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Video: The theme song of “Old Father”.

The revenue as of April 4 was from 5.3 million tickets sold.

Released on March 5, “Old Father” has set new records for the fastest Vietnamese movie to reach ticket sales of VND100 billion and VND200 billion. The film collected VND100 billion (nearly $5 million) in just four days after being released, beating the previous record of six days held by “Gai Gia Lam Chieu 3” (The Last Egg 3).

On March 19, its revenue reached VND290 billion, officially surpassing Hollywood blockbuster “Avengers Endgame” (VND285 billion) to become the highest-grossing cinema movie in Vietnam.

After a month, “Old Father” remained in the top 2 at the box office.

The movie distributor Galaxy Studio and producer plan to release “Old Father” abroad, specifically in Singapore and Malaysia from April 22, and perhaps Thailand after that.

5,3 million people watched “Old Father” at cinemas.

“Old Father” centers around Sang, an old motorbike rider who lives in a low-income neighborhood in HCMC. Although Sang is poor and suffers from an illness, he always sacrifices himself for his family.

The film’s production cost is estimated at VND23 billion (US$1 million), with an all-star cast comprising Tran Thanh, People’s Artist Ngoc Giau, Le Giang, Tuan Tran, Ngan Chi, La Thanh, Quoc Khanh, Le Trang, Che Nguyen Quynh Chau and Minh Tu.

The “Old Father” movie is an adaptation of a web drama of the same name directed by Vu Ngoc Dang. The web drama version, which was released on YouTube in early 2020, was the most viewed web drama in Vietnam with more than 90 million views for its five episodes.

Seven Vietnamese films with the highest domestic ticket sales to date comprise “Old Father” with VND400 billion, “Flirt with pregnant wife again” with VND191.8 billion, “Mat Biec” (Dreamy Eyes) with VND180 billion, “Tiec trang mau” (Perfect Strangers) with VND175 billion, “Em chua 18” (Jailbait) with VND171 billion, “Furie” with VND160 billion (up to VND200 billion from both local and foreign markets) and “The Last Egg 3” with VND165 billion.

Quynh An

With several things, including audience behavior, having changed, experts are advising that it might be more prudent for domestic filmmakers to cooperate instead of competing with each other.

This month, two blockbusters, “Bo Gia” (The Father) and “Gai Gia Lam Chieu 5” (The Last Eggs 5), are competing in cinemas nationwide to win audiences after the latest Covid-19 outbreak postponed their premieres.

While “Bo Gia” has become the first Vietnamese movie to rake in VND200 billion ($8.69 million) in domestic cinemas, “Gai Gia Lam Chieu 5” has earned more than VND30 billion.

In April, 11 domestic movies are slated to hit the big screen: “Song Song” (Glitch), “Vo Dien Sat Nhan” (Faceless Killer), “Lat Mat: 48h” (Face-Off: 48h), “Kieu,” “Rung The Mang” (Survive), “Dan Choi Khong So Con Roi” (Senior Playboy, Junior Papa), “Chia Khoa Tram Ti” (The Hundred Billion Key), “Bong De” (Sleep Paralysis), “1990”, “Thien Than Ho Menh” (Guardian Angel), and “Trang Ti.”

Notably, on April 16 and 30, three films will be released each day.

Moviegoers at a cinema on Saigon’s Nguyen Du Street, May, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

This is a record number of Vietnamese movies hitting local cinemas simultaneously, according to movie producer Minh Hang, who added that the rush would make big screen success much harder for filmmakers.

“The market is like a cake, the more the people, the more pieces it has to be divided into.”

It has been seen that a movie’s fate can be decided in a few days after its release. A successful film that attracts a lot of moviegoers will be prioritized and given more daily shows, and others will be ignored.

In January 2021, “Vo Sinh Dai Chien” (Martial Art Students’ Fight) was withdrawn from the cinemas by its own producer because it was not being given enough shows by the distributors.

Also in January, several movies like “Cau Vang” “Nguoi Can Quen Phai Nho” (What We Forgot to Remember) failed at the box office.

Apart from exposure, another factor that can affect a movie’s market success is changes in the audience’s habits. Director Nguyen Quang Dung said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, moviegoers have become more careful and picky.

“Previously, they chose to watch one movie first and the others later; but now, they only choose the best one to watch,” Dung said, adding those going to cinemas and picking a movie randomly are rare at the moment.

Producer Hang agreed, saying there have been movies that can earn hundreds of billions of dong, but there have also been those that make just VND1-2 billion ($43,276-86,552), which is a huge gap.

The average cost of a Vietnamese movie is VND15 billion, so if the movie makes less than that, producers may earn next to nothing, especially given that they have to share at least 50 percent of their revenues with distributors.

The ongoing cinema rush has promoted some filmmakers to delay their movies’ premieres.

The release of movies like “Bay Ngot Ngao” (Sweet Trap) and “Nguoi Lang Nghe” (Listener) has been postponed to avoid the fierce competition next month.

“A lot of high-quality movies will be released, so the audience has more choices. When they have to choose, they will miss some good ones,” Hang said.

The movie that she has produced, “Bay Ngot Ngao,” was planned to premiere on April 16, but the new release date is May 15.

“I am confident about my movie, but a party having too many dishes will only bore people,” she said.

Producers of “Nguoi Lang Nghe” also think that too many movies competing at the same time is unnecessary, so rescheduling their releases will benefit both moviemakers and moviegoers.

In the long run, some experts say, moviemakers should cooperate with each other and discuss their premiere schedules to attract more viewers. They note that many movies have failed because they were not released at the right time.

Moviemakers and distributors should work to “move forward” together, said director Nhat Trung. He said cinema chains should consult with producers and keep them regularly updated about new movies hitting the giant screens, so that moviemakers can consider their release timings.

Producer Truong Ngoc Anh agreed, adding that cooperation between moviemakers was the best solution to help avoid a crowded market that reduces chances of success.

“Before we have an association linking filmmakers, I think they should save themselves by talking with each other to decide which movies should be released at the same time so that they can maximize the number of viewers,” Anh said.

But producer Ly Hai, whose “Lat Mat: 48h” will hit local cinemas in April, commented that he has no choice but to introduce his movie because he is wary about a new Covid-19 outbreak that could halt releases.

“I don’t think we can choose the date anymore, things depend on Covid-19.”

“Thien Than Ho Menh”, which will premiere in Vietnam on April 30, will hit giant screens in several countries in the near future, according to its producer TFilm Entertainment. The company said it is working with many film distributors to introduce the movie to global audiences.

The movie’s world premiere date has not been revealed.

Vu’s latest brainchild depicts the story of a young woman using a mysterious doll and voodoo to become a famous music star. Later, one of her colleagues commits suicide, and she becomes a suspect.

A scene from “Thien Than Ho Menh.” Photo courtesy of the movie.

Rated 18+, “Thien Than Ho Menh” delves into the voodoo phenomenon of raising the so-called Kumanthong (Thai ghost doll) to achieve fame and money.

Victor Vu, one of the most popular movie directors in Vietnam, has had many movies do well in international markets. His “Mat Biec” (Dreamy Eye) drama was Vietnam’s entry for the qualifying round of the foreign language film category at the Oscar 2021 awards.

His “Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh” (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) was also the country’s entry in the same category at the Oscar 2017 awards. This film was among the three winners of the Features Films of 2015 award at the 2nd Silk Road International Film Festival in China.

This month, another Vietnamese film, “Bo Gia” (The Father), will also hit international screens . “Bo Gia” directed by Tran Thanh and Vu Ngoc Dang, has raked in VND400 billion ($17.4 million) after premiering on March 5 to become the highest-grossing Vietnamese movie ever .

Movie star Nha Phuong in a scene from the thriller Song Song (Two Faces), a production by young director Nguyen Huu Hoang. The film’s premiere impressed viewers on Sunday in HCM City. (Photo courtesy of the producer)

The thriller Song Song (Two Faces), a production by young director Nguyen Huu Hoang, will be released on Sunday.

Its story refers to “the butterfly effect”, a hypothetical situation that illustrates how small initial differences may lead to large unforeseen consequences over time.

The film’s story is about Trang, a wife and mother of a five-year-old daughter, who finds that she can travel back in time.

Trang attempts to change the present by changing her past behavior, and sets things right for herself and her husband and daughter. But there are unintended consequences for all.

Movie star Nha Phuong as Trang is expected to guarantee the film’s financial success.

Phuong, 30, began her career in 2012 after graduating from the HCM City University of Theatre & Cinematography.

She has played leading roles in more than 40 TV shows and movies, including blockbusters such as Yêu Đi Đừng Sợ (Kiss and Spell) and Quả Tim Máu (Blood Heart).

She has won several top prizes for best feature-film actress and favourite actress presented by prestigious TV stations and magazines, including the Golden Kite Award for Best Featured Film Actress from the Vietnam Cinematography Association in 2019.

She was invited as a producer to join the Cannes Film Festival 2018 to screen her short film, Infill & Full, at Festival Corner. Her 14-minute film is about a Vietnamese woman who emigrates illegally to the UK.

“I hope Phuong’s performance in Song Song will cause her career to reach new heights,” said Nguyen Thuy Hang, a fan of Phuong.

Song Song left a strong impression on audiences after its premiere on Wednesday in HCM City.

Another thriller is Thiên Thần Hộ Mệnh (The Guardian) by Vietnamese-American director Victor Vu.

The film is about three young women who treat, feed and dress life-sized baby dolls as if they are living things.

Its trailer featuring haunting scenes has attracted more than 103,000 views on YouTube.

Thiên Thần Hộ Mệnh (The Guardian) by Vietnamese-American director Victor Vu will be released on April 29 to celebrate the 46th anniversary of Southern Vietnam’s liberation and Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1). (Photo courtesy of the producer)

“My film reflects the weak points in young people’s psychology,” said the film’s director Vu, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in the US.

Thiên Thần Hộ Mệnh will be released on April 29.

Two films, Lật Mặt: 48H (Face Off: 48 Hours) and 1990, featuring themes about love and women, will be in cinemas on April 16 and 30.

While the action comedy Lật Mặt: 48H has attracted veteran actors Vo Thanh Tam and Huynh Dong, 1990, a romantic production, stars actresses Diem Mi and Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc.

VNS

Vietnamese films earn big profits after being postponed amid recent COVID-19 outbreak

Two Vietnamese films earned several billions dong on one day in cinemas last week, following a postponed release date in February amid a COVID-19 outbreak.

A photo of Hai Phong City.

Hai Phong Party Committee has asked Hai Phong People’s Committee to speed up the process to complete procedures and disburse funds to build 67 parks during the 2021-2022 period.

This is part of a project to improve the urban area landscape and boost the new village model.

The city authorities have asked related parties to research and have detailed planning for the project. If necessary, the administrative boundaries can be adjusted or the park premise can be expanded to 10,000 square metres, set up resettlement and rearrange the residential areas.

Hai Phong will continue replacing and improving the pavements in the city centre and put all the power lines and cable lines underground. An urban embellishment management board was set up to help manage projects and call for funds from the private sector.

In regards to the project to build Dong Khe 2 Road, Hai Phong Party Committee said this was a key project for the city and they hoped to be able to finish the first phase of the Dong Khe 2 Road Project by December 31. Compensation would be paid and resettlement issues settled in April.

Foreign parliament leaders congratulate new NA Chairman

Leaders of the parliaments of Laos, China and Japan on March 31 sent congratulatory letters to newly-elected Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) and the National Election Council (NEC) Vuong Dinh Hue.

In his letter, Chairman of the Lao NA Saysomphone Phomvihane expressed his belief that with his capability and rich working experience, Hue will lead the NA, the highest organ of State power of Vietnam, to successfully perform its important legislative right and contribute to the cause of national defence and construction, raising Vietnam’s role and position at regional and international forums.

