided them with necessary support, Hang continued.

Representative offices have spared no efforts in assisting the evacuated people with necessary procedures and working with local authorities and Vietnamese organisations to arrange temporary shelters for them.

Vietnam welcomes Ukraine-Russia dialogue: Spokeswoman

Vietnam welcomes the ongoing dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, and hopes that the sides will soon find long-term peaceful solutions to differences in line with international law and taking account of legitimate rights and interests of the concerned parties, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang has said.

Responding to reporters' queries on the situation in Ukraine at a regular press conference held online by the ministry on March 3, Hang said Vietnam shares ASEAN’s views in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Situation in Ukraine issued on February 26, as well as in the speech by the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on March 1.

Vietnam calls for the observance of international law and the UN Charter, and the settlement of disputes via peaceful measures in accordance with basic principles of international law and the UN Charter, especially the principles on respecting independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, not intervening in each other’s internal affairs, and not using or threatening to use force in international relations, she said.

Vietnamese PM to attend special ASEAN-US summit

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN leaders have been invited by the US President to attend a special ASEAN-US summit to be held in Washington DC in the coming time, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang has announced.

Hang revealed the information during a regular press conference held online by the ministry on March 3.

“ASEAN countries have agreed with the US’s proposal on the holding of the event. The sides are exchanging opinions on related issues, including the agenda and date for the summit. The Vietnamese PM is scheduled to attend the event and have bilateral activities in the US,” the spokeswoman said.

Spokesperson informs press on policy on visa, vaccine passport

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang informed the press on Vietnam’s policy on visa and mutual recognition of vaccine passport during a regular press conference of the ministry held online on March 3.

Foreigners, overseas Vietnamese and their family members holding eligible documents will be allowed to enter the country in accordance with the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through, and Residence in Vietnam, Hang said.

Regarding the recognition of vaccine passports, Hang said as of March 2, Vietnam had reached agreement with 15 countries and territories, namely Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, the Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey and Singapore.

Departure place of first flight repatriating Vietnamese from Ukraine may be changed

The first flight to carry Vietnamese citizens home from Ukraine may take off from Bucharest instead of Warsaw, Dinh Viet Son, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), said on March 4 morning.

The CAAV may announce the adjustment on March 4, Son stated, citing the Foreign Ministry’s information on March 3 evening as saying that not many Vietnamese people had travelled to Poland from Ukraine, and few of them have the desire to return to Vietnam.

Earlier, the aviation sector planned to operate the first flight repatriating Vietnamese people in Ukraine from Warsaw on March 5 morning, which will be conducted by Vietnam Airlines.

Meanwhile, the second flight will go from Bucharest and is planned to be conducted by Bamboo Airways.

Data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that there are about 7,000 Vietnamese people in Ukraine, mostly in the three major cities of Kyiv (800), Kharkiv (3,000), and Odessa (3,000).

Airline seeks procedure support to bring Vietnamese in Ukraine home

Vietnam Airlines has proposed ministries and agencies to soon give instructions on the conduct of flights repatriating Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine.

It plans to organise the first repatriation flight from Ukraine via Poland, based on the wish of Vietnamese in Ukraine.

The flight is scheduled to depart from Hanoi on March 5 morning, arrive in Poland in the afternoon and return to Vietnam later the same day. About 270 passengers are expected to arrive home on March 6 morning.

Vietnam Airlines called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to soon guide the launch of flight or others supplement flights, and support the carrier in asking for permission to take off and land via the diplomatic channel.

It also suggested the Ministry of Transport to soon license the flight, seek approval of relevant countries, and instruct the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to assist Vietnam Airlines in negotiations for emerging issues.

PM chairs Government meeting on law building

Law building should keep up with the reality and deal with emerging issues, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at a Cabinet meeting on law building in Hanoi on March 4.

The Government meeting on law building, the third of its kind since the beginning of this year, looked into proposals and reports regarding feedback on five bills and one draft resolution of the National Assembly.

The bills under consideration are the draft law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Radio Frequencies, the draft law on domestic violence prevention and control (revised), the draft law on forces participating in the protection of grassroots security and order, the draft law on road traffic safety and order, the draft law on road traffic, and the draft resolution on piloting the model of labour organisation, career counseling, and vocational training for prisoners outside prisons.

Vietnam receives additional 34 ultra-low freezers from US to store COVID-19 vaccines

The US has delivered an additional 34 ultra-low temperature freezers to Vietnam to help the Southeast Asian country expand life-saving COVID-19 vaccine storage capacity.

The freezers were handed over to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health by US Ambassador Marc Knapper in Ho Chi Minh City on March 4.

They are among 111 ultra-low temperature freezers the US Department of Defence is providing to Vietnam with a total value of approximately 1 million USD. They will be sent to HCM City and several southern provinces.

COVID-19 related child hospitalisations on the rise

The Ministry of Health has reported the number of COVID-19 infections under 12 years of age hospitalised nationwide has risen considerably from 14.1% of all hospitalisations before February to 24.3% at present.

Of the total, 4% are at risk of turning critical after five to eight days of showing symptoms.

Dr Nguyen Thanh Le of Hanoi-based Hospital for Tropical Disease, said most of the infected patients admitted to the hospital have severe symptoms and need medical intervention.

Most children with COVID-19 were hospitalized with symptoms such as high temperatures, lethargy, anorexia, and convulsions, while some children suffered respiratory failure, he said.

Doctors have advised parents to closely monitor their children if they are infected with the virus in order to seek medical help as swiftly as possible.

Children suffering from underlying medical conditions such as obesity, bronchial asthma, and low birth weight, along with those taking immunosuppressive drugs, malignancies, and others fall severely ill if they contract COVID-10, they warned.

Prime Minister holds phone talks with COVAX Managing Director

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested the COVAX Facility continue its supply of COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam, especially vaccines against new variants, during his phone talks with Managing Director of the COVAX Facility Aurélia Nguyen on March 3.

The PM said since their in-person meeting in Paris last November, Vietnam has gained positive outcomes in raising its COVID-19 vaccination coverage, becoming one of the countries taking the lead globally in this regard.

Vietnam has received about 213 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, of which more than 194 million have been administered.

Up to 98 percent of Vietnamese people above 18 have got two shots of vaccine and the country is striving to complete the injection of the third jab to the group within this month, he said, adding that 94 percent of children aged from 12-17 have also received two doses.

Construction on Sa Pa airport begins

A ground-breaking ceremony for Sa Pa Airport was held in Cam Con commune, Bao Yen district, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, on March 3.

This is one of the major projects celebrating the 75th anniversary of the provincial Party Committee (March 5, 1947-2022).

Approved by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in late October, Sa Pa airport has a total investment of nearly 7 trillion VND (306.54 million USD), of which 2.7 trillion VND comes from the State budget.

The first phase of the 370-ha airport is scheduled to be completed before 2025, serving 1.5 million passengers each year.

7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children to arrive in Vietnam this month: health official

The Ministry of Health has reached agreement with Pfizer to set out an estimate and a bidding plan, with the aim to bring 7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children to Vietnam within this month, and the remaining 14.9 million in the fourth quarter, Deputy Minister Do Xuan Tuyen said on March 3.

Speaking at the Government’s regular press conference, Tuyen said the Government has issued a resolution on the purchase of the vaccine doses, which will be administered to 11.8 million children aged from five to 11.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has also allowed the ministry to buy the vaccines under a special mechanism in line with Article 26 of the Bidding Law, he added.

The ministry has closely coordinated with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education and the Ministry of Education and Training to collect public opinions, especially parents with children of the age group, on this matter.

Accordingly, 95-96 percent of surveyed people approved the vaccination for children of the age group, the Deputy Minister informed.

Localities urged to strictly inspect preparations for welcoming back tourists

Provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide have been requested to outline plans and organise inspections to examine the preparation of facilities and services to welcome tourists back in the coming time.

According to a document sent by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s inspection agency to localities, chief inspectors of departments of tourism were ordered to actively advise and propose to leaders of departments on organising delegations to inspect preparations to welcome visitors at tourist sites and service business establishments in their areas.

The inspection and examination will focus on the building and implementation of plans to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic; the settlement of events when tourists are tested positive for COVID-19; the quality of facilities and services; and human resources serving tourism.

Local authorities were asked to pay attention to ensuring security and safety for tourists, especially at localities and businesses providing adventure tourism activities, and river and sea tourism services.

Regarding COVID-19 prevention and control at tourism business establishments, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also requires localities and tourist accommodation establishments to strictly implement registration at http://www. ://safe.tourism.com.vn; and encourage tourists to use mobile app “Du lich Viet Nam an toan” (Travel Vietnam safely) to look up safe travel information, make medical declarations, and evaluate destinations.

Expiry date of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine extended

The Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under the Ministry of Health has agreed to extend the shelf life of Spikevax (Moderna) COVID-19 vaccine batches imported into the country from March 2.

According to a notice issued by the DAV on March 2, the expiry date of the vaccine has been extended from seven to nine months (from the manufacturing date) at the storage condition of -25 to -15 degrees Celsius, applicable to vaccine manufacturing establishments authorised by the Ministry of Health for emergency use.

The decision was made based on the conclusion of the ministry’s Advisory Council for the Registration of Circulation of Drugs and Medicinal Ingredients, the MoH said on March 3, affirming that the adjustment will not affect the quality, safety and efficiency of the vaccine.

VN to compete at Dubai Cup for U23s

Việt Nam will take part in the U23 Dubai Cup 2022 in the United Arab Emirates later this month.

They are one of nine teams invited to play along with the hosts in the friendly ten-day tournament which begins on March 20.

Việt Nam will face Iraq in the first game on March 23, and then China three days later.

Other teams taking part are Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Japan, Qatar and Thailand.

Matches will be held at the Sevens, Dubai Police and Dubai stadiums.

HBSO returns with spring colors to Opera House

After a year-long break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will perform “Colors of the Spring” on March 5 at the Opera House.

The March 5 concert will feature arias from Giuseppe Verdi’s operas, including Spuntato ecco il di d'esultanza (Welcome to the Day of Triumph) from Don Carlo, and Introduction and Barcarolle from I Due Foscari (The Two Foscari).

The programme will also include arias from famous operas by Giacomo Puccini, Franz Lehar, and Leo Delibes, and the song Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, also known as Land of Hope and Glory, by Edward Elgar.

The performance will feature the HBSO Choir as also sopranos Phạm Duyên Huyền, Nguyễn Thu Hường and Phạm Khánh Ngọc, the last mentioned being runner-up at the SLO-ASEAN Vocal Competition in Singapore in 2016.

Baritone Đào Mác and Võ Nguyễn Thành Tâm, and tenors Phạm Trang and Phan Hữu Trung Kiệt will also perform.

The programme will present orchestral compositions like Orpheus – Quadrille by Johann Strauss and Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka by Johann Strauss II, which will be performed by the HBSO orchestra.

Vietnam committed to promoting UN’s common agenda: Diplomat

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN) has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to work with other countries to promote the proposals outlined in the UN Secretary General's report “Our Common Agenda” (OCA).

Addressing a consultation held by UN General Assembly on March 3 under the theme “protecting our planet and being prepared for the future”, Giang applauded the report which he said includes many breakthrough initiatives and future orientations that are very important for Vietnam, developing countries and the world as a whole.

The Vietnamese diplomat said that the combination of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, along with new ways of doing things, including the new initiatives of the UN Secretary General, will contribute to promoting the realisation of important priorities and plans of the international community.

