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Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE)’s proposal to raise the minimum trading lot to 1,000 shares is receiving mixed opinions from market experts and investors.

The proposal was initiated by newly-appointed General Director of HOSE Le Hai Tra as a solution to reduce system overloads which have troubled traders recently.

A 1,000 minimum trading lot will limit the participation of small investors, while the stock market is moving towards fairness and equality, said a budding investor.

“My friends and I, when joining the stock market, only have a few tens to several hundreds of millions of dong, raising the minimum trading lot to 1,000 shares will directly affect our investment capacity,” said individual investor Diep.

“With expensive stocks, we may have to spend hundreds of millions of dong to buy the minimum 1,000 shares,” she said.

According to Diep, the stock market has never had such a chance for growth. New cash flow into the market pushed liquidity to a record high level. However, the new proposal may not only prevent new investors from entering the market but also discourage existing investors.

“The plan to raise the minimum trading lot to 1,000 shares could quickly reduce the number of orders delivered daily on HOSE. However, it will cause frustration among small investors who are directly affected by the plan as they think they are not protected,” said Do Bao Ngoc, Deputy General Director of Kien Thiet Securities Vietnam (CSI).

“This plan, if in place, will affect the rapid development of the stock market under the current favourable conditions, one of which is great interest from global investors,” he said.

“Under the new plan, the most affected are the investors whose trading accounts have VND1 billion or less,” said Nguyen Hoang Hai, Vice Chairman of Viet Nam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI)

According to VAFI statistics, investors whose trading accounts have VND500 million or less account for about 30 per cent of individual investors. Among them, the number of investors participating in the market for the first time (F0 investors) with VND300 – 500 million is numerous.

“Last year, the boom of the stock market was great thanks to the participation of new investors, also known as F0 investors. The market always needs new cash flows but raising the minimum trading lot to 1,000 shares could hinder the investment capacity of investors and cause them to lose money,” Hai said.

Chairman of SSI Securities Corporation Nguyen Duy Hung on his social media account recently gave a more positive view on HOSE’s proposal, saying the trading system would be on the brink of collapse without appropriate measures.

“Raising the minimum trading lot to 1,000 shares is necessary at the moment to keep the system running,” he said, adding when the system upgrading process is completed, the minimum trading lot could be reverted to 10.

Hung said the overload of orders that forces the stock exchange to halt market trading is the result of a rapid-growing stock market that outpaces the processing capacity of the stock market, as such, “a long-term solution is a must,” he said.

Both before and after the Tet holiday, the overload occurred repeatedly on HOSE whenever liquidity in a trading session hit around VND14-17 trillion (US$608-738 million).

The SSC attributed the overload issue on the HOSE to the transaction processing capacity of the stock exchange that limits the number of transactions per day, while a recent surge of orders has exceeded the expectation of the market.

Rice farmers enjoy bumper harvest, high prices in Mekong Delta

Rice farmers in Mekong Delta rejoiced as the ongoing winter-spring crops yielded big gains, while domestic agricultural authorities work towards a near future where Vietnamese rice dominates markets worldwide.

After the award-winning ST25 rice rightfully earned a firm footing on the market, it and other varieties from the Mekong Delta region became highly sought-after. This fragrant rice variety sells for VND30,000-45,000 per kilogram (US$1.3-1.95) and is still seeing high demand after the Lunar New Year shopping craze ended.

“We even had retailers offering to buy our yields long before harvest, which is very rare and proves the apparent demand for high-quality fragrant rice”, said a local field owner.

Mekong Delta farmers up to now have harvested some one-third of the region’s total rice crops for the period, with an average yield of over 7.3 tons per hectare.

Seeing that high-end white rice and fragrant rice make up nearly 90 percent of the products, Soc Trang province is requesting the provincial Center for Agricultural Seeds to focus more on the production and supply of these varieties to meet local demands.

Meanwhile, Hau Giang Province has been promoting the Vi Thuy fragrant rice variety produced in an eco-friendly safety food chain. The province plans to expand cultivation areas to 500 hectares, said the director of Hau Giang’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Vi Thuy brand was rated a 4-star eco rice product by the domestic OCOP program (One Commune One Product) which prompted Hau Giang authorities to promote the safety production chain to local farmers.

On a nationwide scale, restructuring the agriculture sector by cutting off inefficient yields has boosted rice production significantly, as well as created opportunities for up to 6 million tons of Vietnamese rice to enter EU markets per year, said business insiders.

Although the EU market demands some 2.1-2.3 tons of rice per year, only 80,000 tons of Vietnamese exports can enter each year under regulations of the EVFTA.

The Asian country in recent years has commanded international attention with multiple global award-winning rice varieties. Experts believe Vietnam in the near future can export as many as 1 million tons of white fragrant rice at over US$1,000 per ton, earning US$1 billion in foreign currency each year.

To further promote Vietnamese rice, there have been proposals for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to set up a national committee for the rice industry in associations with domestic cooperatives and overseas trade counselors.

Many solutions to prevent network congestion on HoSE

Vietnam’s stock market in the trading session on March 3 continued to encounter network congestion on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), so the VN-Index was almost flat.

Meanwhile, on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index made a breakthrough of nearly 3 percent. At the end of the trading session, the VN-Index inched up by 0.34 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,186.95 points, with 270 gainers, 168 losers, and 64 unchanged stocks. The HNX-Index jumped 6.16 points, or 2.48 percent, to 254.1 points, with 137 gainers, 66 losers, and 57 unchanged stocks.

Foreign investors continued to net sell nearly VND500 billion on the whole market. Of which, they net sold VND470 billion on the HoSE. Liquidity remained at a high level with a total trading volume of 819 million shares, worth more than VND18.1 trillion. Of which, put-through transactions accounted for nearly VND1.77 trillion.

The stock market traded with caution from investors after the new General Director of the HoSE Le Hai Tra spoke in the media about a solution to prevent network congestion, which possibly is to raise the minimum round lot from 100 shares to 1,000 shares to reduce the load for the trading system.

According to the HoSE’s calculations, increasing the round lot to 1,000 shares can reduce the total number of trading orders by 40-50 percent, at the same time, it can pave the way for new heights of market liquidity.

Mr. Tra said that that might only be a temporary solution to solve the current network congestion situation. In the future, when the new stock trading system comes into operation, there will be an odd-lot board, and it is also possible to return to the current round lot of 100 units. However, this opinion faced considerable opposition from investors because it will make it difficult for investors, especially small investors. Because they will have to spend 10 times as much as currently to buy stocks on the HoSE.

Another solution to prevent network congestion for the HoSE is to transfer some stocks from the HoSE to the HNX, the State Securities Commission (SSC) has just sent documents to the HoSE, the HNX, and the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) on this.

Accordingly, the SSC requested the HNX to promptly accept and receive listed companies from the HoSE, without reviewing their records following the new listing process. The transaction mechanisms, transaction supervision, listing management, reporting, and information disclosure will be applied the same as companies listed on the HNX. The HoSE and the HNX will cooperate in supervising transactions for these stocks to ensure continuity of supervision.

Noticeably, the SSC stated clearly that shares of transferred companies, which are currently in the set of the VN-Index indicators of the HoSE will be removed from the set of HoSE indicators during the temporary transfer to the HNX. At present, SSC will temporarily not consider transferring the shares of companies currently in the VN30-Index.

The SSC also requested the HNX, the HoSE, and the VSD to urgently handle the issue so that enterprises can transfer the transactions of their shares similarly to the listing transfer cases that have been carried out so far. This mechanism will be applied from March 3 this year.

Ly Son garlic reputation threatened by fake products

The prices and the reputation of Ly Son garlic have fallen as low-quality garlic from other areas are being brought to the island and faked as Ly Son garlic.

Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai Province, is famous for its garlic which is sold at much higher prices than the garlic from other places. However, for the past years, garlic has been brought to the island and sold to tourists as the garlic from Ly Son.

According to a trader, fake Ly Son garlic is sold in huge numbers due to high demand from visitors. The price of the garlic from Nha Trang City is VND28,000 (USD1.20) per kilo. After being marketed as Ly Son garlic, its price will increase to VND45,000 per kilo.

Garlic from Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan is also faked as being Ly Son garlic and sold at An Vinh Market on the island.

As a result, there is a surplus of supply and the prices and reputation of Ly Son garlic have been badly affected. After the Tet Holiday, the prices of Ly Son garlic stood at VND60,000 (USD2.60) per kilo but has now dropped to VND40,000. At some points in the past two years, the prices of dried garlic dropped to VND20,000 per kilo.

Huynh Tung, a farmer in Ly Son, said, “The price of Ly Son garlic dropped and it’s so hard to sell garlic now.”

On February 19 and 21, the authorities seized over one tonne of non-local garlic which was being transported into the island.

Dang Tan Thanh, vice chairman of Ly Son District People’s Committee, said they had tightened monitoring and raised public awareness to protect Ly Son garlic.

“We have asked the Department of Economic and Rural Infrastructure to work on a product traceability project. It will help customers recognise the garlic better and protect the farmers,” he said.

Last June, The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam issued the geographical indication certification to help manage and develop Ly Son garlic more efficiently.

Vietnam forecast to see growing number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals by 2025

The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals living in Vietnam is forecast to grow strongly in the next five years by Knight Frank.

By 2025, Vietnam will have 50 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) with a net worth of at least $30 million each and 25,812 high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) with assets of at least $1 million, says The Wealth Report 2021 put out by Knight Frank.

The report pointed out that Vietnam’s number of ultra-wealthy people declined slightly due to the impact of the pandemic, dropping from 405 people in 2019 to 390 people in 2020.

Globally, China saw the fastest growth in UHNWI population with a 15.8 per cent growth rate, followed by Sweden and Singapore.

Knight Frank’s current report said that the number of HNWI decreased by 6 per cent globally last year, from 20,645 to 19,149.

