Red river delta

Hai Van Pass

Hai Van Pass in Da Nang city has been listed among the 10 most beautiful drives in the world, according to a recent article published by Travel + Leisure magazine.

Hai Van Pass has been dubbed “one of the best coast roads in the world” by Jeremy Clarkson, former host of British motoring show Top Gear. The website also recommends that those travelling along the route take the road slow as conditions can become a slightly foggy.

Running for a total length of 20km, the pass has become one of the most popular destinations for visitors to snap photographs, with over 52,000 photos taken at the site uploaded to Instagram.

The global list is based on analysis provided by Pentagon Motor Group (PMG), which searches more than seven million Instagram hashtags in order to uncover the world’s most stunning routes.

As part of PMG’s research, they discovered that the Great Ocean Road in Australia is the most beautiful road trip in the world, followed closely by the Big Sur in the United States and Jebel Hafeet in the United Arab Emirates.

Vietnam extends condolences to Indonesia over sunken submarine

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on April 26 sent a message of condolences to his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi over the sunken submarine KRI Nanggala-402.

Indonesia’s Antara News Agency reported that KRI Nanggala-402 became untraceable on April 22 during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island of Bali.

The 40-year-old submarine was found split into three pieces on the sea bed after five days of search efforts. All the vessel’s 53 crew have been confirmed dead./.

HCM City cancels fireworks celebrating National Reunification Day

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong on April 26 cancelled the fireworks display celebrating the South Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday, to prevent any spread of COVID-19 given the complex of the pandemic in neighbouring countries and the world.

The city leader asked the Department of Culture and Sports to review preparations for other activities to mark the special occasions, with pandemic prevention and control measures to be strictly implemented.

He also requested that local departments, agencies, and localities remain vigilant in fighting the pandemic, while working hard to control illegal immigration, thus ensuring safety during the holidays and also the upcoming general elections.

The city has gone 73 days without any community transmission of COVID-19. It remains at risk of an outbreak, however, due to complex developments of the pandemic in Thailand and Cambodia.

Held every year on this occasion, 15-minute fireworks displays had been planned at five venues on April 30./.

Top legislator holds working sessions with NA committees

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on April 26 held working sessions with the NA’s Committee for Social Affairs and Committee for Legal Affairs.

At the working session with the Committee for Social Affairs, the top legislator lauded the committee for its initiatives during the 14th tenure, saying it has taken the lead in consulting the public.

He asked the committee to review the legal framework on the organisation and operation of the legislature and its agencies, as well as delegations of NA deputies and People’s Councils.

The committee should draw up a project to improve its operational quality and efficiency across spheres, he said.

During another working session with the Committee for Legal Affairs, Hue attributed successes of the 14th NA to contributions of the committee.

He also stressed the need to have a long-term strategy in law building in order to ensure the leading role of the NA in legislative activities, and a synchronous legal system./.

No COVID-19 cases logged on April 27 morning

Vietnam documented no COVID-19 infections in the past 12 hours to 6am on April 27, making the nation’s tally unchanged at 2,852 cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

The health ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department said that, a total 2,516 COVID-19 patients have been given the all clear. The death toll remains at 35.

Among those under treatment, 13 have tested negative for the virus once, 15 twice, and 20 thrice.

There are 38,919 people having close contact with confirmed cases or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions under quarantine at present, including 518 at hospitals, 23,409 at concentrated facilities, and 14,992 at home.

According to the ministry, a total 259,736 frontline workers nationwide received COVID-19 vaccine shots as of 4 pm on April 26.

In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration)./.

Localities intensify COVID-19 prevention measures ahead of holidays

Increased pandemic prevention measures have been noticed in cities and provinces nationwide, as the Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1) holidays approach.

Strict fines are imposed on people without facemasks in public places in Ho Chi Minh City, the local authorities said in an urgent direction issued on April 26.

Accordingly, public-awareness-raising communications on COVID-19 and pandemic prevention and control measures have been ordered, with restrictions in place for mass gatherings. Those involved in organising illegal entries in the city also face strict punishments.

The same day, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung emphasized a high risk of new outbreaks during and after the upcoming holidays at a meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on April 26.

He urged the active implementation of pandemic measures that prioritise early detection, quick quarantine, and effective treatment. Wearing facemask is a must in public areas and on public transport vehicles; and events that gather a large number of people are restricted.

The capital will continue its vaccination drive correctly, safely, and efficiently, according to Dung.

Also on April 26, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long had a working session with the Can Tho People’s Committee, asking the Mekong Delta city to soon complete its national-level COVID-19 treatment hospital and prepare for complicated developments of the epidemic in the future.

For the work to be done, he assigned the Can Tho General Hospital to collaborate with localities and the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Can Tho also needs to establish a 400-bed COVID-19 treatment hospital in Phong Dien district that is capable of accommodating up to 800 beds when necessary, the minister underscored./.

13th National Party Congress’ outcomes informed to Japanese Communist Party

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung on April 26 chaired a teleconference to inform the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) on the outcomes of the 13th National Party Congress.

Attending the meeting on the Japanese side was Vice Chairman of the Presidium of the JCP and head of its International Department Ogata Yasuo.

Trung thanked the JCP Central Committee and JCP Chairman Shii Kazuo for extending congratulations on the success of the congress and the re-election of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

He briefed the Japanese side on outcomes of the congress as well as main contents of the congress’ documents regarding various issues such as socio-economic development, Party and political system building, Vietnam’s foreign policies and future development orientations.

Trung underlined that the congress has an important significance, with the continued application and development of the Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought. It set the goal of developing the country to 2025 and 2030 with a vision to 2045, he added.

He said that Vietnam continues implementing the consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism, diversification of external relations, active and proactive integration into the world, maintenance of a environment of peace and stability, thus enhancing the country’s position and prestige on the international arena.

Trung affirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam attaches importance to the traditional friendship with the JCP as well as the Vietnam-Japan relations, while expressing his hope that the two Parties and countries will continue to strengthen their partnership in the new situation.

He proposed a number of specific orientations and measures to promote the relations between the two Parties and nations in the near future.

For his part, Ogata Yasuo once again congratulated the CPV on the success of the 13th National Party Congress, saying the information of the congress’ outcomes to the JCP shows the Party, State and people of Vietnam’s appreciation for the JCP as well as the friendship between the two countries’ people.

He agreed with Trung’s proposal on the promotion of bilateral relations, expressing his belief that under the leadership of the CPV, Vietnamese people will successfully implement the congress’ Resolution and gain new achievements in national reform and socialism building, thus playing a positive role in consolidating peace, security and development in the region and the world.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed a number of regional and international matters of shared concern./.

Miss H’Hen Nie in the hot seat at Miss Universe Vietnam 2021

Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 title holder H’Hen Nie has been selected to join the panel of jury at the Miss Universe Vietnam 2021.

H’Hen Nie will join Vo Thi Xuan Trang, principal of John Robert Powers school, and Dr Le Diep Linh, doctor of anthropology, to judge contestants at the Miss Universe Vietnam 2021, said organisers of the beauty pageant.

H’Hen Nie, who was crowned Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, was one of the five final contestants at Miss Universe 2018. She has actively taken part in social activities and inspired young girls to live a healthy lifestyle.

The beauty queen is considered to be a suitable figure in the hot seat who can provide expertise, connect and assist contestants in performing their role throughout the contest.

The announcement of the jury was made several days before current Miss Universe Vietnam title holder Nguyen Tran Khanh Van leaves for Miss Universe 2021, one of the big four major international beauty pageants.

For the Miss Universe Vietnam 2021, organisers said they are receiving applications from April 23 to September 8, 2021.

Contestants will be selected in many localities across the country, including Hanoi, Long Hai, Vung Tau, Da Lat, Bao Loc, and Ben Tre.

The final round will take place in Long Hai, while Ho Chi Minh City will play host to the semi-finale and finale of the contest.

Dong Hoi boosts night-time tourism through walking street

The inauguration of a pedestrian street in Dong Hoi city in the central province of Quang Binh on April 23 is anticipated to diversify tourism products, accelerate service and trade activities, and develop a strong night-time economy moving forward, according to local authorities.

