Mining canada industry

Trade outlook between Vietnam, Canada remains bright

January 22, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Despite unprecedented challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral trade turnover in 2020 rose by 6.6% year-on-year to US$5.1 billion.

The export between Vietnam and Canada will not face direct competition in their respective markets but enjoy favorable conditions, making the bilateral trade outlook bright in the future.

Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai at the online conference.

Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai made the statement at an online conference discussing the Vietnam – Canada economic relations on January 21.

“With the signing of major free trade agreements (FTAs) recently, including the CPTPP, EVFTA and RCEP, Vietnam hopes to become a bridge to further economic cooperation in the region and of the world,” stated Mr. Hai.

This is also applied for the Vietnam – Canada economic relations, added Mr. Hai, referring to the comprehensive partnership and the fact that for the first time the two countries have a FTA in place by being members in the CPTPP, he noted.

Canada is currently Vietnam’s second largest trade partner in the Americas, while Vietnam is Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. However, two-way trade turnover stays modest at around 0.7% of Canada’s trade revenue, Mr. Thang suggested.

Canada’s Deputy Minister of International Trade for Global Affairs John F.G Hannaford highlighted Vietnam’s efforts in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, while maintaining the trade flow and supply chains between Canada and the Southeast Asian region.

Mr. Hannaford shared the view of his Vietnamese counterpart that the two countries should continue to boost trade and investment cooperation on the back of a solid bilateral relations and untapped potential between the two.

According to Mr. Hannaford, despite the severe impacts of Covid-19 on global trade, there have been significant improvements in trade and investment between Vietnam and Canada two years since the signing of the CPTPP.

Canadian enterprises see huge investment opportunities in agriculture, education, information, infrastructure, technology, aviation and green energy in Vietnam, noted Mr. Hannaford, while encouraging more investment from Vietnamese firms to the country.

In 2019, one year since the CPTPP became effective, trade turnover between Vietnam and Canada rose by 23.3% year-on-year to US$4.8 billion. One year later, the figure further expanded by 6.6% to US$5.1 billion amid unprecedented challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Textile, footwear, electronic products, seafood, and wood are Vietnam’s key export staples to Canada. In return, Vietnam mainly imports machinery, chemicals and soybeans from the North American country.

As of November 2020, Canada was Vietnam’s 14th largest investor with 212 projects worth US$5.05 billion, mainly in fields of hospitality, insurance, and renewable energy.

Amid pandemic, Internet cafes turn to cryptocurrency mining for profit

February 18, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

Dinh Thi My Le, owner of a gaming cafe in District 3, said her business was forced to close down following a social distancing order in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

“At the same time, Bitcoin’s value was rising sharply, so my friends said I should switch to cryptocurrency mining as machines would encounter errors if they stay inactive for too long,” she said, adding her cafe was one of the first in HCMC to use the high-quality RTX 3080 graphic card.

“Whatever is dug is sold within the day. Profits depend on cryptocurrency values, but are much higher than my usual business,” Le said. A gaming cafe with 25 computers may bring in around VND3 million ($130) a day by mining cryptocurrency, instead of the usual VND2 million through normal gaming business. Computers using powerful graphic processing units may bring in even more profit, she added.

Computer parts industry insiders said the price of graphic cards rose dramatically during Tet , thanks to impacts of the pandemic and the ongoing Bitcoin fever around the globe. Right now, a RTX 3080 card could cost VND30 million, with supply still falling far short of demand.

Switching from gaming to mining cryptocurrency is also simple, requiring only extra software and nothing more, said Le.

“We sell cryptocurrency within the day, not saving it so the money could come in immediately and we could stop it anytime we want to. The machines are already available, so the main cost would be electricity. Wherever power’s cheap, there will be more profit,” Le said, adding her business has six branches in total.

The value of Bitcoins hit $52,000 on Wednesday, a record high for the cryptocurrency as analysts warned against the sustainability of such prices amid elevated volatility, Reuters reported.