According to the ambassador, initiatives such as the appointment of special envoys for future generations and future laboratories, or an emergency response mechanism to global crises, can help mobilise resources for existing mechanisms if implemented properly.

Various activities to be held at Culture Village throughout March

A series of activities towards the Youth Month, with the theme "Blue I love", will be held during March at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Dong Mo Tourism Area, Son Tay Town, Hanoi, promising to bring interesting experiences.

The group of activities and events includes learning about national culture, art programmes, organising cooking contests for ethnic dishes such as lam rice and grilled meat, a gong contest, traditional folk games, and displaying books, documents and photos on the homeland's sea and islands.

The programme has attracted the participation of more than 100 people of 16 ethnic groups from 12 provinces and cities across the country, including Tay, Nung, Dao, Mong, Thai, Muong, O Du, Kho Mu, Ta Oi, Co Tu, Ba Na, Xo Dang, Gia Rai, RagLai, Ede, and Khmer.

HCMC Transport Dept says to open Thu Thiem 2 Bridge to traffic on April 30

The HCMC Department of Transport is working with the investor to speed up work on the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge project to put it into operation on April 30, according to the municipal department.

Speaking at a press briefing on March 3, Bui Hoa An, deputy head of the municipal department, said the opening of the bridge was timed to coincide with the Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1) holidays this year.

Besides, the department will give a facelift to Ton Duc Thang Street leading to the bridge prior to the opening of the bridge to meet the traffic demand, the local media reported.

The VND3.1-trillion Thu Thiem 2 Bridge has six lanes and a total length of over 1.4 kilometers.

Vietnam Book Day to promote reading culture

The 2022 Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day will be held from mid-March until the end of April, with the major activities ranging from April -15.

The 2022 Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day, themed “Helping culture prevail and developing reading culture”, aims to affirm the position, role and importance of books in improving the knowledge, skills, thoughts and personality of the people as well as encouraging and boosting the reading movement in the community.

The event will also honour organisations and individuals that have made great contributions to the development of books and reading culture.

Under the plan, the 2022 Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day will be held in many different forms in line with all practical conditions and the new normal rules for COVID-19 prevention and control.

Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park to receive seven Indochinese tigers

The leader of Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An Province informed that after receiving a document from the Center for Rescue, Conservation and Creature Development in the Phong Nha - Ke
Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province, agreeing to receive and take care of seven Indochinese tigers, Pu Mat National Park had been completing the necessary procedures to handover them soon.

It is expected that on March 20, all these seven Indochinese tigers will be relocated to Quang Binh Province. Authorities will transfer them in cages to a specialized rescue nursing area in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park without using a tranquilizer to ensure their health.

These are seven Indochinese tigers discovered by Nghe An Province Police in an investigation on illegal wildlife trade from Ha Tinh Province to Nghe An Province in August 2021.

Phong Luu Khau Vai Market Festival back after two-year COVID hiatus

The Phong Luu Khau Vai Market Festival will return in late April, following a two-year postponement due to COVID-19 concerns, according to the Ha Giang Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Themed ‘Market of Love Songs’, the festival is set to take place from April 25 to 27 (the 25th to 27th day of the third lunar month) in Khau Vai Commune, Meo Vac District.

The event seeks to promote tourism along with the traditional cultural values of ethnic groups in Ha Giang Province, thus facilitating the province’s recovery efforts after COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival will officially open on the evening of April 26, during which the local authorities will receive a certificate recognising the social customs and beliefs of the Phong Luu Khau Vai Market as a national intangible cultural heritage.

The three-day event will feature a beauty pageant, incense offering at the Ong and Ba temples, and a peace praying ceremony.

Digital transformation promotes Hanoi’s relic sites to visitors

The Hanoi Municipal Youth Union has officially launched a project to apply digital transformation in the promotion of famous relic sites in the capital city via website https://thangthanhnien.meta365.ai.

Accordingly, the youth union members recorded the panorama of five historical and cultural relic sites and red addresses in Son Tay Town including Son Tay Ancient Citadel, Duong Lam Ancient Village’s gate, the tomb and temple of King Ngo Quyen, Van Mieu Son Tay (the Temple of Literature in Son Tay), and Mong Phu Communal House in Duong Lam Commune.

Their images were put into virtual space using virtual reality and 360 multi-dimensional image application technologies.

Notably, artificial intelligence technology (AI) was applied to introduce the relic sites in both Vietnamese and English. Integrated with social networking platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Zalo, QR codes have been attached at relic sites to ensure their popularity and convenience among visitors.

RoK helps build green, smart urban resilience controlling centre in Da Nang

The People’s Committee of Da Nang city, in collaboration with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), held a ceremony on March 4 to kick-start the Integrated Centre for Controlling Green and Smart Urban Resilience (ENSURE Centre) in the central city.

This is a non-refundable ODA project added by the Government of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to the Vietnamese side with a total investment of 259 billion VND (11.3 million USD), and expected to be completed in 2025.

It aims to strengthen the resilience to natural disasters, contribute to the city's socio-economic development, create a favourable environment for enterprises to conduct production and business activities and attract investment, and ensure safety for residents and visitors.

In addition, the project will apply information technology to early recognise and warn of natural disasters, forecast their developments, improve the capacity of the central city’s disaster forecast and response, and promote green urban restoration.

Source: VOV/VNA/VNS/SGGP/VGP/SGT

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 7

16:14                                    

Festival to introduce African cinema industry to Vietnamese cinemagoers

The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) will be held for the first time in Vietnam, from March 11 - 14 in Hanoi, with an aim to introduce the African cinema industry to Vietnamese cinemagoers.

The festival will introduce four special feature films from Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Rwanda, which will provide moviegoers with an insight into the natural landscapes and people of Africa.

The four films, which were selected from the best entries of the recent edition of FESPACO, have received several awards at prestigious film festivals from around the world.

The films will be screened for free with Vietnamese and French subtitles, at the National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio, No. 465 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi.

Launched in 1969, FESPACO has been established as the largest film festival in Africa. It is held biennially in Ouagadougou - the capital of Burkina Faso.

PM orders gradual normalisation of COVID-19 pandemic

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 5 requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic at a teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities.

PM Chinh ordered readiness without neglect and subjectivity as the pandemic may continue developing in a complicated and unpredictable manner with the Omicron variant.

He stressed the importance of continuing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, focus on curbing the risks, limiting the number of severe cases and fatalities, promoting rapid recovery and sustainable development, ensuring social welfare and maintaining national defense and security.

As the spirit of pandemic prevention and control is without precedent, so it does not need perfectionism, cannot be in a hurry, but need closely follow the situation to continue to learn from experience and make appropriate adjustments, he stressed.

Vietnamese people travelling to Hungary from Ukraine receive support

Given that more and more Vietnamese people are being evacuated from war zones in Ukraine, the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary has considered citizen protection a key task and required all of its staff to get ready around the clock.

The embassy sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Border Guard of Hungary requesting coordination and creation of favourable conditions to support Vietnamese citizens to seek refuge in Hungary. In addition, it has closely followed Hungary’s regulations on entry and stay for refugees from Ukraine, and continuously updated information through the channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese community in Hungary.

The embassy has coordinated with the Association of Vietnamese People in Hungary to set up a working board and issued a notice calling on the Vietnamese community in Hungary to promote solidarity, which has been warmly received by the expatriates.

As of March 4 evening, the embassy and the Vietnamese community in Hungary had provided assistance for 125 Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine.

Vietnam’s U23 team to face Iraq, Croatia at 2022 Dubai Cup

Vietnam’s U23 team is to play Iraq and Croatia at the 2022 Dubai Cup, which is a friendly tournament scheduled to take place later this March in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ten football teams from Asia and Europe will compete at the event, including Uzbekistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and host the UAE. Each team will play three matches throughout the tourney, which will be held on March 23-29.

Vietnam will play Iraq in the first round on March 23 and Croatia in the second round three days later.

The third one is slated for March 29.

The upcoming tourney is to help Vietnam get ready for the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), to be hosted by the country this May, and the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup.

Border areas set for economic development

The Government has set out five key tasks to help boost socio-economic development in land border areas.

Recently issued Resolution No. 23/NQ-CP on economic development in land border areas covers mechanisms and policies, mobilising and using resources and promoting infrastructure development to boost development.

Other tasks are enhancing production, effective national defence and security missions as well as ensuring social security and improving social welfare and sustainable poverty reduction in land border areas.

Vietnam has more than 5,000 kilometres of land border, with many operational border gates. However, many border areas remain poor compared to other parts of the nation.

Accordingly, advancing socio-economic development and social security in these areas is of significant importance to narrow the development gap and strengthen the effectiveness of trade and investment ties with neighbouring countries.

HCM City strengthens COVID-19 prevention and control

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has urged relevant authorities to strengthen COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control amid the domination of Omicron variant.

Rising cases of COVID-19 infections have prompted the municipal People’s Committee on March 4 to issue an urgent document on measures to combat the pandemic.

Relevant authorities across districts and Thu Duc city are required to strictly implement Resolution 128 on safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since it is forecasted that more infection chains will be recorded in HCM City, business establishments and schools should take immediate actions to curb the spread of COVID-19 among their communities.

Vaccination progress against COVID-19 has to be accelerated while necessary resources need to be prepared for vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years old in the near future.

Distressed fishing ship safely towed to land

The Naval Region 4 High Command and a fisheries surveillance unit on March 6 handed over 12 fishermen and their vessel to authorities of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

The BTh 97497 TS encountered an accident about 6 nautical miles northwest of Sinh Ton Dong island of Khanh Hoa’s Truong Sa island district.

The captain had to send out a distress call at sea since the ship suffered an engine breakdown.

Truong Sa 20 vessel of Brigade 955 of Naval Region 4 towed the fishing ship to Sinh Ton Dong island and helped fix the problem. The distressed fishermen received medical checkup and treatment.

On March 3, per request of the captain, relevant agencies began to tow the ship to land as it needs further repair.

Most of Vietnamese in three big Ukrainian cities already evacuated: ambassador

Most of the Vietnamese people wishing to move out of three big cities of Ukraine, namely Kyiv, Kharkov, and Odessa, have been evacuated in the face of the complicated situation there, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to the country Nguyen Hong Thach.

These three cities also house the majority of Vietnamese in Ukraine.

Vietnam’s representative agencies in Ukraine and neighbouring countries said as of 5pm on March 6, they had received more than 2,600 Vietnamese people evacuated from war zones in Ukraine, including over 1,700 to Poland, 290 to Hungary, about 600 to Romania, and over 40 to Slovakia.

The agencies have assisted them to handle entry and transit procedures, and coordinated with authorities and Vietnamese associations in the host countries to prepare transport, accommodation, and essential supplies for the evacuees.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working closely with relevant ministries, sectors, agencies, and airlines to arrange two flights repatriating the Vietnamese and their families from Romania on March 7 and Poland on March 9.

President requests highest priority for protecting OVs in Ukraine

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors to give the highest priority to protecting Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine, e in the context of the escalating conflict there.

During a meeting on March 6 with their representatives, the leader stressed that the spirit of humanity and responsibility are very urgent now.

The guiding spirit of the Party, State and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat is to protect Vietnamese people in war zones, he stated, stressing that the Party and State always pay great attention to the work.
The President applauded the Government's plan to conduct free flights bringing Vietnamese citizens with difficult circumstances in Ukraine back home, with priority to women, children and the elderly.

For those who stay, they must be evacuated from war zones to safe places, he said.

