Malaysia

Illustrative image (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia plan to cooperate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and the establishment of PCR laboratories. Indonesia n Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a joint statement with her Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah on October 18 that the two sides agreed that all COVID-19 vaccine s are on the emergency use list (EUL) of the World Health Organization (WHO) should be treated equally and without discrimination. Therefore, the two sides discussed the importance of recognising each other's vaccination certificates. Meanwhile, the establishment of PCR laboratories is also aimed at reducing testing errors as well as the risk of spreading the COVID-19 pandemic. For his part, Abdullah said that the two countries had agreed to recognise each other's certificates of vaccination against COVID-19 through the … [Read more...] about Indonesia, Malaysia cooperate to respond to COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 testing sample collection in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Source: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysia ’s Ministry of Health reported 5,745 new cases of COVID-19 on October 19, the lowest in over 100 days and the second consecutive day that the number of new cases have stayed under 6,000. The daily cases of COVID-19 in Malaysia has dropped continuously since October 3, while the recovery rate has increased to 92.6 percent and up to 98.2 percent of new cases have mild symptoms. The vaccine coverage in the country has expanded with about 95 percent of adults fully inoculated with two shots of vaccine, while 78.2 percent of under-18 people have received at least one shot. In the Philippines , the number of new COVID-19 cases on October 19 was 4,496 while 211 people succumbed to the corona disease, both the lowest daily since July 28. However, COVID-19 cases in Laos has increased again with 657 cases recorded in the past 24 hours, the Lao Health Ministry … [Read more...] about COVID-19 shows signs of abating in some SEA countries

Changes to break e-commerce stride, illustration photo The government has enacted Decree No.85/2021/ND-CP ousting Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP dated 2013 on e-commerce. The former stipulated that e-commerce is a conditional business for foreign investors in Vietnam. Decree 85 amends and supplements some significant regulations on e-commerce activities, which may affect not only foreign investors but also domestic ones. The decree will take effect on January 1, 2022. According to Samuel Son-Tung Vu, partner at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee Vietnam, Decree 85 creates additional barriers for foreign investors in the e-commerce market. Those who wish to control one or more of the leading e-commerce enterprises may face difficulties when applying or amending the respective licence. Thus, such applications shall not only be reviewed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) but shall also be appraised by the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS). Furthermore, Decree 85 is silent on the … [Read more...] about Changes to break e-commerce stride

Having worked for many years as a computer science engineer for some American companies in Silicon Valley, Dr. Cao Anh Tuan believes that biotechnology, especially genetic analysis will become one of the most thriving businesses in the future. In 2018, Tuan and some of his friends launched a startup named Genetica in Vietnam, specializing in applying artificial intelligence (AI) systems to genetic analysis in order to figure out some practical solutions to human health problems. In March this year, Genetica successfully raised US$2.5 million from the pre-Series A round after accumulating more than 10,000 users just during the first 12 months of launching its products and services. Asian genomes As a Silicon Valley engineer, 38-year-old Tuan has experienced various phases of the development of the genetic analysis industry in the U.S. In the early days of the industry, genetic analysis was only limited to a small circle, but it has been gradually expanded to various … [Read more...] about Vietnamese entrepreneur in pursuit of understanding Asian genomes

The Vietnamese delegation to the event was led by Minister of Public Security General To Lam. Participants got updates about the development in ASEAN and listened to speeches on drug-related issues by heads of delegations. They looked into reports on the outcomes of the 41st and 42nd ASEAN senior officials’ meetings on drug matters, along with a mid-term review report on the ASEAN Work Plan on Securing Communities Against Illicit Drugs 2016 - 2025 and the ASEAN Cooperation Plan to Tackle Illicit Drug Production and Trafficking in the Golden Triangle. A chairman’s statement was adopted at the end of the event. Addressing the plenary session, Minister To Lam affirmed that Vietnam echoed ASEAN’s common stance about the uncompromising attitude towards drugs and the long-term goal of a drug-free ASEAN Community. He emphasized that as a member nation, Vietnam has made active contributions to common activities of the bloc. It has been stepping up comprehensive and balanced solutions, … [Read more...] about Ministers meet to talk actions towards drug-free ASEAN

Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia are likely to achieve growth of 3.5 percent or less. Last year the four countries reported negative growth, while Vietnam grew at 2.9 percent. Asia is set to grow by 6.5 percent, driven by India (10 percent against negative 7.3 percent last year) and China (8 percent against 2.3 percent last year). The disruption of supply chains due to the resurgence of Covid-19 combined with price pressures and rising inflation would pose more challenges to growth, the IMF said. It forecast growth of 5.9 percent for the global economy this year, down 0.1 percentage point from its July projection. … [Read more...] about Vietnam growth to be highest in ASEAN-5: IMF