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Việt Nam Book Day 2021 celebrated nationwide

April 19, 2021 by vietnamnews.vn

children explore the digital library at the Book Festival.2021. Photo dangcongsan.vn

HÀ NỘI Many activities and programmes to promote reading culture have been organised nationwide for the framework of Book Festival 2021.

The highlight of the event is an exhibition with the theme “Books — Mission to develop reading culture” at the National Library of on Tràng Thi Street, Hà Nội.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Kiều Thúy Nga, director of the National Library of Việt Nam, said that the National Book Festival, which has been held annually at the library since 2006, has helped to arouse passion, excitement in reading, cultivate knowledge and contribute to the development of the country.

“Via the activities of National Book Festival 2021, we want to convey the message that each book is a wonderful picture of life,” Nga said .

“Books are not just pages but also contain the world that people always crave to explore. Picking up a book and reading, you will see a whole new world open up.”

The exhibition displays 800 books divided into four categories: Books — Path to knowledge; Books — Gifts nourishing the soul; Reading skills and methods; and Enjoying reading passion. It will last until Wednesday.

In addition, a seminar titled Youth with Reading Culture was organised within the exhibition with the participation of many experts and representatives of publishing units on April 16.

Like previous book festivals, a number of activities for children are being held along, such as drawing illustrations for books, parents’ reading books for children and exploring digital library of over 2,000 books in more than 20 different languages.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam Book Day 2021 kicked off in HCM City yesterday on the city’s book street in District 1.

A symposium on the development of a reading culture amid digital transformation was held on yesterday while the launch of book collections on the implementation of the resolution from the 13th National Party Congress, HCM City and digital transformation will take place on the street today at 3pm

Book lovers can also join a fan meeting with prolific and children’s favourite authors like writer Nguyễn Nhật Ánh or poet Thụy Anh, which will be held tomorrow.

To book lovers who cannot attend the festival in person could check in a national online book festival that will run until May 15 at book365.vn . The theme of this year’s festival, which is the second of its kind, is “Books for All Families”.

The national online book festival take place on the website book365.vn. Photo courtesy of the organisers.

Following the success of the first festival in 2020, the national online book festival 2021 will offer tens of thousands of books with 50-70 per cent discount and free shipping with the support of Vietnam Post.

The online book festival allows participants to discuss the development of a reading culture and gain an insight into digital transformation in the publishing industry, as well as how to access books in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Its organisers revealed that they will sponsor readers in remote and disadvantaged areas with a discount of up to 80 per cent to many good books.

Last year, the online book festival gathered 49 publishers and introduced about 10,000 print books and up to 10,000 e-books.

April 21 was designated as Việt Nam Book Day by the then Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on February 24, 2014 with the aim to encourage a reading culture among the public. VNS

Vietnam GDP growth to reach 8.1% in 2021: Goldman Sachs

September 18, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

Goldman Sachs expected exports to be Vietnam’s major driving force for economic recovery.

In 2020, Vietnam’s GDP growth is set to slow to 2.7% and rebound to 8.1% next year, according to the US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Forecast for Vietnam’s GDP growth.

Goldman Sachs’ 2.7%-GDP growth forecast for Vietnam in its first ever macro-economic report on the country, one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, is lower than that of the World Bank (2.8%), but higher than ADB’s 1.8%.

While Vietnam’s economy growth slowed to 3.8% and 0.4% in the respective first and second quarters, the US bank expected GDP growth to quickly recover in the third quarter, mainly thanks to public investment, retail’s revenue and exports.

Notably, Goldman Sachs expects exports to be Vietnam’s major driving force for economic recovery. In the first eight months of 2020, Vietnam’s trade surplus reached an all-time high of US$13.5 billion, representing a 150% increase compared to the same period of last year (US$5.47 billion)

The bank’s report pointed to three major advantages contributing to a growing export turnover.

Firstly, Vietnam holds significant advantage in regional supply chains as the country is located in close proximity with China.

The labor cost in Vietnam is also considered competitive, which remains at half of China’s. For example, the minimum wage in major cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City is regulated at US$190 per month, significantly lower than the US$360 in Shanghai. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in other cities in Vietnam and China were estimated at US$132 and US$220 per month, respectively.

According to Goldman Sachs, these factors led to a shift in production of firms in the fields of textile and footwear from China to Vietnam, especially during the US – China trade war. Since 2010, the FDI investment capital that was initially bound to China, South Korea, Japan or countries in ASEAN have now flowed to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the fact that Vietnam is currently member of a number of free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners could shield the country from growing protectionism globally. For instance in 2019, at the peak of the US – China trade tension, Vietnam’s exports had not been much impacted, which eventually led to a record trade surplus of US$11.12 billion that year.

In the future with the presence of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Goldman Sachs expects Vietnam’s exports to continue growing.

Secondly, Vietnam’s structure of export products with a focus on hi-tech items would continue to be a major plus point for Vietnam. Since 2015, export turnover of products such as smart phones and electronic appliances have exceeded that of traditional items like textile or footwear.

In the January – August period, Vietnam’s export turnover of electronic products increased by 6.3% year-on-year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, accounting for 70% of total exports.

Thirdly, Vietnam’s long-standing trade partnership with China is also an advantage, as the latter would be among a handful of economies with a positive economic growth this year.

It is worth mentioning that China is currently Vietnam’s largest buyer.

In its baseline scenario, Goldman Sachs expects Vietnam’s exports to reach US$180 billion by the end of 2021, assuming the world would gradually contain the pandemic and the development of Covid-19 vaccine remains on track.

Returnee from Japan infected with Covid-19

April 19, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Returnee from Japan infected with Covid-19

The Saigon Times

A local woman gets vaccinated against Covid-19. A resident of Hai Duong Province who flew home from Japan has been confirmed as positive for Covid-19 – PHOTO: MINISTRY OF HEALTH

HCMC – A local man of Hai Duong Province who flew home from Japan has been confirmed as positive for Covid-19, sending Vietnam’s tally to 2,785 cases as of this morning, April 19, according to the Ministry of Health.

The 39-year-old man was taken to a quarantine center in the central city of Danang upon his arrival at Danang International Airport on April 13. He is under medical treatment at Danang Lung Hospital.

To date, the country has reported 1,570 locally-transmitted cases, with 910 being recorded in the third wave since January 27.

Further, 2,475 coronavirus patients have been declared free of the disease and were discharged from hospital. Fatalities remained at 35.

More than 40,100 people linked to Covid-19 patients or returning to Vietnam from virus-hit regions are under quarantine nationwide.