Coastal roads

Bougainvillea are one of the top choices of ornamental plants in tropical Vietnam, with some localities growing these beautiful flowers until they reach astounding sizes.

Visitors to the south-central city of Phan Thiet during Tet, which is Vietnam’s Lunar New Year due on February 12 this year, were wowed by the blooming bougainvillea in almost every corner of the coastal destination.

Aside from planting bougainvillea for home decorations, Phan Thiet residents also grow the plants until they are large enough to be used as shade or for public landscaping.

Bougainvillea are grown on local streets, at coffee shops, and especially around resorts in the tourism wards of Mui Ne and Ham Tien thanks to their ability to tolerate the dry weather which abounds in the tropical coastal city.

Normally, the flowers are in full bloom across Phan Thiet from around February to April and can be found in red, pink, orange, and white, with pink being the most popular.

People play chess in the shade of a giant blooming bougainvillea shrub at a coffee shop near Phan Thiet Harbor in Hung Long District along the Ca Ty River in Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam in early February 2021. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

Bougainvillea flowers in pink and white along a coastal road in Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A coffee shop in Mui Ne names itself ‘hoa giay,’ the Vietnamese word for bougainvillea. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

Bougainvillea flowers in Phan Thiet can be found in red, pink, orange and white, with pink being the most popular. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A close-up of bougainvillea flowers at a resort in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Blossoming bougainvillea flowers on a street in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam in early February 2021. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A giant bougainvillea shrub of flowers in pink and white shades cover a brick wall in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam in early February 2021. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A man sits under the shade of a big blooming bougainvillea shrub in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam in early February. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

Bougainvillea vines cover a fence at a sports center in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

Bougainvillea vines climb a coconut tree at a resort in Phan Thiet City’s Ham Tien Ward. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A resort in Phan Thiet’s Ham Tien Ward grows bougainvillea as garden decorations. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A resort in Phan Thiet’s Ham Tien Ward grows bougainvillea as garden decorations. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

A guest house in Phan Thiet’s Ham Tien Ward shapes bougainvillea vines along its gate. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News

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Blood shortage warned as donations postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks

The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in many cities and provinces in recent weeks has seriously affected the blood supply for medical treatment.

Although many people and organisations responded to the call of blood donation by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) on February 19, the amount of blood received per day was still only a few hundred units while the average need for treatment each day is from 1,200 to 1,500 units.

There is usually a shortage of blood during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday as the holiday lasts long while blood has a short shelf life and many patients still need blood transfusions during Tết.

This year, the pandemic’s resurgence has made the shortage after Tết even worse.

Before Tết, 30 entities requested to postpone or cancel blood donation plans which meant the NIHBT missed out on receiving more than 8,000 units.

After the holiday, the institute received information about the delay of 24 more blood donation plans from now to the end of March with an expected donation of 5,000 units.

In addition, the blood donation schedule in March cannot be confirmed because it depends on the university and college’s return to the school schedule.

This means the blood reserves of the institute are decreasing.

If this situation continues, blood reserves will decrease to an alarming threshold, fell into a state of scarcity and seriously affect the blood supply to health facilities.

The Institute’s director Bạch Quốc Khánh said: “The estimated blood demand for emergency and treatment in February and March of the institute is about 50,000 units.”

“With blood donation schedules maintained up to now, there was still a shortage of about 20,000 units, seriously affecting the provision of 177 medical facilities in 28 provinces and cities in the north with about 41 million people,” said Khánh.

As of February 18, the institute’s blood reserve was about 4,800 units, the director said.

To tackle the scarcity, the institute had to mobilise hundreds of its staff to donate blood both during and after Tết.

Responding to the programme ‘White Blouse – Red Heart’ on the occasion of Việt Nam Doctors’ on February 27 launched by the Việt Nam Medical Trade Union, 33 grassroots trade unions have registered to donate blood.

But due to participating in the control of the COVID-19 outbreak, many units proposed delaying the donation events.

Therefore, from January 28 to February 17, the institute received only 8,152 blood units, with nearly 1,000 blood units donated by medical staff in Hà Nội including the NIHBT, Hà Nôị Oncology Hospital, Hà Nội Heart Hospital, Geriatric Hospital and General Agriculture Hospital and nearly 900 units from relatives of patients who were undergoing donation treatment.

At the same time, the institute has provided 15,700 units of red blood cells (excluding other types of preparations) for health facilities, many of which are remote or COVID-19 affected localities such as Quảng Ninh, Hải Dương, Bắc Kạn, Thái Nguyên, Hòa Bình, Lạng Sơn, Bắc Giang, Thanh Hóa, Nam Định and Ninh Bình provinces, according to the institute director.

Some days, the institute provides up to 2,500 units of blood, double the average daily need of 1,200-1,500 units of blood, although it can only meet 70-80 per cent of the blood demand of hospitals.

To create favourable conditions for people to donate blood, from now to March 7, fixed blood donation points in Hà Nội at No. 26 Lương Ngọc Quyến Street, 132 Quan Nhân Street, and No. 10, Lane 122 Láng Road will open from 8am to 12am and 1.30pm to 5pm every day instead of opening only from Monday to Saturday as before.

The NIHBT called for people with good health conditions to participate in blood donation (especially blood groups O and A) and platelet donation and asked agencies and organisations to maintain blood donation schedules and mobilise officials, employees and people to donate blood to help tackle the shortage.

Schools to reopen in HCM City in early March

Ho Chi Minh City will allow the reopening of schools from March 1, according to a notice from the municipal People’s Committee.

All schools in Vietnam’s biggest southern hub have been closed since February 2, a week before the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases in the city. Students have shifted to online learning since then.

In the notice, the committee ordered the city’s Departments of Education and Training; Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; and Health to jointly issue guidelines on COVID-19 preventive measures to ensure safety for students at schools.

It also requested that all students, teachers, and school staff complete health declarations on a daily basis, while educational institutions are responsible for telling students returning from or traveling to pandemic-hit areas to notify local medical units to receive health check-ups and monitoring.

The municipal Department of Education and Training previously issued a document guiding local educational institutions in rigorously enforce precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including cancelling all extra-curricular activities.

As of February 24, the city has gone through 13 days without any new community transmissions of the coronavirus./.

Can Tho earmarks 30.6 mln USD for poverty reduction

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho plans to spend 703 billion VND (30.6 million USD) this year on poverty alleviation measures.

The money, to come from the central and local governments, soft loans and other sources, will be used to provide poor households with all basic social services and improve their incomes.

They will include support policies and programmes related to healthcare, education, vocational training, soft loans, and job and poverty reduction models to help poor and near-poor people.

Loans worth 640 billion VND (27.8 million USD) will be provided to 12,974 poor and near – poor households and those that have newly escaped poverty to do business.

The city will provide free health insurance cards to 3,090 poor and ethnic people living in disadvantaged areas, and 34,729 near-poor people, ensuring that this demographic is covered 100 percent.

It will provide scholarships or reduce or waive school fees for 1,870 poor students, and vocational training and jobs for 750 poor and near-poor people.

It will expand 48 successful poverty reduction models, and carry out agriculture extension programmes to benefit 150 poor and near-poor households.

The city has implemented various policies and programmes in recent years to enable poor households to escape poverty sustainably.

Last year it built 485 houses, gifted 43,556 health insurance cards to poor and near – poor households and provided soft loans worth a total of 648 billion VND (28.1 million USD) to poor and near – poor households.

More than 44,900 poor and near-poor households received 33.7 billion VND (1.5 million USD) worth of Government subsidies to overcome the impacts of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

The city reduced its poverty rate by 0.37 percentage points and had only 1,036 poor households last year, or 0.29 percent, according to its Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The city aims to ensure the rate does not slip this year since the poor households are not able to escape poverty as they have members benefiting from the Government’s social policies or with chronic diseases or have only seniors./.

Vietnamese workers given long-term working opportunity in Japan

Vietnamese guest workers will be granted the chance to work in Japan for a long period of time under the special-skilled labour programme signed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs with the Japanese government.

Under the scheme, the working period will last longer than the current 1 to 3 years.

Furthermore, Vietnamese migrant workers will also be able to enjoy benefits from these preferential policies, including wages equivalent to native workers at a rate of between VND36 million to VND50 million.

Guest workers will also have the chance to work for a long period in Japan, settle, and be able to sponsor their own families to settle in Japan.

All exit expenses will be partly covered by Japanese companies, while costs for learning Japanese and other vocational training fees are to be fully funded by various Japanese companies.