The inauguration of the pedestrian street will be part of a series of other activities which are being held within the framework of Dong Hoi Culture and Tourism Week 2021.

After being suspended for a year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the occasion is set to be held between April 23 and May 2, with plenty of cultural, culinary, and artistic activities taking place, such as a street carnival, a traditional boat racing on the Nhat Le river, a Bai Choi singing festival, art performances, and traditional folk games.

Hoang Thi Thanh Nhung, vice chairwoman of the Dong Hoi City People’s Committee, said the city has now completed all necessary infrastructure and decorated the pedestrian street area. This has been done whilst ensuring the safety of all residents and visitors who can come to enjoy a unique cultural space at night, especially to mark the occasion of the upcoming Reunification Day on April 30 and May Day (May 1) holiday.

Vinh Phuc: wartime bomb moved out of residential area

The Military High Command’s sapper force in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on April 25 moved a bomb weighing 340 kg from a residential area in the province’s Vinh Yen City to a safe place.

The bomb, measuring 40cm in diameter and 125cm in length, was found 2.5m underground on April 20 when workers dug the foundation of a house on Ton Duc Thang Street.

Locals living in the dangerous area with a radius of 500m around the spot where the bomb was unearthed were evacuated to safe areas. During the process of transporting the bomb, people living along the route were also evacuated to ensure safety.

Businesses, organisations, and temporary markets nearby were asked to close on the day the bomb was moved./.

Tien Giang takes measures to supply water to more households

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has taken measures to supply water for daily use to more households in areas affected by saltwater intrusion to ensure no one has to buy water at high prices.

For its eastern region, which includes the districts of Go Cong Dong, Go Cong Tay, and Tan Phu Dong and Go Cong Town, it has drilled seven borewells at a cost of more than 10 billion VND (434,000 USD), according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It undertook 23 projects for installing pipes to carry water from pumping stations in My Tho City to areas in the east without tap water.

The eastern region now has 198 water pumping stations with a capacity of 98,640cu.m a day that supply 17,804 urban households and 118,266 rural households.

At the beginning of this dry season, which lasts between December and May, the province had finalised plans to set up 103 public water supply sites to provide free water to 6,516 families living in the east in rural and remote areas, outside sea dykes, along the coast, near estuaries, and in fields that do not get tap water and have difficulty getting water for daily use.

It has so far set up 41 of them to supply 1,400cu.m a day, and will set up the rest when the situation worsens.

It has instructed coastal districts to strengthen advocacy about storing freshwater appropriately and using it carefully.

In the islet district of Tan Phu Dong, which is severely affected by saltwater intrusion during the dry season, 1,500 of the 11,800 local households do not get tap water.

But 12 pipes with a total length of 24.2 kilometres have been laid to supply water to the three coastal communes of Phu Dong, Phu Tan and Phu Thanh this year.

The district has also set up five free public water supply sites to benefit households in Phu Tan Commune.

It has pumped water from rivers when the salinity is below 2 grammes per litre into ponds for storing it.

These have helped resolve the shortage of water, Bui Thai Son, Secretary of the district’s Party Committee and Chairman of its People’s Committee, said.

Fireworks to be held in Vietnam on Reunification Day

Firework displays will be organised in many provinces and cities to welcome Reunification Day and May Day Holiday.

A firework display will be held in six locations in Hanoi from 9 pm to 9.15 pm on April 30. High altitude fireworks will be held at Hanoi Post Office in Hoan Kiem District and the Flower garden in Son Tay Town. Low altitude fireworks will be held at the Headquarter of Hanoi Moi Newspaper, Thong Nhat Park, My Dinh National Stadium and Van Quan Lake.

Quang Ninh People’s Committee announced that low-altitude fireworks for 15 minutes will be held at Cam Pha, Ha Long and Dong Trieu. Cua Lo Town in Nghe An Province and Quang Tri Province will also hold a firework display to launch the sea and island tourism season 2021.

Vo Trong Nam, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports said the city will hold firework displays at four locations, including Saigon River Tunnel, Landmark 81 Building, Dam Sen Park, and Can Thanh Commune, and Can Gio District.

A series of cultural and sports events will be held in Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate Reunification Day and May Day. Ho Chi Minh City authorities encouraged individuals and businesses to fly the national flag during the holiday.

Ha Long beach to open soon

A beach in Ha Long City in the northern province of Quang Ninh will be opened on May 1.

The artificial beach, the first public one in Ha Long City, is 900 metres long and nearly 100 metres wide, running along Tran Quoc Nghien Road.

Tran Quoc Nghien Road connects to other famous tourist sites like Quang Ninh Museum, Library, October 30 Square and Ha Long Flower Park.

People in the Hon Gai area often come to local unlicensed beaches or beaches in the Bai Chay area for swimming. With the high demand of the public, Ha Long authorities decided to open a beach in the Hon Gai area.

The beach is part of a VND680 billion (USD29.56 million) project to upgrade areas around Tran Quoc Nghien Road. Of this funding, VND100 billion has been used for the beach investment.

Ha Long authorities are seeking public opinion for the name of the beach based on the three proposals Ha Long, Hon Gai and Hong Gai.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Son, vice chairman of Ha Long City People’s Committee, most of the surveyed opinions have preferred the name Hon Gai so far.

Job market shows strong signs of recovery

Vietnam’s job market showed strong signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2021, opening up various opportunities for workers, especially highly-skilled workers.

The labour market has been steadily recovering since early in the year, according to data from Adecco Vietnam, with the number of job openings in March rising 40% against January. Growth in job applications was 26%.

Sectors seeing an increase in hiring demand in the quarter included Engineering and Manufacturing, Energy, IT, E-commerce, Electronics, Semiconductor Design, Civil Engineering, and Industrial Construction.

The combination of global supply chain shifts and the positive impact of free trade agreements will offer new prospects for Vietnam’s economy into the future, leading to a significant increase in employment opportunities and hiring demand, said Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Adecco Hanoi’s Recruitment Manager.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the labour market in Q1 was livelier than in the same period last year, according to the municipal Centre for Human Resources Forecasting and Labour Market Information (FALMI).

Its figures show that there were over 44,000 job vacancies and nearly 19,500 jobseekers in the southern economic hub during the period, increasing local human resources demand by 13.14% year-on-year. The majority of vacancies (70.38%) were in the services sector, followed by industry (29.51%) and agriculture (0.11%).

The centre forecasts that the city will need between 68,600 and 73,500 workers, mostly in the fields of IT, electronics and electricity; mechanics and automation; healthcare and medicine; accounting and auditing; finance, banking and securities; real estate; and tourism, lodging and catering services.

Adecco Hanoi Office Director Nguyen Thu Ha explained three main reasons contributing to the current situation. The first is the Government’s successful efforts in virus prevention and containment, she said. Second, businesses have gradually ramped up their operations and are eager to bounce back after a period of economic stagnation. Third, in terms of psychology, people now are better able to take care their health and cope with coronavirus anxiety.

FALMI said that demand for trained workers in HCM City made up 85.72% of the total, including 22.19% for university graduates or higher.

Commenting on the labour market outlook for 2021, Andree Mangels, General Director, Adecco Vietnam believed that the recovery of the economy and the global trends of digitalisation will open up opportunities for skilled workers.

A recent survey from the Adecco Group on shifts in workplace expectations in the post-pandemic world indicate that 82% of participants appreciate the strict hygiene regulations at work.

Other noticeable expectations among workers are flexibility (80%), adequate facilities for remote working (79%), investment in technology (77%), financial support policies (77%), and regular updates on business plans and performance (75%).

Various activities prepared for Reunification Holiday in Quang Ninh

About 18 cultural activities will be held in Quang Ninh Province during the coming Reunification Day Holiday.

This is a part of the 27 events to stimulate the tourism industry in Quang Ninh from April 30 until mid-May. Some of the highlights are the opening of Hon Gai Beach and Ha Long-The Gathering of Wonders Show.

Ha Long Carnival also returns and will be held on Tuan Chau Island on April 30, Hon Gai on May 1 and FLC Ha Long Resort on May 2. Former Miss Vietnam beauty queens will join the street performance along with various well-known singers and artists. A fireworks display will be held at three locations.