“I hope that the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples of Laos and Vietnam in general, and between the two legislative bodies in particular, will be further deepened and continuously reap fruitful results,” the Lao NA leader wrote.

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Zhanshu said in his message that he stands ready to work with the new Vietnamese NA Chairman to make the implementation of the common political perception obtained by senior leaders of the two Parties and two countries as the orientation to bolster exchange and cooperation between the two legislative bodies and promote the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership.

The same day, President of the House of Councillors of Japan Santo Akiko and Speaker of the House of Representatives Oshima Tadamori also cabled messages of congratulations to the newly-elected NA Chairman of Vietnam.

On March 31 morning, Vuong Dinh Hue, Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly and the National Election Council.

No new COVID-19 infections reported on April 1 morning

Vietnam recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours to 6am on April 1, keeping the total number of infections in the country at 2,603, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Of the total, 1,603 are domestically-transmitted cases, including 910 infections since the third wave of outbreaks hit the country on January 27.

The MoH’s Medical Service Administration reported that as many as 2,359 have been given the all-clear from the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 so far.

The death toll from the disease was still kept at 35, the administration said.

Among active patients undergoing treatment at medical establishments across the country, 18 tested negative for the virus once, 15 twice and 37 thrice.

A total of 37,008 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined nationwide, including 506 in hospitals, 19,093 at concentrated facilities and 17,409 at their residences.

According to the National Expanded Immunisation Programme, an additional 1,487 people received COVID-19 vaccine shots on March 31, bringing the total number of vaccinated people to 49,743.

To live safely with the pandemic, the MoH advised people to remain proactive in pandemic prevention and control by continuing to wear face masks when going out, disinfecting frequently, maintaining a safe distance, refraining from mass gatherings, and making medical declarations./.

Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties marked in HCM City

The Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on March 31 held a ceremony to celebrate the 48th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Australia.

In her speech, Australian Consul General Julianne Cowley said the event offers a chance for the two sides to review and further strengthen the bilateral partnership, which plays an increasingly important role in the current world context.

Cowley highlighted the Australia-Vietnam cooperation over the past 48 years, saying that the relationship is built on the foundation of mutual respect and trust, with common interests and close cohesion, demonstrated through the effective cooperation between the two countries in politics, economy, defence – security, education, and people-to-people diplomacy, and especially in supporting each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Affirming the important role and position of Ho Chi Minh City in the relationship with Australia, Cowley emphasised that the two countries have a lot of potential and opportunities to make their bilateral ties more successful and prosperous.

Tran Phuoc Anh, acting director of the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the flourishing development of the Vietnam – Australia relations across various fields, saying that the bilateral relationship was built on the basis of sincerity, trust and for the goal of bringing prosperity to the two countries’ people, as well as contributing to promoting peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

In 2020, the Australian government helped Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of floods, and accessing vaccines against COVID-19 through the Indo-Pacific Health Security and Vaccine Initiative, he said, adding Australia also promoted the Aus4Innovation Partnership between the two countries towards post-pandemic economic recovery solutions.

Anh said there is room for HCM City and Australia to expand their cooperation in such fields as trade, smart city development, education-training, finance –banking, and sustainable urban development.

Dynamic development in the relationship between the city and Australia will contribute to realising the action programme implementing the Vietnam – Australia Strategic Partnership in the period 2020-2023, he added./.

Experts seek measures to promote Mekong Delta’s sustainable growth

Vietnamese and foreign experts and scientists gathered at a conference in Can Tho city on March 31 to seek solutions to boost sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region amid climate change.

Participants agreed that the Mekong Delta is vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels, which are developing faster than previously forecast.

The exploitation of the Mekong River’s upstream water resources, especially the building of hydropower dams, has caused changes in flow and reductions of alluvium deposits, harming fisheries resources and worsening saltwater intrusion. The over-exploitation of mud and sand has also increased the risk of erosion.

Meanwhile, experts pointed out that resources for investment development have remained limited, while high-quality human resources are moving to other localities.

They held that it is necessary to ensure greater investment in science and technology development and application to boost sustainable development and maintain the cultural identity of the region.

Associate Professor Nguyen Ly Binh, from Can Tho University, proposed the formation of ecological areas for agricultural development, along with agricultural expansion in association with the development of economic sub-regions and the switching of rice fields to fruit orchards and breeding farms.

Meanwhile, according to Professor Ishimatsu Atsushi, Academic Advisor at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it is necessary to conduct a detailed assessment of climate change in the future, thus seeking suitable models for the changing conditions in a spirit of following the will of nature.

He also underlined the need to evaluate the socio-economic efficiency and environmental impact of land-use models, while designing policies to adapt to climate change and technology development.

Professor Tran Ngoc Hai from the Can Tho University, said it is crucial to build a more suitable agricultural structure, ensuring the connectivity of production chains and deeper participation in global value chains, while focusing more on processing and agricultural supporting industries./.

22nd Vietnam Film Festival slated for Sept. in Thua Thien-Hue

The 22nd Vietnam Film Festival will take place in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue from September 12-16, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced.

The festival will promote the creativity of the cinematic art and its professionalism and humanitarian values towards developing the film market amid global integration.

Major events during the festival include the screening of films, a seminar, and the opening, closing, and awards ceremonies.

Sideline events include a film week in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City celebrating the festival, an exchange programme, an exhibition entitled “Thua Thien-Hue – Destination of Filmmakers”, and outdoor film screenings in combination with an “ao dai” (traditional dress) show and an exchange with artists.

The biennial event is also to honour movies and artists during the development of the film industry.

It also provides a chance for artists and industry players to promote the trademark “Vietnam Film Festival” in 2021-2030./.

Vietnam well positioned to play more energetic role on global stage: The Diplomat

After its COVID-19 successes, Vietnam is well positioned to play a more energetic role on the global stage, according to the international online news magazine The Diplomat.

In an article published on March 30, The Diplomat said as an emergent and rising power in international affairs, Vietnam is potentially well positioned to help rebuild the global governance system that has been paralysed by increasing superpower tensions and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is imperative that Vietnam play a stronger role in global governance in the years to come, for several reasons, it stated.

Engaging in global governance activities dovetails with Vietnam’s avowed foreign policy goals, it said, noting that the political report presented at the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in January asserts that Vietnam will remain a responsible and proactive member of the international community, as well as a trustworthy partner for other countries.

According to the article, Vietnam stands to gain from being more proactive in global governance.

The existing global governance system has deteriorated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing strategic tension between China and the US, and this offers Vietnam a chance to contribute to the reform of the international system.

The article said thanks to its impressive response to the pandemic, Vietnam ranked second among 98 countries in terms of performance in managing COVID-19. More importantly, the country has also witnessed a relatively high growth rate compared to its neighbours, and is forecast to recover quickly from the pandemic. To this extent, Vietnam has become the role model in terms of governance.

These achievements have laid a solid foundation for Vietnam to contribute more to the governance of the post-pandemic world, and if the country takes this chance, it will be able to both enhance its international image and play a more active role in world affairs, the article said.

Being proactive in global governance will also help Vietnam soften the impact of key global challenges, including human security, water security, climate change, and future pandemics.

On December 27 last year, Vietnam proposed an International Day of Epidemic Preparedness during its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. This is a good example of how the country can gradually contribute to the revival of global governance, turning it into a “responsible member” of the international community, as it desires to become.

Vietnam’s proliferation of free-trade agreements (FTAs) that the country has signed in recent years testifies to its desire to integrate itself further into the global economy. To fully reap the benefits from these FTAs, it is crucial for Vietnam to be more proactive on governance issues, both domestic and global, the article said.

It noted that in recent years, Vietnam has performed well in a number of international and regional organisations, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN, thus consolidating its international position. The country’s active engagement with the UN, especially in the realm of peacekeeping, is also evident for Vietnam’s emergence.

If Vietnam can foster its recent successes, it will be more institutionally capable, paving the way for the country to contribute more substantively to global governance.

Given what its government has achieved so far, Vietnam has the potential to become a more confident and respected actor on the world stage, the article stressed./.

Three foreigners entering Vietnam illegally quarantined

Three foreigners who entered Vietnam illegally were brought to a concentrated quarantine facility in Moc Chau district of the northern border province of Son La, the provincial Department of Public Security announced on March 31.

Accordingly, on March 25, while patrolling in Phat hamlet, Long Sap commune of Moc Chau district, a working team of Long Sap Border Guard Post, the provincial Department of Public Security’s Entry-Exit Management Desk, and Moc Chau district’s police detected three foreigners entering Vietnam illegally.

During the investigation, the trio, residing in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China, failed to show sufficient documents as regulated.

Then they were brought to the quarantine facility. All are currently in stable health conditions./.

Rabies deaths a concern for Dak Lak residents

Two people have died in the last three weeks in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk after being bitten by rabid dogs.

On March 22, N.Đ.H, 20, living in Ea Wy Commune, Ea H’leo District was admitted to the Central Highlands General Hospital after suffering fatigue, poor appetite and fear of wind, water and lights after being bitten by a neighbour’s dog.

A family member said he was bitten by a dog on the right finger about a month ago. Two days later, the dog died, but N.Đ.H did not get vaccinated against rabies.

Doctors diagnosed him with rabies and he died on March 23 while on the way to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in HCM City.

The other victim was a 39-year-old man, from Cư Êbur Commune, Buôn Ma Thuột City, who was admitted to the hospital with dog bite injuries on March 11.

“The patient was hospitalised in a state of fatigue, fear of wind, water and light, and diagnosed with rabies by doctors,” a representative from the hospital said. He died a day later.

Neither victim received a rabies vaccination after the bites as they didn’t take the danger seriously.

In 2019 and 2020, the province recorded 12 rabies deaths, all people who were not vaccinated and were bitten by dogs.

Enforce punishment

According to the provincial Centre for Disease Control’s officials, the main cause of deaths from rabies was dogs and cats being allowed to roam residential areas freely.

In addition, a majority of dogs have not been vaccinated against rabies.

Statistics from the provincial authorities indicate the province has more than 400,000 dogs, but an average of only 50,000 doses of vaccine are injected every year.

The provincial Centre for Disease Control reported there are about 4,000 dog bites recorded each year where the victims come for a rabies shot.

Despite the regulation being in place for four years, no fines for failure to muzzle dogs in public have been levied in the province.

Decree 90 issued in 2017 stipulated fines from VNĐ600,000 to VNĐ800,000 for not muzzling a dog in public.

Nguyễn Trọng Văn in Cư Êbur Commune, Buôn Ma Thuột City said: “Although the Government has imposed punishment against owners of dogs without muzzles, for a long time, no cases have been reported.”

“Therefore, in order to limit the risk of dog bites, I suggest that it should be strictly forbidden to let dogs out in public without leashes and muzzles,” said Văn.

“Every year, the local veterinary sector needs to have a plan to vaccinate dogs.”

After the two rabies deaths, the provincial Department of Health directed local medical centres to step up rabies prevention and control work.

Family dogs should be vaccinated and all districts, towns and cities will soon widely vaccinate, an official from the provincial Centre for Disease Control said.

Hanoi, St Petersburg look to bolster cooperation

Hanoi’s Department of External Affairs and the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg held an online meeting on March 31 to discuss ways to enhance their cooperation.

He also took the occasion to mention favourable conditions and preferential treatments that St Petersburg offers to foreign investors.

The Hanoi side suggested organizing a Hanoi Cultural Day in St Petersburg and a St Petersburg Cultural Day in Hanoi, and showed interest in boosting collaboration in tourism, infrastructure, health care, clean water supply, information technology smart city building and cyber security.

Hanoi also wants to learn from the Russian city’s experience in urban management, planning and development, and cultural heritage conservation.

The Russian city proposed organizing an IT form at the end of April, fostering partnerships between the two cities’ universities and medical establishments, and participating in the 4th Russia-Vietnam Youth forum to be held in St Petersburg.