Last December, Japan announced 2 new visa regimes to foreign guest workers, with the working time of employees joining its skill internship programne to be increased to a maximum of 10 years. The new regimes will apply to 14 professions, including construction, nursing and agriculture.

According to the Department of Overseas Labour Management and the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, the construction sector is set to implement a vocational test at the end of next March.

This also marks the first time that a scheme aimed at recruiting high-skilled workers has been deployed nationwide. Several other industries, such as furniture production, construction machinery driving, tunnel construction, and concrete pumping are expected to recruit additional workers in July.

The Japan Human Resources Society (JAC) recently signed a contract regarding a special-skilled labor programme with An Duong Group (ADG) and a Memorandum of Understanding with five vocational training schools. This is part of the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction’s plan to train “special skilled workers” and to bring additional skilled human resources from the local construction industry to work in Japan.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau to get tougher on illegal fishing in foreign waters

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has ordered its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to get tougher on illegal fishing in foreign waters by local fishing ships and their owners.

The order was made by Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Ngoc Khanh during a February 23 conference to review local measures against the illegal practice under Resolution 12-NQ/TU issued by the provincial Party Committee’s Standing Board over the last two years.

Khanh requested to be provided with a list of ships involved in illegal fishing in foreign waters during 2019 – 2020 and tasked the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant units with adopting stronger actions and sanctions for violators.

Awareness campaigns should be accelerated to educate fishermen and vessel owners that fishing in foreign waters without permission is against the law, he said.

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Van Cuong reported that the number of local ships caught by foreign countries for illegally entering their foreign waters has declined sharply in recent time, with almost no case reported during August 2019 to March 2020.

According to the official, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has traced origins of catch products and strictly punished those committed to illegal fishing and trading and processing of these products. He added that the province has also cracked down on a number of gangs arranging illegal encroachment of fishing ships into foreign waters.

However, it remained common for ships catching fish in areas along the sea border and in overlapping areas, he continued. Only 86 percent of fishing boats have been installed with cruise monitoring devices, and the percentage is lower than the goal set by the government’s Decree 26/2019/ND-CP on measures to enforce the Law on Fisheries./.

Adjustments to Tan Son Nhat airport planning greenlighted

The Ministry of Transport has approved adjustments to the Tan Son Nhat airport planning for the 2021-2030 period.

Under the planning, a terminal Doppler Weather Radar station will be built in an area of some 1,600 square metres to the northeast of the airport, while a multi-storey car park will be arranged at Terminal 3.

Regarding auxiliary facilities at the airport, adjustments are made to the location of the infight meal preparation areas and sewage treatment stations.

The Ministry of Transport asked the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to review and update positions, scale and technologies used in the works so as to ensure the connection and uniform development with relevant infrastructure at the airport.

At present, Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the busiest airport in Vietnam. It is the biggest international aviation gate for the nation and centre for passenger and cargo transit in southern area./.

Quang Binh plans over 2 trillion VND for coastal road system

The central province of Quang Binh is planning to spend more than 2.2 trillion VND (95.6 million USD) on completing its coastal road system from now to 2026.

The route, over 85km long and 12m wide, will include 23 bridges, traverse six district-level localities of Quang Binh, and have a design speed of 80km per hour.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thang said the coastal road system is a key and priority project of Quang Binh.

Running through six of the eight district-level localities of Quang Binh, it will help attract investment and tap into local socio-economic development potential and strengths, especially in tourism, services, and sea-based economic activities.

Once put into use, the route will not only connect local coastal economic zones but also help bring into play advantages of the Vung Ang deep-water seaport and industrial park complex in neighbouring Ha Tinh province and Hon La Port of Quang Binh.

It is also expected to contribute to security – defence ensuring, marine sovereignty safeguarding, natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue, and traffic congestion settlement, Thang noted.

In recent years, Quang Binh has been working hard to develop the local transport system, he said, adding that all the five modes of transport are now available in the province, namely road, rail, air, sea, and inland waterway transport./.

HCM City primary schools flexible with their online learning

Primary schools in HCM City are adopting various online learning tools and resources amid the school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nguyễn Lệ Thanh Tuyền, a first-grade teacher at the Đống Đa primary school in Tân Bình District, said teachers were using videos, PDFs and Word documents to design lessons.

Video lessons were uploaded on the school’s website and parents can download them, she said.

Teachers also designed homework assignments on Word and sent them to parents on social networks, she said.

Most parents were co-operative and arranged time after work to download the lessons, she added.

This approach combining offline lessons and discussions on social networks between teachers and parents is preferred by many primary schools since young kids can find online classes with dozens of students difficult to focus on.

A principal at a primary school in District 6 said teachers uploaded video lessons of all subjects on the school’s website every Monday and students would have to submit their homework within a week.

Parents could opt for weekday evenings or weekends to help their children with it, the principal said.

Other primary schools offer daily online classes, but many parents have a legitimate complaint that it is hard for them to sit with their children in the morning and afternoon since they are busy at work.

Từ Quốc Tuấn, principal of Lương Định Của primary school in District 3, said that only important subjects such as mathematics, Vietnamese and foreign languages were taught online for first, second and third graders to keep their workload down.

“It is tough for young students to focus on online classes without adults’ assistance,” he said.

“Offline video lessons make it easier for parents to arrange time to help their kids,” he added.

The city Department of Education and Training said online learning was designed using various tools and resources and delivered at the most convenient time for students.

Tan Phu – Bao Loc Highway to connect Dong Nai – Lam Dong provinces

The Tân Phú – Bảo Lộc Highway plan, which connects Đồng Nai and Lâm Đồng provinces, will be carried out by Lâm Đồng People’s Committee, as approved by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

The project runs under the PPP (public-private partnership) model. The PM also agreed that the provincial People’s Committee will take responsibility to monitor the investment process of the project.

The highway, 67 kilometres long with four lanes, is part of the Dầu Giây – Liên Khương Highway, which links Đồng Nai to Lâm Đồng and is now under construction.

The total investment is around VNĐ18.2 trillion (US$789.75 million), which consists of funds from private investors and the state budget.

The project is part of Việt Nam’s infrastructure development plan in the 2020-30 period.

When construction is completed, the highway will help facilitate the development of Central Highlands provinces and reduce traffic congestion on Bảo Lộc Hill where sharp turns and landslides, especially during the rainy season, exist.

Vietnam Airlines ready to transport COVID-19 vaccines

Vietnam Airlines has proposed it be officially permitted by authorised health agencies to transport COVID-19 vaccines from overseas.

The national flag carrier said it has prepared all necessary resources to meet the strictest requirements on vaccine transportation by air. It has sufficient logistics services, modern cold storage systems, and trained human resources that meet international standards.

It is ready to introduce refrigerated container services for carrying vaccines, as poor preservation can affect quality and efficiency.

The carrier will also set up a specialised unit to perform these tasks.

Vietnam Airlines has experience in transporting medical supplies, such as medicine and surgical instruments, as wells organs for transplant, even in time-sensitive emergencies.

It can deploy a fleet of wide-body aircraft such as Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s to transport large quantities of vaccines./.

ASEAN launches regional study report on labour productivity

The Regional Study Report on Labour Productivity in ASEAN was launched virtually on February 23, providing an analysis of the current situations and concepts in the field across ten member states and looking into the feasibility of developing a regional index.

The event, hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat, gathered representatives from member nations’ labour ministries, the International Labour Organization, the ASEAN Confederation of Employers, the ASEAN Trade Union Council, and the Asian Productivity Organization (APO).

In his remarks, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Kung Phoak underlined the importance of labour productivity in ensuring a sustainable economy of the region.

“Against the backdrop of the changing world of work, digitalisation of economies, globalisation and aging populations, effective strategies to improve labour productivity are needed. The Study Report provides useful analysis and recommendations in this regard”, he noted.

In the same vein, APO Secretary-General Achmad Kurnia Prawira Mochtan highlighted that human capital should play a more central role in labour productivity growth.

The Regional Study on Labour Productivity in ASEAN is a project in the Senior Labour Officials Meeting’s Working Group on Progressive Labour Practices to Enhance the Competitiveness (SLOM-WG) Work Plan 2016-2020. It was completed with support of the Asian Productivity Organization./.

Endangered sea turtle returned to ocean

A sea turtle that was rescued and cared for by fisherman after it became trapped in a net, has been released back into the ocean.

The endangered species became tabled during storms that hit the central region back in November.