Another flight arranged to bring Vietnamese from Ukraine home

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will operate a third flight from Romania to Hanoi to bring back Vietnamese who fled from conflicts in Ukraine, per request of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on increasing such flights, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Son said on March 6.

The flight is to depart from Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport on March 10 to Bucharest, and return a day later.

The CAAV said the repatriation plan now is that the citizens in Ukraine will go by road to neighbouring countries, with those in Kyiv moving to Poland, in Kharkiv to Russia, and in Odessa to Moldova or Romania, and then flights will be arranged to bring them from these countries back home.

As it is unable to operate flights to Ukraine, which is currently a war zone, airlines have planned flights to destinations in nearby countries such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, and Belarus.

Apart from these destinations, Vietnamese carriers are also ready to fly to any other places under the Government’s plan in the principle of ensuring safety and the best possible conditions for Vietnamese people and their families in Ukraine to return to the homeland, according to the CAAV.

Over 2,000 people join "Ao dai" parade in HCM City

More than 2,000 people of different ages took part in an "ao dai" (Vietnamese long traditional dress) parade on March 6, as part of the eight Ho Chi Minh City "Ao dai" Festival.

The event, themed "I Love Vietnamese ao dai", was jointly organised by HCM City's Department of Tourism, Women’s Union and other agencies. It marks the 1982nd anniversary of the Trung sisters’ Uprising, and 112th International Women’s Day and welcomes the 13th National Women’s Congress.

Spectators enjoyed a special "ao dai" parade with bicycles or on the double-decker bus. These images are familiar to visitors when coming to HCM city, contributing to promoting a lively and modern city that is still attached to national cultural values.

The "ao dai" festival, which runs from March 5 to April 15, aims to introduce the beauty and convenience of "ao dai", making it familiar costumes of people in contribution to preserving the nation’s cultural identity and promoting the image of the country and Vietnamese people.

Hanoi economy on recovery path

The industrial production and trade of Hanoi has been on a recovery trend from the beginning of the year, driven by the capital city’s policies of reopening business activities after months of closing down to fight the pandemic.

The capital city’s index of industrial production was estimated to increase by 4.6 percent in the first two months of this year.

Specifically, the manufacturing and processing industry rose by 4.8 percent, power production and distribution by 1.8 percent, and water supply and waste treatment by 4.3 percent.

Industries that saw significant increases included paper production by 49.7 percent, wood processing and wood products by 20.7 percent, electronic products and computers by 11.9 percent, rubber and plastic products by 11.1 percent.

The capital city witnessed a rise of 30.9 percent in export to reach a value of more than 2.6 billion USD in January – February, of which the domestic sector’s export value was estimated at 1.4 billion USD, up by 33.9 percent while the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector saw an increase of 27.7 percent in export value.

The total retail sale of goods and services was estimated at 109 trillion VND (4.77 billion USD) in the first two months of this year, representing a rise of 9.9 percent against the same period last year.

PM attends inauguration ceremony of irrigation system in Kien Giang

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 5 attended the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the Cai Lon-Cai Be irrigation project in Chau Thanh district, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

Regarded as the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, the irrigation system is intended to control salinity in the five provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Hau Giang and Kien Giang, helping to save billions of VND for the State budget. It will also serve as an agricultural highlight in the western region.

The construction of the first phase began in November 2019 with total investment capital of over 3.3 trillion VND (144.48 million USD).

Once fully operational, the system is expected to facilitate stable and sustainable production on an area of 384,120 hectares, including nearly 347 hectares of agriculture and fishery.

This is one of the major projects rolled out in line with the Government’s Resolution No. 120, PM Chinh stressed, adding that the system and western sea dykes will help to control natural disasters, rising sea level and flooding.

Cold spell to hit northern Vietnam, light rain, humidity expected

A cold front is making its way through China to northern Vietnam, bringing rain and humidity in the coming days, said national weather forecasters.

The cold blast is set to hit northern border localities early Monday (March 7) and move further inland during the day.

The cold and high pressure will send temperatures to plunge to 11-13 degrees Celsius in the mountain areas and to 15-17 degrees in the plain.

On March 7-8, northern localities are likely to experience hailstorms, lightning, and strong winds. The meteorological agency warned of the risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas.

Vietnam among countries with highest gender equality index globally

The World's Leading Market Research Association (WIN) recently published its annual survey, showing that Vietnam is among the countries with the highest index for gender equality in the world.

In Vietnam, up to 84% of respondents in big cities think the country has achieved gender equality at work and 93% think that there is equality between women and men at home. These are the highest figures recorded in 39 countries participating in this survey.

About 63% of respondents in Vietnam say there is gender equality in politics.

The survey was conducted by the end of 2021 in 39 countries, using face-to-face, telephones or online interviews.

In Vietnam, the survey was conducted by Indochina Research with 601 respondents in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Can Tho.

RoK’s Idol Radio broadcasts Vietnamese children’s song

Ngo Ngoc Hung, alias Hanbin - a Vietnamese member of Kpop boyband Tempest, sang Vietnamese song “A duck” on the Republic of Korea’s (RoK) entertainment show Idol Radio.

After making its debut on March 2, Tempest has held a series of activities to popularize its name in the RoK’s entertainment industry.

During the March 3 live broadcast on Idol Radio, Hanbin chose to sing “A duck” – a Vietnamese song composed for kindergarteners.

The Vietnamese boy confidently imitated some of the duck’s funny, cute moves and “quack” sound, winning thunderous applause from the audience.

Government approves development plan for Mekong Delta

Deputy Prime Minister Lê Văn Thành has signed a decision giving the green light to a master plan for the Mekong Delta, which consists of Cần Thơ City and 12 provinces, in the 2021-30 period, with a vision to 2050.

It aims to promote the strength of the local agricultural economy towards sustainability and technology application; maintain the proportion of added value at a high level of about 20-25 per cent by 2030; and make effective use of free trade agreements for market expansion.

It sets a target of the regional economy growth at an average rate of about 6.5 per cent annually, with its regional gross domestic product in 2030 being 2-2.5 times larger than in 2021. Also by 2030, the Delta will build and upgrade some 830km of expressways; about 4,000km of national highways; four airports; and 13 seaports.

Regarding tourism, the Mekong Delta hopes to become an international brand for agro-rural, eco and marine tourism, with Cần Thơ and Phú Quốc earmarked to become two international tourist hubs and a gateway to welcome visitors to the entire region.

Transport Ministry to stop manual toll collection on expys from June 1

The Ministry of Transport has urged the relevant departments and agencies to stick identification cards on all vehicles to use the non-stop electronic toll collection (ETC) service and eliminate manual toll collection from June 1.

The ministry asked the Directorate for Road of Vietnam to review and place the ID cards on all vehicles managed by the directorate and call on civil servants to first attach the cards onto their private vehicles to ensure the manual toll collection model ends from June 1.

The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam was also told to pilot the ETC service on the Hanoi-Haiphong expressway and urge provinces and cities to quickly stick the cards on all vehicles, according to the ministry’s directive.

The ministry also gave the same task to the Vietnam Register, including reviewing and placing the cards on all vehicles managed by the agency and encouraging its employees to stick the cards on their cars.

Besides, ETC service providers were asked to ramp up the ID card attachment sites and offer the service at the headquarters of State-owned agencies and residential areas to speed up the process of eliminating manual toll collection.

Smuggling Covid-19 test kits, medicine rampant in market

The functional agencies of many localities over the last two months have discovers several cases of trading Covid-19 test kits and drugs without any valid labels or invoices. These merchandise pieces were imported to Vietnam from different countries with an increasing quantity day after day.

The shipment of over 85,000 Covid-19 quick test kits illegally imported from the Republic of Korea to Vietnam on February 17.

Market Management Team No.2 (under the Quang Ninh Province Department of Market Management) has just cooperated with Traffic Police Team No.3 (under the Quang Ninh Province Department of Public Security) to inspect a 7-seat minivan with the license plate of 88A-400.08 on National Highway No.18A.

They have discovered 1,500 Covid-19 quick test kits imported from China with no valid documents. The van driver, Phung Gia Long from Kim Long Commune of Vinh Phuc Province, admitted that these kits were ordered online from an unknown source located in Mong Cai City (Quang Ninh Province). All the goods, worth VND94 million (US$4,100), have no legal invoice or documents.

The Thai Nguyen Province Department of Market Management reported that since the beginning of March, it has detected and fined 6 cases of Covid-19-related product smuggling, including 87 medicine packs and 2,000 test kits worth VND130 million ($5,700) in total.

A similar situation could be found in Hanoi. Recently, Market Management Team No.17 (under the Hanoi Market Management Department) has collaborated with the Economic Police Division (under the Hanoi Public Security Department) to check a business premise at the address of 115 Trung Phung Street in Dong Da District.

Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Division in Lang Son Province has also detected an unclaimed shipment on their patrol. The shipment includes 1,600 Covid-19 test kits from China.

Reports from the General Department of Vietnam Customs reveal that smuggling medicines to Vietnam has become worse since the beginning of this year. The most noticeable ones are two cases of illegal transport of Covid-19 medicine (14,650 pills of ‘Arbidol’ and ‘Areplivir’) to Vietnam from Russia. They were discovered by the Customs Division of Cam Ranh – Khanh Hoa International Airport.

The Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department (under the General Department of Vietnam Customs) has just worked with the Hanoi Customs Department to capture a shipment of over 85,000 Covid-19 quick test kits from the Republic of Korea, worth VND8 billion ($346,000) illegally transported to Vietnam via Noi Bai International Airport.

Due to the surge of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam lately, the demands for test kits and medicine have risen remarkably, leading to various smuggling cases of Covid-19-related medical products for profit. These merchandise pieces have no clear origin and quality warranty.

Ministry proposes more open regulations for patients in purchase of Molnupiravir

Because patients have experienced great difficulty in accessing the purchase of Covid-19 oral pill Molnupiravir even though this drug has been produced domestically and circulated on the market, the Ministry of Health has recently proposed more open regulations to help Covid-19 patients soon get the pill.

In its report to the Prime Minister, the Ministry said that Molnupiravir is a new drug, it is necessary to continue to monitor the quality, effectiveness, and safety of the drug during circulation. Currently, the drug has been licensed for conditional circulation by the Ministry of Health for three years and must be strictly controlled after licensing. People can only use Molnupiravir with a prescription from a doctor. Arbitrary use carries many risks due to unwanted effects of the drug as well as the creation of new strains of viruses.

To ensure easy access for patients to antiretroviral drugs to treat Covid-19 in the context of a high number of cases, the Ministry of Health proposed several contents on the dispensing of Molnupiravir. Specifically, for the distribution of free treatment drugs, localities and medical facilities can be assigned to purchase drugs to treat Covid-19, including Molnupiravir, which has been licensed for circulation in Vietnam according to regulations to promptly satisfy infirmaries’ needs.

One more North-South twin train halts operation

The Hanoi Railway Corporation has just informed that one more North-South twin train was halted the operation as the Covid-19 pandemic has outbroken in many localities along with a decline in travel demand.

Particularly, the SE11 train will be temporarily ceased its operation at Hanoi train station from March 6 and the SE12 train shall be halted in Saigon train station from March 8.
Passengers holding train tickets traveling on trains SE11/12 in the suspended period can perform procedures to change or refund tickets in advance of the departure at the train stations.

Passengers will enjoy free of charge when they refund the tickets in accordance with the regulations. Besides, the free-of-charge refund policy will be also applied to passengers who bought roundtrip tickets.

Therefore, from March 8, there will be only three North-South twin trains daily connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, including SE3/SE4, SE5/SE6 and SE7/SE8.