11th International Photo Contest in Vietnam launched

Domestic and foreign photographers will compete at 11th International Photo Contest in Vietnam (VN-21) that was launched in Hanoi on March 31.

The event is conducted by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA), under the sponsorship of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), the Image Sans Frontiere (ISF) and Photographic Society of America (PSA).

It features the four sections of open colour, open monochrome, travel and portrait, the organisers said.

Each entrant may participate in any one or all sections, and can submit a maximum of four photos per section and a total 16 photos for all sections.

Entries must originate as photographs (image-captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally.

There will be 97 awards, including one FIAP/PSA/ISF/VAPA gold medals, one FIAP/PSA/ ISF/VAPA silver medals, one FIAP/PSA/ ISF/VAPA bronze medals and three FIAP/PSA/ ISF/VAPA honourable mentions.

Entries should be sent to the organisers by the end of July 31, at www.contestvn.com.

A ceremony to award winners and open an exhibition showcasing the winning photos is slated for October./.

HCM City district doctors perform difficult surgeries thanks to training by elite public hospitals

Doctors at many district-level hospitals in HCM City have begun to perform complex surgeries thanks to training they are receiving from counterparts in top public hospitals.

Doctors from the trauma and orthopaedics department at Gia Định People’s Hospital and Gò Vấp District Hospital, for instance, successfully performed a hip replacement surgery on March 24 for a 53-year-old patient who had osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

After the one-hour surgery, the patient was expected to walk with a walker after just one day.

His mobility is likely to be nearly 90 per cent restored.

He had been suffering from hip pain for a year, and doctors at the Gò Vấp District Hospital prescribed the surgery.

In the past they would send such patients to higher-level hospitals since they could not perform such surgeries.

Dr Vũ Hoàng Hà, the hospital’s deputy head, said 30 patients requiring hip replacement used to come every month and be sent to larger hospitals.

Such patients would no longer be sent elsewhere, and this would help reduce the crowding at the apex hospitals, he said.

According to Dr Nguyễn Việt Trung, head of the department of trauma and orthopaedics at Gia Định People’s Hospital, said hip replacement is a difficult surgery that requires “professional” anaesthetists and well-trained and experienced surgeons.

“If the surgery is not performed well, there will be complications such as bleeding and infection which will affect the patient’s mobility and even life.”

Doctors from Gia Định will continue to go to the Gò Vấp District Hospital to perform hip replacement surgeries until it can do without them.

This is a part of the city Department of Health’s programme for improving the skills of doctors at many district-level hospitals that are categorised as second level. Gia Định and several other major public hospitals are categorised as level one.

Chợ Rẫy Hospital is a central-run facility that is categorised as ‘special.’

Bình Chánh District Hospital, District 7 Hospital and others are also assisted by Gia Định, People’s Hospital 115, Lê Văn Thịnh General Hospital, and Thủ Đức City Hospital.

This had improved the skills of the doctors in those hospitals, earning the trust of patients, the department said.

In July last year doctors at the District 7 Hospital admitted a nine-year-old patient who had been pierced by a sharp object and whose heart had stopped beating.

Doctors persisted with tracheal intubation and resuscitated him, and, along with their counterparts from Children’s Hospital 2, managed to save the boy.

Thanh Hoa records rapid rise in lumpy skin disease cases

As of March 28 more than 1,337 cows and buffaloes across 11 districts in Thanh Hoa province have contracted lumpy skin disease (LSD), according to the provincial Department of Livestock And Animal Health on March 30.

To slow the spread of LSD, the locality has been forced to destroy a total of 21 infected animals, whilst warning that infection risk is likely to be widely spread in the near future.

LSD is a double-stranded DNA virus that is a member of the capripoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family, although it is not transmissible to humans. It is therefore believed that arthropod vectors, direct contact, contaminated feed or water, along with iatrogenic means, such as the repeated use of needles on different animals, is likely to cause the spread of the disease.

Local farmers and traders have been asked not to sell, trade, or slaughter any cattle that shows any symptoms of the illness. Indeed, suspected cases should be swiftly reported to the authorities as the locality battles to get to grips with the rise in case numbers.

Ho Chi Minh City to host Miss Charm International 2021

The Miss Charm 2021 beauty pageant is scheduled to be held on October 11 in Ho Chi Minh City following several previous cancellations.

Beauty Quynh Nga will represent Vietnam at the competition.

The 26-year-old girl stands at a height of 1.67 metres tall and measures 77-61-94.

She has plenty of previous experience competing in numerous beauty pageants, most notably finishing as the runner-up in Miss Student 2017 and securing a Top 10 finish during Miss World Vietnam 2019.

Nga will join the pageant’s other beauties in competing in categories such as traditional costumes, swimsuits, question-and-answer sessions, and the evening gown segment.

Competitors will also take part in further competitions to show their various talents and charity work.

The pageant aims to honour the beauty of the soul, intelligence, talent, as well as the physical beauty of women worldwide. The event marks a chance for contestants to popularise their land, people, cuisine, and promote tourism among international friends through the range of activities which will take place throughout the duration of the competition.

International terminal at Noi Bai Airport set for expansion

The international terminal T2 of Noi Bai International Airport is set to be upgraded to meet passengers’ increasing travel demand in the coming years.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) is due to submit plans for the expansion project to the Ministry of Transport for approval in August, said a CAAV representative.

Under the proposal, Terminal T2 is able to accommodate 15 million passengers each year as opposed to 10 million at present.

The authorities are also keen on widening the airport apron by adding an additional 12 places to the current 24 places.

Terminal T2 was first put into operation in 2015 and has a designed capacity of 10 million passengers per year.

2019 witnessed the number of foreign arrivals to Terminal T2 exceed 11.4 million, meaning that the site was running over capacity.

The CAAV and ADPi Company of France signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Hanoi in 2019 detailing plans to expand Noi Bai Airport. Under the MoU, the airport, the biggest of its kind in northern Vietnam, will be upgraded to serve between 80 – 100 million domestic and international passengers by 2050.

Vietnamese silk embroideries stun international media

Foreign website Oddity Central has published an article which showcases a range of amazing hand-made silk embroidery items which are a long-standing tradition of Vietnam.

The website also gives their impressions on XQ Dalat which was founded by Hoang Le Xuan, a talented local artisan who inherited embroidery techniques from her family, along with her husband, painter Vo Van Quan. The couple devised the concept of embroidered paintings and came up with fresh techniques in order to make it a reality.

Most notably, the unprecedented level of realism and detail which is on display throughout the embroidered masterpieces of XQ Dalat have served to bring international success to the small family business. At present the Vietnamese company employs over 3,000 talented embroiders whilst catering for orders from clients globally.

Since its establishment in 1996, XQ Dalat has been dedicated to taking traditional Vietnamese silk embroidery to a higher level whilst simultaneously bringing it to new audiences, the website describes.

Whether customers are keen on traditional flower motifs, picturesque landscapes, or portraits which are highly detailed, XQ’s artisans are able to bring them to life by making use of silk thread, along with plenty of patience for the craft.

These days XQ faces lots of competition from other Vietnamese embroidery studios, although the majority are simply imitators, meaning that the business remains the premiere embroidery studio in the country. Indeed, it is not uncommon for artisans from all over the world to come to Vietnam in order to learn the various secrets and techniques which can create painting-like results with the use of thread and a needle.

The website concludes that the only way to truly appreciate the exquisite embroidery produced by the artisans of XQ Dalat is to view their stunning work.

Quang Tri to kick off sea-island tourism programme in April

As local tourism starts to get busier thanks to COVID-19 being largely brought under control and warmer temperatures arriving, the central province of Quang Tri is planning to begin its season of sea-island tourism with a festival starting on April 30.

Taking place at the Cua Viet tourism site and Gio Hai Beach, the six-day festival will feature myriad enticing activities, including an arts programme, a conference on tourism cooperation promotion, a display of local specialties, and a food fair.

Local tourist destinations welcomed higher numbers of visitors in the closing days of March, with motorboats beginning to ferry passengers to Con Co Island and the food street on Cua Viet Beach in Gio Linh district opening to visitors.

Authorities are now rushing to improve related infrastructure and environmental sanitation standards, as well as promote local tourist destinations.

Most recently, the provincial People’s Committee directed the development of transport infrastructure for tourism activities at Ba Voi Waterfall in Dak Rong district and Ta Puong Waterfall in Huong Hoa district. People must currently walk along forest trails and cross streams to reach the two destinations.

National Chess Championships crowns latest winners

Tran Tuan Minh and Pham Le Thao Nguyen emerged as the newest winners of the National Chess Championships after the tournament recently concluded in Ho Chi Minh City.

He was followed by Nguyen Duc Hoa of the Military team and Hoang Canh Huan of Da Nang team who both finished on 6.5 points each.

In terms of the women’s version of the competition, number one seed Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Can Tho city came first in the standard chess category, during which she obtained 7.5 points after playing nine games unbeaten.

The southern girl also won a gold medal competing in the rapid chess category.

Elsewhere, Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Ho Chi Minh City and Le Thanh Tu of Hanoi shared second place after both finishing with 6.5 points.

The fifth version of the tournament was sponsored by LienVietPostBank and featured three categories, including standard chess, blitz, and rapid chess.

Moving forward, the Vietnam Chess Federation will select the best players to participate in the national team via the tournament as they compete in international tournaments, including the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, set to take place in Vietnam later this year.

65 prizes to be presented at National Press Awards on Party Building 2021

A total of 65 prizes will be presented at the sixth National Press Awards on Party Building, called “Bua Liem Vang” (Golden Hammer & Sickle), as announced by the organisers.

According to the awards’ steering committee, one special prize, six A prizes, 12 B prizes, 16 C prizes, and 30 consolation prizes will be granted to most outstanding entries across all forms of media, including newspapers, radio, TV, and multimedia.

Open to Vietnamese citizens at home and abroad, the annual awards aim to popularise information and promote public understanding of the Party’s policies and Party building.

Awards will also be given to best entries on specific topics, including the implementation of the Party’s resolutions; the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure; and exemplary models in studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle; among others.

In addition, prizes for senior citizens, young participants, and overseas Vietnamese will be added together with 15 collective prizes for 15 outstanding organisations.

The entries for the awards must be submitted prior to November 10, 2021.

Over 10,000 train tickets discounted by 50% in two months

The Sai Gon Railway Passenger Transport Company has announced discounts of 50% on over 10,000 tickets applied in April and May this yearin a bid to stimulate travel demand.

Trains with discounted tickets must have departure time from April 5 to 28 and from May 4-26. Discounted tickets can be purchased between 8:00am on April 1 and the end of May 23 and should be bought at least three days before the departure date.

According to Sai Gon Railway Passenger Transport Company, soft seats and air-conditioned sleepers (6-berth) are subject to discounted tickets.

Passengers can buy discounted fares on trains coded SE3/SE4 and SE7/SE8 running on weekends with a distance from 500km, SE7/SE8 running at the beginning of the week, and SE21/SE22 with a distance from 400km.

Trains coded SNT1/SNT2 with a distance from 250km and SPT1/SPT2 with a distance from 150km are also offering discounted fares.

If passengers wish to change or return the discounted tickets they have bought, they will be charged 50% of the price printed on the ticket. People can buy tickets at the electronic train ticket system at dsvn.vn or at railway stations and railway agents.

Upcoming financial center in Danang to attract billions of dollars in investment

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, founder of Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG), signed a memorandum of understanding to support Danang City with implementing a research project to develop a regional financial center in the central city, at a function held on March 29 on Danang City’s Liberation Day.

Previously, the Prime Minister had agreed in principle for the city to study the master plan to build a regional financial center in Danang City.

The city was assigned to cooperate with other relevant ministries and agencies to gather ideas as well as map out the agenda to undertake the project efficiently.

