By staff writers – Translated by Uyen Phuong
Ho chi minh city cu chi tunnels
HCM City continues closure of discos, bars, karaoke parlors

Discos, bars, karaoke parlors in HCM City will continue to be closed (Photo: VNA)
Under a dispatch issued by the Chairman of the city People’s Committee on March 8, the city leader asked heads of departments, sectors and agencies to localities to continue strictly implementing directions of the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control as well as the Health Ministry and the city in pandemic prevention and control measures, including the “5K message”.
Locals are advised to strengthen COVID-19 prevention and control measures, especially in wearing facemask in public places, washing hands, and keeping safe distance.
The city leader asked the Department of Information and Communications to strengthen communications on measures to prevent the spreading of COVID-19, especially the “5K message” – khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration).
So far, HCM City has seen 210 COVID-19 infections, including 68 domestically-transmitted cases. The city has spent 26 days without any new infections.
Man United end City’s winning streak with derby victory
United won thanks to an early penalty from Bruno Fernandes and a second-half strike from Luke Shaw with the result narrowing City’s lead at the top of the table to 11 points over United with 10 games remaining. It was City’s first defeat in all competitions since Nov 21.
* Liverpool slumped to a club-record extending sixth consecutive home league defeat as they lost 1-0 to Fulham after a first-half goal by Mario Lemina in the Premier League on Sunday. The defeat by the relegation-threatened visitors marks the first time since the 1953-54 season that the Reds have lost six games at Anfield in a league campaign.
* Two goals apiece from Harry Kane and Gareth Bale helped a resurgent Tottenham Hotspur to beat Crystal Palace 4-1 and move into sixth spot in the Premier League on Sunday (Mar 7).
* West Bromwich Albion’s hopes of avoiding relegation were dented as they missed several chances in a 0-0 draw at home to fellow strugglers Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.
* Gianluca Mancini’s first-half goal was enough to earn AS Roma a 1-0 home win over Genoa on Sunday, with the victory moving Paulo Fonseca’s side up to fourth in the Serie A standings.
* Spectacular goals either side of half time earned AC Milan an important 2-0 victory at Hellas Verona on Sunday, as Stefano Pioli’s side closed the gap on rivals Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A standings to three points.
* Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema struck an 88th-minute equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw at La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid on Sunday (Mar 7) and keep his side in the title race.
* Bundesliga strugglers Arminia Bielefeld earned a point on coach Frank Kramer’s debut with a goalless draw against European hopefuls Union Berlin on Sunday to remain in the relegation playoff spot.
* Russia’s Andrey Rublev won his eighth career title on Sunday when he eased past Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics in the Rotterdam ATP final. The 23-year-old Rublev, ranked eighth in the world, won 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
* Danish 18-year-old Clara Tauson captured her maiden WTA title in Lyon on Sunday, sweeping from qualifying to the trophy without dropping a set. World ranked 139 Tauson saw off Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-1 to guarantee a top 100 debut on Monday.
* Jan Blachowicz bounced back from a slow start to outpoint Israel Adesanya and retain his light-heavyweight title after an enthralling tactical battle at UFC 259 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
* Former international Stephen Ng has been appointed the new head coach of the women’s national team, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Sunday (Mar 7).
* Rangers celebrated their first league triumph since 2011 after Celtic were frustrated by Dundee United in a 0-0 Premiership draw on Sunday to hand their bitter Glasgow rivals the title.
* Joan Laporta was set to be named FC Barcelona’s President for a second time after taking an unassailable lead in Sunday’s election. Barcelona said Laporta had won 57.6per cent of votes of 96per cent counted.
* Olympique de Marseille crashed out of the French Cup to semi-professional fourth-tier side Canet Roussillon as the minnows stunned the Ligue 1 side with a 2-1 victory in the last-32 on Sunday.
Ho Chi Minh City won’t trade environment for economic growth: chairman
Ho Chi Minh City will not trade the environment for economic growth, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a tree planting and environmental sanitation campaign in Thu Duc City on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, chairman Phong stated that planting trees reflects the cultural beauty of Ho Chi Minh City and is a practical activity given the ongoing climate change.
