Group facilitation course

A road section is cleared to make room for HCMC’s second metro line project. Work on the project is expected to start next year – PHOTO: NLDO

In a report on the project’s progress sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Binh stated that the site clearance work for the project would be completed in the first months of this year, while the relocation of technical infrastructure facilities would start in August, the local media reported.

The Management Authority for Urban Railways of HCMC is completing procedures to invite tenders for the project this year.

According to the municipal government, the project is facing some obstacles, such as reappraising loan conditions, extending a loan contract with the German development bank KfW that expired on December 31, 2020, and signing an appendix with the consulting firm of the project, Implementation Consultant, which stopped work on the project in October 2018.

Therefore, the city proposed the Ministry of Planning and Investment support the removal of these obstacles, so that the project can be completed as scheduled.

The second metro line project in HCMC, which requires an estimated investment of more than VND47.8 trillion, was designed to be over 11 kilometers long, including a 9.2-kilometer underground section, an elevated section and an approaching road section to the Tham Luong Depot. The metro line will include nine underground stations and an elevated station.

The cleared sites have been handed over for four stations—S9-Ba Queo in Tan Binh District, S10-Pham Van Bach, S11-Tan Binh and S5-Le Thi Rieng. In addition, the office building and auxiliary facilities at the Tham Luong Depot have been built.

As planned, the route will be constructed for four years and put into operation in 2026. Once in place, it will connect the first metro line at the Ben Thanh Station in District 1 and metro lines No. 5, 3b, 4 and 6.

HCM City searching for foreigner who fled quarantine centre

Relevant agencies in Ho Chi Minh City are searching for a foreigner who failed to observe quarantine regulations after entering Vietnam illegally, the city’s Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) announced on March 18.

Police in Cu Chi district announced the search for Yang Gui Bin, a Chinese national born in 1986, who had previously been quarantined at the Cu Chi Hospital for COVID-19 Treatment after being caught by police for illegal entry.

Yang tested negative twice for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 on March 6 and 11, and then fled on March 15.

According to the HCDC, 824 health workers at the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases had received shots against COVID-19 as of March 16.

Some of those vaccinated displayed predicted symptoms such as pain at the site of injection, muscle pain, headache and fever, but all are now in a stable condition.

The municipal Department of Health has asked the HCDC to hold training courses at vaccination sites on the implementation of the COVID-19 inoculation drive./.

15th NA election: Presidium of VFF Central Committee holds second consultative conference

The Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee held the second consultative conference on March 18 to reach agreement on a preliminary list of candidates nominated by central agencies for the upcoming election of deputies to the 15th National Assembly.

In opening the conference, Tran Thanh Man, President of the VFF Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the National Election Council, noted that according to election regulations, consultative conferences will be held three times to select worthy candidates for the election in a democratic manner.

The Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee held the first consultative conference on February 4, and the third one will be completed before 5pm April 19.

After the first consultative conference, agencies, organisations and units held meetings to nominate candidates for the NA election, and to collect voters’ opinions on their nominees.

According to Man, by March 17 the VFF had received dossiers of 205 nominated candidates, and preparations for the election are going according to schedule and in compliance with regulations.

At the conference, 100 percent of delegates approved the preliminary list of 205 candidates nominate by central agencies, organisations and units.

As of March 17, the number of nominated candidates nationwide stood at 1,161, which is 2.3 times the number of deputies to be elected to the NA.

It is noteworthy that 24 provinces and cities reported 77 self-nominated candidates, including 30 in Hanoi, and 16 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The elections of deputies to the 15th-tenure National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure are scheduled to take place on May 23.

Critically ill infected patient recovers in biggest coronavirus hotspot

A critically ill infected patient has been discharged from hospital in Hai Duong province, the epicenter of Vietnam’s latest coronavirus outbreak, after making a full recovery from the virus.

The man was admitted to field hospital No. 2 on February 17, suffering from severe respiratory failure, rapid shallow breathing, and extremely low oxygen levels in the blood. CT scan results show his lungs were seriously damaged.

His deteriorating health forced doctors to put him on a ventilator and a dialysis machine the following morning.

After 3 days of receiving intensive care and treatment, the patient displayed signs of recovery. He did not need an ECMO intervention – a therapy that is used to support critically ill patients.

The patient was able to breathe himself on February 23 and walk with support from medical workers the following day.

“I am very happy to be released for home. I would like to thank doctors for saving my life,” the man said after receiving intensive care and treatment for nearly a month in the hospital.

Field hospital No2 has been established after the virus recurred in Hai Duong in late January 2021. It has since given treatment to 376 patients, of whom 234 have recovered and have been discharged from hospital.

Scholarships for Vietnamese students in India announced

The Embassy of Vietnam in India, with support from the Centre for Indian Studies at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and the Centre for Vietnamese Studies in New Delhi, held a ceremony on March 17 to announce the Ambassador Scholarships for Vietnamese Students in 2021.

Some 113 scholarships will be granted to Vietnamese students in undergraduate and postgraduate studies at four Indian institutions: the Integral University in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh; the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar, Odisha; Rishihood University in Haryana; and Sharda University in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Priority will be given to disadvantaged students from ethnic minority and vulnerable groups. Recommended majors include medical and pharmaceutical technology, engineering, and management, among others.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau expressed his hope that, through the scholarships, more Vietnamese students will study in India and experience the local culture. They will also help promote India as an educational destination of potential, he added./.

Vietnam listed among countries with cheapest Internet service in Asia

The average monthly cost of broadband Internet in Vietnam was US$12.4, much cheaper than in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Vietnam is among the countries with the cheapest internet service in the world, accornding to a report by Cable.co.uk, a private company researching cable television services, Internet and telecommunications of the UK.

Cable.co.uk collects data from 3,288 fixed network service providers in 211 countries in the world, from October to December 2020. The average amount that users in the world have to spend a month on Internet connection is US$78.14.

Accordingly, Vietnam ranks 12th in the world, 6th in Asia and 1st in Southeast Asia in terms of low internet service rates. Average users in Vietnam spend US$11.27 (equivalent to VND260,000) for a month on Internet connection.

The average monthly cost of broadband Internet in Vietnam was US$12.4, much cheaper than in Thailand (US$25.9), Indonesia (US$32.5), Malaysia (US$34.9), and the Philippines (US$51.1).

Around 64 million Vietnamese, or over half the country’s population, are online.

In contrast, African countries with poor telecommunications infrastructure, lack of competition among service providers and low average income are the ones with the highest internet cost in the world.

Particularly, Internet users in Eritrea have to spend an average of US$2,666 per month. The next one is Mauritania, with US$ 712.46 for a month of internet connection.

Ukraine is the country with the cheapest internet rates in the world, with an average price of only US$6.41 per month. It is followed by Syria, with an average Internet rate of US$6.49 per month.

Mekong Delta needs to urgently protect underground water resource

Water supply companies in Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, An Giang and Hau Giang provinces expressed their concern over exploited water reserve and the quality of groundwater water source through a seminar titled “Protecting and efficiently exploiting underground water resources in the South of Hau River” on March 17.

Similarly, General Director of Kien Giang Water Supply and Sewerage Limited Company (Kiwaco) Mr. Au Van Tam shared that Kiwaco put 80 to 110- meter deep wells into operation at Ca Mau Peninsula with a capacity of 50 meters cubic per hour; however, the high salinity and iron concentrations significantly impact on quality of water resource.

Speaking at the seminar, a representative of Ca Mau Water Supply Joint Stock Company (Cawaco) said that Cawaco has a water supply factory in Ca Mau City and seven branches in districts in addition to 63 wells in a depth of 180 to 240 meters. Last year, Ca Mau Province had reports about the reserve depletion as well as abnormal water quality.

General Director of Soc Trang Water Supply Joint Stock Company Mr. Dang Van Ngo also worried about outdated wells affecting underground water quality.

Dr. Anke Steinel, who is geoscientist and hydrologist of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, said that the Mekong Delta is facing with challenges for underground water resource under the impact of climate change, sea level rise and water resource exploitation. As this reason, the Mekong Delta needs to urgently have solutions for protecting and managing underground water resources.

Sport tournament marks ties between Vietnamese, Lao public security forces

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s representative agency in Laos, together with the Embassy of Vietnam and the Lao Ministry of Public Security, held a friendly sport tournament in Vientiane on March 17.

The event was part of activities to commemorate 60 years since the first group of public security experts from Vietnam was sent to Laos on March 22, 1961 to assist the Lao public security force at the request of the Parties and Governments of the two countries, marking the start of official cooperation between the two forces.

It was also aimed to mark the 60th founding anniversary of the Lao public security force on April 5.

Addressing the opening ceremony, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s representative agency in Laos Maj. Gen. Hoang Quang Huong affirmed that the cooperation between the two public security forces has played a key role in the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the past six decades.

The sport tournament, taking place from March 12-17, was to express gratefulness to officers and soldiers of the public security forces and offered chances for staff of the countries’ agencies to enhance understanding and further strengthen solidarity and friendship. It saw 18 teams playing in men’s football and badminton.

At the closing ceremony later on the same day, Lao Deputy Minister of Public Security Lieut. Gen. Kongthong Phongvichith spoke highly of the role and significant contributions by Vietnamese public security experts to the development of the Lao public security force over the years, thereby contributing to the achievements and successes of the Lao revolution and maintain order and stability in the country during its national construction process./.

Four trains for first metro line to arrive in HCMC before July

The next four trains for the first metro line project in HCMC are expected to be transported from Japan to Vietnam between April and July this year if the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control, said Huynh Hong Thanh, deputy head of the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of HCMC.

During an inspection by a team led by HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong on March 16 into the construction site of the Ba Son underground station, part of the first metro line project, Thanh said two trains were scheduled arrive in Vietnam in April or May. Two months later, the next two trains would be handed over to Vietnam, news site VnExpress reported.

After arriving in HCMC, the four trains, together with the first one which was transported to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City in October last year, will be operated on a trial basis.

MAUR had earlier planned to run the trains on a trial basis in the last quarter of this year. They will run on an elevated section from Binh Thai Intersection to Long Binh Depot before the entire system is put into trial operation.

At the same time, other works serving the metro line’s operation will also be conducted, such as training laborers, transferring technology, checking and handing over the project.

The first metro line in HCMC was designed to have 17 three-carriage trains. Each train is capable of carrying 930 passengers and can move at a maximum speed of 110 kilometers an hour on elevated sections and 80 kilometers an hour on underground sections.

The average distance between every two stations is over one kilometer, so trains will run at a speed of some 40 kilometers per hour.

According to Thanh, the project is facing some obstacles. However, the progress of some packages has been ensured, such as the CP1b package to build an underground section from the Opera House station to the Ba Son station, which is expected to be 99% complete by the middle of this year.

He added that the project was still expected to be completed by the end of this year as planned. Due to the pandemic, MAUR will come up with another detailed plan on the project’s progress, assess the impact of Covid-19 on its execution and propose new solutions.

HCMC Chairman Phong said the city had directed MAUR to determine when the project would be put into commercial operation, which will be a foundation to work out difficulties.

The first metro line project requires an investment of VND43.7 trillion. It was designed to be nearly 20 kilometers long with three underground stations and 11 elevated stations.

The project is some 83% complete and is expected to be put into operation next year.

NA Chairwoman works with An Giang on election preparations

National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on March 18 asked the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to pay more heed to safeguarding security and order as well as COVID-19 prevention and control at border areas, thus ensuring the safety of elections of deputies to the 15th NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure, which are slated for May 23.

At a working session with the provincial steering committee for elections, Ngan, who is also head of the National Election Council, urged An Giang to continue with information and communications tasks to raise public awareness about the elections.

Channels seeking public opinions on the elections should be set up, she said, adding that conferences collecting constituents’ votes of confidence on candidates need to be held as scheduled.

The Chairwoman called for the training of personnel in charge of election work, especially members of election groups.

Lauding An Giang’s preparations, the top legislator said it has seriously observed guidelines on reducing both constituencies and deputies.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, and head of the steering committee for elections of An Giang, said the province will elect nine deputies to the 15th NA and 62 others to the provincial People’s Council.

As of 5pm on March 14, the steering committee had received dossiers from 125 candidates, including 15 for candidacy for the NA, he said.

District-level steering committees for elections have also announced lists of constituencies and the number of deputies to be elected in each constituency, as scheduled, according to Binh./.

Belgium’s Ixelles mayor appreciates contribution of Vietnamese to local COVID-19 response

Christos Doulkeridis, Mayor of Ixelles, a district of the Belgian capital Brussels, expressed his sincere appreciation on March 17 of the Vietnamese community’s contribution to the local COVID-19 response.

Vietnamese people are truly part of the local community, Doulkeridis said when accepting 1,200 face masks donated to the district by the Vietnamese Association in Belgium.

Everyone must engage in the fight against this deadly pandemic, he continued, and the symbolic gesture made by the Vietnamese community shows that everyone can play a part in the fight with a very important tool, face masks, being an expression of mutual protection.

He also spoke highly of the sense of responsibility among Vietnamese people in Belgium, saying they have fully integrated into the local community.

President of the Vietnamese Association in Belgium, Huynh Cong My, who handed over the donated face masks, said Vietnamese people appreciate how the administrations of Ixelles and Brussels at large have supported their integration efforts.

Data from 2019 indicates that about 14,000 Vietnamese were living in Belgium at that time./.

Campaign to promote public exercise, sport activities

A campaign “All people take exercises following the example of great Uncle Ho” in 2021-2030 will be launched at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on March 28, according to the Vietnam Sports Administration (VSA) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

An annual Olympic Run Day for Public Health 2021 will take place on the same day, the VSA said.

The VSA set to lift the total of people participating in regular exercise and sport activities to over 38 percent by 2025 and over 42 percent by 2030. Meanwhile, the rate of families joining sport activities is expected to reach over 28 percent, and 32 percent in 2025 and 2030, respectively.

The department also aims to have all communes and wards nationwide having grassroots cultural and sports establishments meeting the standards prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Up to 98 percent of communes and wards, and 100 percent of districts, provinces and central-run cities are expected to organise sport festivals at all levels, the VSA said./.

Ministry eyes over 9,000 km of expressway by 2050

The Ministry of Transport is striving to have 5,000 km of expressway by 2030 and over 9,000 km by 2050, according to Minister Nguyen Van The.

According to the ministry’s statistics released at a working session on road infrastructure planning on March 17, Vietnam is currently operating1,046 km of expressways and building an additional 900 km, equal to 90 percent of the planning scheme.

Experts said that the linkage between the national road system and other means of transportation has yet to meet requirements. Several seaports, railways and airports, for example, do not connect with expressways yet.

Speaking at the event, The emphasised the policy of reducing the market share of road transportation, and increasing the market shares of waterway, railway, aviation and seaway transportation.

Accordingly, he requested reducing public investments in roads and increasing in public investments in other means of transportation.

The minister also stressed the need to look back on shortcomings that make the ministry fail to reach 2,500km of expressways by 2020, including slow public investment disbursement and slow site clearance.

To achieve the goal of 5,000 km of expressways by 2030, it is necessary to have breakthrough policies to develop expressway infrastructure and gain the Prime Minister’s allowance to complete all site clearance before building investment projects./.

Group exhibitions open at Galerie Quynh

A group exhibition featuring works of Vietnamese and French artists has opened at Galerie Quynh.

The exhibition showcases paintings, installation works and video installations by French artist Nadège David, Vietnamese-American multi-disciplinary artist Trọng Gia Nguyên, and the Đà Nẵng-based visual and multimedia artist Xuân Hạ.

Through the works, the artists reflect bodily experiences in mediating and expressing perception, memory and culture.

The exhibition will be on view until April 10. The gallery is at 118 Nguyễn Văn Thủ Street in District 1.

HCM City accelerates completion of urban planning project

Ho Chi Minh City is eyeing to become a centrally- run special urban area, the nation’s biggest economic hub of tourism, industrial services, industry and high-tech agriculture.