Cao Bang Border Gate Economic Zone master plan approved

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a decision approving the master plan for Cao Bang Border Gate Economic Zone towards 2040.

The economic zone located in the northern province of Cao Bang has a total area of over 30,130 hectares.

By 2030, the population in the area is projected to stand at about 73,000-78,000, including 35,000-37,000 urban residents.

The economic zone is divided into four regions. Each region has one key economic border gate which directly connects with China's border gate system.

Mekong Delta takes multiple measures to prevent forest fires

Authorities in the Mekong Delta are strengthening measures to prevent forest fires as the region enters its peak dry season and forests become highly vulnerable to fires.

With a total area of nearly 40,000sq.km, the delta, which comprises 12 provinces and Can Tho city, has about 347,500ha of different types of forests, including mangrove forests, cajuput forests, national parks, nature reserves and bird sanctuaries.

Many forest areas in the delta are said to be at high risk of forest fires because of the weather and illegal human activities including lighting fires inside forests.

Source: VNA/VOV/SGGP/VNS/SGT/VGP

What makes foreign investors choose Vietnam instead of neighboring markets?

16:19

In 2022, Vietnam is forecast to record growth at a significantly higher rate, partly thanks to the high vaccination rate that helped the country recovered most of its economic activity since late 2021.

PwC recently published the report "Vietnam Outlook 2022: Economic prospects in the wake of COVID-19". The report said that, after a long time coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam still recorded a GDP growth rate of 2.58% in 2021. This is also one of the few economies to achieve 2 consecutive years of growth since COVID-19 broke out.

However, GDP growth rate does not fully represent the real impact of COVID-19 on the economy. Vietnam is going through a K-shaped recovery, with different sectors being impacted in different ways. Specifically, while tourism, hotels, and food and beverage services have been severely affected, export-based industries have recorded remarkable resilience in the past two years.

COVID-19 clarifies the fact that Vietnam is an export-based economy, less dependent on tourism or hotels. When compared with neighboring countries with a strong tourism industry such as Thailand (GDP growth -6% in 2020), the Philippines (-9.6%) or Cambodia (-3.1%), it shows that these countries have been significantly impacted. Meanwhile, Vietnam can maintain positive growth.

The report emphasizes that, with the latest Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) taking effect from January 1, 2022, trade relations with global markets will continue to improve, helping Vietnam gradually become the region's fast-growing country.

When compared with neighboring markets, Vietnam is still considered the destination of many supply chains and production relocation waves, due to its solid economy and favorable investment environment. As of December 20, 2021, the country recorded a total of 31.15 billion USD in new, adjusted and share purchases by foreign investors.

One of the main reasons why Vietnam has become a "winner" in the battle to reposition the supply chain is its ability to build a strong manufacturing ecosystem. This includes a network of suppliers that support major domestic manufacturers, as well as the process of improving the nation's electricity, road and transport infrastructure.

In the past, Vietnam was mainly known for its textile manufacturing sector. However, in recent years, Vietnam has emerged as a leading electronics manufacturing center in Southeast Asia.

Accordingly, a series of investment projects by US investors specializing in manufacturing electronic equipment and consumer electronics "landed" in Vietnam in 2019.

In 2020 and 2021, Vietnam also welcomed many other FDI projects, but some of them had to be delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This trend is expected to continue over the next few years, including a shift in investment away from other markets, as well as an increase in investment in the foreign manufacturing sector.

In 2022, Vietnam is forecast to record growth at a significantly higher rate, partly thanks to the high vaccination rate that helped the country recovered most of its economic activity since late 2021.

VNN

Foreign investors: "Vietnam is a destination for future plans"

10:52  

Despite challenges in terms of labor resources, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical fluctuations and economic conflicts, Vietnam still sees opportunities from various shifting investment waves and changes in trade structure and order.

That is the view of participants at talks on "Investment Connections" organized by the Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment) in Ho Chi Minh City last week, which attracted a large number of investors and international organizations.

Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Department, said that in 2021 Vietnam's economy maintained a growth rate of 2.58%, the macroeconomy was stable, inflation was under control, and the business investment environment improved.

Total import-export turnover increased by 22.6% compared to 2020, reaching a record of 668.5 billion USD, particularly exports up by 19%, worth 336.25 billion USD. Vietnam has become the third largest economy in ASEAN with a GDP of over 350 billion USD.

Despite being affected by the pandemic, international investors still trust in Vietnam and are coming here to expand. They see Vietnam as a destination for future plans, said Mr. Hoang.

So far, Vietnam has had over 34,642 FDI projects in operation, with total capital of over 415.6 billion USD from 141 countries and territories.

Vietnam is currently listed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as one of the top 20 FDI attracting countries in the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that Vietnam's GDP will increase by 6.6% in 2022, higher than that of Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

At the talks, Do Nhat Hoang affirmed that Vietnam is committed to creating favorable conditions for foreign investors to conduct sustainable and long-term business investment in Vietnam.

In particular, the Investment Promotion Center of the Southern (IPCS) will be the focal point to maintain regular communications between local government, diplomatic missions, international organizations, and domestic and foreign business associations.

Tran Thi Hai Yen, Director of IPCS, said that this year, the center will cooperate with the Consulate General of India to implement investment promotion programs, and conferences and seminars related to seaports, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and maritime safety with a number of southern provinces.

IPCS will also coordinate with the Trade Office of the US Consulate General to help Vietnamese businesses to attend the Select USA program organized by the US Trade Office to explore investment opportunities in the US.

IPCS will join the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Consulate General of Korea to build a program to bring Korean business delegations to provinces in Vietnam to learn about investment opportunities in high-tech agriculture, equipment manufacturing, industrial parks, and export processing zones.

At the same time, IPCS will work with the Japanese Consulate General to help Japanese businesses connect with local governments and explore investment opportunities in high-quality closed livestock production chains, trade centers and retail business chains in Vietnam.

VNN

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 9

16:07              

Vietnam offers 0% tariff for 300,000 tons of Cambodian rice

According to Circular No. 6 on the imports of rice and dry tobacco from Cambodia issued recently by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to enjoy the special preferential import tariff of 0%, rice imported from Cambodia must have the certificate of origin Form S issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce or agencies authorized by the Cambodian Government.

Besides, they must be transported to Vietnam through 24 selected border gates such as Le Thanh-Ou Ya Dav, Bu Prang-Dak Dam, Loc Thinh-Tonle Cham, Moc Bai-Bavet and Xa Mat-Trepeang Plong.

The circular will take effect from April 15 to December 31, 2022.

The Vietnamese Government earlier issued Decree No. 83 on the special preferential import tariff for Cambodian goods to implement the Agreement on Promoting Bilateral Trade between Vietnam and Cambodia in the 2021-2022 period.

Data of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia showed that in 2021, Cambodia exported some 1.7-1.8 million tons of rice to Vietnam, soaring over 60% year-on-year.

Vietnam Airlines resumes seven domestic routes to serve summer season

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has reopened seven domestic routes as it strives to meet domestic travel demand ahead of the peak summer season.

The move will see six local routes connect Phu Quoc with Da Nang, Vinh, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Lat, and Thanh Hoa, along with the Da Nang - Vinh air route.

The Da Nang - Phu Quoc route resumed operation from March 2, while the air service linking Phu Quoc to Vinh, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Da Lat, and Thanh Hoa will reopen from March 27 with a frequency capacity of four flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

It is anticipated that Vietnam Airlines will increase the frequency to seven flights per week on these routes from June 1.

Furthermore, the Da Nang - Vinh route will resume from June 1 with a frequency of three flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Vinh Long to have five industrial zones by 2025

South Vinh Long province has announced plans to develop five industrial zones in 2021-25 with a total area of 1,700 ha.

They are Tan An Thanh in Binh Tan district (500ha), Dinh Khao in Long Ho district (400ha), Trung Thanh Tay in Vung Liem district (30ha), Mỹ Hoa in Binh Minh town (300ha), and Phuoc An in Mang Thit district (200ha).

They will mainly house farm produce, aquatic produce and food processing, renewable energy, and footwear projects, but also those in supporting industries such as producers of automobile parts.

This conforms with the province’s investment attraction orientation of improving capacity in industrial production.

Hospitality, serviced apartment markets set to pick up

The resumption of international flights and the borders reopening in March will not only benefit Vietnam’s hospitality sector but also drive demand for serviced apartments, according to Savills Vietnam.

Domestic travel boomed in early 2022, thanks to Lunar New Year travel.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, there were more than 6.1 million domestic tourists during the nine-day festival, generating revenue of 25 trillion VND. These numbers represent a genuine demand and an optimistic outlook for the revival of domestic tourism.

As part of Vietnam’s plan to reopen to international guests, the authorities have announced that international flights will resume from March 15, 2022. This reopening will not only benefit the country’s tourism and hospitality segment but is forecast to benefit serviced apartments too.

Foreign experts are the predominant occupiers of serviced apartments in Hanoi.

Japanese and Korean expatriates are the main tenants in Grade A serviced apartments, accounting for 84 percent in the second half of 2021.

Hotel occupancy also improved in the last quarter of 2021, along with the average room rate, which reached VND1.8 million, increasing 12 percent compared to the last quarter of 2020.

Between 2022 and 2023, supply is also expected to increase with the entry of 2,900 rooms, demonstrating the rekindling of investor confidence in the hospitality sector, according to Savills Vietnam.

Vietnamese firm joins investment promotion forum in Germany

An investment promotion forum to introduce potential and chances of Vietnam’s economic fields was held in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 8, seeing the participation of nearly 300 delegates.

It was part of activities in Germany to promote investment in Vietnam, which is underway until March 14.

Dang Chung Thuy from the Embassy of Vietnam said Germany is the largest trade partner of Vietnam in the European Union (EU) and Vietnam is the leading partner of Germany in Southeast Asia.

Numerous corporations in Vietnam have taken the initiative in boosting cooperation and meeting stringent requirements of the German and EU markets, including FLC Group.

He expressed his hope that the forum will open up chances for businesses of the countries to join hands, especially in fields that Vietnam holds huge potential in such as aviation, tourism, golf and resort real estate.

Vietnam’s railway freight transport to Europe affected by Russia – Ukraine conflict

International railway freight transport between Vietnam and Europe along the route through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland to Germany and Western European countries is likely to be affected if railways from Poland to Belarus stop operation, according to an official from the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR).

According to the VNR, the director general of the International Union of Railways (UIC) has sent letters to its members to inform that UIC had suspended the membership of Russia and Belarus. This means that the Russian and Belarusian railways cannot participate in the union’s activities or benefit from its services.

Vietnam initially planned to organise a train to transport containers from the central city of Da Nang to Europe in early March but the plan has been shelved due to the conflict.

Currently, railway freight transport between Vietnam and China still remains normal, with high volume of container transport from China to Vietnam.

Statistics of the VNR show nearly 1.16 million tonnes of goods were transported abroad by trains in 2021, surging 34 percent compared to the same period last year.

Of note, the Dong Dang railway station of the northern border province of Lang Son witnessed increases of 82 percent in the volume of goods in the fourth quarter of last year.

Vietnamese products expected to penetrate deeply into Japan’s retail system

Vietnamese enterprises are showcasing their products at "Foodex Japan 2022," the 47th edition of a leading food and beverage exhibition in Japan that opened on March 8.

Apart from Vietnam, this year’s exhibition, first held in 1976, brings together businesses from tens of other countries and territories worldwide.