To join the wealthiest 1 per cent in Vietnam, an UHNWI needs to have a net wealth of $160,000. Singapore is Asia’s highest entry, marginally ahead of Hong Kong, with the level of wealth required being $2.9 million and $2.8 million, respectively. South Korea and the Chinese mainland set the barrier at $1.2 million and $850,000, respectively.

With lower interest rates and more fiscal stimulus, asset prices have surged, driving the world’s UHNWI population 2.4 per cent higher over the past 12 months to more than 520,000. The process was seen across North America and Europe, but it was Asia with its 12 per cent growth that saw the real upswing. The expansion in wealth was not universal, with a fall in the number of UHNWIs in Latin America, Russia, and the Middle East as currency shifts and the pandemic undermined local economies.

The US is, and will remain, the world’s dominant wealth hub over the forecast period, but Asia will see the fastest growth in UHNWIs over the next five years, at 39 per cent compared with the 27 per cent global average. By 2025, Asia will host 24 per cent of all UHNWIs, up from 17 per cent a decade earlier. The region is already home to more billionaires than any other (36 per cent of the global total). The Chinese Mainland is the key to this phenomenon, with 246 per cent forecast growth in very wealthy residents in the decade to 2025.

Wealth Report pointed out that equities, which accounted for about a quarter of the portfolios of the super-rich, were a major driver of their wealth in 2020 as being in lockdown gave them time to better monitor the stock markets.

In March last year, most stock markets crashed by around 30 per cent, but they had since then bounced back, particularly in the US. The S&P 500, for instance, had rallied by 70 per cent.

“Anyone able to time equity sales or acquisitions in line with market movements would have benefited significantly,” the report said.

Securities firms rake in revenues after bumper year

Foreign and local stock brokerages closed 2020 with a blast, turning around the nosedive that opened the year due to optimism over vaccines, low interest rates, and appealing commission fees.

The momentum is expected to expand substantially this year, given the promise of Vietnam’s equity landscape. In the early part of last year, market volatilities and aggressive broad-based sell-off crippled the stock market, with the total after-tax profit of Vietnamese securities companies dropping 77 per cent on-year. However, hopes of an economic recovery have boosted brokerages’ profits, with the year seeing the highest number of new account openings.

Viet Dragon Securities Corporation recorded a record loss of VND88 billion ($3.83 million) in the first quarter of 2020, mainly from proprietary trading. However, the prospect of effective vaccines returning life to normal is injecting hope into the global and domestic equity market.

By the end of 2020, Viet Dragon Securities recorded total revenues of VND456 billion ($19.83 million), up 45 per cent against the initial plan. The firm’s after-tax profit reached VND144 billion ($6.26 million), equal to 400 per cent of the yearly plan and 424 per cent of the figure from 2019. This was also the highest profit that it had achieved since its establishment.

Meanwhile, Saigon Securities Corporation, Vietnam’s largest brokerage in terms of market share, reported 43.4 per cent higher revenue growth in 2020 than the year before. Its pre-tax profit also rallied by 54.4 per cent, reaching VND1.565 trillion ($68.04 million)

After several COVID-19 vaccines proved effective in recent months, almost the entire stock market started showing signs that an economic recovery is on the way.

As the State Bank of Vietnam remains firm on keeping a low interest rate to help the economy weather the storm, investors vigorously seek for higher returns from riskier assets, such as stocks or corporate bonds. In addition, both Vietnamese and foreign brokerages have provided customers with attractive margin lending rates, as well as low or zero commission fees.

Vu Nam Huong, CFO of VNDIRECT Securities, said the company has achieved positive results for its core revenue segments like transaction fee collection, margin lending, proprietary trading, and derivative securities. In the fourth quarter of 2020, VNDIRECT generated revenues of VND721.6 billion ($31.37 million), up 96 per cent against the corresponding period in the previous year. Its after-tax profit reached VND242.9 billion ($10.56 million), an increase of 73 per cent on-year.

Elsewhere, VPS Securities JSC achieved revenues of VND1.22 trillion ($53 million) and after-tax profit of VND133.5 billion ($5.8 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020 alone, slight increases of 0.62 and 15.03 per cent on-year, respectively. This has led to VPS recording stable income from securities brokerage in the quarter, especially in derivative securities.

Saigon-Hanoi Securities JSC also posted positive performance. According to its fourth-quarter financial statement, the company achieved operating revenues in 2020 of VND683.8 billion ($29.73 million), more than three times the figure of 2019. Meanwhile, its after-tax profit reached VND348.6 billion ($15.16 million), more than 9.6 times than a year earlier.

Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation recorded a net revenue of VND514 billion ($22.35 million) and after-tax profit of VND137 billion ($5.96 million) in the fourth quarter, up 54 and 8 per cent, respectively. In 2020, the firm achieved VND1.59 trillion ($69.13 million) in revenues, an increase of 26 per cent compared to the whole of 2019.

Agribank Securities JSC (AGR) also achieved more than VND120 billion ($5.2 million) of profit, equalling 140 per cent of its initial forecast. Along with that, AGR shares also surged by more than 300 per cent since the furious fall into a bear market in March, making it one of the five stocks with the strongest increase during the year.

VietinBank Securities JSC meanwhile recorded a profit of VND128.18 billion ($5.57 million) for the whole year thanks to a sudden bump in the final quarter.

Elsewhere, an influx of foreign-invested brokerages, especially from South Korea and Taiwan, has also pushed the expansion of international know-how and standards as demand increased dramatically. For instance, Mirae Asset Securities Vietnam is currently the largest margin-trading brokerage, the second-largest firm in terms of charter capital and total assets, and among the top 7 in terms of market share. Its profit in 2020 reached VND500 billion ($21.7 million), from VND376 billion ($16.3 million) in 2019.

KB Securities Vietnam – a subsidiary of South Korean financial behemoth KB Group – reported its profit in 2020 reaching VND168 billion ($7.3 million), up around 60 per cent on-year.

Meanwhile, KIS Securities from South Korea also achieved VND207 billion ($9 million) in profit last year, equivalent to a nearly 63-per-cent-increase compared to 2019.

Kwangju Bank also plans to raise JB Securities Vietnam’s charter capital to VND 600 billion ($26.1 million). In 2019, the South Korean lender Kwangju Bank purchased Morgan Stanley’s Vietnam-based subsidiary Morgan Stanley Gateway Securities JSC for VND382.4 billion ($16.63 million).

After acquiring An Nam Securities, Shinhan Vietnam Securities also boosted its activities with a capital hike to VND812.6 billion ($35.3 million). Shinhan is now planning to raise more funds to capitalise on the Vietnamese market. Experts said ultra-low interest rates in South Korea have pushed brokerages to find another promising land.

Public investment a strong pillar for economic growth

Amid the health crisis hurting the domestic economy where private investment remains difficult to attract, Vietnam will continue beefing up public investment in a bid to hit its economic growth goal for this year.

Earlier, in June 2020, the National Assembly Standing Committee also converted the construction of three out of eight expressway projects, which are also parts of the eastern cluster of the North-South Expressway project, from PPP into public investment. These three projects, whose construction has been expedited, are Mai Son-National Highway No.45 (63.4km), Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet (106km), and Phan Thiet-Dau Giay (98km).

According to the Project Management Unit No.6 under the Ministry of Transport, the shift from PPP into public investment for these projects will help boost the disbursement of public investment, lure private investment, and spur on local production, as well as generate employment for local labourers. This will also help expand economic growth rate, which the government is targeted at 6.5% for this year.

Last November, the National Assembly passed a plan for boosting public investment for 2021. Accordingly, total capital from the state budget for 2021 will be VND477.3 trillion (US$20.75 billion), up 1.4% against the similar plan for 2020. In which, money from the central budget will increase 0.9% year-on-year, and money from the local coffers will climb 1.9% year-on-year.

The VND477.3 trillion (US$20.75 billion) public investment capital will be used for many types of projects. For instance, as much as VND16 trillion (US$695.65 million) will be earmarked for national target programmes, some VND15.038 trillion (US$653.82 million) will go to the project on constructing the North-South Expressway; VND4.66 trillion (US$202.6 million) will be used for the project on land compensation and resettlement for the Long Thanh International Airport; about VND2.8 trillion (US$121.74 million) will be for developing coastal roads; and around 4.7 trillion (US$204.34 million) for supporting localities in deploying a number of key new infrastructure projects.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in 2021, these new investment capital sums, in addition to capital attracted from private investors, will help to complete the construction of the eastern cluster of the North-South Expressway project, the national coastal road line, connection road lines, airports, and seaports.

An MPI leader stated that in the context of numerous difficulties induced by the health crisis, expanding public investment “will be among the most feasible measures to develop the economy and facilitate it to reach the economic growth in 2021.”

“Normally it would take several years to complete procedures for a PPP project, so public investment is now a more feasible solution,” he said.

According to the Asian Development Bank, the government should accelerate public investment as one of the key pillars for economic growth in this year and beyond.

Figures from the Ministry of Finance showed that by late 2020, close to VND390 trillion (US$16.95 billion), tantamount to 82.8% of the plan allocated, was disbursed. This has been the highest disbursement rate in the 2016-2020 period – with 80.3% in 2016, 73.3% in 2017, 66.87% in 2018, and 67.46% in 2019.

Reality has shown that since early 2020, a slew of state-funded projects, mostly infrastructure ones, have come into operation, facilitating national socio-economic development.

For example, in early January 2021, the first-phase construction for the Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai province was kicked off. The port is estimated to cost VND336.63 trillion (US$14.64 billion), with over VND109 trillion (US$4.74 billion) to be needed for the first phase.

In another case, in October 2020 the 5.37 km Mai Dich-South Thang Long flyover at Pham Van Dong street in Hanoi was opened to traffic, helping reduce heavy traffic jams in the area.

Another project of the type was inaugurated in August 2020, costing about VND560 billion (US$24.3 million), crossing Hoang Quoc Viet and Nguyen Van Huyen streets in the capital city.

At the recent 13th National Party Congress in Hanoi, the Central Party Committee passed a hallmark report on assessing the results of the implementation of socio-economic development tasks for the 2016-2020 period and socio-economic development orientations and tasks for the 2021-2025 period. The report stated that public investment will be “effectively restructured and reduced in the total development capital structure.”