To this end, it is working to complete a series of urban planning projects, including an overall urban planning scheme by 2040 and a planning scheme of Thu Duc city.

For the overall planning scheme with a vision to 2060, the city will cover a total of 2,123.7 sq. km, including 28.7 sq. km of Can Gio sea encroachment urban area.

Its urban development is associated with orientations to adapt to climate change and sea-level rise as well as a multipolar structure.

It will have new urban areas, with key locations including Thu Duc city – a creative high-interactive urban model, Hiep Phuoc port urban area, Tay Bac urban area, Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area, and Can Gio sea encroachment urban area.

Notably, HCM City will build Thu Duc into a city of a knowledge-based economy and artificial intelligence, serving as a driving force behind the growth toward the 4th Industrial Revolution of HCM City and the region.

The planning of Thu Duc is the central task in the southern economic hub’s overall planning.

As the eastern gateway of HCM City, Thu Duc city is set to span 21,156.9 ha and be developed into a centre of innovation and connectivity to assist the growth of other urban areas in the HCM City metropolitan area, which consists of HCM City and seven key economic hubs in the South./.

Craig Thomas Gallery presents new works by Vietnamese artists

Craig Thomas Gallery is displaying new works by contemporary Vietnamese artists this month.

The showcase includes a preview of paintings and sculptures from artists Phạm Thanh Toàn, Nguyễn Trọng Minh, Lim Khim Katy and Phạm Đinh Tiến. These works will be displayed at exhibitions this year and in 2022.

The artists, most of whom are graduates from the HCM City Fine Arts University, have had works displayed at the Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum, the HCM City Fine Arts Museum, and galleries in the city and Hà Nội.

The gallery is open for visitors from 1-6pm between Tuesday and Saturday. The venue is located at 27i Trần Nhật Duật Street in District 1.

Opening ceremony and festivities of Hoa Lư Festival to be halted

The annual festival of Hoa Lư in the northern province of Ninh Bình will be held without festivities this year, according to the Provincial People’s Committee.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will be celebrated on a small scale but its respectful spirit will still be retained to ensure both locals and tourists’ safety, the organisers said.

Instead of holding the opening ceremony of Hoa Lư Festival as usual, Ninh Bình Province will exclude its opening ceremony and all other festivities.

Only some traditional ceremonies will be organised by Hoa Lư District People’s Committee and the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Bình Province, such as the temple-opening ceremony, water procession, the ceremony of Buddha bathing and the thanksgiving ceremony.

The Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Bình Province will preside over the incense offering ceremony.

Earlier, Ninh Bình Provincial People’s Committee drew up a plan for the organisation of Hoa Lư Festival 2021 in November 2020.

The annual festival is one of 100 national intangible cultural heritages. Together with the ancient capital of Hoa Lư, the Hoa Lư Festival is an important part of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site of Tràng An scenic complex. It aims to commemorate the national heroes Lê Đại Hành and King Đinh Tiên Hoàng who built and protected the country.

Over the years, the traditional festival has had almost all of its traditional rituals restored, honouring the cultural values of the Đinh-Tiền Lê dynasty (968-1010).

Held from the 9th to the 11th day of the third lunar month, which falls on April 20-22 this year, Hoa Lư Festival typically attracts thousands of attendees.

Quang Ninh Province announces plans to resume classes for students affected by pandemic

The Department of Education of Training in the northern province of Quảng Ninh has proposed two options for students from pandemic-stricken areas to resume classes.

The proposal, which was submitted to the provincial People’s Committee for approval, aims to bring them back to school as soon as possible.

According to the department, as many as 534 high school students weren’t able to return to school due to the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 13. Of which, 94 students were isolated in Quảng Ninh Province while the rest were quarantined in Hải Dương and other provinces.

In the first option, the students would return to Quảng Ninh Province and undergo safety requirements. Specifically, those from locked down areas or those under social distancing in Hải Dương Province will be quarantined at centralised quarantine centres.

Students who live in Hải Dương Province but are not in locked down areas or those with social distancing requirements will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 and self-quarantine at home for 14 days.

Regarding students who live in other provinces and cities, if they are under quarantine, they will return to school after completing the mandatory period, the department said.

Those who aren’t in quarantine can return to school but they will have to make a health declaration to local health authorities.

Students who are under quarantine in Quảng Ninh Province will resume classes after the quarantine period ends and they test negative for the novel coronavirus.

In the second option, the province will isolate students who are subject to quarantine at centralised quarantine zones before returning to school.

Hạ Long City plans to waive all costs for quarantine and COVID-19 tests for students and their relatives when they return to the city to study.

To ensure the quality of education, the provincial Department of Education and Training also directed educational establishments to maintain online learning and other forms of learning to consolidate knowledge for students who have not yet returned to school as they are in quarantine.

Hanoi’s ten most outstanding young faces of 2020 announced

Ten outstanding young Hanoians will be honoured at a ceremony to be held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Hanoi chapter on March 20.

The outstanding individuals include Nguyen Manh Quan (born in 2003, 12th grader from the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted; Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Chien Thang (born in 1987, lecturer in the Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi University of Natural Sciences under the Vietnam National University); Dr. Luu The Loi (born in 1991, CEO and co-founder of Kyber Network), Nguyen Thi Thu (born in 1988, Director of Tam An Cooperative in Thuong Tin District, Hanoi; Lieutenant Vu Ngoc Hoang (born in 1992, Dong Da District Police); football player Do Hung Dung (born in 1993);

Other excellent young people are Master, Doctor Pham Van Phuc (born in 1990, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases); Master, Doctor Tran Anh Duc (born in 1989, Department of Obstetrics, Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital); Engineer Tran Trung Hieu (born in 1992, Founder and Executive Director of TopCV Joint Stock Company); Master, Researcher Ung Thi Hong Trang (born in 1987, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology).

The youngs people are being acknowledged for their marked achievements in such areas as study, scientific research, economic development, national defence-security, culture, arts, sports and voluntary activities.

Air ticket prices on Reunification Day-May Day holiday increase

Prices of air tickets on Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day holiday have increased, particularly for beach tours.

The pandemic has been basically controlled in Vietnam, so many people have flocked to book tours.

Budget carrier VietJet Air’s cheapest one-way air ticket on Hanoi-Nha Trang route on April 30 is VND1.7 million (USD73.91), including surcharges. Meanwhile, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines’ return tickets on the route is VND5.36 million.

Hanoi-Phu Quoc flights have the highest prices with VND2.9 million for Vietnam Airlines’ one-way ticket, including surcharges. For Bamboo Airways, the ticket is VND2-3.1 million.

VietJet Air’s one-way tickets for flights from Hanoi to Quy Nhon and Danang is less than VND1 million, excluding surcharges. For Vietnam Airlines, the tickets range between VND1.5-2.5 million, including surcharges.

Air tickets on HCM City-Phu Quoc route are also on the rise, ranging from VND1.7-3.5 million; while the tickets for flights from Hanoi, HCM City to other tourist sites on the Renunciation Day and May Day occasion have considerably increased.

According to travel companies, the number of customers who book air tickets and hotel rooms for their tours on the occasion has increased.

HCMC tourism sector to digitalize tourist attractions

The tourism sector in Ho Chi Minh City is planning to implement digitalization on tourist attractions in the city this year, said Director of the Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa yesterday.

The city tourism sector is facing severe economic hardship in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Digital technologies, such as immersive, virtual and augmented reality and 3D, are an increasingly important factor for success when it comes to attracting tourists to a destination.

The city will digitalize tourist destinations with 360° photo platform, virtual 3D pictures, flycam, and virtual reality technology and implement QR Codes to provide area information of 100 tourist attractions, museums and cultural heritage sites.

Presently, the Department of Tourism is preparing for a program “100 interesting tourist attractions in HCMC” which will be for promoting domestic and international tourism. The sector will focus on applying online media as well as other approaches to identify the city’s designed tourism brand name.

Moreover, the sector will also make short movies about the city’s culture, cuisine and lifestyle as well as multimedia “ Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” to increase brand awareness and lure visitors.

Vietnam to tighten cyber security for digital transformation, e-government

In the last 5 years, both the central Government, the local authorities, and the community have wholeheartedly supported the establishment of an e-government in Vietnam, leading to such impressive success in only 2 years adopting Resolution No. 17/NQ-CP.

The only unfulfilled targets are those related to online public service use of citizens and digital identification, authentication.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung shared that the Vietnamese digital government will be officially launched in 2025, letting it enter the global Top-50.

At that time, all governmental services will be automatically offered 24/7 with customizable features. New public services will be developed based on the existing open databases, which is the cooperation between the Government, businesses, IT experts, and the community.

Along with the digital economy and society, this digital government is the key in the national digital transformation process. Considered as the leader, the digital government is the top priority for development at the moment.

The transformation from an e-government to a digital one, or from online public services to digital ones, is the foundation. In that process, there will be a shift from IT systems to digital platforms, from service access to database access, and from the participation of governmental agencies to contribution of both the Government, citizens, and related businesses.

If the challenge in the e-government is inter-connection, the trial in the digital government is change management.

In 2020, certain critical national-leveled databases in the fields of business, social welfare, healthcare, education, and civil status were completed. They have significantly reduced paperwork in administrative procedures.

Praising the above results, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc insisted that it is vital to ensure cyber security and protect the national sovereign on the cyber space while carrying out the digital transformation process.

He added that the national databases must be more effectively exploited to create a sustainable digital government, economy, and society.

At the moment, the suitable legal environment for the development of an e-government in Vietnam is still not perfect, and certain necessary decrees regarding personal data as well as identity protection have not been released yet.

Therefore, in the upcoming time, the Government and related state agencies must prepare these legal documents as soon as possible so that the establishment of an electronic and then digital government can be further facilitated.

Over VND21.5 trillion to be poured into six traffic projects linking HCMC, Long An

The HCMC Department of Transport has written to the municipal government proposing prioritizing six traffic projects with total investment of over VND21.5 trillion connecting HCMC with the Mekong Delta province of Long An from now until 2025.

As many as 23 roads connecting HCMC with Long An Province need investment, with 12 existing roads in dire need of expansion, nine road projects having been approved and the remaining two needing to be added to the general plan, according to the municipal department.

The six projects proposed for the 2021-2025 period include building the Tay Bac road project with a length of some 19.8 kilometers that will start at National Highway 1A in Binh Tan District and end at Ring Road 4 near Hau Nghia Town in Long An Province, and investing in Nguyen Van Bua Street linking Hoc Mon District and Long An Province’s Duc Hoa District.

The municipal department also proposed expanding the Vo Van Kiet Avenue in HCMC’s outlying district of Binh Chanh to connect the city with the Hai Son-Tan Do industrial park in Duc Hoa District in the Mekong Delta province. The projected road that will start at Ring Road 3 is set to cost VND3.3 trillion.

Besides, National Highway 50 running through Binh Chanh District and Long An Province’s Can Giuoc District needs upgrading and expanding with total investment of VND2.15 trillion, the local media reported.

Another traffic project comprises building a 3-kilometer-long road and the 409-meter-long Rach Doi bridge to connect Le Van Khuong Street in the city’s outlying district of Nha Be with Provincial Road 826C in Can Giuoc District.

The sixth project is to build a road running parallel to National Highway 50 in Binh Chanh District to connect it to Can Giuoc District that had been approved by the prime minister. The project is set to require VND4.3 trillion.

PM fixes deadline for submission of new regulations on environmental protection

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to draft a new Decree on administrative sanctions against violations in the field of environmental protection.

This is part of the Government’s plan which figures out measures to implement the revised Law on Environmental Protection adopted by the National Assembly in November last year.

The administrative sanctions includes application of sanction forms, remedial measures with respect to individuals, organizations committing acts of administrative violations according to provisions of law on administrative sanctions which are implemented by the competent persons.

At present, administrative sanctions for violations in environmental protection are specified in the Government’s Decree No. 55/2016/ND-CP dated November 18, 2016.

The Government chief also tasked the ministry to develop a decision on a list of domains and establishments subject to greenhouse gas emission inventory and another decision approving a plan for environmental improvement and restoration of areas where pollution of soil environment is especially serious in accordance with Point C, Clause 1, Article 19 of the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection.

It will also be responsible for drafting a decision prescribing criteria for environmental protection in the field of construction and rural development.

The aforesaid draft documents shall be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration in the first half of 2021./.

Hanoi, HCM City named top places for local delicacies

Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been voted as the leading destinations to enjoy traditional cuisine or street food, as well as being top places for food shopping among local travelers, according to a survey conducted by renowned travel website Booking.com.

Hanoi tops the list in terms of best destinations for traditional Vietnamese food, with Booking.com stating that the top dishes in Hanoi are typically inexpensive. Despite their cheapness, an array of tasty treats can be found within the Old Quarter’s narrow alleyways and the bustling street markets situated throughout the capital.

“This is where you can find the familiar and world renowned ‘pho’ noodles served with bagel twists or the original ‘bun cha’ that was once enjoyed by President Obama during his 2016 visit in Vietnam. ‘Bun dau mam tom’, a stinky yet tasty and crispy delicacy originated in Hanoi, is a definite must for daredevils undisturbed by the idea of pungent shrimp paste,” the website explains.

Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh City was named as best city for street food. The survey states that the southern metropolis is the city that never sleeps and appeals to the taste buds of travelers due to its countless food stalls and markets that are open around the clock.

“A city trip to Saigon is incomplete without indulging in all-time favourites such as bot chien fried in a large flat pan with whipped eggs, the legendary Vietnamese pizza or quesadilla grilled on the coal stove, duck embryo in tamarind sauce and beef offal steamed in coconut milk served with local banh mi,” the website highlights.

“With all the finger-licking and creative dishes the city has to offer, it is no surprise that travellers have pinned Ho Chi Minh City as one of the top endorsed destinations for street food on Booking.com.”

Van Quyet among 10 outstanding young Vietnamese faces of 2020

Famous footballer Nguyen Van Quyet of Hanoi FC has been listed among the outstanding young Vietnamese faces of 2020, with the annual national award held to honour young local people who have excelled in their respective fields.

The 30-year-old striker first rose to prominence after captaining the Vietnamese U19 men’s football team which went on to record a victory over Thailand’s U21 side to win the International U21 Thanh Nien (Youth) Newspaper Cup in 2010.

Last year saw the forward make a number of great contributions to Hanoi FC as they lifted the National Cup and went on to finish as runners-up in the V.League 1.

As captain of Hanoi FC, Van Quyet also won both the Golden Ball Award and claimed the title of outstanding athlete in the same year.

The award to honour outstanding young Vietnamese faces is a highly-esteemed event organised by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Central Committee with the purpose of recognizing the various achievements of people aged under 35 from across the nation.

This year the awards ceremony is set to get underway on March 21 in Hanoi.

Tourism sector seeks solution to stimulate tourism demand

The Vietnam Tourism Association and Hanoi Department of Tourism are set to co-ordinate efforts to organise the national tourism forum in April which will be held in Hanoi in an effort to seek solutions and attract greater tourist numbers in the near future.

Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said during the ongoing wait for borders to open for international tourism, the local tourism industry should primarily focus on developing domestic tourism and organising a diverse range of activities that can stimulate tourism demand.

Binh noted that the upcoming event is anticipated to offer an ideal venue for travel firms and localities nationwide  to strengthen connectivity for the purpose of domestic tourism development.

Following the national tourism forum, the Vietnam Tourism Association and other agencies in the tourism sector are expected to host the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM 2021) which is scheduled to take place between May 5 and May 8.

Furthermore, Hanoi tourism firms have recently organised a number of affiliate schemes aimed at creating new domestic tourism products that can meet the needs of customers, such as the VGreen Caravan tourism programme which will encourage travelers to visit northwest localities.

Former heroin user helps others fight drug addiction

Nguyễn Minh Hiếu’s life used to be spent in and out of rehab centres in HCM City to fight his drug addiction. After seven times in rehab, he finally kicked his addiction.

