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HCM CITY — The prospect of busy urban areas being created around Long Thành International Airport in southern Đồng Nai Province has attracted investment in the eastern reaches of neighbouring HCM City.

In particular Aqua City ecological urban area has become appealing thanks to its connectivity, standardised planning, convenience, and ideal geographical location.

The first phase of the Long Thành Airport project began early this year. It is scheduled to open no later than 2025, with an initial annual capacity of 25 million passengers, eventually rise to 100 million.

Centennial growth momentum

Designed to meet the 4F level, the highest of its kind set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Long Thành is projected to serve as an aviation hub, both regionally and globally.

Once operational, it will ease existing airport congestion, pave the way for investment and tourism, and contribute 3-5 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Major infrastructure projects such as airports have always helped give a facelift to urban areas. They also facilitate production and business, and trade and tourism, while forming a busy residential community. The central city of Đà Nẵng and the island district of Phú Quốc in the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang are examples of this.

Many airport-based urban models have been created globally, contributing to local economic, trade, and tourism development, with Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands an outstanding example.

The Long Thành International Airport is connected with urban areas and economic zones, so is expected to drive investment and economic development in the southern region.

The project will also give a boost to component projects like warehouses, transport infrastructure, services, and satellite urban areas, leading to an increase in land demand.

Real estate consultancy Savills said the southern province of Đồng Nai should reach a new level of development, with a more international focus instead of relying on industry and services, as has long been the case.

It suggested the province develop a closed-loop industrial chain, from production to logistics, and warehouses and transportation to deep-water ports.

The establishment of Thủ Đức City in 2021 has also given a facelift to the local area and increased housing supply in HCM City’s eastern area. The scarcity of real estate in the city prompted investment in adjacent provinces such as Đồng Nai and Bình Dương, which will spur the market this year.

“The recent positive signs from key infrastructure projects like the construction of the Long Thành International Airport and the establishment of Thủ Đức City will create momentum to restart the market,” said Dương Thùy Dung, Senior Director of CBRE Vietnam.

Anticipating investment waves

To optimise such opportunities and complete the infrastructure network connected with Long Thành, Đồng Nai authorities have begun the construction of transport projects such as Hương Lô 2 and the Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu Expressway.

The province has also proposed building two routes leading to the airport: a 3.8-km route running from National Highway No 51 to the airport, and another, measuring 3.5 km, from the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway to the first route, running in parallel with National Highway No 51. The total funding for the two routes has been estimated at more than VNĐ4.8 trillion (US$209.46 million).

Located within the open urban-economic area in the southern part of Biên Hòa city, Aqua City, invested by Novaland, has found favour among both buyers and investors thanks to its ideal geographic location and scientific planning.

Covering 1,000 ha, it lies on Hương Lô 2, linking National Highway No 51 and the HCM City- Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway.

Located within Aqua City, the urban island of Phượng Hoàng opened late last year and has proven its attractiveness thanks to its natural surroundings.

With its unique advantages, from location to planning, Phượng Hoàng and Aqua City are expected to rouse the real estate market in HCM City’s eastern area in the time ahead.

DKRA Vietnam JSC said street houses and villas are moving towards areas adjacent to HCM City that boast abundant land funds and convenient infrastructure.

As such, Đồng Nai expects to continue making up a large share of supply this year. Major projects on hundreds of hectares each and with scientific planning, like Aqua City, will further catch the attention of customers thanks to their potential for high growth values. — VNS

Accordingly, on May 6 of 2020, Ngo To Lap – representative of Viet Phong Thinh Co. Ltd – signed a glove sales contract with Mac World Middle East FZE.

After receiving US$150,000 from the contract partner, Viet Phong Thinh Co. Ltd. did not observe the conditions laid out in that contract, leading to a contract cancelation and an agreement that this company must return the deposit to Mac World Middle East FZE.

However, Viet Phong Thinh Co. Ltd. only sent $30,000 and then moved to another location without notice.

Initial investigation reveals that Ngo To Lap (born in 1988) does not stay at his permanent address of Ward 7 in District 5 of HCMC. PIA asks that Lap immediate report to Police Officer Pham Anh Tuan (mobile phone number 0902620666) from the Office of Economy Police at the address of 674 Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10 for further investigation on the case.

In related news, PIA is working on the case of Nguyen Thi Kim Hang (born in 1984 and living in Binh Chanh District of HCMC), who was reported by Nguyen Thi Thai Ngoc – Director of Quoc Nhan Co. Ltd. – about violation of the contract to help Quoc Nhan Co. Ltd. receive the humanitarian aid of gloves for sale later on.

After receiving VND2 billion (approx. $86,800) from Ms. Ngoc, Hang ran away. PIA requests that Ms. Hang contact Police Officer Pham Minh Tam (mobile phone number 0693187680) of PC01 at the address of 268 Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1 for further investigation.

By Thuc Han – Translated by Thanh Tam

Vietnamese wood processing firms have huge opportunities to ship their products to Canada under CPTPP.

The trade pact was clinched in March 2018 by 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It came into effect Vietnam in January 2019.

Participant heard that Vietnam’s exports to all members of the trade deal have been on the rise, with an accumulated value amounting to 34.3 billion USD in 2019 and about 34 billion USD in 2020, when the COVID-19 took its toll in the world.

The value of shipments to the countries under the trade pact accounted for 12.02 percent of Vietnam’s total export value in 2018. The proportion rose to 13 percent in 2019 before returning back to 12.02 percent in 2020.

Footwear, garment-textile, wood and woodwork products recorded good growth over the reviewed years.

However, the rate of taking advantage from CPTPP-related preferential tariff treatment stayed at 1.67 percent in 2019, well below Vietnam’s average rate of 37.2 percent posted in the year./.

IMF forecasts 6.5% GDP for Vietnam this year

Vietnam’s GDP growth rate is forecast to rise by 6.5% this year, a figure which is higher than the global average of 6%, before climbing to 7.2% in 2022, according to data released in the latest World Economic Outlook report compiled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This projection was made during the opening session of the 2021 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank group.

The country’s positive growth rate can largely be attributed to drastic measures implemented by the Government in terms of economics and health care.

The IMF recommended that macroeconomic policies be maintained throughout the year in an effort to ensure a sustainable and comprehensive recovery is achieved.

The international financial institution also forecast that the GDP of five countries in the ASEAN bloc, namely Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, will expand by 4.9% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2022.

World economic growth is expected to reach 6% this year, higher than the 5.5% projection made in January.

The news comes as a number of major international financial institutions have made positive assessments on the future outlook of the Vietnamese economy.

The country’s economic growth rate is forecast to reach 7.1% and 6.6% this year by the United Oversea Bank and HSBC.

An article recently published by news publication borgenmagazine.com of the United States highlights Vietnam’s incredible economic growth since the implementation of a series of economic reforms in 1986 during the Communist Party of Vietnam’s (CPV) sixth national congress.

Despite these positives, the article states that the country’s transportation infrastructure remains woefully behind many other developed economies.

At present, Vietnam is at a crossroads in terms of its development and requires further investment in its transportation network in order to sustain and expand its growth, according to the piece.

The article concludes by outlining how the country has run into trouble financing the North-South Expressway, although the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership Law (PPP) is expected to fix this problem by making PPPs in infrastructure projects simpler and more attractive.

EVN’s power from renewable sources reaches nearly 7.8 billion kWh in Jan-Mar

The State-run utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) mobilized approximately 7.8 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power from renewable energy in the first three months of the year, surging 181% against the 2020 figure. Of this, the amount of electricity from solar energy accounted for over 7.13 billion kWh, according to EVN’s recently-released report.

In the first quarter, the volume of electricity produced in the country and imported from overseas reached some 60 billion kWh, up 4.1% compared to the same period last year. Of the amount, EVN and its subsidiaries generated 29.22 billion kWh, or 49%, while non-EVN businesses were in charge of the remaining volume.

While the amount of power from renewable energy soared sharply, that generated from traditional sources saw a decline.

Among the traditional power sources, more electricity from hydropower plants was supplied to the national power grid, at nearly 14 billion kWh. The volume of electricity generated from coal-fired and gas-fired power plants contracted 12-21% year-on-year at 29.75 billion kWh and 7.44 billion kWh, respectively. Further, imported electricity also plunged 58% versus last year’s figure to 405 million kWh.

The soaring supplies of renewable power have prompted EVN to face a number of obstacles in mobilizing various sources of power. For instance, hydropower generators had to change their capacity flexibly to offset the changes in the volume of renewable power, thus leaving an impact on the power supply at the end of the dry season. Besides, if the capacity of power generators at coal- and gas-fired power plants is activated or changed numerous times, it could lead to possible incidents.

As the volume of electricity from renewable sources now accounts for an increasing proportion and the second quarter will be in the peak dry season, the local power sector will adopt measures to ensure the safe operations of the national power system and local power market, including cutting down on renewable power supplies, EVN said.

Competitive capacity key to gaining benefits from CPTPP and FTAs: experts

Poor competitive capacity will hinder businesses from gaining benefits from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This statement was made at a workshop held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

The workshop aimed to evaluate issues in the implementation of this agreement and conduct recommendations for the Government and business.

Two years since the CPTPP came into effect, Viet Nam had seen strong growth in exports to some CPTPP member countries, but not all.

Speaking at the workshop, Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of VCCI, said that many businesses affirmed that their poor competitiveness was hindering them from gaining opportunities from the CPTPP and new agreements.

Five years ago, the obstacles remain the managerial skills of State agencies, such as a lack of information about commitments, delays, and inflexibility in implementing the CPTPP and other Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The impact of some technical factors also had negative effects on businesses, such as rules of origin, and unfavourable commitments of FTAs, according to Loc.

He attributed the major problem to the competitive capacity of businesses themselves.

According to a report compiled by VCCI, three quarters of businesses said they were planning to revive their business plans to take advantage of the CPTPP and FTAs.

The plans aim to consolidate and improve the competitiveness of businesses. The second step is to calculate how to take full use of opportunities from the CPTPP and FTAs. Finally, they have to set up plans in preparation for long-range opportunities.

However, in a VCCI survey of 8,600 local enterprises, up to 70 per cent of them had little knowledge of the CPTPP. And 25 per cent of the enterprises had some knowledge of the CPTPP.

This survey has also pointed out that 84 per cent of the enterprises lacked information about the commitments in the free trade agreement.

The survey shows that with complicated FTAs and CPTPP, it is necessary to provide more in-depth, detailed and useful information for businesses.

Phan Huu Minh, General Secretary of Thai Nguyen Business Association, said participating in the CPTPP, enterprises should strictly comply with general regulations, and study market information and rules of origin with a view to preparing their production plans and enhancing capacity.