In his speech at the function, Nguyen said a thriving city cannot do without strong financial resources. He has worked with his partners around the world, including the United States, to carry out a survey, research and content outlines, paving the way to advise the Government of Vietnam to implement the financial hub in Vietnam, including an international financial center in HCMC and a regional financial center in Danang City.

At a press conference on the afternoon of March 29 on the master zoning plan of Danang City, he said, “Whether Danang will have a regional financial center depends on the financial policy openness of the Government.” He added that IPPG and its partners can support the city to develop a financial center in the future.

According to him, the regional financial center is not only about banks and financial institutions establishing their headquarters, but it is about being able to attract the giants of the world.

VND1.98 trillion proposed for flooding control at TSN airport

The HCMC Management Board of Urban Infrastructure Construction and Investment has proposed spending VND1.98 trillion sourced from the city’s budget to upgrade the Hy Vong Canal to reduce flooding at  Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The management board said in its dispatch recently sent to the HCMC Department of Construction that if the canal in Tan Binh District’s Ward 15 is not upgraded, the Tan Son Nhat airport area would continue to suffer from serious flooding, affecting flight safety.

Besides, the upgrade is expected to reduce environmental pollution and help improve the quality of life of residents living along the canal.

The 1.1-kilometer section of the canal in need of the upgrade will start at Pham Van Bach Street and end at the Tham Luong Canal.

The management board proposed developing the project in the 2021-2025 period. Of the total investment, site clearance compensation will cost over VND1.59 trillion. Over 21,209 square meters of land for the project, which will comprise nine sluice gates, two culverts and light systems, will be cleared.

In May 2016, the municipal government approved a project funded by an official development assistance loan from the World Bank to control flooding in the city, including a subproject to upgrade the Hy Vong Canal.

However, in June 2017, the HCMC government announced the end of the investment for flood control in the city sourced from loans from the World Bank, resulting in the proposal.

There are three canals responsible for rainwater drainage in the Tan Son Nhat airport area— the Hy Vong –Tham Luong Canal in Tan Binh District north of the airport, the A41 Canal in the south and the Nhat Ban Canal from the airport fence to Gia Dinh Park in the southeast.

Polluted space turned into community space in Hanoi

The Embassy of Denmark is supporting the For A Livable Hanoi Coalition to transform a polluted space into a nicely decorated multi-functional space for the local community in Hanoi City.

The community space in Phuc Tan Ward, Hoan Kiem District, a neighborhood near the Red River bank, opened last weekend, attracting many local residents.

The women, many of them migrant workers, and the children in this local community are particularly delighted with the new community space as they now have a clean area for outdoor activities for the first time.

This activity is part of the Danish-supported project, “Inclusive city: making Hanoi livable for the most marginalized groups of migrant workers”, carried out by the Center for Community Empowerment in collaboration with a number of organizations and individuals who have voluntarily contributed to making Hanoi a more livable city.

This is not the first time that a polluted area in Phuc Tan Ward has been transformed into a public space.

Last year, a 500-meter-long waste dumpsite stretching along the Red River bank in the ward was transformed into a beautiful art space. The garbage has been replaced by 16 creative and environmentally friendly artworks, which were made from recycled materials such as tires, cans and barrels.

App-based taxi drivers likely to pay personal income tax

Income that drivers receive from business cooperation contracts with app-based taxi services will be subject to personal income tax with the tax rate of 1.5 percent, according to a draft circular from the Ministry of Finance.

In particular, in case the drivers are rewarded for service quality that was previously subject to 10 percent tax, they are now paid only 1.5 percent.

Accordingly, the ministry has been collecting comments about the draft circular guiding the implementation of several articles of Tax Administration Law and Decree 126/2020/ND-CP detailing some articles of the Law on Tax Administration.

Tan Son Nhat airport to perform automatic management system for warehouses

The Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch will carry out automatic aviation management and monitoring system for warehouses including warehouse services of Tan Son Nhat Cargo Services Company Limited (TCS) and Sai Gon Cargo Service Corporation (SCSC) from April 1.

Accordingly, leaders of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch will directly instruct and give their opinions about building policies on coordination and problem-solving process.

Besides, they will also work with representatives of Tan Son Nhat Cargo Services Company Limited and Sai Gon Cargo Service Corporation to adopt the plan of management and monitoring.

This information was announced by Mr. Bui Le Hung, Head of Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch.

HCMC proposes policy to pilot electric bus project

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has just proposed the Prime Minister for consideration and approval of the policy to pilot electric bus exploitation in the city within two years.

Additionally, the Municipal People’s Committee would like to apply economic-technical norms and promulgation of unit cost, for buses using compressed natural gas (CNG) in Ho Chi Minh City, on electric buses providing public passenger transport services.

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City is responsible for directing relevant agencies and units to order electric buses according to the above norms and costs.

Once the technical and economic norms are available and the official unit costs are granted, competent agencies will perform the bidding process or order.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Municipal People’s Committee to build a set of economic and technical norms and the unit cost for electric buses towards the approval and application according to regulation.

HCMC facing overloaded traffic gateways

In the last few years, HCMC has continuously pour capital into construction project to improve traffic facilities at its four main gateways. Road expansion, new overpasses and tunnels have been introduced in hope of easing the gridlocks; however, congestions still happen, particularly at weekends and on national holidays.

Each day, thousands of vehicles use the overpass on Nguyen Van Linh Street to either enter National Way No.1 or HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway heading to the Mekong Delta. Due to the small surface area, the street is not able to fulfill its duty, and traffic jams have become a familiar picture to the local here.

Sharing a similar fate is Truong Chinh Street and National Way No.22 to link between HCMC’s downtown and the Northwest urban area, the neighboring provinces of Tay Ninh, Long An, and Binh Duong. As this is the key route, the traffic volume each day is especially high.

Thanks to the recent introduction of 3-level An Suong Intersection (tunnel – regular street – overpass), traffic seem better. Yet the 200-meter core area still faces congestions.

Traffic jams at the eastern gateway have been liken to a specialty of the area, forcing HCMC to request expansion work for HCMC – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway. Major routes leading to Cat Lai Port like Hanoi Highway, Mai Chi Tho Street, Dong Van Cong Street, Nguyen Thi Dinh Street, and Ring Road No.2 are always full of vehicles.

The situation is so severe and tiresome that it takes a few hours for cargo trucks from Amata Industrial Park (in Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province) to reach HCMC, which is only 20kilometers away.

The case is not at all better for vehicles from HCMC to Binh Duong Province via National Way No.13, passing so many bottlenecks due to narrow roads.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, traffic congestions at the city’s main gateways occur because the land reserve for traffic infrastructure is too low compared to the so fast-paced urbanization here.

Therefore, this department have initialized several traffic projects from now until 2030 at all 4 gateways. The city will prioritize any projects at traffic hot spots and on streets with high traffic volume to alleviate congestions, said Deputy Director of the HCMC Transport Department Phan Cong Bang.

In the western gateway, road expansion will take place in National Way No.1 while Nguyen Van Linh Street will be upgraded to accommodate more vehicles heading to HCMC – Trung Luong Expressway. Another focused project is the expansion of National Way No.50 from HCMC to the provinces of Long An and Tien Giang.

In the northwest gateway, the project to build HCMC – Moc Bai Expressway has been proposed to erase traffic jams from the city to Tay Ninh Province.

In the eastern gateway (Thu Duc City), detailed plans to build Cat Lai Bridge and a new connection road between Long Phuoc Street to HCMC – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway are prepared. Road expansion will be done on Hanoi Highway, Luong Dinh Cua Street, Dong Van Cong Street. New construction works will begin to prolong Ring Road No.2 (from Pham Van Dong Street to Go Dua Intersection), to create My Thuy Intersection, An Phu Intersection, Tang Long Bridge, Nam Ly Bridge.

Obviously, the building workload to improve traffic infrastructure in HCMC is extremely enormous. Most of these projects need doing urgently and synchronously.

However, owing to a serious lack of land reserve as well as finance resources, experts in the field suggest that the municipal authorities must first try to finish the land clearance and compensation task before commencing any real construction, minimizing overhead cost.

The HCMC Transport Department has just proposed to HCMC People’s Committee to assign the department to adjust investment policies for any projects that are carried out as the total investment and land compensation amounts have increased.

In the absence of the Prime Minister’s announcement on middle-term capital plan from 2021-2025, the department suggested allowing investors to research and then propose projects to run under the Public – Private Partnership (PPP model according to regulations.

Vietnam enhances safety measures in Covid-19 vaccination drive

Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long yesterday required the enhancement of safety measures in the Covid-19 vaccination drive by issuing the instruction No. 05.

According to the Minister’s direction, more people will receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the coming time. Therefore, Health Minister Long required departments of health in cities and provinces to review and update the list of priority groups to receive the vaccine under the Government’s Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP issued on February 26, 2021 on purchasing and using Covid-19 vaccine.

Additionally, the Health Minister called for the participation of local health centers and medical staff in the Covid-19 immunization drive.

The Ministry of Health’s sub-divisions, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Pasteur Institute and health centers nationwide were assigned to carry out the Covid-19 vaccination plan in the period of 2021-2022. These above-mentioned divisions, institutes and centers must ensure the quality of vaccine as well as carry out safe vaccination; provide timely treatment of post-vaccination allergic reactions and complications.

On the same day, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Professor Dang Duc Anh said that the first shipment including 811,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine supplied by Covax Facility will arrive in Vietnam in April. The vaccine will be preserved by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology before it is distributed.

According to the plan, the Covax Facility will supply 4,8 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to Vietnam in 2021.

The National Steering Board for Covid-19 Prevention and Control said that Vietnam reported no new Covid-19 cases on the day. The number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam is still 2,594.

An additional 51 Covid-19 patients also recovered bringing a total number of recoveries to 2,359. An additional 1,276 people were vaccinated the day before yesterday. Therefore, 46,416 people have been inoculated.

Reading Culture Ambassador Contest launched to nurture reading culture

For years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been launching the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest, aiming to spread reading movement aims to bring books to people especially student as well as promote cultural values.

Reading Culture Ambassadors Contest has reached initial achievements when receiving advocacy from localities, departments, and students.

In 2021, the Ministry continued to launch the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest as it wishes to seek “reading ambassadors” , book lovers and to inspire the community. However, it is not simple to make reading movement to develop and sustain a reading culture in our society as well as become a good habit.

Sharing about this issue, the Editorial Director of Phu Nu Publishing House Khuc Thi Hoa Phuong said that presently, people take more heed of reading books but they don’t really go into the essence of the matter. Each person must consider reading book as having daily meals. reading habits should be inculcated in children at an early age. Parents and children can spend time every night reading a book at home and teachers also instruct them to read good ones at schools. It takes a long time to acquire the habit of reading, said the Editorial Director Hoa Phuong.

For years, the average number of books a Vietnamese reads a year is much lower than that in other countries in the world though many books have been published. The culprit of this is that many schools do not have reading sessions and reading is just an extracurricular activity. Worse, university students are lazy at reading books and research materials gradually losing interest in reading.

Additionally, parents don’t really pay much attention to encouraging their children’s to read book by purchasing books. Instead, they choose an easier way by letting their children use smartphones and tablets. Cultivation of book reading habit is not merely a slogan but it takes a lot of persistent efforts to improve awareness of families and the society.

In related news, the Library Department this month issued documents about administrative formalities of private library establishment to satisfy the community’s demand in a bid to promote reading culture. Currently, as some local authorities do not fully comprehend administrative formalities; as a result, they created barriers for the establishment and operation of private libraries and public libraries.

Encouraging measures are needed for the development of private libraries which will also positively contribute to promotion of reading culture.

Vietnamese film industry looking to make its own cinematic universe

Cinematic Universe, also known as Fictional shared Universe has been developed a long time ago in Hollywood whose name is synonymous with the American film industry. The term “Cinematic Universe” is currently forming as an oriented strategy in the country, presenting the professionalization of the Vietnamese movie industry.