Canadian professor on tireless quest to develop Vietnam’s beekeeping industry

February 21, 2021 by tuoitrenews.vn

For nearly three decades, Canadian entomologist Gard Otis has dedicated himself to the study of behavior patterns in a native Vietnamese honeybee species, as well as to the development of local bee farming talent and technology in the north-central province of Ha Tinh.

Otis spent 36 years as a professor at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where he specialized in honeybee biology and behavior, insect ecology, and forest entomology.

The distinguished researcher currently serves as an adjunct professor at the university’s School of Environmental Sciences.

A key area of Otis’s research and interest is focused on ‘murder hornets,’ commonly known as Asian giant hornets ( Vespa mandarinia ).

While working on National Geographic Society-funded beekeeping projects in north-central Vietnam several years ago, Prof. Otis began conducting extensive research on Vespa soror , a sister species to Vespa mandarinia.

Both hornets share similarities in size and behavior, including their tendency to attack and even ‘slaughter’ honeybee colonies.

In a video call with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in late January, the professor proudly shared the results of a recent study he undertook with the help of associates in Vietnam and the U.S., during which he discovered a collective defense strategy adopted by honeybees ( Apis cerana ) against swarms of Vespa soror .

The article was published late last year in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed journal launched by PLOS — a nonprofit, Open Access publisher which empowers researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine.

According to the article, honeybees in Asia have evolved under predatory pressure from social wasps in the genus Vespa , the most formidable of which are the giant hornets that attack colonies in groups, kill adult defenders, and prey on broods.

The team’s documentation revealed for the first time that, in response to attacks by V. soror, which frequently land on their way into nests, A. cerana workers foraged for and applied animal feces to their nest entrances.

‘Murder hornets’ slaughter a colony of honey bees in Japan. Photo courtesy: Getty Images

‘Murder hornets’ slaughter a colony of honeybees in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

Fecal spotting intensified after colonies were exposed either to naturally occurring attacks or to chemicals that scout hornets employed to zero in on colonies for mass attacks. Spotting persisted for days despite the cessation of attacks, the study showed.

Moderate to heavy fecal spotting stamped out attempts by V. soror to penetrate nests by reducing the incidence of multiple-hornet attacks and significantly lessening the likelihood of the ferocious wasps approaching and chewing nest entrances.

These findings are the first official report of honeybees using tools to repel aggressive predators, as well as the first published evidence of insects foraging for non-plant-based solids from livestock and poultry.

The study also includes an in-depth description of the sophisticated portfolio of defenses that honeybees have developed to cope with the constant predatory threats they face, including physically shielding the colony from predators by building enclosed walls and closely guarded small entrances; synchronized body shaking or wave-like visual displays; and producing hissing or buzzing sounds in response to predators.

Another effective defense employed by honeybees involves killing hornets by overheating and suffocating individual attackers in a ball of bees.

While it remains a puzzle as to how animal dung repels hornets, the research team found that honeybees use a variety of smelly filth to repel aggressors, including human urine and soap.

“We’re not in favor of animal feces being applied as textured spots on the fronts of hives, as no one would want to consume honey from such hives,” Prof. Otis noted.

“The key is likely the odor itself, not a particular substance.”

Though much remains to be understood about this predator-prey interaction and repellency mechanism, the groundbreaking study suggests that bee farmers can apply substances with a strong, long-lasting odor, such as clove oil, around hive entrances to keep predatory hornets at bay.

A bond with buzzers in Vietnam

Prof. Otis’s enduring interest in the defensive behavior of Asian honeybees began more than a decade ago when he initiated a beekeeping development project in several rural communes in north-central Vietnam’s Ha Tinh Province.

Managed by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, faculties from several Canadian universities worked with colleagues from the Vietnam Bee Research and Development Center to devise and execute the extensive research and training project.

Canadian professor Gard Otis (right, seated) and his associates are pictured during a field trip to Ba Vi District in suburban Hanoi, Vietnam in 2013 in this supplied photo

A research team from Canadian Professor Gard Otis’s project work during a field trip to Ba Vi District in suburban Hanoi, Vietnam in 2013 in this supplied photo.