Along the Tran Quoc Nghien Street are the martial art show, I Love Ha Long photo exhibition, street music, kite flying contest and other activities. Some other summer events in Quang Ninh are Three Regions Circus Gala 2021 in Cam Pha City, Tay Ethnic Culture Day in Tien Yen District and the 60th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Co To Island.

Tourism firms that participate in the stimulus programme have also offered various discounts. Quang Ninh is expecting 500,000-550,000 tourists for the Reunification Holiday.

Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of Quang Ninh Department of Tourism said, “We have worked with other parties to ensure the human resources and equipment for the programme. We have also inspected hotels and other facilities where the main events will be held to keep the prices stable and to ensure a pleasant holiday for visitors.”

Vietnam should be cautious about reopening doors to international tourists: McKinsey

Vietnam should not take risks and reopen its doors and border gates to international tourists until the country reaches herd immunity through widespread Covid-19 vaccination, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Many opinions have thrown their support behind the proposal to reopen doors to boost travel and trade, while the firm said in its recent report that Vietnam should ensure there are no locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases and should not allow free travel until the country reaches herd immunity.

Following this method, Vietnam’s tourism sector can recover in 2024 thanks to the domestic tourism segment, which regained its growth momentum last year after social distancing was lifted. The travel demand will continue to accelerate and recover quickly, according to the firm.

Local tourists who are not allowed to take foreign trips will alter their plans and opt for tours in Vietnam and spend more money than they did in 2019.

Vietnamese visitors spent US$5.9 billion on tourism in foreign countries in 2019. This is a big chance for local tour operators to tap the local tourism market, according to the report.

The consulting firm also suggested tourism firms offer more luxurious tours to tourists and reduce the prices of their products to stimulate travel. The reduction should not be a long-term solution, said McKinsey & Company.

The firm also presented some solutions to help Vietnam and other countries maintain the status of having no new locally-infected Covid-19 cases during their recovery process, including taking the domestic travel demand into account, considering setting up prices, applying digital technology and offering new experiences to tourists.

Besides, tour operators should also grasp information about the travel demands of international tourists and meet safety regulations to be ready to serve foreign visitors before Vietnam reopens its doors.

Those who organized illegal exit on NA chairperson’s flight to stand trial next month

The HCMC People’s Court will hold the first-instance hearing early next month for eight people who had earlier helped nine people travel to South Korea on a flight transporting a delegation of the then National Assembly (NA) chairperson in late 2018.

Among the eight accused, three were indicted for allegedly organizing the illegal exit from Vietnam, comprising former director of GVA Company Le Thi Lieu, an ex-official of a magazine under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Tran Thi Tuyet and former director of TD Vietnam Education Consulting and Training JSC Luong Manh Hung.

Five others were charged with allegedly mediating so that the nine could go abroad, the local media reported.

On August 6, 2018, the NA’s Foreign Affairs Committee asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to make a list of enterprises accompanying the NA chairperson to China and South Korea. The Ministry of Planning and Investment assigned the Foreign Investment Agency and the Investment Promotion Center-North Vietnam to do the job.

The schedule changed and the delegation visited only South Korea from December 4 to 7, 2018.

However, nine people of the delegation did not return to Vietnam after the trip. Six of them were helped by Lieu and her accomplices to illegally escape to South Korea.

In early 2018, Lieu made contact with Hoang Anh, a resident of Nghe An who was living in Germany, and discovered that many residents in Hoang Anh’s hometown wanted to travel to South Korea for work. Through Trinh Bang Dung, Hoang Anh introduced Lieu to some of these people, who had to pay US$10,000 each to be taken to South Korea.

The accused agreed that Dung would collect US$11,500 each to earn profit.

After hearing the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s news, Lieu directed her employees to prepare dossiers and complete procedures so that she and her customers could be a part of the NA’s delegation.

She asked her customers to wear formal clothes and learn information about the companies they represented. Once in South Korea, under the pretense that they had to meet their partners or go shopping, they took back their passports and stayed on to look for jobs.

According to investigators, Lieu earned more than VND700 million from these people.

Sapa woos tourists with big stimulus programs

The People’s Committee of Lao Cai Province in collaboration with the Sapa Tourism Association has launched a big tourism stimulus campaign to attract more visitors to the northern mountainous region.

The program, themed Huong Sac Lao Cai (The Beauty of Lao Cai), received a positive response from some 100 tourism businesses, including hotels, homestays, car agencies and tourist spots in Sapa town in Lao Cai Province.

Discounts offered by all the units range from 20%-70% and will go on from April 10 to December 31, the local media reported.

Trinh Xuan Truong, chairman of the People’s Committee of Lao Cai Province, said that this is the largest-scale stimulus program to ever be implemented by Lao Cai to date.

The committee, along with Lao Cai’s Department of Tourism, will accompany districts and towns as they organize various programs and extraordinary tourism activities imbued with the highland’s cultural identity throughout 2021, painting a colorful and attractive picture of Lao Cai and offering a rich experience for tourists.

Pham Cao Vy, chairman of the Sapa Tourism Association, expects the program to be a hit among tourists, helping local tourism, especially tourism businesses make a quick recovery and flourish.

So far, Lao Cai’s tourism stimulus program has been receiving positive feedback as booking rates toward the end of April across Sapa alone have reached 80% and up to 100% for the upcoming holidays of April 30 and May 1.

Aside from the unprecedented discount program, lots of exciting events and festivals will be held throughout 2021 to give tourists an unforgettable experience in Sapa.

UK education and technology on roadshow in HCMC

The British Consulate-General in HCMC in collaboration with the British University Vietnam, NashTech Vietnam and Study in Wales on April 23 organized the “UK Education and Technology Roadshow” in HCMC, following its success in Hanoi, Danang and Haiphong.

The double-decker bus visited four universities–the University of Greenwich Vietnam, the University of Science – Vietnam National University HCMC, the Hong Bang International University and the University of Economics and Finance HCMC.

More than 1,200 students in the city had the opportunity to learn about studying in the UK and the skills needed for future work from two Chevening alumni: Nguyen Thi Phuong Nghi (Master of Philosophy in Therapeutic Science at the University of Cambridge) and Ton Nu Tuong Vy (Master of Education and International Development at the University College London).

The UK Government’s Chevening Scholarships Officer was also present at the roadshow to provide more information about the scholarship such as the selection criteria, the number of scholarships per year and the benefits of being awarded the prestigious scholarship.

Besides, the roadshow also provided information about studying in the UK and tips to choose suitable programs based on the strengths and interests of students.

In case students prefer to study in Vietnam, there are also domestic programmes to pursue recognized UK degrees, which can offer value for their future career paths.

British technology company NashTech also spoke about job opportunities at the company as well as the desirable skills employers look for in an international working environment.

Speaking at the event, British deputy consul general in HCMC Sam Wood said education, technology and skills training are key pillars in the UK and Vietnam bilateral partnership.

“I hope that the students in HCMC learned more about joint-training programmes, scholarships and career opportunities after graduating. Whether you want to acquire world-renowned valuable skills in the UK, or receive a UK-recognized degree in Vietnam, the UK has it for you,” Wood said.

Chevening is the UK government’s international awards programme aimed at developing global leaders. Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and partner organizations, Chevening offers full coverage for a one-year Master’s degree at any university across the UK.

Music performance to be held in complete darkness in HCMC

A special music performance will be held in complete darkness at the SOUL Live Project Complex in HCMC on April 25, enabling the audience to focus entirely on the experience provided by music and the word.

“Music In The Dark” promises to be an evening where music has more emotional power because all visual distractions will be eliminated.

Studies show that some 70% of all the body’s sensory receptors are located in the eyes. Therefore, when listening to music in the dark without any stage effects, the audience can explore the purity of sound.

In the dark, music becomes the only language. Listeners may find it unfamiliar at first but music will gradually touch every corner of their soul in a surprisingly enchanting way.

The main highlight of the event is the performers’ vocals as an amazing instrument capable of conveying a wide range of emotions. Whether as a solo or in combination with another voice or all together as a choir, the human voice has incredible power.