Vu Tien Loc said that programmes and activities to support businesses should focus on enhancing the competitive capacity of local products, and trade promotion.

He added businesses needed to be more proactive in seeking opportunities, studying commitments under the CPTPP as well as improving competitiveness of their products. These factors were key to taking advantage of opportunities from global integration.

Nguyen Thu Trang, director of the VCCI’s centre for WTO and economic integration, said: “There is a lot of information about the CPTPP, and answers on the VCCI’s website. If businesses need information, we can share it freely, however, only a small number of businesses want to find out about it. They are ignoring the impacts of the CPTPP and FTAs.”

Nguyen Cam Trang, an expert from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said local businesses had tried to improve quality of agricultural produce. However, local businesses still faced difficulties due to their small-scale production.

Joining the CPTPP will help businesses improve and enhance exports, forcing them to raise product quality and competitive capacity.

To take advantage of the CPTPP, the Government needed to review relevant legal regulations and improve the business climate, as well as provide more information in terms of markets and business plans.

Fado becomes first ecommerce platform in Vietnam to stop trading H&M products

Ecommerce platform Fado.vn has stopped trading all H&M products starting today, April 7, for an indefinite period as the Swedish fashion retailer featured a map with the illegal nine-dash line on its website, said Dat Pham, CEO of Fado Vietnam JSC, making it the first ecommerce platform in the country to suspend the sale of H&M products.

“The Fado team includes Vietnamese citizens; thus, we refuse to cooperate with any brand that does not respect the sovereignty of Vietnam,” Dat stressed in a press release.

Three days ago, a Facebook group was formed to call for a boycott of H&M and the hashtag “TaychayHM” (BoycottHM) was the top trending topic on Twitter in Vietnam on April 3. Vietnamese public opinion asserted that Vietnam’s sovereign rights over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos are in line with international law and H&M showed no respect for and harmed the sovereignty of Vietnam for the sake of its own commercial benefit.

In Vietnam, H&M opened its first store in HCMC in September 2017 and the second one in Hanoi two months later. As of now, the Swedish shoes and clothing brand operates 12 stores in Vietnam, with five stores in Hanoi, four in HCMC and three others in Can Tho, Danang and Ha Long.

As for Fado, which was established in 2014, it remains among the top five ecommerce platforms in Vietnam, according to data of the Iprice Group. It functions as a cross-border ecommerce platform, enabling local traders and enterprises to connect with their overseas business partners through the platform more easily.

Robust growth trends projected for investment in healthcare

Vietnam’s healthcare and pharmacy chains are increasingly getting new funds to expand their operations in local market, thereby securing access and availability of medical supplies and drugs for locals. However, concerns over adequate human resources in the sector dampen the bright prospects and could cause supply issues.

Kim Dental, Vietnam’s largest private dental care platform, has recently raised $24 million in a series B round. The investment was led by ABC World Asia, a private equity fund dedicated to investing across Asia, seeded by Temasek. Proceeds from the round, which saw the participation from existing backer Aura Private Equity, will support Kim Dental in expanding the delivery of affordable and reliable oral health services across Vietnam.

Kim Dental owns and operates a fast-growing network of 19 dental clinics across four cities. The clinics provide dental check-ups and treatments as well as more advanced orthodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and implants. Kim Dental employs 120 dentists and dental surgeons, as well as over 600 clinical and operational staff serving over 23,000 patients per month. Kim Dental also operates a dental laboratory to support its clinic network with in-house production of crowns, dentures, and bridges.

Huynh Minh Viet, CFO of Kim Dental said, “With this successful round, we’re now well-positioned to expand our delivery of international quality dental care to the fast-growing communities across the country, thus improving community access and helping to elevate the standards of oral healthcare in Vietnam, so that we achieve more positive overall healthcare outcomes in our country.”

Meanwhile, SK Group is said to be mulling over an investment in Vietnam’s largest pharmacy retail chain, Pharmacity, with an expected value of up to $90 million, according to Dealstreetasia.

Phamarcity is Vietnam’s largest pharmacy retailer with approximately 500 drugstores. The company has a plan to open its 1,000th store this year.

If the deal is concluded, it would make up SK Group’s second investment in Vietnam’s pharmacy and healthcare market. Last May, SK Investment III, a subsidiary of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, received 12.32 million shares of Imexpharm Corporation, equivalent to 24.9 per cent.

Michael Han, head of SK Group’s Representative Office in Vietnam told VIR, “There are dozens of industries and companies that we are trying to get to know better here, and healthcare happens to be one of them. It does not necessarily mean that an investment is imminent though.”

However, Han remains upbeat about Vietnam’s healthcare and pharmacy market. Historically, this sector’s growth has been backed by people’s growing concerns about the wellbeing of their family members, environmental factors, rising household income, and the high urbanisation rate – which leads to changes in lifestyles and a higher demand in personal healthcare.

“We believe that the robust growth will continue into the foreseeable future. We have seen a similar trend in South Korea over the last 20 years or so. In terms of market size, Vietnam is still at the emerging stage, with estimated total value of $7 billion in 2019, growing at a robust pace of 8 per cent from 2019-2024,” he said.

Meanwhile, a consortium led by Singapore’s state investor GIC Pte. Ltd. has agreed with Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup to buy a stake in its medical unit, Vinmec, for over $200 million. However, Vingroup will remain the controlling shareholder of the unit after the deal, Vingroup said in statement last December.

Other funds like Vinacapital and Mekong Capital have seen the prospects of the market and decided to cash in on local healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Last August, VinaCapital invested in Thu Cuc International General Hospital by purchasing a 30-per-cent stake for $26.7 million. In 2019, Mekong Capital also financed pharmacy chain Pharmacity out of its Mekong Enterprise Fund III.

Private equity investments in healthcare are on the rise. Nguyen Thi Vinh Ha, head of advisory at Grant Thornton Vietnam, cited the firm’s survey showing that healthcare is among the most attractive industries for investors, with its growth prospects coming from higher healthcare spending per capita.

“However, the shortage of qualified personnel and inadequate healthcare infrastructure results in a huge supply gap, and the increasing ageing speed of the Vietnamese population will further boost the healthcare demand,” Ha added.

Biotechnology contributes to higher productivity and increased incomes

The adoption of biotechnology in corn production in Việt Nam had resulted in higher productivity, increased income and environmental improvement, attendees heard at a workshop held in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The workshop was organised by the Việt Nam Seed Trade Association (VSTA), Việt Nam Farmers’ Union (VFU) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

Speaking at the workshop, Trần Xuân Định, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Việt Nam Seed Trade Association, said that many plant varieties created using biotechnology are present in Việt Nam, facilitating plant and livestock restructuring and increased incomes thanks to better productivity and reduced pesticide costs.

In Việt Nam, biotech crops were officially approved for commercial corn farming from 2014-2015.

Corn is also one of the main crops in Việt Nam’s agricultural production structure and the country is among the largest corn producers in the world.

“The introduction of biotech varieties with improved traits into production at that time was considered one of the key tools to further increase production yield and quality, add value, and bring more profit to corn farmers, thereby strengthening Việt Nam’s capability in supplying raw materials to the domestic food and feed supply chain,” Định said.

A study conducted in 2019-2020 by VSTA and the United Kingdom’s PG Economics on the impact of biotech corn after five years of cultivation showed that biotech corn with insect resistance and herbicide tolerance traits delivered between 15.2 and 30 per higher yields compared to conventional hybrid corn varieties. Farmers’ incomes increased by VNĐ4.5-7.6 million (US$196-330) per hectare.

Biotech corn cultivation also resulted in a significant decrease in pesticide use, with an average reduction of 26 per cent for herbicides and 78 per cent for insecticides (average amounts applied per hectare), corresponding to a reduction in the associated environmental impact, as measured by the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) indicator of 36 and 77 per cent, respectively.

However, Định said, the biotech corn adoption rate has not met expectations.

By 2019, the total acreage of biotech corn was about 92,000 hectares, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the country’s total corn acreage.

Despite the increasing demand for corn in the livestock industry, the domestic corn acreage showed a downward trend over the past five years, he said.

“Domestic corn production is in fierce competition with imported corn in terms of price and quality; farmers in many regions have changed to plant other crops when profits from corn cultivation were not high, especially when the domestic purchasing prices plummeted.”

Participants at the workshop exchanged information on the status of agricultural biotechnology adoption in the world as well as in Việt Nam. They discussed the socio-economic impacts of biotech corn after five years of being approved for farming in Việt Nam.

Analysing the effects of biotech crops on a global scale, Graham Brookes of PG Economics cited the data in the latest study released in 2020: “In 2018, the total extra income for farmers cultivating biotech crops was US$19 billion – for each extra US dollar invested in biotech crop seeds, farmers could make an extra profit of US$4.42.”

In addition, had biotech crops not been grown in 2018, an additional 23 billion kilos of carbon dioxide would have been emitted into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of adding 15.3 million cars to the roads.

According to Brookes, farmers, especially small-hold farmers in developing countries, are those who benefit the most from biotech crops, not only from increased crop yields (from 10 to 16.5 per cent, depending on crop type) and higher profits (approximately US$103 per ha on average) but also from the change in farming habits to become more environmentally friendly when the amount of pesticides could be reduced.

Định said that in accordance with the Agricultural Biotechnology Development Project to 2023, one of the goals to be achieved by Việt Nam by 2030 is to master a number of new generation biotechnologies, create industrial-scale products for application to production practice, and increase the number of biotechnology enterprises in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector by at least 30 per cent compared to the 2021-2025 period.

It meant that agricultural biotechnology development and adoption is a general development orientation of the country and Việt Nam needs to catch up with the world trend in applying new generation plant varieties towards sustainable and modern agriculture development.

In order to promote the development of biotechnology in agriculture, it was necessary to have a transparent direction and policy, with key investments of the State for units and enterprises which are pioneers in the application of biotechnology in the sector, Định said.

Labor market recovers, demand for personnel increases

Since the beginning of the year, the local labor market has gradually recovered, with the number of jobs in March soaring by 40% against January, according to human resource service firm Adecco Vietnam.

The labor market also saw the number of job applications rise by 26% in March, Phap Luat Online reported.

The first quarter of the year saw high demand for personnel in multiple fields, including processing and manufacturing, energy, information technology, e-commerce, electronics, semiconductor design and construction.

Nguyen Thu Ha, director of Adecco Hanoi Office, attributed the recovery of the labor market to the Government’s efforts to bring Covid-19 under control and the firms’ enhanced business operations.

Meanwhile, Le Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, director of Adecco HCMC Office, said that the coronavirus pandemic had changed the behavior of job applicants. They seem to be more hesitant to job-hop and are focusing more on financial stability, according to Thanh.