“Public investment will be concentrated into key sectors of the economy, key works and projects which have spillover effects and can create socio-economic development momentum, and create breakthroughs in wooing investment capital from local and foreign private sources under the PPP form,” the report stated.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s main instrument for macromonitoring has been the speedier implementation of the public investment programme, which has been plagued by slow disbursement in the last few years. As a result, total public investment disbursements increased from VND192 trillion (US$8.34 billion) in the first three quarters of 2019 to VND269 trillion (US$11.7 billion) during the same period in 2020 – a rise of 40%.

“Such effort, principally from the central government, has translated into an increase of investment expenditures from 4.8% of GDP to 6.5 of GDP between the first nine months of 2019 and 2020, supporting aggregate demand through the multiplier effects on suppliers and jobs over time,” stated a World Bank report on Vietnam’s economy 2020. “With any stimulus programme, the role of public investment is not just to directly stimulate the economy, but also to crowd in private investment.”

Vietnam’s economic growth hit 2.91% last year, significantly fueled by an expansion in public investment, which has helped create massive employment and consumed a great volume of materials and inputs in the economy, such as electricity, steel, and cement.

For example, figures from Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) showed that the group’s produced and imported electricity output in 2020 was 247.08 billion kWh, and its commercial electricity output reached 216.95 billion kWh, up 2.9 and 3.42%, respectively, as compared to 2019.

In the first 11 months of 2020, its public investment disbursement reached VND521.2 billion (US$22.66 million), hitting 73.6% against the initial plan allocated by the government.

According to the MPI, in such a number of big projects as the eastern cluster of the North-South Expressway project, the disbursed capital as of late December 2020 totalled VND9.96 trillion (US$433 million) out of VND10.8 trillion (US$470 million) for 11 sub-projects in last year, equal to 92.21%.

Some sub-projects (Cao Bo-Mai Son, Cam Lo-La Son, My Thuan 2 Bridge, and two leading roads) in public investment form expensed VND2.64 trillion (US$115 million) out of VND2.81 trillion (US$122 million) in 2020’s capital plan, tantamount to 94.18%.

HoSE’s raising of standard trading lot to 1,000 could bar small investors

If the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE) proceeds with its plan to raise the minimum volume of shares that can be traded in an order from 100 to 1,000 to address its trading system overload, it could leave huge negative impacts on small investors and prompt many of them to leave the bourse, according to experts and investors in the field.

Thao, the owner of an eatery in HCMC’s Thu Duc City, told VnExpress that she has topped-up VND20 million to her online trading account, which she opened just a couple of days ago and she planned to start trading on the southern bourse today, March 3.

However, last night, she learned that HoSE is weighing extending the size of the standard lot.

She originally wanted to purchase the stocks of four major businesses, namely Vinamilk, The Gioi Di Dong, Vingroup and Novaland. But if HoSE effects the change, she as an inexperienced investor could only buy stocks priced below VND20,000 with the amount of money, or has to have at least VND78 million to buy shares of the real estate developer Novaland or even over VND100 million for each of the other big stocks.

“Such amounts are too huge for new investors like me,” she told the paper.

Commenting on the issue, Dr. Tran Xuan Nam, chairman of Saonam Consulting Company, said that HoSE’s plan was going against a common trend under which the stock market is set to become a platform channeling long- and medium-term capital from the widespread public into the economy.

Nam added that the local stock market could experience a strong sell-off before the plan is executed. Further, the stock market operators would need a long time to regain the trust of and entice investors to rejoin the market.

Earlier, Le Hai Tra, general director of HoSE, shared the plan with the local media, saying that once the plan takes effect, small investors would receive better protection by investing in exchanged traded funds. Also, this would promote the growth of the fund management sector and increase the number of professional investors in line with the Government’s goal.

Further, the change in the standard trading lot could reduce some 50% in the number of trading orders, paving the way for the market turnover to reach higher levels, Tra said.

Expert suggests developing second airport for Hanoi area

The annual capacity of the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi should be doubled to 50 million passengers as originally planned, and a second airport needs to be built in the southern part of the Hanoi City area, instead of doing research over a second airport in 2040, said an expert.

Architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, put forward this proposal at a conference held on March 3 on the national airport development plan in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, reported Tuoi Tre Online.

Chinh said that if the Noi Bai airport’s capacity is raised to 100 million passengers per year, it is a must to build a metro line linking to the airport, develop two more ring roads and an elevated road above Vo Nguyen Giap street and other infrastucture facilities, which could spoil the capital city’s urban planning and lead to extremely dense traffic facing the north of the Red River.

Accordingly, he proposed developing the second airport in the southern part of Hanoi to promote the growth of this area.

Some locations such as Ung Hoa in Hanoi, Thanh Mien in Hai Duong Province and Phu Ly in Ha Nam Province could be considered to build the airport, Chinh suggested.

In response, Nguyen Bach Tung, deputy head of the Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau, under the Transport Ministry, agreed with the suggestion to research an appropriate location to build the second airport in the Hanoi area.

HCMC implements seaport fee collection plan

The government of HCMC has executed a resolution on introducing levels of fees for using infrastructure facilities and public services at seaport terminals in the city, reported Phap Luat Online.

The municipal government asked the relevant agencies to implement the resolution effectively within their authority.

Earlier, the HCMC People’s Council passed a plan of the HCMC People’s Committee on collecting infrastructure fees at seaports, starting from July 1 this year.

According to the plan, the lowest fee is VND15,000 per ton and the highest is VND4.4 million for a 40-foot container.

Revenue from the seaport infrastructure fees will be contributed to the State budget. Fee collectors will take a maximum 1.5% of the total revenue.

The seaport fee collection is aimed at creating a budget to develop the road system near seaports, to ease traffic congestion and to enhance the goods transport capacity, contributing to the city’s development.

‘Workation’: The rise of a hybrid travel trend after the pandemic

According to the survey, 52% of Vietnamese travelers have already considered booking somewhere to stay in order to work from a different destination, while 57% would be willing to quarantine if they could work remotely.

A recently survey conducted by Booking.com showed that workcation looks set to form a key part of people future travels, at least for the next couple of years.

‘Workation’, as the word suggests, is ‘Work’ + ‘Vacation’ and involves working away from office, blending leisure with business. While not a completely new concept, it seems to garner the attention of travelers worldwide since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year that meant working from home was the new normal.

According to the survey, 52% of Vietnamese travelers have already considered booking somewhere to stay in order to work from a different destination, while 57% would be willing to quarantine if they could work remotely.

“Remote working is becoming a likely long-term reality as health and safety is a top priority in the current environment,” Anthony Lu, Regional Director, Vietnam at Booking.com said.

He also predicts that instead of hotel, more work-friendly  accommodation alternatives, like homes and apartments will be on high demand by for both business and leisure travelers who are looking to work remotely.

In addition, more and more travelers think that having relaxing  while during a business trip is an essential, especially on the “new normal” of working  after Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, 58% of Vietnamese travelers on the survey said they would take the opportunity to extend any business trip so that they could schedule some leisure time. Many are also likely to add a week or two to their holiday in order to work remotely.

Although working from one’s own home has its perks in the coming time, people still want to book somewhere to stay for a welcome change of scenery.

Laptops become the newest travel necessity of 2021, with 61% agreeing that due to the increase in working from home and reliance on technology, business travel will be considered less essential than before. Instead, “workation” may become more prevalent and preferable.

These travelers are mostly looking for accommodation that has home office facilities, fast WiFi and most importantly, a spectacular view or cozy area to help make the workday fly by. Good health and safety precautions at each destination is again a top priority. It is tough to focus on work if our mind is caught up with safety or security concerns around the property.

“There is always a way to jazz up work and yet achieve your travel passion, now more than ever. Travelers could now set themselves free from the long-working time of nine hours for five consecutive days at the office because they can work from anywhere,” experts from Booking.com said.

Vietnam holds potential to become new destination for global investors

Vietnam is currently home to 100 Swiss firms with a combined investment capital of nearly US$2 billion, including major names such as Nestle, Novatis, Roche, Holcim, and ABB.

Given the country’s positive progress in global economic integration, Vietnam holds potential to become new destination for global investors.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan made the statement in an online conference discussing Vietnam’s market economy on March 2 to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Switzerland diplomatic relation (1971-2021).

“While the global economy fell into a recession, Vietnam’s effective measures against the Covid-19 pandemic has helped the local economy maintained a positive growth of 2.9% in 2020,” noted Lan.

“The country’s strong efforts in digitalizing its economy and the technology competent workforce are plus points,” she continued.

Echoing Lan’s view, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam Nguyen Duc Thuong noted Vietnam has a huge network of industrial parks nationwide and extensive economic partnership with over 50 economies around the world, making the country an attractive investment destination.

According to Thuong, Switzerland is one of Vietnam’s major trading partners and its sixth largest European investor, for which 100 Swiss firms are currently operating in the country with a combined investment capital of nearly US$2 billion, focusing on manufacturing and processing, electricity.

International Business Advisor of consulting firm Dezan Shira & Associates Filippo Bortoletti said 112 countries and territories are having investment projects in Vietnam, while opportunities continue to arise given the country opening up for more business fields from electronic technology, chemicals to material production.

Marketing Manager of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Nguyen Chi Toan attributed the country’s political stability, a large market and high-skilled labor force as factors to help attract FDI.

“There has been a shift in customer behavior towards online platform, which contributes to the digital transformation process,” he suggested.

Giving a more detail look on the operation of Swiss companies in Vietnam, Supply Chain Director of Nestle Vietnam Will Mackereth said the company is employing nearly 4,000 workers and remains among top three most efficient branches of the corporation worldwide.

According to Mackereth, Vietnam is one of Asian hubs for production and trade.

Two co-founders of The Happy Turtle Straw of Axel Armellin-Nguyen and Nhat Vuong said more local customers are turning to green products, which create room for the company to expand other green product lines of shoes and face masks made from coffee slurry, or straw, knives and forks from bamboo.

