Bad news message in business communication

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) transits through South China Sea while conducting routine underway operations, February 5, 2021. — Photo from the US Department of Defense

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is a responsible member of the international community and always upholds provisions under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS 1982), spokesperson for the foreign ministry Lê Thị Thu Hằng said.

She made the statement on Thursday in the regular press briefing, held virtually this time due to COVID-19 in Hà Nội, when asked for Việt Nam’s reaction to the US Navy’s first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) held under the Biden administration in February.

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain reportedly conducted the FONOP near the Trường Sa (Spratly) and Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea by Việt Nam) over which Việt Nam has repeatedly claimed sovereignty, but contested by mainland China and China’s Taiwan.

“By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants,” the US Navy noted in a statement.

Also regarding the recent statement by French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly that France had sent the nuclear submarine, SNA Emeraude, to patrol the South China Sea, together with the naval support ship BSAM Seine, the said spokesperson said: “As a responsible member of the international community and a signatory of the UNCLOS 1982, Việt Nam always upholds the provisions of the UNCLOS, including items related to maritime and flight activities over the sea regions set up in accordance with UNCLOS 1982.”

“The maintenance of peace, stability, security and order, safety, maritime and overflight freedom, the rule of law, with respect to sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the littoral countries in the South China Sea, in a manner that is consistent with the UNCLOS 1982, is the shared goal, interests, responsibility, and aspiration of all countries and of the international community,” Hằng said.

Việt Nam hopes that all countries would strive for “positive contribution” to the maintenance of peace and stability on the basis of international law in the South China Sea region, the Vietnamese diplomat stressed. — VNS

Nguyen Thi Bich Van

In early 2021, on its Facebook page, IBM Vietnam for the first time announced the appointment of a female Vietnamese CEO to replace a foreign CEO who had been working for IBM for 25 years.

The woman, Pham Thu Diep, is the first IBM’s ‘female general’ in the company’s 25 years of operation in the Vietnamese market.

It is now more common to see women managing large corporations in Vietnam such as Mai Kieu Lien, CEO of Vinamilk; Nguyen Thi Nga, president of BRG; Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet; and Le Thi Thu Thuy of VinFast are some of the names.

However, becoming a CEO of a foreign invested technology firm is still rare in Vietnam.

Before taking the office as CEO of a technology firm, Diep was a high ranking manager with 23 years of experience in the IT field. Starting her career at TRG International, she later held posts at Exact, which provides ERP service and cloud software to clients specializing in accountancy.

Diep joined IBM in early 2011 and has had many leadership positions since then.

In 2017, a Vietnamese woman became the highest ranking leader of Unilever Vietnam, a foreign invested enterprise specializing in personal and family care products and food. The first Vietnamese female president of the leading company in the FMCG sector is Nguyen Thi Bich Van, who has had a strong attachment to the company for the last 24 years.

Le Diep Kieu Trang is another well known name among businesswomen. She worked as CEO of Facebook and Go-Viet before choosing a new way to go.

The ‘golden girl’ with respectable achievements during school has had leadership positions at the world’s largest groups in Vietnam.

The brilliant achievements gained by VietJet Air, the air carrier with the largest market share, in the last decade bear the hallmark of CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Last year Vietjet was one of only a few air carriers in the world which did not lay off workers and also made a profit, despite the Covid-19 crisis.

After a period of holding the post of CEO at Fossil Vietnam, Trang chose Facebook to use her experience to connect to the business community, both in Vietnam and overseas.

Global vision

Van said in Forbes Vietnam that being a leader in a multinational environment requires a high level of professionalism. She needs to understand multinationals’ vision and define their role in the multinationals’ business.

The working environment at multinationals is very diverse, so there is high requirement on the ability to work, communicate, and think in that environment. To encourage people to raise good ideas, leaders not only need to understand national cultures, but also understand the abilities of each worker so as to combine their talents and lead the staff to the finish point.

According to Van, this is not an easy work, because the more talented people there are, the more difficult it is for the team to reach a common purpose. In modern times, CEOs need to not ‘issue orders from the top down’, but ‘serve others’. They need to set orientation and then give power to workers to implement the strategies.

