American debt relief reviews

The Hanoitimes – Vietnamese Americans are relieved that after a tumultuous presidential period, the US is entering a new phase.

In Washington and Southern California, Vietnamese supporters of the US President Joe Biden breathed sigh of relief when he promised to become president for all Americans. No violence cases broke out on this special day throughout the US.

“Anti-American” factors are under control

In Washington DC, a day after the power transition with unprecedented turmoil in the American political history, the calm atmosphere prevails. Mr. Dao from Pennsylvania who witnessed the inauguration of the US president  said: “A historic moment that I will never forget .”

Mr. Dao from Pennsylvania. Photo: Gia Tuan

When asked what impressed him the most in this presidential election and inauguration on January 20, he said: “The first woman of color becomes vice president of the US”. And what he most wished for after the new president took office: “No more people die due to Covid-19 because they are required to wear a face mask that the previous president didn’t do.”

Mr. Scott Nguyen from Santa Ana said: “I was nervous during the ceremony. When the 46th president was sworn in, I felt relieved. Obviously, “anti-American” factors like what happened on January 6 have been effectively contained by the authorities.”

Although there are no parades or gatherings of hundred thousand people around the National Mall or a series of celebrations as in other presidential inaugurations,  but hundreds of thousands still exploded with joy hoping for a truly great America to be back.

Many people raised doubts about the new administration could succeed in deal with current challenges. Nearly 25 million Americans have been infected with the Covid-19 pandemic and more than 400,000 others died. With the economy in deep recession, high public debt and unemployment, stigma, division and hatred, many Vietnamese Americans think “it takes time”.

“Be mindful that the new president has a four-year challenge. If he fails to fulfill his commitments, voters will oust him  in the next election,” Scott Nguyen said.

Fighting together the pandemic

The reason why this presidential election drew large turnout from Vietnamese Americans in Little Sai Gon, Southern California, was their desire for a better society.

“We need a president who works for the Americans and upholds American values. A president work to overcome the prevailing political polarization,” Ms. Nguyen Mai Khanh, from San Jose said.

A Vietnamese American child in the US. Photo: Gia Tuan

According to Seattle-based pharmacist Samantha Lin, the 46th president could set optimistic directions for the US to get out of the gloomy situation caused by Covid-19. The previous administration refused to make masking up in public transport compelling, leaving it on the hand of private companies, despite recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on using face masks.

Right after the US president Biden was sworn in, on January 21, he signed an order requiring people to wear face masks on planes, trains, buses and at airports. “This is the positive move of the new government”, said Samantha Lin.

“Americans, no matter they are Democrats or Republicans, should gather around the new administration to combat the pandemic. Let’s make the US  the world’s leading superpower in terms of economy instead of the number of dead people from Covid 19,” Ms. Lin said.

The joy and the spirit for a solidarity among the Vietnamese Americans responded to Joe Biden campaign’s theme.

Mr. Hien Le from San Francisco said that Americans should give the new American administration a chance and put their faith and hope into the next four years. “I am relieved that after so much turmoil, America is entering a new era,” he said.

The Hanoitimes – How policy makers respond now will be crucial in avoiding this worst-case scenario, and deciding whether the recovery path will be V, U, or L-shaped.

Asia’s economies have generally maintained sound macroeconomic policies that can help the region withstand this latest challenge and emerge even stronger.

Illustrative photo

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic raises the specter of another global debt crisis. The global economy is deep in debt—to the tune of an estimated $250 trillion in 2019—after a decade of historically low interest rates. Global debt-to-GDP hit a record high of over 320%, according to the Institute of International Finance.

Developing countries are often vulnerable to a global credit crunch. The external debt to GDP ratio for developing Asia was 33% in 2018, only slightly lower than 34% during the global financial crisis. Though macroeconomic conditions in Asia are generally sound, the previous crisis made it clear that developing Asia is far from immune to a financial crisis originating in advanced economies. First, G20 policy makers should immediately coordinate actions to provide timely and effective policy support to avoid market panic while taking aggressive, preemptive measures to contain the spread of the virus. Second, coordinated efforts within and across borders are needed to manage business continuity, shore up confidence, prevent massive defaults through tax relief and emergency loans, and provide adequate liquidity in the financial systems. Third, regulators should carefully monitor and guide orderly reduction of undue exposures to leveraged loans and collateralized loan obligations among banks and non-bank investors, particularly those that are systemically important. * Cyn-Young Park is Director for Regional Cooperation and Integration, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department

The Hanoitimes – People out of work, self-employed people, or household businesses forced to suspend operation due to the Covid-19 pandemic could receive up to VND1 million (US$42.63) each per month.

The Vietnamese government plans to provide financial support worth up to VND30 trillion (US$1.28 billion) for vulnerable people directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the meeting. Source: VGP.

The pandemic is causing severe consequences to not only businesses and state revenue, but also people’s lives, requiring urgent measures to ensure social security, particularly the poor, unemployed or vulnerable people, among others, Phuc said at a government meeting on March 31.