Slow digital transformation might mean bankruptcy for small-scaled businesses

The digital transformation process normally takes place under the two forms of implementing digital technologies into the existing business model or completely reforming the operation model and business structure.

Dr. Trung shared that even though digital transformation has appeared in the world for over 10 years, most companies choose the form as a situational solution only.

A recent research co-conducted by RMIT University experts and KPMG Audit Co. reveals that foreign-invested enterprises and large private corporations in Vietnam are going through this process smoothly. Sadly, state businesses and small- and middle-scaled enterprises are just at the beginning stage.

Adding to this tardiness are the adverse effects of Covid-19 pandemic on business activities, creating several challenges in administration performance.

Finally, among small- and middle-scaled enterprises, there are always obstacles from weak competitiveness ability, low creativity, difficulties in approaching capital sources, and high overhead cost.

“These issues might lead to even more trouble if each business and the Government do not apply suitable policies to tackle”, said Dr. Trung.

He firmly stated that implementing digital technologies is unavoidable if enterprises want to maintain their operation in this Industry 4.0, and this should be done as soon as possible.

Even in this harsh time, there are more and more novel business models related to digital technologies appearing worldwide. Admittedly, various kinds of trouble are preventing many companies from carrying out the digital transformation process. However, worse than the pandemic itself, slowness in applying these new models would no doubt lead many small businesses to bankruptcy.

Insiders make suggestions to maintain sustainable export growth

Vietnamese enterprises should take advantage of online marketing channels, re-arrange production and business orientations and strategies, and bring into full play advantages brought by free trade agreements if they want to achieve sustainable export growth, according to insiders.

Statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) shows that Vietnam’s import-export value reached 95.8 billion USD in the first two months of 2021, up 24.5 percent year-on-year. Of the total, exports were valued at 48.55 billion USD, up 23.2 percent, and imports 47.26 billion USD, up 25.9 percent.

During January-February, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 1.29 billion USD, down from the 1.8 billion USD seen in the same period last year. The domestic sector posted a trade deficit of 4.14 billion USD, while the FDI sector, including crude oil, saw a trade surplus of 5.43 billion USD.

At the Government’s February regular meeting, MoIT Minister Tran Tuan Anh set a target of 4-5 percent in export growth in 2021.

To that end, MoIT Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung said that the ministry is considering a new strategy on import-export activities in the coming time to be submitted to the Prime Minister for issuance.

In addition, the ministry will continue engaging in negotiations and perfecting relevant institutions on free trade agreements (FTAs), including issues related to the rule of origins so as to help business better optimize advantages of the agreements.

It will also consolidate and expand export markets, bring into full play opportunities brought about by existing FTAs, diversify import and export markets, diversify exported products, increase the competitiveness of exported products, and develop brands so as to achieve sustainable export development, Hung added./.

Hanoi licenses 22 new FDI projects in February

A total of 22 foreign investment projects were granted new licenses in Hanoi during February, with a combined registered capital of U$12.1 million, according to information released at a recent press conference held by the municipal People’s Committee.

The opening two months of the year witnessed the total registered capital of newly established FDI projects and additionally increased capital projects reach a sum of US$58.9 million.

Furthermore, the capital has allowed two domestic investment projects to make use of non-budget capital, with newly registered capital and increased capital reaching VND2.879 billion.

Most notably, the reviewed period saw roughly 3,415 enterprises being established, with registered capital reaching VND36.6 billion, a decline of 8% in terms of the number of enterprises and a 54% fall in registered capital compared to the same period from last year.

Despite being affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the economic situation in the capital has yielded a number of positive results, including many outstanding indexes being recorded throughout the two-month period.

The total state budget revenue in the capital by the end of February stood at VND50.839 billion, accounting for 20.2% of the estimate.

Moreover, both January and February witnessed the strong recovery of export and import activities, with export turnover in February posting a year-on-year rise of 10.7%.

Banks plan to attract foreign capital

A number of banks continue planning to raise capital this year to improve their financial capacity and many have already deployed plans to attract more foreign capital.

The shareholders of Viet Capital Bank have approved the plan to issue additional shares of up to a maximum of VND1 trillion ($43.5 million) in the first quarter.

At the same time, the bank has just closed the list of shareholders whose written opinions will be requested on the plan to set the maximum foreign ownership limit at 30 per cent to attract additional foreign capital while improving financial capacity and competitiveness.

Nam A Bank is implementing a plan to increase its charter capital to VND7 trillion ($304.35 million), including a plan to issue 57 million shares, equivalent to VND570 billion ($24.8 million), to pay dividends at the rate of 12.4878 per cent and offer for sale 143 million individual shares, equivalent to VND1.43 trillion ($62.17 million).

In addition, the bank is also completing the application to list shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX), instead of trading on the UpCom where it is traded at around VND14,200 (62 US cents).

Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) said that the bank plans to sell another 10 per cent of its shares to foreign investors after completing the deal to sell a 15 per cent to Aozora Bank from Japan in June 2020.

Sacombank (SCB) also said that they continue to improve their financial capacity and competitiveness. Accordingly, the bank has submitted to an extraordinary general meeting a plan to increase charter capital by VND5 trillion ($217.4 million) at the end of 2020. The move has increased its charter capital from VND15.23 trillion to VND20.23 trillion ($662.17-879.57 million).

Previously, Sacombank also announced that it was negotiating with foreign strategic partners to sell part of its capital in order to improve its financial potential after completing the restructuring and listing on the stock exchange.

According to the provisions of Decree No.01/2014/ND-CP, the ownership ratio of a foreign strategic investor must not exceed 20 per cent of the charter capital of a Vietnamese credit institution, and the total share ownership ratio of foreign investors in a domestic credit institution must not exceed 30 per cent of capital.

Currently, many Vietnamese banks are looking to fill up their foreign ownership rooms. At restructuring banks or the three zero-dong banks, foreign partners can buy 100 per cent of the capital with the consent of the government.

On the other hand, according to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), European banks will be able to increase their shareholding rate in two Vietnamese banks to up to 49 per cent without waiting for a decision to increase the foreign ownership limit. This commitment does not apply to the four state-run banks of BIDV, VietinBank, Vietcombank, and Agribank.

Ho Chi Minh City urges on 32 long-delayed real estate projects

At a recent meeting between Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and real estate developers, 32 long-delayed projects by 21 developers were discussed to bring about breakthroughs in development.

Novaland had the largest number of projects under discussion by the central and local authorities, with 10 of the 32 projects bearing their logo. These projects include Co Giang apartment building in District 1, the officetel and apartment building at 151 Ben Van Don Street in District 4, a 30 hectare project in Binh Khanh commune of District 2, and seven other projects in Phu Nhuan district.

The Co Giang apartment building in District 1 was handed over land by Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and the local Department of Construction has granted a construction licence for the project.

The officetel and apartment building at 151 Ben Van Don Street in District 4 has already been approved for land use right taxation.

In the 30ha project in Binh Khanh commune of District 2, legal procedures are being reviewed together with the larger project of Thu Thiem New Urban Area (where this project is located). At the same time, the local authorities are looking for solutions to help achieve a breakthrough at the project.

Seven other projects are being reviewed by local authorities.

Him Lam Land’s Him Lam residential project in District 9 (Thu Duc City) and Saigonres’ two projects were also on the agenda for having legal difficulties. Le Thanh Construction-Trading Co., Ltd. and Phu Long Real Estate Corporation have two projects each.

According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, the key problems of those projects are mainly related to the slow process of calculating land use rights. Because of this, developers cannot pay tax and be approved for construction and granting red books to buyers.

Representing the developers, Chau suggested Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to issue guidelines to pave the way for projects which include public land. These projects have been delayed for a long time as they consist of small land plots under the management of the state and they cannot get the whole project cleared for construction.

“Local authorities should consider these projects case by case and submit their proposals to the committee to collect the public land plots and hand them over to developers,” Chau said.

Other solutions proposed included removing administrative procedures, setting out a priority list to grant red books to end-users as soon as possible.

He also suggested the committee to set up City Architect Consultant Bureau which can help solve prolonged delays.

The committee’s chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong assigned local authorities to submit a report on each project, talking with developers to ensure their projects can recommence at the soonest.

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

HÀ NỘI — The World Bank, acting on behalf of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has signed a grant worth US$11.3 million with the State Bank of Việt Nam to support the development of a commercial financing market for industrial energy efficiency investments.

The total financing from the GCF also includes a $75 million guarantee.

Out of the grant, $8.3 million will be used to build capacities for the private sector to identify, appraise and execute energy efficiency projects.

It will also provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and authorities to strengthen policy frameworks and regulations and create an enabling environment to accelerate the energy efficiency market in Việt Nam.

The remaining grant funds and the guarantee will be used to establish a risk-sharing facility to provide partial credit guarantees to support local banks who may risk potential defaults on loans for energy efficiency projects.

By reducing lending risks, the facility is expected to mobilise about $250 million of commercial financing to be provided to industrial enterprises and energy service companies at competitive terms and with low collateral requirements.

Carolyn Turk, Country Director for the World Bank in Việt Nam, said: “Scaling up energy efficiency is the single best and lowest cost option to achieve multiple goals at once: meeting energy demand, preventing pollution and reducing greenhouses emission while also increasing industry competitiveness.”

“Against the context of limited public financing for energy, the risk-sharing facility is an innovative financial instrument to crowd in private sector investment financing for a greater uptake of industry-wide energy efficiency measures,” she added.

The grant and guarantee are executed under the ‘Việt Nam Scaling up Energy Efficiency Project’ which aims to support the country in achieving energy efficiency targets in the Green Growth Strategy as well as emission reduction objectives under the National Determined Contributions.

According to the World Bank, as a country whose level of energy intensity and emission intensity is among the highest in the region, Việt Nam is actively embarking on the green energy transition and decarbonisation pathway.