Some important positions at foreign corporations were and are held by Vietnamese women. These include Nguyen Phuong Anh, who worked as Google Asia Pacific marketing director in charge of the Vietnamese market; and Nguyen Mai Phuong, who became the youngest branding director of Unilever at the age of 24.

Vietnamese businesswomen also play an important role in the development of Vietnamese enterprises.

The brilliant achievements gained by VietJet Air, the air carrier with the largest market share, in the last decade bear the hallmark of CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Last year Vietjet was one of only a few air carriers in the world which did not lay off workers and also made a profit, despite the Covid-19 crisis.

Thao has been included in Bloomberg’s list of 50 global influential leaders for many years. Thao is also chair of the board of directors and founding shareholder of Sovico Holdings, and deputy chair of HDBank.

In the manufacturing sector, Le Thu Thuy, president of VinFast, is a respectable name. Just within a short time, VinFast introduced its first two products – LUX A2.0 sedan series and LUX SA2.0 SUV at Paris Motor Show 2018. Most recently, its first three SUV smart electric cars were launched.

The great strides made by VinFast has created a stronger belief in the future of Vietnam’s automobile industry. This is the first time in history that a Vietnamese company can manufacture luxury cars with good design and high quality, to be sold in Vietnam and in the world market as well.

V. Ha

The campaign will take place from October 2020 to the end of January 2021 and is aiming to promote images of Ho Chi Minh City and encourage every Vietnamese person to travel within Vietnam and every citizen of Ho Chi Minh City to discover the beauty of where they live.

The campaign has been divided into two main phases. The first phase will focus on introducing the image of Ho Chi Minh City – a safe, lively and friendly city. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism HAS also implemented many activities such as organising an Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) Festival, and signing a cooperation agreement on safe,attractive tourism between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces in the Southeast region as well as Binh Thuan province.

In the second phase, the campaign is expected to promote the official identity of Ho Chi Minh City tourism and organise activities to link and promote tourism. Some typical activities will include: Conferences linking Ho Chi Minh City region with provinces in the Northwest, Northeast and Central regions; and the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon.

In addition, the tourism industry of Ho Chi Minh City will continue to boost the promotional activities and communication channels of international tourism organisations such as the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asian-Pacific Cities (TPO), the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations and the International Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), of which Ho Chi Minh City is a member.

According to Vo Thi Ngoc Thuy, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in order to restore tourism activities in the city after the “hit” of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Hello Ho Chi Minh City” is considered as the pioneering activity in a series of events and programmes to promote the city’s tourism brand as identified in the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Development Strategy to 2025 and vision to 2030.

In addition, “Hello Ho Chi Minh City” will be one of the most important activities aimed at realizing the goal of building Ho Chi Minh City into Asia’s leading lively tourist city where visitors can experience different the values of local cultural heritage and lifestyle in a safe, smart city; bringing inspiration and emotion to every journey.

Located nine kilometres from the centre of Buon Ma Thuot city, Kontam tourist site is an attractive destination for tourists, particularly at weekends and public holidays.

Covering a total area of 17 hectares and hosting magnificent hills, mountains, waterfalls, springs, valleys, and accommodation facilities imbued with the typical culture and architecture of the E De ethnic group, Kotam welcomes more than 400,000 tourists every year.

According to Deputy Director of Dak Lak provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dang Gia Duan, the launch of the Kontam tourist site has contributed to preserving and promoting the distinct culture of the Central Highlanders while reducing poverty and generating income for local ethnic minority people.

The successful tourism model was made possible thanks to a joint effors of a group of five female entrepreneurs five years ago. They are Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thi Hue, Nguyen Thi Phuc Minh, Vu Thi Xoan and Doan Uyen Thao, directors of five companies operating in trading, processing and exporting agricultural products, honey and mechanical equipment.

The quintet are also enthusiastic members of the Dak Lak Female Entrepreneurs club, headed by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, which has actively participated in charity activities in the locality.

They came up with the idea of building a model which can help locals reduce poverty in a sustainable way. The Kotam ecological site was born, surrounded by the E De ethnic people’s villages, including Pak, Kotam, Krong A, and Krong B.

