High rise new york

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council ( NESDC ) has approved a framework for the country’s 13th national economic and social development plan , spanning from 2022 to 2026, with the focus placed on high value-added economic development.

The next national economic and social development plan should aim to provide Thailand a high value-added economy , according to the state planning unit.

This is an appropriate time for Thailand to restructure the manufacturing sector to focus more on high value-added activities, said Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the NESDC.

A high value-added economy focuses on those activities that generate a large margin between the final price of a product or service and the cost of the inputs used to produce it, thus creating higher profits for businesses and higher wages for workers.

He said under the 13th national plan, Thailand’s development will focus mainly on four areas over the next five years.

The first area is to restructure the industrial sector towards higher technology.

Danucha said companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand are still engaged in conventional industries, in contrast to those listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which contains high-technology companies.

Thailand needs to transform the manufacturing sector to higher value-added industry and high technology such as the bio-, circular, green economy, which can increase the value of farm products; electric vehicles, which can create supporting industries including smart electrical parts and a smart grid; and an emphasis on the medical industry, tourism, logistics and digital services, he said.

Danucha said Thailand should no longer focus on a high volume of foreign visitors, instead attempting to attract high-quality foreign visitors with relatively high spending.

The second area of the new plan is to build opportunity for Thais to have more security in their life, both in terms of income and well-being, in order to narrow income disparity, he noted.

Thirdly, the government needs to ramp up its support for community-based businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, smart city development and a better environment, added Danucha.

The fourth area is high-quality workforce development, improvement of government management to facilitate investors, and public services, he said./.

VNA

The Hanoitimes – The Hanoi Party Committee has urged the people and authorities of Hanoi to strengthen measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic in the capital city.

The Health Ministry confirmed four more Covid-19 cases in Hanoi on February 1, while the Covid-19 threat advisory was elevated.

The latest patients are two women residing in Nam Tu Liem and Cau Giay districts of Hanoi and a couple living in Me Linh district.

All of them got infected with the new coronavirus after having contact with people who were later confirmed Covid-19 infections in the northern province of Hai Duong, the biggest cluster of Covid-19 in Vietnam with 188 cases confirmed since Covid-19.

The new patients have raised Hanoi’s caseload of the Covid-19 resurgence to 19 and 242 nationwide.

Hanoi turns on high alert on Covid-19 prevention. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

The Hanoi Party Committee has urged the people and authorities of Hanoi to strengthen measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic in the capital city.

The whole city must review and tighten the anti-epidemic measures, especially in medical establishments, schools, industrial parks, factories, and areas of public gatherings.

Relevant agencies were urged to review procedures related to concentrated quarantine, as all citizens returning from abroad must be quarantined for two weeks and could only leave the facilities if they test negative for Covid-19 twice.

People are urged to further comply with Covid-19 prevention regulations and conduct precautionary measures of quick testing, contact tracing, masking up in public places, and washing hands.

The city’s agencies have to continue disseminating the “5K” message of the Ministry of Health since, they said, the good observance of the 5K is a “steel shield” to protect people from the Covid-19 pandemic. 5K means ” Khau trang ” (face mask) – ” Khu khuan ” (disinfection) – ” Khoang cach ” (distance) – ” Khong tu tap ” (no gatherings) – ” Khai bao y te ” (health declaration).

Besides, localities in Hanoi must tighten supervision of people arriving from abroad and the pandemic-hit areas, enforce Covid-19 prevention regulations at concentrated quarantine facilities.

Especially, the city’s Department of Health needs to keep close watch on the pandemic evolution by imposing five step protocol namely preventing, detecting, quarantining, zoning, and stamping out the outbreaks.

In addition, Hanoi authorities need to provide accurate, timely and transparent information for people; prevent and enforce regulations on fake news that causes confusion in public as well as actively detect and handle illegal entry.

Localities in Hanoi must proactively put in place the pandemic prevention and control measures, applying social distance or isolation based on the level of Covid-19 risk for each area in the locality.

Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia ‘s Health Ministry on February 28 reported 5,560 more cases of COVID-19 and 185 more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total tally to 1,334,634 with 36,166 deaths.

Specifically, Jakarta recorded 2,098 new confirmed cases; West Java, 770; East Kalimantan, 374; Central Java, 327; and East Java, 324.

Meanwhile, Malaysia detected 2,437 new COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said on February 28, bringing the national total to 300,752.

The Health Ministry ’s Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that two of the new cases are imported and 2,435 are local transmissions.

An additional nine deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 1,130.

Some 3,251 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total cured and discharged to 273,417 or 90.9 percent of all cases.

Of the remaining 26,205 active cases, 202 are being held in intensive care units ./.

VNA

The Hanoitimes – A trade deal in place will help ensure continuity in trade relations between the UK and Vietnam after Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020.

