2017 easter break

South Korean singer Han Sara will perform at the Korean Culture Day in the central province of Quang Nam. Photo courtesy of Korean Cultural Centre

The event will be held at the An Hoi Sculpture Garden, featuring an array of cultural performances, cuisine, and traditional arts of Korea and Hoi An.

“Vietnam and Korea are making our ‘family relationship’ better,” said South Korean ambassador Park Noh-wan.

“I’m glad to introduce Korean culture to people in Quang Nam. I hope this year’s event will bring the people of the two countries closer over the barriers of culture and language.”

Visitors will have the chance to experience Korean culture and cuisine from 3pm-6pm on April 10 and 11 including handicrafts, games and a lucky draw.

From 7pm to 9pm, music shows will entertain event goers with performances by Korean and Vietnamese artists.

Violinist JMI Ko is popular in Vietnam with her music video Xin Chào Việt Nam (Hello Vietnam) featuring beautiful landscapes including Hoi An.

She has been living and working in HCM City for ten years.

Singer Han Sara participated in Giọng Hát Việt (The Voice of Vietnam)’s season 4. Her songs are popular among young listeners.

The South Korean Embassy in Hanoi has cooperated with the People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province to host the National Taekwondo Clubs Championships – Korean Ambassador Cup 2021 from April 7 to 14.

The tournament is co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam with the support of the Vietnam Taekwondo Federation, the provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, and the People’s Committee of Hoi An with the participation of nearly 1,000 taekwondo athletes, coaches and staff.

The UNESCO-recognised world heritage Hoi An and the International Mask Arts & Culture Organisation and Andong City of South Korea inked an agreement to promote cultural exchanges, exhibitions and friendship visits from 2017.

It aimed to boost diplomatic ties between South Korea and Vietnam, as well as the central province of Quang Nam.

Hoi An is one of the most popular destinations in Vietnam, attracting a large number of visitors, especially South Korean tourists who are the top five sources of foreign visitors to Quang Nam.

VNS

This was the message in a speech given by Mr. Hung at a youth event of the Viettel Group, when he was still Viettel’s General Director. VietNamNet would like to introduce the speech:

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

Today, we are immersed in the atmosphere of Viettel youth, which is an atmosphere of creativity, daring to commit, being unafraid of difficulties, and full of aspirations.

Each of us has only one life to live on and each life has only one passage called youth. Youth is also the time when people have the most opportunities to try their best. Youth in general and Viettel’s young people in particular have in hand the most valuable asset which is time. And many young people in Viettel do not let time pass by meaninglessly. They are brave to engage in things that even they do not think they can do.

Today’s world has changed a lot. The power and the way people use their powers have also been changing day by day and hour by hour. Artificial intelligence, Internet of things, social networks … can make us stronger but can also engulf us at any moment. In the age of Internet, we can easily connect with millions of people but we are losing connection with ourselves, living without purpose, living under popular trends, not knowing what is valuable to us, not knowing what is our true strength. Today’s young generation has a lot of strength but also faces many challenges. That means your generation has a lot of things to do.

Our generation gave birth to Viettel, but the day when we leave Viettel will come. The responsibility today is all with you, with the younger generation Viettel. The wisdom of your generation is the wisdom of Viettel. No one else but you are the future of Viettel, a new Viettel born by you. The future of Viettel depends largely on the younger generation of Viettel today. So I want to talk a little bit about your responsibility.

That responsibility begins with always thinking differently, being more creative, out of old patterns, not dwelling in the experiences that have created today’s success. It is often said that youth is impotent, because youth is the age when one is not shy at all, always doubts everything – except his own ability. But immaturity is a special kind of energy unique to young people. Experienced people are actually living in a box with 6 panels. The bottom panel is all the data they have, the top panel is their belief, the front is what they’ve ever seen, the experience creates the behind panel, the left is all they suppose, and the right panel is all of their knowledge.

All the good people, the experienced people, the older people live in those 6 partitions. The better they are, the harder the partitions can become. The more years there are, the more difficult to break the partitions. But young people don’t have those partitions, they don’t live in that six-sided box. Without a box, without any barriers to hinder you, you will see the universe. When a young person makes an effort towards a goal, it is the strongest, most beautiful posture. In the world, nothing more beautiful can be found than the arduous struggle of youth. Because of that, smart people always wish they could be younger.

That responsibility is also to always have a sense of learning. It is not only about learning specialized knowledge, and not stopping at cultivating foreign language skills in order to be able to integrate into the world. It also doesn’t stop at the fact that we have to forge the habit of reading to absorb new human knowledge. It also means that you have to constantly try, be determined and patient to overcome difficulties.