As well as rebuilding his own life, Hiếu has set up a volunteer group to help local drug addicts get back to normal life.

“I set up the Nụ Cười (Smile) Group to help those who have lost their way just like I did get rid of drugs and become a good person,” he told the online newspaper baochinhphu.vn.

Located in an apartment in HCM City’s District 8, the group focuses on helping intravenous drug users as these people face a high risk of HIV transmission. These addicts are given new needles and HIV tests, as well as support to access methadone maintenance therapy and antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.

Several times per week, the group goes to hotspots for drug addicts to collect used needles to help curb the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Hiếu and the group have been doing this job for eight years. Seeing and talking to hundreds of drug addicts, Hiếu said what they needed most was positive energy to get close to drug users.

“Drug addicts have only one goal: how to get money to satisfy their addiction. What I need to do is to let them trust me, but not by giving them money,” he said.

“They might not understand our good intentions, but they will later on,” he said.

Hiếu said some people in his group were drug addicts and still under methadone treatment and were in the group to try and give up their drug habit and help others, too.

When asked about his family, Hiếu said proudly that they had supported everything he had done.

“My family used to lose faith in me after many broken promises to give up drugs. They were desperate about me being an addict father, husband and son. Whenever I rushed out of the house, they were hopeless,” he said.

“But now they care and support me, even when I’m out all day. How proud!” he said.

Soc Trang border guards use loudspeakers in COVID-19 communication campaign

Over the last year, people living in border areas of the southern province of Sóc Trăng have gotten used to seeing border guards carry a loudspeaker on their motorbikes telling them how to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Colonel Lê Văn Anh, head of the Province Border Guard Command’s COVID-19 Prevention and Control Committee, said that during the complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic, local border guards strengthened preventive measures, especially communication.

Many initiatives had been launched and proved effective, Anh said, noting that using loudspeakers in communication campaigns was most effective and economical.

During the pandemic, public communication events to attract crowds were not allowed, but the loudspeaker systems of communes and wards were unable to reach remote areas, Anh said.

With a portable loudspeaker, a USB with recorded information and a motorbike, a border guard could access people in all corners of the province, he said.

Major Lê Văn Băng of An Thạnh Ba Border Station in Cù Lao Dung District said they also drew posters and slogans on COVID-19 prevention and control and stuck them on the loudspeakers.

In the morning and the afternoon, border guards drove motorbikes with loudspeakers turned on, Băng said.

“When reaching busy areas, we slow down or park there so people can hear the information clearly,” Băng said.

During the pandemic, they have explained the Ministry of Health’s 5 K message: Khẩu trang (face mask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration), and called on people to install the Bluezone contact tracing application.

Ngô Châu, head of Âu Thọ A Residential Group in Vĩnh Hải Commune, Vĩnh Châu District, said border guards and their loudspeakers helped people learn a lot about COVID-19 prevention and control.

“Knowing and understanding the Government’s policies and recommendations on disease prevention and control, local people strictly implement preventive measures,” Châu said.

As the commune is home to many people of the ethnic Khmer group, border guards also used the Khmer language, Châu said.

Border guards also visited residents’ houses to advise them on personal hygiene and food safety.

“The border guards told us to sanitise hands, use cooked foods and boiled water, keep away from wild animals and wear face masks,” Châu said.

According to the province’s Border Guard Command, in the last year, border guards gave people in border areas about 18,000 medical face masks, more than 500 bottles of hand sanitiser and some 10,000 leaflets with disease prevention and control information.

Student research projects focus on pollution, waste reduction solutions

Six projects by university students that were displayed today at the eProjects Innovation Showcase contest at the Cao Thắng Technical College in HCM City mostly focused on environmental pollution and waste management solutions.

A team from the HCM City University of Technology and Education presented a solution for discarded chewing gum while students from Lạc Hồng University in Đồng Nai Province had one for packaging in the e-commerce industry.

Sorting plastic was the focus of students from Cần Thơ University, while a team from the Đà Nẵng University of Technology had a platform for plastic waste management.

Students from the HCM City University of Technology, who showed how to reuse construction materials, won the prize for the most effective solution.

Students from the Industrial University of HCM City displayed technology to modernise Dow Vietnam Company’s customer order and tracking systems.

The team from the HCM City University of Technology and Education won the prize for the best presentation and the Đà Nẵng University of Technology won for teamwork.

The event enabled students to demonstrate their industry-mentored prototypes to peers and professionals from across the country.

Over the last semester, eProjects teams developed their prototypes through regular consultation with professional mentors, who set out a vision for each project, shared their technical expertise and regularly met with the students.

Since September the teams worked online, on campus and even at Dow’s plant to build and test their prototypes.

The showcase was a part of USAID BUILD-IT and the Dow Vietnam Stem Programme which has been carried out for four years.

Speaking to showcase attendees, USAID Vietnam’s acting mission director, Bradley Bessire, said: “These applied  projects demonstrate  how  the  BUILD-IT  Alliance  links  industry  expertise with universities’ teaching capacity to give students experiences that develop both the technical and soft skills they’ll need to succeed in Việt Nam’s ever more advanced workforce.”

USAID sponsors BUILD-IT Project which is carried out by Arizona State University.

Concert features works by 20th-century’s lesser-known composers

A concert introducing works from composers that have not been performed much in Việt Nam will take place at Goethe Institut next Monday.

The concert, the first of the ’20th Century Music Concert Series’, will present a repertoire featuring works by composers from Japan to Eastern and Western Europe and America, including Benjamin Britten, György Ligeti, Toru Takemitsu, Nikolai Kapustin, Friedrich Gulda, and Frederic Rzewski.

Artists and lecturers of Inspirito School of Music, including oboist Hoàng Mạnh Lâm, trumpeter Yuki Urushihara, pianists Ngô Phương Vi, Lưu Đức Anh, Dương Hồng Thạch, and Phó Đức Hoàng, will perform in the concert.

The concert will start at 7pm. The Goethe Institut is at 56-58-60 Nguyễn Thái Học Street. Recommended donation: VNĐ100,000.

Thousands of counterfeit fashion products seized in Nam Dinh

Market management authorities have seized thousands of Chanel, LV, and Hermes counterfeit products in Nam Dinh Province.

On March 17, Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance worked with the Department of Market Surveillance and the police in Nam Dinh to raid a 500-square-metre warehouse in Dai Lai Village, Vu Ban District and found a large number of counterfeit products. The owner was unable to provide any necessary papers.

Nguyen Ky Minh from the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance said the sellers advertised and sold their products via social media. They created various accounts with different names and used them alternatively to avoid attention from the authorities.

An empty shop on Ho Tung Mau Street in Hanoi was used as a decoy to promote their products. Minh said it had caused some difficulties during the investigation.

It is estimated that 20,000-30,000 products were kept at the warehouse worth about VND6bn (USD259,000).

A representative of Hermes said Tam Son International Company is their sole distributor in Vietnam. There are also only two Hermes stores in Vietnam besides the products sold at Lotte shopping centres and some duty-free shops.

Private investment proposed for HCMC-Can Tho express railway project

The Southern Institute of Science and Technology has proposed executing the HCMC-Can Tho high-speed railway project under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model, and the total required investment of some US$10 billion will be sourced from private enterprises.

Under the proposal sent to the Ministry of Transport, the institute also mentioned the adjustment of the railway’s direction and the development of nine stations in satellite urban areas, Dan Tri news site reported.

The main route from HCMC to Can Tho will need an estimated investment of more than US$4.4 billion, while a branch from the Thanh Phu station in Long An Province to the Hiep Phuoc Port in HCMC will require US$791.35 million. The remaining US$4.6 billion will be spent on stations and other facilities.

The express railway will have a total length of 134.9 kilometers, passing through five localities, comprising HCMC, Long An, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Can Tho. The railway will stop at nine stations, beginning at Tan Kien Station in HCMC and ending at Can Tho Station in Can Tho City.

In addition, the Thanh Phu-Hiep Phuoc branch will be 44 kilometers long, running through HCMC and Long An.

The Southern Institute of Science and Technology has also proposed adjusting the direction of the railway to the right of the HCMC-Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway, completely different from the previous plan.

According to the institute, with the adjustment, the railway will share a corridor with the expressway, reducing the separation between residential areas and industrial parks. Moreover, the land bank for the satellite urban area development will be larger.

The adjustment will also help shorten the length of the railway by five kilometers, saving nearly US$200 million.

A leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority said the HCMC-Can Tho express railway is an important traffic route which will help ease the traffic on roads.

The authority assigned the project’s management board to choose a consulting firm to conduct a prefeasibility report for the project using the State budget.

As for the financial plan proposed by the Southern Institute of Science and Technology, the authority asked the institute to make it more specific. The institute should clarify the investment method and financial plan in case foreign investors want to get involved in the project.

HCMC set to rename hospitals in Thu Duc City

District 2 Hospital, District 9 Hospital and Thu Duc District Hospital will be renamed as Le Van Thinh Hospital, Le Van Viet General Hospital and Thu Duc City Hospital, respectively.

The HCMC government has approved a plan to re-organize ward- or district-level healthcare centers and hospitals under the HCMC Department of Health after the rearrangement of administrative units at the district and commune levels of Thu Duc City.

Among the three renamed hospitals, Le Van Thinh Hospital, located at 130 Le Van Thinh Street in Thu Duc City’s Binh Trung Tay Ward, is a Grade-1 non-business unit and has a capacity of 500 in-patient beds, Nguoi Lao Dong Online reported.

Le Van Viet General Hospital, headquartered at 387 Le Van Viet Street in Tang Nhon Phu A Ward, is a Grade-2 health non-business unit, with a capacity of 100 beds, while Thu Duc City Hospital at 29 Phu Chau Street in Tam Phu Ward is a Grade-1 health non-business unit and has a capacity of 800 beds.

Besides, the city also re-organized the District 2 Healthcare Center, the District 9 Healthcare Center and the Thu Duc District Healthcare Center into the Thu Duc City Healthcare Center under the HCMC Department of Health.

Construction process of nationwide expressway system reaches 90 percent

The Ministry of Transport informed that the 1,046-kilometer expressway system nationwide has been put into operation so far and currently there are more than 900 kilometers being under construction, reaching over 90 percent as planned.

Accordingly, the North-South Expressway to the East, the Eastern Expressway of Ho Chi Minh Road, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway, Expressway connecting to Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son Province and Ring Roads of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have not been implemented.

According to Minister of Transport Mr. Nguyen Van The, the delay was due to the slow site clearance progress.

Based on the actual situation, the transport sector set the target up to 2030 concentrating on construction of inter-regional expressway projects connecting to sea ports, air-ports, striving to complete 5,000 kilometers of expressway in 2030 and more than 9,000 kilometers in 2050.

To speed up the progress, Minister Nguyen Van The said that there should be a breakthrough mechanism for expressway infrastructure development in the coming time, a breakthrough in the way of implementing, selecting a portfolio, and submitting to the Government for approval of the whole site clearance to form the entire investment project of 5,000 kilometers of the expressway.

EVNHCMC’s youth launches energy-saving activities to respond Earth Hour 2021

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Unions of HCMC, Thu Duc City and the Electricity Corporation of HCMC (EVNHCMC) have co-organized many activities in response to the 2021 Youth Month program and Earth Hour 2021 campaign.

Accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Unions of EVNHCMC and Thu Duc City have kicked of the “Joining hands to build Thu Duc New City” program.

In March, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Unions of EVNHCMC has implemented a series of activities to mark the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the 45th anniversary of the founding of EVNHCMC, such as installing safe electrical systems in three alleys and 50 households, implementing the programs of “Civilized, safe and clean apartment” and “Using electricity safely and economically in school”.

HCMC asks for ODA loan for Water Environment Improvement Project

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have asked for an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from Japanese government for its Water Environment Improvement Project.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has proposed the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to value the Water Environment Improvement Project and have official document on provision of the loan to improve water environment in Ben Nghe- Tau Hu – Doi – Te canals for the third phase, said the office of the committee yesterday.

Presently, the city has been implementing the anti-flooding project and the wastewater treatment project for the 2020 – 2045 period as well as for the 2020 – 2030 period including the Water Environment Improvement Project in Ben Nghe- Tau Hu – Doi – Te canals.

The project includes dredging and building a complete canal system with total length of 13.5 kilometers as well as building a wastewater collection system Nam Sai Gon comprising 43-km culvert system and one wastewater treatment plant with capacity of 100,000 cubic meters a day for the first phase and 170,000 cubic meters a day for the second phase.

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

Poultry farmers have been hit hard by skyrocketing feed prices.

Tran Quang Trung, a pig farmer in Dong Nai Province’s Thong Nhat District, said a 25kg bag of bran has increased from VND250,000 to VND290,000 (US$11-12.6) since October last year.

Prices of raw materials used for feed such as corn, rice bran, and fish flour are also continuing to rise.

But farmers cannot hike prices of poultry or cattle since they compete with cheap imported products.

In Dong Nai Province, the country’s largest chicken producer, the price of chicken has fallen below production cost since feed prices have increased from VND20,000 per kilogramme to VND26,000, causing farmers an average loss of VND3,500 per kilogramme of meat.

Poultry and livestock farmers are suffering big losses, especially those with bank loans. Big farms that typically sell 10,000-20,000 chicken of Tam Hoang variety a day are losing VND30-40 million ($1300-1740) daily, according to the Dong Nai Animal Husbandry Association.

Pham Duc Binh, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Animal Feed Association, said animal feed production is controlled by importers and foreign businesses, while all the maize used for the production of animal feed is imported.

Viet Nam only produces rice bran and cassava, and has failed to develop areas to grow feed inputs because of poor productivity, and the animal feed supply chain is not comprehensive, he added.

The dependence on imports, and the sharp increase in global prices of raw materials due to crop failures and China buying record quantities, means input prices have increased sharply.

The lack of empty containers, which are stuck in various ports around the world, to transport goods has increased the prices of imported raw materials further.

To minimise the monopoly of foreign enterprises and create competition, Binh said the State should plan raw material areas and offer preferential policies to domestic companies in terms of borrowing.

Moody’s changes Vietnam’s outlook to positive

Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has maintained the Government of Vietnam’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Ba3 and changed the outlook to positive from negative.

The drivers of the positive outlook include signs of improvements in fiscal strength and potential improvements in economic strength that may strengthen Vietnam’s credit profile over time. Sustained fiscal consolidation has led to improvements in fiscal and debt metrics, which Moody’s expects to be only briefly interrupted by the pandemic.

Moreover, Vietnam’s economic strength may benefit from global shifts in production, trade and consumption following the coronavirus pandemic. Over time, indications of higher fiscal and economic strength may point to improving policy effectiveness, also putting upward pressure on Vietnam’s credit profile.

The affirmation of the Ba3 rating is underpinned by ongoing credit strengths and weaknesses, including a large, diversified economy with high growth potential offering resilience to shocks, and increasing capacity in the domestic financial system to finance government borrowing at low costs.

Vietnam’s local- and foreign-currency ceilings are unchanged at Baa3 and Ba2, respectively.

In its evaluation, Moody’s also considered other factors such as the environment, society, air pollution, extreme weather conditions, which it held that Vietnam should give greater attention to.

Moody’s raising of two positions in outlook prospect is an unprecedented move in its ranking globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a considerable recognition for Vietnam./.

Moody’s upgrades unsecured ratings of 15 Vietnamese banks

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings and senior unsecured ratings of 15 Vietnamese banks at Ba3 positive.

At the same time, Moody’s also revised the outlook for the long-term local and foreign currency deposit and issuer ratings of  five banks to positive from negative, four banks to positive from stable and six banks to stable from negative.

The rating actions followed Moody’s affirmation of Vietnam’s Ba3 issuer rating and the change in the outlook to positive from negative.

The 15 banks are An Binh Bank, ACB, HDBank, Vietcombank, BIDV, Lien Viet Post Bank, MB, OCB, SeABank, TPBank, Agribank, VIB, VietinBank, VPBank and Techcombank.