After getting trapped, fishermen rescued the animal before handing him over to the Chàm Island’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) management board who worked in conjunction with Đà Nẵng-based SaSa Marine animal rescue team.

Although the turtle had some cuts, he made a full recovery and was released back into the sea on Wednesday.

Experts say the turtle weighs 10.5kg and is estimated to be around 10 years old.

Last year, a female Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea) was rescued and returned to the ocean after five months of care at the MPA.

The Chàm Islands MPA said at least 30 sea turtles have become trapped in fishing nets off the islands since 2018. Two-thirds die after becoming entangled.

The city of Hội An has been building sea turtle conservation centres on beaches of the Chàm Islands, and expanding the core zone for special protection to 30 a total of 33,000ha.

Only seven species of sea turtle exist in the world, and five of those are found living in Việt Nam.

Hundreds of boats in Ha Long wait for end of Covid-19 outbreak

Hundreds of tourist boats are lying idle in Ha Long Bay due to the lack of customers amid Covid-19 pandemic.

There were over 800 boat trips were organised in Ha Long Bay each day, serving thousands of tourists and bringing much profits to the boat service providers and local tourism sector in general. However, hundreds of boats have been idle ever since the pandemic started.

Nguyen Tung Kha, director of a private tour boat company in Ha Long said he had just put two expensive ships into use when the situation turned for the worse. “We were hard hit by the first outbreak in 2020 and the latest outbreak has knocked us out,”‘ he said. “Every day the vessels lie idle, we lost tens of millions of VND on each boat.”

Many firms in Ha Long are on the brink of bankruptcy due to huge debts, docking and maintenance fees. Various other related services also suffer. Crew members tried to find other jobs and chefs on the ships became food traders.

Vu Manh Long, director of the Inland Waterways Department confirmed the depressing picture, saying that they had hoped for a better development in 2021 but the latest outbreak ruined any hope.

Quang Ninh People’s Committee said they would launch support packages to help the local businesses alongside with the government’s support package for firms in Vietnam.

They may lower VAT, environmental fees and other taxes and fees for the boat service providers. They will also ask banks to extend the deadlines for loans or lower the interest rates.

Hanoi to operate 10 electric bus routes in Q2

The capital city of Hanoi will introduce 10 new bus routes using electric vehicles in the second quarter of this year, aimed at diversifying the modes of public transport and protecting the environment.

These bus routes will connect densely populated new urban areas, where there is a high demand for public transport, according to the Hanoi Public Passenger Transport Management and Operation Center, under the Hanoi Department of Transport.

Specifically, the new routes include the Long Bien-Tran Phu-Smart City Urban Area, the Smart City Urban Area-Ho Tay (West Lake) Water Park, the Giap Bat Coach Station-Smart City Urban Area, the Long Bien-Cau Giay-Smart City Urban Area, the My Dinh Coach Station-Ocean Park Urban Area and many others.

Earlier, VinBus JSC under the Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup had registered to operate the 10 new bus routes using its electric buses and pledged to invest in 150-200 premium electric buses deploying advanced technology. The local bus maker is working with Vietnam Register to ensure the electric buses meet all the technical standards.

Aside from manufacturing electric buses, VinBus recruited personnel and is building infrastructure facilities so that it can operate the new routes right after seeking an approval from the authorities.

Le Dinh Tho, Deputy Minister of Transport, said the launch of the electric buses is in line with the country’s strategy to develop the auto industry by 2025 with a vision toward 2035, the national action plan on the management of air quality by 2020 with a vision toward 2025 and the plan of ensuring traffic safety and order in the country.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transport approved the proposal to operate electric buses for public transport in both Hanoi and HCMC, Tho added.

Data from the center showed that the capital city’s bus network had met some 15% of the locals’ travelling demands as of 2020. To encourage the use of public transport, the city will map out and revise plans, including collecting fees from vehicles which enter congestion-prone streets to limit the number of vehicles using the streets and researching the operation of bus-only lanes on certain streets.

Most of workers in Northern region resume to work

Most of workers and labors have come back to factories and industrial parks in the capital city of Hanoi, the Northern region and Covid-19 pandemic-hit provinces of Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, etc as from February 16.

The Industrial Zones Trade Union of Vinh Phuc Province reported that the production activities of factories have been stable with more than 92 percent of returners.

Enterprises, factories along with their employees are strictly implementing the requirement of 5K (face mask, disinfection, distance, no gathering and health declaration) of the Ministry of Health on the Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control. Around 255 workers are absent from their working places because they came from the Covid-19 affected areas of Hai Duong, Hung Yen and Dien Bien and have been isolated according to the regulations.

As for Thai Nguyen Province, about 95 percent of workers came back to factories and industrial parks from February 19.  For domestic enterprises, there were approximately 100 percent of returners to work. The most of workers at large-scale firms such as Samsung Vietnam- Thai Nguyen, Glonics Vietnam resumed to work.

In the pandemic-hit province of Hai Duong under regulation implementation of social distancing, the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 pandemic prevention and Control and the Management Board of industrial zones of Hai Duong Province directed enterprises to use maximum means of transport to hop on and hop off workers to their working places, minimize personal vehicles, adjust the working hours of the production lines to reduce the number of workers on shifts, after shifts.

Additionally, the Management Board of industrial zones of Hai Duong Province regularly updated and promptly provided a list of re-operated enterprises in industrial zones after Tet to the Hai Duong Police to monitor and respond to the risk of spreading Covid-19 pandemic.

Binh Phuoc Province proposes construction of dual-use airport

The south-eastern province of Binh Phuoc has proposed the construction of a dual-use aiport on an area of 500 hectares in Hon Quan District in the form of public-private partnership (PPP).

The provincial People’s Committee and specialists made a survey of the location of the airport project. Accordingly,  the 100-ha Hon Quan airfield will be widened to about 400-500 hectares.

The local authorities have proposed the Prime Minister,  the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Transport for an approval on managing the current airfield and building the expansion project of a dual-use airport for both economic development and defense tasks.

The construction of the new airport aims to redirect to the industrial development that has been submitted to the Prime Minister to expand and set up planning for new industrial zones in the province.

HCMC to pilot bus priority lane

Buses are running on Dien Bien Phu Street – one of the main streets in HCMC. (Photo: SGGP)

Due to the dense population in HCMC, leading to the large number of private vehicles, urban traffic at the moment has to shoulder a heavy burden, and the average velocity of vehicles in the downtown is just 20-25km per hour.

To tackle this problem, the municipal authorities have adjusted the planning of the urban transport system to implement the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) model. This model maximizes the link between residential, business, manufacturing areas and the existing public transport system.

HCMC is going to apply this model along Metro Line No.1 (from Ben Thanh in the downtown to Suoi Tien in Thu Duc City), Metro Line No.2 (the first phase: Ben Thanh – Tham Luong in District 12; the second phase: Tham Luong – Cu Chi District) and Metro Line No.5 (the first phase Bay Hien Intersection in Tan Binh District – Sai Gon Bridge; the second phase: Can Giuoc Coach Station in Long An Province – Bay Hien Intersection).

The HCMC Management Center of Public Transport (MCPT) is going to introduce 21 high-quality bus lines. This is expected to rebuild the community’s trust towards buses, and thus increasing their bus use.

In order to fulfill the goal, these buses must maintain their route schedule and are not allowed to skip bus-stops or passengers under any circumstances. They have free Wi-Fi, a route monitoring device, a sound system automatically connected to MCPT to announce destinations, free newspapers to serve passengers.

Bus attendants must have good manner, especially towards the senior, the disabled, the ill, and the invalids. Bus drivers must ensure safety by strictly obeying traffic laws and minimizing disorder inside the bus.

The new 21 lines must have sufficient infrastructure, including bus stops, stopping space, regularly updated information boards about current routes and schedules. These facilities must be clean and not illegally occupied by peddlers.

As suggested by Associate Prof. Dr. Pham Xuan Mai from HCMC University of Technology (Vietnam National University – HCMC), it is critical that bus route schedules be maintained so that customer confidence is regained, and people come back to this common public transport.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Canh from the University of Economics and Law (Vietnam National University – HCMC) said that the formerly piloting scheme of bus priority lane on Tran Hung Dao Street encountered certain objection from the community. However, it is this practice, along with careful planning, that is implemented widely in developed countries to help buses be more welcomed by the public.

Experts in the field suggested that HCMC should launch the piloting scheme for bus priority lane on some major streets like Dien Bien Phu (from Ly Thai To Roundabout – Sai Gon Bridge) or Vo Thi Sau (from Dan Chu Roundabout – Dinh Tien Hoang Street), which has many bus lines.