You will not avoid difficult things or hesitate to try things you have never done, and you will constantly commit to discovering yourself. Today we can work in the engineering industry, tomorrow we can try business. Today we can work at home, tomorrow we go out to foreign markets. Today we have experiences in the field of telecommunications, tomorrow we will immerse ourselves in the field of manufacturing research. New experience is never redundant. Discover new passions, learn new skills, use precious adolescence to prepare yourself and hone the skills needed to pursue a career that you aspire to. And that is why, when we are young, we need to try a lot and rise a lot to explore our very different abilities. Today’s world is a world that offers opportunities for those who are multidisciplinary, multi-knowledgeable and multi-skilled.

That responsibility also means that you stay engaged, take risks and not be afraid of hard work. Do not be disappointed if you are not immediately good at something. For all of us, no one can be good at everything right away. Take each failure as a necessary lesson for success. Only by making commitment and be brave can you do great things in your life.

The menu or the diners? It is the name of a book about the history of Singapore. Deciding to be a dish for the world’s powers to determine your own destiny or to become an equal with them, discussing important issues with them. They have the right to choose. And they chose themselves as diners, and after only 25 years separated from Malaysia, Singapore, from an island nation, became a prosperous country. This question should also be posed by young people. Do we decide whether we will become victims or the cause of all of our problems? Because if we are the victim, we will just cry, but if we understand that we are the cause, we will find a solution to fix it. Do we decide to be employees or do we become an employer? As employees, we will work under the direction of others. As an employer, we know what we want and what we need to do.

Yesterday, I had a talk with Truong Thanh Thuy – who is known as Vietnam’s startup queen – who has stage 4 lung cancer. One year ago, Thuy was full of energy with many plans and ambitions. Thuy and Viettel have coordinated to bring the Hour of code program to Vietnam, so that Vietnamese people can understand that programming is not difficult, that programming language will make our life smarter and more convenient. At the same time, cancer fell on Thuy’s life. Yesterday, I met Thuy. She was thinner, bluer, and her facial skin was ravaged by drugs aimed at controlling painful tumors that are metastasizing to her bones. But her energy is still intact. Thuy said that since the day she has been living with cancer, her life has been more meaningful.

Thuy founded a non-profit organization to help cancer patients in Vietnam. Thuy is striving to create a cancer faculty at an university. Thuy is building software to support the lives of cancer patients. Thuy did not let adversity knock her down. Thuy did not turn herself into a victim of cancer. On the contrary, Thuy considers cancer a second chance of life. And Thuy has found the meaning of her life and the value that she can bring. What could be happier than living your life and seeing yourself worthwhile? And that just needs a little change in your mind, so don’t turn yourself in to a victim to anyone, of anything but yourself. Always be the employer in all your work. Take control of your own life. Don’t entrust it to anyone, but yourself.

To tell this story, I want to tell Viettel young people that adversity is a wonderful thing this life gives us. And as the General Director of the Group, I am working hard to create challenges for Viettel’s youth. Challenges, great goals, and divine aspirations are also adversities for us to explore our abilities.

We can completely see these things from the OCS project, the project to research and manufacture telecommunications network infrastructure, the project to protect customers in cyberspace. We, the young people of Viettel, did it. To reach success, many times you have to face failure and deadlock. But it is the strength of Viettel youth that I mentioned above, that is creativity, daring to venture, not being afraid of difficulties and always being full of aspirations that make impossible projects, at least for Vietnamese people, become a reality.

I love the fable about the butterfly very much. Before becoming a butterfly, a silk moth needs to be strong enough to break out of its cramped cocoon. Someone, because he wanted to help the silk moth, uses his hands to split the cocoon. As a result, he has a handicapped butterfly because its wings are so weak. It turns out that the cocoon is stiff for a reason – it creates an environment for the young butterfly to constantly move, constantly strive so that its wings are sturdy and large enough to be able to fly in the sky when it escapes from the cocoon.

At Viettel, we have determination, aspiration and we even consider it a responsibility to young people to ensure that the silk moth be born healthy. We create challenges, we set high goals, we are picky about our products so that each person can grow up faster, manifest his abilities more clearly. Because I myself and the group leaders always believe that 90% of capacity in each person is still sleeping, which needs something to wake it up. Like the silk moth, without a cocoon thick enough, its wings will not be stiff enough. If the cocoon is not a harsh environment, the silk moth will forever stay in the peaceful nest and never dare to leave. Therefore, Viettel is always proud of having created a harsh enough environment for anyone passing through this organization; when looking back, they will see that they are much more mature. Viettel is contributing to allowing people the opportunity to find their own capabilities, find the purpose of their life.