The World Bank’s Low Carbon Study estimates Việt Nam could save up to 11 GW of new generation capacity by 2030 if comprehensive demand-side energy efficiency investments are carried out. The energy efficiency investment need for key industries in Viet Nam has been estimated at around $3.6 billion. — VNS

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese shares trimmed early gains on Monday with the VN-Index closing lower as banking stocks came under selling pressure towards the final minutes of trading.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange edged down 0.04 per cent to close at 1,168.27 points.

It had risen 0.02 per cent last week.

More than 652.7 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ15.6 trillion (US$673.9 million).

Market breadth was positive with 274 gaining stocks and 183 losers.

After the lunch break, the market fluctuated in a quite negative direction as many banking stocks dropped sharply and pushed the VN-Index down to the reference level.

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) fell 2 per cent to VNĐ31,800 per share, VPBank (VPB) lost by 1.1 per cent to VNĐ41,350 per share, Vietcombank (VCB) declined by 1.5 per cent to VNĐ95,200 per share and Techcombank (TCB) dropped by 0.9 per cent to VNĐ38,850 per share.

On the opposite side, the oil and gas sector increased, becoming one of the best-performing sectors in Việt Nam on Monday, data on vietstock.vn showed.

Vietnamese oil and gas stocks grew well, including PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX), PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation (PVD), PetroVietnam Power Corp (POW), and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS).

“The market was moving sideways around 1,168 points. Liquidity increased slightly from the previous session and market breadth was positive, showing that investment cash flow is spreading,” said BIDV Securities Co.

“Foreigners were net sellers on both HoSE and HNX. The VN-Index is likely to consolidate in the range of 1,160-1,200 points in the coming sessions,” said the company.

Foreign investors net sold VNĐ1.25 trillion on HOSE, including PVPower (POW) (VNĐ212.8 billion), Vinamilk (VNM) (VNĐ203.9 billion) and Hòa Phát Group (HPG) (VNĐ171.5 billion). Foreigners were net sellers on the HNX to the tune of VNĐ9.56 billion.

The large-cap tracker VN30-Index gained 0.33 per cent to stay at 1,170 points.

Seventeen of the 30 large-cap stocks in the VN30 basket decreased while 12 climbed.

In the VN-30 basket, Masan Group (MSN) was the biggest decliner with a 2 per cent drop, Vinhomes (VHM), Vietcombank (VCB), VPBank (VPB), Mobile World Group (MWG) and Khang Điền House (KDH) all lost more than 1 per cent.

In contrast, PVPower (POW) maintained its uptrend momentum of a more than 5 per cent increase, PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS) advanced 2 per cent, while Novaland (NVL) and The Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) both climbed 1 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index rallied 1.39 per cent to end Monday at 263.42 points.

More than 144.7 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth VNĐ2.1 trillion. — VNS

The provision includes a $8.3 million grant used to build private sector capacity to execute energy efficiency projects, the bank said in a statement.

It will also provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant authorities to strengthen policy frameworks on energy efficiency.

The remaining amount will be used to establish a risk sharing facility to provide credit guarantees to support local banks in providing loans for energy efficiency projects.

By reducing lending risks, the facility is expected to mobilize around $250 million of commercial financing to be provided to industrial enterprises and energy service companies at competitive terms and with low collateral requirements.

“Scaling up energy efficiency is the single best and lowest cost option to achieve multiple goals at once: meeting energy demand, preventing pollution and reducing greenhouses emission while also increasing industry competitiveness,” said World Bank country director for Vietnam, Carolyn Turk.

The World Bank estimates that Vietnam could save up to 11 gigawatt of new generation capacity by 2030 if comprehensive demand-side energy efficiency investments are carried out.

The energy efficiency investment need for key industries in Vietnam has been estimated at around $3.6 billion.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on March 9, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The country recorded 1,586 domestically-transmitted infections, including 893 cases since the latest outbreak began on January 27.

As many as 45,219 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 506 in hospitals, 14,266 in other quarantine sites, and 30,446 at home.

Among the patients under treatment, 65 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 57 twice, and 137 thrice.

The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,920 patients have been declared to be clear of the coronavirus so far.

Vietnam launched its COVID-19 vaccination programme on March 8, with healthcare workers being first in the queue. They received AstraZeneca vaccine shots, which was granted the Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged from 18.

In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration)./.

Dozens of illegal immigrants found in border provinces

Police in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang have detected tens of Chinese citizens illegally entering Vietnam.

The provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control said on March 8 that 34 illegal Chinese immigrants had been sent to concentrated quarantine facilities and tested for COVID-19. Further investigation and contact tracing are underway.

Local authorities and residents were asked to stay vigilant and follow pandemic preventive measures.

Earlier on March 4 and 7, police in Chau Doc city found automobiles carrying seven and 13 Chinese nationals, respectively, who were attempting to leave for Cambodia.

Two vehicles carrying 14 Chinese people en route from Chau Doc city to Ho Chi Minh City were detected on March 6. The passengers’ travel history is being further investigated.

Meanwhile, police of the northern border province of Cao Bang on March 8 said that 22 illegal Chinese immigrants were recently brought to quarantine centres over COVID-19 concerns.

The immigrants were caught in the province’s Trung Khanh district and failed to show legal immigration documents./.

Vietnam, Indonesia hold potential for further economic cooperation: Ambassador

Trade relations between Vietnam-Indonesia is expected to return to the upward trend from 2021 and onward, especially as the two are relatively complementary economies.

While Vietnam and Indonesia are two major partners for each other in the region and of the world, there remains huge potential for both countries to boost trade and economic cooperation.

Indonesia’s Ambassador to Vietnam Denny Abdi gave the remarks at a meeting with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh on March 8.

According to Abdi, despite the severe Covid-19 impacts, Vietnam remained the only country in the Southeast Asia with a positive economic growth, saying he is committed to further boost bilateral economic relations.

For his part, Deputy Minister Khanh stressed Indonesia is one of Vietnam’s key partners not only in the Southeast Asia, but also of the world.

“Over the years, Indonesia and Vietnam have been closely cooperating in both bilateral and multilateral channels, including major cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN, WTO or RCEP,” said Khanh.

Khanh added since the establishment of the bilateral strategic partnership in 2013, two-way trade turnover grew from US$5 billion to US$9 billion in 2019.

While the figure has slightly declined in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, Khanh expected trade relations between Vietnam-Indonesia would return to the upward trend from 2021 and onward, especially as the two are relatively complementary economies.

Defendants in Dong Tam case ask for sentence reduction

Defendants at the court (Photo: VNA)

The defendants lodging appeals consist of Le Dinh Cong, Le Dinh Chuc, Le Dinh Doanh, Bui Viet Hieu, Nguyen Quoc Tien, and Bui Thi Noi.

At the first-instance trial held in September last year, the Hanoi People’s Court handed down penalties to 29 defendants.

Found guilty of “murder”, Cong and Chuc were sentenced to death, Doanh life imprisonment, Hieu 16 years in prison, and Tien 13 years behind bars.

With the same offence, Nguyen Van Tuyen received a penalty of 12 years in jail.

Accused of “resisting on-duty officers”, 23 other defendants were given sentences of between 15 months’ probation to six years in prison. Among them, Bui Thi Noi was imprisoned for six years.

Cong, who was sentenced to death in the first-instance trial for masterminding the murder of public security officers and assigning tasks to other defendants, said that he was only guilty of resisting on-duty officers and asked the appeal court to lessen his sentence.

Meanwhile, Chuc, Doanh, Hieu and Tien also proposed the High-level People’s Court in Hanoi reduce sentences against them.

Only defendant Noi disagreed with the trial court’s six-month sentence for “resisting on-duty officers” and asked the appeal court to reconsider it.

The six defendants accused of “murder” had closely colluded with others who were key members of a so-called “group of consensus” led by Le Dinh Kinh. Kinh was shot dead while holding a grenade and calling on others to resist on-duty officers.

Cong was the leader and often incited others to kill police officers by posting video clips and livestreaming on social networks. He also threatened to bomb power stations and kill 300-500 police officers, assigned tasks to other defendants, and actively performed these acts.

He also directed and contributed money to buy petrol and grenades, guided others how to make petrol bombs and tinder, and directly threw petrol bombs and grenades toward on-duty officers./.

HCM City to focus on major, urgent transport projects

Ho Chi Minh City will focus investment on major and urgent transportation projects facilitating regional connectivity, heard a working session of the municipal People’s Committee’s working group on the 2021 plan of the municipal Department of Transport on March 8.

Tran Quang Lam, Director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that the city will speed up the preparation of investment and propose investment plans for major and urgent projects linking regional localities as well as industrial parks and clusters, as well as export processing zones and seaports.

The projects include Belt Roads No. 2 and 3, HCM City-Moc Bai Expressway, Nguyen Khoai road’s bridge, National Highways No. 50 and 22, Can Gio bridge, and overhead roads.

At the same time, the city will launch infrastructure serving the eastern interactive urban area – Thu Duc city, while applying measures to speed up the progress of important projects.

Lam said that the department will coordinate with the Department of Planning and Architecture and the People’s Committee of Thu Duc city as well as districts to adjust their transport infrastructure planning, especially for projects linking regions of the city as well as between the city and provinces in the southern key economic region.

At the session, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoa Binh asked the Department of Transport to pay greater attention to transport connectivity projects, especially those connecting with Long An, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces. Meanwhile, the department should also focus on waterway projects which serve the connection with southern localities., he said.

Hanoi to relocate polluting factories from downtown in 2021-25

Hanoi has set up a list of 90 industrial establishments that have to be moved out of the inner city.

In the period of 2021-2025, all polluting factories will be moved out of Hanoi’s downtown as planned, according to Director of the Hanoi Department of Construction Vo Nguyen Phong.

Although the municipal People’s Committee has issued guidance on the relocation of industrial facilities that are not consistent with the planning. However, the process of the relocation has been deadlocked, Phong said.

He explained that the relocation of polluting factories out of Hanoi’s downtown has been facing with many hurdles, including the laborers’ reticence to commute longer, the owners’ financial shortage and lack of funding from the central and local administrations for such purpose.