Simultaneously, better private vehicle restriction rules should be introduced on these two streets to make the scheme more effective.

Accepted the recommendation, MCPT is going to pilot bus priority lanes on the mentioned streets at morning and afternoon peak hours on weekdays. Each lane is supposed to be 3.25m wide, separated with other lanes by road fence. These lanes are for buses, ambulances, firetrucks, mini buses, and passenger vehicles 12-seat+.

Lately, HCMC has built several new streets; yet the proportion of traffic space in the urban land use is a tiny minority of 10 percent, which is not even 1/2 of the standard. Adding to the problem is the ever-increasing number of private vehicles, reaching 9 million at present (including 7.2 million scooters).

With such a high traffic density, with a priority lane, it is truly challenging for buses to maintain their schedules. Some bus companies reported that 80 percent of their buses cannot fulfill this goal. Some are even 1 hour late.

Just 3 years ago, buses were the most favorite choice of students coming to Thu Duc University Village, and there was a bus running each 10 minutes. Sadly, over 1/2 of those lines are canceled now since they cannot ensure the precise arrival time.

Obviously, the development of public transportation must go along with a more logical control of private vehicle growth.

Vietnam to digitize libraries

Vietnamese government has approved library digitalization program to 2025 with the vision to 2030.

This move is considered as a significant step to promote information technology application especially digital technology with the aim to ensure library continuity as Covid-19 puts brake to academic activity.

In fact, library digitalization is not a new concept, but the concept has been mentioned a few years before.

Some libraries including the National Library of Vietnam and the General Science Library in Ho Chi Minh City have applied digital library ; however, digitalization results seemed not to meet their goals. Limited spending and small human resources are two of culprits of failure in digitalization of the two libraries. Asynchronous implementation of digitalization amongst libraries is the main culprit of the failure in IT application.

Pham Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of the Library Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that library digitalization, a process in which materials are converted from hard copies to electronic copies, is a lengthy and costly endeavor; worse, it has not generated good result as just some libraries in several localities implement digitalization like in the past time.

People can access the giant digital database only when all libraries are connected together; therefore, the government-approved program is expected to contribute to formation of a giant database.

The program goal is to complete and develop infrastructure of digital and digital data in all public libraries nationwide by 2025. Moreover, 70 percent of valuable materials, documents and collections on history, culture, science will be digitalized in the first phase of the program.

Hanoi proposes vaccine purchase for locals

Since early February, Hanoi’s top leaders have planned to buy vaccines for the locals.

Authorities in Hanoi have proposed the Vietnamese government’s authorization for purchasing Covid vaccines for its residents.

The government should grant mechanism to enable cities and provinces nationwide to buy vaccines for the inoculation in their localities, Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung said at a government meeting on February 24 chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Two days ago, the municipal Department of Health has sent a request to the Ministry of Health for the purchase of 15 million doses of vaccines with an aim to administer to the city’s residents at the age of 18 and above.

With the proposal, Hanoi expects to provide vaccination to 95% of its population.

According to Deputy Director of the Hanoi’s Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh, the Covid-19 pandemic in Hanoi is temporarily under control but risk of transmission remains high as roughly 85% of confirmed cases were asymptomatic carriers.

“It means that only testing help detect infections which requires efforts,” Hanh said.

A plan to buy vaccines came in early this month when Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue asked local authorities to build a roadmap for it. Finance for the purchase will come from the city’s budget and other financial sources.

Since the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam late January, Hanoi has reported 34 cases. Local experts attributed Hanoi’s virus containment to massive testing and contact tracing. The city has set up 10,000 Covid-19 prevention and control groups to sort out people from affected areas and keep surveillance on them. So far, it tested more than 51,000 people coming from Hai Duong, the epicenter of the fresh wave.

Hanoi students may return to school from next week

Hanoi has gone seven days, from February 16, without confirming any new Covid-19 cases in the community.

Students in Hanoi may return to school on March 1 after a long time stay at home to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic while attendlung online schooling, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh said at a meeting held in Hanoi on February 22.

The deputy director said that the capital city will monitor the pandemic situation until the end of this week and on the basis of Covid-19 test results and evolution, Hanoi may loosen social distancing.

“Students can return to school; festivals can be held. Therefore, the municipal departments of Education and Training, Culture and Sports, Industry and Trade must always stand ready to take prompt decision in the new situation,” Hanh said.

He added that Hanoi has gone seven days, from February 16, without confirming any new Covid-19 cases in the community.

The municipal health sector has carried out Covid-19 test for all returnees from Hai Duong province, the biggest epicenter of the pandemic, with a total of 51,595 people. Of them, 41,180 have tested negative, the others’ results are pending.

Besides, the test results of 17,528 people at 18 pandemic-hit areas in Hanoi have all come back negative.

The disease situation in Hanoi has been basically put under control; however, the potential risk of Covid-19 spreading is still high as some people from the Covid-19-hit-provinces who have not made medical declaration, Hanh noted.

In the 2020-2021 school year, more than two million Hanoi students had been scheduled to return to school on February 17 following the Lunar New Year holidays, but the Covid-19 pandemic prolonged school closures across the city. Many schools have resorted to remote learning during the break.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh said that the city would buy 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to administer all its local residents aged 18 and over with finance from its own budget.

Hanh added that his department had consulted the municipal People’s Committee to send an official dispatch to the Ministry of Health asking for support in purchasing Covid-19 vaccines.

Taking into consideration the population and migrant people living in the capital city, Hanoi would need 15 million doses of vaccine to give two shots for adults aged 18 and over, reaching 95%, Hanh noted.

Hanoi, home to more than eight million people, has recorded 36 infections in the latest community transmission outbreak, which emerged in northern Vietnam in late January and has spread to 13 cities and provinces. The country’s total coronavirus carriers currently stand at 2,395.

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

The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some 95.81 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 percent.

Vietnam’s trade balance posted positive, 1.29 billion USD, in the first two months of the year, the General Department of Customs said on December 28.

The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some 95.81 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 percent. Of the total, exports amounted to 48.55 billion USD, a yearly hike of 23.2 percent, while imports were estimated at 47.26 billion USD, or 25.9 percent higher than the same time last year.

Foreign-invested companies accounted for 76.4 percent, or 37.07 billion USD, of Vietnam’s total export turnover. Meanwhile, the domestic sector shipped abroad 11.48 billion USD worth of products.

There were nine commodities joining the billion-USD export club, including telephones and parts (9.3 billion USD, up 22.8 percent year-on-year); electronics, computers and parts (6.9 billion USD, up 27.3 percent); equipment, machines and parts (5.5 billion USD, up 72.6 percent); footwear (3.2 billion USD, up 15.4 percent); and wood and wooden products (2.4 billion USD, up 51 percent). They made up 73 percent of the country’s export turnover.

The US was Vietnam’s biggest importer as it splashed out 14.2 billion USD on Vietnamese products, or 38.2 percent higher than the amount it spent the same time last year. China came second with 8.5 billion USD, followed by the EU with 6.3 billion USD, ASEAN 4.2 billion USD, the Republic of Korea 3.4 billion USD, and Japan 3.2 billion USD.

Meanwhile, the country spent big (47.26 billion USD) on imports, with foreign-invested sector purchasing 31.64 billion USD worth of products from abroad for production, up 31.4 percent, while that of the domestic sector surged 16 percent to 15.62 billion USD.

In the two-month period, China was the largest exporter of Vietnam, with revenue estimated at 17.3 billion USD, up 85.7 percent year-on-year, followed by the Republic of Korea with 8.4 billion USD, ASEAN 5.6 billion USD, Japan 3.1 billion USD, EU 2.3 billion USD, and the US 2.1 billion USD.

In a bid to support local firms in promoting production and exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it will work to capitalise on opportunities from the signed free trade agreements to seek measures for market development. Additionally, it will keep close watch on the global market to identify key export products, while paying due heed to penning measures for market development./.

Switzerland-Vietnam business group debuts

The Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland has recently held a ceremony to launch the non-profit Switzerland-Vietnam business group (SVBG), which aims at promoting exchanges and investment and trade cooperation between enterprises of the two nations.

Based in Lausanne, the SVBG, the first of its kind founded by Vietnamese expatriates in Switzerland, has been set to focus on offering trade information via workshops, forums, and internal bulletins; providing legal consultations and guidance; developing links for technological transfers and improvement; and introducing quality human resources. It will also make recommendations for more favourable business climate to competent agencies of both nations, while organising socio-cultural activities serving its goals.