Under the plan, people out of work, self-employed people, and household businesses forced to suspend operation could receive up to VND1 million (US$42.63) per month, while social beneficiaries and revolutionary contributors are entitled to VND500,000 (US$21.32) per person per month.

In the short term, people could receive financial support in three months starting April while the government would continue to review the situation to adopt further measures.

Meanwhile, for workers having labor contracts with enterprises but are forced to take unpaid leave or face wage reduction, the support would be around VND1.8 million (US$76.74) per person per month in the next three months.

Phuc, however, urged such financial support should strictly target people directly affected by the pandemic, while those seek to take advantage of the policy for illegal gains would be punished.

Local authorities in provinces/cities are responsible to ensure the support is provided in a transparent and fair manner, Phuc requested.

Enterprises should ensure payment of at least 50% of the minimum wages for employees. In case they are unable to pay wages, enterprises could seek preferential loans from the Social Policy Bank of Vietnam, Phuc added.

Nestle sells North American spring water brands for $4.3 bn (photo: AFP)

The sale includes five of the giant’s spring water brands, including Poland Spring, three of its mountain water brands, its purified water business and its United States and Canada water delivery service, ReadyRefresh, according to a statement.

“This sale enables us to create a more focused business around our international premium brands, local natural mineral waters and high-quality healthy hydration products,” Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said in the statement.

The eight brands totaled nearly 3.4 billion Swiss francs (more than 3 billion euros, or $3.8 billion) in sales in 2019.

The maker of such famous chocolate bars as KitKat and Butterfinger will hang onto its Perrier, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna water brands.

After a large-scale review of its operations, Nestle in December rolled out a series of measures aimed at an effort to halve its emissions by 2030 and to get to net zero emissions by 2050.

The Hanoitimes – India is believed to rise stronger after the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic is over.

The pandemic has left a broad impact on India’s economy due to lockdown, restrictions, and the economic slowdown that followed, prompting the government to act to turn crisis into opportunities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

On May 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Atmanirbhar Bharat (“Self-reliant India”) economic stimulus package worth US$300 billion, equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP, Ambassador of India to Vietnam Pranay Verma said at a talk in Hanoi late July.

The self-reliance package stands firm on five pillars namely Economy, Infrastructure, Technology-driven systems, Demand, and Demography.

With a long-term focus, the first tranche of measures focuses on reviving businesses through longer-term soft-lending and debt and tax relief.

The second tranche of measures focusing on migrants, small traders, and small farmers includes supplying free food grains to migrants for two months, concessional loans to small farmers, and affordable housing for migrants and the urban poor.

Boosting resilience

Atmanirbhar Bharat (“Self-reliant India”). Photo: Tomorrowmakers

On June 8, after 10 weeks of lockdown, India started a phased reopening of its economy. With Unlock 1.0, the country is trying to balance attempts to revive the economy while dealing with increasing caseloads and new hot spots.

Addressing the 45th US-India Business Council (USIBC)’s “India Ideas Summit” on July 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “Global economic resilience can be achieved by stronger domestic economic capacities. This means improved domestic capacity for manufacturing, restoring the health of the financial system and diversification of international trade.”

Prime Minister talked about the need to place the poor and the vulnerable at the core of growth agenda. He underlined that ‘Ease of Living’ is as important as ‘Ease of Business’.

He said that the pandemic has reminded us of the importance of resilience of the global economy against external shocks, which can be achieved by stronger domestic economic capacities. He emphasized that India is contributing towards a prosperous and resilient world through the clarion call of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

India offers a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options, the PM said, adding that in the last six years, efforts have been undertaken to make India’s economy more open and reform oriented, resulting in better competitiveness, enhanced transparency, expanded digitization, greater innovation, and more policy stability.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Pranay Verma said resilience not only enables India to move forward but also shares values to the world to help many others benefit from the stronger connectivity and cooperation.

Supporting livelihoods

Wall paintings to spread awareness on wearing masks decorate the walls of Vijayawada. Photo: K.V.S. Giri

India’s pandemic preparedness and its policy response has been varied across the states. However, both the central and state governments are constitutionally empowered to legislate various activities in response to disease outbreaks.

On March 19, the Covid-19 Economic Response Task Force was set up under India’s finance minister to tackle the economic challenges resulting from the pandemic.

On March 23, the government introduced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) or Prime Minister’s Poor Welfare Food Program, the world’s largest food security project. It’s a set of relief measures, including an amount of US$23 billion, to mitigate economic distress faced by vulnerable and poor people.

This program would benefit 800 million poor people in India.

This program provides free essential food items, cooking gas, direct cash transfers to the poor, and insurance coverage to Covid-19 health workers.

In addition, tax relief and debt relief has been provided to small and medium enterprises in statutory and regulatory compliance matters related to income tax, goods and service tax, customs, financial services, and corporate affairs.

Conclusion

International analysts said the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic will almost definitely create a new global order, and India could emerge stronger.

For the rest of the world, India’s promise is huge: its historical civilization, geo-strategic location, huge labor force of 500 million people, the fourth largest military in the world, and a formidable consumer market.

There are many arguing that India will bounce back once the government eases the drastic lockdown it imposed as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.