Echoing Phong, former director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Trong Dong said that the facilities owners cannot afford to relocate their workplace and production and the government has not spared a budget to support the relocation.

Dong noted that so far, Hanoi has thoroughly handled 25 polluting facilities and moved 67 factories to suburban industrial clusters or neighboring provinces.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment has also set up a list of 90 industrial establishments that have to be moved out of the inner city because they are inconsistent with the city’s construction planning, Dong added.

Director of the municipal Department of Construction Vo Nguyen Phong said that Hanoi will also aggressively develop housing and urban areas in the period of 2021-2025, with priority given to housing for workers in industrial parks and high-tech zones.

Moreover, Hanoi will continue to renovate degraded and dangerous condominiums so that they would become civilized and modern urban areas, Phong stressed.

First-ever clean-up of coral reefs in Cham Islands

The Management Board of the Cham Island Marine Protected Area in Hoi An city in central Quang Nam province finished a clean-up of the seabed to protect coral reefs in the waters of Cu Lao Cham (Cham Islands) on March 8 after a couple of days.

This was the first-ever clean-up to protect the coral reefs from natural enemies and household waste.

Volunteers cleaned up coral reefs in Bai Tra, Bai Nan, Bai Xep, and Bai Bac beaches and caught crown-of-thorns starfish, a natural enemy of coral reefs.

The board also measured the vulnerability of marine ecological systems and assessed vegetation coverage to identify specific measures to protect the reefs./.

Support given to localities to fight drought, water shortages, saltwater intrusion

Localities stricken by serious drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion will receive funding from the central budget to deal with these issues.

Under a decision signed recently by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, beneficiaries are to include organisations managing and using irrigation facilities and rural water facilities, as well as other relevant units.

People’s Committees in districts and communes facing water shortages have been directed to adopt urgent solutions in the fight.

With the financial support, localities in the central, Central Highlands, and Mekong Delta regions must extend water pipes, purchase water containers and filters, and supply water to local residents, hospitals, and schools in disadvantaged areas.

Notably, the central and Mekong Delta regions will receive funding for the building of anti-intrusion dams and water reservoirs.

Funding for mountainous and Central Highlands localities will not exceed 70 percent of their actual spending.

Funding for other localities is to not surpass 50 percent of their spending on the fight./

Hanoi to issue 10 working programs in 2021

The working programs aim at building the capital into a comprehensively developed city ensuring welfare for the residents.

Members of the Hanoi Party Committee have discussed about ten working programs, which will be carried out this year to ensure the city’s socio-economic development amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The programs target to build the municipal Party Committee and administration into apparatuses with stronger leadership capacity, high combat strength and a clean, strong and exemplary political system, as well as to quickly and sustainably build the capital city into a green, smart and modern urban area with high competitiveness in the country and the region.

It also aims at concentrating on improving cultural development and human resources, and maintaining the elegant style of Hanoians, boosting the development of science and technology and creativeness as well as improving social welfare and living standards of local residents.

At a meeting on March 6 in Hanoi, the Standing Board of the Hanoi Party Committee agreed on the basis of reviewing the draft before submitting them to the municipal Party Executive Committee for consideration and approval at the conference scheduled to take place on March 10.

The board will hand over the draft documents to delegates for studying in advance so that they can better contribute to the discussions at the conference.

Vietnamese cuisine introduced at Singapore Francophonie Festival

Vietnamese traditional dishes and products are being introduced at the Francophonie Festival 2021 that opened on March 8 in Singapore.

The festival, themed “Gender Equality,” draws the participation of 21 countries. It has 16 major activities, including film, food and fine art festivals.

Vietnam is one of the nine countries joining the food festival in the event, which has received great attention of not only the French-speaking community but also diplomatic delegations, international organisations and foreigners in Singapore.

This is a chance for Vietnam to promote a number of Vietnamese food products that have been put into the retail system in Singapore.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) comprises 88 member countries and governments from five continents. The community has a population of over 1 billion covering all five continents, with more than 300 million French-speaking people.

This is the first time that the annual festival in Singapore has been held under the sponsorship of the group of ambassadors representing 21 OIF member countries.

The event will run through March 30./.

International Women’s Day marked in Geneva

The Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva held a gathering on March 8 on the occasion of the 1981st anniversary of the Hai Ba Trung Uprising and the 111th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

Speaking at the event, head of the Vietnam’s Mission in Geneva Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai expressed pride and admiration for heroines and heroic Vietnamese mothers, female scientists, diplomats and businesswomen during the national development period.

She was also proud of Vietnam for being hailed by the international community for its achievements in gender equality and women empowerment over the past year.

In the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2020, Vietnam ranked 65th out of 162 countries and among one third of nations globally in terms of the number of female parliamentarians. The rate of female deputies in the 14th National Assembly reached 27 percent.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam attached importance to protecting women, children and vulnerable groups as well as upholding women’s role in pandemic response and post-pandemic recovery, she said.

According to the ambassador, gender equality was promoted at forums of the UN, WTO and international organisations. WTO is stepping up trade, gender equality and economic empowerment for women.

She stressed that Vietnam is ensuring women’s fair involvement in leadership positions at policymaking level, towards achieving sustainable development goals regarding gender equality and women empowerment.

Participants at the event vowed to popularise Vietnam’s policies, laws and achievements in gender equality to international friends, improve women’s fair participation in various areas, including politics and economy, as well as actively join relevant activities at Geneva forums./.

Vietnamese adopts healthier, sustainable lifestyle choices: report

Vietnam is ahead of the global average when it comes to adopting healthier and more sustainable lifestyle choices, according to a new public opinion report conducted by GlobeScan and supported by Visa.

Across the world, people have faced exceptional circumstances and have been forced to adapt to a new way of life.

In total, 27,000 people from 27 markets were asked about attitudes, opinions, and behaviors linked to enabling healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.

The report found that consumers in Vietnam were more likely to support socially responsible companies.

Some 47 percent of those surveyed in the country said they had supported a socially responsible company in the past year, against a global average of 33 percent.

People in Vietnam are much more likely to seek out information about healthy lifestyles. At least 82 percent of respondents said they had sought out information related to healthier lifestyles in the past year, well above the global average of 56 percent.

Those in Vietnam displayed a significantly higher interest in environmentally friendly lifestyle choices. At least 81 percent said they had sought out information about environmentally friendly lifestyles in the past year, versus a global average of 47 percent.

According to the survey, people in Vietnam are already taking proactive steps towards healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.

Ninety percent said they had made changes to their lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly in the past year, and 87 percent made changes to be healthier, while 84 percent were trying to become more helpful to others.

Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, said: “It is encouraging to see that consumers in Vietnam are already taking concrete steps to lead more healthy and sustainable lifestyles.”

Despite Vietnamese displaying a greater willingness to do their bit to improve their own lives, the lives of others and the environment, there is still a gap between aspiration and actual behavior.

Environmentally friendly lifestyle changes also show the same pattern. This lack of follow-through suggests there is an opportunity for guidance and solutions from key players across the world to enable healthier and more sustainable living.

This is supported by a call for greater cooperation between companies, government, NGOs and scientists to find solutions to social and environmental problems.

When asked what companies could do to help them live healthily and sustainably, people in Vietnam listed a desire for new products that are better for both people and the environment as a top priority, while affordable products and services ranked second.

With the importance of saving money, consumers rank reducing energy consumption and taking care of financial health and well-being as first and third in the list of top actions they would like to do more of in the year.

With changes to income and financial stability in the wake of the pandemic, it is likely that the priority placed on affordability will intensify.

Findings from the study also show that people are put off by actions they believe are difficult. When trying to be healthier and more sustainable, they are most likely to alter aspects of their life if they perceive it to be relatively easy to do so.

Typically, these behaviors are linked to improving personal well-being, ethical purchasing, and actions within the household (such as saving water at home, eating healthy food, choosing products with less packaging, and buying from responsible brands).

When encouraging behavior changes, evidence from this study identifies the importance of removing barriers and providing clear information./.

Domestic airlines’ on-time performance reaches 95.6 pct in two months

Vietnamese airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) reached 95.6 percent in the first two months of this year despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in several localities.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) showed that Bamboo Airways recorded the highest rate of 97.2 percent.

It was followed by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines, both with 96.7 percent; the newest carrier Vietravel Airlines, 96.5 percent; Vietjet Air 93.6 percent; and Vasco 93.3 percent.

According to experts, the average OTP was much higher than the figure of 86.2 percent recorded in the same period last year.

However, the total number of flights decreased by 36.9 percent year-on-year during the reviewed period.

The aviation sector has taken drastic measures to preventCOVID-19 as directed by the Health Ministry, the CAAV and relevant units, such as spraying disinfectant onto aircraft, offering hand sanitisers at check-in counters and free masks to passengers, and conducting regular maintenance to ensure air quality aboard./.

Diplomats commemorate fallen Algerian journalists in Vietnam

Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Vinh, along with staff from the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria and certain agencies, laid a wreath at a memorial stele on “Journalistes du Vietnam 8/3/1974” Street in the Algerian capital – Algiers – on March 7 to commemorate Algerian journalists who died in a plane crash in Vietnam in 1974.

On March 8, 1974, 15 journalists and technicians of Algerian press agencies such as El Moudjahid and APS together with nine Vietnamese journalists and three aircrew were killed in a plane crash in Hanoi’s Soc Son district while accompanying then Algerian President Houari Boumediene during an official visit to Vietnam.

To commemorate the incident, both Algeria and Vietnam erected memorial steles.

The stele in Vietnam was unveiled at the accident site in Soc Son district during a State visit by then Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in October 2000. The Algerian Government, meanwhile, built a monument and named a street “Journalistes du Vietnam (Journalists from Vietnam) 8/3/1974” in Algiers in 2013.

A wreath-laying ceremony held annually by the Vietnamese Embassy demonstrates the Vietnamese people’s tradition of expressing gratitude towards the previous generations for their contributions to the traditional friendship between the two countries and two peoples.

