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Currently, about 54 flights carry 20,000 arrivals to Phu Quoc Island every day, according to the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang Province, which administers the island regarded as Vietnam’s beach paradise.

The number is forecast to increase to 80 flights on the back-to-back holidays of Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1).

The figures are the result of not only the high demand of summer travel but also the opening of Vietnam’s first-ever ‘sleepless city’ on Phu Quoc — an example of the inevitable trend in the tourism industry, in which independent night-time entertainment complexes are established in big cities.

Turning point of entertainment travel

The nearly-1,000-hectare area of Phu Quoc United Center was bustling on Tuesday morning, welcoming huge throngs on crowded electric buses in preparation for its grand opening on Wednesday.

In the Grand World component, luxury shopping retailers were gearing up to complete the very last decorations and preparation for their mini music and art shows.

As soon as 9:00 am on Tuesday, hundreds of workers gathered to embellish small scenes with pavilions, craft villages, and traditional products to resemble the ancient Vietnamese spaces at the venue for ‘The Quintessence of Vietnam’ show, which employs the largest modern technology in Vietnam.

The show’s director Viet Tu told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the performers’ goal is to attract visitors to the festive activities in the entertainment city.

Besides, visitors from other resort complexes and couples who were taking their pre-wedding photos at Grand World also added up the hustle and bustle in the city.

Tran Gia Hung, a tourist from District 7, Ho Chi Minh City who had traveled to different Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Thailand, said that he was strongly impressed by the scenery and majesty of colorful buildings in Vietnam’s first ‘sleepless city.’

Hung was even prouder that the project is characterized by Vietnamese identity.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Yen, an assistant at the Tous Les Temps café at Grand World, restaurants, coffee shops, and shopping stores there have generally finished their decorations and been ready for serving customers.

“The number of visitors to Grand World today is beyondall expectations,” Yen said.

“They spend time here from morning till night.

“Their main activities include sightseeing, coffee time, and shopping for souvenirs with families and friends.

“I think this area, once officially put into operation, will be crowded and bustling day and night.

“I can’t wait for it.”

Phu Quoc waits to shine

According to Vu The Binh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tours play an important part in the domestic tourism sector as customers with the demand of relaxation often prefer this traveling model to exploration trips.

“This is clearly reflected in the ‘sleepless city’ model of Japan,” Binh said.

“Visitors there will be hooked on the variety of services, most of which are culinary and shopping.”

According to experts, during the development of a night-time economy, it is necessary for Vietnam to establish a system of night tourism products before building independent night-time entertainment complexes.

This is also Vietnam’s development orientation for the night-time economic model in the future.

In this fashion, Grand World with a combination of vivid activities at night and a series of exciting daytime festivals is expected to bring new vitality to the tourism economy of both Phu Quoc and Kien Giang.

A representative of the Kien Giang tourism department said that the number of flights from the country’s mainland to Phu Quoc would reach 80 on the holidays of Reunification Day and International Workers’ Day.

Meanwhile, 30 ferry trips can carry more than 4,000 passengers to the island ahead of the opening of the ‘sleepless city,’ according to Ho Thanh Sang, deputy director of the Kien Giang Port Authority.

Along with Da Lat, Vung Tau, Da Nang, and Nha Trang, Phu Quoc has become the most popular destination for Vietnamese tourists during the aforementioned four-day public holiday, according to a survey by the hotel reservation site Booking.com.

To ensure safety for tourists in the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital has sent 13 experienced doctors to Kien Giang to coordinate with the province in disease prevention and control.

In addition, Phu Quoc City leaders recently directly assigned missions to the navy, coast guards, and border guards who are responsible for preventing illegal entry from neighboring Cambodia, where the virus is taking its toll on local residents.

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Short- and long-term weaknesses of painting the M&A target on select Vietnamese textile and garment producers

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said that foreign investors are purchasing shares and making capital contributions into Vietnamese textile companies to capitalise on the global textile and garment market. Given the impact of COVID-19 and their long-standing weaknesses, several Vietnamese textile enterprises are struggling, setting them up as potential M&A targets.

At present, Vietnam is home to 7,000 textile and garment companies. Over 80 per cent of whom are small- and medium-sized enterprises limited by a lack of capital, technology, skilled workforce and good governance. Meanwhile, foreign-invested companies are equipped with modern technology, experts, strong financial capability, and have a stable market for their projects.

Meanwhile, Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the Vietnam High-Quality Goods Association said that Vietnamese textile and garment firms have yet to catch up with the digitalisation trend. Many are confused about digital marketing and online sale. Due to their small scale, local firms cannot fulfil large orders. They remain weak in design and branding, making it difficult to increase added value and raise the competitiveness in the market.

She expected that the participation of strategic investors via M&A will help Vietnamese firms address the challenges and scale up in the future.