Speaking at the debut ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Linh Lan stressed the group came into being at a special time as Vietnam has placed the COVID-19 pandemic under control and prepared best conditions possible to welcome Swiss investors.

In 2020, Vietnam’s economy grew 2.91 percent, making it one of the few countries that have maintained positive GDP growth while many others in the world fell into severe recession. Also in August last year, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement took effect, opening up huge trade and investment opportunities for both sides. In last November, as the Chair of the ASEAN, Vietnam successfully pushed the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), establishing the biggest free trade area worldwide.

According to the diplomat, Switzerland is the 6th largest European investor in Vietnam, with its investment totaling 2 billion USD, mostly in manufacturing – processing and electricity. Currently, close to 100 Swiss firms are operating in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is the four biggest trade partner of Switzerland in ASEAN, with bilateral trade exceeding 3.6 billion USD in 2019. Since 2012, Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – the intergovernmental organisation of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – began negotiations for a FTA, which is expected to be signed this year.

As scheduled, the SVBG will make debut to its Swiss partners at the Webinar Market Focus Vietnam that the group co-hosts with the embassy and the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services./.

Shopping online, a new trend amid COVID-19 pandemic

Online shopping has been increasingly welcomed by Vietnamese consumers since the outbreak of COVID-19. Even though the pandemic has now been largely brought under control, many have continued with this way of shopping due to its convenience.

Many online shopping apps were introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak, creating fierce competition between e-commerce platforms despite the market being relatively new.

Online shopping platforms are forecast to redefine Vietnamese people’s shopping habits even after the pandemic. Experts, however, have recommended that people follow prestigious brands to avoid counterfeit goods./.

Kien Giang keen to become sea-based economic powerhouse by 2025

Boasting 200 km of coastline and 143 islands, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is striving to branch out its maritime sector and become a sea-based economic powerhouse by 2025.

The move aims to contribute to realising the “Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam’s Marine Economy by 2030 with a Vision to 2045”.

According to Standing Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Mai Van Huynh, the province is prioritising building its maritime sector to boost economic development while protecting the environment and strengthening national defence at sea and on islands.

Major investments have been made in several spearhead industries, such as seafood, tourism-marine services, energy, and maritime industry, among others, helping the province rank second among the 13 Mekong Delta localities in terms of maritime economic development in 2020.

The sea-based economy accounted for 79.75 percent of the local gross regional domestic product (GRDP) during the year, he added.

High-capacity fishing vessels have been built to bolster off-shore fishing, contributing to sustainable fisheries and the protection of the nation’s sovereignty over sea and islands.

With vast fishing grounds and a strong fleet, the province’s annual seafood output tops 500,000 tonnes and its aquaculture yield was estimated at more than 264,100 tonnes in 2020.

Kien Giang is working to secure a total seafood catch and aquaculture output of 800,000 tonnes by 2025.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, farming areas in Phu Quoc city, Kien Hai island district, the island commune of Tien Hai in Ha Tien city, and Son Hai and Hon Nghe in Kien Luong district will focus on farming groupers, cobias, yellow-fin pompanos, and seabass, as well as blue lobster, mantis shrimp, crab, and oysters for pearl farming.

Meanwhile, coastal areas in Ha Tien city and the districts of Kien Luong, Hon Dat, An Minh, and An Bien will develop zones for farming molluscs such as blood cockles, saltwater mussels, green mussels, and oysters.

Furthermore, due attention will be paid to high-tech aquaculture, the development of quality staples with high economic value, and measures to prevent illegal fishing.

Local maritime tourism has become a locomotive for growth of the tourism sector, with renowned destinations like Phu Quoc Island. A huge amount of capital has been injected into Phu Quoc city for years, most of which comes from strategic investors like Vingroup, Sun Group, BIM Group, and CEO Group.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the province welcomed over 5.2 million visitors in 2020, accounting for 55.8 percent of the plan but down 40.7 percent year-on-year. Revenue from tourism services was put at more than 7.8 trillion VND (339.8 million USD), or 39.3 percent of the target, and down 57.7 percent compared to 2019.

Local tourism is seeing a sound recovery thanks to supportive stimulus measures.

The province will sharpen its focus on tourism infrastructure at key attractions, including Phu Quoc Island, which is to become a world-class marine eco-tourism services hub.

Vice Director of the Department of Tourism Bui Quoc Thai said the province encourages all economic sectors to build and diversify local tourism products, as well as join in efforts to form a major tourism centre.

Regarding energy development, the province prioritises investment in wind power, electrification, solar power, and many other sources of renewable energy.

In the meantime, it has plans to build coastal roads and improve logistics services, while working to preserve ocean biodiversity and restore ocean ecosystems, in particular protecting mangrove forest in tandem with the effective and sustainable exploitation of marine resources./.

Cargo throughput at sea ports posts positive growth in January

More than 62 million tonnes of goods were handled at Vietnam’s sea ports in the first month of 2021, up 17 percent on year despite COVID-19.

Of the total figure, container throughput exceeded 2.2 million TEU, an annual increase of 27 percent.

The Cai Mep – Thi Vai port in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province recorded the highest growth in cargo throughput, at 29 percent, followed by the Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City ports, at 26 and 27 percent, respectively.

According to a representative from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, the volume of goods shipped by sea was affected by not only the pandemic, but also the shortage of ship space and empty containers, and a slowdown in the Vietnamese export market and the global supply chains./.

High-tech farming needs investment and proper policies

Vietnam’s agriculture sector is aiming to be among the 15 most developed countries in the world, in which the agricultural processing sector ranks among the top 10 countries by 2030.

To realise the goal, the Government issued a resolution in 2019 on measures to encourage businesses to invest in effective, safe and sustainable agriculture as part of efforts to help the sector integrate globally.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently submitted to the Government a project of export promotion of agro-fishery products by 2030.

The export turnover is expected to reach 50-51 billion USD by 2025 and 60-62 billion USD in 2030.

To implement the target, the MARD will review and propose policies for investment attraction from private and foreign investors into the agro-fishery product processing industry.

For the last five years, there has been a wave of investment into agricultural production with 52,000 businesses, of which the firms directly participating in production hit 13,300, triple the figure of 2015.

The businesses’ participation not only contributed improve the value of agricultural products but also helped farmers access international standards.

In 2020 alone, 18 new factories for agro-product processing opened, a positive signal in improving Vietnam’s agricultural sector.

However, according to experts, although investment in agriculture has flourished in recent years with the participation of many new tycoons, it has not become a strong wave.

Notably, the majority of agricultural enterprises are still small, of which 90 percent are small and super small with capital of less than 10 billion VND (430,000 USD) while the number of enterprises investing in high-tech agriculture is even more modest.

Tran Van Tan, Chairman of Safe and Organic Businesses’ Association of Thanh Hoá Province in central Vietnam, said: “Agricultural businesses had many difficulties in accessing preferential policies leading to difficulties in seeking assistance.”

“Capital was also a big problem. To have the capital to buy agricultural land from farmers was a difficult problem,” said Tan.

“Access to capital from banks was not easy due to many procedures that agricultural enterprises struggled to meet,” he said.

“The accumulation of land to invest in setting up high-tech agricultural zones was also difficult so it required the help from local governments,” he added.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Diem Hang, Director of the Vietnam Organic Farm Company, said initial expenses for high-tech farming were always higher than traditional farming while high-tech production did not bring immediate economic benefits.

Access to capital and land were also tough problems for agricultural enterprises, Hang said.

“It is necessary to increase the number of businesses taking part in the processing industry to become a kernel for 8.6 million farmers nationwide,” the director said.

“On the other hand, promoting science and technology to produce hi-tech agro-product is an inevitable trend,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ha Van Thang, Chairman of the Vietnam Agriculture Businesses’ Association, said the thing most businesses needed was a legal framework for high-tech farming development.

There was a need for incentive policies such as simplifying loan procedures and completing criteria of high-tech agricultural enterprises to easily access bank loans.

Policies on land accumulation and granting land use right certificates, houses and properties attached with land ownership must be improved, according to Thang.

According to experts, to attract investment in agriculture it was necessary to cut 40-50 per cent of current administrative procedures, improve the business environment and develop businesses substantially.

At the same time, reviews are needed to avoid overlaps in management and inspection and not let one product be subject to the management of too many units. Management methods should change to post-check from pre-check.