This concert features vocal students, teachers and ensembles, both accompanied and unaccompanied, from the Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy’s Faculty of Music. With the theme of “HOME”, the songs offer diverse forms of vocal music for different combinations of voices.

This is the fourth year that “Music in the Dark” is being organized. The event also serves as an opportunity for the community to support charitable causes, including assistance for blind people.

The concert is not suitable for children under 10 years of age and begins at 7 p.m.

20 streets in Thu Duc City named after historical figures, famous people

A road naming ceremony of 20 arterial streets and new residential areas in Thu Duc City after historical figures and famous people was held at the Thu Thiem new urban area yesterday under the witness of leaders of HCMC and Thu Duc City and delegates.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Thu Duc City People’s Committee Mr. Hoang Tung emphasized that this was considered as a meaningful activity to express respect and commemorate the great contributions by historical figures to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the country.

The event contributes to the implementation of urban and administrative management and creates favorable conditions for organizations and individuals in the economic, cultural and social transactions in Thu Duc City.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Head of Ho Chi Minh City’s delegation of National Assembly deputies, the event was also a great honor for families as well as deep gratitude for the previous generations who had made great contributions to the fight, construction and defense of the country.

Besides, the street naming ceremony aims to mark the 46th anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975-2021).

Accordingly, 20 streets in Thu Duc City were named after famous and historical figures namely To Huu, Tran Bach Dang, Nguyen Thien Thanh, Bui Thien Ngo, Tran Van Sac, Nguyen Dinh Thai Ly, Ho Thi Nhung, An Tu princess, Luu Dinh Le, Tinh Trieu, Bach Dong On, Pham Van Ngon, Dang Binh Thanh, Dang Dinh Tuong, Duong Lam, Duong Thanh, Tran Quy Kien, Tran Duc Thao, Nguyen Thi Thich and Nguyen Thi Diep. The street naming is based on Resolution No. 86 / NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2020 of the People’s Council of Ho Chi Minh City on the addition of street names and road naming in HCMC.

Attending at the ceremony were former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Head of Ho Chi Minh City’s delegation of National Assembly deputies Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan; alternate member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Secretary of the Thu Duc City Party Committee Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu; Vice Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Ms. Phan Thi Thang;

HCMC to hold culture-art activities to mark National Reunification Day

Ho Chi Minh City has planned a series of culture and arts events to celebrate the upcoming National Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labour Day (May 1).

According to Vo Trong Nam, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, a photo exhibition on Vietnam’s border areas at Lam Son Park in District 1 will kick off activities on April 26.

On April 28, an exchange with witnesses of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign is scheduled. The campaign liberated the south of Vietnam, paving the way for the country’s independence and reunification after 21 years of separation.

There will also be ceremonies to bestow the Hero of People’s Armed Forces title upon recipients and to announce the Prime Minister’s decisions on recognising Can Gio district as a new-style rural area and Thach An commune as an island commune under the administration of HCMC.

The department’s pop music centre will hold a special concert on the evening of April 29, while the local Police High Command’s brass band will perform on the evening of April 30, both on District 1’s Nguyen Hue walking street.

A host of activities are also set for May in celebration of President Ho Chi Minh’s 131st birthday on May 19.

Vietnamese publisher releases internationally-famous books

After making an effort to purchase copyright, the Youth Publishing House released a series of books for children along with the National Geographic Kids’ scientific book series.

These books with good content and design not only bring vivid knowledge to children helping them to learn more about the world around them but also are a way to nurture reading habits for families.

The Youth Publishing House has translated books into Vietnamese. For the first time in Vietnam, five volumes of the National Geographic Kids scientific books including Human Body; What Would Happen?; Explorer Academy; Do not read at midnight have been released.

The books with coherent presentation of scientific information, accurate and interesting illustrations are very interesting ensuring that readers will not miss any knowledge. Along with that are the images beyond small readers’ understanding. After reading, small readers will build up a useful mind map by themselves, with outstanding scientific knowledge retention.

Another set of scientific books including eight books to be released on this occasion is My Science Castle. The eight books are about animals to plants such as how eggs hatch into chicks; Why do whales migrate; Why does the seed sprout in the spring; How tadpoles turn frogs; How do our bodies work; Is black bear dangerous; How do caterpillars turn butterflies.

The book series is the first adventure in natural history sharing with readers the amazing world of science with its up-to-date knowledge, eliciting curiosity, curiosity and desire to explore for each child. The stories are attractive from beginning to end, clarifying all questions of children. The book ‘How our bodies work’ will answer them: How do we smell and taste food? How do we hear and look? Why do we have teeth? What is the skeleton for? Why do we have muscle? Why do we have skin? How does the brain work?

The book sets including Horrible Histories, Horrible Science, Horrible Geography, The Knowledge has published more than 40 titles and more books will be released as predicted. They are designed to get children interested in science by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant.

Most small readers are excited about science after reading these series of books such as Horrible Science, Horrible Geography, and Horrible Geography.

Parents can’t miss books of Om Books publisher such as Wait for Your Turn, Never Give Up, I am not scared, Let’s Shake Hand, Is Daddy Coming Back in a Minute?

Restaurant reported on overpriced bill

Accordingly, on April 23, 2021, a tourist with the Facebook account Van Le visited a seafood restaurant named Thap Ba 86 (located at the address of 29 Pham Van Dong Street of Nha Trang City).

After listening to the recommendations from the restaurant, Van Le decided to order 3 seafood dishes, with the price ranging from VND200,000 to 420,000 per kilo (approx. US$8.7-18.3). The whole meal was captured and posted on Review Du Lich Nha Trang Forum. This meal was bill VND1,460,000 in total ($63.6).

The tourist annoyingly said that he had already asked for the detailed price of each seafood kind before ordering, yet in the end he was still billed illogically. Among them, the price of sweet snail was the most unacceptable, at VND1.8 million per kilo ($78.4).

Explaining the situation to the local authorities, Nguyen Van Luong – the restaurant owner – first confirmed that the discussed bill was from his restaurant. He further stated that sweet snails in his restaurant have diverse sizes, some of which are extremely large and unique in the city (18-19 snails per kilo). This leads to such a high input price of VND1.2 million a kilo ($52.3). Therefore, the retail price mentioned above is not at all overpriced.

He also displayed the bills of other customers as an illustration, one of which was over VND9 million ($392) for a meal including 2.4 kilo of sweet snail.

Van La said that he had visited the People’s Committee of the ward where the restaurant was sited right on that day, but had been instructed to contact the special tourism-support hotline of the province instead, since this organization was not authorized for such matters.

However, Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Province Department of Tourism, shared that the concerned tourist did not report the case to the above hotline.

HCMC focuses on tourism advertising plan

The tourism sector of Ho Chi Minh City will focus on promoting safe tourism destinations and services, including shopping, healthcare, agriculture and resort.

To create more new and attractive tourist products, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism established survey teams to connect new products and tours, tourism routes on the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) as well as for other holidays in the year.

Besides, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism planned to develop new mid-term and long-term tourist products to meet the needs of domestic and foreign tourists. Ho Chi Minh City also focuses on attracting travelers from provinces and cities nationwide to Ho Chi Minh City and vice versa.

On the same day, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism launched the “Back to the miraculous heritage domain” program to promote and attract tourists to experience the beautiful landscapes of four provinces and cities. The program aims to recover the tourism industry after the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the contents were released at a brief meeting between the Municipal Department of Tourism and press agencies about tourism stimulus programs and the development of HCMC in the coming time yesterday.

Ca Mau-Nam Du-Phu Quoc high-speed boat route to be resumed

Phu Quoc High Speed Boat Joint Stock Company (Phu Quoc Express) will resume operation of Phu Quoc high-speed boat in Ca Mau-Nam Du- Phu Quoc route on the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1).

Particularly, the maritime tourism routes of Ca Mau- Phu Quoc, Ca Mau- Nam Du, Nam Du- Phu Quoc, Phu Quoc- Ca Mau, Phu Quoc-Nam Du, Nam Du- Ca Mau will operate daily from April 29 to May 3.