With the exception of An Binh Bank, the Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs), adjusted BCAs, Counterparty Risk Assessments (CRA) and counterparty risk ratings (CRR) assigned to the banks stated above are unaffected by the rating actions.

It downgraded An Binh Bank’s BCA and adjusted BCA to B2 from B1, while the long-term CRA and CRR have been downgraded to B1 and B1 from Ba3 and Ba3, respectively.

Vietnam’s sovereign credit strength is a key input in Moody’s assessment of the deposit and issuer ratings of Vietnamese banks, because the country’s credit strength affects the government’s capacity to provide support to the banks in times of stress.

Assuming all other factors remain constant, Moody’s will likely upgrade the long-term ratings of the nine Vietnamese banks whose ratings are on a positive outlook if the Vietnamese government’s rating is upgraded./.

Series of events to match woodworking businesses with foreign buyers

Business in the wood industry will have a chance to seek buyers and boost export during the Vietnam Furniture Matching Week 2021, scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City from April 12 to 19.

The Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA) said on March 17 that March and April are usually the peak order season, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced cancellation of many face-to-face business matching activities since 2020.

To help domestic enterprises connect with international buyers, the association will organise the Vietnam Furniture Matching Week 2021 on the HAWA Online Platform for Exhibition (HOPE).

It noted that the week will feature a wide range of activities, a highlight of which is the Furniture Sourcing Day with the participation of more than 300 guests who are local manufacturers and representative offices of the world’s major businesses to help form and enhance their long-term links.

The online exhibition and B2B matching event will introduce 100 Vietnamese producers with 10,000 products on the HOPE platform, via which HAWA will record buyers’ demand and connect them with suitable manufacturers.

The organiser will also carry out a marketing campaign to access tens of thousands of global buyers via international communication partners like Furniture Today, Furniture News, Mobelmarkt, and Vietnam’s overseas trade offices.

A series of webinars will also take place, providing in-depth analysis on Vietnam’s main and potential markets such as the US, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and Canada, according to HAWA./.

Autotech & Accessories 2021 to be held both offline, online

The 17th Saigon International Autotech & Accessories Show (Autotech & Accessories 2021) is scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City from May 20 to 23 with both offline and online activities.

The event, which will feature more than 300 booths, is organised by the Asia Trade Fair and Business Promotion JSC with the support of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industry.

Organisers said as the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting almost all aspects, including business matching and trade promotion activities, they decided to hold the Autotech & Accessories 2021 in both offline and online formats, which will concurrently help enhance cooperation among enterprises, prevent coronavirus transmission, and promote green practices towards sustainable development.

The online show will be held in three phases: from Mary 20 to 23 (at the same time with the offline one), from June 30 to July 2, and from October 27 to 31 at www.virtualautotech.com.vn and www.autotechonline.com.vn.

The virtual exhibition applies modern technologies to simulate businesses’ factories, showrooms, and products and enable visitors to connect with exhibitors, according to organisers./.

Two more dairy firms licensed to export to China

The Chinese General Administration of Customs (GAC) has recently announced to grant transaction codes to two Vietnamese companies to ship dairy products to China, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets.

Accordingly, FrieslandCampina Hanam Company Limited was allowed to ship pasteurised and fermented milk to China, while FrieslandCampina Vietnam Company Limited could export pasteurised and fermented milk, sweetened condensed milk, and other dairy products to the Chinese market.

China has so far granted transaction codes to nine Vietnamese companies and plants. Others include TH True milk with sterilised and modified milk, Hanoimilk with fermented milk, Bel Vietnam with other cheeses, Nutifood with sterilised, modified and flavoured fermented milk, Vinamilk’s three plants with condensed milk, flavoured fermented milk, sterilised and modified milk, sweetened condensed milk, and many other kinds of condensed milk products.

China is currently the biggest milk importer in the world./.

Vietnam ships 638,000 tonnes of rice abroad in Jan-Feb

Vietnam exported 638,000 tonnes of rice worth 352 million USD in the first two months of 2021, down 31.4 percent in volume and 18.3 percent in value year-on-year.

The average export price of rice in the period was 551.7 USD per tonne, up 13.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

The Philippines remains the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, with a 47.6 percent market share. Rice exports to this market reached nearly 170,000 tonnes valuing at 91.4 million USD in the period, increasing by 25.6 percent in volume and 48.9 percent in value.

Vietnam also witnessed significant export growths in others markets, including Ghana (up 3.13 times), China (up 2.8 times), and Australia (up 2.6 times).

The country exported 6.15 million tonnes of rice for 3.07 billion USD last year.

Amid the difficulties posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rice exporters quickly made appropriate adjustments and actively sought new markets while fully tapping into the advantages brought about by free trade agreements (FTA) that Vietnam joined.

FTAs had created a major opportunity for Vietnamese rice to make inroads into choosy markets in the world./.

HCM City to focus on revival of businesses in 2021

Helping businesses revive production and trading is one of the important tasks that the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City will focus on in 2021.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, the city’s index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 6 percent in the first two months of the year, despite a fall of 24.6 percent in February as business establishments closed for the Lunar New Year.

The recovery in industrial production, retail sales and import-export activities has been due to the Government’s effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic and programmes to revive the economy, said Bui Ta Hoang Vu, the department’s director.

The department has also implemented programmes to support enterprises, stimulate consumption, connect producers and distributors, stabilise the market, and ensure consumer demand is fully met, he said.

To ensure the revival continues, the department will organise more trade promotion programmes, make efforts to connect suppliers and distributors of goods and enhance supply chain linkages in supporting industries.

It will continue a programme that connects businesses with banks and enables them to get preferential loans.

It will recommend measures to support firms involved in the city’s key industrial products in 2021-2025 and those whose products have won the HCM City Gold Brand Awards.

Implementing the annual market stabilisation programme and trade promotions to help businesses expand their share of the domestic market is also in the department’s plans this year, as is working closely with business groups to promptly mitigate difficulties faced by their members.

This month the department organised a meeting between businesses and the city administration to discuss the former’s problems and solutions.

It is implementing a programme to promote rapid growth of the city’s key economic sectors that have high added-value, supporting industries and four key industrial sectors in 2021-2025.

The programme also seeks to help develop the city into the country and region’s main shopping hub, and improve its services infrastructure to ensure it retains its position as the main centre for port operations, logistics and export services in the south.

It has urged the People’s Committee to help expand a centre for displaying the city’s major supporting industrial products so that small and medium-sized enterprises can introduce their products and production capacity to local and foreign partners.

It said the expansion of the centre would facilitate regular interaction between sellers and buyers of supporting industry products, making it easier for foreign investors to access the Vietnamese supply chain, helping promote the country’s supporting industries.

It also urged the People’s Committee to seek approval from the People’s Council and pass regulations on loan interest support for the investment stimulus programme.

Businesses are very keen to participate in the city’s investment stimulus programme, especially those in the supporting sectors, according to the department./.

Visa to expand digital platform for educating small business owners

Visa has announced plans to expand its global digital platform for delivering free education resources to small and micro businesses (SMBs).

Dang Tuyet Dung, the payment company’s country manager for Vietnam and Laos, said: “SMBs are the backbone of our economy. It is crucial to empower SMB-owners with knowledge, skills, and access to services that support them in rebuilding or starting stronger, digitally enabled businesses.”

The platform, Practical Business Skills, is available in English for Vietnamese SMBs to expand their global accessibility.

SMBs account for more than 90 percent of global businesses and 50-60 percent of jobs.

It is built on Visa’s global expertise in financial education and offers growth-minded entrepreneurs tools to start, manage and expand a business.

With more than 50 online learning modules, it addresses the needs at various stages of a business’ life cycle./.

Japan’s food giant Meiji to establish subsidiary in Hanoi

Japanese food giant Meiji Co. will set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Hanoi on April 1 to ramp up sales in Vietnam of powdered infant formula milk imported from Japan.

Meiji Food Vietnam has a total capital of about 200 million JPY (1.8 million USD).

According to Meiji, Vietnam has about 1.5 million births a year, 70 percent more than in Japan, and the number is projected to keep growing.

However, the Japanese dairy and confectionery company will continue to ship formula from Japan for sale in Vietnam, with no plans to construct a local factory.

Southeast Asia is a potential market for Meiji. The food segment of parent Meiji Holdings posted sales of 6.4 billion JPY in the region in the 2019 fiscal year ended March 2020, up 12 percent from the previous year.

In Vietnam, Meiji’s nutritionists have provided dietary advice to workers at Japanese-owned factories since 2018. The company also sells fortified milk for adults there. It aims to provide nutrition education to 650,000 people in Vietnam by 2030./.

Interest rates remain at lowest levels

Though some banks increased their deposit interest rates early this month, it is not a common trend and the rate currently is still at the lowest level it has been in many years.

With the liquidity of the banking system abundant and interest rates on the interbank market still at a low level, some banks unexpectedly increased their rates at the beginning of March.

Techcombank has applied higher savings interest rates of 0.5-0.6 percentage points for many terms since March 1. Specifically, the rates for six-month and 12-month deposits rose to 4.4-4.7 per cent and 5.1-5.4 per cent per year, respectively.

VPBank also listed new deposit rates for individual customers from March 2, with rises from 0.2 percentage points for terms less than six months.

At ACB, the two- and three-month deposit rates were also increased by 0.1 percentage point.

Despite these movies, in general, the deposit interest rates at most other banks haven’t changed much compared to last month and remain at a low level.

The rates were kept unchanged from the previous month among State-owned commercial banks including Vietcombank, Vietinbank, BIDV and Agribank, and in the group of joint-stock commercial banks such as LienVietPostBank, SeABank and TPBank.

Several other banks even decreased their rates. At BacABank, for example, the rates for one-month to five-month deposits fell by 0.2 percentage points to 3.6 per cent per year while six-month to 12-month deposits also saw declining rates of 0.3 percentage points.

SCB also reduced the rate by 0.5 percentage points for 12-month deposits to 6.8 per cent per year.

According to experts, there is not much room to further reduce savings interest rates as banks must ensure real positive interest rates compared to inflation to attract depositors.

They explained while the inflation rate has been increasing since the first months of this year, demand for credit is also forecast to surge rapidly this year when the economy recovers. Interest rates will likely increase as a result.

KB Vietnam Securities Company said the interbank interest rate and Government bond yields are hitting the bottom while the deposit interest rate is also dropping to the lowest level in the past 15 years. The company forecast the interest rate level is likely to bottom out in the first half of 2021 and increase slightly again in the second half of 2021.

Vo Tri Thanh, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said it was very difficult to further lower interest rates because economic recovery will lead to an increase in demand for credit.

The management of monetary policy this year must be very flexible, Thanh noted, adding if the monetary policy was too tight, it could hamper the economic recovery; but vice versa, if the policy is too loose, the country would face financial risks and high inflation.

Financial risks have been seen in recent months when many investors spent on securities and real estate instead of depositing at banks due to low interest rates, Thanh said, adding it was best to maintain the interest rate level.

Though there were no signs of a bubble currently, Thanh warned it could occur if interest rates were cut further.

Brokers seek way to borrow from investors with high interest rates

As banks are offering low interest rates, many securities companies are seeking way to mobilise capital from investors by offering higher interest rates.

Securities companies, via a new form of co-operation with their customers, will mobilise capital from customers if they do not use the capital to conduct transactions.

To supplement capital for business, securities companies often borrow from credit institutions. However, this takes time and is not always feasible.

By borrowing from investors while they do not use capital to conduct transactions, securities company can quickly ultilise idle money of investors to significantly improve profit margins. Meanwhile, investors can enjoy profits from the interest rates offered by the securities companies.

When investors need to conduct securities transactions, they can quickly perform transactions without transferring external money from the bank.

Some companies such as Tri Viet Asset Management Company (TVC), MB Securities (MBS) and VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND) have offered relatively attractive interest rates to customers.

Interest rates for a six-month term are usually 7-8.5 per cent per year. For some prioritised customers, the rates can even reach up to 10 per cent per year, much higher than the interest rates offered by banks at the moment.

Not only high interest rates, securities companies also offer many terms for investors to easily join, even 1-week terms with a relatively attractive interest rate of 2-3 per cent per year.

Banks usually offer interest rates of below 0.3 per cent per year for this term length.

For many budding investors, the idle time for money in their account is quite short, most of which last only one to two weeks. If they lend the money to a securities company, they can enjoy high interest rates of 2.5 per cent per year for a short term from one to two weeks.

However, this form of co-operation also poses a risk for both sides if the securities company cannot afford to pay interest to investors. So far, the market has not recorded any controversies.

Recently, there has been an explosion of new investors entering the stock market, also known as “F0” investors. Data from the depository center (VSD) shows that in 2020, there were nearly 394,000 securities accounts opened by domestic investors, doubling the previous year.

In the first month of 2020, the market received more than 86,000 newly opened securities accounts and this was also the month with the largest number of new accounts in history.

The entry of a new class of investors has led to a sharp increase in the demand for margin services in the market. By the end of 2020, outstanding loans at securities companies totaled about VND90 trillion, an increase of about VND30 trillion compared to the end of Q3 of 2019, most of which are margin loans. This is an all-time record number.

Outstanding loans of margin lending have increased dramatically, causing many securities companies to fall into a shortage of lending sources.

Show’s almost over for TV brands in popularity contest

Fierce competition in the market is seemingly destroying the prospects of well-known Japanese TV brands like Sharp and Toshiba, as their popularity plunges and availability in some showrooms becomes scarcer.

At a Dien May Xanh store in Hanoi’s Cau Giay district, typical of most electronics stores focused on television sets, a batch of products are shown in cases of various types, sizes, and specifications. However, customers would now find it hard to locate any TV set from leading Japanese electronics brands like Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba.

In the Cau Giay store, Tran Son Tung wanted to buy a TV for his new house and shared his memory about his previous Toshiba TV set. “Four years ago I bought a Toshiba fridge, and amazingly I received a 55-inch TV for free after a lucky draw. Today I decided to look for a new Toshiba TV basically as a thank-you but I am failing, as I can’t seem to find any.”

Staff of the Dien May Xanh store said that they had stopped receiving Toshiba sets over the last two years. “We presented them in the showroom to try and sell just like the rest of the TVs that other manufacturers sent,” said one staff member. “But recently, the number we receive is quite low and no-one asks for these brands anymore. So we leave any of the older-model TVs in the warehouse.”

In fact, sales of large-screen TVs remained at two-digit growth (85, 58, and 29 per cent, respectively) in the periods of 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020. According to the German market research institute GfK, in the first three quarters of 2020, Samsung maintained the leading position with 44.7 per cent of market share, rising by 2 per cent on-year. That of Sony reduced by 6.7 per cent on-year to 25.9 per cent, followed by LG with 17.6 per cent of market share (up 3.8 per cent on-year).

“The three largest brands make up 88.2 per cent of the whole market share, while the 11.8 per cent left divides for all small players like TCL and Asanzo, brands that are being neglected such as Sharp, Toshiba, and new names like Casper and Mobell,” said Le Van Tien, an expert working at a leading TV production facility.

“In the 10 per cent of market share, TCL is accounting for 5 per cent, while Asanzo is capturing 3 per cent, focusing on customers in rural areas. Quite simply, the space for Japanese brands which used to be popular is going to get much smaller and shrink away,” added Tien.

In 2015, Toshiba Corporation stopped making and selling TVs in North America, licensing its brand to Taiwanese group Compal after deeming the US market too competitive. This company licensed its TV business in various other markets in an effort to cut costs and launch higher-end televisions, but price competition remains harsh, according to Reuters.

Nguyen Quang Huy, head of sales and marketing at Toshiba Vietnam, said that after decades of Toshiba TVs being manufactured in Vietnam, they were then imported from Indonesia. However, even imports eventually ceased.