“Since 2011, environmental protection has been included in one of the city’s seven breakthrough programs,” the official stated.
“During the 2021-25 period, Ho Chi Minh City will strive to add an extra 600 hectares of parks and 20 hectares of green areas.”
The people and government of Ho Chi Minh City, and Thu Duc City in particular, will join hands to make the southern metropolis a green, clean, and beautiful city, Phong remarked.
Such activities will help spread the message of environmental protection and combat climate change, while spurning the country’s effort to plant one billion trees.
Hoang Tung, chairman of the Thu Duc City People’s Committee, said that rapid urbanization has brought about a lot of environmental challenges.
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Officials of Thu Duc City are pictured at the launch of a tree planting campaign on March 7, 2021. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre |
Many residents are still littering on local streets and dumping garbage into canals, which exacerbates inundation and pollution.
“To deal with the issue, Thu Duc City has launched tree planting events at three locations and in 34 wards to expand urban green space,” Tung said.
“Through these activities, we hope to raise awareness of environmental protection among local residents.”
Thu Duc City has set a goal of planting one million green trees during the 2021-25 period, the official added.
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Investors feel insecure about Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange congestion, move to other bourses

The chronic congestion on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) has caused losses for retail investors, making them insecure.
Instead of congestion, and errors, only in the afternoon or near the close like previously, errors are now occurring even in the morning.
For example, on March 5, just after the market opened, the security live board froze and failed to show realtime prices.
Nguyen Kha, a veteran investor in HCM City, said he punched in an order to sell HBC shares on March 3 when it jumped to above VND18,500 (US$804 million), but only half his order was matched, and in the next few days had to sell at below VND18,000 since he needed money, losing VND1,000 per share.
Another investor on HoSE said he has been in a constant state of insecurity recently and cannot do any other work after placing orders since one needs to watch the screen to see if the order is matched.
This insecurity has caused many investors to switch to trading on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) and UPCoM, causing shares there to skyrocket in terms of both price and trading.
On March 4 UPCoM saw trading worth VND1.7 trillion, twice the normal average.
Drastic solutions
To tackle the overload at HoSE, the State Securities Commission (SSC) said it is speeding up installation of a new trading system provided by the Korean Exchange (KRX).
Last week it instructed the temporary transfer of shares from HoSE to HNX to much acclaim from both investors and analysts, but a difficult task since listed companies need to get approval from their shareholders.
Besides, it could take securities companies one to two months to meet the technical changes involved in identifying the shares transferred to the HNX.
Some need even six to nine months.
Dr Nguyen Van Thuan of the University of Finance and Marketing told Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper however that since this solution has the least impact on investors and companies, the SSC could make it not mandatory for companies to get approval.
The settlement between the two exchanges and securities companies is an internal issue, and so the switch could be accelerated, he pointed out.
If the problem lasts much longer, not only investors but also the stock market and the economy itself would suffer badly, he added. — VNS
World Trade Center Binh Duong New City to open this month
The Hanoitimes – South Korean experts will help operate the Vietnam’s largest trade center, which is expected to serve as a bridge to connect trade, cultural and tourism activities between the two countries.
The World Trade Center Binh Duong New City, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, is scheduled for opening in the southern province of Binh Duong this month.
An image of the World Trade Center in the southern province of Binh Duong. Photo: baobinhduong.vn |
The center will be operated by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and Coex Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX), according to an agreement signed with Vietnam’s real estate and infrastructure developer Becamex IDC on March 8.
The center located in a total area of 22,000 square meters, including 11,679 square meters of indoor exhibition space and 7,935 square meters of outdoor exhibition. It is expected to serve as a bridge to connect trade, cultural and tourism activities between Vietnam and South Korea.
Under the agreement, COEX will send its experts in exhibition organization and infrastructure management to Vietnam to operate the center.
As Vietnam’s largest industrial hub with 800 South Korean companies, Binh Duong province is part of Vietnam’s southern key economic zone and 25 kilometers away from Ho Chi Minh City’s downtown areas.
A COEX representative expected the center to play a key role in facilitating cooperation between South Korean companies and their international peers under South Korean government’s “New Southern Policy”.