From May 4 to August 15, Ca Mau- Phu Quoc, Ca Mau- Nam Du and Nam Du- Phu Quoc routes will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and routes of Phu Quoc- Ca Mau, Phu Quoc- Nam Du, Nam Du- Ca Mau will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Earlier, the Phu Quoc High Speed Boat Joint Stock Company put the Phu Quoc high-speed boat into operation on Ca Mau-Nam Du- Phu Quoc route in July 2020.

That is the first sea-island tourism route of Ca Mau Province, contributing to the tourism development of Ca Mau Province. However, the route was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

50% Vietnamese travelers are willing to travel in May and June

The newly launched “insight snapshot” by Outbox Consulting show that 50% of local travelers are intending to travel in May and June, among them, 40% are more interested in sightseeing and cuisine.

Summer is considered as one of the most important travel seasons of Vietnam tourism. In the current context when the country is making effort to contain Covid-19 pandemic while boosting economic growth, the success of this peak tourist season will be decisive for the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry.

The insight snapshots entitled “Vietnamese Travel Behaviors – Summer 2021”  conducted by Outbox Consulting shows that half of those surveyed are willing to travel this summer, especially in the coming May and June. Over 30% all travelers start looking for travel information three to four weeks before their trip and social media is the main source of information for their trips.

Covid-19 has changed the behavior of tourists almost completely.  According to the survey, price is the most important factor affecting decision-making at a destination, accounting for 30% of all mentions.

Travelers of Gen X (aged 41 to 56) and Gen Z (aged 18 to 24) consider price as the most important factor when choosing a travel agent. Meanwhile, Millennials (aged 25 to 40) tend to be more generous when traveling as they take more into account the travel agent’s reputation, customer service and feedback from friends/relatives about tour quality.

In addition, service quality and safety account for over 30% of all mentioned factors determining travelers’ satisfaction at a destination. Also, the research showed that 42% independent travelers book accommodation first before any other services.

Contrary to the fussy tour selection trend of Gen Z and Millennials, travelers of older generation seem to be more reckless in choosing a tour. They don’t need up to a month to plan where to travel. While the younger generation of tourists, aged between 18 and 40, tend to be pickier about their destination as they  usually take about one to two months to decide where to travel.

“Du Lich Viet, Vietravel & Saigontourist are three most popular travel agents  trusted by package-tour travelers,” the Outboxs’ insight snapshot showed.

Unlike conventional long-format analysis reports, the “insight snapshot” displays important information prominently to help readers easily get an overview of research results and focus on data. It is considered an initiative of Outbox Consulting to help both individuals & businesses in the tourism industry understand Vietnamese in terms of who they are, their travel preferences, travel motivations, and their behaviors during the planning and booking for a trip in summer 2021.

USAID-supported forest service project generates US$120M for Vietnam annually

The eight-year project increases transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in payment for forest environmental services.

A forest service project, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2012-2021, enables Vietnam to generate roughly US$120 million per year.

The USAID Vietnam Forests and Deltas project on climate change program that costs US$31.4 million and implemented by Winrock International helps Vietnam’s transition to climate resilient and low-emission sustainable development, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi.

The news was released on April 22 to mark the completion of the project and launch the new USAID Sustainable Forest Management project and USAID Biodiversity Conservation project with the attendance of Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Ha Cong Tuan and USAID Acting Mission Director Bradley Bessire.

The project supported MARD to successfully implement the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) system at the national scale.

The project supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to successfully implement the Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) system at the national scale.

The annual earnings of approximately US$120 million help finance the management of roughly six million hectares of Vietnam’s forests.

The PFES system contributes to increasing incomes and living standards for hundreds of thousands of people living in the mountainous areas who receive payments to protect forests.

The project also helps MARD expand the PFES system to increase its transparency, efficiency and effectiveness through application of electronic payments in disbursing funds and enhancement of monitoring and evaluation.

In addition, the project trained about 350,000 people on climate change adaptation, forest management and livelihoods development and helped over 200,000 people implement climate change risk reduction practices in the Mekong and Red River Deltas.

Over more than eight years of implementation at the national level and in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Lam Dong and Long An, the project achieved significant results, receiving wide recognition from the government of Vietnam, local communities, and other related stakeholders.

Airlines urged to tighten COVID-19 preventive measures

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) have issued a telegram urging both airports and airlines to strengthen their supervision over passengers wearing face masks in terminal areas, especially during Reunification Day on April 30 and May Day on May 1, along with the upcoming summer season.

This move comes following several passengers flouting rules regarding the wearing of face masks in quarantine areas at airports, despite regulations being put in place, thereby increasing the risk of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic spreading via aviation hubs.

The CAAV has therefore requested that all airports and airlines remind passengers in the terminal area to strictly abide by regulations regarding wearing face masks as a means of preventing the potential spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airlines have been urged to refuse to transport passengers who fail to fill in medical declaration forms and those who disregard epidemic prevention rules, while strictly punishing individuals who violate these rules.

At present, local airlines have entered the peak season in terms of meeting the growing travel demands of passengers during the upcoming holidays with the number of travelers anticipated to see a 40% increase compared to the same period from last year.

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

The figures were released at an Earth Day event held in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong’s Da Lat city on April 22 to mark the completion of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Vietnam Forests and Deltas project.

The US$31.4 million climate change programme was implemented by Winrock International from 2012-2021 to support Vietnam’s transition to climate resilient, low-emission sustainable development.

Over its more than eight years of implementation at the national level and in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Lam Dong and Long An, the project supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to successfully implement the PFES system at the national scale. The PFES has contributed to increasing incomes and living standards for hundreds of thousands of people living in the mountainous areas who receive payments to help protect forests.

In addition, the project trained approximately 350,000 people on climate change adaptation, forest management and livelihoods development and helped over 200,000 people implement climate change risk reduction practices in the Mekong and Red River Deltas.

At the event, USAID Acting Mission Director Bradley Bessire said the Vietnam Forests and Deltas project is the first climate change collaboration programme between USAID and the Vietnamese Government, aiming to strengthen forest management and build resilience for vulnerable communities in the Red River and Mekong Deltas.

On the occasion, USAID also announced two new projects – the Sustainable Forest Management project (2020-2025), which seeks to avoid carbon emissions from natural forest conversion and increase carbon sequestration through the improved plantation management; and the Biodiversity Conservation project (2020-2025) that aims to maintain and increase forest quality, and protect and stabilise wildlife populations in national parks and natural reserves. These projects will work in 12 provinces across Vietnam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to continue imposing anti-dumping duties on certain aluminium products originating from China with a tax rate from 4.39 per cent to 35.58 per cent after carrying out the first review.

On September 28 last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a decision to impose anti-dumping duties on some aluminium products originating from China with a rate from 2.49 per cent to 35.58 per cent.

The ministry initiated the investigation into the anti-dumping case in January 2019. The investigation found injuries to the domestic aluminium industry. Specifically, most domestic producers suffered losses, many production lines had to stop operating and a large number of workers lost jobs.

The major cause was found to be the dumping of aluminium products originating from China at margins of 2.49 per cent to 35.58 per cent.

In mid-2020, the ministry received an inquiry to conduct the first review on anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminium products.

After the review, the ministry issued a decision on April 20 this year which took effect five days later to continue levying anti-dumping duty on some aluminium products originating from China.

On the same day, the ministry also issued a decision after carrying out the first review about the imposition of anti-dumping duty on some painted flat-rolled alloy and non-alloy steel products originating from China and the Republic of Korea. Accordingly, the anti-dumping duties of 2.56 per cent to 34.27 per cent were imposed.

April industrial production expands 24.1 per cent

Viet Nam’s index of industrial production (IIP) in April rose by 24.1 per cent year-on-year, driven by the positive impact of free trade agreements (FTA), according to the General Statistics Office.

The IIP in the first four months of 2021 enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent, boosted by the growth of manufacturing and processing (12.7 per cent), electricity production and supply (6.6 per cent), and water supply and waste and wastewater treatment (7.5 per cent).