Fictional shared Universe or shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, characters, or world of the overall project. Works set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. A fictional universe can be contained in a single work or in serialized fiction.

Beside long-standing cinematic universes, such as a series of American superhero films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars Cinematic Universe, there is also the DC Cinematic Universe that is well-known for movies, including Batman v Superman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984.

The list also includes the Conjuring film series, MonsterVerse – a series of monster films featuring Godzilla and King Kong of Warner Bros.

In Vietnam, the chick-flick series called Gai Gia Lam Chieu (The Tricky Ladies) by director Bao Nhan and Namcito is regarded as the first pioneer in creating the idea of a cinematic universe.

Gai Gia Lam Chieu (The Tricky Ladies) with the fifth edition titled Nhung Cuoc Doi Vuong Gia (Luxurious Lives) debut nationwide in the beginning of March focuses on the women’s empowerment.

Director Namcito believed that many cinematic universes will be created in coming time if the strategy for the development and production of shared-world anthologies is built methodically. A film series that share the same fictional universe must present the joint development of the storyline and characters.

The local movie producers have ability to build a strong brand identity for their businesses, establish the position in the market and win the hearts of the audience, he said.

The Vietnamese movie industry has started to capture the term of Fictional shared universe. It means that production units and directors have set their own development paths. A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting will help movie lovers understand the storyline, characters, and world of the overall project as well as make audience to await for the next editions, said director Tran Huu Tan who is nursing a shared horror movie universe.

Meanwhile producer and actress Ngo Thanh Van released her ambition to create the magical universe of Vietnamese traditional tales.

None movies that have extended editions are called cinematic universe. The remarkable consistency and creativity of the storyline and characters throughout the entire project are most important factors to attract filmgoers, said director Namcito.

Director Ly Hai also agreed with Namcito’s opinion. He said that his action comedy movie series, Lat Mat (Face off) is not a cinematic universe because the its sequels featuring new contents and characters are not the continuation of the previous parts.

The shared fictional universe centers on requiring an enormous investment of time and energy to write a script to expand the storyline and characters in the continuations. Therefore, the first edition of the series must have its own specific elements to attract audience and make fans eagerly awaited the sequel, added director Tran Huu Tan.

Police detect nearly 10,000 drivers violating blood alcohol, drug content

Traffic police in coordination with local functional forces detected and handled around 9,648 drivers for blood alcohol and drug content violations during two recent weeks since a nationwide intensive campaign for handling drug and alcohol concentration violations has begun.

The Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security informed that around 9,534 drivers out of 9,648 violated alcohol levels exceeding the permitted level and 114 cases were positive for the drug. The violators were fined up to VND32 billion (US$1.4 million).

The police forces seized more than 9,000 vehicles and revoked more than 5,000 driver’s licenses for traffic violations.

During the upcoming holidays of the 46th anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975-2021) and May Day (May 1), traffic police nationwide will mobilize their forces to strictly handle the traffic violations, especially overloaded vehicles, to ensure traffic order and safety.

Danang to pilot new model of urban administration

Danang’s master plan to 2030, with a vision to 2045 aims to build the central city into one of the major socio-economic centers in the country and in Southeast Asia.

A master plan was set to make the central city of Danang to become a global center of finance, tourism and supply chain network of Vietnam and the region.

The information was released by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at a meeting celebrating the 46th anniversary of Danang’s Liberation Day on March 29, in which a set of legal documents has been issued to build up the central city’s urban administration, creating premises and drivers for the central city to mobilize resources at home and abroad for its development.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung believes that Danang will have a big growth spurt. Photo: Nhat Bac

He said Danang will play roles of a hub for start-ups, innovation, tourism, commerce, finance, logistics, high-tech, information technology, and supporting industries. “It will also become a national center of culture – sport, education – training, high-quality healthcare, science and technology able to host major regional and international events.”

The master plan projects the administrative boundary of Danang city with a total area of ​​about 129,000 ha, and a population of about 1.79 million people by 2030, and 2.56 million people by 2045.

“Especially, it contemplates Danang to become a regional financial center, being able to attract domestic and foreign capital flows and become a new important driving force to promote economic growth and attract investment to the whole central region of Vietnam,” said the deputy prime minister.

He requested Danang’s authorities to give priority to complete the city’s infrastructure, building it into a civilized and modern city, maintaining the leading role of the region and a new driving force for Vietnam’s development.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of Danang city People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh pledged that the city’s government would strive to make Danang a destination for investors.

Particularly, in the time ahead, the Danang city’s authorities will immediately undertake the upgrading project of Lien Chieu seaport, Chinh said, adding that the key work is expected to meet cargo transport and socio-economic development demand in the city and the central region as per requirement by the prime minister.

The seaport, with the total investment of VND3.43 trillion (US$149.13 million), would become a multimodal distribution hub serving as an international gateway in the central region, the chairman affirmed.

COVID-19: nine imported cases reported on March 31

Nine new cases of COVID-19, all Vietnamese citizens returning from abroad, were detected in the past 12 hours to 6pm March 31, according to the Health Minister.

Among the new cases, three entered the country via the Moc Bai international border gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh. They tested positive while in quarantine.

Three others were among passengers on a flight from the Philippines that landed in Can Tho airport, while the remaining three returned from Japan on a flight landing in Da Nang.

The national count now reaches 2,603, with 1,603 domestic infections.

The number of recovered patients is 2,359, while the death toll remains at 35.

Among patients still under treatment, 18 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 15 twice and 37 thrice.

A total 37,008 people are being quarantined nationwide, with 506 at hospitals, 19,093 in concentrated facilities and 17,409 at their accommodation./.

Can Tho University looks to be among top regional, global education establishments

Can Tho University (CTU) is expected to be among top universities in Asia and the world in some fields by 2025, and become a local pioneer in innovation, training, scientific research and technology transfer, according to Rector of the university Prof. Ha Thanh Toan.

Toan made the statement at a ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary of the university on March 31.

Toan noted that trends in higher education have been focusing on training quality, internationalisation in training, scientific research and technology transfer cooperation, community development, and digitalisation.

He highlighted the CTU’s connection with the socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta over the past 50 years and strength on international cooperation as one of the university’s advantages to realise this orientation.

Can Tho University, for many years, has been among in the group of five best universities in Vietnam under the Webometrics rankings, and the top 500 in Asia under the QS Asia University Rankings by the British education company Quacquarelli Symonds.

In particular, in 2020, for the first time in terms of agriculture, the university was ranked in the 251-300 group of the QS World University Rankings by Subject by the Quacquarelli Symonds. This is also the highest place in the field for Vietnamese universities.

Can Tho University has been cooperating with over 130 institutes, education institutions and organisations across the world. It has implemented a number of foreign-funded projects.

Founded on March 31, 1966, the CTU now is an education establishment with many areas of training and research in the Mekong Delta./.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

Vietnamese wood processing firms have huge opportunities to ship their products to Canada under CPTPP.

The trade pact was clinched in March 2018 by 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. It came into effect Vietnam in January 2019.

Participant heard that Vietnam’s exports to all members of the trade deal have been on the rise, with an accumulated value amounting to 34.3 billion USD in 2019 and about 34 billion USD in 2020, when the COVID-19 took its toll in the world.

The value of shipments to the countries under the trade pact accounted for 12.02 percent of Vietnam’s total export value in 2018. The proportion rose to 13 percent in 2019 before returning back to 12.02 percent in 2020.

Footwear, garment-textile, wood and woodwork products recorded good growth over the reviewed years.

However, the rate of taking advantage from CPTPP-related preferential tariff treatment stayed at 1.67 percent in 2019, well below Vietnam’s average rate of 37.2 percent posted in the year./.

IMF forecasts 6.5% GDP for Vietnam this year

Vietnam’s GDP growth rate is forecast to rise by 6.5% this year, a figure which is higher than the global average of 6%, before climbing to 7.2% in 2022, according to data released in the latest World Economic Outlook report compiled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This projection was made during the opening session of the 2021 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank group.

The country’s positive growth rate can largely be attributed to drastic measures implemented by the Government in terms of economics and health care.

The IMF recommended that macroeconomic policies be maintained throughout the year in an effort to ensure a sustainable and comprehensive recovery is achieved.

The international financial institution also forecast that the GDP of five countries in the ASEAN bloc, namely Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, will expand by 4.9% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2022.

World economic growth is expected to reach 6% this year, higher than the 5.5% projection made in January.

The news comes as a number of major international financial institutions have made positive assessments on the future outlook of the Vietnamese economy.

The country’s economic growth rate is forecast to reach 7.1% and 6.6% this year by the United Oversea Bank and HSBC.

An article recently published by news publication borgenmagazine.com of the United States highlights Vietnam’s incredible economic growth since the implementation of a series of economic reforms in 1986 during the Communist Party of Vietnam’s (CPV) sixth national congress.

Despite these positives, the article states that the country’s transportation infrastructure remains woefully behind many other developed economies.

At present, Vietnam is at a crossroads in terms of its development and requires further investment in its transportation network in order to sustain and expand its growth, according to the piece.

The article concludes by outlining how the country has run into trouble financing the North-South Expressway, although the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership Law (PPP) is expected to fix this problem by making PPPs in infrastructure projects simpler and more attractive.

EVN’s power from renewable sources reaches nearly 7.8 billion kWh in Jan-Mar

The State-run utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) mobilized approximately 7.8 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power from renewable energy in the first three months of the year, surging 181% against the 2020 figure. Of this, the amount of electricity from solar energy accounted for over 7.13 billion kWh, according to EVN’s recently-released report.

In the first quarter, the volume of electricity produced in the country and imported from overseas reached some 60 billion kWh, up 4.1% compared to the same period last year. Of the amount, EVN and its subsidiaries generated 29.22 billion kWh, or 49%, while non-EVN businesses were in charge of the remaining volume.

While the amount of power from renewable energy soared sharply, that generated from traditional sources saw a decline.

Among the traditional power sources, more electricity from hydropower plants was supplied to the national power grid, at nearly 14 billion kWh. The volume of electricity generated from coal-fired and gas-fired power plants contracted 12-21% year-on-year at 29.75 billion kWh and 7.44 billion kWh, respectively. Further, imported electricity also plunged 58% versus last year’s figure to 405 million kWh.

The soaring supplies of renewable power have prompted EVN to face a number of obstacles in mobilizing various sources of power. For instance, hydropower generators had to change their capacity flexibly to offset the changes in the volume of renewable power, thus leaving an impact on the power supply at the end of the dry season. Besides, if the capacity of power generators at coal- and gas-fired power plants is activated or changed numerous times, it could lead to possible incidents.

As the volume of electricity from renewable sources now accounts for an increasing proportion and the second quarter will be in the peak dry season, the local power sector will adopt measures to ensure the safe operations of the national power system and local power market, including cutting down on renewable power supplies, EVN said.

Competitive capacity key to gaining benefits from CPTPP and FTAs: experts

Poor competitive capacity will hinder businesses from gaining benefits from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This statement was made at a workshop held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

The workshop aimed to evaluate issues in the implementation of this agreement and conduct recommendations for the Government and business.

Two years since the CPTPP came into effect, Viet Nam had seen strong growth in exports to some CPTPP member countries, but not all.

Speaking at the workshop, Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of VCCI, said that many businesses affirmed that their poor competitiveness was hindering them from gaining opportunities from the CPTPP and new agreements.

Five years ago, the obstacles remain the managerial skills of State agencies, such as a lack of information about commitments, delays, and inflexibility in implementing the CPTPP and other Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The impact of some technical factors also had negative effects on businesses, such as rules of origin, and unfavourable commitments of FTAs, according to Loc.

He attributed the major problem to the competitive capacity of businesses themselves.

According to a report compiled by VCCI, three quarters of businesses said they were planning to revive their business plans to take advantage of the CPTPP and FTAs.