E-Land, Korea’s first and largest integrated fashion and retail company, has been a strategic partner of Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC for over the past 10 years by holding a 30 per cent stake at the local firm.

E-Land has steadily increased its ownership to 43.26 per cent to become the largest foreign strategic investor in Thanh Cong Textile, making significant contributions to improving corporate restructuring and governance. Thanh Cong Textile has seen its after-tax profit growing six-fold since E-Land’s investment.

In 2018, Japanese trading house Itochu has increased its stakes in Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) to nearly 15 per cent by investing $46.9 million with an aim to turn the country into a textile export hub for Europe. Itochu is now the second-largest stakeholder in Vinatex after the Vietnamese government.

Itochu exports a little over ¥60 billion ($553 million) worth of apparel from Vietnam a year, half of which is produced by Vinatex. The company aims to raise outsourced production and exports to ¥100 billion ($922 million) by 2021.

The outlook for Vietnam’s textile and garment exports is brighter in 2021 as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has taken effect. There is also a higher demand for “Made in Vietnam” fabrics as big brands are increasingly sourcing fabrics from Vietnam than China. The fabric prices are steadily increasing this year, improving the profit margins of local firms.

In the past two years, there have not been so many M&A deals in the textile and garment industry. The majority of buyers scooped up around 10-15 per cent stake in Vietnamese companies as an investment rather than holding a controlling stake.

By Thanh Van

The human ‘mobile sign’

The scorching, suffocating and dusty summer road of Hung Nhon (Hamlet 3, Tan Kien Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) at 11pm does not keep Ms. Nguyen Thi Bach Phuong (Ms. Hai Tri, 62) from going out to offer students of Tan Kien Secondary School support as they struggle to cross the crowded roads.

Grabbing her conical leaf hat, she rushes out onto the noisy lanes jam- packed with vehicles holding a sign: “Please stop for a second and let students cross the street”. Whenever a large car approaches with no intention of slowing down, she points the board towards it to ask for giving roads. When she notices that the two lines of cars has slowed down, she graciously leads the students across until they are safe, she then motions for the drivers to move normally.

Year after year, Ms. Hai Tri has become a “mobile traffic sign” to help students cross the street safely.

The small road from Tan Kien Secondary School to Hung Nhon Street. After school, students have to stand here for a long time trying to cross the road.

What she’s doing is of her own accord and comes from her love for the children. Her house is opposite the road from Tan Kien Secondary School leading to Hung Nhon Street.

She said: “One day, I saw the children standing on the other side of the street for a very long time looking at each other and not daring to pass. This road is quite narrow with 2-way traffic. At noon, there are more cars, trucks, and containers, so it is dangerous with no traffic signs.”

Some of them even pleaded for help so she ran out to them. After that day Mrs. Hai Tri wondered how to assist these kids with road crossing. She soon decided to take a pen and scribble on a cardboard, then waited every day for students to finish school, holding a doodle board in the middle of the traffic lane, leading the students through. In fear of what was written on the board as too small to be seen by the drivers, she even tried to bold the text with a felt pen.

Offering help, even without money

To help students cross the street safely, Mrs. Hai Tri hang a cardboard which writes: “Stop for students to cross the road”. Later, the parent of a student presented her a professionally-design signboard.

The students now feel more secure when crossing the street. Parents are no longer worried about their children being in traffic jams after class.

Seeing that the children were more confident and bravely crossed the street, Mrs. Hai Tri didn’t think there was any need to hold a traffic control sign anymore. But one day, the students, after crossing the street, came to her again and asked: “Grandma, why haven’t you been holding the signboard to lead us across the street for several days? I’m afraid of cars.”

Mrs. Hai Tri said: “I was deeply moved by that. For now, I think I will do it all the time as the children are used to having me ask for help. If they do not see me, they will look forward to it and dare not pass.

“I don’t see myself as much help for them. It’s only a little time and effort but the children are safe and happy. People have money, they go to charity. I don’t, so I devote my effort and love and time,” she added.

After school, she holds the board on the street to regulate traffic, helping children cross the street safely.

While some view her as a weirdo doing a “strange thing” or laugh at how she’s not minding her own business, a great many others highly appreciate what she’s doing for the children.

“I got laughed at a lot but also loved and cheered. Many parents see me, nod and say thank you. There was a parent named Tam who often picked up his children, saw me holding a handwritten cardboard board, and gifted me a more professional and beautiful sign. I offered some money back but he refused to take it, saying that he just wanted to pay it forward,” said Mrs. Hai Tri.

However, being kind is not always easy. There have been countless times she was shouted at and scolded for standing in the middle of the road by reckless drivers who refused to slow down.

“It does take my breath away standing between two lanes of vehicles. I have no right to stop anyone’s car. I just want to kindly ask them to speed down a bit so the students can cross the street, and then they can keep moving,” she said.

“The traffic in this section is quite complicated. After school, students and parents at two primary and secondary schools in Tan Kien commune pour in a lot. This road has no signs or traffic lights, so it is very dangerous.