Facing the same woes, Panasonic Corporation transferred its unprofitable Sanyo TV unit in the United States to another company, and decided to stop the production of panels for TVs in 2016. The manufacturer blamed the situation on the unprofitable production of TV displays and increased competition from Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean counterparts.

In 2019, Panasonic Corporation announced its decision to stop production of LCD panels. This activity is part of the group’s restructuring plan for business operations. All resources of this company such as technology lines and human resources will be optimised to serve other key areas of the Panasonic Group.

In Vietnam, the number of TVs manufactured by Panasonic sharply decreased over the last couple of years, according to distributors. Despite still being showcased in some electronics marts, Dien May Xanh has halted display of the brand altogether.

Panasonic Vietnam declared its new business value proposition: changing from consumer electronics to wellness solutions providing company; and officially launched its total wellness solutions with a commitment of bringing a healthy, safe and convenient life for Vietnamese people.

Although Sharp is focusing on its LCD units, after also selling all its TV business and manufacturing facilities in the US in 2015, in Vietnam its TV sets, which used to be imported from Malaysia and Thailand in small quantities, are causing losses.

The disappearance of such formerly-popular TV brands is not a new phenomenon. People saw the death of traditional TVs along with such brands as National, Viettronic, and Hitachi in the 1980s and 1990s in Vietnam. “Success should be attributed to non-stop innovation and improvement,” said Tien.

E-government sets up success for businesses

Domestic and international businesses are expected to benefit more from Vietnam’s future e-government development, as the completion of the long-awaited legal framework on shared data could be a way to improve the business climate amid stiffening regional competition.

At the meeting to review the two-year development scheme of Vietnam’s e-government on March 10, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the upcoming tasks will be the completion of the legal framework, acceleration of public e-services, creating and deploying an effective national database so that paperwork in administrative procedures can be eased.

Important tasks were set out for ministries, agencies, cities, and provinces. Specifically, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has to fast-track the development of a national database on land by July. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security develops a national database on the population in the same timeframe.

Regarding the e-government platforms, ministries, agencies, cities, and provinces must fully complete IT security measures and propose solutions to effectively use integrated platforms and promote database sharing. Moreover, they have to build and deploy schemes on their digital transformation in the new development period.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is issuing decrees to complete the legal framework on electronic identification and authentication and personal data protection while also announcing the strategy on e-government development towards digital government development in 2021-2025 with a vision towards 2030.

The MIC will study the revision of the laws on e-transactions and the digital economy, build a decree on the management of digital platforms and the development of the digital economy, and submit a scheme on digital economy development by 2025 with a vision towards 2030, and on supporting and promoting digital transformation in key businesses and sectors.

Vietnam currently ranks 86th among 193 member states in the United Nations’ E-Government Survey 2020, up two ranks from 2018. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines scored higher and some regional countries even made great headways (Thailand ranked 57th, up from 73rd, and Indonesia climbed to 88th from 107th).

A country’s higher e-government index also means a higher business environment, competitiveness, and innovation indexes, making it a strong rival to others in investment attraction, trade, and services, which prompts most Southeast Asian nations to take actions and improve.

With the future orientation, domestic and international businesses can expect several positive spillovers. According to the UN and World Bank reports, a good business environment attracts high-quality investors, facilitates technology transfer and exchange of management practices, and enhances transparency and reduces corruption.

The National Digital Transformation Programme aims to promote the development and widespread use of e-commerce platforms in enterprises and the community. It also aims to give greater incentives and support for startup development and encourages large companies to make use of new technologies and commercial activities. Therefore, further investment incentives for science and technology-related firms are expected in the coming years.

E-government development has also been attracting attention from the international business community in Vietnam. Virginia B. Foote, chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that the digital economy in general, and e-commerce, e-banking, fintech, modern cloud computing, and e-government in particular, come out of the necessity to reduce face-to-face transactions, and can enhance Vietnam’s goal to reduce the use of cash overall.

She attributed that, “We need accelerated use of e-government, e-commerce, e-banking, fintech, hyperscale cloud computing, and the overall reduction of paper and cash for all businesses. Replacing Vietnam’s technical standards in clouds in state agencies with internationally recognised certifications and compliance mechanisms, as well as adopting cloud-first policies, will enable the government to choose the best technologies, strengthen digital resilience, and develop a robust e-government technology ecosystem.”

“Accelerating the implementation of these objectives can permanently reduce administrative costs and burdens for both the government and all businesses, and will attract new investors looking for global standards and ease of doing business. It will provide the foundation for smart city infrastructure and services,” she noted.

Similarly, Tetsu Funayama, a representative from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam said the implementation of digital transformation has been determining the rise and fall of companies and businesses.

“Although there is a trade-off with national and corporate security, digital transformation ahead of other countries will bring benefits to Vietnam. We would like to ask for support for foreign companies to contribute to Vietnam in these fields as well,” he recommended.

Vietnam’s e-government development has achieved results in technical infrastructure, database sharing, use and development of platforms, and network security in 2016-2020, especially in the last two years.

Mobile transactions in Vietnam to grow by three times by 2025

Mobile transactions in Vietnam are expected to increase by 300 per cent between 2021 and 2025, led by strong growth in mobile payments, as revealed in the second edition of the Fintech and Digital Banking 2025 (Asia-Pacific) IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Backbase.

However, we will still see 100 new challengers across the region by 2025, according to IDC. With new challengers presenting stronger post-pandemic propositions, there will be at least two digital banks in every Asia-Pacific market that will pose a significant challenge to incumbents. 30 per cent of the business of Vietnamese banks are predicted to be under threat from new digital challengers.

Some fintechs that had gained sufficient size by 2019 also found success, gaining more market share than expected. Fintech categories that have typically shown success include payments, wealth advisory, alternative data, lending platforms, and account origination.

Meanwhile, traditional banks are increasingly focused on responding to changing consumer behaviour. Digital banks across the Asia-Pacific saw three times the growth in their customer bases compared to traditional banks in 2020/2019.

One result of the economic downturn is a more humanistic type of customer centricity, as banks needed to communicate with customers in empathetic, trustworthy, and reliable ways that are complemented by digital innovations. There has been an increased integration of human agents into customer engagement strategies, as contact centres saw surges in usage.

The latest edition of Fintech and Digital Banking 2025 (APAC) found that 60 per cent of banks in the Asia-Pacific will leverage AI or machine learning technologies for data-driven decisions, compared to 48 per cent from the previous year. In Vietnam, core banking and payments system modernisation are the top 2 priorities among the top 8 banks in Vietnam in anticipation of rising consumer demands by 2025.

A back-to-basics trend has also overtaken the need for new revenue sources. Banks across the Asia-Pacific region will be focusing on digitalising their core business of lending with some focus, subsequently, on deposits. This is particularly evident in Vietnam, with 80 per cent of banks having re-invested in credit risk and asset-liability management, as well as building up capabilities in lending. Vietnam will see double-digit growth for lending every year from 2021. New capabilities will be acquired from fintech partners: IDC predicts by the middle of 2021, 50 per cent of lending decisions in retail banking across the Asia-Pacific will be supported by fintech propositions, underscoring accelerating bank-fintech collaboration.

Riddhi Dutta, regional director for ASEAN and South Asia at Backbase, said that, “COVID-19 has brought about significant changes in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific’s banking landscape, and banking and fintech players will need to quickly act on their digital strategies to capture market share. The report highlights key areas for Vietnamese banks, including massive growth in mobile as well as opportunities in lending. Backbase is committed to helping Vietnam’s financial institutions stay ahead in the digital race and develop the innovative banking models and experiences that Vietnamese customers now expect.”

Boosting green, sustainable development

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports saw negative growth of 10.5% in 2020 and a decrease in revenue of over US$35 billion compared to US$39 billion in 2019.

Businesses in the field need to focus on production andhave a strategy for sustainable development while increasing product value to enhance competitiveness in the market.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, total textile and garment export turnover reached nearly US$5.96 billion in the first two months of 2021while import revenue was over US$3.16 billion, bringing about a trade surplus of about US$2.8 billion. In particular, added value in the industry was quite high at55.4%, demonstrating signs of prosperity in the market.

Statistics from the textile and garment industry also showthat most businesses have orders to fulfil until June this year while items with large levels of consumption such as knitwear and casual wear have orders until September.

This reflects the recovery of Vietnamese textiles and garments, especially as Vietnam is in a good position on aglobal supply chain restructured after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

However, due to the unpredictable development of the pandemic, if it is not controlled soon, enterprises will still face many risks. If the pandemic continues to rage acrossthe world, the supply chain will be interrupted, resulting in a decline in orders. On the contrary, if the pandemicoccurs at garment and textile factories, they must be isolated and will be unable to organise production to fulfil orders.

In addition to financial losses, in the long run, the position of Vietnamese textiles and garments in the global supply chain will also be shaky and may be supplanted by other competitors.

Therefore, disease prevention and control at business establishments needs to be implemented strictly. At the same time, enterprises should focus on promoting production, productivity and product quality in order to fulfil the target of reaching US$39 billion in export revenue this year.

In addition, businesses need to carefully researchinformation and markets to take advantage of new-generation free trade agreements such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and others.

It is time to define a development strategy for the 2021-2025 period to effectively implement set goals. The strategy should clearly define technological solutions with a vision for the spinning and dyeing industry in order to create a foundation to adapt to the fast-changing trends of the market after the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, we also need to promote the green trend in the textile and garment industry through the use ofrenewable energy, efficient use of water resources, and sustainable development of factories.

It is also important to focus on in-depth development, increasing the production of high-value products, improve governance, and restructure businesses while boosting the supply chains of raw materials and building a connection strategy to bring Vietnam’s textile and garment brands to the world market.

Furthermore, the Government should soon approve the sector development strategy until 2030, with a vision to 2035 and direct the formation of large textile and garment industrial zones with concentrated wastewater treatmentsystems to attract more investment into weaving and dyeing in order to meet the origin requirements of new-generation free trade agreements.

The government also needs to maintain macroeconomic stability, exchange rates, and interest rates whilecontinuing to reduce interest rates for long-term loans in order to create a “platform” for business development.

Raw export should be prohibited to prevent white marble drain: Experts

White marble is classified as a rare resource of Vietnam, only available in Nghe An and Yen Bai provinces. For several years, Nghe An Province has exported raw white marble with an output of millions of tons. The export of raw white marble creates extremely low profits compared to its real value.

White marble in Nghe An Province is mainly distributed in Quy Hop District with reserves of hundreds of thousands of tons. For many years, white marble products of Nghe An Province, such as white cobblestone, superfine white marble powder, and ashlar stone, have mainly been exported through the ports of Cua Lo, Hai Phong, and Nghi Son.

According to the Import-Export Management Department under the Department of Industry and Trade of Nghe An Province, in 2018, the province exported 1,210 million tons of raw white marble, bringing in more than US$24.18 million, while it exported 383,667 tons of superfine white marble powder, collecting $40.51 million in return. Only about 24 percent of white marble was processed for export, whereas the remaining 76 percent was for raw export.

In 2020, the export of raw white cobblestone was 1,246 million tons, earning nearly $24 million, while that of superfine white marble powder was nearly 590,000 tons, earning $47 million. It means that only about 32 percent of exported white marble had been through processing, the remaining nearly 68 percent was raw export.

According to the above data, on average, the value of one ton of raw white marble is about $20, while that of superfine white marble powder is equivalent to about $90-$100. If more than 1.2 million tons of raw white marble exported in 2020 had been processed into superfine white marble powder before exporting, about $100 million would have been collected. If the amount of raw white marble exported from 2017 to 2020 had been processed into powder before exporting, more than $400 million would have been earned.

According to many experts, this fact shows that the difference in value between the export of raw materials and processed products is too large. Facing the situation of white marble drain, experts recommended that authorities should limit or even prohibit the export of raw white marble to promote deep processing before exporting.

FDI firms enjoy 5.5 billion USD in trade surplus in two months

Foreign direct investment (FDI) firms’ import-export value reached 68.52 billion USD in the first two months of 2021, a surge of 31.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In January-February, the FDI sector enjoyed nearly 5.5 billion USD in trade surplus, with exports exceeding 37 billion USD, up 32 percent year on year, while imports totalling 31.51 billion USD, up 30.8 percent.

Among sub-sectors, the machinery, tools and parts posted the largest export growth 77 percent, increasing 2.44 billion USD. It was followed by phones and spare parts (2.2 billion USD, or 29 percent), and electronics and parts (1.85 billion USD, or 34 percent).

As of February 20, 5.46 billion USD worth of FDI was injected into Vietnam, equivalent to 84.4 percent of the figure recorded in the same time last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As many as 126 foreign projects were granted investment licences with total registered capital of 3.31 billion USD, a year-on-year fall of 33.9 percent.

Meanwhile, 115 existing projects adjusted their investment capital with a total additional sum of 1.61 billion USD, or 2.5 times higher than the same time last year.

Capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors stood at 543.1 million USD, down 34.4 percent.

Foreign investors pumped capital in 17 sectors, with processing and manufacturing holding the lead with over 3 billion USD or 55.7 percent, followed by power production and distribution with 1.44 billion USD (26.5 percent), real estate 485 million USD, and science-technology nearly 153 million USD./.

Vietnamese goods week in Hanoi features over 100 stalls

A trade fair spotlighting Vietnamese goods and featuring more than 100 stalls is in full swing at the Me Linh Plaza in Hanoi’s Ha Dong district, offering opportunities for firms to stimulus trade, distribution, and consumption demand in the capital city.

On sales at the five-day event, kicked off on March 19, are consumer and industrial products, organic agro-forestry-fishery goods, and those from craft villages or produced under the One Commune, One Product programme.

Cooperatives from eight provinces facing difficulties selling their farm produce including Nghe An, Hai Duong, Ha Giang, and Son La are taking part in the fairs along those from districts of Hanoi.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, acting director of the municipal department of industry and trade, said participating enterprises have been assisted to conduct their trade promotion and communications activities.

They are also requested to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention and control measures at the fair, she added./.

PM wants Cai Mep – Thi Vai seaport complex to be developed to regional standard

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked relevant ministries, agencies and the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau to develop the seaport and logistics system at Cai Mep – Thi Vai area to meet regional standards by 2030 towards becoming a world-class seaport hub in the world by 2045.

He made the request during a working session with provincial officials on March 20, while highlighting the province’s advantage in seaports, which the PM said could contribute to the development of the country and the southeastern region.

Hailing the province for its achievements in socio-economy, national defence-security and Party building work, he noted that local seaports’ growth of about 2 percent amid the pandemic is good news.

The PM mentioned the Party’s guidelines and the 13th National Party Congress’s Resolution on the upgrade of seaports nationwide, including building logistics and transportation infrastructure in the region and improving service quality. He said as Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port together with Lach Huyen Port in Hai Phong city are among the top deep-water seaports in the world, they create an advantage for the country in development.

At the same time, PM Phuc pointed out problems of the region, including incomplete transport infrastructure and a lack of modern logistics facilities, financial and banking system,  and a strong fleet of ships, which must be addressed promptly.

He told relevant ministries and agencies to improve infrastructure at Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port, early start the construction of the Bien Hoa – Vung Tau expressway and Phuoc An bridge to facilitate the transportation of goods for import and export.

The Government leader directed enhancing logistics infrastructure, including establishing a goods distribution centre linking Long Thanh international airport and Cai Mep – Thi Vai seaport. He assigned the Finance Ministry to set up a centre to facilitate customs clearance at Cai Mep – Thi Vai seaport and attract more vessels and financial brokers to the port.

The leader also suggested building plans to form financial-banking-insurance hubs in Phu My town, Vung Tau city, while developing industrial and processing zones to shape a for-export processing centre in the province. He agreed with a proposal to open a free trade area at Cai Mep area to attract more foreign investors and a project on connecting Con Dao island district with the national grid.

Earlier in the morning, PM Phuc inspected the Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep-water seaport system, including Gemalink – the country’s deepest and largest deep-water seaport.