The plans aim to consolidate and improve the competitiveness of businesses. The second step is to calculate how to take full use of opportunities from the CPTPP and FTAs. Finally, they have to set up plans in preparation for long-range opportunities.

However, in a VCCI survey of 8,600 local enterprises, up to 70 per cent of them had little knowledge of the CPTPP. And 25 per cent of the enterprises had some knowledge of the CPTPP.

This survey has also pointed out that 84 per cent of the enterprises lacked information about the commitments in the free trade agreement.

The survey shows that with complicated FTAs and CPTPP, it is necessary to provide more in-depth, detailed and useful information for businesses.

Phan Huu Minh, General Secretary of Thai Nguyen Business Association, said participating in the CPTPP, enterprises should strictly comply with general regulations, and study market information and rules of origin with a view to preparing their production plans and enhancing capacity.

Vu Tien Loc said that programmes and activities to support businesses should focus on enhancing the competitive capacity of local products, and trade promotion.

He added businesses needed to be more proactive in seeking opportunities, studying commitments under the CPTPP as well as improving competitiveness of their products. These factors were key to taking advantage of opportunities from global integration.

Nguyen Thu Trang, director of the VCCI’s centre for WTO and economic integration, said: “There is a lot of information about the CPTPP, and answers on the VCCI’s website. If businesses need information, we can share it freely, however, only a small number of businesses want to find out about it. They are ignoring the impacts of the CPTPP and FTAs.”

Nguyen Cam Trang, an expert from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said local businesses had tried to improve quality of agricultural produce. However, local businesses still faced difficulties due to their small-scale production.

Joining the CPTPP will help businesses improve and enhance exports, forcing them to raise product quality and competitive capacity.

To take advantage of the CPTPP, the Government needed to review relevant legal regulations and improve the business climate, as well as provide more information in terms of markets and business plans.

Fado becomes first ecommerce platform in Vietnam to stop trading H&M products

Ecommerce platform Fado.vn has stopped trading all H&M products starting today, April 7, for an indefinite period as the Swedish fashion retailer featured a map with the illegal nine-dash line on its website, said Dat Pham, CEO of Fado Vietnam JSC, making it the first ecommerce platform in the country to suspend the sale of H&M products.

“The Fado team includes Vietnamese citizens; thus, we refuse to cooperate with any brand that does not respect the sovereignty of Vietnam,” Dat stressed in a press release.

Three days ago, a Facebook group was formed to call for a boycott of H&M and the hashtag “TaychayHM” (BoycottHM) was the top trending topic on Twitter in Vietnam on April 3. Vietnamese public opinion asserted that Vietnam’s sovereign rights over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos are in line with international law and H&M showed no respect for and harmed the sovereignty of Vietnam for the sake of its own commercial benefit.

In Vietnam, H&M opened its first store in HCMC in September 2017 and the second one in Hanoi two months later. As of now, the Swedish shoes and clothing brand operates 12 stores in Vietnam, with five stores in Hanoi, four in HCMC and three others in Can Tho, Danang and Ha Long.

As for Fado, which was established in 2014, it remains among the top five ecommerce platforms in Vietnam, according to data of the Iprice Group. It functions as a cross-border ecommerce platform, enabling local traders and enterprises to connect with their overseas business partners through the platform more easily.

Robust growth trends projected for investment in healthcare

Vietnam’s healthcare and pharmacy chains are increasingly getting new funds to expand their operations in local market, thereby securing access and availability of medical supplies and drugs for locals. However, concerns over adequate human resources in the sector dampen the bright prospects and could cause supply issues.

Kim Dental, Vietnam’s largest private dental care platform, has recently raised $24 million in a series B round. The investment was led by ABC World Asia, a private equity fund dedicated to investing across Asia, seeded by Temasek. Proceeds from the round, which saw the participation from existing backer Aura Private Equity, will support Kim Dental in expanding the delivery of affordable and reliable oral health services across Vietnam.

Kim Dental owns and operates a fast-growing network of 19 dental clinics across four cities. The clinics provide dental check-ups and treatments as well as more advanced orthodontics, prosthodontics, oral surgery, and implants. Kim Dental employs 120 dentists and dental surgeons, as well as over 600 clinical and operational staff serving over 23,000 patients per month. Kim Dental also operates a dental laboratory to support its clinic network with in-house production of crowns, dentures, and bridges.

Huynh Minh Viet, CFO of Kim Dental said, “With this successful round, we’re now well-positioned to expand our delivery of international quality dental care to the fast-growing communities across the country, thus improving community access and helping to elevate the standards of oral healthcare in Vietnam, so that we achieve more positive overall healthcare outcomes in our country.”

Meanwhile, SK Group is said to be mulling over an investment in Vietnam’s largest pharmacy retail chain, Pharmacity, with an expected value of up to $90 million, according to Dealstreetasia.

Phamarcity is Vietnam’s largest pharmacy retailer with approximately 500 drugstores. The company has a plan to open its 1,000th store this year.

If the deal is concluded, it would make up SK Group’s second investment in Vietnam’s pharmacy and healthcare market. Last May, SK Investment III, a subsidiary of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, received 12.32 million shares of Imexpharm Corporation, equivalent to 24.9 per cent.

Michael Han, head of SK Group’s Representative Office in Vietnam told VIR, “There are dozens of industries and companies that we are trying to get to know better here, and healthcare happens to be one of them. It does not necessarily mean that an investment is imminent though.”

However, Han remains upbeat about Vietnam’s healthcare and pharmacy market. Historically, this sector’s growth has been backed by people’s growing concerns about the wellbeing of their family members, environmental factors, rising household income, and the high urbanisation rate – which leads to changes in lifestyles and a higher demand in personal healthcare.

“We believe that the robust growth will continue into the foreseeable future. We have seen a similar trend in South Korea over the last 20 years or so. In terms of market size, Vietnam is still at the emerging stage, with estimated total value of $7 billion in 2019, growing at a robust pace of 8 per cent from 2019-2024,” he said.

Meanwhile, a consortium led by Singapore’s state investor GIC Pte. Ltd. has agreed with Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup to buy a stake in its medical unit, Vinmec, for over $200 million. However, Vingroup will remain the controlling shareholder of the unit after the deal, Vingroup said in statement last December.

Other funds like Vinacapital and Mekong Capital have seen the prospects of the market and decided to cash in on local healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Last August, VinaCapital invested in Thu Cuc International General Hospital by purchasing a 30-per-cent stake for $26.7 million. In 2019, Mekong Capital also financed pharmacy chain Pharmacity out of its Mekong Enterprise Fund III.

Private equity investments in healthcare are on the rise. Nguyen Thi Vinh Ha, head of advisory at Grant Thornton Vietnam, cited the firm’s survey showing that healthcare is among the most attractive industries for investors, with its growth prospects coming from higher healthcare spending per capita.

“However, the shortage of qualified personnel and inadequate healthcare infrastructure results in a huge supply gap, and the increasing ageing speed of the Vietnamese population will further boost the healthcare demand,” Ha added.

Biotechnology contributes to higher productivity and increased incomes

The adoption of biotechnology in corn production in Việt Nam had resulted in higher productivity, increased income and environmental improvement, attendees heard at a workshop held in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The workshop was organised by the Việt Nam Seed Trade Association (VSTA), Việt Nam Farmers’ Union (VFU) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

Speaking at the workshop, Trần Xuân Định, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Việt Nam Seed Trade Association, said that many plant varieties created using biotechnology are present in Việt Nam, facilitating plant and livestock restructuring and increased incomes thanks to better productivity and reduced pesticide costs.

In Việt Nam, biotech crops were officially approved for commercial corn farming from 2014-2015.

Corn is also one of the main crops in Việt Nam’s agricultural production structure and the country is among the largest corn producers in the world.

“The introduction of biotech varieties with improved traits into production at that time was considered one of the key tools to further increase production yield and quality, add value, and bring more profit to corn farmers, thereby strengthening Việt Nam’s capability in supplying raw materials to the domestic food and feed supply chain,” Định said.

A study conducted in 2019-2020 by VSTA and the United Kingdom’s PG Economics on the impact of biotech corn after five years of cultivation showed that biotech corn with insect resistance and herbicide tolerance traits delivered between 15.2 and 30 per higher yields compared to conventional hybrid corn varieties. Farmers’ incomes increased by VNĐ4.5-7.6 million (US$196-330) per hectare.

Biotech corn cultivation also resulted in a significant decrease in pesticide use, with an average reduction of 26 per cent for herbicides and 78 per cent for insecticides (average amounts applied per hectare), corresponding to a reduction in the associated environmental impact, as measured by the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) indicator of 36 and 77 per cent, respectively.

However, Định said, the biotech corn adoption rate has not met expectations.

By 2019, the total acreage of biotech corn was about 92,000 hectares, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the country’s total corn acreage.

Despite the increasing demand for corn in the livestock industry, the domestic corn acreage showed a downward trend over the past five years, he said.

“Domestic corn production is in fierce competition with imported corn in terms of price and quality; farmers in many regions have changed to plant other crops when profits from corn cultivation were not high, especially when the domestic purchasing prices plummeted.”

Participants at the workshop exchanged information on the status of agricultural biotechnology adoption in the world as well as in Việt Nam. They discussed the socio-economic impacts of biotech corn after five years of being approved for farming in Việt Nam.

Analysing the effects of biotech crops on a global scale, Graham Brookes of PG Economics cited the data in the latest study released in 2020: “In 2018, the total extra income for farmers cultivating biotech crops was US$19 billion – for each extra US dollar invested in biotech crop seeds, farmers could make an extra profit of US$4.42.”

In addition, had biotech crops not been grown in 2018, an additional 23 billion kilos of carbon dioxide would have been emitted into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of adding 15.3 million cars to the roads.

According to Brookes, farmers, especially small-hold farmers in developing countries, are those who benefit the most from biotech crops, not only from increased crop yields (from 10 to 16.5 per cent, depending on crop type) and higher profits (approximately US$103 per ha on average) but also from the change in farming habits to become more environmentally friendly when the amount of pesticides could be reduced.

Định said that in accordance with the Agricultural Biotechnology Development Project to 2023, one of the goals to be achieved by Việt Nam by 2030 is to master a number of new generation biotechnologies, create industrial-scale products for application to production practice, and increase the number of biotechnology enterprises in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector by at least 30 per cent compared to the 2021-2025 period.

It meant that agricultural biotechnology development and adoption is a general development orientation of the country and Việt Nam needs to catch up with the world trend in applying new generation plant varieties towards sustainable and modern agriculture development.

In order to promote the development of biotechnology in agriculture, it was necessary to have a transparent direction and policy, with key investments of the State for units and enterprises which are pioneers in the application of biotechnology in the sector, Định said.

Labor market recovers, demand for personnel increases

Since the beginning of the year, the local labor market has gradually recovered, with the number of jobs in March soaring by 40% against January, according to human resource service firm Adecco Vietnam.

The labor market also saw the number of job applications rise by 26% in March, Phap Luat Online reported.

The first quarter of the year saw high demand for personnel in multiple fields, including processing and manufacturing, energy, information technology, e-commerce, electronics, semiconductor design and construction.

Nguyen Thu Ha, director of Adecco Hanoi Office, attributed the recovery of the labor market to the Government’s efforts to bring Covid-19 under control and the firms’ enhanced business operations.

Meanwhile, Le Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, director of Adecco HCMC Office, said that the coronavirus pandemic had changed the behavior of job applicants. They seem to be more hesitant to job-hop and are focusing more on financial stability, according to Thanh.

A recruitment expert at Adecco said that the recruitment demand had expanded in some fields such as analog integrated circuit design, digital design, design for testing, quality management, sales and marketing management and technical management.

In the coming months, positive effects from free trade pacts, coupled with the production and investment shift from China, will bring many advantages to Vietnam’s economy, thus creating more jobs and a rising demand for personnel.

General director of Adecco Vietnam Andree Mangels said that the labor market, driven by the recovery of the economy and digitalization trend, would see a high demand for highly-qualified workers in 2021.