It is also meant to help the embassy’s staff members, especially the younger ones, and Vietnamese people in Algeria understand more about bilateral relations as well as their responsibility to unceasingly enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, which was also the task the Algerian journalists and technicians and Vietnamese journalists on the flight had been performing before the accident happened.

On March 6, Ambassador Vinh also attended a forum held by the Echaab daily to commemorate the victims of the plane crash 47 years ago./.

Science Film Festival 2021 calls for submission

The Science Film Festival 2021, organised by Germany’s Goethe Institute, is calling for submission until April 10.

The festival will take place from October 1 to December 20 with the theme “Better health through better understanding” in the context of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the crisis, physical and mental well-being are more important than ever, and this is why bringing these issues out into the open, especially at this time, is so important, and why the Science Film Festival has turned its focus to health and mental health this year.

Filmmakers, producers, distributors, and broadcasters can submit works via an online application form, with a registration deadline of April 10.

The Science Film Festival is a celebration of science communication in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. In cooperation with local partners, it promotes science literacy and facilitates awareness of contemporary scientific, technological, and environmental issues through international films with accompanying educational activities. The event has grown considerably since its first edition in 2005, becoming the largest event of its kind worldwide.

The Science Film Festival 2020 attracted over 800,000 people in 27 countries in these regions. Amid COVID-19, many films were screened online, with 200,000 views./.

Vietnamese overseas celebrate International Women’s Day

Taking place on March 7, an online charity auction in Malaysia, a meeting and musical festival in Macau (China), and a contest in Laos were among the activities held by Vietnamese overseas in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8.

The Vietnamese women’s union in Malaysia hosted the charity auction on its Facebook page, auctioning products made by female Vietnamese expatriates. In just over an hour, more than 100 different products were sold for nearly 7,500 RM (42 million VND), which was channelled into the union’s charity fund to help disadvantaged people.

The friendship association of Vietnamese in Macau, which has more than 8,000 female members, held a meeting and musical festival in a bid to cheer up participants and encourage them to overcome the difficulties amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the association of Vietnamese in Vientiane held a celebration and a contest to honour Vietnamese women in the country.

Vu Tu Oanh, a counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, lauded the female group’s contribution to the growth of the association./.

Potential insight into timeline for Vietnam to welcome back international travelers

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recently hosted a workshop aimed at discussing ways of reopening the country’s borders to international travelers providing the conditions allow.

One of the main criteria will be for inbound travelers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and have proof of inoculation before arriving in the country.

“A vaccine passport is expected to give the tourism industry a boost when it is widely applied in future,” says Pham Duy Nghia, director of Viet Foot Travel, in a recent interview with zingnews.vn.

Nghia suggests that Vietnam should strive to reopen its tourism market over the coming months when the pandemic is showing signs of abating, and citizens of various countries are already vaccinated against the virus.

In his opinion, the process of reopening the local tourism market cannot be done overnight, and this task is set to be realised only when the disease is fully kept in check and there is no longer a cause for people to worry.

Sharing the view, Dr. Luong Hoai Nam, a member of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (ATB), states that vaccinations are the only solution to keeping the virus at bay among the community, whilst they are also vital to revitalising tourism, a sector which is currently in a fragile state.

“A vaccine passport enables vaccinated citizens to travel within a country and between a country and another. Once a request for quarantine is in place, nobody wants to travel,” Dr. Nam points out.

Vietnam has been singled out internationally as a success story in the fight against COVID-19. It should press forward to seize upon this chance and utilize its competitive advantages in terms of economic development, including the recovery of the tourism industry, according to the expert.

“We cannot wait until the pandemic is completely wiped out when it comes to the reopening of the international tourism market. It’s time to think about people with a vaccine passport,” Dr. Nam stresses.

It cannot be argued that international travelers are an important part of Vietnamese tourism. When COVID-19 initially broke out, Vietnam shut its borders to prevent the spread of the virus within the community, thereby leading to domestic tourism to be priotised.

Due to this, 56 million domestic holiday-makers travelled across the country throughout 2020, an impressive figure given the fact that two COVID-19 outbreaks hit the country. Despite a 34% fall in traveler numbers, the local tourism market partly made up for the losses caused by the sharp decline in international visitors.

In contrast to the domestic tourism market, Pham Duy Nghia, director of Viet Foot Travel, believes that the arrival of international tourists plays an important role in attracting hard currency to the nation’s coffers.

“I have this simple comparison: the money 30 domestic tourists spend on services is equal to the amount spent by 10 Vietnamese guests going abroad and by three foreign tourists entering Vietnam,” says Nghia.

He anticipates that Vietnam will start to welcome the return of foreign visitors from the beginning of 2022, at a rate of approximately 30% over the same period every year. He believes that the vaccine passport will represent something of a magic wand for people looking to travel internationally.

Schools reopen in Hai Duong and Hai Phong

Schools have been reopened in the Covid-19 hot spot of Hai Duong, Hai Phong and other provinces since March 8.

Luong Van Viet, director of Hai Duong Department of Education and Training, said based on the situation, they had decided to let 12th graders and students at vocational schools in eight locations to return to school. Students living at outbreak and lockdown areas including Cam Giang Kim Thanh districts, Hai Duong city and Kinh Mon Town still are staying at home.

“Schools that fail to meet safety requirements will not be allowed to reopen. Head of the departments of education and training will take full responsibilities if cross infections are detected at schools,” the department announced.

Several schools still let students stay home for safety. Nursery, and students from first to 11th grades still stay home.

Hai Phong authorities have allowed the reopening of all schools and educational facilities from March 8.

Vu Van Tra, head of the Department of Education and Training said students would have to study harder, especially students at 9th and 12th grades in preparation for the upcoming exams. The number of subjects that students must be taken for high school entrance exams will be lowered from four to three.

Dong Thap Province is another province that reopens schools on March 8.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, schools haven’t overspent their time reserve for emergencies so the school year will end as usual.

Also on March 8, several universities and colleges in Hanoi have reopened. Some universities will extend their online courses until March 15 or 22. Hanoi Open University said they would combine both online and face-to-face courses. Hanoi University of Science & Technology will extend the online courses until March 21.

Academy of Finance announced that the university would reopen for students from March 8 to 13. FPT University will reopen for all students. Hanoi University of Industry only reopen for some students from March 8 while students on different courses will continue to study online until March 14.

Bovine skin disease continues to spread

The lumpy skin disease virus, which has been discovered in cows and buffaloes in Vietnam since mid-October, has continued spreading in Vietnam.

To date, Vietnam had hit 163 communes in 65 districts of 18 cities and provinces in Vietnam, affecting 2,200 cows and buffaloes with 300 culled.

By March 1, the disease had attacked roughly 1,000 cows and buffaloes in many districts in the central province of Ha Tinh Province and has tended to rise. The province is seeking the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the import of 5,000 doses of vaccine for the disease.

Meanwhile, the disease has also appeared in the central province of Nghe An’s Nghi Loc Commune. Initially, six cows of four households in Nghi Van Commune were diagnosed with the disease.

Lumpy skin disease virus is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is a member of the capripoxvirus genus of Poxviridae and is not infectious to humans. It is believed that arthropod vectors, direct contact, contaminated feed and water and iatrogenic means (for example, repeated use of needles on different animals) can all spread the disease.

The incubation period is between 4- and 14-days post-infection. The infection rate among cows and buffaloes is around 10-20% with 1-5% being dead.

Under the ministry’s instructions, all animals tested positive for the disease would have to be culled. Meanwhile, all cattle which have not yet been hit by the disease need to be quarantined to ensure safety.

Areas which have been affected by the disease have to set up stations for the cattle transport control.

Moc Chau’s night market, pedestrian street: a new highlight for tourists

The night market and pedestrian street in Moc Chau (Son La) are expected to come into operation in 2021, promising to become a unique space for tourists and residents.

According to the management board of Moc Chau National Tourism Zone, Moc Chau Night Market and Moc Chau Pedestrian Street will cover an area of 2.3 hectares, located in Moc Chau Farm Town, Son La province. The project takes the current Pha Luong Light Park as its core area, radiating from there in all directions.

The project is being implemented by the People’s Committee of Moc Chau district and Pha Luong Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Moc Chau pedestrian street includes a showroom introducing the Thai cultural identity, which is also a centre organisingcultural performances; a dining complex, a range of kiosks selling ethnic handicrafts; snack and fast food areas and a space for Moc Chau’s farm produce.

Each item will have its own functions, bearing the imprint of the Northwestern region. The products will showcase the cultural diversity of all ethnic groups in Moc Chau. This is not only aplace for evening entertainment but also a cultural performance space of the Moc Chau National Tourism Zone, with the cuisine, culture, arts, and traditional crafts of 12 ethnic groups.

The project is expected to be completed by September 2, 2021.

Museum receives photos and items honouring Vietnamese Ao Dai

The Vietnam Women’s Museum in Hanoi recently received photos, documents and items with the theme “Memories and Heritage” from diplomats, photojournalists, female doctors, and fashion designers.

The event was amongst the museum’s activities to honour the Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese long dress) while marking the 111th International Women’s Day on March 8, and responding to the “Week of Ao Dai” as launched by the Vietnam Women’s Union.

More than 20 Ao Dai designs and nearly 400 photos capturing the beauty of Vietnamese women were presented to the museum at the ceremony, expected to promote the cultural values of the traditional outfit.

Notably, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Deputy Foreign Minister and President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, donated two Ao Dai outfits she wore during a ceremony to receive a decision on her appointment as Ambassador and head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the UN, and a ceremony to present a Letter of Credentials from then State President Truong Tan Sang to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in 2014.

She said that the two outfits reminded her that she was representing Vietnam and the country’s women, adding that she always fell proud, honoured and confident while wearing Ao Dai at international and diplomatic events.

As Ao Dai reflects the tradition and culture of Vietnam, it garners much interest and appreciation from international friends, she revealed.