During his time working on the project, Otis was stumped by the black spots which covered local honeybee nests. Locals seemed equally puzzled and only knew that the spots typically appeared following hornet attacks.

Only one seasoned beekeeper who had witnessed the insects’ defensive behavior first-hand was able to offer up an answer: “It’s buffalo dung.”

In 2012, Prof. Otis persuaded his former student, Heather Mattila, an associate professor of biology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, the U.S., to join him in his research on the honeybees’ ‘feces applying’ behavior.

The duo also managed to enlist help from two Hanoi-based experts – Dr. Pham Duc Hanh from the National Institute of Animal Sciences of Vietnam and Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

“It turned out the four disciplines we major in allowed us to make our research a success in 2013,” Prof. Otis said, adding the data analysis took six years.

Mattila, the study’s head, shared in an email to Tuoi Tre that both Prof. Otis and herself considered their research experience in Vietnam a highlight of their academic careers.

Each passing day during the research period was unforgettable, she stressed, adding that she hoped to one day work with an equally wonderful and diverse team.

To prove the honeybees’ unique defensive behavior, the scientists needed ‘invincible’ hives in a controlled experiment with attacked nests.

The team used a white balloon tied to a stick held by research assistants to drive the hornets away.

To make sure they always had enough feces at their disposal for the honeybees to take their pick, they built a small ‘feces shop’ with solids from poultry and cattle, Prof. Otis shared.

By the end of the day, around 140 honeybees would drop by the ‘shop’ before buzzing off with a morsel of dung in their mouth.

“The interesting thing is we were actually at a loss what to look for and observe at first. We just had to learn about the honeybees’ behavior little by little each day,” shared Phan Thanh Ngoc, a member of Prof. Otis’s research team.

Later, with Otis’s mentoring and assistance, Ngoc was able to skip earning his master’s and move directly on to earning a Ph.D. in entomology at the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S.

A buzz around beekeeping

Dr. Ngoc is not Otis’s only mentee.

Back in 1996, Prof. Otis attended a conference organized by the Asian Apiculture Association in Vietnam.

By the end of the trip, he had made a commitment to seek funding for a project to foster the development of bee farming in the Southeast Asian country.

The pundit was particularly impressed with researchers from the Vietnam Bee Research and Development Center (VBRDC), who tried to answer his thorny questions with complete honesty.

“That was when I decided to get them involved,” he said.

To prepare for his project, Prof. Otis took a trip across Vietnam to collect samples of the country’s honeybee species.

After 10 years, he managed to earn sponsorship from the Canadian International Development Agency in order to provide training in beekeeping techniques for more than 190 households in six communes in Huong Son and Vu Quang Districts in Ha Tinh between 2007 and 2012.

Exceeding the project developer’s expectations, the trainees were able to maintain bee farming businesses well before the project’s end and were even able to share techniques with bee farming newcomers.

“We knew we had to get the people working with the bees and doing things with the bees. Everything fits together in a system that’s integrated with the seasonality,” he shared in a video clip posted on the University of Guelph’s website in 2012.

“These trainees have actually put it all together into a system that they’re able to innovate.

“The beekeeping technology is extending more quickly than I would imagine.

“Within a small area, they now have essentially all the components of a complete industry.

“I think it will allow them to be sustainable with this activity far into the future.”

Huong Son and Vu Quang Districts’ products have made their way on to the country’s honey map.

A first and foremost part of the project includes providing training for lecturers at VBRDC so that they can properly teach new students.

During this training, Otis met Hanh, a VBRDC researcher, who later became his Ph.D. student and a co-author in their latest study on honeybees’ ‘feces applying’ defensive practice.

According to the professor, financing a Ph.D. student’s program spanning three or four years accounted for a big part of the project’s budget.

They need a well-trained scientist capable of raising valuable research questions and gaps, designing viable experiments, training younger generations and also fluent in English, he explained.