Saitou Yaso, a Japanese food importer, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that it is great to bring Vietnamese fruits to Japan, saying the two countries should step up the exchange of agricultural products.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam said although many firms are unable to participate in the exhibition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still diverse Vietnamese products on display, expressing his belief that the products will satisfy local tastes.

Ta Duc Minh, Trade Consular at the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, said all of the Vietnamese farm produce and food exhibited have met Japan’s food hygiene and safety regulations and been exported to the country via the official channel.

Foodex Japan 2022 is scheduled to last until March 11.

Room remains for Vietnam to boost agricultural produce export to France

France is a promising market for Vietnam’s agricultural products and foodstuffs, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in France.

Statistics showed that each year, France's imported agricultural and food products account for 20 percent of the country's domestic consumption. Import value has doubled over the past 20 years, from 28 billion EUR (30.5 billion USD) in 2000 to 56 billion EUR in 2019.

Of more than 9,200 agricultural products imported to the country, there are 900 items with a trade deficit of more than 50 million EUR.

The Trade Office blamed it on the fact that the cultivation is continously decreasing. An increase in market demand for fruit juices and foreign fruits such as avocado, mango and dragon fruit is also a reason.

Despite being the leading European country in terms of organic farming, France’s production can meet 67 percent of domestic demand.

France is the largest rice importer, accounting for 35 percent of the European Union with an annual demand of about 600,000 tonnes. However, the amount of Vietnamese rice entering the French market only takes up about 2.1 percent of its market share.

Vietnam remains attractive destination for US investors

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung on March 8 had a working session with the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and representatives from 50 US firms operating in Vietnam.

The minister appreciated the council’s efforts in connecting businesses and investors of Vietnam and the US, as well as its policy proposals and recommendations to improve the business environment in Vietnam.

He also highly valued the operations of member enterprises of the USABC in Vietnam over the past years.

Regional Managing Director of the USABC Michael Michalak, who used to serve as a US Ambassador to Vietnam, affirmed that Vietnam will remain an attractive destination for US investors in the time ahead.

He said US firms appreciated the Vietnamese government’s efforts in reforming administrative procedures and improving the investment environment, and committed to expanding their operations in the country.

The ministry will work to promote potential areas to serve the country’s economic recovery and growth like digital transformation, green growth, innovation, low-carbon energy, support industry and quality agriculture, he added.

China allows resumption of fresh chili import from Vietnam

The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has allowed the import of Vietnamese fresh chilies again after a long negotiation process, according to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

So far, five Vietnamese exporters have received permits to export the product to China under strict requirements, especially those in plant quarantine, said the department.

It said that all shipments must be quarantined by relevant Vietnamese units with clear notes of relevant technical parameters in the phytosanitary certificate.

In the time to come, in order for the Chinese side to accept more packaging facilities of Vietnam, the department will coordinate with localities to guide them on how to meet requirements of the Chinese side. It will make recommendations on a list of more exporters to the GACC for approval.

Earlier in 2020, China requested Vietnam to temporarily suspend the exports due to the presence of harmful fruit fries on the product.

Vietnam, UK partner to effectively utilise UKVFTA

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will co-ordinate with the British Embassy in Vietnam to co-host the seminar "One-year journey of the UKVFTA: Remarkable achievements and the vision ahead” on March 15.

The event is set to be held in both Hanoi and London with the aim of reviewing the achievements recorded one year on from the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) taking effect. In addition, it will simultaneously evaluate the role of the trade pact in creating growth momentum for the country's export sectors and local businesses during the post-COVID-19 recovery period.

The seminar is expected to provide an ideal opportunity for both nations' business communities to determine the future orientations and share their experience in taking full advantage of the agreement.

Furthermore, it will serve as a forum for the business community to resolve problems for import-export firms in the process of implement the UKVFTA.

MICE groups to receive free tickets to tourist attractions

Major groups of up to 500 MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) visitors or more are set to enjoy free tickets or discounted fares when visiting tourist attractions in HCM City.

The move comes following the centre applying incentives to large international groups of tourists who choose to visit the southern city this year.

Accordingly, visitors are anticipated to receive gifts in the forms of souvenirs, sightseeing tickets, and means of transportation.

With regard to groups of between 300 and 1,000 visitors, the southern city’s tourism sector will offer discounts on lodging facilities, as well as equipment at conference rooms at four and five-star hotels, exhibition centres or MICE venues located in the city.

Furthermore, they are also expected to receive free ticket at tourist attractions and enjoy flexible policies of ticket refund and cancellation in line with the airlines' regulations.

The local tourism industry will also provide advice and facilitate the procedures for outdoor activities and art performances at both international conferences and seminars.

FIFA hails Bich Thuy’s historic goal for women’s national team

FIFA has hailed Vietnamese female footballer Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy after she scored a goal that saw Vietnam qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup which will take place in Australia and New Zealand in the future.

In a recent interview with Bich Thuy, FIFA said that when she scored the most important goal in the history of Vietnamese women’s football in January she knew she’d finally fulfilled the dream of an entire nation, including that of her late father.

According to the website, this took place during a showdown for a place at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Chinese Taipei needed just a draw to progress whilst Vietnam required a win to reach the finals for the first time after six attempts. With the game poised at 1-1, substitute Bich Thuy snatched a victory for The Golden Girls.

In the preliminary qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup, the Vietnamese female player starred as a super sub, coming off the bench to bag a brace in a 7-0 rout of Tajikistan before her heroics against Chinese Taipei.

According to FIFA, the Vietnamese women’s football has developed a lot in recent years, with qualification for the global tournament in Australia and New Zealand resulting in facilities being upgraded and youth development plans improved throughout the country.

Hundreds of businesses to attend Vietnam Expo 2022

Around 350 businesses are expected to join the 31st Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo) scheduled to be held in Hanoi in April.

The event will take place at the Hanoi International Exhibition Centre between April 13-16, covering a site of 3,200 square metres with areas for national brands and export products; equipment and support industries; digital technology, e-commerce; and food and beverages.

Many firms from South Korea, Belarus, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Cambodia and Cuba, have registered to participate at the event.

South Korea will be the exhibition's honorary guest, while Belarus will be the special guest.

This year will be the 23rd consecutive year that Korea Trade Promotion Corporation will take part in the Vietnam Expo.

App-based taxi service prices sharply increase

The prices of app-based taxi services in Vietnam have increased amid the rocketing price of petroleum.

Grab Vietnam has announced that all of its services will experience price rises from March 10. GrabBike services in Hanoi will be increased to VND13,500 for the two first kilometres and VND4,300 for each following kilometre. Meanwhile, the fees for the service in HCM City will be VND12,500 and VND4,300 respectively.

Four-seat GrabCar services in Hanoi and HCM City will have minimum fees of VND29,000 for the first two kilometres and VND10,000 for each following kilometre.

The highest rise will be applied for the seven-seat GrabCar Protect service with VND38,600 for the two first kilometres.

GrabBike service fees in 30 other cities and provinces have followed suit with a rise of VND2,000-3,000 against the current levels.

Ride-hailing company Be Group has increased its services in Hanoi from February 10. The two first kilometre fees for the beBike and the four-seat beCar services will be VND14,000 and VND29,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, Gojek said that it has not yet raised its service, saying that it had included possible price hike impacts in the short term when drafting its initial service price frame.

Global oil prices have continued sharply rising amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao announces next smart logistics park

Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has announced the development of the Cainiao Dong Nai Smart Logistics Park, its latest project located near Ho Chi Minh City.

On an area of approximately 168,000sq.m, the Cainiao Dong Nai Smart Logistics Park will provide around 90,000sq.m of premium warehouse leasing space to support businesses’ warehousing needs.

Strategically located in one of the largest and well-established industrial parks in Dong Nai, the Cainiao Dong Nai Smart Logistics Park boasts direct connectivity to Ho Chi Minh City, as well as immediate proximity to vital transportation facilities such as the upcoming Long Thanh International Airport – which is forecasted to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargos per annum by 2025 – and the two major seaports Cat Lai and Cai Mep-Thi Vai.

Vietnam and ASEAN seek closer cooperation in maritime transport

Representatives from the 10 ASEAN member countries are gathering at the 42nd meeting of the bloc's Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG) hosted by Vietnam to discuss new innitiatives for closer cooperation.

The event taking place virtually on March 9-10 attracts the ASEAN Secretariat, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and regional partners and associations.

Key discussions include the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan 2016-2025 and the 2022-2023 action plan, new initiatives in the maritime transport sector, and related cooperation with the IMO and dialogue partners.

To facilitate maritime activities between Vietnam and other ASEAN countries, Vietnam has so far signed bilateral transport agreements with seven countries in the region – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Competition heats up for southern industrial zones

According to the ‘Competition in industrial real estate in Vietnam’ report released at the end of February by the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the southern region has more than 400 industrial zones (IZs) with a total area of up to 109,000 hectares.

Binh Duong is the southern province with the most significant industrial real estate space with a market share of up to 13 per cent, equivalent to more than 14,500ha. It is the third-largest province in Vietnam in terms of attracting foreign investment and has the highest occupancy rate in the entire country at 99 per cent.

The five provinces of Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ca Mau, Dong Nai, and Long An account for more than 50 per cent of the total market share. Except for Ca Mau, these locations are suitable for manufacturers because they will reduce transportation costs for freight transportation from and to Ho Chi Minh City.

The southern market has warmed up since last year, with IZs returning to production and many large foreign-led projects continuing to land in the south. As a result, land prices have regained their momentum, reaching $117 per square metre, with a 7.3 per cent increase on-year. Rent for warehouses reached $4.70 per sq.m, up 4.9 per cent on-year, with solid speed recorded in Long An in particular.

SHB to increase its FOL to 30 per cent

Vietnam Securities Depository modified the foreign ownership limit (FOL) ratio of privately-held lender SHB from 10 per cent to a maximum of 30 per cent, effective from March 4.

In August, SHB temporarily locked its FOL at 10 per cent to execute the plan of selling and issuing securities authorised by the annual general meeting of shareholders.

In the current sale, the bank has successfully offered more than 539 million shares to existing shareholders, thus boosting its charter capital to more than $1.16 billion.

Last year, SHB entered a strategic agreement to sell its consumer finance arm, SHB Finance, to Ayudhya Bank (Krungsri) of Thailand – a member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from Japan.

SHB had transferred 50 per cent of SHB Finance's charter capital to Krungsri. The remaining 50 per cent ownership would be transferred to the Thai bank after three years. The size of the deal is around $156 million. 

Hanoi in need of 100,000 workers in first quarter 2022

Hanoi is forecasted to need an additional 80,000 to 100,000 workers in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Hanoi Centre for Employment Services (SCES), under the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The fields with the highest demand growth rate for recruitment in the capital city, include trade, business, information technology, mechanics, finance and banking.

In February this year, Hanoi generated jobs for more than 10,500 labourers.

Last month, the SCES successfully organised 20 mobile job transaction sessions, attracting the participation of more than 440 units and businesses, and around 2,200 labourers. Through such sessions, the centre helped 789 people to get jobs.

Binh Duong to break ground on two major industrial parks

The southern province of Binh Duong will begin work on two large-scale industrial parks this year, said provincial chairman Vo Van Minh.

These include the Vietnam-Singapore 3 Industrial Park (VSIP3) and the Cay Truong Industrial Park, with each covering an area of 1,000 hectares. The VSIP3 project is scheduled to get off the ground in late March, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

With the development of these two facilities, Binh Duong will have 30 industrial parks with a total area of 14,000 hectares. Among them, 28 parks have been put into operation, attracting 4,000 firms at home and abroad to set up their businesses at the parks and offering jobs to over one million laborers.

