Covid curbs

Heather and husband George arrived in Shanghai from New York in 2006 for a one-year adventure, but 16 years later their two-bedroom apartment in Shanghai’s historic former French Concession is the only home their children have ever known. So while repatriating to the United States is technically a homecoming for Heather and George, leaving Shanghai means leaving home for daughters Charlotte, 14, and Matilda, 12. Heather spent the month of June readying for a return to the United States. Her husband left weeks earlier with their family dog to help prepare for their new life in Washington D.C. "I haven't had the luxury to really grieve a lot of what I'm leaving behind because I need to get two kids and a cat out of here ... so it's been really focused on that logistics," she told Reuters from her flat which had just been emptied out by movers. The Kaye family are part of an exodus of both foreigners and locals from Shanghai as China's most cosmopolitan city tries to find its … [Read more...] about Goodbye Shanghai: After 16 years, Covid curbs send American family packing

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Wednesday reported an additional 913 Covid-19 infections, raising the country's total tally to over 10.75 million. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, most of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 42 out of 63 localities in the country. As of Wednesday evening, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to over 10.75 million. On July 6, an additional 7,626 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to over 9.73 million. On Wednesday evening, no deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded, the country's total fatalities stay at 43,089, accounting for 0.4 per cent of total infections. By July 5, Vietnam had injected more than 234 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, including over 8.85 million given to children aged 5 to 11. Speaking at a Monday meeting, deputy minister of health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said that the … [Read more...] about Additional 913 new Covid-19 infections reported on Wednesday

A COVID-19 vaccination site in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Tokyo (VNA) - The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highly valued Vietnam’s policy support to cushion the impact of COVID-19 in tandem with successful maintenance of fiscal, external, and financial stability and an impressive vaccination rollout. In a press release following a recent consultation with Vietnam, the IMF Executive Board said a recovery is underway and high frequency indicators point to stronger momentum going into 2022, with rising retail sales, industrial production, and firm entry. Growth is expected to reach 6% in 2022 as activity normalisation continues and the programme for recovery and development is implemented. However, the recovery of the labour market is lagging as underemployment remains high. While inflation has recently picked up due to rising commodity prices and supply-chain disruptions, it remains well below the central bank’s inflation ceiling. The Executive Board … [Read more...] about IMF hails Vietnam’s moves to cushion COVID-19 impacts

Part of the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park in Hai Phong city (Photo: VNA) Hai Phong (VNA) – For the last half of 2022, Hai Phong city will apply itself to flexibly and effectively fighting COVID-19 and shoring up business and investment activities so as to attract more foreign direct investment ( FDI ), a local official has said. Nearly 1.1 billion USD of FDI was poured into the northern port city in the first six months, falling by over 11% from a year earlier and equivalent to almost 44% of this year’s target. FDI inflows are expected to stand at 0.85 billion USD in the third quarter and 0.85 - 1.1 billion USD in the fourth quarter. Le Trung Kien, head of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority , said the city looks to surpass this year’s FDI attraction target of 2.5 billion USD. To that end, the authority will boost investment promotion and attraction for the three pillars of economic development, namely high-tech industry, seaports - logistics, and … [Read more...] about Hai Phong striving to attract over 2.5 billion USD in FDI this year

Vietnamese and Indian businesses from the pharmaceutical sector participate in a B2B meet at the India – Viet Nam Pharmaceuticals and Health Industry Conference on July 5. — VNS Photo Thu Hang Viet Nam is seeking co-operation with India in the field of pharmaceuticals, especially manufacture of vaccines for COVID-19, a conference heard on Tuesday. India is now the third biggest supplier of pharmaceutical products to Viet Nam, Tran Ngoc Liem, general director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City branch, told the India-Viet Nam Pharmaceuticals and Health Industry Conference. Pharmaceuticals were one of India’s key exports to Viet Nam last year at US$267 million, he said. India is ranked third globally in terms of pharmaceutical output and 14th in terms of value. Its leading companies all meet international standards. The Vietnamese pharmaceutical market has been experiencing strong growth in recent years with 250 factories, 200 import-export … [Read more...] about Viet Nam, India eye partnership in pharmaceutical sector

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Hanoi on July 6, during which the PM affirmed that Vietnam has attached great importance to its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia and wanted to deepen and make the bilateral cooperative ties more effective in all spheres. Highly valuating the positive results in bilateral cooperation over the past years, PM Chinh thanked the Russian side for its valuable support and assistance to Vietnam in the past and during the current process of national construction and development, most recently in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Lavrov said that Russia always considers Vietnam an important partner in the region and wants to further foster cooperation with the Southeast Asian country. Both sides agreed to further promote high-level agreements … [Read more...] about Vietnam treasures and wants to deepen ties with Russia: PM