The Cai Mep – Thi Vai port complex is a group of deep-water seaports with a combined length of over 20km, which account for over 30 percent of the country’s exports by containers, which are expected to be a trade gateway in the south.

Gemalink is the biggest seaport in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai complex and one of the 19 big seaports in the world which is capable of receiving the world’s biggest cruise liners. Built at a total investment of 520 million USD in two phases, the port is equipped with ship-to-shore cranes designed and manufactured in Vietnam. When the first phase of the port is inaugurated in May, it will run at at least 80 percent of its designed capacity this year and at full capacity from next year.

During the trip, the PM also visited Tan Cang – Cai Mep International Terminal – a joint-venture between Saigon New Port Corporation and three foreign partners with a total investment of 100 million USD. Operational in January 2011, the terminal is capable of serving super vessels up to 160,000 DWT.

Over the past years, Ba Ria – Vung Tau has always been one of the five biggest contributors to the State budget. It is home to 69 seaports./.

Ha Nam province facilitates operations of Korean firms

The northern province of Ha Nam has stepped up investment promotion in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and joined many Korean cultural activities in Vietnam, a local official has said.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Quoc Huy told Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan at a working session in Ha Nam on March 19 that the province attaches importance to its friendship and effective cooperation with the RoK Embassy as well as trade promotion organisations of the two countries.

Ha Nam has set up a Korean trade promotion centre, called Korea Desk. Meanwhile, Korean firms in Ha Nam have established an association, aiming to support each other in production and business.

As of March 2021, Ha Nam is home to 148 Korean enterprises, making up 45 percent of FDI firms in the locality, with total investment amounting to 1.6 billion USD, Huy said, adding that such firms have employed 30,000 labourers.

The province highly values the operation capacity of Korean businesses, and has drastically implemented solutions to remove their difficulties in labour shortages, according to the official.

He proposed the Korean Embassy in Vietnam help to promote Ha Nam’s investment climate to Korean firms, organise Korean language traing courses, and train high-quality human resources for Korean enterprises.

Representatives from Korean investment promotion organisations and businesses spoke highly of the local investment environment, especially commitments of the provincial People’s Committee to investors.

They suggested Ha Nam deal with the labour shortages, especially high-quality workforce, and provide housing assistance for Korean experts.

Park said the embassy has cooperated with Vietnamese agencies and organisations to advance the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The embassy will continue to promote the image of Ha Nam as a friendly and model locality to Korean businesses and groups, he pledged.

HCM City, RoK’s Jeollabuk province eye cooperation in startup, high-tech agriculture

Ho Chi Minh City and Jeollabuk province of the Republic of Korea (RoK) have optimal potential for cooperation in startup, high-tech agriculture, culture and tourism.

The view was shared by leaders of the two localities during their online working session on March 19.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, briefed the RoK side on the city’s economic development in 2020, with a growth rate of 1.39 percent amidst the COVID-19 spread.

He highlighted the significance of international resources to HCM City’s implementation of the dual goals of containing the pandemic and recovering the economy.

The RoK is one of the countries with the biggest number of localities (seven) that have set up cooperation with HCM City, Phong said, adding that the southern metropolis wishes to soon establish its friendship and cooperation with Jeollabuk.

The East Asian nation ranks third among 110 countries and territories investing in HCM City, according to the official. Nearly 80,000 Koreans and 2,000 Korean firms are living and operating in the city, with such major groups as Samsung, Lotte, Emart and CJ.

For his part, Song Ha-Jin, Governor of Jeollabuk, said a number of startups from Jeollabuk have begun studying investment opportunities in Vietnam.

Vietnam is a key destination of the RoK’s New Southern Policy. Therefore, apart from startup and high-tech agriculture, Jeollabuk wants to join hands with the country and HCM City in particular in tourism and culture, he stressed.

Lauding Jeollabuk’s cooperation proposals and support in the formation of the KORETOVIET exhibition centre, Phong said the centre is expected to create a joint playground for businesses of the two sides, thus promoting the development of startups.

ADB – major partner of HCM City: official

Ho Chi Minh City always regards the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a major partner that plays an important role in the city’s development, a local official has said.

At a reception for ABD Country Director in Vietnam Andrew Jeffries in the city on March 19, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the projects using ADB loans have significantly contributed to local socio-economic development.

HCM City stands ready to cooperate the ADB Country Director as well as the bank’s office to effectively roll out ADB projects in the southern metropolis, he affirmed.

Phong proposed ADB leaders help HCM City speed up the disbursement of loans and as well as the progress of ongoing projects, saying the two sides should continue realising the memorandum of understanding reached last June fruitfully.

He called for ADB support in four development projects in the southern economic hub for the 2020-2025 period with a vision towards 2030.

The bank will become not only a loan supplier of HCM City, but also a technical and policy consultant for the locality, especially in improving the capacity of local officials, Phong believed.

For his part, Jeffries said his visit forms part of the ADB’s Country Programming Mission, aiming to work with Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities on the bank’s operation programme in the country in the time ahead.

Lauding HCM City’s development potential and position, both regionally and nationally, Jeffries affirmed that the ADB always places importance on HCM City in its cooperation with Vietnam.

The ADB wishes and stands ready to foster collaboration with the city in its construction and development, firstly in activities to improve cooperation efficiency of projects using ADB loans in the locality, he said.

Earlier, the ADB delegation was received by Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee Le Hoa Binh, during which the two sides sought ways to speed up the implementation of such projects./.

Quang Ninh announces 2020 department, district competitiveness index

The People’s Committee of the northern province of Quang Ninh announced its 2020 Department and District Competitiveness Index (DDCI) on March 19.

Among localities, Cam Pha city secured top spot with 72.1 points, followed by Co To district with 71.17 points. Mong Cai city and Quang Yen township were again among the top localities. Tien Yen district moved up to third place from ninth while Co To island district ranked second, up from the sixth.

Van Don and Hai Ha districts were at the bottom, with 24.22 points and 45.74 points, respectively.

In the department category, the Management Board of Economic Zones, the Department of Information and Communications, the provincial branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Customs Department, and the Tourism Department topped the list.

The Department of Finance, the Department of Construction, and the Police Department of Fire Prevention, Fighting, and Rescue all underperformed.

The business community in Ha Long city adopted the best corporate governance, with a score of 5.69 points. In Dam Ha district it displayed the best social responsibility, with 6.71 points, and the best innovation management, with 8.14 points.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Bui Van Khang described the DDCI as a lodestar to improve the local business environment and an independent information source to compare with the Provincial Competitiveness Index released annually by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

He said the DDCI 2020 saw certain improvements on issues of concern for enterprises.

VCCI President Vu Tien Loc said Quang Ninh has affirmed its top priority of improving administrative procedures and the business environment. He also hailed its tireless efforts to maintain its position as one of the top localities nationwide in terms of the PCI and a trustworthy business destination.

The Quang Ninh DDCI 2020 polled nearly 2,080 businesses, cooperatives, and individual business households out of the total of 6,500, with over 12,500 questionnaires sent out. The response rate was 36.2 percent, compared to just over 30 percent in 2018 and 34.65 percent in 2019./.

US popularises farm produce to Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the promising markets of the US’s farm produce, especially high-quality, safe and healthy products, experts said.

They shared the view during a ceremony announcing the United Tastes – a trademark and marketing initiative designed for the Vietnamese market, which was co-organised by the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and the US Department of Agriculture on March 18.

US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Marie C. Damour said popularisation of food and cuisine culture is an excellent way to bring the two countries together.

She added that the United Tastes marketing campaign will serve as a bridge for the two nations to share cuisine culture, provide support for US farmers, fishermen and food companies, and introduce high-quality US farm produce to Vietnamese consumers.

Agricultural Counsellor at the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City Robert Hanson said over the past decade, Vietnam has always posted positive growth and been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. The US’s farm produce export to Vietnam has increased by 40 percent over the past five years, reaching 3.7 billion USD last year.

Vietnam is now the seven largest agriculture market of the US, with soybeans, corns, pork and beef being main imports. The US is also stepping up the export of apple, blueberry and baking ingredients, he said.

US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Marie C. Damour and chef Christan Ngo prepare salad from US’s farm produce at the event (Photo: VNA)

According to him, with increasing income, the Vietnamese people increasingly pay attention to safe and healthy products with clear origin. They have also adopted the habit of using social media to follow consumption trend, frequently going shopping at supermarkets and dining at restaurants.

He stressed that apart from diversity, safety is a top priority of the US farm producers. Consumers will also be provided with information about the farming and processing of the US farm produce.

Quach Van Hoa, Business Deputy Director of The Alaska Guys Vietnam Co.Ltd, said domestic importers and distributors hope for more reasonable tax and licensing policies to facilitate bilateral trade, thus making it easier for Vietnamese consumers to access a diverse source of quality products./.

Vietnam calls for early establishment of new government in Lebanon

Vietnam called upon sides involved to soon reach agreement for the establishment of a new government in Lebanon at an UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing held on March 18 regarding Lebanon situation and the implementation of the UNSC’s Resolution 1701.

Addressing the meeting, Nguyen Phuong Tra, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, spoke highly of and expressed her support for efforts made by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in maintaining stability and preventing tensions from escalating in the Blue Line area.

She said Vietnam is concerned over current affairs in Lebanon, particularly regarding economic and humanitarian areas, and calls on the international community to sustain humanitarian aid commitments for Lebanese people.

Vietnam urges all parties involved in Lebanon to agree to establish a new government soon, comply with their obligations under Resolution 1701, restrain from and avoid provocative actions that could lead to an escalation of tension, respect UNIFIL’s right to freedom of movement, and increase the use of relevant mechanisms to ease tension, Tra stated.

Concerned about activities that violated Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Vietnam urges the sides involved to put an end to the activities and withdraw their troops from their occupied positions in the north of the Blue Line, she said.

At the event, briefings on the Lebanon situation, the operation of the UNIFIL and the implementation of Resolution 1701 were delivered by UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Participating UNSC members expressed their concerns over challenges facing Lebanon and praised the works of the UNIFIL.

Adopted in 2006, Resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Shi’a militant group Hezbollah in South Lebanon./.

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

More people have been hospitalised in HCM City due to the current hot weather.

Since early this month, the average temperature in HCM City and the southern region has risen to 36-38 degrees centigrade.

Doctor Nguyen Dinh Qui from HCM City Children’s Hospital 2 said that since early March, more children were taken to the hospital. In February, around 4,000 children were hospitalised, but the figure increased to 3,600 in the first two weeks of this month.

Dr. Tang Le Chau Ngoc, head of the hospital’s Gastroenterology Department, said that the ward has around 40-60 patients per day, including 15-20 hospitalised. Among those, 3-5 cases suffer from serious hypohydration. He mentioned a 17-month-old child who faced kidney failure after high fever and diarrhoea.

According to Ngoc, the number of sick children to the hospital could continue rising in the coming days.

The same situation has also been reported at HCM City Children’s Hospital 1, particularly children with respiratory diseases.

Thong Nhat Hospital in HCM City has seen more elderly patients. Nguyen Thi Thoa in District 10 said that she has been faced with dizziness and breathing difficulties. She was suspected of having symptoms of a stroke.

HCM City Hospital of Dermato Venereology said it has also seen more patients with diseases such as allergy and pruritus.

Doctor Nguyen Dinh Qui said that diseases related to digestive, respiratory and skin problems account for the highest rate of patients when the weather is hot. He advised that people should not change environments suddenly. People are advised to pay attention to protecting their health during hot weather.

The hot weather has tended to expand to more localities in the southern region.

Dr. Truong Quang Anh Vu from Thong Nhat Hospital said that the number of elderly people treated at the hospital increases around 5-10% per year.

No new COVID-19 cases to report on March 21 morning

Vietnam had no new COVID-19 cases to report in the past 12 hours to 6am March 21, and the death toll remains at 35, according to the Health Ministry.

As of March 21, 2,198 patients have been given the all-clear. The death toll remains at 35.

Among the patients still under treatment, 37 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 18 twice and 63 thrice.

Meanwhile, 37,174 people are being quarantined nationwide, with 490 at hospitals, 17,990 at concentrated quarantine facilities and 18,694 at their accommodations.

Journalism training not allowed at private universities

The Ministry of Education and Training has just turned down proposals from several private colleges to launch journalism training courses this year.

The higher education department under the ministry cited a directive on journalism and publishing management as saying that journalism training should be carried out at local public universities under tight management from the state but not at private institutions.

The ministry asked local universities to strictly follow the directive.

At present, journalism training is being provided at nine public universities including the Academy of Journalism and Communication, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Military University of Culture and Arts, the Hanoi University of Culture, the Vinh University, the Thai Nguyen University, the Hue University, and the Danang University.

However, many graduates from private universities are found working in journalism and publishing after studying communications or public relations.

New highway linking HCM City, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc to be built

A highway connecting HCM City, Thủ Dầu Một (Bình Dương) and Chơn Thành (Bình Phước) will be built in the 2021-25 period under an agreement between HCM City and the Bình Phước People’s Committees on March 18.

The PM agreed that the Bình Phước People’s Committee would monitor the investment process of the project.

Bình Phước has proposed lengthening the highway to 70 kilometres instead of 69 kilometres as planned.

It is estimated to cost about VNĐ36 trillion (US$1.5 billion), including VNĐ17 trillion (US$736 million) from the state budget and VNĐ19 trillion (US$825.7 million) from private investors.

The part through Bình Phước will consist of six lanes sharing the same design as the Đắk Nông – Chơn Thành Highway.

The 1.5 kilometres through HCM City from the Gò Dừa intersection to the border with Bình Dương will be built as an elevated road and cost VNĐ3 trillion.

Another part through Bình Dương costing VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.3 billion) will be 57 kilometers long, of which 28 kilometres will be an elevated highway. There will be 10 overpasses. The last part through Bình Phước with a length of 11.5 kilometres will cost VNĐ3 trillion (US$130 million).

The provinces are seeking State support for capital investment, including clearance costs.

The HCM – Thủ Dầu Một – Chơn Thành Highway will contribute to the national highway network and connect key cities, facilitating socio-economic development in Bình Phước and the Central Highlands provinces, according to the Bình Phước People’s Committee.

HCM City education dept proposes tuition fee subsidy for private primary schools

The HCM City Department of Education and Training has proposed a tuition fee subsidy for students at private primary schools, similar to what is offered at their public school counterparts.

Lê Hoài Nam, deputy head of the department, said the Law on Education allows local people’s councils to provide a tuition fee subsidy for private primary schools if provinces or cities do not have enough public schools.

Under the proposal, the subsidy would be more than VNĐ5million (US$216.5) per student for one academic year, the same as the one for public primary schools.

The department will continue to ask for opinions from other relevant departments before the People’s Committee considers it for approval, Nam said.

The subsidy is expected to help reduce financial pressure on families if their children cannot study at public schools.

It would also help to reduce overcrowding at public schools, which is a barrier to carrying out the new education programme effectively, Nam added.

Forty to fifty students are often in one classroom, but the Ministry of Education and Training’s requirements call for no more than 35 students in each classroom.

With the subsidy, investors will be more willing to pour money into schools, he said.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, the city has more than 25,000 primary students at private schools. Many of these schools are in districts 12, Tân Phú and Gò Vấp where public schools face pressure from student crowding.

A monthly subsidy of VNĐ70,000 would be offered to public primary students who study two shifts in one day. The subsidy is expected to be provided in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Public primary schools in the city currently collect fees of less than VND150,000 for teaching two shifts in one day.

Vietnam to ensure “safety first” with “vaccine passport” scheme

Standing members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control have discussed the preparation of technical and policy solutions to implement the “COVID-19 vaccine passport” scheme while ensuring the principle of “safety first”.

Passport holders will not be quarantined and tested for COVID-19, but some other countries still require testing.

Vietnam is working with countries around the world on the acceptance of the passport through QR codes.

To get the “COVID-19 vaccine passport”, people will provide their personal information when receiving a vaccination, which is checked on a validation system. After two injections, the relevant information is confirmed by a QR code. When going abroad, people’s information will be verified when scanning the QR code.