“With all of Vietnam’s indigenous bee species in sight, I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Prof. Otis shared, adding that there is only one species of honeybee in North America and it has lost its novelty among researchers.

The giant hornets habitually disappear around November each year to prepare for a new queen bee ‘empire’ before making their comeback in August the following year.

During that time, colonies of honeybees stop applying new fecal spots and old spots are washed away by natural elements.

Prof. Gard Otis felt sorry that no Vietnamese experts or farmers had seemed to question this abnormal phenomenon, which occurs for around two and a half to three months each year.

How honeybees use feces to defend colonies

Apis cerana defended their colonies from group attacks by Vespa soror by applying fecal spots around hive entrances.

A hive front with heavy fecal spotting around the entrance opening
A marked A. cerana forager on a dung pile
A forager holds a clump of fecal solids in her mandibles.
A forager applies a fecal spot to a hive front after being paint marked on a dung pile.
An entrance-focused group attack on a colony of honeybees by V. soror workers
Damage to a hive entrance after entrance margins were chewed on by V. soror workers, with the attack disrupted by experimenters before the hive was breached.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development conferred on Prof. Gard Otis the ‘Order in recognition of contributions to Vietnam’s agriculture and rural development’ in late 2014.

His dedication to the Southeast Asian country’s apiculture sector is also something personal.

Born in the U.S., Otis would have been conscripted for the American war in Vietnam, which ended in 1975.

When he first visited Vietnam, he was psychologically geared up for anger and unfriendly attitudes that he thought awaited him. To his great surprise, this never happened.

“There’s another reason that I want to work with Vietnamese people. You’re so kind and forgiving and even nominated me for a prize,” he shared, adding that he threw a party with those who had given him their full backing.

“I really love Vietnam, where many of my friends are.”

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10 hallmarks for the industry and trade sector in 2020

February 13, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

Last year also marked tremendous efforts in industry and trade to fulfil the tasks assigned by the Party, the National Assembly, and the government, making significant contributions to achieving the country’s socioeconomic development targets in 2020. Here are the 10 top highlights of the year.

tet 22 10 hallmarks for the industry and trade sector in 2020

10 hallmarks for the industry and trade sector in 2020, photo Le Toan

1 – Breakthroughs in international integration

International integration was a brilliant highlight of industry and trade activities in 2020. Never before had Vietnam in a single year joined three major free trade agreements (FTAs) of an unprecedented market size – the EU-Vietnam FTA, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the UK-Vietnam FTA – bringing the total number of FTAs involving Vietnam to 14.

According to experts, through constant and profound tariff cuts, the FTAs connect Vietnam to a large playing field with GDP value accounting for 60 per cent of the global GDP.

In 2020, as ASEAN chair, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) presided over, initiated, and crafted 13 initiatives for economic cooperation that were highly appreciated by other ASEAN member countries. The initiatives help strengthen intra-bloc cohesion and restructure regional supply chains in a sustainable manner.

Despite facing mounting hardships due to COVID-19, Vietnam worked closely and proactively with ASEAN members and other partner countries to solve hurdles and finalise the 8-year negotiations over the RCEP while simultaneously scaling up efforts to review the legal impacts of the agreement. In addition, Vietnam had quickly completed local procedures to successfully organise the signing ceremony of the agreement in November.

2 – Exports maintain growth momentum

Vietnam, with trade openness in the range of about 200 per cent of GDP, is regarded one of the most open economies in the world. The declining global economy due to COVID-19 therefore has cast detrimental impacts on the country’s exports, particularly from the early second quarter of 2020.

In this context, the MoIT swiftly deployed a wide range of measures to remove difficulties for exports. Shortly after COVID-19 erupted in China, the MoIT proposed the Ministry of Health to build pandemic control protocols to apply at the northern border gates. Simultaneously, the MoIT sought to diversify component supply sources to ensure domestic production and export growth.

Being able to resume production early brought distinct advantages to the country in preparing sources for exports. The MoIT and relevant ministries and agencies have been tracking the domestic and overseas market situation to render timely guidance in each particular field.