Viet Nam to apply temporary anti-dumping measures on Malaysian steel products

Viet Nam will apply temporary anti-dumping measures on some H-shaped steel products originating from Malaysia.

The Trade Remedies Authority of Viet Nam said the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently issued Decision No.1162/QD-BCT to apply temporary anti-dumping measures on some H-shaped steel products from Malaysia.

The temporary anti-dumping tax rate applied to Malaysian exporters is 10.2 per cent.

The Trade Remedies Authority of Viet Nam launched the investigation in August last year based on the appraisal results of the petition requesting anti-dumping measures from representatives of the domestic manufacturing industry filed in July last year.

After eight months of preliminary investigation, the results showed the import volume of H-shaped steel from Malaysia increased sharply during the investigation period, causing considerable damage to the domestic H-shaped steel manufacturing industry.

The dumping put considerable pressure on the domestic manufacturing industry, reflected in criteria such as production output, sales volume, revenue, profit, market share, and inventories which fluctuated heavily during the investigation period. These indicators all show a clear downward trend.

To make a final conclusion about the case, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue working with related parties to identify products with special factors that need to be excluded and exempt, and at the same time, assess the impact of the cases on stakeholders, including end consumers.

The case is expected to conclude in the second quarter of this year.

Banks make huge profits in Q1

Many commercial banks in Vietnam have reported a surge in pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2021, as the economy is recovering and credit growth is positive.

At the 2021 annual shareholder meeting of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) on April 6, Do Minh Toan, general director of the bank, said that it achieved a pre-tax profit of an estimated VND3.1 trillion in the first quarter of the year, surging 61% year-on-year and meeting 29.2% of its full-year target.

In 2021, ACB has set targets of raising capital mobilization by 9% and credit by 9.5% and earning pre-tax profit of over VND10.6 trillion, Nguoi Lao Dong Online reported.

At its meeting, ACB shareholders approved a plan to allocate profits, including spending some VND5.4 trillion on dividend payments with shares.

On the same day, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) said that the bank recorded VND4.6 trillion in consolidated profit between January and March, up 50% year-on-year.

One of the factors driving up its revenue was digital banking. In the year to March 31, current account savings accounts deposits rose by 1.5-fold against the growth seen at the end of last year.

This year, MB booked a pre-tax profit of over VND14.6 trillion, up some 20%-30% from the 2020 figure.

Other major banks such as the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) also posted hefty profits in the first quarter of the year.

Vietcombank reaped a pre-tax profit of some VND7 trillion during the three-month period, meeting 28% of its full-year target, while VietinBank’s before-tax profit was an estimated VND7-8 trillion.

Lower-than-expected growth needs more room for private firms

With the economy growing 4.48% in the first quarter of 2021, the expected rate in economic growth of 6.5% for the whole year may be far from reach if more efforts to create a level playing field for private enterprises fail to be made, especially in the context of COVID-19 showing no signals of stoppage across the globe.

Since early this year, thanks to the Vietnamese government’s efforts to enact policies to facilitate business and production activities, and to gradually implement an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive, the country’s economic growth has bounced back to 4.48%, higher than the 3.8% rise in the first quarter of last year.

The year-on-year growth rate was for the agro-forestry-fishery sector, 6.3% for the construction and industrial sector, and 3.34% for the service sector.

Although lower than the target of 5.12% set in the government’s Resolution No.01/NQ-CP on key tasks for implementation of the socioeconomic development plan and state budget estimates for 2021, a 4.48% growth rate remains a positive sign especially amidst COVID-19 raging the global market. The key momentum for such growth has largely been the manufacturing and processing sector which create 80% Vietnam’s industrial growth – the key growth pillar of the economy.

Good performers

According to state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), its total revenue in the first quarter of 2021 is estimated to be more than VND113 trillion (US$4.91 billion), a 6% decrease year-on-year. Nevertheless, PetroVietnam’s revenue from industrial activities climbed 2%, and that from the service activities fell 21% year-on-year.

Several of PetroVietnam’s products saw a year-on-year ascension in consumption in the first three months, such as fertiliser (7%), liquefied petroleum gas or LPG (29%), Condensate (12%), and assorted petrol (5%).

Though there has been a reduction of US$446.5 million or 18% in export turnover, the group’s total import turnover in the period reached US$198.9 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 17% – in which LNG imports ascended by 296,700 tonnes, up 6%.

With external demand going down because of negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, these figures from PetroVietnam have demonstrated that the group’s industrial activities are gradually recovering.

The situation can be seen clearer at state-owned Vietnam Electricity (EVN), which has also reported that all the group’s activities have been going up year-on-year during the first three months of this year.

Specifically, EVN’s total gross industrial output is estimated to be around VND52.83 trillion (US$2.3 billion), up 3.18% against the same period last year. The produced and purchased electricity volume is about 55.45 million kilowatt hours, a 1.16% increase year-on-year. EVN’s commercial electricity totalled 50.79 million kWh, up 3.18%. In which, electricity for agro-forestry-fishery accounted for 3.97% of total electricity consumed, while the rate was 56.01% for construction and industrial activities, 31.46% for households – all was up against in the same period last year.

Notably, this group’s total revenue from power sales is estimated to stand at more than VND94 trillion (over US$4 billion), a 4.11% climb over the corresponding period of 2020.

In Vietnam, petrol and electricity are vital inputs for production activities, especially manufacturing and processing activities.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in the first quarter of this year, despite massive difficulties and challenges, the Vietnamese economy’s production and distribution of electricity went up by 4.5% year-on-year. What’s more, the manufacturing and processing industry increased 9.45% year-on-year, higher than the year-on-year ascension of 7.12% in the corresponding period of 2020.

“All of these figures have demonstrated the fact that the economy has been strongly recovering with the gradual popularity of anti-COVID-19 vaccination,” said Mai Tien Dung, Minister, Chairman of the Government Office at last week’s cabinet meeting, also the last one in the 2016-2020 tenure of the government. “The confidence of businesses has continued going up, with them gradually resuming their normal performances.”

As of March 23, total registered foreign investment reached US$10.13 billion, a year-on-year rise of 18.5%. Total disbursement in the first three months of 2020 is estimated at US$4.1 billion, up 6.5% over the same period last year.

Dung cited former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated at the meeting, “Vietnam has become a safe destination for investment. Many international organisations have praised the economy’s big potential and outlook for this year, including HSBC (7%), International Monetary Fund (6.5%), International Finance Corporation (6.5% in the 2021-2026 period), and Moody’s (changed Vietnam’s economic outlook from negative to positive).”

Making bigger room for private firms

According to experts, because the growth in the first quarter remains lower than expectation, one of the sturdy solutions now is to make bigger room for private enterprises to conduct production and business activities in the country, amid a rise in foreign investment shift to Vietnam.

Under the resolution of the recent 13th National Party Congress, the Party has specified a number of strategic breakthroughs for the country to drive forwards with higher economic growth.

One of the first strategic breakthrough will be “creating a good system of laws, mechanisms, and policies, while establishing a favourable, healthy, and fair investment and business climate for all economic sectors, with the promotion of innovation and the mobilisation, management, and effective use of all resources for development – especially land, finance, and public-private partnership.”

This breakthrough would mean the Vietnamese private sector will have opportunities to perform in a more transparent and equal investment and business climate.

“All obstructions and prejudice must be removed, while all favourable conditions must be created for the private sector to develop. The sector must be supported in innovation, technological modernisation, human resources development, and labour productivity improvement,” this report read. “Major economic groups with strength and regional and international competitiveness are encouraged for development. Efforts are to be made to see at least two million operational enterprises which can create 60-65% of GDP.”

In Vietnam, the private sector creates up to 40% of GDP, more than 50% of economic growth, 30% of the state budget revenue, and 85% of the labour force.

Vietnam currently has nearly 800,000 operational businesses, about 98 per cent of which are of small or medium size. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in 2020, there were nearly 135,000 newly established firms, with total registered capital of more than VND2.23 quadrillion (US$97 billion), employing more than a million labourers. This was down 2.3% in the number of registered businesses, but up 29.25% in registered capital.

The country also has some big private enterprises such as Mobile World Co. Ltd, Truong Hai Auto Corporation, VietJet Air, Vingroup, Masan Consumer, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, TH Group, and Him Lam Corporation, among others.

The entrepreneurial spirit has spread widely in society and the robust development of the private economy in some industries such as construction, processing, manufacturing, automobile, air transport, and finance and banking has shaped powerful and potential national brands for Vietnam.

Nguyen Minh Cuong, principal country economist from the ADB, once told Nhan Dan Online that removing obstructions for the private sector will enable it to grow further and facilitate Vietnam to well accomplish the Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period.

He said that despite of recent improvement of regulatory framework, the main problem is still policy enforcement, notably in taxes, market access, and access to land. High corporate tax income discourages small- and medium-sized enterprises to scale up their production. Procedures to file taxes also remain burdensome.

According to his calculation, an enterprise must file 14 payments a year, taking 498 hours and amounting to 38.1% of total profits. Payment of value-added tax is onerous, taking around 219 hours, or 44% of the total time required to file tax.

Additional four industrial parks established in Binh Phuoc

The People’s Committee in the Southern Province of Binh Phuoc yesterday said that additional four industrial parks will be established in the province in the period of 2020-2030.

Four new industrial parks include 438-hectare Ledana facility, 300-hectare V.com park and 348-hectare Hoa Lu in the Hoa Lu border-gate economic zone in Loc Ninh border district and 6,317-hectare Dong Phu park in Dong Phuc District.

Additionally, the province authority will expand three industrial parks 577.63-hectare Minh Hung III in Chon Thanh District, 317-hectare Bac Dong Phu and 480-hectare Nam Dong Phu in Dong Phu District. Industrial parks are eligible for enjoying exemption of enterprise income tax, import duty for machinery.

The local administrations will support companies in the industrial parks by building connection paths to main roads, waste treatment and the supply of water and power.

Currently, 11 industrial parks are located in Binh Phuoc Province attracting 334 secondary projects including 232 foreign-invested projects and 102 locally-invested projects. Some 171 enterprises have been operating creating 66,200 jobs for local laborers.

New stock trading accounts hit record high in March

Securities companies registered 113,875 new domestic trading accounts during March, breaking the record set in January of 86,107, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD).

As of the end of March, there were more than 3 million trading accounts in the stock market, including over 2.98 million opened by individual investors and 11,630 by organisational players.

The stock market saw nearly 258,000 new trading accounts opened in the first quarter, accounting for 65 percent of the figure recorded in 2020 as a whole.

SSI Securities Corporation said Vietnam’s stock market experienced a special quarter, reaching the 1,200-point threshold three times.

The market suffered its sharpest decline in history on January 28 as a result of panic selling after new community transmissions of the coronavirus were reported. The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell 73.23 points, or 6.67 percent, to close at 1,023.94 points. It quickly recovered to 1,191.44 points by the end of the March 31 trading session, increasing 7.93 percent from the beginning of the year./.

PetroVietnam’s Q1 State budget contributions surpass plan by 18 percent

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) contributed more than 19.02 trillion VND (823.7 million USD) to the State budget in the first three months of 2021, a 3 percent increase against the same period last year and 18 percent higher than its quarterly plan.

Seventeen of its 22 subsidiaries posted profits, 12 of which recorded growth thanks to efforts to promote cost savings totalling over 2.83 trillion VND.

Uncertainties remain for the remaining months of the year, PetroVietnam Chairman Hoang Quoc Vuong said, with a high risk of geopolitical issues and trade tensions and the unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He urged all subsidiaries to keep a close watch on the global oil price and production and continue restructuring, cutting costs, and improving operational efficiency.

In the first two months of the year, the State-owned group exploited 3.07 million tonnes of oil equivalent and produced 2.9 billion kWh of electricity, 272,700 tonnes of nitrogenous fertiliser, and 1.1 million tonnes of oil and petrol.