The Ministry of Health and Viettel are piloting the passport scheme at COVID-19 vaccination centres, to evaluate the capacity and compatibility of these facilities.

Meanwhile, relevant technical infrastructure to receive foreign visitors with COVID-19 vaccine passport is expected to be completed and ready for use from April./.

Domestic medicines to meet 75 percent of demand by 2025

Domestic medicines are expected to meet 75 percent of demand and 60 percent of market value by 2025, according to a programme on the development of the pharmaceutical industry and medicines for domestic production till 2030 with a vision to 2045.

Recently approved by the Prime Minister, the programme set the overall goal of building the domestic pharmaceutical industry to level 4 according to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s classification, the top 3 in terms of market value in ASEAN, contributing to ensuring the timely and sufficient supply of safe, quality and effective medicines at reasonable prices.

It also targets developing medicines into a quality and high-value industry that is competitive at home and abroad.

By 2025, the rate of using pharmaceuticals of domestic origin will increase by at least 10 percent from 2020.

At the same time, Vietnam will build eight zones for sustainable exploitation of natural medicinal sources, two to five cultivation areas on a large scale. Each of them will have one to two linkage chains of research, farming and processing following the WHO’s Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices.

By early 2030, Vietnam sets to become a pharmaceutical production hub in the region with a total value of nearly 1 billion USD.

To such end, the programme also set out measures regarding institutions, laws, investment, competitiveness improvement, science-technology, workforce training, control of medicine and pharmaceutical market, international cooperation and integration, information and communications.

Accordingly, at least two national-level science-technology tasks using the State budget will be performed in three years while at least five ministry-level pharmaceutical development tasks will be undertaken in one year, focusing on research and production of vaccines as well as national products using domestic medicinal sources./.

Vietnamese film about climate change available to rent online

The latest film by Vietnamese famed director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh is available to rent on vimeo.com, giving film fans a chance to indulge in the work of the renowned director.

Entitled Nuoc 2030 (2030), Minh’s film is set in a fictional setting in which the south of Vietnam is submerged in water.

The film was featured as part of the InterAsia Water(s) Graduate Conference, 2021 by Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University on March 18. At this conference, the director also joined a Q&A session via Zoom with the audience.

It is not the first time Minh’s film has been featured in a seminar on climate change. In 2016, Nuoc 2030 was the opening film of European Climate Diplomacy Week. The director was also a speaker at a seminar at the event after the film was screened.

Minh is a Vietnamese-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He holds a PhD in physics and used to work as a lecturer before focusing on directing.

Nuoc 2030 was completed and premiered in 2013. In 2015, the film was re-introduced in HCM City during the 19th Vietnam Film Festival.

The film was also featured in the 64th Berlin International Festival in 2014.

A combination of various cinematic elements like mystery, romance and drama, Nuoc 2030 is set in the vast and beautiful coastal regions of Vietnam in the near future when water levels have risen due to global climate change.

South Vietnam is one of the regions most affected by climate change, which causes as much as half the farmland to be swallowed by water. To subsist, people have to live on houseboats and rely solely on fishing with a depleting supply.

The story follows a young woman in her journey to find the truth about the murder of her husband whom she suspects was killed by the people of a floating farm.

In the process, she discovers the secret of that floating farm that employs genetic engineering technology to cultivate vegetables that can be grown using saltwater thus can be produced much cheaper. However, this untested technology can have dangerous health consequences for consumers that the farm wants to keep secret.

The women end up finding out different versions of the truth about her husband’s death and has to make a dramatic decision without knowing the absolute truth.

This is the 65-year-old director’s third film after Mua Len Trau (Buffalo Boy) in 2004 and Khi Yeu Dung Quay Dau Lai (Don’t Turn Back When You Are In Love) in 2010.

He received many international accolades and awards for his directorial debut including the New Directors Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Jury Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Youth Jury Award at the Locarno International Film Festival./.

Vietnamese-funded new National Assembly Building handed over to Laos

A ceremony was held in Vientiane on March 20 to hand over the new National Assembly Building to the Lao legislature, which is a gift from the Vietnamese Party, State and people.

The ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung; Vice Chairman of the Lao National Assembly Somphanh Phengkhammy; and Major General Nguyen Quoc Dung, Commander of the Army Corps 11, the general contractor of the project.

Talking to a Vietnam News Agency reporter at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Lao NA and head of the steering committee for the new NA Building project Somphanh Phengkhammy appreciated the efforts of the project’s management board, the investor and related units, particularly the general contractor – Army Corps 11 of Vietnam.

Even though the project has not been completed by 100 percent, the building is ready for use at the first session of the 9th legislature of Laos, which is a very important event when the legislature will not only elect key leaders of the Lao NA and Government but also adopt the ninth five-year socio-economic development plan for Laos.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung said after the first session of the Lao NA, the remaining work will be carried out for the full completion of the project by the end of June.

The Lao NA Building, constructed at a cost of over 111 million USD, will be the venue for meetings of the Lao NA and important ceremonies. It will also serve cultural tours and research trips of the people, students and tourists.

The building is a meaningful present and a symbol of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries./.

Beauty pageant for peace launched in Da Nang

The beauty pageant Vietnam Peace Bella 2021 was kicked off at a press conference in the central city of Da Nang on March 20.

Speaking at the press conference, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, director of the Minh Khang Vietnam Co. Ltd – the organiser, said the contest aims at promoting Vietnamese women’s beauty and selecting Vietnamese representatives for international pageants.

Deputy head of the Da Nang Department of Culture and Sport Nguyen Thi Hoi An said the local authorities target to turn the city into a venue of events and tourism, noting that Da Nang has so far accepted to host five beauty contests, with the Vietnam Peace Bella 2021 being a highlight of the local summer tourism.

According to the organiser, the pre-qualification rounds will take place in late May for the northern and central regions and in early June for the southern region. The finale will take place on July 3 in Da Nang.

A total of 35 contestants will be selected for the final round, and the winner will be awarded with 100 million VND (4,352 USD), with the first and second runner-ups receiving prizes worth 80 and 60 million VND, respectively.

The organiser will donate part of proceedings to lonely elderly people, disadvantaged children and families of revolutionary contributors in Da Nang./.

Efforts to protect Delacour’s langurs in Ha Nam

Since Fauna & Flora International (FFI) discovered Delacour’s langurs in Kim Bang forest in Ha Nam province in 2016, the organisation has joined hands with local authorities to protect the endangered species.

The task force will be responsible for removing traps and tracking wildlife, particularly Delacour’s langurs. It must remain vigilant about wildlife damage and report any cases to forest rangers.

Their efforts have paid off. Indeed, from 40 Delacour’s langurs in 2016, Kim Bang forest is now home to over 100, ranking it second in the world, behind only Van Long Natural Reserve in Ninh Binh province. Ha Nam is also working on establishing a Delacour’s langur reserve in Kim Bang district.

Delacour’s langurs are rare in nature. The animal is among 25 of the most-endangered species worldwide and on the brink of extinction./.

Seller of rare turtles jailed for 10 years

A man in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally raising and possessing 127 individuals of many rare and endangered turtle species, according to the Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) .

In May 2020, police raided the house of Hoang Minh Trien, 60, at the alert of local people and found the creatures.

They included the Indochinese box turtle, the black marsh turtle and the elongated tortoise, all endangered species.

Earlier, the ENV’s hotline 1800-1522 received many calls informing that Trien’s son was using social media to illegally buy and sell turtles of many rare species.

All the turtles found at Trien’s house have been sent to the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Centre./.

Hanoi tourism firms adapt after fourth wave of COVID-19

Right after the fourth wave of COVID-19 in the country was put under control at the beginning of March, travel agencies in Hanoi started offering various products at favourable prices to attract tourists.

VGreen Club (of the Hanoi Travel Agents Association) recently launched a driving tour product themed ‘Northwest – Season of Orchid Blooms’, which has attracted 1,000 people after the first trip kicked off on March 12.

VietSense Tourism Company has hosted a group of 100 people for a tour that departed on March 6, while Vietravel branches in the north have sold tours to 300 visitors since the beginning of March.

Inside Hanoi, relic sites have seen a surge of guests in the first days after opening again.

“During the Week of Ao Dai (between March 1 and 8), Thang Long Citadel Complex welcomed hundreds of visitors from all over the country,” said Nguyen Thi Yen, head of the Guide Department of the Thang Long – Hanoi Heritage Preservation Centre.

The Hanoi Tourism Department is planning promotion policies together with airlines and travel agents.

“Promotion policies will not only focus on cutting prices but more importantly focus on the quality of product, services and bring fresh experiences to tourists,” Dang Huong Giang, director of Hanoi Department of Tourism.

Phung Quang Thang, director of Hanoitourist Company, chairman of Hanoi Travel Agents Association, said the association has hosted various training classes for building tourism products with sustainable features.

The VGreen Club established by the association will work with the National Museum of Vietnamese History to host a new product – exploring the culture and history of Hanoi and other provinces.

Nguyen Van Tai, director of VietSense Company, said the company is planning more new tours in March and preparing for the peak season of April 30 – May 1 vacation and summer holidays.

“Our new tours will not only focus on key markets in the central and Central Highland regions but will also bring new experiences to tourists,” Tai said.

In April, the Hanoi Investment, Trade and Tourism Centre will run the Hanoi Tourism Promotion Festival.

The Hanoi Tourism Department will work with Hoan Kiem district, Son Tay town and My Duc district to build tourism products bearing Hanoi’s features.

The first will be ‘Hanoi – 12 Seasons of Flowers’ to draw domestic tourists first and then international visitors when international air routes resume./.

Organisations, agencies in Hanoi donate 12 billion VND to fund for sea, islands

Seventy-three organisations and agencies in Hanoi donated more than 12 billion VND (over half a million USD) to the Fund for Vietnam’s Sea and Islands on March 19.

The donations were collected at the launching ceremony for this year’s first donation drive to collect money for the Fund, held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) committee of Hanoi.

Vice Chairman of the VFF committee of Hanoi Nguyen Sy Truong said the warm response to the drive demonstrates that the country’s sea and islands are always in the hearts of Hanoi people.

The fundraising drive aims at raising funds to help build a multi-functional cultural house on Thuyen Chai A Island in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and organize a number of activities to promote the country’s sea and islands.

The drive will last until April 15./.

Hanoi needs to take action to reduce plastic waste

The use of plastic bags and products in traditional markets and shops in the capital city of Hanoi has been on the rise again.

Pham Huy, a small trader at a traditional market in Long Bien district, said plastic bags and products were selling in large quantities in local markets because they were not only cheap but also convenient.

It costs 30,000 (1.3 USD) per roll of 100 plastics bags and 20,000 VND (0.8 USD) for 50 plastic cups, he said.

Huy said the number of people shopping at the market was very large and most of them asked for plastic bags. Few people carried their own bags to the market.

“If we do not use plastic bags, we have nothing to store things for our customers,” he said.

An owner of a food shop in Quan Thanh street, Ba Dinh district, said his customers often asked for takeaway food in plastic containers.

Although he knew the impacts of plastic bags and products on the environment, he still bought them to store food for his customers, he said.

Hong Ha, a resident of Ba Dinh district, said due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, food and beverage outlets had to close and only sell online.

People often ordered using popular applications such as Grab and Now to eat and drink at home, she said.

The shops often used plastics bags and products to wrap up their wares for shippers to bring to customers, she said.

Plastic bags float on Quang Man sea in Da Nang (Photo: VNA)

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment has urged relevant agencies to strengthen dissemination to improve people’s awareness of the impacts of plastic waste on the environment. The agencies were told to find alternative materials to reduce the use of plastic products.

The department would conduct surveys on the use of disposable plastic products and the demand for recycled products to find alternative products to replace disposable plastic in local traditional markets and trade centres.

The department also compiled mechanisms to support enterprises to manufacture environmentally-friendly packaging.

It was strengthening inspections and encouraging enterprises to manufacture environmentally-friendly packaging and pilot training programmes to improve capacity to design environmentally-friendly products for commercial, service and manufacturing facilities in the city.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), around the world, 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide annually. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once and then thrown away./.

Concert features works by 20th-century’s lesser-known composers

A concert introducing works from composers that have not been performed much in Vietnam will take place at Goethe Institute in Hanoi on March 22.

The concert, the first of the ’20th Century Music Concert Series’, will present a repertoire featuring works by composers from Japan to Eastern and Western Europe and America, including Benjamin Britten, György Ligeti, Toru Takemitsu, Nikolai Kapustin, Friedrich Gulda, and Frederic Rzewski.

Artists and lecturers of Inspirito School of Music, including oboist Hoang Manh Lam, trumpeter Yuki Urushihara, pianists Ngo Phuong Vi, Luu Duc Anh, Duong Hong Thach, and Pho Duc Hoang, will perform in the concert.

The concert will start at 7pm. The Goethe Institute is at 56-58-60 Nguyen Thai Hoc street. Recommended donation is 100,000 VND.

Tourism forum aims to seek ways to lure visitors

The Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) and the Hanoi Tourism Department will jointly hold a national forum on tourism in April in the capital to discuss how to draw tourists in the future.

“While waiting for the opening of doors to international tourists, the tourism sector this year will focus on the domestic market,” said VITA Vice Chairman Vu The Binh.

“The forum will gather tourism enterprises and localities throughout the nation to connect and discuss ways to develop domestic tourism,” he added.

He said some localities have used promotions to try to win customers but in early 2021, a third of domestic travel agencies no longer wanted to exploit international routes and 90 percent of tourism enterprises stopped or reduced their operation scale.

“The tourism sector has run out of power to promote tourism,” he said.

Binh explained that the forum will offer a chance for participants to connect services and create new products to lure visitors.

After the forum, the annual Vietnam International Travel Mart will be held between May 5 and 8.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, demand for searching information on domestic destinations has sharply increased recently, especially as Vietnam basically controlled the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic travel activities have resumed in almost all provinces and cities nationwide.

Though demand for airline information from domestic tourists has not increased much recently according to statistics from the Destination Insights tool by Google, searches for short trips in nearby destinations rose markedly in March.

Binh noted the statistics show that tourists now prefer short trips to near places by their own vehicles and avoid public transportation due to fear of the virus./.

Hue bookcase project debut first publication

A book entiled “Dia chi Van hoa Hue” (Hue culture chorography) has recently been debuted as the first publication of the central province of Thua Thien Hue’s bookcase project on the local cultural and tourist hub – Hue city.

The book is a massive collection of works from experienced cultural researchers, presenting a basis for future selection of books to add to the bookcase, which is planned to have three new publications annually.

At the debut ceremony held on March 17, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho said the formation of the bookcase aims to introduce Hue through books, promote reading culture, introduce valuable publications, create a special gift set of the city, and build a scientific data serving studies on the province.

It will contribute to turning Thua Thien – Hue into a centrally run city of culture and heritage following the Politburo’s Resolution 54-NQ/TW, he stated.

An app of the bookcase is being developed to help its contents reach readers in Vietnam and overseas./.

Advisory board suggests reopening borders to foreign tourists from July

Vietnam could reopen to foreign tourists from this July, a Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) representative suggested, noting that the COVID-19 outbreak has been basically brought under control and vaccination campaigns are underway in the country and many others around the world.

Head of the TAB Secretariat Hoang Nhan Chinh said China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and ASEAN countries are sources of tourists near Vietnam, and their people go travelling all year round.

The peak travelling season in Japan is March and August, so the pilot reopening could be conducted in July to attract visitors from this market.

Meanwhile, Vietnam could start welcoming back tourists from certain faraway markets like Australia, Russia, and Europe from around October, according to Chinh.

He held that if vaccination is carried out well in Vietnam, especially for the frontline forces, it will provide a good opportunity to attract holidaymakers. Besides, only when international travellers have vaccination certificates should Vietnam open the door to them.