According to the Binh Duong Industrial Zones Authority, the inflow of foreign investment into industrial parks in the province is forecast to remain strong. In the first two months of the year, investors from 13 countries and regions had injected capital into projects in the province.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/VGP/SGGP/Dtinews

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 9

10:23  

Two military officials detained for involvement in Viet A case

Investigators under the Ministry of National Defense have filed charges against two officials of the Hanoi-based Military Medical Academy for their alleged involvement in Viet A Technology Corporation’s price gouging of Covid-19 test kits.

Colonel Ho Anh Son, deputy director of the academy’s Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmacy, was prosecuted and arrested for alleged embezzlement and abuse of power while on duty. Meanwhile, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Hieu, head of the academy’s Materials and Equipment Supplies Department, faced the same charges for allegedly violating bidding regulations and causing serious consequences.

Son was head of a project to research and produce Covid test kits in collaboration with medical tech firm Viet A Company.

Last week, the Central Inspection Committee said in a statement that the academy’s Standing Party Committee had violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations; had been irresponsible and shown laxity in leadership and supervision to allow officials at the academy to violate regulations when proposing and implementing national-level scientific and technological tasks, including the research and production of Covid test kits and purchase of test kits from Viet A.

In late December last year, a few days after Phan Quoc Viet, chairman and general director of Viet A, was arrested, Colonel Son told news site VnExpress that Viet A had participated in the Covid test kit research team since the early days given the urgent demand for serving the country’s Covid fight.

As for the Viet A case, investigators have pressed charges against 21 people and seized assets worth VND1.6 trillion in total.

The 9th Da Lat Flower Festival is scheduled for the end of this year under a proposal of Lam Dong province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The biennial national and international cultural-tourism event, organised by the provincial People's Committee of Lam Dong, aims to honour the flower industry in Da Lat, promote tourism and trade, and call for domestic and international cooperation and investment in the province.

Last year, the locality decided to skip it due to the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic. All funding for the event was used to provide computers and telecommunication services for students with difficult circumstances in the locality.

Another flight now on way to repatriate Vietnamese in Ukraine

A Bamboo Airways flight is en route from Hanoi to Warsaw to bring home nearly 300 Vietnamese people fleeing war-ravaged Ukraine.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner departed from Noi Bai International Airport at 1:55am on March 9 and is scheduled to land at Warsaw Chopin Airport at 9:00am (local time), or 15:00pm (Hanoi time), the same day.

It will stay there for about 3 hours for passengers for boarding, technical inspection and refuelling.

The flight is expected to arrive back in Hanoi at around 5:15am the next day, three hours later than the initial schedule.

First Vietnamese-Czech honoured for service to Czech Republic

Trinh Tan, a Vietnamese-Czech engineer, was among 38 citizens honoured in 2020 for his contributions to the Czech Republic's national service.

A ceremony to present the award to those who made important contributions to the European country in the past two years as announced by President Milos Zeman was held in Prague on March 7 (local time).

Tan, born in northern Thai Binh province of Vietnam, graduated from the University of Mining in Ostrava. He is currently president of the Vietnamese association in the Moravian-Silesian Region and member of the region’s Ethnic Minority Council.

The engineer was honoured for his contributions to strengthening the Czech Republic-Vietnam relations. When COVID-19 broke out, he launched a campaign calling on the Vietnamese community to make and present tens of thousands of masks, protective gloves and financial assistance to hospitals, nursing homes and social welfare institutions in the European nation.

The Vietnamese community of more than 7,000 is the third largest group in Moravia. Its members actively engage in annual cultural activities of the locality and support nursing homes, orphans and people with disabilities.

Vietnamese delegation attends gender equality-relating meetings

The Vietnamese mission to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organisation, and other international organisations in Geneva attended gender equality-related meetings held on March 8 to mark the International Women’s Day.

Held under this year's theme of “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, the event aims to recognise the contributions by women and girls who are leading the way in climate change adaptation and response and building a sustainable future for all as advancing gender equality and tackling climate change are the greatest challenges to humanity in the 21st century.

The mission took part in webinars entitled “Empowering women in green trade" and “Sharing experiences relating to gender mainstreaming in national policy”, and attended an exhibition on the contributions of female leaders to multilateralism and progress in the areas of peace and security, human rights and development.

Hanoi aims to attract more tourists to cultural relic sites

Hanoi authorities are working to attract more tourists to the capital city's cultural relic sites, especially when the country completely reopens the tourism sector from March 15.

Due to impacts of COVID-19, the number of tourists to popular destinations in the city has remained modest although municipal authorities allowed the opening of the sites in February, .

Huong Pagoda, which used to receive about 5,000 visitors each day, is seeing only about 1,000 tourists on a daily basis. So far, the popular spiritual tourist destination has welcomed 60,000 visitors, equivalent to that in only one day in peak season in previous years.

Similar situation has been seen in many other relic sites such as Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, and Hoa Lo prision.

To adapt to the new situation and draw more visitors, cultural relic sites in the city have flexibly applied measures to improve their image and provide more attractive products for visitors, including a gift presenting programme in Thang Long Imperial Citadel and special night tours of Hoa Lo prision.

Hanoi aims to welcome 9-10 million visitors, including 1.2-2 million foreigners, this year and 12-14 million tourists, including 2.5-3.5 million foreigners, next year.

Vietnamese from Ukraine receive continuous support in Czech Republic, Slovakia

A committee has been established by the Embassy of Vietnam and the association of the Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic to help evacuate Vietnamese fleeing war zones in Ukraine.

It has raised nearly 600,000 CZK (25,700 USD) in cash for the evacuees and received 20,000 EUR (21,830 USD) from the association of the Vietnamese people in Czech which will be spent on food, medicine and other necessities for those fleeing to Poland and Romania.

Additionally, it has collected donations of food, drinking water, blanket, clothes and medicine from local people for the needy from Ukraine. Many expats have voluntarily driven the Vietnamese from the border with Ukraine to temporary shelters in Czech while others have given accommodation and food for them.

As of March 8 morning, close to 200 Vietnamese people had been evacuated from Ukraine to Czech.

In Slovakia, the Vietnamese Embassy estimated to have evacuated over 100 Vietnamese nationals from Ukraine to the country, most of whom chose to go to other European countries.

Vietnamese expats in Slovakia have been busy arranging accommodations and travel from border for their fellows from Ukraine and providing them with food and other necessities. Vietnamese associations in Kosice near the border with Ukraine have sent rescue teams to the border gates day and night to offer help to them.

Over 10,000 EUR in cash and a large volume of food and necessities have been raised for those in need.

New law promotes awareness of environmental protection

The 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, which took effect at the beginning of 2022, has timely institutionalized many new policies of the Party and State related to environmental protection.

The law is also gradually harmonised with international laws with amendments related to environmental quality management towards protecting people's health.

For the first time, the law defines a residential community as a subject of environmental protection, which promotes the role of residential communities in environmental protection activities.

It also comprises new regulations on strict control for projects with high risk of adverse environmental impacts; post-inspection for projects using advanced and environmentally friendly technologies; and cuts many administrative procedures.

In particular, the new law also adds solutions to protect environmental components, promote waste separation at source, and manage and deal with waste.

About 270 Vietnamese nationals to be repatriated from Poland on March 10

Around 270 Vietnamese nationals fleeing the conflict in Ukraine are expected to return to Vietnam on March 10 on a flight conducted by Bamboo Airlines from Warsaw, Poland.

The flight is scheduled to depart from Warsaw, Poland on March 9 and arrive at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi on March 10 morning.

Over the past few days, the Party and State have directed ministries and agencies to urgently carry out citizen protection work for Vietnamese people living in war-ravaged areas in Ukraine.

On March 8, a Vietnam Airlines flight carrying 287 Vietnamese people leaving Ukraine arrived at Noi Bai. The passengers included 71 children aged under 12.

Nearly 55,000 people in HCM City find jobs in two months

Nearly 55,000 people in Ho Chi Minh City have found jobs in the first two months this year, including 28,000 in February, according to the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

In February alone, more than 12,000 new jobs were created, mainly in catering services, retail, wholesale, food and other sectors, raising the number of new jobs created since the beginning of this year to around 25,000, equal to 17.85 percent of its yearly plans, which aim to create 140,000 new jobs this year.

The department also plans to provide vocational training for 371,000 labourers in 2022.

Safe reopening creates opportunities for Vietnam's tourism recovery

The Government has agreed with a proposal of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other public agencies on safely reopening tourism activities by air, road and sea in a new normal condition starting March 15.

The ministry is now completing its related plan for submission to the Government and the Prime Minister as soon as possible, creating favourable conditions for both tourists and local services providers.

Regarding "vaccine passport", not many countries have so far recognised Vietnam’s vaccination certificate, making it difficult to bring Vietnamese tourists abroad and causing imbalance in international air transport. Therefore, more negotiations are needed for the industry to access more abundant and better sources of tourists.

To ensure the recovery of Vietnam's tourism, it is necessary to improve the quality of products, facilities, and human resources. The VNAT will propose training and re-training programmes for tourism workers as well as the extension of support policies, particularly in terms of finance and credit, for businesses and employees in the industry.

The VNAT unveiled that it will continue to vigorously implement the "Live fully in Vietnam" communication campaign, especially on digital platforms; participate in major international tourism fairs in key markets; and work with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to spread information on Vietnam's tourism.

Text message campaign raises fund for women in border areas

A text-to-donate campaign to support women in border areas has been jointly launched by the Vietnam Red Cross Society Central Committee, the Vietnam Women’s Union, and the National Humanitarian Portal 1400.

Mobile service subscribers can join the programme by texting ‘BC’ to 1406. Each text message will contribute 20,000 VND (0.88 USD) to the fund.

The two-month campaign, running until April 28, aims to ease difficulties and improve livelihood of poor women in those areas.

After the first two days, it received more than 5,400 text messages.

Vietnam Airlines ready to conduct other repatriation flight

Vietnam Airlines will conduct its second flight to Romania to repatriate Vietnamese people moving out of war zones in Ukraine which is set to arrive in Hanoi at March 11 noon.

The first flight from Bucharest arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 11:30am on March 8.

A representative of the national flag carrier told the Vietnam News Agency that it has been ready to operate the second flight, noting that it is the airline’s honour to join the Government’s efforts to bring Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine home in a timely and safe manner.

With experience from the first flight, the prepared flight plan and the personnel currently present in Romania, Vietnam Airlines is ready to operate its second one at the request of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it added.

This will also be the third repatriation flight of the country.

Project looks to support 2,600 persons with heavy disabilities

The ‘Hold My Hands II’ project to improve the quality of those with heavy disabilities has been launched at the budget of 2 million USD sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

It will be carried out in the three provinces of Binh Dinh, Quang Nam and Kon Tum in Vietnam’s central region in the 2022-24 period, aiming to develop a network of caregivers and volunteers providing home care for about 2,600 people with disabilities in the localities, including 2,330 in Binh Dinh and 150 in Quang Nam.

In addition, about 200 persons with disabilities will receive assistive tools and home repairs to improve the quality of the care and promote independent living.

To develop a sustainable system offering care for those persons, the project will collaborate with the Vietnam Nurses Association to standardise the training programme for caregivers, and with public and private care centres on a pilot model on providing the services.

Exhibition introduces traditional musical instruments of Vietnam's ethnic groups

An exhibition displaying traditional musical instruments of Vietnam's ethnic groups is scheduled to take place at the museum of Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta from April 7 to 11.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, visitors can also attend the event virtually on the websites of the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts and the Can Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The exhibition will showcase traditional musical instruments of ethnic groups across the nation from North to South as well as the images of artisans performing them. It will also feature real performances of these instruments.