A recruitment expert at Adecco said that the recruitment demand had expanded in some fields such as analog integrated circuit design, digital design, design for testing, quality management, sales and marketing management and technical management.

In the coming months, positive effects from free trade pacts, coupled with the production and investment shift from China, will bring many advantages to Vietnam’s economy, thus creating more jobs and a rising demand for personnel.

General director of Adecco Vietnam Andree Mangels said that the labor market, driven by the recovery of the economy and digitalization trend, would see a high demand for highly-qualified workers in 2021.

Viet Nam to apply temporary anti-dumping measures on Malaysian steel products

Viet Nam will apply temporary anti-dumping measures on some H-shaped steel products originating from Malaysia.

The Trade Remedies Authority of Viet Nam said the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently issued Decision No.1162/QD-BCT to apply temporary anti-dumping measures on some H-shaped steel products from Malaysia.

The temporary anti-dumping tax rate applied to Malaysian exporters is 10.2 per cent.

The Trade Remedies Authority of Viet Nam launched the investigation in August last year based on the appraisal results of the petition requesting anti-dumping measures from representatives of the domestic manufacturing industry filed in July last year.

After eight months of preliminary investigation, the results showed the import volume of H-shaped steel from Malaysia increased sharply during the investigation period, causing considerable damage to the domestic H-shaped steel manufacturing industry.

The dumping put considerable pressure on the domestic manufacturing industry, reflected in criteria such as production output, sales volume, revenue, profit, market share, and inventories which fluctuated heavily during the investigation period. These indicators all show a clear downward trend.

To make a final conclusion about the case, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue working with related parties to identify products with special factors that need to be excluded and exempt, and at the same time, assess the impact of the cases on stakeholders, including end consumers.

The case is expected to conclude in the second quarter of this year.

Banks make huge profits in Q1

Many commercial banks in Vietnam have reported a surge in pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2021, as the economy is recovering and credit growth is positive.

At the 2021 annual shareholder meeting of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) on April 6, Do Minh Toan, general director of the bank, said that it achieved a pre-tax profit of an estimated VND3.1 trillion in the first quarter of the year, surging 61% year-on-year and meeting 29.2% of its full-year target.

In 2021, ACB has set targets of raising capital mobilization by 9% and credit by 9.5% and earning pre-tax profit of over VND10.6 trillion, Nguoi Lao Dong Online reported.

At its meeting, ACB shareholders approved a plan to allocate profits, including spending some VND5.4 trillion on dividend payments with shares.

On the same day, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) said that the bank recorded VND4.6 trillion in consolidated profit between January and March, up 50% year-on-year.

One of the factors driving up its revenue was digital banking. In the year to March 31, current account savings accounts deposits rose by 1.5-fold against the growth seen at the end of last year.

This year, MB booked a pre-tax profit of over VND14.6 trillion, up some 20%-30% from the 2020 figure.

Other major banks such as the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) also posted hefty profits in the first quarter of the year.

Vietcombank reaped a pre-tax profit of some VND7 trillion during the three-month period, meeting 28% of its full-year target, while VietinBank’s before-tax profit was an estimated VND7-8 trillion.

Lower-than-expected growth needs more room for private firms

With the economy growing 4.48% in the first quarter of 2021, the expected rate in economic growth of 6.5% for the whole year may be far from reach if more efforts to create a level playing field for private enterprises fail to be made, especially in the context of COVID-19 showing no signals of stoppage across the globe.

Since early this year, thanks to the Vietnamese government’s efforts to enact policies to facilitate business and production activities, and to gradually implement an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive, the country’s economic growth has bounced back to 4.48%, higher than the 3.8% rise in the first quarter of last year.

The year-on-year growth rate was for the agro-forestry-fishery sector, 6.3% for the construction and industrial sector, and 3.34% for the service sector.

Although lower than the target of 5.12% set in the government’s Resolution No.01/NQ-CP on key tasks for implementation of the socioeconomic development plan and state budget estimates for 2021, a 4.48% growth rate remains a positive sign especially amidst COVID-19 raging the global market. The key momentum for such growth has largely been the manufacturing and processing sector which create 80% Vietnam’s industrial growth – the key growth pillar of the economy.

Good performers

According to state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), its total revenue in the first quarter of 2021 is estimated to be more than VND113 trillion (US$4.91 billion), a 6% decrease year-on-year. Nevertheless, PetroVietnam’s revenue from industrial activities climbed 2%, and that from the service activities fell 21% year-on-year.

Several of PetroVietnam’s products saw a year-on-year ascension in consumption in the first three months, such as fertiliser (7%), liquefied petroleum gas or LPG (29%), Condensate (12%), and assorted petrol (5%).

Though there has been a reduction of US$446.5 million or 18% in export turnover, the group’s total import turnover in the period reached US$198.9 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 17% – in which LNG imports ascended by 296,700 tonnes, up 6%.

With external demand going down because of negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, these figures from PetroVietnam have demonstrated that the group’s industrial activities are gradually recovering.

The situation can be seen clearer at state-owned Vietnam Electricity (EVN), which has also reported that all the group’s activities have been going up year-on-year during the first three months of this year.

Specifically, EVN’s total gross industrial output is estimated to be around VND52.83 trillion (US$2.3 billion), up 3.18% against the same period last year. The produced and purchased electricity volume is about 55.45 million kilowatt hours, a 1.16% increase year-on-year. EVN’s commercial electricity totalled 50.79 million kWh, up 3.18%. In which, electricity for agro-forestry-fishery accounted for 3.97% of total electricity consumed, while the rate was 56.01% for construction and industrial activities, 31.46% for households – all was up against in the same period last year.

Notably, this group’s total revenue from power sales is estimated to stand at more than VND94 trillion (over US$4 billion), a 4.11% climb over the corresponding period of 2020.

In Vietnam, petrol and electricity are vital inputs for production activities, especially manufacturing and processing activities.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in the first quarter of this year, despite massive difficulties and challenges, the Vietnamese economy’s production and distribution of electricity went up by 4.5% year-on-year. What’s more, the manufacturing and processing industry increased 9.45% year-on-year, higher than the year-on-year ascension of 7.12% in the corresponding period of 2020.

“All of these figures have demonstrated the fact that the economy has been strongly recovering with the gradual popularity of anti-COVID-19 vaccination,” said Mai Tien Dung, Minister, Chairman of the Government Office at last week’s cabinet meeting, also the last one in the 2016-2020 tenure of the government. “The confidence of businesses has continued going up, with them gradually resuming their normal performances.”

As of March 23, total registered foreign investment reached US$10.13 billion, a year-on-year rise of 18.5%. Total disbursement in the first three months of 2020 is estimated at US$4.1 billion, up 6.5% over the same period last year.

Dung cited former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated at the meeting, “Vietnam has become a safe destination for investment. Many international organisations have praised the economy’s big potential and outlook for this year, including HSBC (7%), International Monetary Fund (6.5%), International Finance Corporation (6.5% in the 2021-2026 period), and Moody’s (changed Vietnam’s economic outlook from negative to positive).”

Making bigger room for private firms

According to experts, because the growth in the first quarter remains lower than expectation, one of the sturdy solutions now is to make bigger room for private enterprises to conduct production and business activities in the country, amid a rise in foreign investment shift to Vietnam.

Under the resolution of the recent 13th National Party Congress, the Party has specified a number of strategic breakthroughs for the country to drive forwards with higher economic growth.

One of the first strategic breakthrough will be “creating a good system of laws, mechanisms, and policies, while establishing a favourable, healthy, and fair investment and business climate for all economic sectors, with the promotion of innovation and the mobilisation, management, and effective use of all resources for development – especially land, finance, and public-private partnership.”

This breakthrough would mean the Vietnamese private sector will have opportunities to perform in a more transparent and equal investment and business climate.

“All obstructions and prejudice must be removed, while all favourable conditions must be created for the private sector to develop. The sector must be supported in innovation, technological modernisation, human resources development, and labour productivity improvement,” this report read. “Major economic groups with strength and regional and international competitiveness are encouraged for development. Efforts are to be made to see at least two million operational enterprises which can create 60-65% of GDP.”

In Vietnam, the private sector creates up to 40% of GDP, more than 50% of economic growth, 30% of the state budget revenue, and 85% of the labour force.

Vietnam currently has nearly 800,000 operational businesses, about 98 per cent of which are of small or medium size. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in 2020, there were nearly 135,000 newly established firms, with total registered capital of more than VND2.23 quadrillion (US$97 billion), employing more than a million labourers. This was down 2.3% in the number of registered businesses, but up 29.25% in registered capital.

The country also has some big private enterprises such as Mobile World Co. Ltd, Truong Hai Auto Corporation, VietJet Air, Vingroup, Masan Consumer, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, TH Group, and Him Lam Corporation, among others.

The entrepreneurial spirit has spread widely in society and the robust development of the private economy in some industries such as construction, processing, manufacturing, automobile, air transport, and finance and banking has shaped powerful and potential national brands for Vietnam.

Nguyen Minh Cuong, principal country economist from the ADB, once told Nhan Dan Online that removing obstructions for the private sector will enable it to grow further and facilitate Vietnam to well accomplish the Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period.

He said that despite of recent improvement of regulatory framework, the main problem is still policy enforcement, notably in taxes, market access, and access to land. High corporate tax income discourages small- and medium-sized enterprises to scale up their production. Procedures to file taxes also remain burdensome.

According to his calculation, an enterprise must file 14 payments a year, taking 498 hours and amounting to 38.1% of total profits. Payment of value-added tax is onerous, taking around 219 hours, or 44% of the total time required to file tax.

Additional four industrial parks established in Binh Phuoc

The People’s Committee in the Southern Province of Binh Phuoc yesterday said that additional four industrial parks will be established in the province in the period of 2020-2030.

Four new industrial parks include 438-hectare Ledana facility, 300-hectare V.com park and 348-hectare Hoa Lu in the Hoa Lu border-gate economic zone in Loc Ninh border district and 6,317-hectare Dong Phu park in Dong Phuc District.

Additionally, the province authority will expand three industrial parks 577.63-hectare Minh Hung III in Chon Thanh District, 317-hectare Bac Dong Phu and 480-hectare Nam Dong Phu in Dong Phu District. Industrial parks are eligible for enjoying exemption of enterprise income tax, import duty for machinery.

The local administrations will support companies in the industrial parks by building connection paths to main roads, waste treatment and the supply of water and power.

Currently, 11 industrial parks are located in Binh Phuoc Province attracting 334 secondary projects including 232 foreign-invested projects and 102 locally-invested projects. Some 171 enterprises have been operating creating 66,200 jobs for local laborers.