One parent said: “I could not rest my mind if it’s not for the signboard and Ms. Hai Tri helping my child cross the street. We hope that the authorities do some research and arrange the traffic lights here to make the traffic circulation safer and easier.”

Nguyen Son

Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee Chu Ngọc Anh inspects a single-window unit. — VNA/VNS

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội has compiled a plan to attract between US$30 and 40 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) during the 2021-25 period, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Vũ Duy Tuấn said.

According to Tuấn, during the 2016-20 period, the city attracted 3,113 foreign-funded projects worth $26.5 billion, 4.2 times higher than the capital recorded in the previous five-year period.

Of 33 key projects, 11 have been completed in line with plans, 15 are under construction, and 12 are about to begin.

As of March 31, there were 2,907 projects worth VNĐ1.65 quadrillion ($71.52 billion) not funded by the local budget. Of these, 967 have been completed and 182 had stopped or had their licences revoked.

At a working session with local authorities on Monday, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngọc Anh asked the department to follow the city’s goals and working programmes to actively issue related plans or make proposals to local authorities.

He ordered the department to quickly review the local list of key projects and suggest new ones for the 2021-25 period, adding that the proposed projects should boost the city’s socio-economic growth and also prove feasible.

Anh also requested smooth and close coordination between the department and relevant sectors and localities. — VNS

One hundred young men representing Lạc Long Quân’s and Âu Cơ’s 100 children in ancient costumes, hold their flags up high, expressing the vitality of the offspring of the fairy and dragon. According to legend, mother fairy Âu Cơ gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs, which soon hatched into 100 beautiful children. It’s believed that these 100 sons are the ancestors of all Vietnamese people. In Phú Thọ Province, the Hùng Temple is where people celebrate the lineage of the Hùng Kings – all descendants of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — The main festival day commemorating the death anniversary of the Hùng Vương (Hùng Kings), considered the founders of Việt Nam, began yesterday with an incense offering ceremony at the main temple complex in the northern province of Phú Thọ.

At 6am on Wednesday morning, the 10th day of the third lunar month, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc – along with representatives from the Party, State and Government, as well as people from across the country – started the pilgrimage at the central square at the foot of Mount Nghĩa Lĩnh and made their way up to the Đền Thượng (High Temple) at the top of the mountain.

A unit of the national guard carrying the national flag, the festival flag and a large wreath with the letters “Eternally remembering the Hùng Kings’ founding of the nation”, led the pilgrimage, followed by a group of young women in red traditional áo dài carrying flowers and offerings to the late kings along with 100 young men in ancient-style clothing representing 100 descendants of the Âu Cơ, a mountain fairy, and Lạc Long Quân, a sea dragon lord, who make up the creation myth of Vietnamese people.

Legend has it that the eldest son of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ was made king. He named the country Văn Lang and set up the capital in Phong Châu (modern-day Việt Trì City), beginning 18 dynasties of Hùng Kings.

Chairman of the Phú Thọ Province People’s Committee Bùi Văn Quang, in his role as head of the ceremony this year, read a speech to commemorate the Hùng Kings, stressing the importance of the death anniversary, praising the merits of the kings and of Âu Cơ and Lạc Long Quân and extolling the perseverance of the ancestors in maintaining the integrity of the country’s sovereignty.

Quang also reported to the spirits of the kings on the major achievements the country has made in đổi mới (reforms), international integration, and socio-economic development.

The Phú Thọ official prayed for the legendary ancestors to send good weather, repel diseases – especially the COVID-19 pandemic, and bring about wealth and happiness for Vietnamese people near and far.

The speech also contained pledges to build a strong and prosperous country and to maintain peace and friendship with all humanity.

State President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (centre) offers incense at the High Temple. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

After offering incense at the High Temple, President Phúc and delegates laid floral tributes at the Hùng Kings Temple, and at the mural ‘Uncle Hồ talking with the vanguard units’ at the crossroad area adjacent to Giếng Temple.

The ceremony and related activities were held with COVID-19 precautions in place, though crowds of people proved hard to control and resulted in congestion around the highest temple.

The worship of the Hùng Kings was recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.

The kings chose Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for healthy crops.

To honour their contributions to the nation, a complex of temples dedicated to the kings was built on Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

An estimated 20,000 Vietnamese from all corners of the country arrived in Phú Thọ to pay their tributes in the morning.

A procession in HCM City’s temple dedicated to Hùng Kings on the campus of the National History-Culture Park. — VNA/VNS Photo

Some 1,000 security personnel were deployed to maintain order at the complex and divert visitors from overwhelmed areas to other monuments, museums and temple at the site.

Many localities in the country, including HCM City, Cần Thơ and Đà Lạt, also held ceremonies to pay their respects to the legendary founders.

The festival ends on Thursday. — VNS