Vietnam and the UK today [December 11] officially concluded the negotiation process for the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

Overview of the signing ceremony. Source: MoIT.

The agreed minutes on the conclusion of the free trade agreement negotiation were signed by Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and the UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in Hanoi.

“The agreed minutes signed today is a first major step towards the signing of the UKVFTA in the coming time,” stated Mr. Anh.

The Vietnam minister said both sides started the negotiation process for the deal since August 2018.

As the UK is set to leave the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) after the Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020, a new FTA between Vietnam and the UK will help ensure the continuity in bilateral trade relations.

On her part, UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the UKVFTA is a milestone for the country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which remains a priority for the UK government next year.

The fact that most of the clauses stipulated in the UKVFTA are similar to those in the EVFTA, significantly shortening the negotiation process for the two sides.

Mr. Anh suggested with the UKVFTA, Vietnam will hold advantages compared to regional countries such as China, India, Thailand, or Malaysia, those do not have a similar deal in place with the UK.

Vietnam is set to have more opportunities in attracting investment capital, technology transfer, and tourists from the UK once the Covid-19 is rolled back, while the deal presages positive outlook for the Vietnam – UK relations on the occasion of 10 ^th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership.

Under the UKFTA commitments, six years since the coming into effect of the deal, the UK will remove import tariffs for 99.2% of goods imported from Vietnam, or 99.7% of Vietnam’s exports to the country.

The EU in its EVFTA with Vietnam provides the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) with 0% tariff rate for certain imported products. The UK, meanwhile, is set to review actual trade figure with Vietnam during the 2014-16 period to make a similar decision.

On the other hand, Vietnam will immediately remove tariff for 48.5% of goods from UK, or 64.5% of import turnover. The figure is set to rise to 91.8% or 97.1% of UK exports to Vietnam in six years.

The UK is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Europe, behind Germany and the Netherlands.

In 2019, Vietnam’s exports to the UK reached US$6.1 billion, the country imported nearly US$800 million worth of goods and products in return.

As of August 2020, the UK has 400 valid projects in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$3.6 billion, ranking 16 ^th among countries and territories having investment projects in Vietnam.

Hanoi (VNA) – Private investment is forecast to keep flowing into the healthcare sector in the time ahead with the appearance of many new drivers, according to the Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper.

Nipro Pharma Vietnam , invested in by the Nipro Pharma Corporation – one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies – is completing necessary procedures to add 270 million USD to its investment in a factory at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Japan External Trade Organisation ( JETRO ), a large number of Japanese businesses are seeking the chance to tap into Vietnam’s healthcare market given its substantial potential.

The sector has attracted new investment inflows recently, especially last year, with a number of new projects from both domestic and foreign companies.

In late 2020, a group of investors led by the Singaporean Government’s GIC sovereign wealth fund poured more than 203 million USD into Vingroup’s VMC, which develops and operates the Vinmec hospital system.

VinaCapital’s Vietnam Opportunity Fund, meanwhile, invested 26.7 million USD in the Thu Cuc International General Hospital, while the UK’s Real Capital London debuted the Hong Anh (UK Vietnam) Medical Campus in HCM City, worth about 156 million USD.

Many projects funded by domestic investors were also licensed or became operational last year, such as the TV.Pharm Hi-tech Pharmaceutical Complex, Van Phuc – Sai Gon Hospital, and Hoan My Western Hospital.

Such moves show that hospital investment is increasingly attractive to investors due to growing middle class demand for high-quality healthcare, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, multinational pharmaceutical groups such as Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, GSK, and AstraZeneca are promoting “social business” via new programmes.

In late January, AstraZeneca worked with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and three specialised associations to launch a communications campaign to help raise awareness in Vietnam about asthma.

The MoH’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, the UK Embassy in Vietnam, and GSK recently signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in antimicrobial resistance prevention and control for 2021-2023, the paper reported.

The healthcare sector estimated that it needs about 176 trillion VND (over 7.6 billion USD at current exchange rates) for infrastructure development between 2010 and 2015. Since 2010, however, the Government has met only two-thirds of this capital demand.

The sector therefore views private investment as an important source of funding.

Despite this, private investment in healthcare still falls short of expectations, Dau tu noted, adding that the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) remains modest due to the absence of a legal framework for such investment.

The Law on PPP Investment, which took effect on January 1, is expected to address obstacles relating to the legal framework and facilitate private investment in healthcare. The 2020 Law on Investment and Law on Enterprises are also set to create momentum for capital flows.

In the face of certain barriers, World Bank analysts have recommended prudence in the selection of PPP models and contracts in healthcare, suggesting that the MoH build a circular guiding selection, preparation, implementation, monitoring, and assessment of healthcare PPP projects in a fair and effective manner./.

VNA