Because everyone has youth at some point. Therefore, when we have health, have time, have passion, have recklessness, do not let time pass by meaninglessly. Because anything can be regained, but youth cannot be regained. The most valuable asset of youth is time. The greatest fear of youth is wasting time without learning anything valuable. Let’s be brave, be engaged, go ahead, do what you never thought you could do. The magic of youth is not being able to do everything, but always hoping to make everything. The property and money that we have can be lost. Human reputation can also dissipate in an instant. Friends and relatives have to leave us sometimes. Only wisdom will be never lost. It will follow us all our life. It will even last forever if one day we are not in this world anymore.

If you want to change something, tighten the laces and move on. If you’re frustrated with what you have currently, take action now. Express yourself, stick to your goals. You can win sometimes, but sometimes you have to lose. But always remember that what’s worthwhile never comes easy. And failure is also a kind of experience. More than that, it is a good experience. Because it is failure that helps us to be stronger and more mature. A rich youth is a youth with many experiences.

Young people are energetic, have a lot of aspirations, are not afraid of failure, so let’s take difficult jobs, challenges, go ahead, get involved, fight evil, create startups, raise new ideas, give birth to your own baby and if you fall, you can get up. Viettel has dreams, divine aspirations, and the mission of Viettel’s youth is to give birth to a new Viettel, your Viettel, to fulfill those dreams and aspirations.

Nguyen Manh Hung

The latest draft of the country’s power development plan puts focus on renewable energy development – however, the Mekong Delta should see more attention in the development of renewables to protect its assets in the long run.

Mekong Delta long-term future relying on renewables, illustration photo

The latest draft of the National Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) calculates with an expected commercial power capacity estimated at 491 billion kWh by 2030, and 877 billion kWh by 2045. To develop power capacity, the total installed power generation is planned to hit 137.2GW, contributed by 27 per cent coal-fired power, 21 per cent thermal gas, 18 per cent hydropower, and 29 per cent renewable energies, as well as 4 per cent imported energy by 2030.

By 2045, the capacity of installed power is planned to be around 276.7GW, supplied by 18 per cent coal thermal power, 24 per cent thermal gas, 9 per cent hydropower, and 44 per cent of renewable energies, as well as 2 per cent of imported energy.

“The PDP8 highlights the evolvement of renewables, in addition to hydropower, with a significant increase from 13 per cent in 2020 to nearly 30 per cent in 2030 and 44 per cent in 2045, while most other sources will be reduced,” said Le Anh Tuan, deputy director of Can Tho University’s Research Institute for Climate Change.

In the view of Tuan, the draft PDP8 is different in many ways to its predecessor, removing 5,000MW of coal thermal power and significantly raising the contribution ratio of renewable energies. However, Tuan also raised some issues like capital sources, the suitability of green finance solutions, and banking that are all also mentioned in the Politburo’s Resolution No.55-NQ/TW dated October 2, 2020 on the orientation of Vietnam’s National Energy Development Strategy until 2030 and outlook to 2045. It will be tough for coal power projects to mobilise capital in the future, because numerous global financial institutions are divesting from this sector.

Tuan also assessed that the draft PDP8 is more focused on environmental troubles and sustainable development. However, the plan still relies heavily on an old thinking focusing on coal-fired power, with new projects mainly expected to use imported coal.

Under the plan, three coal thermal power plants will be developed in the Mekong River Delta. A project in Hau Giang province and two in Soc Trang province are expected to generate around 5,000MW, which will significantly impact the environment of the region – one that is crucial for rice cultivation and aquaculture.

“Why don’t we focus on other energies that can replace coal? Vietnam is a promising land for wind and solar energy. We can even export power instead of importing from Laos and China as mentioned in the PDP8’s draft,” Tuan argued.

He explained that developing coal-fired power plants in this region stands in contrast to Resolution No.120/NQ-CP issued in 2017 on sustainable and climate-resilient development of the delta. “In this region, in addition to solar and wind power, biomass at small scale is quite suitable to develop, which would help the use of eco-friendly technologies and the reliance on coal thermal power,” Tuan suggested.