As the owner of Quang Anh Trade Ltd. Co, one of the top companies with the highest revenues in Dak Lak, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh was appointed the Director of the Kontam Community-based Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Not long after its launch, the Kontam company had attracted 35 members from the Dak Lak Female Entrepreneursclub , who poured a large investment into the construction of the tourist site.

Traditional long stilt houses of the E De ethnic people at the Kontam tourist site (Photo: Vietnam Pictorial)

According to Ngoc Anh, from the beginning, the project team has kept in mind that the ultimate goal of the project is to protect the environment and pristine beauty of the natural landscape while honouring the cultural identity of the Central Highlanders.

Therefore, the traditional long stilt houses of the E De ethnic people were constructed at the site and all staff members at the site wear an E De ethnic brocade uniform.

Thanks to its amazing scenery and landscapes, Kotam quickly became an alluring tourist complex for visitors from across the country.

Nguyen Thi Hue, a member of the Board of Directors of Kotam Community-based Tourism Joint Stock Company, said that the tourist site has the huge advantage of food self-sufficiency, providing tourists with a fresh and clean source of vegetables, meat, and fruit.

Visitors to the site can taste the delicious indigenous dishes of the Central Highlanders, including papaya flowers cooked with fish, grilled snakehead fish, pork grilled in bamboo tubes, and chicken salad with banana flowers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic saw complicated developments in the province, Kotam staff members donated quintals of vegetables to those working at the front lines against the pandemic.

In an effort to welcome back vacationers in the post-COVID-19 period, the tourist site has coordinated with training facilities on tourism services, hotels and restaurants to improve the skills of staff members.

Promotional activities have also been launched to further advertise the site to travel agencies and tourist companies.

Built with both enthusiasm and love for the homeland of the five female entrepreneurs, the Kotam tourist site has contributed to upholding traditional culture as well as boosting socio-economic development in Dak Lak province.

Rai Cave is located in the south of Vinh Hy Bay, Nui Chua National Park, Vinh Hai commune, Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province.

It is only about 35 km from Phan Rang city, about 40 km from Cam Ranh city (Khanh Hoa province) and about 90 km from Nha Trang city (Khanh Hoa), very convenient for visitors.

The road to Rai Cave is beautiful, winding between the magnificent blue sea and romantic green meadows.

According to local people, the reason it is called Rai Cave because it used to be inhabited by sea otters and many dipterocarpus alatus, which were used to extract oil to paint ships and boats to help make them more waterproof.

Coming to Rai Cave, tourists are captivated by the magical natural scenery. Just taking a photo at any angle produce a quality shot, for anyone. Rai Cave is not a large cave but in fact a rocky cliff protruding into the sea with many niches and compartments with strange shapes.

Enjoying the pictures full of a hauntingly eerie blend of moss and waves, you’ll have endless pleasure admiring this masterpiece of nature. The moss grows on the coral under the clear waters, looking from afar like giant green jade boulders.

Because of the geological tectonics millions of years ago, the ancient coral reefs have grown into a large area that tourists call “Mars”. At the bottom of the coral reef is an ancient coral block, about the same height as sea level. This is also one of the characteristics which attract many visitors to Rai Cave. When the waves hit the rocks, the water pours in, the slope of the rock makes the water flow back into the sea, creating a strange waterfall effect. Many people call this amazing phenomenon “the waterfall on the sea” and Rai cave is the only place to have this phenomenon.

Rai Cave at dawn or dusk can offer one of the most unique experiences.

Not long ago, a 300 m long wooden bridge through the steep cliffs was erected so that visitors can visit and admire the impressive panoramic beauty of Rai Cave.

If visitors want to “check-in” here gently, they just need to immerse themselves, place their bare feet on the white sand strip and dip their hands in the cool seawater to feel the freshness of nature.

In order to have a deeper experience at Rai Cave, guests can stay overnight to catch the most beautiful moments of this wonder, with coral diving or moon snail catching among the rocks.

Rai Cave is currently a destination serviced by many tour operators, combined with other attractive destinations along the same route such as Suoi Tien sheep field, Thai An vineyard and Vinh Hy bay, adding even more interesting tours and activities.