New stock trading accounts hit record high in March

Securities companies registered 113,875 new domestic trading accounts during March, breaking the record set in January of 86,107, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD).

As of the end of March, there were more than 3 million trading accounts in the stock market, including over 2.98 million opened by individual investors and 11,630 by organisational players.

The stock market saw nearly 258,000 new trading accounts opened in the first quarter, accounting for 65 percent of the figure recorded in 2020 as a whole.

SSI Securities Corporation said Vietnam’s stock market experienced a special quarter, reaching the 1,200-point threshold three times.

The market suffered its sharpest decline in history on January 28 as a result of panic selling after new community transmissions of the coronavirus were reported. The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell 73.23 points, or 6.67 percent, to close at 1,023.94 points. It quickly recovered to 1,191.44 points by the end of the March 31 trading session, increasing 7.93 percent from the beginning of the year./.

PetroVietnam’s Q1 State budget contributions surpass plan by 18 percent

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) contributed more than 19.02 trillion VND (823.7 million USD) to the State budget in the first three months of 2021, a 3 percent increase against the same period last year and 18 percent higher than its quarterly plan.

Seventeen of its 22 subsidiaries posted profits, 12 of which recorded growth thanks to efforts to promote cost savings totalling over 2.83 trillion VND.

Uncertainties remain for the remaining months of the year, PetroVietnam Chairman Hoang Quoc Vuong said, with a high risk of geopolitical issues and trade tensions and the unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He urged all subsidiaries to keep a close watch on the global oil price and production and continue restructuring, cutting costs, and improving operational efficiency.

In the first two months of the year, the State-owned group exploited 3.07 million tonnes of oil equivalent and produced 2.9 billion kWh of electricity, 272,700 tonnes of nitrogenous fertiliser, and 1.1 million tonnes of oil and petrol.

Its turnover stood at 94.5 trillion VND (nearly 4.1 billion USD) while budget contributions were estimated at 11.44 trillion VND, surpassing the targets by 1 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Mini Thailand Week underway in Hai Phong

A trade fair for Thai products called Mini Thailand Week 2021 was launched at the Hai Phong International Exhibition Centre in the northern city of Hai Phong on April 8, with 60 booths.

The booths belong to 35 importers of Thai products to Vietnam and showcase a wide range of products, from food to fashion, beauty, and personal care.

The fair will also feature traditional Thai dance performances, demonstrations of cooking Thai dishes, Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y) activities, and games.

It provides a good opportunity for investors and enterprises in the city to exchange experience, expand partnerships, and boost two-way trade between the two countries, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Tho.

Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner in ASEAN while Vietnam is Thailand’s third-largest. Bilateral trade last year totalled nearly 16 billion USD, accounting for 30 percent of Vietnam’s trade with ASEAN member states.

Economic activities in Vietnam have returned to normalcy thanks to the Government’s success in containing COVID-19, according to Morakot Janemathukorn from the Embassy of Thailand. The embassy has cooperated with the local Government and enterprises to organise many events to foster cooperation in various areas, and the fair aims to bolster ties, she added.

Mini Thailand Week 2021 will run through April 11.

First VinGroup smart e-buses hit the streets

The Vinbus Ecology Transport Services Limited Liability Company (VinBus), a member of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate VinGroup, launched the first smart e-bus service in the country on April 8.

The buses will run in the Vinhomes Ocean Park urban area in Gia Lam district, Hanoi, while awaiting the completion of procedures to connect with the city’s public transport network, according to Vinbus Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Thanh.

Vinbus is an electric bus model manufactured and assembled by VinFast at its Automobile Production Complex in Hai Phong city.

Each bus is equipped with an automated system able to control driving behaviour and give warnings about unsafe situations, an on-board public address system, free wifi, USB charging ports, and security cameras, among others.

With a battery capacity of 281 kWh, the bus can travel between 220 and 260 kilometres on a single charge. It can fully recharge in just two hours at VinBus’s 150 kW charging station network.

VinBus is scheduled to provide public transport services in five major cities in Vietnam: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

The company operates under a non-profit model, aiming to develop a modern public transportation network that reduces air and noise pollution in Vietnam’s major cities.

Kien Giang making every effort to fight IUU fishing

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has completed 98.6 percent of its plan to equip fishing vessels with cruise control devices as part of measures to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing prevention, local authorities will continue to introduce synchronous measures to fight such activities towards an early removal of the “yellow card” warning issued by the European Commission (EC) to Vietnam’s fisheries sector.

Authorised agencies have stepped up communications work so that ship-owners, fishermen, organisations, and individuals closely observe relevant regulations.

Local authorities have strictly handled cases of illegally exploiting marine products in foreign waters.

Provincial police have been tasked with monitoring, investigating, and verifying cases in which local individuals or organisations linked with those in foreign countries to arrange for fishing vessels or fishermen to exploit marine products in foreign waters, or to return arrested fishermen to Vietnam by unofficial means in order to avoid fines imposed under Vietnamese law.

Meanwhile, the provincial Border Guard Command is responsible for investigating, verifying, and handling fishing vessels that violate foreign waters, especially those detected by the navy and coast guard.

Nguyen Van Dung, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and also deputy head of the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing prevention, said local authorities have paid attention to inspecting and controlling the implementation of measures to prevent IUU fishing by vessels in international waters.

The province’s fisheries sub-department will work to complete the installation of cruise control devices on all vessels.

In the first quarter, local authorities fined five fishing vessel owners for removing or not operating cruise control devices. The locality strictly complied with EC recommendations on IUU and fined vessels violating regulations.

Vietnam, Argentina look towards balanced trade

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is ready to work with Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino to boost economic, trade, and investment ties between the two nations, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai has said.

During a working session with the ambassador who has just started his tenure in Vietnam, Hai expressed his delight at the stable growth in two-way trade over recent years, which reached 3.95 billion USD last year, up 4.3 percent compared to 2019 despite COVID-19.

As Argentina is now Vietnam’s third-largest trade partner in Latin America, behind Brazil and Mexico, he hoped that the ambassador and the Argentine embassy will continue working to facilitate trade exchange between the two countries’ business communities, towards gradually achieving a more balanced trade landscape.

The ambassador, for his part, expressed a belief that with improving business climates in both nations, businesses will be well-positioned to prosper.

He pledged to do his best to tackle problems in two-way trade as well as facilitate multi-sector exchanges between the two countries.

Both sides also agreed to hold the seventh meeting of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation this year.

Figures show that Vietnam’s exports to the Latin American country hit 567 million USD last year, up 2.34 percent, while imports rose 4.64 percent to 3.38 billion USD.

Vietnam’s exports were mostly mobile phones and spare parts, computers, electronics and accessories, footwear, machinery, equipment and other supporting tools, apparel, and footwear materials. The country imported animal feed, corn, cotton, soya, and vegetable oils from Argentina.

According to MoIT, two-way trade hit 440 million USD this year as of late February, down 3.22 percent year-on-year. Of this, 174 million USD was Vietnam’s exports to Argentina, up 164.52 percent year-on-year, while imports were down 31.61 percent.

Hanoi’s property market predicted to rebound strongly

Strong construction activities in many different types of property and areas in Hanoi signal the strong recovery of the capital’s real estate market from this year onwards, according to CBRE Hanoi Branch Director Nguyen Hoai An.

At a recent press conference looking back on the Hanoi market in the first quarter, An noted that not only residential real estate but also commercial real estate will welcome many new projects with the participation of foreign investors and domestic developers from the southern region.

A CBRE Vietnam survey showed that approximately 4,400 apartments were launched in Hanoi in Q1, down 39 percent quarter-on-quarter due to the hiatus caused by the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and the resurgence of COVID-19, but still up 270 percent year-on-year.

This indicates a strong recovery in the local property market compared to Q1 of 2020, when COVID-19 first broke out in Vietnam.

Do Van Anh, manager of the research and consulting division at CBRE Vietnam, said most of the new apartment supply in Q1 came from 14 projects already opened for sale, while only three projects were newly launched.

She said apartments in the mid-end segment were still the most popular in the market, accounting for up to 80 percent of total new supply in Q1. The eastern and western areas of the city were home to most new projects, with 77 percent of new supply.

The positive market sentiment in recent times has also helped bridge the gap between the number of newly-launched apartments and those already sold.

A total of 4,200 apartments were sold in Q1. In the mid-end segment, the number of sold apartments was higher than newly-launched apartments.

Anh forecast that new supply and sales in Hanoi this year will be around 24,000-26,000 apartments. Many residential real estate projects will be launched for sale in different parts of the city, both inner and outlying districts, in coming quarters, helping the market become more vibrant.

Growth indicators to ensure an optimistic scenario

Striving to achieve a GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent by the end of 2021 is both a goal and a pressure for Vietnam, the outcome of which strongly depends on a further recovery of domestic purchasing power and international trade and travel.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said, “The growth rate of the first quarter at 4.48 per cent was low, from the point of view of the ministry.” However, there is still need for an objective view for this growth, because the 5.2 per cent growth scenario for the first quarter is placed in a state of a “new normal”, but the recent outbreak in the northern province of Hai Duong and some others has pulled economic growth down again down.

“GDP in the following quarters must be increased to reach the National Assembly’s 6.5-per-cent target for 2021,” argued Phuong, who has added that “to outbalance the Q1 growth, in the remaining quarters, there must be a quarter of over 7 per cent.”

Nevertheless, the outcome of the economic growth figures remains unpredictable as COVID-19 could hit again anytime as the latest cases show. Nguyen Thu Oanh, director of the Price Statistics Department under the General Statistics Office, noticed that although the average consumer price index (CPI) in Q1 increased by only 0.29 per cent on-year – the lowest first-quarter increase in the past 20 years – keeping the inflation below 4 per cent this year will not be easy.

Global crude oil prices have been increasing sharply after the United States and other countries in the region launched economic stimulus packages. According to calculations, if the average crude oil price is about $60 per barrel, the CPI in 2021 will increase by 0.9 per cent.

As long as COVID-19 remains a topic, industrial production activities cannot recover as quickly as before, and other sectors like accommodation, catering, transportation, and tourism services are continuing to be affected as well.

However, the economic picture in the first three months also showed many bright spots. Retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 5.1 per cent in Q1 over the same period last year, showing that consumer demand has increased again. Import-export activities also strongly recovered, and trade balance generated an export surplus of $2.03 billion.

Besides this, the number of newly-registered enterprises in Q1 decreased by 1.4 per cent compared to the same period last year, but the total registered capital increased by 27.5 per cent due to the increase in the number of enterprises with registered capital of over VND100 billion ($4.35 million) and a decrease in those enterprises with than VND10 billion (435,000). These factors will be the impetus for the next quarter to accelerate Vietnam’s economic growth, especially when vaccines are further distributed.