Tran Huu Hiep, former director of the Economics Department of the National Steering Committee for the Southwest Region, noted the role of the competitive power market and asked to remove the monopoly in this sector. “Developing coal thermal power is risky. Raising dependence on imported fuel like coal and gas will also bring risks for national energy security,” said Hiep. “Meanwhile, we have yet to make use of renewable energy potentials, and capital for this energy will be from many sources, including local and foreign investors.”

Hiep added that while the PDP8 should consider developing coal thermal power projects, especially in the next 10 years, there should also be a stronger focus on renewables like solar, wind, and biomass in the Mekong Delta.

Nguyen Ngoc Huy, senior consultant at Oxfam Vietnam, said that developing renewable energy in this region would pay attention to its characteristics. “Around 75 per cent of the region’s total power output serves aquaculture, while the remainder is spent for factories and consumption. Therefore, developing renewables in the delta will offer doubled benefits for both the energy sector and the region’s aquaculture and husbandry,” Huy said.

Corporate bond rush heads for slowdown.

According to fresh data from the Hanoi Stock Exchange, as of January 22, there were seven successful corporate bond private placements with a total value of $279 million and two public offerings of $70 million. The real estate sector accounted for $233.7 million, equivalent to 66.9 per cent of the total issued value.

Previously, over $17.82 billion of corporate bonds were issued last year, which increased by 38.5 per cent from end-2019 and 83.5 per cent from end-2018.

Albeit a decline in the last quarter of 2020’s issuance volume the real estate sector witnessed the largest corporate bond issuance volume in 2020 of over $6.09 billion, accounting for over 35 per cent of total issuance value at an average coupon rate of 10.52 per cent. The banking sector also made up for nearly 30 per cent, with an average coupon rate of 6.69 per cent, lower than 7.06 per cent in 2019. Some significant bond issuers included BIDV, VietinBank, HDBank, and TPBank.

The rush of corporate bond issuance has sought attention from yield-hunt investors in the face of ultra-low interest rates.

“Rising medium- and long-term capital demands to satisfy stricter regulations on credit safety limits and capital adequacy ratio in 2021 were putting much pressure on commercial banks to raise funds from bond issuance in late 2020,” explained Nguyen Tu Anh, director of the General Economic Department under the Central Party’s Economic Commission. “On the other hand, foreign investors have been closely engaged in the domestic debt market. In 2020, foreign investors were actively net buyers, expect only three months of slight net-selling, with a total net buying value of $179.7 million.”

However, the lack of transparency and independent credit rating agency makes the task of re-evaluating the debts much harder. According to Nguyen Hoang Duong, deputy director of the Banking and Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Decree No.153/2020/ND-CP dated December 31 on private offering and trading of corporate bonds in the domestic and international markets, stipulates that investors are responsible for their own investment decisions and risks.

As per Decree 153, corporate bonds for private offering shall be traded among professional securities investors only, except for cases of implementing judgment or decision of courts that have taken legal effect.

“The state cannot guarantee that issuers would fully pay interests and principal loans on time. Therefore, investors should be extra cautious of the legal framework, as well as dig deep into the full information of bonds they want to purchase. They would have to take responsibility for their own investment decisions and be willing to take risks when buying private bonds,” Duong said.

The MoF also cautioned investors to keep an eye on corporate bonds issued by companies that are members, subsidiaries, or affiliated firms of large corporations.

“Investors must pay close attention on the detailed information about stakeholders and organisational structure of the issuers. It is imperative to have a clear understanding of the companies’ financial health, their business activities, future outlook, and debt obligations. Specifically, do not just follow their parent companies’ reputation,” the MoF noted.

Bao Viet Securities Company added, “We believe that the demand for corporate bond issuance of domestic firms will also decrease, and insolvency risk may occur in a number of businesses in 2021. However, we believe that this risk is unlikely to spread and negatively affect the financial system.”

Nguyen Tu Anh of the General Economic Department cautioned, “Despite its rapid development in recent years, there are still several shortcomings hindering the industry. The scale of the Vietnamese corporate bond market still pales in comparison with regional peers. Furthermore, the secondary market has not been developed yet, and liquidity of corporate bonds after issuance is relatively low. An independent rating agency is still the major absent element.”

On a regional level, an improving global economic outlook and progress on pandemic vaccinations have pushed up bond yields in the emerging East Asia, including Vietnam. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), steady expansion in both the government and corporate bond segments supported the growth.

Specifically, government bonds grew 7.1 per cent from the previous quarter to $58.8 billion at the end of December, accounting for 82.8 per cent of the country’s total bond stock. Meanwhile, corporate bonds also sustained their growth momentum, increasing 13.6 per cent from the previous quarter and 169.5 per cent from a year earlier to $12.2 billion.