Besides, there must be clear planning of material zones connecting with businesses as well as support for the training of human resources for high-tech farming./.

Viet Nam aviation is among fastest growing markets

Southeast Asia will need 4,400 new airplanes valued at US$700 billion to support expanding demand for air travel over the next 20 years, said Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of Commercial Marketing.

In an online conference yesterday, Hulst quoted Boeing’s 2020 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), saying: “The intra-Southeast Asian market will become the fifth largest in the world by 2039, and the vast domestic and regional air-travel network across the region positions it well for a post-pandemic recovery.”

With low-cost carriers providing affordable service and added capacity, CMO estimated traffic growth in Southeast Asia to grow by 5.7 per cent annually in the next 20 years, making the region the second largest aviation market in the Asia-Pacific region after China.

Boeing, at the same time, projected the region’s commercial airplane fleet to grow 5.3 per cent annually during the period while the demand for aftermarket commercial services could reach US$790 billion.

Hulst said: “Southeast Asia’s fundamental growth drivers remain robust. With an expanding middle-class and growth in private consumption, the region’s economy has grown by nearly 70 per cent over the last decade, which increases propensity to travel,” adding: “Governments in the region continue to recognise the travel and tourism sectors as important drivers of economic growth.”

Boeing’s vice president said: “Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia and the Philippines are the markets that most contribute to the growth in the global aviation market. They are also places with more room for expansion because of the emerging middle class, which could be 60 million new passengers in the next 15 years.”

Hulst also considered Viet Nam as the fastest growing market in terms of growth of air travel in the region with the advantage of a strong domestic market and the recent control of the pandemic.

Mentioning the demand for airplanes in the region, he said though the near-term airplane deliveries were impacted as a result of the pandemic, Boeing estimated operators would need more than 3,500 new single-aisle airplanes in the region by 2039 as the low-cost-carriers have the highest market penetration globally.

The airplane maker said twin-aisle airplanes such as the 777X and 787 Dreamliner still remain foundational to Southeast Asia’s air travel industry, adding one in four twin-aisle airplanes delivered to the broader Asia-Pacific region would go to a carrier operating in Southeast Asia. It forecast the region would need 760 new widebodies by 2039.

As the region’s commercial aviation services growth remained promising in the long term, said the CMO, Southeast Asia commercial services were valued at $790 billion over the next 20 years, a slight increase from last year’s projection, driven largely by growth in freighter conversions and digital solutions and analytics. With such estimation, Southeast Asia expected to require 183,000 more commercial pilots, cabin crew members and aviation technicians.

Globally, Boeing forecast the demand for 43,110 new commercial airplanes and the demand for aftermarket services to be equivalent to US$9 trillion over the next two decades when world air cargo traffic was projected to grow 4 per cent annually due to solid industrial production and world trade. The CMO said freighters would remain the backbone of the cargo industry with the need for 930 new and 1,500 converted freighters during the same span.

High-tech farming needs investment and proper policies

Viet Nam’s agriculture sector is aiming to be among the 15 most developed countries in the world, in which the agricultural processing sector ranks among the top 10 countries by 2030.

To realise the goal, the Government issued a resolution in 2019 on measures to encourage businesses to invest in effective, safe and sustainable agriculture as part of efforts to help the sector integrate globally.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently submitted to the Government a project of export promotion of agro-fishery products by 2030.

The export turnover is expected to reach US$50-51 billion by 2025 and $60-62 billion in 2030.

To implement the target, the MARD will review and propose policies for investment attraction from private and foreign investors into the agro-fishery product processing industry.

For the last five years, there has been a wave of investment into agricultural production with 52,000 businesses, of which the firms directly participating in production hit 13,300, triple the figure of 2015.

The businesses’ participation not only contributed improve the value of agricultural products but also helped farmers access international standards.

In 2020 alone, 18 new factories for agro-product processing opened, a positive signal in improving Viet Nam’s agricultural sector.

However, according to experts, although investment in agriculture has flourished in recent years with the participation of many new tycoons, it has not become a strong wave.

Notably, the majority of agricultural enterprises are still small, of which 90 per cent are small and super small with capital of less than VND10 billion (US$430,000) while the number of enterprises investing in high-tech agriculture is even more modest.

Tran Van Tan, chairman of Safe and Organic Businesses’ Association of Thanh Hoa Province in central Viet Nam, said: “Agricultural businesses had many difficulties in accessing preferential policies leading to difficulties in seeking assistance.”

“Capital was also a big problem. To have the capital to buy agricultural land from farmers was a difficult problem,” said Tan.

“Access to capital from banks was not easy due to many procedures that agricultural enterprises struggled to meet,” he said.

“The accumulation of land to invest in setting up high-tech agricultural zones was also difficult so it required the help from local governments,” he added.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Diem Hang, director of the Viet Nam Organic Farm Company, said initial expenses for high-tech farming were always higher than traditional farming while high-tech production did not bring immediate economic benefits.

Access to capital and land were also tough problems for agricultural enterprises, Hang said.

“It is necessary to increase the number of businesses taking part in the processing industry to become a kernel for 8.6 million farmers nationwide,” the director said.

“On the other hand, promoting science and technology to produce hi-tech agro-product is an inevitable trend,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ha Van Thang, chairman of the Viet Nam Agriculture Businesses’ Association, said the thing most businesses needed was a legal framework for high-tech farming development.

There was a need for incentive policies such as simplifying loan procedures and completing criteria of high-tech agricultural enterprises to easily access bank loans.

Policies on land accumulation and granting land use right certificates, houses and properties attached with land ownership must be improved, according to Thang.

According to experts, to attract investment in agriculture it was necessary to cut 40-50 per cent of current administrative procedures, improve the business environment and develop businesses substantially.

At the same time, reviews are needed to avoid overlaps in management and inspection and not let one product be subject to the management of too many units. Management methods should change to post-check from pre-check.

Besides, there must be clear planning of material zones connecting with businesses as well as support for the training of human resources for high-tech farming.

Thai conglomerate SCG now dominates Viet Nam’s plastic production industry

Under the contract signed on February 9 via a virtual conference, Duy Tan will sell 70 per cent of its shares in five of total twenty-two subsidiary companies, including Duy Tan Plastic Manufacturing Corporation and Duy Tan Long An Corporation, to SCG’s SCG Packaging, Duy Tan said.

Duy Tan Plastic is a leading company in the plastic goods market in Viet Nam with revenue of VND4.7 trillion in 2020. It has nearly 1,000 commodities units and 16,000 distribution agents across the country. The company’s annual capacity reaches 116,000 tonnes of hard plastic packaging and plastic goods.

SCG, Thailand’s largest cement producer, will buy the stakes over three years, starting from 2021. The deal takes a long time as it is based on business results, Duy Tan Plastic said.

Through the deal, SCG and Duy Tan Plastic want to create a solid foundation for a completed supply chain.

Duy Tan Plastic aims at developing hard plastic packaging products, plastic goods and expanding export markets, while the investments help SCG Packaging broaden its hard plastic packaging businesses in ASEAN, especially strengthen capacity to serve FMCG producers and consumers in Viet Nam.

The deal is a part of SCG’s investment plan worth 10 billion baht (US$334 million) to extend its businesses in Viet Nam that has big and growing demands in plastic packaging products.

Wichan Jitpukdee, CEO of SCG Packaging, said that the company will keep investing in Viet Nam, resulting in revenue growth of over 10 per cent each year.

Dominating Viet Nam’s plastic production industry

The plastic production industry in Viet Nam has around 3,300 enterprises with total value of approximately US$18 billion.

The upstream sector of this industry includes petrochemical refineries and chemical enterprises whose main activities are to convert fossil materials into raw plastic beads.

Meanwhile the downstream sector is turning raw plastic beads into plastic products. The downstream can be divided into four main segments, including plastic packaging products, plastic building materials, plastic goods and engineering plastics.

With the deal for Duy Tan Plastic’s shares, SCG is dominating Viet Nam’s plastic industry, especially in plastic packaging products and plastic building materials. These two segments account around 61 per cent of the total market value.

In 2019, SCG Packaging founded Vina Kraft Paper in Binh Duong Province to produce paper packaging products with total capacity of 500,000 tonnes/year.

The company continued to invest in Tin Thanh Packing JSC (BATICO) in 2015. And recently SGC bought 94 per cent of Bien Hoa Packaging JSC’s stakes, with the deal worth of VND2.07 billion (US$89 million).