According to Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, the good news in the first quarter is that all major economies are on their way to recover. Given this optimistic scenario, Thanh sees that while major markets rely on vaccinations to reboot their economies, they also still operate under monetary and fiscal policies towards loosening interest rates, in combination with expanded stimulus packages. In Vietnam, the economy can also follow an optimistic scenario with five basic growth drivers.

First is macro stability, according to Thanh. The expectation of reaching a GDP growth of 6.5 per cent is based on a weak inflationary pressure, so that the government can operate both monetary and fiscal policies in the direction of supporting growth.

Secondly, private investments need to recover, combined with further public investments in infrastructure. Maintaining a low interest rate level and further reducing lending interest rates will be the driving force for businesses’ investments.

Third is the resumption of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to take place after the pandemic. The trend of supply chain shifts will maintain an attractive position for FDI inflows for Vietnam, but will also create challenges for the monetary and exchange rate regulators to ensure that the country’s economy can still absorb these inputs.

Next involves restoring the purchasing power in the domestic market, Thanh explained. One of the biggest concerns of businesses is that they cannot prosper if the purchasing power of the domestic market remains weak.

The digital transformation has been a huge driver and has led to new types of shopping. Monetary and fiscal policy must also be in a state of supportive growth to restore purchasing power in the domestic market.

Labour market data last year showed that after falling by 2.4 million people in Q2 over the previous quarter, the market recovered with an increase by 1.5 million in the third quarter and 600,000 more in Q4. This is the basis for the recovery of purchasing power in the domestic market this year.

Singaporean investor to operate large ecotourism project in Vietnam

Singapore’s Pegasus Investment and Consultancy JSC and Banyan Tree Holdings Limited on April 7 signed an agreement in which the former will operate Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam, an eco-resort in the central province of Binh Dinh, upon its completion.

The project, which was expected to be completed in 2023, is part of the Pegasus Education Tourism Development area, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.

With an estimated investment of 100 million Singaporean dollars (US$74.6 million), Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam is the second phase of Pegasus Education Tourism Development. Its first phase kicked off with the opening of Outward Bound Vietnam in 2016, while eco-residences will be developed in the third phase.

Pegasus Chairman Ricky Tan said, “Pegasus Education Tourism Development entrenches our long-term commitment and investments in Vietnam. As a Singapore enterprise, our latest investment signals our strong confidence in Vietnam’s economic development and growth prospects.”

Pegasus will provide services at the resort, which is Banyan Tree’s second Dhawa resort signed in Vietnam.

Both Pegasus and Banyan Tree have been confident about Vietnam’s economic recovery, Covid-19 control and growth prospects, while Covid-19 vaccination programs are being accelerated.

Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree, said the strategic partnership highlights the like-minded collaboration and entrepreneurship of two homegrown brands with strong overseas footprints.

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

Treating TB patient

Associate Professor and Doctor Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the National Lung Hospital and head of the programme, said that the theme of the World TB Day 2021 – “The clock is ticking” – conveys a message that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB.

According to the World Health Organisation, TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.

According to a WTO report in 2020, about 170,000 new cases are detected in Vietnam each year, of whom 70 percent are in working age.

Last year, the number of new cases detected decreased by 3.1 percent year-on-year.

Although the figure is quite small compared with the decrease rate of 20 percent globally, Vietnamese people are more aware of the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases.

The political system also has sufficient information about the role of the health sector in socio-economic development as well as measures to address respiratory infectious diseases.

This is a chance for Vietnam to put an end to TB, Nhung added./.

Departure ceremony held for third Level-2 Field Hospital

The Defence Ministry held a ceremony on March 23 in Ho Chi Minh City to send off the staff of the third Level-2 Field Hospital, who will participate in the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien appreciated the cooperation of the United Nations, the Australian Government and partners with Vietnam in deploying the third Level-2 hospital to replace the second Level-2 Field Hospital in accordance with plans that have been adjusted due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The officer said the staff of the third Level-2 field hospital have completed training in foreign language and pandemic prevention and control, all materials and equipment have been packed, and the hospital is ready for its noble international mission.

Delivering a speech in virtual form at the ceremony, UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in sending Level-2 field hospitals to UN peacekeeping missions since 2018. He said the participation reflects Vietnam’s strong commitment to the partnership between Vietnam and the UN.

The UN official commended the staff of Vietnam’s Level-2 field hospitals for their work, especially in treating COVID-19 patients and in sharing valuable experience in epidemic prevention and control.

Director of the third Level-2 Field Hospital Lt Col Trinh My Hoa, on behalf of the hospital’s staff, said it is their honour to join UN peacekeeping activities, thus contributing to the implementation of the Party and State’s foreign policy and enhancing Vietnam’s position in the international arena.

The third Level-2 Field Hospital was established in March 2020 with 70 staff members. They will be transported to South Sudan by military aircraft provided by Australia in two batches. The first batch will depart on 17:00 March 24, and the second on April 21. All the staff members have been vaccinated against COVID-19./.

Top leader emphasises youth’s role in national development

Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has affirmed the important role of young people to advance the nation forwards.

At the ceremony marking the 90th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) on March 23, the top leader stressed that, during the country’s long history, young people have always promoted the tradition of patriotism, actively pioneered in all fields, and made significant contributions to the cause of national protection and development.

Speaking highly of the HCYU’s contributions, he said young people should further promote their pioneer role and creativeness, while the youth unions at all levels should create momentum for young people to study and work harder to protect the nation, as well as develop high-quality young officials for the Party.

Besides, the leader asked Party committees and administrations at all levels, ministries and sectors to create favourable conditions to consolidate the youth unions.

He affirmed that the Party, State and people have strong belief and high expectations for younger generations, expressing his hope that the Vietnamese youth, particularly young Party members, will lead the way in building a prosperous nation.

Meanwhile, First Secretary of the HCYU Central Committee Nguyen Anh Tuan affirmed that the youth union’s development throughout different periods has met urgent requirements of youth movements.

On the occasion, the HCYU was presented with an Order of Ho Chi Minh./.

Memorandum signed to boost UXO risk education in Vietnam

The Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Vietnam on March 23 inked a memorandum of understanding on enhancing explosive ordnance risk education.

At the signing ceremony in Hanoi, Major General Tran Trung Hoa, Commander of the Engineering Arms of the Vietnam People’s Army and VNMAC General Director, said apart from unexploded ordnance (UXO) detection and clearance, communications and education are also one of the importance pillars of the UXO settlement.

These activities have received attention from the Government and involved ministries, sectors, central agencies, localities, as well as many international organisations, he noted.

Under the MoU, CRS Vietnam pledged to provide technical and financial aid for VNMAC to build a national strategy for UXO risk education and set up the national standards on the education and those on support for UXO victims.

This project, which will last through July 2024, will help improve VNMAC staff’s capacity and support related communications and education activities carried out by the centre.

CRS Vietnam will also assist VNMAC to access common information and further take part in events like workshops and training conferences of the international UXO settlement community.

According to VNMAC, there are about 800,000 tonnes of UXO left from wartime nationwide, with nearly 6.1 million ha of land contaminated or suspected to be contaminated, accounting for 18.71 percent of Vietnam’s total area.

Since 1975, UXO has killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others, most of whom are breadwinners of their families, ethnic minority people, and children./.

Four Vietnamese honoured as excellent foreign workers in Japan

Four Vietnamese were among the five workers awarded the title of excellent foreign construction workers of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during a ceremony held on March 23.

They are Than Van Hoang working for Osaka-based Okasan Kogyo, Dang Van Kien of Nitta group in Tokyo, Hoang Manh Hung of Sato Construction Management Company (Sacom) in Hokkaido and Nguyen Manh Duong of Masuko in Ibaraki.

The fifth worker honoured is a Myanmarese, Moon Aung of Ecowork in Shizuoka.

Phan Tien Hoang, chief representative of Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Japan said the awards recognise the constant efforts of Vietnamese workers to sharpen their skills and adapt to the working environment in Japan, which is all the more significant in the context of the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of many trainees and workers of Vietnam and other countries in Japan.

As of late 2020, about 5,500 foreign workers were working in the construction industry in Japan./.

Tomb of royal concubine restored

A project to renovate the tomb of a 17th-century royal concubine has begun in Duy Xuyen district, the central province of Quang Nam.

The project to renovate the tomb of Doan Quy Phi (1601 – 1661), the chief concubine of Lord Nguyen Phuc Lan (1601-1648), who ruled south Vietnam (1635-1648) from the city of Phu Xuan (modern-day Hue). The project aims to celebrate the 360th anniversary of the concubine’s death.

The project, set to cost 15 billion VND (647,000 USD), includes an entrance gate, parking lot, main tomb, garden, lotus lake and the surrounding landscape with a total area of 38,000sq.m.

The tomb site, which was recognised as the national relic site in August 2011, has been upgraded three times in 1806, 1814 and 1992.

The present area is seriously downgraded, with no entrance to the tomb and a damaged surrounding concrete fence.

Doan Quy Phi, whose real name was Doan Thi Ngoc, was an official concubine of Lord Nguyen Phuc Lan, and mother of Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan. Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan (1620-1687) ruled the south of Vietnam between 1648 and 1687. After her death, Doan Quy Phi was awarded the title Queen Hieu Chieu.

When she was alive, she encouraged people to plant mulberry and raise silkworms to weave silk. People nicknamed her ‘Goddess of Silkworms’./.

Friendship Order presented to Russian Ambassador to Vietnam

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung on March 23 handed over the Friendship Order to Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Dung affirmed the continuous development of the Vietnam-Russia relations since the two countries set up diplomatic ties more than seven decades ago, saying the relationship has been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Ambassador Vnukov has actively and effectively contributed to consolidating and enhancing the traditional friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.

Dung highlighted the ambassador’s role in the signing and ratification of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the organisation of the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam, and the expansion of investment cooperation between the two countries in various spheres.

For his part, Vnukov thanked the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people for their good sentiments and whole-hearted support towards the Russian Embassy and the ambassador himself.

He pledged that in any position, he will make all-out efforts to promote the fruitful friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Russia./.

Vietnam attends 28th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue

Nguyen Quoc Dung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of Vietnam’s ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), attended the 28th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue held virtually on March 23.

In his remarks, Dung emphasised the significance of maritime cooperation to security and economic development in each country, as well as the daily lives of regional residents.

He suggested ASEAN and New Zealand step up their coordination within the frameworks of the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF).

The move aims to promote dialogue, cooperation, trust building, and respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), he explained.