Its turnover stood at 94.5 trillion VND (nearly 4.1 billion USD) while budget contributions were estimated at 11.44 trillion VND, surpassing the targets by 1 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Mini Thailand Week underway in Hai Phong

A trade fair for Thai products called Mini Thailand Week 2021 was launched at the Hai Phong International Exhibition Centre in the northern city of Hai Phong on April 8, with 60 booths.

The booths belong to 35 importers of Thai products to Vietnam and showcase a wide range of products, from food to fashion, beauty, and personal care.

The fair will also feature traditional Thai dance performances, demonstrations of cooking Thai dishes, Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y) activities, and games.

It provides a good opportunity for investors and enterprises in the city to exchange experience, expand partnerships, and boost two-way trade between the two countries, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Tho.

Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trade partner in ASEAN while Vietnam is Thailand’s third-largest. Bilateral trade last year totalled nearly 16 billion USD, accounting for 30 percent of Vietnam’s trade with ASEAN member states.

Economic activities in Vietnam have returned to normalcy thanks to the Government’s success in containing COVID-19, according to Morakot Janemathukorn from the Embassy of Thailand. The embassy has cooperated with the local Government and enterprises to organise many events to foster cooperation in various areas, and the fair aims to bolster ties, she added.

Mini Thailand Week 2021 will run through April 11.

First VinGroup smart e-buses hit the streets

The Vinbus Ecology Transport Services Limited Liability Company (VinBus), a member of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate VinGroup, launched the first smart e-bus service in the country on April 8.

The buses will run in the Vinhomes Ocean Park urban area in Gia Lam district, Hanoi, while awaiting the completion of procedures to connect with the city’s public transport network, according to Vinbus Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Thanh.

Vinbus is an electric bus model manufactured and assembled by VinFast at its Automobile Production Complex in Hai Phong city.

Each bus is equipped with an automated system able to control driving behaviour and give warnings about unsafe situations, an on-board public address system, free wifi, USB charging ports, and security cameras, among others.

With a battery capacity of 281 kWh, the bus can travel between 220 and 260 kilometres on a single charge. It can fully recharge in just two hours at VinBus’s 150 kW charging station network.

VinBus is scheduled to provide public transport services in five major cities in Vietnam: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

The company operates under a non-profit model, aiming to develop a modern public transportation network that reduces air and noise pollution in Vietnam’s major cities.

Kien Giang making every effort to fight IUU fishing

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has completed 98.6 percent of its plan to equip fishing vessels with cruise control devices as part of measures to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing prevention, local authorities will continue to introduce synchronous measures to fight such activities towards an early removal of the “yellow card” warning issued by the European Commission (EC) to Vietnam’s fisheries sector.

Authorised agencies have stepped up communications work so that ship-owners, fishermen, organisations, and individuals closely observe relevant regulations.

Local authorities have strictly handled cases of illegally exploiting marine products in foreign waters.

Provincial police have been tasked with monitoring, investigating, and verifying cases in which local individuals or organisations linked with those in foreign countries to arrange for fishing vessels or fishermen to exploit marine products in foreign waters, or to return arrested fishermen to Vietnam by unofficial means in order to avoid fines imposed under Vietnamese law.

Meanwhile, the provincial Border Guard Command is responsible for investigating, verifying, and handling fishing vessels that violate foreign waters, especially those detected by the navy and coast guard.

Nguyen Van Dung, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and also deputy head of the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing prevention, said local authorities have paid attention to inspecting and controlling the implementation of measures to prevent IUU fishing by vessels in international waters.

The province’s fisheries sub-department will work to complete the installation of cruise control devices on all vessels.

In the first quarter, local authorities fined five fishing vessel owners for removing or not operating cruise control devices. The locality strictly complied with EC recommendations on IUU and fined vessels violating regulations.

Vietnam, Argentina look towards balanced trade

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is ready to work with Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino to boost economic, trade, and investment ties between the two nations, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai has said.

During a working session with the ambassador who has just started his tenure in Vietnam, Hai expressed his delight at the stable growth in two-way trade over recent years, which reached 3.95 billion USD last year, up 4.3 percent compared to 2019 despite COVID-19.

As Argentina is now Vietnam’s third-largest trade partner in Latin America, behind Brazil and Mexico, he hoped that the ambassador and the Argentine embassy will continue working to facilitate trade exchange between the two countries’ business communities, towards gradually achieving a more balanced trade landscape.

The ambassador, for his part, expressed a belief that with improving business climates in both nations, businesses will be well-positioned to prosper.

He pledged to do his best to tackle problems in two-way trade as well as facilitate multi-sector exchanges between the two countries.

Both sides also agreed to hold the seventh meeting of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation this year.

Figures show that Vietnam’s exports to the Latin American country hit 567 million USD last year, up 2.34 percent, while imports rose 4.64 percent to 3.38 billion USD.

Vietnam’s exports were mostly mobile phones and spare parts, computers, electronics and accessories, footwear, machinery, equipment and other supporting tools, apparel, and footwear materials. The country imported animal feed, corn, cotton, soya, and vegetable oils from Argentina.

According to MoIT, two-way trade hit 440 million USD this year as of late February, down 3.22 percent year-on-year. Of this, 174 million USD was Vietnam’s exports to Argentina, up 164.52 percent year-on-year, while imports were down 31.61 percent.

Hanoi’s property market predicted to rebound strongly

Strong construction activities in many different types of property and areas in Hanoi signal the strong recovery of the capital’s real estate market from this year onwards, according to CBRE Hanoi Branch Director Nguyen Hoai An.

At a recent press conference looking back on the Hanoi market in the first quarter, An noted that not only residential real estate but also commercial real estate will welcome many new projects with the participation of foreign investors and domestic developers from the southern region.

A CBRE Vietnam survey showed that approximately 4,400 apartments were launched in Hanoi in Q1, down 39 percent quarter-on-quarter due to the hiatus caused by the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and the resurgence of COVID-19, but still up 270 percent year-on-year.

This indicates a strong recovery in the local property market compared to Q1 of 2020, when COVID-19 first broke out in Vietnam.

Do Van Anh, manager of the research and consulting division at CBRE Vietnam, said most of the new apartment supply in Q1 came from 14 projects already opened for sale, while only three projects were newly launched.

She said apartments in the mid-end segment were still the most popular in the market, accounting for up to 80 percent of total new supply in Q1. The eastern and western areas of the city were home to most new projects, with 77 percent of new supply.

The positive market sentiment in recent times has also helped bridge the gap between the number of newly-launched apartments and those already sold.

A total of 4,200 apartments were sold in Q1. In the mid-end segment, the number of sold apartments was higher than newly-launched apartments.

Anh forecast that new supply and sales in Hanoi this year will be around 24,000-26,000 apartments. Many residential real estate projects will be launched for sale in different parts of the city, both inner and outlying districts, in coming quarters, helping the market become more vibrant.

Growth indicators to ensure an optimistic scenario

Striving to achieve a GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent by the end of 2021 is both a goal and a pressure for Vietnam, the outcome of which strongly depends on a further recovery of domestic purchasing power and international trade and travel.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said, “The growth rate of the first quarter at 4.48 per cent was low, from the point of view of the ministry.” However, there is still need for an objective view for this growth, because the 5.2 per cent growth scenario for the first quarter is placed in a state of a “new normal”, but the recent outbreak in the northern province of Hai Duong and some others has pulled economic growth down again down.

“GDP in the following quarters must be increased to reach the National Assembly’s 6.5-per-cent target for 2021,” argued Phuong, who has added that “to outbalance the Q1 growth, in the remaining quarters, there must be a quarter of over 7 per cent.”

Nevertheless, the outcome of the economic growth figures remains unpredictable as COVID-19 could hit again anytime as the latest cases show. Nguyen Thu Oanh, director of the Price Statistics Department under the General Statistics Office, noticed that although the average consumer price index (CPI) in Q1 increased by only 0.29 per cent on-year – the lowest first-quarter increase in the past 20 years – keeping the inflation below 4 per cent this year will not be easy.

Global crude oil prices have been increasing sharply after the United States and other countries in the region launched economic stimulus packages. According to calculations, if the average crude oil price is about $60 per barrel, the CPI in 2021 will increase by 0.9 per cent.

As long as COVID-19 remains a topic, industrial production activities cannot recover as quickly as before, and other sectors like accommodation, catering, transportation, and tourism services are continuing to be affected as well.

However, the economic picture in the first three months also showed many bright spots. Retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 5.1 per cent in Q1 over the same period last year, showing that consumer demand has increased again. Import-export activities also strongly recovered, and trade balance generated an export surplus of $2.03 billion.

Besides this, the number of newly-registered enterprises in Q1 decreased by 1.4 per cent compared to the same period last year, but the total registered capital increased by 27.5 per cent due to the increase in the number of enterprises with registered capital of over VND100 billion ($4.35 million) and a decrease in those enterprises with than VND10 billion (435,000). These factors will be the impetus for the next quarter to accelerate Vietnam’s economic growth, especially when vaccines are further distributed.

According to Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, the good news in the first quarter is that all major economies are on their way to recover. Given this optimistic scenario, Thanh sees that while major markets rely on vaccinations to reboot their economies, they also still operate under monetary and fiscal policies towards loosening interest rates, in combination with expanded stimulus packages. In Vietnam, the economy can also follow an optimistic scenario with five basic growth drivers.

First is macro stability, according to Thanh. The expectation of reaching a GDP growth of 6.5 per cent is based on a weak inflationary pressure, so that the government can operate both monetary and fiscal policies in the direction of supporting growth.

Secondly, private investments need to recover, combined with further public investments in infrastructure. Maintaining a low interest rate level and further reducing lending interest rates will be the driving force for businesses’ investments.

Third is the resumption of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to take place after the pandemic. The trend of supply chain shifts will maintain an attractive position for FDI inflows for Vietnam, but will also create challenges for the monetary and exchange rate regulators to ensure that the country’s economy can still absorb these inputs.

Next involves restoring the purchasing power in the domestic market, Thanh explained. One of the biggest concerns of businesses is that they cannot prosper if the purchasing power of the domestic market remains weak.

The digital transformation has been a huge driver and has led to new types of shopping. Monetary and fiscal policy must also be in a state of supportive growth to restore purchasing power in the domestic market.

Labour market data last year showed that after falling by 2.4 million people in Q2 over the previous quarter, the market recovered with an increase by 1.5 million in the third quarter and 600,000 more in Q4. This is the basis for the recovery of purchasing power in the domestic market this year.

Singaporean investor to operate large ecotourism project in Vietnam

Singapore’s Pegasus Investment and Consultancy JSC and Banyan Tree Holdings Limited on April 7 signed an agreement in which the former will operate Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam, an eco-resort in the central province of Binh Dinh, upon its completion.

The project, which was expected to be completed in 2023, is part of the Pegasus Education Tourism Development area, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.

With an estimated investment of 100 million Singaporean dollars (US$74.6 million), Dhawa Quy Nhon Vietnam is the second phase of Pegasus Education Tourism Development. Its first phase kicked off with the opening of Outward Bound Vietnam in 2016, while eco-residences will be developed in the third phase.

Pegasus Chairman Ricky Tan said, “Pegasus Education Tourism Development entrenches our long-term commitment and investments in Vietnam. As a Singapore enterprise, our latest investment signals our strong confidence in Vietnam’s economic development and growth prospects.”

Pegasus will provide services at the resort, which is Banyan Tree’s second Dhawa resort signed in Vietnam.

Both Pegasus and Banyan Tree have been confident about Vietnam’s economic recovery, Covid-19 control and growth prospects, while Covid-19 vaccination programs are being accelerated.

Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree, said the strategic partnership highlights the like-minded collaboration and entrepreneurship of two homegrown brands with strong overseas footprints.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes