Korean prime ministers hold phone talks

At the meeting (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on August 17 asked the Ministry of Culture , Sports and Tourism (MCST) to review the operation of household businesses in the tourism sector affected by the COVID-19 . The ministry should coordinate with core travel firms to form key routes connecting localities, the official said at a meeting of the State Steering Committee for Tourism in Hanoi which assessed the implementation of tourism recovery solutions. He ordered restarting heritage digitalisation with the participation of travel enterprises to promote new tourism products. Regarding electricity prices for tourism services and lodging facilities, Dam, also head of the Committee, asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to submit a plan on power price adjustment to the Prime Minister before application. The MCST, travel associations and firms should propose specific tax and land incentives, he said. Minister Nguyen Van Hung … [Read more...] about Committee seeks ways to ensure rapid, sustainable tourism recovery

Inflation in Singapore expected to peak in Q4. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Singapore (VNA) - Inflation in Singapore is expected to peak in the next two to four months and will start to ease thereafter, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong has said. In an interview granted to Bloomberg, Wong said inflation rates here may very well settle at a higher rate given the geopolitical environment, supply chain issues and how economies are transitioning towards becoming more sustainable. He added that the extent of this easing towards the year end and where the new inflation rates will stabilise at are big uncertainties. Wong noted that they are not likely to return to the rates Singapore had been used to over the last decade or so, as zero to 1% inflation was a historical anomaly and never used to be so low. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has already tightened monetary policy four times in the last nine months to dampen inflation, Wong said, adding … [Read more...] about Inflation in Singapore expected to peak in Q4: official

A medical worker prepares medicine for COVID-19 patients at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases' Intensive Care Unit (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Health has ordered health departments to strengthen the management and reporting of new COVID-19 cases. The move came after a series of fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron (BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.75 and BA.2.12.1) were reported in the country. According to the ministry’s General Department of Preventive Medicine, the number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise in both Vietnam and around the world. The country is currently recording an average of about 2,000 new cases each day. The number of new cases is believed to be on the rise again. Therefore, in order to actively prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, the department told leaders of health departments nationwide to regularly and promptly review and report new cases of COVID-19. The localities must comply with regulations on reporting new cases … [Read more...] about Health Ministry orders strengthening reporting of new COVID-19 cases

HD SAISON has unveiled a preferential loan package of VND10 trillion (US$429.78 million) for workers at industrial parks across the country with the stated goal of protecting them from loan sharks. — Photo courtesy of the company HD SAISON, a subsidiary of HDBank, has earmarked a loan package of VND10 trillion (US$429.78 million) at half the market interest rate for workers at industrial parks across the country. Through this, it hopes to help the government stabilise the economy and ensure social security, and protect workers from loan sharks. Workers expressed happiness on hearing about the package. HD SAISON will lend from this package until the end of 2023 at an interest rate of 20 per cent a year compared to the normal rate of 40-50 per cent. Borrowers can roll over their loans for several years. For the sake of workers An HD SAISON spokesperson said the company was honoured to be chosen by the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam as one of two consumer finance … [Read more...] about Why do workers opt for HD SAISON’s loan package?