Dung also called for support towards efforts in building and promoting codes of conduct such as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The two sides should strengthen sustainable cooperation and join hands in consolidating and improving the operational efficiency of maritime cooperation mechanisms and frameworks in the region, he said.

The countries also need to enhance dialogue, collaboration, trust building and law respect, and ensure an environment of peace, security and stability, in order to facilitate recovery and sustainable growth, Dung stressed.

Alison Mann, head of New Zealand’s ASEAN SOM, said New Zealand attaches importance to the relations with the ten-member grouping, and commits to further working as ASEAN’s active partner in frameworks, dialogues and cooperation mechanisms led by ASEAN in the region.

The two sides agreed to closely coordinate in pushing ahead with the implementation of the Joint ASEAN-New Zealand Leaders’ Vision Statement approved last November so as to deepen their strategic partnership.

With the 2021-2025 action plan, the two sides will boost cooperation in such priority areas as economy, trade, investment, the fight against terrorism and transnational crime, education, environmental protection, climate change, natural disaster management, sub-regional development, and narrowing development gaps.

The countries consented to continue their close coordination in order to contribute to maintaining regional peace, security and stability, including security and safety in the East Sea./.

Ministry of Construction plans to expand HCM City drainage system

The Ministry of Construction has submitted to the Government for approval plans to triple the length of HCM City’s drainage network.

The existing network, built in 2001, is 650 square kilometres, and the ministry wants to expand it to 2,095sq.km to deal with the flooding that routinely occurs in parts of the city.

The work is proposed to be completed in 2030.

It includes setting up in 2026-30 seven more sewage treatment plants, Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè, Tây Sài Gòn, Bắc Sài Gòn 1, Bắc Sài Gòn 2, Cầu Dừa, Tây Bắc, and Suối Nhum.

When they start operating, the city’s treatment rate will reach an estimated 88.3 per cent.

Because of high tides in the Sài Gòn and Đồng Nai rivers, heavy rains and land subsidence, HCM City is among 10 global cities most vulnerable to sea-level rise.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, its rivers could rise by 30cm by 2050 and 75cm by the end of this century.

By 2050 the number of communes and wards affected by tidal flooding is expected to rise to 177 covering 61 per cent of the city’s total area.

Vietnamese photographer wins prestigious international award

Drying Fish by Vietnamese photographer Khánh Phan won the travel category of the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards. Photo by Khanh Phan via Sony World Photography Awards

A photo capturing a farmer surrounded by drying fish by Vietnamese photographer Khánh Phan has won the travel category of the Sony World Photography Awards.

The photo, entitled Drying Fish, was taken in Long Hải market in the central province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu on July 26, 2020. The wooden trays viewed from above look like a giant brocade woven by the farmer.

The Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most competitive photo contests in the world, as it receives 330,000 entries from around the world, among which only the 10 best photos are selected as winners for its 10 categories of open competition.

These 10 best photos will be selected further to find the best work of the season and the photographer awarded US$5,000, plus the latest Sony digital imaging equipment. The overall winner of the competition will be announced on April 15.

Khánh Phan is the first and only Vietnamese photographer to win the open competition of the prestigious photo contest.

Phan said winning was a memorable experience in her photography career and all winning works by Vietnamese photographers like hers are “tourism ambassadors” for Việt Nam.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the annual Sony World Photography Awards are one of the most important fixtures in the photographic calendar.

The awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary work today. Now in their 14th year, the awards consist of four competitions: Professional (for photographers entering a body of work or portfolio), Open (for photographers entering a single image), Student (for academic institutions) and Youth (for 12-19 year-olds).

The jury will evaluate and award the final first prize to a single photographer with the best work.

Khánh Phan was born in Quỳnh Phụ District in the northern province of Thái Bình, but is now based in HCM City. In 2017, she bought her first camera, sparking her passion for photography.

Khánh Phan said her journey to become a photographer was not easy. She tends to venture into difficult conditions such as climbing high mountains, swimming in mud or waiting for dawn at a graveyard to take photos.

However, the trip throughout Việt Nam over the past three years has helped Khánh Phan gain a lot of success in pursuing a career in photography and win 30 domestic and international awards.

Earlier, she won a gold award in the People/Culture category with her work entitled The Children Dancing With Gong and a silver one in the Travel/Tourism category with Drying Fish at the Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) 2020.

Nearly 38,000 people vaccinated against COVID-19

As of 16:00 on March 23, Vietnam had administered the COVID-19 vaccine to 37,911 people who are frontline medical workers, and members of community-based anti-COVID-19 groups and steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control.

As many as 1,829 people got the vaccine shots on the day, according to the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

Since the launch of the inoculation campaign on March 8, the vaccination has been carried out in 16 cities and provinces nationwide.

The northern province of Quang Ninh and the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap are scheduled to roll out the injection this week.

From March 24-28, the Ministry of Health will send working groups to Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh to supervise pandemic prevention and control, and the vaccination work there.

Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen will lead a delegation to Quang Ninh and Hai Duong provinces on March 24.

The ministry has also tightened the implementation of regulations on immigration, medical quarantine and COVID-19 prevention and control in order to prevent the pandemic spread among the community.

It reported that Vietnam detected no cases of COVID-19 over the past 12 hours to 6am on March 24. The country has gone through six consecutive days without domestically-transmitted cases.

The national count stands at 2,576, including 1,601 domestic infections.

A total of 37,754 people who came into close contact with COVID-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit areas are under health monitoring nationwide.

The number of recoveries is now 2,246, whilst the deaths remain at 35.

Among the active patients, 42 have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, 29 twice and 66 thrice./.

Thu Duc City proposes to follow specific mechanism for overall development

The Party’s Committee of Thu Duc City (municipal city of Ho Chi Minh City) has just announced the missions for the city’s socio-economic growth in 2021. One of the key targets is to completely human resources organization for all state units in the city and introduce corresponding work policies. Another major goal is to address current problems in the community.

In 2021, Thu Duc City is going to finish 26 main missions, including meeting the state budget collection goal of VND8,327 billion (approx. US$ 361 million) and ensuring 95 percent of the disbursement progress of the basic construction investment from the state budget.

The city also listed 31 key investment projects in 2021, including 15 to be finished this year like 5 new schools, So Ga closed garbage compacting station, street expansion on Le Van Viet Street, landslide-protection embankment along Saigon River (in Thao Dien Ward), Cau Ngang Canel cleaning.

The local authorities are going to tackle issues related to land compensation and resettlement for major construction projects in sites of Saigon Hi-tech Park, Thu Thiem new urban area, the Cultural Historical Park, Long Binh Ward.

Additional policies to be applied for projects related to Vietnam National University – HCMC will also be introduced.

The projects to transform Thu Duc City into a smart one and to carry out the digital transformation process are going to be implemented as well.

Notably, the Party’s Committee of Thu Duc District proposed to use a specific state management mechanism in the city in the fields of finance; land resource collection and enrichment; development policies; project and land bidding policies; capital attraction for infrastructure projects; preferential policies for commercial organizations and business people.

Finally, the city is planning to improve telecoms facilities for the growth of 5G services and to create Thu Duc Software City, a center for high performance computing (cooperation with Vietnam National University – HCMC).

PM urges safe, prompt COVID-19 vaccination

It is necessary to conduct proper and timely COVID-19 vaccination to ensure safety, towards the vaccination for the whole population, while considering and accessing different vaccine sources and continuing to research and develop domestically-made vaccines so that the vaccines can be put into use in 2022, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed.

Under a notice on Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s conclusion at a meeting of permanent cabinet members on COVID-19 prevention and control, localities nationwide were asked to strictly abide by guidance from the Ministry of Health on pandemic prevention and control, while staying determined to boost economic development in the new normal, ensuring social welfare.

Ministries, sectors and localities were requested to comprehensively and effectively implement fiscal, monetary, trade, investment solutions and policies to support people and businesses to recover and expand production and business, while proposing new support measures.

The PM asked for the strict management of entries and quarantine facilities.

He also assigned the Ministry of Health to direct the whole sector to apply the readiness mode to respond to any pandemic circumstances, and coordinate with relevant agencies to design suitable pandemic prevention and control measures when applying the “vaccine passport”.

The Ministry of Public Security is requested to strengthen its control over exit and entry activities at border gates, while the Ministry of Transport was asked to continue to roll out measures to control people entering Vietnam aboard international flights and give guidance on pandemic prevention and control on domestic flights.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was directed to coordinate with the Foreign Ministry and relevant agencies to consider proposals from the Tourism Advisory Council on control measures when international tourism activities are resumed.

The Foreign Ministry was assigned to build plans to arrange flights to bring Vietnamese citizens abroad home when international flights are re-operated, while strengthening communications to provide relevant regulations to encourage Vietnamese citizens abroad not to enter the country illegally./.

HBSO kicks off 2021 season with famous French operatic arias

HCM CITY The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will kick off the 2021 season with a night of arias from famous French operas at the city’s Opera House on March 28.

The concert will open with the overture to the five-act opera Mireille by French composer Charles Gounod. It premiered in 1864.

The work tells the love story of Mireille, a young woman from a good Provencal family and the poor farmer Vincent.

The concert will continue with the 13th movement titled The Swan from the 14-movement musical suite by French composer Camille Saint-Saens.

The Swan, the suite’s famous cello solo published in 1887, will be performed by Meritorious Artist and cellist Nguyễn Tấn Anh.

Meritorious Artist Hồng Vy will sing Depuis le Jour (Since the Day), a love song from the four-act opera Louise by French composer Gustave Charpentier which premiered in 1900.

The programme will also feature the aria Avant de quitter les lieux (Before I Leave This Town) from Gounod’s opera Faust, Bell Song from French composer Delibes’s Lamek, and Ah! Mes amis (Ah! My Friends) from Gaetano Donizetti’s La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) .

The works will be sung by Đào Mác, Phạm Khánh Ngọc and Phạm Trang along with the HBSO chorus.

After the intermission, arias from Georges Bizet’s Carmen, including Habanera, Parle moi de ma mere (Tell about My Mother), Escamillo, and Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante (I Say that Nothing Frightens Me) will be sung.

The performance will present vocalists Phan Hồng Dịu, Phạm Duyên Huyên, Phạm Trang, Nguyễn Thu Hường, Trần Thành Nam and Võ Nguyễn Thành Tâm.

The HBSO chorus and orchestra will be featured.

The concert will begin at 8pm. The venue is at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1.

EU Ambassador affirms safety of AstraZeneca vaccine

Ambassador Giorgio Aliberti, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, and some ambassadors of EU member countries on March 23 affirmed the safety of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

During a meeting with the press before the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Vietnam via the WHO-led Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative, Ambassador Aliberti said the EU has put the safety of the vaccine first.