“Bond markets in emerging East Asia continued to grow, mobilising funding for the region’s sustainable recovery from the pandemic,” said ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “Successful vaccination campaigns, accommodative monetary policy stances, and easing of restrictions are spurring on economic activity and shifting the recovery into higher gear.”

VIR

HCM City needs new laws to protect heritage buildings Ho Chi Minh City’s 300-year History HCM City allocates millions for preservation of historic buildings

Speakers at a recent conference on preservation of the city’s built heritage held in HCM City. VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep

Speaking at a conference on architectural heritage held by Thanh Niên (Youth) newspaper recently, experts said the master plan must ensure balance between urbanisation and preservation of the city’s remaining heritage.

Nguyen Quang Thong, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, emphasised the great value that architectural heritage can bring to the city’s economy. “Our architectural legacy is a symbol here and around the world. Some of these have become national brands.”

According to Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the HCM City Tourism Department, architectural heritage greatly contributes to the city’s tourism industry. However, the number of tourism heritage sites in the city is a relatively modest 258, of which only 111 are potential tourist attractions.

The city has a total of 172 historic relics but only 30 per cent of them can be promoted as tourist attractions. Among the 10 must-see landmarks in the city are all historic buildings.

Economic value

Tran Van Khai, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said that most people were unaware of the economic value of built heritage.

Many foreign tourists believe HCM City today is not considered a city of culture or heritage. For them, the city is just a stopover.

Most city tours today include only a few attractions such as the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Independence Palace, Ben Thanh Market and the War Remnants Museum.

Architectural heritage must be credited for its potential economic value, they said.

In other countries, historic buildings are preserved for aesthetic reasons as well as for the huge economic benefits they offer.

Destruction of historic heritage could result in a drop in the number of cultural tourists who are believed to stay longer, take part in more cultural activities, and spend more money.

The number of tourists to the city has continued to increase annually, reaching 6.4 million in 2017, a rise of nearly 23 per cent over the previous year. However, the average visitor stay is only 2.6 days.

Worse still, only a small number of first-time visitors ever return to the city.

HCM City People’s Committee in District 1. VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

Recommendations

Nguyen Thi Hau, an archaeologist who is secretary general of HCM City History Science Association, told Việt Nam News: “The government, property developers, researchers and the entire community all play a decisive role in preserving the city’s architectural heritage.”

Architect Nguyen Hanh Nguyen, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said it was important to help the historic buildings’ owners understand the economic value of their properties so they will be willing to spend money to preserve them.

Architect Cao Thanh Nghiep, a member of the HCM City Architects Association, said that businesses can preserve and promote the value of a land lot where a built heritage is located.

Experts also recommended the city conduct a comprehensive inventory of the city’s historic buildings.

They said legal protection should be extended to all historic and architectural buildings, and that enforcement and punishment of violators should be strengthened.

In addition, the city should provide economic incentives for the conservation of privately owned historic buildings, to ensure owners have benefits when protecting the buildings.

HCM City has about 3,000 valuable old houses and villas that could be preserved properly, but are likely to be demolished, according to the Architecture Research Centre at the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture.

Of that number, nearly 1,300 houses were built before 1975. About 168 of them are under State management and receive funds from the city’s budget for repair and preservation.

However, only eight buildings remain in good conditions, according to the Urban Research and Development Centre.

Valuable old buildings, mostly built during the French colonial period, include the HCM City People’s Court (built in 1881), King’s Palace or Revolutionary Museum (1885), Majestic Hotel and Notre Dame Cathedral (1887), Sài Gòn Post Office (1886-1891), HCM City’s People’s Committee (1907), Opera House (1900) and Bến Thành Market (1912-1914).

Many colonial villas have been renovated and now house schools, restaurants and coffee shops, most of which are located in District 3 on Tu Xuong, Vo Van Tan, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Le Quy Don and Tran Quoc Thao streets.

In recent years, however, many old houses and villas have been demolished or have fallen into disrepair.

A large number that are private properties have not been taken care of properly. Some of the villas are so dilapidated they are no longer habitable.

It is estimated that more than a third of the city’s historic buildings have been destroyed over the past two decades.

HCM City authorities are putting some 1,000 historic buildings into three classifications: class one (must be protected); class two (owner can build on the lot but cannot destroy the old building); and class three (can be demolished).

Experts say that people are not aware that when they destroy historic buildings they are in fact losing a potential economic value.

VNS