Key industries that recorded high increases include metal production (37.9 per cent), motorised vehicle production (32.9 per cent), and furniture production (17.6 per cent).

On the contrary, the mining sector posted a decrease of 5.7 per cent against the same period last year.

The number of labourers working in industries as of April 1 rose by 1.5 per cent month-on-month, and 1.8 per cent year-on-year.

To address inventory and promote production in the future, the Ministry of Planning and Investment proposes localities continue reforming administrative procedures, simplifying specialised inspection procedures, and implement the Prime Minister’s Decision approving the Action Plan on improving competitiveness and developing logistics services.

Sectors are advised to focus on supporting the development of the domestic markets, studying consumption stimulus policies for locally-made products, and developing supporting industries.

Vietnam could lead SE in renewable energy development: German newspaper

Vietnam will soon lead Southeast Asia in renewable energy development, Germany’s Energiezukunft highlighted in its latest article, describing the country’s energy transition as very impressive.

Vietnam is experiencing a solar boom, with 11.6 GW of power of this kind added to the national grid last year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Only 105 MW of solar electricity was installed in the country in 2018, and the figure rose to 5 GW in only a year later, and even to 16.5GW in 2020, the article said, adding this is a considerable increase as compared to other nations at the same time.

As demand for energy in this Southeast Asian country is forecast to shoot up dramatically in the coming time, big players in the field have invested heavily in solar energy plants. Last summer, a 45 MW plant was put into operation in the central province of Ninh Thuan by Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation, contributing some 76 MWh per year. The firm is carrying out another five 245 MW plants in the country.

The successful solar energy story in Vietnam was sparked by a special market mechanism, which drew much interest from investors. Under the purchasing power at fixed prices, investors would sell the renewable energy they create to the grid at a fixed price – one that would more than cover the cost of investing in renewable energy facilities.

Vietnam could carry out more bidding mechanisms for solar projects, in which all renewable energy projects which are not subject to the fixed price mechanism are able to join.

The Vietnamese Government is planning to double the power capacity in the next 10 years. Accordingly, 29 percent of the nation’s electricity will come from renewable energy source by 2030, and 18 percent from hydropower.

Capacity of renewable energy is envisioned at 45 GW, much higher than the previous plan of 27 GW – the level which is achievable within 2021 or next year as the latest.

Although the energy transition is taking place rapidly, coal-generated electricity accounted for 28 percent of the nation’s total power. However, renewable energy will take the lion’s share by 2045./.

Ca Mau develops high-quality rice farming

The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau will step up the application of advanced technology to expand high-quality rice material farming, according to Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Thanh Trieu.

Under the province’s planning, local farmers will cultivate rice on an area of some 110,000 ha, with an average yield of 4.7 tonnes per ha by 2025. Ca Mau will strive for a rice output of 520,000 tonnes by 2025, which is expected to then remain stable until 2030.

Trieu said the focus will be sharpened to develop organic rice materials that meet both domestic and international standards as well as promote the value chain of the food.

In the meantime, the shrimp – rice rotary cultivation model will be developed with a view to increasing the amount of certified organic shrimp, he added.

Farmers are encouraged to shift to growing high-quality rice varieties that are resilient against disease.

Figures from the department show that the local rice growing area increased to 117,390 ha in 2020 from 112,534 in 2017. The yield surged by an average of 0.64 tonnes per ha to 4.54 tonnes in 2020.

The department turned 50,000 ha of ineffective fields into cultivating high-yield rice that is resilient to climate change. In particular, it has successfully planted the grain under international organic standards./.

Bac Giang moving towards digital transformation

The northern province of Bac Giang is striving to develop information technology infrastructure for digital transformation and also the development of smart urban areas.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Son, Bac Giang targets its digital infrastructure being able to provide an average of 14 GB of data each month per broadband subscriber by 2025, with the figure to increase to 27 GB by 2030.

It also envisages that each 100 local people will be connected to 75-100 IoT devices by 2025 and 150-200 by 2030. Consideration is also being given to the construction of an information technology industrial park.

Son said that priority will be given to building and upgrading local fibre optic lines to serve the development of broadband services and smart urban areas.

The province is striving to expand its broadband infrastructure to all villages while having more than 80 percent of households connected to cable internet by 2025.

Half of the local population are to have e-payment accounts within the next four years and all residential areas will have 5G coverage.

By 2025, the locality will prioritise digitalisation in key sectors such as education, health care, transportation, agriculture, and the environment, and develop the provincial capital Bac Giang city into a smart and modern urban area.

According to Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Duong Van Thai, as digitalisation is an inexorable trend, the local Party Committee is working to issue a resolution on digital transformation right this month, having asked local authorities at all levels to join in the process.

Bac Giang province is home to 1,422 base transceiver stations (BTS), with 3G and 4G services covering the entire province. There are more than 1.77 million mobile phone subscriptions and over 1.25 million internet subscribers.

Total telecommunications revenue in 2020 topped 1.9 trillion VND (82.17 million USD). There are 658 IT and telecommunications enterprises in the province who earned over 153 trillion VND in revenue last year./.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau expanding IPs to welcome investment

New waves of investment coming to the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau will push up demand for land rentals at local industrial parks (IPs), which in turn will need to be expanded.

According to the provincial IPs management board, the province is home to 16 IPs covering a total area of 9,054 ha.

Together they house 469 valid projects worth more than 20.09 billion USD, with occupancy rates standing at 52.35 percent.

Nguyen Anh Triet, head of the board, noted that the upcoming expansion of local IPs is in line with a Government decree as well as State regulations on the management and planning of IPs and economic zones.

The board proposed the addition of eight more IPs on more than 8,120 ha in the 2021-2025 period.

In response, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tho asked relevant departments and sectors to tightly monitor the establishment and expansion of local IPs, taking into consideration their investment effectiveness and impact on the environment and social welfare.

Nguyen Khac Thanh, General Director of Tin Nghia – Phuong Dong Industrial Park Joint Stock Company, said an immediate expansion is necessary to meet investors’ demand./.

Kien Giang province eyes 12.7 percent export growth in Q2

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is aiming at 218 million USD in export revenue in Quarter 2, a year-on-year surge of 12.7 percent.

With this figure, total earnings from exports in the first half will likely top more than 355 million USD, accounting for 47.3 percent of the annual plan and up 2.3 percent year-on-year.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the locality pocketed more than 136 million USD from exports in Quarter 1, down 15.5 percent year-on-year.

Of the total, rice brought home 42 million USD, seafood over 45 million USD, leather shoes 27 million USD, fruit and vegetables 5.66 million USD, and other products 15.17 million USD.

COVID-19 made it difficult for local firms to ship products to traditional markets, and processors also faced a shortage of raw materials due to climate change and diseases, the department said.

However, with sound business strategies, many companies were successful in fulfilling contracts and were able to ship products to markets on the road to recovery.

Local companies also received legal documents on the application of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of WTO member states, which could affect the shipment of Vietnamese agricultural products.

The department also provided support and worked to remove bottlenecks in capital, materials, workers, trade promotion, and market development for local producers./.

HCM City lures $1.14 billion in FDI in four months

HCM City reported a foreign direct investment (FDI) influx of USD1.14 billion in the first four months of 2021, a year-on-year decline of 12.92 per cent.

Approximately $360 million was channelled into 100 new projects, primarily in commerce ($225.1 million ) and real estate ($125.8 million).

Meanwhile, $403 million was added to 30 existing projects and another $377.6 million was used for capital contribution and share purchases in a total 547 transactions.

Foreign investors pumped most of the capital in processing and manufacturing with $322 million, making up 28.2 per cent, followed by commerce with $321.2 million, real estate ($196.3 million), science and technology activities ($175.4 million), and education-training ($30.3 million).

Among 55 countries and territories investing in the city during the period, Japan took the lead with $494.4 million, Singapore second with $281.6 million, and the Republic of Korea was third with $97.7 million.

Hua Quoc Hung, head of the management board of industrial and export processing zones of HCM City, said the southern hub’s processing and industrial zones had lured $237 million as of late April, an increase of 26 per cent against the same period last year.