Chinh also stressed that the reopening of borders to foreign tourists needs thorough preparations right from now, and that Vietnam shouldn’t receive international travellers back if it hasn’t been fully geared up.

The country needs to prepare response plans for many different scenarios and build a safe reopening road map, he said, adding that the TAB has sent a letter submitting related proposals to the Prime Minister.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, tourism had contributed more than 10 percent of Vietnam’s GDP and generated over 30 billion USD in annual revenue./.

Khmer woman prospers thanks to pomelo business

A Khmer woman in the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang has started a successful pomelo-growing business.

Thanks to a loan from the Government’s project to support women to start businesses, Danh Thị Kim Ảnh in Phước Ninh Hamlet, Mong Thọ B Commune of Châu Thành District invested in growing green-skin and pink-flesh pomelos and earns hundreds of millions đồng profit every year.

“Previously, my family was so poor. We just lived on planting rice that brought low and unstable income,” Ảnh said.

“Although we had a 4,000sq.m garden, we left it abandoned because we did not have money to buy seedlings,” she added.

After many years of saving, Ảnh bought 20 green-skin and pink-flesh pomelo trees from the neighbouring province of Đồng Tháp to plant.

The results showed that this grapefruit variety suited the climate and soil of the region.

However, she lacked the capital to grow on a larger scale.

In a meeting of the Women’s Union of Mong Thọ B Commune in 2017, she proposed her start-up idea and was provided with a loan of VNĐ50 million (US$2,100) from the Policy Bank under the project to support women to start businesses in 2017-2025.

With the money, Ảnh renovated a 1,000sq.m area of the garden and planted 100 more grapefruit trees.

She was also provided training courses on cultivation and was instructed by agricultural engineers on growing, caring and fertilising techniques to ensure product safety.

By 2020, her pomelo garden was ready to harvest. Ảnh harvested nearly four tonnes of fruits and earned VNĐ180-200 million (US$7,000 – 8,600) of turnover, of which the profit was VNĐ100 million ($4,300).

After gaining the profit, Ảnh planted 200 more trees to cover the 4,000sq.m garden.

“Recently, Châu Thành District’s Women’s Union approved a loan worth VNĐ100 million from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for me to invest in renovating the irrigation system which helped the pomelo grow better,” she said.

It is expected that in the next two years, when 4,000sq.m of the pomelo garden brings a steady harvest, Ảnh’s family will earn VNĐ300-400 million ($13,000-17,000) per year.

Ảnh’s pomelos have received good reviews from clients because they are so juicy and sweet.

Ảnh used the loans effectively to develop her business, said Huỳnh Thị Ngọc Vàng, deputy president of Mong Thọ B Commune’s Women’s Union.

“She had a clear start-up orientation and was always industrious and diligent,” Vàng said.

“Importantly, she complied with cultivation techniques and processes so she achieved high economic efficiency,” she said.

“Ảnh’s successful model motivated local people to learn and follow. At present, many households have applied Ảnh’s model and earn stable incomes and this has helped them escape from poverty,” she said.

Speaking about her initial success, Ảnh said: “To achieve success in starting my own business, I had to work hard, with burning passion and spirit to overcome difficulties.”

“In my experience, women needed to know what they are passionate about to have a suitable entrepreneurial direction,” the Khmer woman said.

“Once pursued, it is necessary to work hard, persevere and constantly learn from other people,” she said.

Tien Giang expands crop-rotation cultivation, improves productivity

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang plans to expand rotation cultivation models for rice and other crops in its eastern area in an aim to improve productivity and cope with natural disasters, its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has said.

The eastern area, which includes Gò Công Đông and Gò Công Tây districts and Gò Công Town, accounts for 28 per cent of the province’s total area and has advantages in fruit orchards and marine economy, but faces saltwater intrusion and drought in the dry season.

Nguyễn Văn Mẫn, director of the department, said the province plans to focus on growing more vegetables and other short-term crops to 2025 in the eastern area. Only two rice crops a year will be grown, while rice and other crops on rice fields will be rotated.

Under the plan, the province will transfer advanced farming techniques and encourage farmers to use Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP).

Co-operative groups as well as co-operatives will be expected to continue to work with companies to secure outlets for their members.

Gò Công Đông District, one of the major producers of rice and agricultural products in Tiền Giang, has 10 agricultural co-operatives that have contracts with companies.

This has helped secure outlets and provide stable incomes for their members.

Nguyễn Văn Nhẫn, director of the Tăng Hoà Agriculture Service Co-operative in Gò Công Đông District’s Tăng Hoà Commune, said the co-operative for many years has had contracts with companies to produce rice seeds and high – quality rice.

The co-operative produces high-quality rice on 50ha with an output of 250 tonnes a crop, he said. Companies purchase its rice at a price of VNĐ300 a kilogramme higher than the market price, he said.

The Tân Đông Clean Vegetable Co-operative in Gò Công Đông District’s Tân Đông Commune is growing clean vegetables on a total of 30ha with a daily output of 2.5-3 tonnes, using advanced farming techniques.

Trần Văn Bương, chairman of Tân Đông Co-operative, said the co-operative will encourage members to apply more advanced techniques to produce clean vegetables under VietGAP standards.

The co-operative will also encourage its members to expand the use of hydroponic farming, net houses and poly-green houses to grow vegetables.

Nguyễn Văn Qúi, head of the Gò Công Đông Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the district has two concentrated clean vegetable growing areas in Bình Nghị, Tân Đông and Tân Tây communes.

The two areas are guaranteed outlets by three agricultural co-operatives – the Bình Nghị Clean Vegetable Co-operative, the Tân Đông Clean Vegetable Co-operative and the Tân Tây Agriculture Service Co-operative, he said.

The three co-operatives have contracted with farmers to buy vegetables and later sell them to supermarkets and wholesale markets in and outside the province.

“Farmers in the concentrated clean vegetable growing areas now feel more secure about their products,” he said.

All communes in Gò Công Đông have agreements between companies, cooperatives and farmers to secure outlets for rice, vegetables and fruits for co-operative members.

To mitigate the impact of saltwater intrusion in the dry season this year, farmers in the eastern area have switched to growing vegetables or short-term crops on 2,700ha of rice fields that have problems accessing irrigation water.

In the ongoing 2020-21 winter-spring crop, farmers in the eastern area have planted more than 11,500ha of various types of vegetables and other short-term crops, which offer higher profit than high-quality rice, according to the department.

Farmers who grow leaf vegetables can earn a profit 2.6 times higher than that from high-quality rice.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park tops hospitable destination list

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh leads the way in terms of the most hospitable destinations nationwide, according to the annual Traveler Review Awards recently announced by travel website Booking.com.

Coming in behind Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is Hoi An city in Quang Nam province, followed by Ninh Binh province, Sa Pa town in Lao Cai province, and Mai Chau district in Son La province.

The Traveler Review Awards is part of renowned travel website Booking.com and is held with the aim of recognising the hospitality of each location and is based on the ratings given by travelers following their vacation.

This comes as Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was ranked 15th position in a list of the most popular national parks as voted on by TripAdvisor last year./.

First refill station in Hội An strives to reduce plastic waste

To stop people throwing away empty glass or liquid bottles, a shop in central Viet Nam is offering refills to help protect the environment and give containers a new cycle of life.

Refillables Hoi An is located in Cẩm Thanh Commune, Hội An City and sells eco-friendly products without packaging by refilling containers.

Hội An City in the central region of Việt Nam’s Quang Nam Province, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hội An Ancient Town, is aiming to become a green destination for tourists by 2025 and to reduce the single-use plastic waste. Refill stations established by local businesses are contributing to that goal.

The concept of refill stations has become familiar in big cities like Hà Nội and HCM City in recent years but in the central region, Refillables Hoi An is the first of its kind.

Two years ago when Alison Batchelor, an expat in Hội An, opened the shop, the first products she introduced were chemical-free dish soap, hand soap and floor cleaners made from natural ingredients.

The soap containers lead to a lot of plastic waste as customers have to buy them over and over again, so Batchelor thought she could cut down on that waste.

She partnered with a company in Đà Nẵng which makes those soaps from fermented organic waste and stocked them in her shop.

Over the past two years, Refillables Hoi An has welcomed customers including local residents, both Vietnamese and expats, service providers and even schools to refill dish soap, floor cleaners and hand soap. More than 13,000 containers have been refilled so far.

Many hotels, restaurants and coffee shops such as Nourish Eatery, Urban Fresh, Market Bar and Mùa have borrowed containers from Refillables Hoi An, had them refilled with soap and returned them to Refillables Hoi An when the liquid runs out. Most of them continue to refill over and over again.

Lê Thị Ánh Dương, a waitress at the Nourish Eatery in Cẩm Thanh Commune, said: “Our coffee shop refills containers once every one and a half months because we order quite a lot each time. We often have dish soap, liquid detergent and vinegar refilled. We refill 10 litres of dishwashing liquid each time.”

“We chose Refillables Hoi An because of their good quality products. The dish soap made from natural ingredients does not harm our hands. Dishes cleaned with the soap are very clean.

“After using all detergent liquid in the refilled bottles, we return the bottles to the refill station and avoid throwing them to the environment. It’s pretty economically efficient and helps reduce costs for our shop.”

While a lot of companies, shops, coffee shops and restaurants in Hội An had to be closed during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in the region, Refillables Hoi An maintained its operation as a sustainable business, encouraging people to recycle under the motto of “refilled not landfill”.

“It’s been really amazing as more people are finding the time to come here and bring their containers and recognise that they are not more expensive, in a lot of cases, are cheaper than what we’ve been paying.

“They can come, refill, help the environment and find products better for their health,” said Batchelor.

“Obviously at some point, those containers will get to the landfill whether they are broken or just at some point along the way, someone throws it away. But by refilling it, even one time, that’s saving one more container from going into the landfill,” she told Việt Nam News.

“The container that’s brought in to be refilled can be anything from a small-sized bottle of essential oil. It can also be up to a 30-litre container,” Batchelor said.

“We do prefer glass containers because glass containers tend to have a longer lifespan. But we do also encourage people to continue using plastic containers they have because they are still quality containers. By sending it prematurely or sending it before it’s broken, we are just adding more and more plastic unnecessarily to the landfill that is already overflowing. So just keep using it until it breaks.”

Return to the earth

Holding a handful of soapberry in her hand, Alison said the berry came from the lychee family and could be used as detergent.

“You can put them into a bowl of water and start seeing bubbles. Take 12 of them and put them in a mesh bag and then into a washing machine, they can clean your machine as detergent.

“Take 15 of them in five cups of water and boil in 45 minutes, you can get concentrate liquid used as detergent, simple surface spray or floor cleaner. With five cups of liquid, you can have 4-4.5 cups of concentrate, which costs about VNĐ15,000, simple and cheap,” she said.

“Squeeze it, if you still can see the bubbles coming out, it still has life. If not, put it into the garden, compost it, and make it return to the earth. Then you don’t cost any plastic waste or chemical waste to the community.”

“We are targeting the middle to lower financial demographic of the community, which means everybody can afford to come to refill.”

“If somebody can come in, I’m not saying a sachet costs from VNĐ3,000 to 5,000. They can come here with their container and they can use that VNĐ3,000-5,000 and they can get more product than they would in that sachet. So we can start helping the community by managing their money, better in getting more for their money,” she said.

Besides home and personal care products, Refillables Hoi An also refills dried food and seasoning like pepper, Himalayan pink salt, nuts, rice, organic cinnamon, ginger, turmeric powder as well as ingredients for eating clean like chia seeds, oats, quinoa.

During the pandemic, people have more time to explore do-it-yourself (DIY) products for their skin or hair. Many customers have come to refill baking soda, coconut oil and essential oil for their DIY products.

“It can be far more cost-effective than buying something at the shop,” Batchelor said.

As Batchelor’s store is the first refill station in Hội An and there are few others in the central region, she said she wanted to promote community outreach and work with the community and Women’s Union to try to create different products with them and distribute eco-friendly products to smaller refillable stations in the town and expand the refilling model in the region.

“As we’ve seen more refill stations opening up across Việt Nam, I think it can really have an incredible impact. We definitely feel refilling is one aspect that we can provide to the community and it’s only one aspect of the solution for Hội An to become a zero-waste city,” she said.

Vietnamese translators honoured for boosting cultural ties with Kazakhstan

Kazakhstani Ambassador to Vietnam Yerlan Baizhanov has awarded Certificates of Merit from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan to Vietnamese writers and translators in honour of their contributions to cultural co-operation between the nations.

According to information released by the Kazakh Embassy, translators Toan, Nghiep, and Man have contributed to increasing and developing cultural links between both sides through their involvement in a project aimed at translating the literary work “The Book of Words” of Abai Kunanbayev. This individual is renowned for being a philosopher, poet, civilizer, composer, and the founder of the new culture of the Kazakh nation.

Furthermore, Toan is a famous translator who has translated many literary works from Russian into Vietnamese. At present he is the director of the Fund for the Promotion of Vietnamese Literature and Russian Literature under the Vietnam Writers Association.

Teacher Khoi has also made contributions to the development of links between the two countries, as well as promoting the legacy of Kazakhstan’s sage-scholar Al-Farabi.

As an outstanding teacher, Khoi was formerly Dean of the Russian Language Department of Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies.

The awards ceremony took place on the premises of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Hanoi to mark the the occasion of Kazakhstan’s traditional New Year Nauryz Meiramy. The event featured the participation of President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga, Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov, and Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam Vahram Kazhoyan.

Kazakhstani Ambassador Baizhanov also gave a presentation to introduce traditional Kazakh instruments, various folk music genres of the Central Asian nation, and some folk and modern songs that are native of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan and Vietnam moved to officially establish diplomatic relations in 1992, with the Vietnamese side opening an embassy in the capital Astana, now renamed Nur-Sultan, in 2008. Following this, Kazakhstan opened an embassy in Hanoi in 2013.

In terms of foreign policy, Ambassador Baizhanov stated that both nations share many similarities, such as having good relations with global powers as well as with their neighbours.

Wanted Korean suspect arrested in Hanoi

Police forces operating in Hanoi have arrested a Korean man who is wanted by Interpol for committing telecom fraud.

The 32-year-old suspect has been as named Kim Changhook and is a member of a group running a telecommunication scam in China.

The group were making random calls to Korean victims during which they pretended to be staff members of KB Bank and offered loans with low interest rates. Their aim was to entice the victims into transferring money to their bank accounts.

The nation had been asked to co-operate with Interpol’s investigation in an effort to find the suspect as police forces had noticed that he had gone on the run to foreign countries after being charged.

The Korean suspect was successfully arrested after being detected hiding at his half-brothers’ aprartment in My Dinh ward of Hanoi.

Police in the capital then handed over the Korean suspect to Korean authorities at Noi Bai International Airport on March 18.

Three people arrested for plans to sell baby in China

Police forces in Quang Ninh province have announced the arrest of three individuals after they attempted to smuggle a newborn baby into China for the purpose of selling the child for profit.

Three suspects are arrested by Quang Ninh police for plans to sell baby in China

The arrests of the trio came following co-operation between border guards in Quang Ninh province and the Police Department for the Investigation of Drug-Related Crimes.

The three individuals include Vu Ngoc Anh, born in 1963, and Nguyen Thi Thuong, born in 2002, both of whom reside at No.88 Yen Phu street in Yen Phu ward of Ba Dinh district in Hanoi. In addition, Hoang Van Thanh, born in 1992, of Quan Son in Chi Lang district of Lang Son province was also arrested.

This discovery came following border forces spotting three suspicious people carrying a newborn baby across the border into China.

Furthermore, a total of 50 grams of white power and 70 pink pills which were believed to contain heroin and drugs were also found stashed inside Thanh’s luggage.

Upon being questioned at the police station, the suspects admitted to purchasing the baby for VND15 million from a 19 year-old woman residing in Dong Minh commune of Tien Hai district in Thai Binh province.

At present, the police will continue to investigate the case.

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

By Thanh Van