Last year, 31 of Vietnam’s export markets reported more than $1 billion in export turnover with five markets reporting over $10 billion, and eight markets between $5 and $10 billion.

3 – Trade remedies

New investigations on trade remedy measures on Vietnamese exports set a record in 2020 with 39 cases, up 2.5-fold compared to 2019. The MoIT effectively solved cases of trade remedies being applied to ensure the legitimate rights and benefits of Vietnamese exporters and producers.

So far, Vietnam successfully handled 65 cases, helping many export businesses and export items to continue to enjoy zero per cent or very low tariffs and maintain export growth, particularly to big markets like the United States, the EU, and Canada.

4 – Market management undergoing restructuring

Market management bodies have proven remarkably efficient in the fight against counterfeit, smuggled goods, and trade fraud. The teams have successfully detected crime rings that had been operating under the radar for years.

Numerous cases of smuggling, counterfeit, and trade fraud were founded and properly settled in localities nationwide. Particularly, market management forces made active contributions to the COVID-19 prevention won praise from the government and citizens.

5 – Manufacturing and processing a major stimulation to growth

The manufacturing and processing industry continues to be a driving force for industrial growth with important contributions to the country’s economic development, ensuring social wellbeing and employment.

Albeit the regional and global economy was hit heavily by COVID-19, Vietnam’s industrial production still registered growth with continuous expansion in production scope.

Significantly, industrial restructuring has been gathering increasing momentum, with key industries like electronics, textile and clothing, and footwear growing at a high level and being a major factor for Vietnam’s industrial development, creating more jobs for society (averaging 300,000 jobs a year on average) and helping to improve the competitiveness of Vietnam’s industrial sector.

The MoIT submitted to the government Resolution No.124/NQ-CP dated last September on the action programme to implement Resolution No.23-NQ/TW dated March 2018 of the Politburo presenting the orientation to build a national industrial development policy towards 2030 with a vision to 2045 and Resolution No.115/NQ-CP dated August on solutions to accelerate supporting industry development.

6 – Upbeat results in oil and gas exploration

The first gas stream from the Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet field in Nam Con Son Basin got to the shore on November 16, 2020, opening up an annual output of about 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas and 2.8 million barrels of crude oil and condensate. The gas source from the Sao Vang-Dai Viet field will contribute significantly to the national coffers and the economy, ensuring sufficient gas supply for power production.

Last July, a colossal gas deposit of an estimated 7-9 trillion cubic feet of raw gas was discovered at the Ken Bau field in Song Hong Basin, offshore Vietnam. With this discovery, the Ken Bau gas field might be ready for exploitation in the second half of the decade, contributing to national security.

This provides a substantial bedrock for continued exploration and exploitation activities at Block 114 of the Ken Bau field and neighbouring areas, gearing towards the robust development of the gas-fired power industry in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and the central region.

7 – Consolidating domestic markets and providing firm ground for manufacturing

Shortly after the pandemic outbreak, the MoIT worked closely with localities and presented plans to ensure good preparation of commodities along with setting diverse scenarios to effectively deal with any pandemic situation.

As a result, the market could ensure sufficient supply of essential goods serving people’s needs in all contingencies, especially amid the subsequent disruptions.

In addition, diverse initiatives were deployed with massive programmes on sale and trade promotion with strong spillover effects, helping to quickly resume purchasing power and regain growth. For instance, retail sales of goods still jumped 6.78 per cent.

The MoIT also presented measures and crafted policies to support businesses on product consumption, particularly agricultural produce, and essential consumer goods.

These achievements were of paramount importance, providing the lever for domestic production to weather the storm, gradually resume pace, and push up growth.

8 – Innovating trade promotion

Due to difficulties in trade promotion activities, the MoIT quickly deployed new forms of trade promotion in the digital platform to supersede traditional methods. The ministry used social media platforms to ensure frequent and swift connection between Vietnamese commercial agencies abroad and local trade promotion organisations, suppliers, and exporters.