The municipal People’s Committee has devised a plan to meet with FDI businesses in a bid to improve investment climate and support the firms, as well as introduce major projects and the city’s investment plans for the next five years.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group acquires 49% stake in FE Credit

VPBank on Wednesday signed an agreement to sell a 49 per cent stake in FE Credit to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) in a transaction that values the non-bank lender at US$2.8 billion.

SMBC Consumer Finance Company (SMBCCF), a subsidiary of SMFG, bought the stake.

Through this transaction, FE Credit is expected to receive support in capital resources, management capacity and experience in the consumer finance sector in Asia from SMBC Group, especially SMBCCF – a leading consumer finance company in the Japanese market. At the same time, this transaction will add a large amount of capital to VPBank, contributing to enhancing the bank’s financial potential to capture new investment opportunities in the market.

For SMBC Group, the investment in FE Credit is part of the group’s mid-term strategy to expand its business base in Asia. SMBC Group expected that this investment would create synergy in both sharing and acquiring business know-how of its partners.

FE Credit is currently the leading consumer finance company in Viet Nam with approximately 50 per cent market share, 20,000 service referrals nationwide, and over 13,000 employees. During the development process, FE Credit has consistently carried out the mission of “meeting the need to access official credit capital of all classes of the population in order to improve the quality of life”. With small loans, FE Credit is especially focused on serving middle and low income earners – a segment which has not yet been served by banks – to help reverse their dependence on “black credit”. FE Credit has served nearly 11 million Vietnamese people through its unsecured loan products and services so far.

SMBC is one of the three largest financial and banking groups in Japan, with total assets of over $2.1 trillion as of December 31, 2020. The group operates globally in retail banking, corporate banking, and investment banking, with a presence in more than 40 countries. SMBCCF is the leading consumer finance company in the Japanese market with more than 900 branches nationwide. In the Asia region, SMBCCF has established subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and China.

M&A expected to soar in second half

Despite a drop in mergers and acquisitions during the pandemic, a breakthrough is expected in the second half of the year thanks to some billion-dollar deals in the making.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) in the first four months showed significant decreases in capital contributions and share purchases, with 1,151 instances (down 64.1 per cent) and a total investment of $1 billion (down 57.8 billion).

This can be explained by the fact that the economy and investment activities in the country were not yet impacted by COVID-19 in the first few months of 2020, so FDI and M&A activities were still quite dynamic during that time. Specifically, $827.3 million was poured into the economy through capital contribution and share purchases in the first two months of 2020, and the figure surged quickly to $2 billion in the first quarter and $2.48 billion in the first four months.

However, after one year hit by the pandemic, the FDI mobilisation and M&A deals’ value in the first four months of 2021 has reflected the worry of foreign investors.

“Amid the economic and financial instabilities during the past year, it is understandable that investors are holding their money and think a lot more before making any large investment decisions,” Nguyen Viet Cuong, an FIA senior expert, explained, but saying that FDI mobilisation in the first four months of 2021 was acceptable, compared to other countries.

“While there was a decline in the number of deals and M&A deal value in the first four months, the value of capital contributions and share purchases has soared by 10-30 per cent on-year,” added Cuong.

The average value of capital contributions and share purchases in the first quarter and four months of this year was estimated at $1,1 million and $870,000, respectively, while they were $793,000 and $772,000 last year.

According to the FIA, between January and April, industries like processing and manufacturing; real estate; wholesale, retail, vehicle repair; science and technology and professional activities have seen hundreds of M&A deals with hundreds of millions of dollars in value.

Singapore and South Korea were the biggest M&A investors with $265 million and $258 million these months, followed by Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan.

PDP8 expected to be tabled for government approval in June

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been asked to revise and adjust the Power Development Plan 8 to submit to the government in June.

At the meeting between ministries and relevant authorities, which was hosted by Le Van Thanh, Deputy Prime Minister cum head of the National Steering Committee for Power Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) was asked to review the draft Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8).

This masterplan was not approved in late March under the 2016-2020 government term as expected, though the MoIT on behalf of the Appraisal Council presented the report on the assessment of the draft PDP8 for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045. Accordingly, the Appraisal Council reached a conclusion that the draft PDP8 met the conditions to be submitted to the government for approval.

Previously, on March 18, the Appraisal Council organised the second meeting to vote to approve the appraisal report and the content of the masterplan. Four members agreed with the appraisal report and the master plan in full, while 22 others said they would approve the report and the masterplan if the latter was adjusted.

The report on assessment also mentioned that although the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment approved the environmental impact report of the master plan, however, it is still necessary to adjust other contents of the master plan.

EVN, PetroVietnam and National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) have also expressed concerns about the content of the draft PDP8. Notably, the masterplan does not evaluate primary energy (energy sources found in nature that have not been subjected to any human engineered conversion process) or the proportion of local and imported primary energy in order to ensure national energy security as well as problems relating to imported materials namely liquefied natural gas (LNG) and imported coal, among others.

In addition, according to the above groups, the designed power transmission system has a large capacity to accommodate the registered renewable energy generation capacity and future potential. However, there will be problems if renewable energy and power transmission projects are not implemented synchronously, which will cause waste for both the investors and the state. Thus, EVN, PetroVietnam, and EVNNPT requested further adjustments to the draft to better suit current realities

Furthermore, numerous power grid projects were named without deciding on an actual location, which may impact the land clearance process and prolong the time for land clearance compared to the timelines stipulated in the draft PDP8.

Ninh Binh proposes to build airport and remove thermal power plant

Ninh Binh People’s Committee has proposed building an airport to support tourism development and simultaneously removing a thermal power plant.

In a report submitted to the prime minister, the province requested adding its own airport to the national airport planning in 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050.

According to the proposal, the airport would be constructed in 2021-2025 from private capital, with state investment only needed to construct infrastructure connecting to the airport.

The province has highlighted two potential locations for the project, in Kim Son and Yen Khanh districts.

The airport in Ninh Binh would be able to handle planes the size of A320 and A321 models to welcome tourists. According to the province, Ninh Binh has great potential to develop its tourism sector with a diverse landscape including Trang An Landscape Complex and Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, among others.

The province forecast that by 2025, it would welcome 8-9 million passengers, including 2.5 million foreigners.

The province has submitted a similar proposal early this year to the Ministry of Transport.

According to the draft master plan on the development of the national airport network to 2030 with a vision to 2050, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has proposed to have 26 airports by 2030, 14 of which will be international airports. The number could reach 30 by 2050.

At present, Vietnam has 22 airports in operation, nine of which are international and 13 domestic. Seven airports are located in the north, while seven others are in the central region. The remaining eight ones are located in the south.

Along with the airport, the province is seeking the prime minister’s approval to stop the operation of the 100MW Ninh Binh Thermal Power Plant and remove the 220kV substation from the province. The thermal power plant has been operating since 1974.

Singaporean startup pours $15 million into Vietnam’s cashback market

E-commerce cashback platform ShopBack has injected around $15 million into Vietnam with a view to creating a new shopping habit for local shoppers.

Truc Nguyen, country manager of ShopBack Vietnam said that the startup unveiled its beta launch in Vietnam in late 2019 and made an official debut last August. It has continuosly improved the app and invested $15 million in the local market. To date, VND22 billion($956,520) in cashback has been given out to ShopBack users in Vietnam.

“Depending on the market conditions, user demand, and readiness of our technical and product partners, we will expand our offerings and raise more investment to make cashback a new shopping habit in Vietnam,” she said.

ShopBack is backed by e-commerce group Rakuten Group Inc., one of the better-known companies that dole out cash-back rewards for online purchases. Other investors into the startup are EV Growth, Temasek Holdings, and Credit Saison, among others. ShopBack has raised a total funding of $134 million since 2014.

The increasing number of internet users, rising internet penetration, and steady increase of the e-commerce share of total retail sales in Vietnam makes it a core and high-potential market for ShopBack. Vietnam presents a tremendous opportunity for the startup to grow and succeed in the digital space, with large marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, and Sendo – all of whom are its merchant partners – experiencing record-breaking growth in the past years.

The country manager said that it will focus on increasing the number of partners and clients in the next 2-3 years. With the current growth trajectory, ShopBack is likely to reach 2 million users in Vietnam.