Regarding the suspension of AstraZeneca vaccine rollouts by certain EU countries, the ambassador said the EU’s competent agencies have made efforts in tracing scientific evidence proving the safety of the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recently allowed to resume the inoculation, he added.

The cases of vaccination side effects found in Europe over the past time are very rare, about only one in one million vaccinated people, according to the ambassador.

Echoing Aliberti’s view, German Ambassador to Vietnam Guido Hildner said seven out of 1.7 million vaccinated people in Germany have experienced side effects. However, the German Government then agreed to resume the vaccination following cautious assessments.

Vaccinated people must be under close supervision following the injection, he suggested.

According to Aliberti, through the “TeamEurope” initiative, the EU has become the first sponsor that has significantly contributed to the COVAX facility, with funding of 2.6 billion EUR, making up 40 percent of the programme’s total budget.

Via COVAX, the EU wants to press ahead with COVID-19 vaccine procurement to vaccinate the global population, he stressed.

Vietnam is among the 92 countries selected by the EU to receive the vaccine during the first phase of the programme, the ambassador said, noting that more than 1.3 million doses of vaccines are scheduled to be delivered to Vietnam in late March or early April.

COVAX announced Vietnam will receive from 4,886,400 to 8,253,600 doses, of which 25 – 35 percent will be delivered in the first quarter and the remainder in the second quarter of 2021. Astra Zeneca vaccine has been selected for the initial rollout.

The EU will make its best to soon bring COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam, Aliberti pledged. Around 18 million doses are expected to arrive in the country by the end of this year, covering 15 percent of its population, towards the target of vaccinating 20 percent of the population in the first stage.

Ambassadors from Spain, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic affirmed their support for the EU’s efforts to roll out COVID-19 vaccines in countries worldwide, including Vietnam./.

ODA disbursement issues of first metro line project need to be removed

The People’s Committee of HCMC has proposed Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to chair a working session on defining the value of the rest of ODA (official development assistance) loan which will be allocated from the Central budget for the Metro Line No 1 project in HCMC.

The meeting is expected to be participated by leaders of ministries of Finance, Planning and Investment.

The city’s authority hoped that the assessment would be promptly carried out, difficulties and obstacles in the disbursement of ODA loans and the volatile exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and the Japanese yen to be resolved to speed up the public investment disbursement.

The ODA capital allocated for the project from the State budget that has not been disbursed yet was VND 2,185 billion (US$94.6 million) in 2020 and over VND2, 484 billion (US$123.4 million) in 2021.

Currently the done work volume of the metro line No. 1 linking Ben Thanh in district 1 to Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City reaches 82.5 percent. Investors and consulting units have cooperated with each other to boost up the construction progress to ensure the installation will be completed in 2021.

Nine toll-suspended BOT projects need maintenance

The Ministry of Transport asked the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam to find temporary solutions in order to perform maintenance for nine BOT projects being temporarily suspended tolling.

Of these, four projects without carrying out maintenance were National Highway No.2 crossing Noi Bai- Vinh Yen route, bypass route of Ha Tinh on the National Highway No.1, Km2+478 – Km12+971 section on National Highway 1K and bypass section of Cai Lay on National Highway No.1.

The bypass of Thanh Hoa City on National Highway No.1 and Km14 – Km50+889 through National Highway 91 were two projects carrying out the maintenance without meeting the quality requirements.

Meanwhile, Dong Nai Bridge, National Highway 20 through towns, Hoa Cam- Hoa Phuoc section and Tu Cau- Vinh Dien section were three BOT projects under the maintenance.

These projects have not been terminated the construction contracts and have not yet handed over the site as the management agencies and investors have not reached agreement of cost to determine the payback period, investors’ benefits in the construction process, some relevant costs, interest loan, etc.

In order to avoid exceeding the tolling process as regulated, the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam actively suspends the toll collection for the above projects.

Private troupe offers variety of traditional performances

A special traditional theatre programme in HCM City offering cải lương (reformed opera) performances aims to preserve and introduce the art to young audiences.

The programme, Hội Quán Sân Khấu (Club of Vietnamese Theatre), offers different performances of cải lương, the south’s traditional music begun 100 years ago, and tuồng or hát bội (classical drama), a traditional genre of Vietnamese theatre which began in the 17th century in the central region.

The performances are being staged by Sen Việt, a private drama troupe that opened last year in HCM City.

Each show, featuring traditional songs, dances and musical pieces, is directed and produced by Meritorious Artist Lê Nguyên Đạt, the theatre director of Sen Việt.

Cải lương and tuồng plays are also featured.

All performers are accompanied by Vietnamese music played by folk instrumentalists on the tranh ( zither), bầu (monochord) and nguyệt (two-stringed long neck moon flute).

Young and veteran artists from the art programme Hội Quán Sân Khấu (Club of Vietnamese Theatre), launched by private drama troupe Sen Việt, are working to preserve and develop Vietnamese theatre. Photo courtesy of the theatre

“Our programme offers shows aimed at young people. We want to bring Vietnamese theatre closer to young audiences,” said Đạt, who has more than of 15 years’ experience in the industry.

In coming weeks, Đạt’s actors will offer historical plays that highlight national heroes. Productions featuring the beauty of Vietnamese women will also be staged.

Cải lương stars, such as Bình Tinh and Điền Trung, will be featured.

The first show debuted last weekend with young actresses Ngọc Gấm and Lệ Trinh, graduates of the HCM City Theatre and Cinematography University and HCM City University of Culture.

The artists performed vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes) songs, which are often used in cải lương, featuring the dreams and hopes of southern farmers.

“We want to create a new art space where traditional artists can improve, share and introduce their art together and to audiences,” said actress Tinh, winner of the Chuông Vàng Vọng Cổ (Golden Bell) Awards 2016, a national cải lương contest presented annually by HCM Television.

Hội Quán Sân Khấu performances will be staged at 8pm every Saturday and Sunday at the city’s Theatres Association at 5B Võ Văn Tần Street in District 3.

Tickets are priced at only VNĐ50,000 (US$2) to attract students and people with lower incomes.

Thu Duc City to implement 31 key projects in 2021

Thu Duc City will implement 31 key works and projects in 2021, of which 15 projects will be completed and 16 ones are expected to be started construction.

Particularly, 15 key projects are expected to be completed in 2021 including Phuoc Long A Kindergarten, Hiep Binh Phuoc- Saigon East Kindergarten, Hiep Binh Phuoc Middle School, Hiep Binh Phuoc Kindergarten, Linh Xuan 1 Kindergarten, construction and expansion project of the old Thu Duc District Police Head Office, So Ga garbage compression station, renovating and upgrading project of the Thu Duc City martyrs’ cemetery, upgrading and expanding project of Le Van Viet Street across La Xuan Oai Street and My Thanh T-junction, the road axis between D1 and D2 connecting to 1.36-hectare land near the 38.4- hectare resettlement area in An Khanh Ward, upgrading and expanding project of District 2 Hospital in Binh Trung Tay Ward, anti-landslide embankment construction along Saigon River in Thao Dien Ward’s Quarter 4, maintenance dredging projects of Ngang Bridge Canal, compensation and site clearance for the construction of Luong Dinh Cua Street and Tran Nao – Luong Dinh Cua Intersection, compensation for site clearance and resettlement to build the park under Saigon Bridge Pier and the Saigon riverbank corridor.

Below is a list of 16 key  works and projects in Thu Duc City which will be started construction in 2021.

Hue Traditional Craft Festival to be held in late May

The Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2021 will take place from May 29 to June 26, with an official opening ceremony set for June 12. The festival is expected to dazzle participants with several new activities compared to previous holdings.

The month-long festival will hold special activities on weekends in order to attract more visitors to the city.

It is expected to present traditional products from the province and neighbouring localities to consumers and attract more visitors to Vietnam’s former imperial capital./.

Foreigners in Vietnam to get visa online

Visa for foreigners living in Vietnam will be issued online via the National Public Service Portal in 2021.

It is among more than 50 public services to be provided in the portal this year as approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Among those services, 11 are in the group of administrative procedures related to resident management, including the issuance and re-issuance of ID cards, verification of ID numbers, registration of permanent or temporary stay, birth registration and passport issuance.

In addition, the newly-approved list comprises 44 essential public services in accordance with the United Nations’ E-Government Development Index, particularly extension of temporary stay and visa issuance for foreigners, vehicle registration plates and change of driver license.

The Government Office will work with relevant agencies and localities to study and improve users’ experience in the direction of developing a mobile version of the public service portal app./.

Vice President presents gifts to poor students in Bac Giang province

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Chairwoman of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC), on March 23 visited and presented 100 bicycles to impoverished students in the northern province of Bac Giang.

In the morning, she attended a ceremony to inaugurate 16 new classrooms at the Nghia Phuong Primary School in Nghia Phuong commune, Luc Nam district.

The classrooms were built at a total cost of over 6 billion VND (259,400 USD) donated by benefactors. They are equipped with desks, boards, and television in accordance with the national standard.

At the event, Thinh, local leaders and benefactors presented hundreds of gifts, scholarships and online English studying cards to students at the school.

The NFVC was established by the government on May 4, 1992 to gather donations from organisations and individuals to help the country achieve its goals in childcare and protect children’s rights in accordance with the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child./.

Hydro-meteorological forecasting helps facilitate sustainable livelihoods

The Vietnam Meteorological Hydrological Administration (VMHA) held a ceremony on March 23 to launch activities in response to World Meteorological Day 2021, which is themed “The Ocean, Our Climate and Weather”.

The ceremony was linked with 63 hydro-meteorological centres nationwide, drawing officials from ministries, sectors, localities, scientists in the fields of meteorology, marine hydrology, climate change, natural disaster prevention and control, and marine search and rescue, and representatives from embassies and international organisations.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh recognised the major contributions of the hydro-meteorological sector in natural disaster prevention and mitigation, socio-economic development, and the safeguarding of national defence and people’s safety.

He said the theme of World Meteorological Day 2021 aims to highlight the link between the ocean, the climate, and the weather in the earth system.

The Deputy Minister noted that as understanding about oceans remains limited, the UN has launched the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in the 2021-2030 period.

He expressed his hope that relevant agencies will continue to coordinate with the hydro-meteorological sector and support it in issuing alerts to serve natural disaster prevention and mitigation.

Thanh affirmed that as a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Vietnam will coordinate closely with relevant parties to promote oceanic monitoring and researching activities, contributing to implementing the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development goals of “safe ocean”, “predicted ocean”, and “transparent ocean”.

At a workshop following the ceremony, head of the VMHA Tran Hong Thai said that hydrological forecasting, including oceanographic forecasting, plays an important role in helping ministries, sectors, and localities adjust their socio-economic activities and crop farming, as well as in preparing preventive measures to minimise the impact of natural disasters.