Most of Vietnamese in Ukraine safely evacuated: official

The majority of the Vietnamese people in Ukraine have been safely evacuated from war zones, and authorities will continue working to have appropriate plans, according to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu.

Hieu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, was among the officials present at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 8 noon to welcome 287 Vietnamese people who were evacuated from Ukraine and on board the first repatriation flight in Romania.

Talking to the press at Noi Bai airport, he said since the fighting broke out, one of the top priorities of the Party, State, Government, and Vietnam Fatherland Front is to guarantee the safety of overseas Vietnamese citizens and businesses.

The Government demanded a special working group be set up to move the citizens out of war zones and assist those who wish to return to the homeland. As the coordinating body, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working closely with relevant ministries and sectors to order Vietnam’s representative agencies in Ukraine and neighbouring countries like Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, in cooperation with Vietnamese associations, to immediately evacuate those in the worst war zones, the official noted.

National Tourism Year 2022 logo released

The Quang Nam provincial People’s Committee debuted a logo for the National Tourism Year 2022 ahead of its opening ceremony on March 25.

Images of Chua Cau, also known as Bridge Pagoda, and the My Son relic site are featured, with the aim of introducing local cultural heritage sites to international tourists.

The logo also consists of four foremost tones, including green representing green tourism, blue for the ocean, orange yellow for cultural heritage, and red for Vietnamese culinary.

The opening ceremony of the national tourism programme is scheduled to take place at Ky Uc island in Hoi An Ancient Town of Quang Nam province on March 25.

The closing ceremony is slated for late December at the VinWonders Nam Hoi An amusement park in Thanh Binh district.

Approximately 200 cultural and tourism events of national and international levels will be held throughout the tourism year. 

One-man opera to regale HCM City in non-classical settings

A one-man-opera, “The Recital: Thế Huy, tenor,” will kickstart a classical music performance this Friday.

Held at the Toong Cộng Hoà co-working space, the event holds the promise of opening up new possibilities for classical music to be enjoyed in non-classical contexts, and by larger groups of mass audiences, organisers said.

As the first public solo performances of classical singer Thế Huy and professor - researcher Trần Như Vĩnh Lạc, ‘The Recital’ draws its main materials from famous love stories familiar to Vietnamese people including the unsent love letters of Beethoven.

The performances are part of ‘Blossom’, a cultural initiative by GocCreation that seeks to “foster meaningful cultural experiences in the wake of a devastating global pandemic.”

“The Recital” comprises two performances: "Roméo et Juliette" which was done last week; and "Absent heart, present love - Beethoven and the love letters that remain” which will take place this Friday.

Singer Thế Huy (lirico tenor) will sing in the original French and German texts, with piano accompaniment by professor Trần Như Vĩnh Lạc. 

Fire-prevention set for Hội An’s old houses

A fire-prevention and warning system project has been reviewed for ancient houses in the ancient town of Hội An after a two-storey brick and timber house in the Old Quarter was damaged by fire on Monday.

In just two hours, a 100-year-old house on Nguyễn Thái Học street, used as a coffee shop, was completely damaged in the blaze. Local police said a short circuit caused the night-time fire.

Director of Hội An City's Centre for Cultural heritage management and preservation, Phạm Phú Ngọc, said the VNĐ200 billion (US$8.7 million) fire-prevention project was in the final stage for approval by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports.

Ngọc said the project would include a series of early-warning sensors and firefighters at old houses in the town later this year, but awareness of fire risks needed to be raised among owners of old homes.

He said the Old Quarter, covering 300,000 sq.m, preserved 1,200 relic sites and around 1,000 old houses, but 60 per cent of old houses were rented out, often for tourism services. Business people at the rental houses often shut down shops, and nobody stayed at night.

If a fire occurs inside the houses at night, firefighters are not alerted quickly because of a lack of fire alarms.

Perfect event for literary lovers nationwide

Activities within the framework of Việt Nam Book and Reading Culture Day 2022 will take place from March 15 to April 30, and is expected to attract thousands of literary lovers from across the country.

Highlights include the launch ceremony for 2022 Reading Culture Ambassador Contest and a virtual book introduction competition as well as many seminars on books and reading culture.

Many new titles will be introduced and readers will have the chance to exchange and talk with best-selling authors.

The building of databases, sharing electronic documents and establishing book and reading clubs will also be on the agenda.

Việt Nam Book and Reading Culture Day 2022 (April 21) is an annual festival that always been well received by the community. This year’s theme is "Chấn hưng văn hóa và phát triển văn hóa đọc" (Cultural revival and development of reading culture).

Quang Binh Discovery Marathon to kick-start tourism season

Quang Binh Discovery Marathon-2022 will take place on March 12 and 13, kicking off the central province’s tourism season this year.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the race will be organised at 900 sq.km Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, which UNESCO labeled as a global heritage site in 2003. The park is home to over 300 caves and grottoes that date back 400 million years.

Racers are expected to compete in the distances of 42.19km; 21.09km; 10km; and 6km.

Can Tho to host National ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ Festival in April

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will host the third National ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ (traditional musical art form of the south) Festival in April, according to a plan announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Themed ‘Southern ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ - Preservation and Development’, the festival will take place from April 5 to 10 at Binh Thuy district’s square, Can Tho city.

The event will feature an opening ceremony entitled ‘Essence of Vietnamese folklore arts’, performances of ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ by art troupes from 21 cities and provinces of the southern region, and an exhibition of traditional musical instruments from Vietnamese ethnic groups.

Cao Bang breaks up two Covid test kit trafficking rings

The law enforcement of the northern province of Cao Bang has busted two major Covid-19 test kit trafficking rings, seizing over 15,000 test kits.

At 12.00 p.m. on March 7, the police stopped a vehicle with plate number 11C-05616 running on National Highway 3 in Hung Dao Commune in Cao Bang City for a check after noting suspicious signs.

After examining the vehicle, the police discovered it was transporting 10,800 Covid test kits without clear origin.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Le Van Quan, aged 19, who lives in Trung Khanh District in Cao Bang Province, admitting that a Chinese man hired him to transport nine bags from Tra Linh Town to Hanoi City, for VND2 million.

On February 28, the provincial traffic police stopped a vehicle traveling on National Highway 3 in Hoa An District for a check at 5.00 a.m., after discovering several suspicious bags of pineapples. Some 5,000 Covid test kits were contained inside the bags. The police are expanding an investigation into the rings, the local media reported.

HCMC pilots health checkups, treatment with chip-based ID cards

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City's Social Security Agency Phan Van Men informed that the hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City had piloted the chip-based ID card usage in replace of health insurance cards.

Accordingly, residents can use chip-based ID cards synchronized information with health insurance cards to replace health insurance cards.

If the chip-based ID cards show information related to social insurance and health insurance participation, patients will be received health checkups and treatment as per current regulations.

If the people’s information is not appropriate, patients will have to use health insurance cards along with identification cards.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/VGP/SGGP

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 11

16:09                                  

Progress seen in settlement of suspected cashew nut scam in Italy

Italian police have kept four containers of cashew nuts delivered to this country’s Port of Genoa, a stride in the settlement of a suspected scam involving 100 cashew nut containers exported from Vietnam.

Vietnam’s trade office in Italy said on March 10 this is an encouraging step that the Vietnamese companies with the product being transported to Italian ports can consider.

To deal with the case, a delegation from the trade office came to Naples on March 10 to meet Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in this city Silvio Vecchione and many agencies in southern Italy, including the Port of Naples, military police, tax authorities, banks, and the delivery firm DHL - the main points of transit of the 36 sets of original documents that Vietnamese firms lost track of.

Signs of a scam became clearer when some banks said they had received only photocopied documents or blank papers sent to the persons without accounts at those banks.

Trade Counsellor in Italy Nguyen Duc Thanh said only 36 sets of documents are being lost, noting that among the 100 sets of original documents, Vietnamese companies have retained over 50 and reclaimed many others returned by DHL.

The most important thing is that the first four containers to arrive at the Port of Genoa have been kept by Italy’s financial police thanks to timely actions by relevant parties, he said, adding that lawyers will continue working with relevant agencies of Italy to return the goods to Vietnam, or let the companies sell the cashew nuts to other buyers in Italy or other countries.

Authorised by Vietnam’s Trade Office, Honorary Consul Silvio Vecchione filed a denunciation of the cashew nut scam to Naples police.

He recommended that when trading with Italian firms, Vietnamese businesses should learn information about their partners through the Vietnamese Embassy, the trade office, and honorary consuls here so as to maximise safety for bilateral transactions.

He also affirmed his readiness to assist Vietnamese businesses to learn about and work with Italian partners.

The Ministry of Finance said it has completed the National Assembly Standing Committee’s draft Resolution on the adjustment of environmental protection tax rates for gasoline, oil, and grease, which is set to become effective from April 1 to the end of December 31 this year.

It proposes to reduce the tax rates for gasoline by 2,000 VND (0.088 USD) per litre; diesel, fuel oil, and lubricating oil by 1,000 VND per litre; grease by 1,000 VND per kg; and kerosene by 700 VND per litre.

Given the complicated developments of the global petroleum market and COVID-19 situation, the Prime Minister on February 22 issued a dispatch on ensuring the supply of petroleum for the domestic market, directing the ministry to assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies in urgently studying and proposing a plan to adjust policies on environmental protection tax.

Under the direction, the finance ministry conducted drafting the resolution following a shortened procedure.

Tasks of ministries in RCEP implementation clarified

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has signed a decision assigning duties of ministries relating to the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which took effect from January 1.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will be in charge of coordinating the implementation of chapters 1, 3, 7, 8 and 13 relating to rules of origin, trade remedies, trade in service and competition.

Regarding chapter 2 on trade in goods, the MoIT is responsible for issues related to import duties of RCEP members and import-export management, the Ministry of Finance will be in charge of issues related to Vietnam's import duties, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will take charge of implementing contents related to agricultural goods.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs under the Finance Ministry will coordinate the implementation of chapter 4 on customs procedures and trade facilitation, and the MARD is in charge of chapter 5 on food safety; animal and plant health measures.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are responsible for contents relevant to industrial property rights and enforcement of intellectual property rights and copyright, respectively, under chapter 11 on intellectual property.

In case any issue arises during the implementation that calls for adjustment, the MoIT will coordinate with relevant agencies to compile a report on the issue and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration.

Tra fish exports record strong recovery in early 2022

Vietnam’s Pangasius (tra fish) exports in January 2022 surged nearly 73 percent year-on-year to 213.6 million USD, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Besides the recovery of traditional markets, the strong growth in new markets in recent times is expected to contribute to the pangasius industry’s recovery this year as well as in coming years, the association said.

Vietnam is home to nearly 120 facilities processing tra fish products for export with a combined capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of inputs per year.

This year, the tra fish export is forecast to expand by 20-22 percent compared to 2021, while the price is predicted to rise by 5 percent due to costs for breeding, logistics and labour.

Pharmaceutical stocks remain attractive in 2022 on strong medicine demand

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread nationwide and is gradually being considered an endemic disease that could be treated at home, demand for drugs has increased sharply.

SSI Research expects healthcare demand will recover and grow 13 percent year-on-year in 2022.

The impact from the pandemic will be less severe and even bring some positive benefits for the pharmaceutical enterprises, it added.