The donors included many young designers from across the country, who previously hosted a display of 1,000 Ao Dai designs at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi last year. At the event, they presented 20 designs of the exhibits to the Vietnam Women’s Museum.

Inspired from Vietnam’s UNESCO-recognised heritages such as Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, My Son Sanctuary, Ho Dynasty Citadel, Hoi An ancient town, and the cultural space of gongs in Central Highlands, designers Vu Tran Duc Hai, Trinh Bich Thuy, Ha Duy, Lan Huong and Ngoc Han vividly featured the beauty of Vietnam on the laps of the Ao Dai while honouring the elegance of the women who wear them.

Utilising the art of painting, and traditional materials, designer Dang Thi Ngoc Han, who was crowned Miss Vietnam 2010, decided to revive paintings by artist Pham Trinh into her Ao Dai designs.

Donating an Ao Dai from her collection on Hue’s royal court music to the museum, Han expressed her hope that her design will help to introduce the culture and treasured value of the art form to international friends.

Meanwhile, photojournalist Dinh Quang Thanh presented nearly 400 photos to the museum featuring the beauty of Vietnamese women in labour and life as well as craft villages and local landscapes. His photos tell the stories of Vietnamese women from across the country.

According to Director of the Vietnam Women’s Museum Nguyen Hai Van, the items and photos donated by organisations and individuals at the event will contribute to diversifying the museum’s collection while helping promote Vietnamese culture and women, thus inspiring public pride and the sense of responsibility in preserving and promoting the country’s heritage.

Ao Dai has become a symbol of Vietnamese identity, spirit and culture. It not only honours the elegance of Vietnamese women but also conveys stories about the country’s culture.

The donated photos and items at the ceremony will soon be displayed to the public, helping domestic and foreign visitors take a closer look and increase their understanding about Vietnamese Ao Dai.

Vietnam sees uptick in women’s empowerment

The number of women holding senior leadership positions in midmarket businesses in Vietnam has risen sharply over the past few years, making Vietnam one of the Asia-Pacific countries with the highest proportion of women in leadership roles.

Up to 60% of women hold positions of chief financial officers at Vietnamese firms, double the 2020 figure, taking Vietnam to the No. 1 spot in the region, according to Grant Thornton International’s annual Women in Business report.

The position of Human Resource Director ranked second with 59%, which was also a very common position in the rest of the region. Vietnam made significant strides in the number of women holding the position of chief executive officers with an increase from 7% in 2020 to 20% in 2021.

Vietnam exceeded the global average with 39% of women in senior roles and ranked No. 3 amongst the 29 countries surveyed, behind the Philippines and South Africa, an increase of 6% over 2020. Vietnam’s position was on par with Brazil and India and it ranked second in the Asia Pacific region.

The report also indicated that the number of women holding senior leadership positions in midmarket businesses globally had hit 31% despite the coronavirus pandemic affecting economies around the world. Seeing the proportion of women leaders rise to 31% is encouraging, given that the global figure remained at 29% for the previous two years (2019 and 2020).

The proportion of female CEOs rose from six percentage points to 26%, while the proportion of female CFOs also upped six percentage points to 36%.

While the number of women in leadership roles has grown, questions remain over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on women, particularly working mothers.

Data from the United Nations showed that before the pandemic, women did three times as much unpaid housework as men. Besides this, mounting evidence indicates that Covid-19 is increasing this disparity, as well as adding the extra responsibilities of childcare and home schooling while schools are closed.

Meanwhile, as for the ecommerce sector, the survey by iPrice Group showed that Vietnam had taken the lead in Southeast Asia by the proportion of women in manager-level positions at 46%, up from 37% in 2018. Thailand and the Philippines came second and third, with the respective proportions of 44% and 39%.

La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway to be opened to traffic next quarter

The La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway connecting Thua Thien-Hue Province and Danang City, part of the North-South Expressway, will be put into use at the end of the next quarter.

On March 8, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board said the La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway is 99% complete. The contractor is adding and moving some traffic signs and cleaning the road as required by the State Council for Acceptance of Construction Works.

The road was originally planned to be put into operation in 2020 but got postponed to the second quarter of 2021 due to the delayed construction of some sections in Danang and the landslides caused by devastating storms in 2020.

The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to organize traffic on the expressway, allowing cars to travel on the road.

The La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway required an investment of nearly VND11.5 trillion. In the first phase of the project, the road would have two lanes and be 77.5 kilometers long and 12 meters wide. A 66-kilometer section from La Son in Thua Thien-Hue to Hoa Lien in Danang has been developed first, while the 11.5-kilometer section from Hoa Lien to Tuy Loan is a section of the current National Highway 1, which will be completed using the State budget.

The expressway will connect with the Danang-Quang Ngai Expressway to facilitate the fast and safe circulation of vehicles.

Local tourism segment reopened but with caution

Even though domestic tourism is slowly resuming while the end of Covid-19 is not in sight, the number of customers remains small and tour operators are hesitant to book services in advance.

According to local travel firms, since the end of last month, customers have been asking for information on tours. Some tours which were canceled during the Tet holiday have also been resumed.

They have organized new tours and expect the number of tourists to increase in the next two months.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, director of Marketing and Communication at Saigontourist, said tours to Phu Quoc, Dalat, Phan Thiet and Quy Nhon were the most popular among customers.

A representative of TST Tourist said the company had arranged its first tour to Phu Quoc from February 26 to 28 after the pandemic is brought under control. In March and April, the company will organize more tours to Hanoi, Danang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Nguyen Minh Man, head of the Marketing and Communications Department of TST Tourist, said tourists tend to choose destinations which are away from the center of localities, have a green and airy space and offer high-quality services.

In addition, more and more resorts have cooperated with tour operators and online tourism agents to launch tourism packages at competitive prices.

According to Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink, tourists have started to go on tours. However, the company’s main customers are small groups booking tours to Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon and Phu Yen.

Meanwhile, cities have attracted guests for events and seminars on a small and medium scale.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, CEO of the Chez Mimosa hotel chain, said the average occupancy rate of four Chez Mimosa hotels had reached 60%-70%.

The market is yet to recover completely but will be a foundation for the local tourism sector to prepare for the upcoming holidays.

Some companies have received bookings for Reunification Day, April 30, and International Labor Day, May 1, but the number of bookings remains modest due to customers’ concerns over the possible resurgence of the pandemic.

Thanh from Lien Bang Travelink said if the situation gets better, the tourism sector would recover. However, the company has not ordered as many services as it previously did, as nothing is for certain any more.

Some other companies have also ordered services for the upcoming holiday but must carefully work with hotels and air carriers to deal with possible problems in case of a resurgence of Covid-19.

The pandemic has changed customers’ habits and they no longer want to make advance payments. Travel companies, too, will not book air tickets, hotel rooms and restaurants until they know the exact number of tourists.

Hanoi nominates candidates for next term parliament

Half of the city’s parliament seats are appointed by the central bodies and the remaining proposed by the local authorities.

Hanoi has nominated 45 candidates for the 15th National Assembly (2021-2026), the country’s highest legislative body.

The city also nominated 190 candidates for the municipal People’s Council for the 2021-2026 term.

The nomination was complete at the first consultation meeting held in early February by the Vietnam Fatherland Front – Hanoi.

The nomination is aimed to select 29 lawmakers (including 14 chosen from candidates of the central bodies and the remaining proposed by the local administration) for the National Assembly (NA) and 95 representatives of the People’s Council.

Regarding nominees for the parliament, 35% of them are women and 65% are men.

Meanwhile, among candidates for the People’s Council, 11.56% are non-Party members, 36.32% are women, and 15.26% are aged below 40.

There are 2,091 candidates for 1,054 representatives of the People’s Council at district level while the figures at grassroots level are respectively 21,342 and 10,814.

Kien Giang sets aside over 750 million USD for building new-style rural areas

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang aims to have all of its 116 communes fulfil the criteria in the national target programme on building new-style rural areas in the 2021-25 period, with funding estimated at some 17.4 trillion VND (751.47 million USD).

In 2021 alone, nine communes strive to win recognition, while the districts of Vinh Thuan and Kien Luong as well as Ha Tien city are to accomplish the task of building new-style rural areas.

Local authorities also strive to fulfil targets on the rate of households with access to clean water of 99 percent and health insurance coverage of over 90 percent, and the reduction of the multidimensional poverty household rate of 1 percent while creating 35,000 jobs.

The province will bolster the transfer and application of modern technologies in agricultural production and consider models for large-scale agricultural production, supply chains, environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and agricultural cooperatives.

Due regard will be paid to the “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme, as Kien Giang aims to have up to 50 products of at least three-stars. Some 64 billion VND will be allocated for the implementation of the programme.

Kien Giang earmarked over 732 billion VND last year for building new-style rural areas, in particular infrastructure investment.

More than 6,365 km of rural roads were cemented and irrigation networks improved. The rate of poor households came down to 1.69 percent.

As of the end of January 2021, 81 communes in Kien Giang had been recognised as new-style rural areas. Eleven districts and cities had half of their localities complete necessary tasks./.

Air quality worsens as thick haze descends on Hanoi capital

The air quality in Hanoi sharply declined on the morning of March 8 to reach extremely unhealthy levels, exemplified by a thick layer of haze that is currently blanketing the capital.

Most notably, the AQI was recorded at the hazardous level of 159 on Hang Dau street, while the air quality at Hanoi Children’s Palace was measured at 156. Elsewhere in the capital, the AQI was at 154 on Cau Dien street, 153 on Thanh Cong street, and 152 on Pham Van Dong street. In addition, the air quality around the outskirts of the capital remained at low and average levels.

Worryingly, AQI levels above 100 are widely considered to be unhealthy. This means children, seniors, and others suffering from heart or lung problems should remain indoors, whilst local citizens have also been advised to don masks and protective eyewear in an effort to reduce exposure to pollutants.

According to health experts, haze and high humidity serve to limit air circulation, thereby causing air pollutants to stick at lower altitudes and slowly decreasing the air quality.

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