SCG also owns stakes in many plastic companies including Binh Minh Plastics JSC, Vietnam Construction Materials JSC, Prime Group, Viet Thai Plastchem Joint Venture Company Ltd, TPC Vina Plastic and Chemical Corporation Ltd, Viet Nam Chemtech Company Ltd and Minh Thai Plastic Material Company Ltd.

In 2018 June, SCG signed a contract to buy 29 per cent of Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)’s shares in Long Son Petrochemical Complex Project, raising its equity from 71 per cent to 100 per cent with total investment value of 8.5 billion baht per year.

HCM City to ensure transparent, fair and competitive environment for property market

The chairman of the HCM City People Committee has pledged to review all housing projects in the city and work out solutions to create a “more transparent, fair and competitive business environment”.

Speaking at an annual meeting with the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) last weekend (Feb 27), Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city would work with agencies to address delays in “the issuance of investment policy approval for developers and ownership certificates for homebuyers”.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, said over the past years, the association has submitted numerous petitions and proposals to the Government and local authorities to resolve problems related to investment and construction.

Businesses have frquently petitioned the People’s Committee to speed up procedures for investment approval for commercial housing projects, he added.

In 2020 alone, 61 commercial housing projects were delayed because the land they were allotted was a mix of plots with various purposes and uses, he said.

“A number of projects being built on public lands were halted and are being reviewed for compliance,” Chau added.

According to a report from the Department of Construction, procedures for investment approval of commercial housing projects take up to 247 working days, or 50 weeks, excluding 14 public holidays, which is too long.

The association has also urged city authorities to speed up the issuance of home ownership certificates for more than 30,402 housing units in 163 projects in the city.

“The Department of Natural Resources and Environment needs to work with the Department of Finance, the City Land Price Appraisal Council and other agencies to determine land-use fees for the housing projects to speed up the process,” he noted.

“Priority should be given to home-ownership certificates for homebuyers who have fulfilled their obligations under the housing purchase contract,” he added.

A number of apartment buildings have been built in violation of approved plans and designs in the city, delaying the issuance of land-use and home ownership certificates, according to the Department of Construction.

Many developers have even mortgaged their buildings to get loans for other projects, meaning buyers have been unable to get ownership certificates, it said.

New guidelines

Recently, city authorities issued guidelines to speed up the issuance of land-use and home ownership certificates to buyers to prevent disputes with housing developers.

They divided apartment projects into two categories related to collection of land-use fees and issuance of ownership certificates.

For apartments within a compound, the entire project area is identified as “residential land” and is subject to fees for issuance of certificates for land-use rights, house ownership and other land-related assets.

For those without compounds that come with public areas such as parks, schools, hospitals, and main roads connecting to public roads outside the apartment building, only the area of ​​land used for apartment construction is considered “residential land”.

For the public areas, the city will organise bids to select investors.

The construction of technical works such as electricity and water supply, drainage, lighting, and telecommunications systems must be done by the developer and handed over to the city. No land-use fees will be collected.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been assigned to work with the departments of planning and architecture, construction, and other agencies to classify land areas in each project (both already completed and upcoming) subject to fees for issuance of ownership certificates.

The Department of Construction will be responsible for monitoring compliance with construction norms and penalising violators.

The city has ordered agencies to carefully review investors’ financial capacity before licensing projects. Investors found to have committed violations must be severely sanctioned.

There are 15,000 real estate firms operating in the city.

Experts attributed the challenges facing businesses to inconsistent regulations on housing and land investment. Hundreds of housing projects are under inspection for legal procedures, delaying their progress.

Modern trade channels, e-commerce to be further thrive: experts

Modern and online shopping channels recorded strong growth last year and will continue to thrive this year, according to experts.

Nielsen Vietnam’s retail chain consulting said the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted online shopping and more consumers would choose to shop online even after the pandemic ends.

As of December there were around 8,500 stores nation-wide, including 453 supermarkets and 5,566 minimarts with the rest being convenience, health and beauty, drug, and cash & carry stores.

There is a fierce competition in the retail market, and so each chain has to identify its strengths to retain competitiveness.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, average retail sales and consumer services revenue per capita increased from 19.3 million VND in 2010 to 51.2 million VND in 2019, accounting for 8 percent of GDP.

E-commerce, supported by electronic payment, has grown especially strongly in recent years, averaging over 27 percent growth, it said./.

Cargo throughput at sea ports posts positive growth in January

More than 62 million tonnes of goods were handled at Vietnam’s sea ports in the first month of 2021, up 17 percent on year despite COVID-19.

Of the total figure, container throughput exceeded 2.2 million TEU, an annual increase of 27 percent.

The Cai Mep – Thi Vai port in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province recorded the highest growth in cargo throughput, at 29 percent, followed by the Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City ports, at 26 and 27 percent, respectively.

According to a representative from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, the volume of goods shipped by sea was affected by not only the pandemic, but also the shortage of ship space and empty containers, and a slowdown in the Vietnamese export market and the global supply chains./.

HCM City’s CPI inches up 1.19 percent in February

The consumer price index (CPI) in the southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City increased 1.19 percent in February from the previous month, according to the city’s Statistics Office.

Among 11 groups of products and services in the CPI basket, the group of housing, electricity, water and construction materials had the highest price increase of 2.06 percent. This included a 13 percent hike in power price, 2.65 percent rise in water price, and 0.14 percent fall in housing rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prices of restaurant and catering services showed a big jump of 1.35 percent, with those of foodstuff growing 1.79 percent from January. The strongest surges in this group were seen in the prices of pork (5.28 percent), beef (2.36 percent), poultry (3.99 percent) and aquatic products (3.12 percent) due to high demand during the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday – the biggest traditional festival of Vietnamese people.

Moving in the same trend were groups of beverage and tobacco (0.41 percent), and garment, hats and footwear (0.35 percent).

Affected by the petrol price hikes on January 26 and February 25, transportation fees increased by 1.68 percent.

In contrast, the prices of medicine and medical services dropped by 0.05 percent, and those of the education group decreased by 0.01 percent.

The Statistics Office also said that the gold price went up by 1.1 percent while the price of US dollar expanded 0.02 percent as compared to January./.

Over 18,000 new firms set up in first two months

More than 18,000 new businesses were established in the first two months of 2021, a year-on-year decline of 4 percent, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The number of employees registered by the newly-established enterprises rose 9.7 percent to 173,000.

The months saw an addition of over 720.4 trillion VND (32.24 billion USD), in total registered capital, up 12.4 percent. Average level in registered capital per enterprise surged 46.4 percent to reach 18.5 billion VND in the period.

About 11,030 enterprises resumed operations in the first two months, down 7.6 percent while 33,611 others were dissolved, an increase of 18.6 percent.

In February alone, as many as 8,038 new businesses were set up with a combined registered capital of nearly 179.74 trillion VND.

The number of new firms represented a year-on-year drop of 12.3 percent while the amount of capital surged 85.6 percent.

The number of workers registered by these businesses reached almost 57,000, down 22.1 percent./.

Udmurtia keen on boosting bilateral trade with Vietnam

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Udmurt Republic of the Russian Federation Konstantin Suntsov has expressed his belief that its bilateral relations and trade with Vietnam will be enhanced in the coming time.

Talking with a Moscow-based Vietnam News Agency reporter, Suntsov said that two-way trade hit 165 million USD in 2019, which was estimated at 200 million USD last year despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that Udmurtia is running a trade surplus with Vietnam, with its exports accounting for up to 70 percent of the total value, mostly metal and forestry products, cellulose and papers. Meanwhile, Vietnam has mainly shipped consumer goods to Udmurtia.

While expressing his interest in Vietnamese coffee, Suntsov said Udmurtia’s Tasty Coffee company accounts for about one-third of Russia’s coffee market share.

According to the official, Udmurtia already exported military technical products, metal and wooden products and medical equipment to Vietnam, and plans to ship more farm produce, light chemical industry products and IT services.

At an online trade promotion forum held in late 2020, Udmurtia introduced unmanned aerial vehicles, medical equipment, food colouring products, bleaches used in agriculture and farm produce to Vietnamese partners.

Mentioning important points in the Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership, he said the two nations already signed a free trade agreement, thereby raising two-way trade to 6 billion USD in 2018.

He also praised Vietnam for its natural, art and cultural beauty which he felt during his visits to Hanoi, Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay in 2015.

On its capacity as rotating ASEAN Chair in 2020, Vietnam well performed its role in assisting other regional member states in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, Suntsov said.