With 70 percent of the Vietnamese population already fully vaccinated with two doses, and new coronavirus variants that may be less dangerous with lower hospitalisation rates, the healthcare demand in 2022 is forecast to soon surpass pre-pandemic levels with hospital visits recovering to normal levels. And the pharmaceutical group will have significant additional revenue from fever reducers and vitamins that are used to treat mild COVID-19 symptoms.

Moreover, many Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies have received formulas for the production of COVID-19 medicines which are transferred by Pfizer and MSD, and may soon be commercialised in 2022.

According to SSI’s report, profits for healthcare companies are likely to grow strongly in 2022, with prices for medical services and medicines expected to rise slightly.

Pharmaceutical companies are expected to record high growth for the whole of 2022, while the hospital group will achieve high growth in the second half of the year, SSI said.

On the stock market, with the positive profit growth prospect, SSI expects stocks of pharmaceutical companies continue to be attractive during the pandemic period.

Vietnam’s car sales drop for second consecutive month

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) reported that its members suffered a decline in sales for the second consecutive month, with 22,802 cars sold units, or a 26-percent decrease, in February.

Of the total, 17,541 units were passenger cars, and 4,782 units were commercial vehicles, down 31 percent and 7.6 percent month on month, respectively. Meanwhile, 479 special-purpose vehicles were sold, up 67 percent against the previous month.

The sales of domestically-assembled vehicles fell 18 percent to 14,528 units, while that of imported CBU cars decreased 36 percent to 8,274 units.

This is the second month that the industry saw decline in sales after 21 percent rise in December 2021.

However, in the first two months of 2022, VAMA members sold 53,544 vehicles to the market, up 34 percent over the same period last year. Of which, 42,820 were passenger cars, 9,959 were commercial vehicles and 765 were special-purpose vehicles. The figures represented respective rises of 42 percent, 4.7 percent and 62 percent year on year.

Experts predicted that with the better control of COVID-19 and support of 50 percent in registration fee until May, the industry will enjoy good growth in next months. This year, the industry expects 500,000 vehicles to be sold.

Exporters have to register online when exporting starch to China

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said domestic companies wishing to export starch to China can now register online, as information on starch products coded HS 1108 and 3050 has been updated on China's online overseas food manufacturer registration platform.

China launched its new online overseas food manufacturer registration platform in January this year, and it is mandatory for all firms looking to export into the country have to register their products on the platform under Orders 248 and 249.

Accordingly, food manufacturers can set up their accounts and register for export items on the platform: https://cifer.singlewindow.cn/.

Ministry urges for intensified monitoring of fuel trade nationwide

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked authorities of cities and provinces nationwide to step up checks and monitoring of oil and gas trade as the ongoing ups and downs of the global fuel market are having major impacts on the domestic supply and prices.

The move aims to ensure adequate fuel supply and stablise the market, the ministry said in a newly-released notice.

It has requested the authorities to inspect the observation of fuel trade regulations at retail outlets which are strictly required to publish current prices, not charge customers higher rates than the listed prices, and remain open during their registered time. Any violators must be subject to vigorous penalties, it noted.

Any fuel retailers found ceasing sales and hoarding stocks will face suspension of operation or withdrawal of licences in accordance to regulations.

Vietnam aims for wood and forest product export target of US$20 billion by 2025

The nation is set to achieve an export value of wood and forest products of US$20 billion by 2025, a figure over US$9 billion higher than the current level, with the export turnover of local wood products set to hit US$18.5 billion.

Furthermore, the wood industry has also set a timber and wood product value target of US$5 billion by 2025 for domestic consumption, with these reaching over US$6 billion by 2030.

These targets were part of a project aimed at developing a sustainable and effective wood processing industry in the 2021 to 2030 period, with these aims being approved by Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh on March 10.

Under the terms of the project, over 80% of wood processing and preservation establishments will reach the level and capacity of advanced production technology. Indeed, 100% of timber and wood products used for both export and domestic consumption are used from legal wood materials and certified for sustainable forest management.

According to the common goal by 2030, the wood processing industry is set to become an important economic sector. Therefore, steps must be taking towards building and developing a reputable Vietnamese wood product brand in both the domestic and international markets.

The nation is striving to be among the group of leading countries in terms of production, processing, and export of wood and wood products.

Da Lat launches new tourism products

A range of attractive tourism products will be launched during the Lam Dong Tourism Week 2022 scheduled to take place in April.

The programme is one of several tourism promotion events to attract visitors during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Lam Dong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The programme will include different activities, including a Central Highlands Beauty photo exhibition, a food festival on Da Lat’s delicious dishes and art programmes on local ethnic cultures.

Dalat Tourist will also provide adventure tours such as trekking, canyoning, high rope course and zipline.

Compulsory civil liability insurance for the construction industry

Construction contractors in Vietnam will have to buy compulsory civil liability insurance for third parties from July.

On March 10, the government issued Decree No.20/2022/ND-CP, amending and supplementing some regulations of Decree No.119/2015/ND-CP from 2015. They govern compulsory insurance in the construction sector.

The latest decree adds the regulation on compulsory civil liability insurance for third parties in the field. Construction contractors will be required to buy compulsory insurance for workers on construction sites and civil liability insurance for third parties.

The cost of the cover will be met by the contractor, and it must be valid for the full duration of any construction contract.

The amendment also adds a regulation on the insured amount for third parties. The minimum insurance to cover damage to health and loss of life is around $4,300 per person per case.

For projects of less than $43.5 million, the minimum cover for property damage and relevant legal costs is 10 per cent of the construction value. For construction work of $43.5 million and higher, it is set at $4.3 million. The decree will take effect from July 1.

High input costs hit wood product manufacturers

Rising input costs are eroding the profits of wood products manufacturers, putting them at risk.

Additionally, Russia-Ukraine tension is likely to cause a shrinkage of Russian timber supply, compounding the situation, a conference on Wednesday heard.

With timber supply becoming tighter, Vietnamese firms will have to compete more fiercely for timbers in international market, notably timbers from the EU and the US.

The recent soaring demand for timber in timber-exporting countries has caused a shortage, pushing up prices. Higher material prices, coupled with mounting transportation costs, have added to import bills, driving many manufacturers into unprofitability.

The expert was concerned that timber prices would continue to climb in the short term, making Vietnamese wood products less competitive in the international market.

Vietnamese timber and wood product exports hit US$1.55 billion in January, up 14.3 per cent against the same period last year. The industry aims to raise the figure to $18-20 billion by 2025.

Hundreds of seafood transport trucks stranded at Quang Ninh’s border gate

Hundreds of seafood transport trucks have got stranded at the Mong Cai International Border Gate in Quang Ninh Province since China stopped customs clearance to prevent the spread of Covid-19 late last month.
Since February 25, customs clearance at the border gate has been suspended due to China’s “Zero Covid” policy, the Mong Cai City government said today, March 10.

After China’s Fangchenggang City detected dozens of Covid cases, the Chinese authorities tightened anti-Covid measures, including suspending import-export activities at its border gates.

Tran Bich Ngoc, head of the management board of the Mong Cai International Border Gate, said that Mong Cai City had 25 container trucks carrying fresh fruits and some 500 trucks of frozen seafood awaiting customs clearance. The goods are being stored at refrigerated warehouses.

Some other international border gates in the province, including Hoanh Mo and Bac Phong Sinh, are facing the same fate, seeing huge backlogs of exports to China, Thanh Nien Online reported.

Due to China’s export-import suspension, the management board has asked exporters to temporarily stop transporting goods to the northern border gate and proactively tap other markets for export and boost domestic consumption.

FDI firms post positive growth despite pandemic: survey

The Covid-19 pandemic has left tremendous impact on many businesses, but foreign direct investment (FDI) companies have maintained positive growth, according to Vietnam Report JSC.

Vietnam Report JSC and Vietnamnet news site has released a list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in Vietnam (FAST500) this year.

There were 186 businesses participating in this year’s survey. Of them, 75.8% said they maintained their revenue growth in 2021 and only 23.7% reported lower revenue than in 2020. Besides, 72.6% saw their pre-tax profits up from 2020, and nearly one third said their revenue grew over 75%.

Given the impact of the pandemic, in the 2017-2020 period, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the FAST500 companies reached 22.5% only, down 5.7% against the previous period. However, the FDI sector stole the limelight as it still enjoyed stable growth and rose to take the lead in CAGR at 24.1%, even though the number of FDI firms accounted for 6% in the list. The private and State sectors reported their CAGR lower, at 23.2% and 26.6%, respectively.

In 2022, with Vietnam’s high Covid vaccination rates, most of the FAST500 companies are pinning high hopes on positive growth this year. Specifically, 83.3% of the interviewed firms say they are optimistic about their economic growth prospects in the local market this year. Therefore, when asked about their business plans for this year, up to 89.2% revealed they would expand their business scale and 10.8% said they would maintain the current scale.

Gasoline price hike affecting all exporters

The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused the price of gasoline and transportation to spiral, and export payments are being affected much more after Russia has been removed from the Swift International payments system.

Even though Vietnam has only a 1.2% import-export turnover with the Russian and Ukrainian markets, the negative impact of this crisis will be felt by all export enterprises.

Among the top ten seafood exporting companies to Russia at this time is the Kien Cuong Seafood Processing and Importing Joint Stock Company, which is now temporarily suspending exports to the Russian market. Mr. Doan Hoang Chien, Director of Kien Cuong Seafood Processing Company, said that because of concerns of risks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to goods transportation, documents, and payments, his company has temporarily put on hold all exports to the Russian market.

Currently, the Russian market accounts for about 30% of total export market share of the Kien Cuong Seafood Processing Company. When asked if exclusion of Russia from the Swift international payment system had affected the payment of partners for previous export orders, Mr. Chien said that old orders had been shipped before Tet, so the payments have all been completed.

Seafood is one of the main exports to the Russian market. Although seafood export turnover to Russia is still quite modest, at about US$164 mn in 2021, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) always assesses this market as a potential market. Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, said that the impact on the seafood industry is not large because the market share of both Russian and Ukrainian markets is still small, but 50 businesses have licenses for both markets and they are all being affected from this crisis.

Vietnam boosts digital infrastructure in telecommunications

With the development and convergence of current information technology (IT), telecommunications infrastructure is now transforming into digital infrastructure, said Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long at the World Mobile Broadband and ICT Summit 2022 held in Hanoi on March 9.

Vietnam is accompanying the world in building digital infrastructure, Long said, adding that digital transformation is taking place in all fields and has been accelerating.

He added that the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has set out a goal that Vietnam will master broadband infrastructure, 5G equipment infrastructure, and make-in-Vietnam technology platforms.

According to statistics of the MIC's Authority of Telecommunications, in 2021, Vietnam had 70.9 million mobile broadband subscribers, accounting for over 57% of total mobile subscriptions and representing an increase of more than 4% compared to 2020.

In 2022, the authority sets the goal of having 100% of adults owning a smartphone, 75% of households installing fiber optic internet, and 85% of mobile broadband subscribers per 100 people.

Tra fish exports record strong recovery in early 2022

Vietnam’s Pangasius (tra fish) exports in January 2022 surged nearly 73 percent year-on-year to 213.6 million USD, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Besides the recovery of traditional markets, the strong growth in new markets in recent times is expected to contribute to the pangasius industry’s recovery this year as well as in coming years, the association said.

Vietnam is home to nearly 120 facilities processing tra fish products for export with a combined capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of inputs per year.

This year, the tra fish export is forecast to expand by 20-22 percent compared to 2021, while the price is predicted to rise by 5 percent due to costs for breeding, logistics and labour.