He said that two new weather radar stations will be built, in Phu Lien in northern Hai Phong city and Vinh city in central Nghe An province, to increase hydro-meteorological forecasting capacity. Meanwhile, the entire weather radar system will be upgraded to cover the mainland and marine areas, including the Truong Sa archipelago and Phu Quoc Island, thus monitoring the development of storms.

Deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and head of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority Tran Quang Hoai said that accurate and timely forecasting of weather conditions at sea helps fishermen avoid losses in property and human life, thus helping people secure stable livelihoods.

Forecasting activities also help the committee as well as search and rescue, the marine police force, and ministries, sectors, and localities give active directions to minimise risks from natural disasters, he said./.

PM chairs meeting of compilation board for book on Government history

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a meeting on March 23 of the board responsible for the compilation and publishing of a book on the history of the Vietnamese Government.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the draft of the four-volume book is scheduled to be completed this year.

Two other works – a 30-episode documentary on the Vietnamese Government’s history from 1945-2015 and the outline of a photo book on the same theme, are about to be appraised.

The Government leader requested the thorough and meticulous implementation of these works considering their importance, and required the MoHA and other agencies to keep a close eye on quality and progress.

The agencies were also urged to arrange seminars and discussions to garner the opinions of experts, scientists, and members of the Government over the years.

Those who take part in the compilation of the works were asked to highlight the Government’s achievements over the years across the fields of politics, economy, society, culture, and science-technology, including analysis on strategic targets, methods, and outcomes.

In addition, the application of digital technologies is vital in improving archiving tasks, PM said, adding that the compilation should be conducted in an economical and efficient manner./.

Photo exhibition on Vietnam’s border areas opens in Hanoi

A photo exhibition on Vietnam’s border areas opened in Hanoi on March 23.

On showcase are 100 outstanding works, including 21 award-winning photos of a contest of the same theme held previously.

They introduce the landscape and people living in Vietnam’s border areas, as well as their daily lives, production activities, cultural festivals and folk art forms of ethnic minority groups.

The photos also feature activities of border soldiers who stand ready to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty and security, along with cultural and trade exchanges of people in border areas.

The exhibition also aims to raise public awareness of border demarcation, management, and sovereignty, thereby strengthening people’s trust in and support for the Party and State.

The event will run until March 28.

In addition to Hanoi, the event will be organised in Ninh Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Gia Lai and Kien Giang provinces, and Ho Chi Minh City./.

Road 9 – Southern Laos victory in the hearts of Lao officials

Road 9 – Southern Laos victory in March 1971 reflected the strength of the special solidarity and fighting alliance of Vietnam and Laos, according to senior Lao officials.

At the age of 90, Buasy Chaleunsouk, who worked as secretary of Lao President Kaysone Phomvihane from 1964 to 1984, still vividly remembers the victorious atmosphere at the Viengsay revolutionary base in Laos’ northern province of Houaphanh half a century ago.

The victory was of great significance in both military and political terms, he said, adding that it was celebrated in all Lao localities.

The Road 9 – Southern Laos victory in March 1971 marked the growth of the Vietnamese army in large-scale joint combat, becoming a vivid manifestation of the special combat solidarity between the Vietnamese and Lao armies and people./.

PM receives Austrian Ambassador, AT&S executive

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Schuller-Gotzburg and AT&S Chief Operations Officer (COO) Ingolf Schroeder on March 23.

Speaking highly of the Vietnam visit by Schroeder and AT&S staff to study investment possibility in the country, PM Phuc informed his guests that despite COVID-19, Vietnam recorded a GDP growth of 2.91 percent last year, which is a major success of the country.

Vietnam continues to attract foreign direct investment projects, the Government leader said, noting his welcome of the Austrian manufacturer’s intention to invest in the country.

Ambassador Schuller-Gotzburg congratulated Vietnam on the successful organisation of the 13th National Party Congress, adding that as the two nations will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties next year, he hoped that COVID-19 will be brought under control so that the sides can resume exchanges across multiple spheres.

He also expressed his belief that AT&S’ planned project in Vietnam, which is a major one with investment of about 1.5 billion EUR (1.78 billion USD) and expected to employ 6,000 workers, will be in line with Vietnam’s policy of drawing high tech investment.

Austria is paying heed to the project as Vietnam is among the world’s leading destinations for FDI, the diplomat said.

For his part, Schroeder thanked the Vietnamese government and localities for facilitating the visit, which he said is important for the company to make decision on investment. He said the company is confident that it will be able to build a manufacturing plant in Vietnam in a short time, meeting an increasing demand in the sector. Therefore, it is planning to build two plants in the first phase, he said.

The Austrian firm hopes to receive support from the Vietnamese Government for the fruitful implementation of the project, especially the recruitment of at least 1,500 engineers, according to the AT&S executive.

In reply, PM Phuc said that many FDI projects in Vietnam have reaped success, citing as example Intel and Samsung. He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has always offered the best conditions for foreign investors through investment incentives, especially for hi-tech projects.

The PM said both the northern province of Thai Nguyen and the southern economic hub of HCM City have good infrastructure, from transport to electricity, water and gas supply, which can meet the needs of investors.

The Vietnamese Government leader also stressed that the Vietnam-Austria relations have been flourishing, and the two nations have optimal conditions for successful cooperation./.

Philippine media lauds Vietnam’s anti-COVID-19 formula

The Manila Times, one of the leading national broadsheets in the Philippines, on March 23 ran an article highlighting Vietnam’s effective anti-COVID-19 formula.

Titled “Doing it better: The lesson Vietnam,” the article said ‘Vietnam’s response to the coronavirus pandemic was based on its experience in handling the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic back in 2003.”

It was the second country after China to report the appearance of SARS —, as it were — and the first to be declared SARS-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), after only a few months.

“Vietnam’s pandemic playbook basically has four pages,” said the article.

First, as soon as it became apparent that there would be a need for them, the government provided substantial financial and administrative support for the development and production of home-grown medical treatments and supplies.

Research on a vaccine began as soon as enough sample material was available to start the work, and Vietnamese pharmaceutical concerns began work on no fewer than four different types of coronavirus test kits. These became available in export-quantity overabundance as early as April last year, and earlier this month, Vietnam began rolling out its own domestically produced vaccine, which according to available data is efficient.

Second, Vietnam employed a strategy of short, airtight lockdowns and restricted movement to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, acting at once to shut down entire areas that could possibly be affected by the appearance of a case.

The Vietnamese government spent generously on social support, even delivering food to people’s homes, the article said.

Third, realising that an effective tracing system is the most critical component of the pandemic response, Vietnam immediately developed and implemented a thorough, accurate and centralised contact tracing system.

Contacts for any person testing positive for the coronavirus are traced to three levels, and all of those people are tested immediately.

Finally, the article said, infected persons, regardless of their condition, are immediately quarantined for monitoring and treatment in government facilities, as are all of their first-level contacts.

While Vietnam is still restricting non-essential visits by foreigners, movement and economic activity in the country is for all intents and purposes normal. The Vietnamese government has even launched an aggressive marketing campaign to promote domestic tourism to boost the economy, according to the article./.

Digital transformation expected to help Da Nang with smart city building

Da Nang is drafting a plan on digital transformation which is viewed as momentum for the central city to address bottlenecks in development and complete its smart city building by 2030.

Experts gathering at a workshop on March 22 recommended Da Nang to focus its digital transformation plan until 2025, with a vision to 2030, on digital economy, digital society, and digital administration.

It should develop a digital foundation, digital data, digital infrastructure, digital personnel, and cyber safety and security, which are considered driving forces of digital transformation, they said.

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang said the national digital transformation programme, issued under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 749/QD-TTg on June 3, 2020, is key to implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW on some guidelines and policies for proactive participation in the fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Da Nang must carry out digital transformation to help national digital transformation be successful,” he stated.

Quang noted that digital transformation is momentum for removing bottlenecks that have hampered the city’s development over the last years and helping to achieve the goal that by 2030, Da Nang will complete its smart city building and be uniformly connected with the smart cities networks of Vietnam and ASEAN.

It will also support Da Nang to become an ecological, modern, and worth-living city as targeted by the 12th-tenure Politburo in Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW on the development of Da Nang until 2030, with a vision to 2045, he added.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Quang Nam said Da Nang identifies its people and businesses as the centre of digital transformation, adding that to reap successes, it is necessary to have right, clear, and feasible strategies, visions, targets, tasks, and solutions, as well as resolutions and plans reflecting municipal leaders’ political resolve.

Also at the workshop, the municipal People’s Committee announced a decision to set up the city’s digital transformation advisory council and designated August 28 as the digital transformation day of Da Nang./.

Vietnam hailed by WHO for End TB efforts

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Vietnam has praised the country for its significant progress in fighting tuberculosis (TB) over the previous year in a letter sent to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on the occasion of the World TB Day (March 24).

WHO Representative to Vietnam Kidong Park took the occasion to invite Deputy PM Dam, who is head of the National Committee on Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, to participate in this year’s World TB Day global campaign.

The theme of the World TB Day 2021 – “The clock is ticking” – conveys the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB. The WHO is urging countries to implement ten priority recommendations to put the world on track to reach agreed targets by 2022 and beyond.

It is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has put the End TB progress at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.

According to the WHO, TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.

In 2015, world leaders committed to ending the global TB epidemic by 2030 and they reaffirmed their commitment to fighting the disease at the UN General Assembly’s High-level Meeting on Fight to End TB in 2018. It is expected to have around 40 million people worldwide provided with access to diagnosis and treatment by 2022.

Heads of State and Government committed to mobilise sufficient and sustainable financing from all sources for universal access to quality TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. They aim to increase overall global investments for ending TB at least 13 billion USD annually by 2022.

Vietnam has seen considerable progress in reducing TB burden. The number of new cases founded in 2020 dropped 3.1 percent from 170,000 in the previous year./.

Buddhism logo design contest gets underway

A design contest to create a logo aimed at depicting the theme of Buddhism has got underway to mark 40 years of the establishment of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha.

The competition’s entrants include monks, nuns, and Buddhists, along with other individuals and organisations based nationwide.

All entries must show the great achievements of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha through the past 40 years.

Logo designs must be creative, and not similar to any other current logo, whilst each entrant must attach a message relating to 40 years since the initial establishment of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha.

Each contestant is able to enter a maximum of five artworks, with the time for receiving entries between April 1 to May 30.

All logos which are submitted must be sent in a JPEG file format between 3MB and 6MB and emailed to [email protected], or alternatively sent to the headquarters of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha at 73 Quan Su street in Hanoi.

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