In his opinion, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, signed in 2020, will become a bridge between Russia and Southeast Asia.

As Vietnam is really a bridge between Russia and ASEAN, Udmurtia will also take advantage of that, he said.

Udmurtia is a federal subject of the Russian Federation within the Volga Federal District. Industry now accounts for over 45 percent of Udmurtia’s economic structure. Its enterprises also manufacture equipment for nuclear power plants, medical and oil-gas equipment, metal and plastic products. Agriculture is also an important priority of its development./.

Vietnamese and Japanese firms receive support to expand operations

The Japan Trade Promotion Organisation (JETRO) will host an online scheme on March 3 in Hanoi aimed at connecting Japanese businesses in the field of manufacturing and production, known as Monozukuri in Japanese to facilitate co-operation amid the negative impacts caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a representative from the JETRO, the business matching programme will see the participation of 40 Japanese companies for the purpose of accelerating the development of the country’s supporting industry.

At present, the scheme has received registration for 50 negotiations from enterprises from Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan (China), whilst it is still receiving registration from businesses wishing to purchase and seek Japanese suppliers in the Monozukuri field until March 1.

A recent survey conducted by the JETRO unveiled that Japanese businesses remain keen on the Vietnamese market as the country is viewed as an alternative investment destinations for Japanese enterprises looking to move away from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey indicates that approximately half of Japanese enterprises in the nation plan to expand their production activities, while roughly 70% of them seek opportunities to increase revenue in the local market.

Most notably, 46.8% of Japanese enterprises unveiled that they have initiated plans to expand their business in the nation over the course of the next two years, with the expansion rate ranking fourth, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japanese enterprises have therefore attributed their expansion to an increase in revenue in the domestic market and high growth potential.

Furthermore, Japanese firms are also considering re-establishing some supply chains which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Vietnam able to capture the attention of suppliers and buyers of materials globally.

Air service on HCMC-Van Don route set to resume

Vietnam Airlines will resume flight operations on the HCMC-Van Don route starting from March 3, as the Covid-19 outbreak in Quang Ninh Province, where the Van Don International Airport is located, has been brought under control.

This is the first local carrier to announce its plan to resume flights to Van Don since the outbreak hit Quang Ninh, reported Nguoi Lao Dong Online.

The national flag carrier will operate one weekly flight on the route on Wednesdays between March 3 and 17 and plans to increase it to three flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from March 18 to December 31 this year.

The flights will depart from HCMC at 1 p.m. and from Van Don at 3:45 p.m.

The carrier is offering special ticket prices starting from VND33,000 per leg (equivalent to VND507,000 per leg including taxes and fees) for the first three flights on the route between March 3 and 17.

From the fourth flight onward, which will be operated from March 18 to the end of the year, the airfare will start from VND109,000 (or VND590,000 including taxes and fees) for trips taken from March 18 to June 30.

Earlier, the Ministry of Transport decided to shut down the Van Don airport in 15 days from January 29 to February 13 to combat Covid-19, as an airport security staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.

The ministry later extended the airport’s closure to February 21 and then to March 3.

During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, the Vietnam Airlines Group operated 6,050 flights carrying nearly 800,000 passengers, while all of the local airlines operated a total number of 14,400 flights with over 1.7 million passengers.

Construction of US$115 million high-tech dairy farm starts in An Giang

Construction of a large-scale project of high-tech dairy cow farming and milk processing has been kicked off in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

Speaking at the kick-start ceremony, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, Truong Hoa Binh highly appreciated the provincial government that has created advantages for the implementation of the project, towards the sustainable development associated with benefits of business and the community.

He hoped the project will become a typical dairy farm in the region and asked ministries and State units to support An Giang and the investor, TH Group to complete the project on time.

The project costing VND2,655 billion (US$115 million) will have a herd of around 10,000 cows that are expected to produce 135 tons of milk per day.

Besides, the investor plans to build an eco-accommodation site and focus on organic farming and growing to provide agricultural products meeting Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) standards.

Gas price increases for the third time in 2021

A statement of the Ho Chi Minh City One-Member Limited Liability Oil & Gas Company (Saigon Petro) said that gas price has edged up VND417 per kilogram, equaling to VND5,000 a 12-kilogram cylinder as from March 1.

With the price spike, a 12-kilogram cylinder costs VND400,500 (US$17.31). The gas prics of Pacific Petro, City Petro, ESGas also surge VND5,000 a 12-kilogram cylinder.

According local gas companies, on March 1, the world gas price is estimated at US$610 per ton, an increase of US$15 per ton in comparison with February. As this reason, they adjusted the domestic gas price.

This has been the third hike of domestic gas price in 2021.

Indonesian Consulate General works to promote investment in Dong Nai

The Indonesian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said it will work as a bridge helping Indonesian firms to invest in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Hanif Salim, Indonesian Consul General, on March 1 visited Dong Nai to explore investment projects in the locality.

Speaking at a working session with local leaders, Hanif Salim said Indonesia’s investment in the province remains limited and is yet to match potential of both sides.

Located in the southern key economic region, Dong Nai has posted high, stable economic growth over the past year.

The province has established 32 industrial parks, of which 31 are operational, attracting 1,533 FDI projects from 45 countries and territories, with total registered capital amounting to 31.8 billion USD.

Indonesia contributes two projects worth 12 million USD./.

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

Fishing boats are at anchor near Thổ Chu Island, Phú Quốc District in Kiên Giang Province. The southern province is striving to branch out its maritime sector and become a sea-based economic powerhouse by 2025. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

KIÊN GIANG — Boasting 200km of coastline and 143 islands, the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang is striving to branch out its maritime sector and become a sea-based economic powerhouse by 2025.

The move aims to contribute to realising the ‘Strategy for Sustainable Development of Việt Nam’s Marine Economy by 2030 with a Vision to 2045’.

According to Permanent Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Mai Van Huỳnh, the province is prioritising building its maritime sector to boost economic development while protecting the environment and strengthening national defence at sea and on islands.

Major investments have been made in several key industries, such as seafood, tourism-marine services, energy, and the maritime industry, among others, helping the province rank second among the 13 Mekong Delta localities in terms of maritime economic development in 2020.

The sea-based economy accounted for 79.75 per cent of the local gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the year, he added.

High-capacity fishing vessels have been built to bolster offshore fishing, contributing to sustainable fisheries and the protection of the nation’s sovereignty over sea and islands.

With vast fishing grounds and a strong fleet, the province’s annual seafood output tops 500,000 tonnes and its aquaculture yield was estimated at more than 264,100 tonnes in 2020.

Kiên Giang is working to secure a total seafood catch and aquaculture output of 800,000 tonnes by 2025.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, farming areas in Phú Quốc City, Kiên Hải island district, the island commune of Tiên Hải in Hà Tiên City, and Sơn Hải and Hòn Nghệ in Kiên Lương District will focus on farming groupers, cobias, yellow-fin pompanos, and seabass, as well as blue lobster, mantis shrimp, crab, and oysters for pearl farming.

Meanwhile, coastal areas in Hà Tiên City and the districts of Kiên Lương, Hòn Đất, An Minh, and An Biên will develop zones for farming molluscs such as blood cockles, saltwater mussels, green mussels, and oysters.

Attention will be paid to high-tech aquaculture, the development of quality staples with high economic value, and measures to prevent illegal fishing.

Local maritime tourism has helped drive the tourism sector thanks to renowned destinations like Phú Quốc Island. A huge amount of capital has been injected into Phú Quốc City for years, most of which comes from strategic investors such as Vingroup, Sun Group, BIM Group, and CEO Group.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the province welcomed more than 5.2 million visitors in 2020, accounting for 55.8 per cent of the goal but down 40.7 per cent year-on-year. Revenue from tourism services was at more than VNĐ7.8 trillion (US$339.8), or 39.3 per cent of the target, and down 57.7 per cent compared to 2019.

Local tourism is seeing a sound recovery thanks to stimulus measures.

The province will sharpen its focus on tourism infrastructure at key attractions, including Phú Quốc Island.

Vice Director of the Department of Tourism Bùi Quốc Thái said the province encourages all economic sectors to build and diversify local tourism products, as well as join in efforts to form a major tourism centre.

Regarding energy development, the province prioritises investment in wind power, electrification, solar power, and many other sources of renewable energy.

It also plans to build coastal roads and improve logistics services, while working to preserve ocean biodiversity and restore ocean ecosystems, protecting mangrove forests in tandem with the effective and sustainable exploitation of marine resources. — VNS