From early 2020, the MoIT worked in tandem with the people’s committees in centrally-governed cities and provinces throughout the country, as well as foreign trade promotion agencies to host more than 500 online international conferences with over one million transaction sessions.

In December, the MoIT held the Vietnam Food Expo online, as well as supported local businesses in taking part in dozens of other online international trade fairs.

9 – E-commerce developing robustly

Last year e-commerce became a strategic move for many businesses, helping them to develop new distribution channels effectively. E-commerce, therefore, experienced booming growth right after border trade bounced back.

Different e-commerce platforms like KeyPay, ERP Store, and the Online Friday event were utilised effectively, boosting Vietnam’s e-commerce industry as a whole.

10 – Administrative procedure reform and building e-government

Along with a sharp rise in the access-to-power index, administrative procedure reform and simplified business condition and check procedures were the MoIT’s highlights in 2020.

The ministry piloted slashing business conditions through submitting to the government for enactment a decree to help trim and simplify 205 business conditions in the fields under its management. After two revisions, 880 of a total of 1,216 conditions were scrapped.

By Thuy Thu

Thailand steps up development of video game industry

February 18, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) is scaling up efforts to forge the establishment of Thailand-based game service providers (Source: bangkokpost.com)

Bangkok – Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) is scaling up efforts to forge the establishment of Thailand-based game service providers as another driver for this multibillion-baht industry.

DEPA President and Chief Executive Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin said Thailand’s game industry was valued at 29 billion THB (nearly 1 billion USD) in 2020 with an average growth of 14 percent per year. The industry is projected to be valued at 33 billion THB this year.

Gaming is part of the digital content industry that has grown in line with the world’s technology and new consumer lifestyles, he said.

However, the country still lacks online game service providers and games publishers, especially the former that act as key agencies to own, lease or operate businesses linked to games as well as handling game exports to the world market.

Currently, Thai game developers have to share 60-70 percent of their sales with game service providers and publishers, most of which are international firms, especially from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore, Nuttapon said.

DEPA on February 16 inked a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with the Thai Game Software Industry Association (TGA) to support and promote digital content, including games.

Nuttapon said the agency has sought a budget of 400 million THB from the government to support the industry through the fiscal 2022 budget.

The cooperation is aimed at creating more value in the industry and increasing new work opportunities as well as supporting digital manpower in the industry, he added.

VNA

Vietnam’s industrial export still relies on FDI sector

February 17, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

A production chain at Thang Long industrial park. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – Vietnam posted an estimated trade surplus of 1.3 billion USD in January, according to a report recently announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Of the figure, the domestic economic sector posted a deficit of 1.8 billion USD while the foreign-invested sector (inclusive of crude oil) ran a surplus of 3.1 billion USD.

The statistics showed that Vietnam’s industrial production and export was still driven by the FDI sector which accounted for some 70 percent of the country’s total exports.

The MoIT reported that the index of industrial production in January rose 22.2 percent year-on-year. With a 27.2 percent growth, manufacturing and processing sector contributed 21.6 percentage point to the country’s common growth.

Export of processed industrial goods was estimated at 23.96 billion USD during the month, up 1 percent from December and 54.5 percent from one year ago.

Mobile phones and accessories remained the biggest currency earner with 5.8 billion USD, up 25.9 percent from December.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the country has developed a number of key industries such as mining, oil and gas processing, electronics, telecommunications, information technology, metallurgy, iron and steel, apparel and footwear, which has laid an important foundation for long-term growth as well as the country’s modernisation and industrialisation.

In the near future, the MoIT will tap opportunities from trade agreements to enter new markets and boost exports following the pandemic.

It will also improve the working efficiency of its two technical support centres for industrial development in the north and the south, which are working closely with multinational groups in Vietnam such as Toyota, Mitsubishi and Canon to seek suitable suppliers for their value chains.

At the same time, the ministry will also develop downstream industries such as energy, precision engineering and mechanical engineering industries, thus creating conditions for support industry to develop.

VNA