In line of booming e-commerce demand, Vietnam has welcomed more online cashback platforms such as Finhay, Cashbag, Catback, and ShopBack. However, there are aslo some fraud cashback scams that customers need to be aware like consumer rewards app MyAladdinz. There is a key difference between legitimate players from fraudulent ones, which are operated like multi-level platforms. They require shoppers to submit money to the apps to receive rewards, after a short time they will shut down and steal all users’ money.

Proactively welcoming the fourth FDI wave

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the global economic structure, breaking production and circulation chains, promoting new technology development and “rectifying” investment flows. In that context, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam also needs to be adjusted to suit the new situation.

Entering its 33rd year of implementing the open-door policy to attract foreign capital, up to now, FDI inflows have become one of the important drivers of Vietnam’s economic growth with a significant increase in theircontribution to GDP.

By the end of 2020, the whole country has 33,070 valid FDI projects with total registered capital of over US$384 billion, the implemented capital having reached US$231.86 billion, equalling more than 60% of the total registered. FDI is present in all 63 localities in the country and is invested in 19 out of 21 industries in the national economic sub-sector. The FDI sector accounts for a large proportion of total industrial production value and the total export value of Vietnam, and revenues to the State budget have steadily increased over the years.

However, along with the positive contributions, the limitations of foreign capital flows have also been clearly revealed. Of which, the biggest limitation is the low level of connection and spread of the FDI sector to the domestic investment sector; the attraction and transfer of technology from the FDI sector to the domestic investment sector not meeting expectations, and limitations in attracting FDI in a number of priority industries and sectors and from multinational corporations. In addition, there has been a phenomenon ofsome enterprises not strictly following the law on investment or regulations on environmental protection.

According to some economic experts, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for Vietnam to actively attract new generation FDI in a more selective manner, with quality, efficiency, technology and environmental protection as the main evaluation criteria. In order to catch up with the flow of the fourth wave of FDI taking place globally, Vietnam needs to be more adaptive, proactive and creative.

At the macro level, the Government will focus on solving a number of major issues. These are to maintain the stability of the macroeconomic, socio-political environment, a competitive advantage of Vietnam in attracting FDI; focus on improving the quality of institutions, policies and laws in order to implement the policy of foreign investment cooperation with priority and selection associated with the goal of improving competitiveness, building an independent economy and prioritising investment in infrastructural development.

At local level, it is necessary to organise and support effectively and promptly investors to build projects with the fastest speeds, the shortest times and the highest levelsof effectiveness through the reform of business and administrative procedures, especially procedures for land and land clearance, and so on.

Enhancing tourism development in the new normal state

The complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic has left both types of international tourism, inbound and outbound, almost paralysed; therefore, domestic tourism has been identified as the salvation to gradually restore the country’s smoke-free industry.

The importance of domestic tourism

According to travel experts, the COVID-19 epidemic has caused the tourism sector to be full of hardships but also offered an opportunity for the sector to look back and learn lessons from the crisis. One of the most important lessons is to re-realise the importance of domestic tourism in order to balance development policies among different types. Vu The Binh, Standing Vice Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association said that previously, domestic tourism was not considered a key branch, so did not received proper attention. The demand, preferences, trends, favourite products of Vietnamese tourists or tourism services serving Vietnamese people have not been clearly shaped. The relevant agencies should develop a strong domestic travel market even after the pandemic is controlled completely.

The statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism showed that the number of domestic tourists was only 30 million in 2011 but increased to 85 million (nearly tripling) in 2019, equal to an average growth rate of about 15% per year. Trip time as well as spending of domestic tourists is increasing by an average of 3.7 days and VND1-1.6 million. In 2015, the domestic tourists only contributed VND158 trillion to the total revenue of the sector and VND334 trillion in 2019, with an average increase of about 20.5% per year. This showed that during 2011-2019, before the pandemic appeared, domestic travel saw positive growth. Currently, Vietnam is controlling the epidemic quite well and a series of companies and travel service providers are offering promotions to stimulate demand, so the purchase of domestic tours and products has increased sharply. Airlines must continuously increase supply capacity and open more domestic routes. Many accommodation establishments in “favourite” tourist destinations have to announce “out of rooms” during the upcoming holidays. These are proof that domestic tourism is a potential market. If effective exploitation policies are implemented, this market will ensure the sustainable development of the whole sector.

In response to urgent requirements about the need to have a specific strategy to promote domestic tourism, towards increasing the resistance of Vietnamese tourism, Vietnam Tourism Association, in collaboration with the Ninh Binh Provincial Department of Tourism and Tourism Association, held the 2021 National Domestic Tourism Forum themed “Domestic tourism – The driving force to restore Vietnam tourism in the new normal state”. The event featured the participation of leaders from travel management agencies and nearly 500 enterprises around the country. At the forum, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung affirmed that in recent years, Vietnamese tourism sector has taken the number of visitors and revenue from the international market as a measure of the tourism development’s effectiveness. This is about to change. The tourism sector needs to go firmly on both international and domestic feet.

Linking and diversifying products

According to the tourism sector’s leader, four groups of measures should be implemented to develop domestic tourism. Firstly, travel businesses should soon restructure themselves and recalculate important and key aspects of domestic travel business. Secondly, it is essential to re-study the domestic tourism market. Thirdly, the linkages should be strengthened on the basis of developing unique tourism products and contributing to spreading their values. Lastly, relevant agencies should focus on gradually forming culture in destinations.

It is a fact that with international travel businesses having also shifted their attention to domestic tourism, the competition in this “territory” has become even more fierce. That situation requires tourism service providers to enhance their linkages and coordination to share benefits while finding ways to self-position their travel brands through the development of diversified but unique tourism products. According to Director of the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Quy Phuong, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the needs and tastes of tourists regarding safety, experiences of nature and the ecosystem, small groups, short time, and technology applications. Therefore, the localities and enterprises should proactively innovate, create and develop new products in line with the customers’ demand.

In recent times, several units have built new tourism products that have attracted a large number of visitors such as tours to the Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh hot springs, Ha Long Bay by seaplane, Hoa Lo Prison at night, and air balloon experiences in Hanoi’s Ba Vi District. The introduction of these new products has contributed to creating an exciting atmosphere for the domestic tourism market, bringing more options to travellers. To promote domestic tourism in Vietnam, tourism development orientations must ensure security, safety and principles of respect for the environment, harmony with nature, respect for local culture and identity, proactive adaptation to the epidemic and sustainable development.

In addition, the experts noted that the Government, ministries and agencies should make policies and solutions to remove difficulties for the enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, in facing COVID-19 outbreaks. The direct assistance includes financial support, tax exemptions and concessional loans. The indirect supports are human resources training, the promotion of common destinations. The joint efforts from all tourism service providers, management agencies and relevant ministries will create a positive ecosystem for boosting domestic tourism development, thus ensuring the operation and growth of the tourism sector in the new normal state.

Hanoi works to ‘refresh’ tourism image to lure visitors

As one of the country’s tourism markets, Hanoi is rolling every effort to ‘refresh’ the image of tourism to lure domestic visitors, with a focus on creating new experiences and strengthening connection with other localities to develop more attractive tourist products.

A night tour at the Hoa Lo Prison historical site was launched to provide visitors with a unique experience with a combination of sounds and lights which change as they walk through different rooms inside the prison-turned-museum.

Visitors will be filled with a range of special emotions, from sympathy for prisoners in the gruesome conditions of a colonialist prison to respect for their resolute resilience and fighting spirit for national independence.

According to head of the site’s management board Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Hoa Lo Prison welcomes hundreds of visitors every year. The site has also chosen as a venue for extracurricular activities of many schools to educate their students about the country’s revolutionary tradition and patriotism.

The management board has coordinated with travel agencies to launch two night programmes at the site, which have received much appreciation from visitors.

In addition to the night tour at Hoa Lo Prison, many other new tourist products have also been launched to welcome back visitors to the capital city, including tours to explore Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Indochinese styled buildings in Hanoi, and places of interest along Red River such as Chem and Soc temples, Bo De Pagoda, Bat Trang pottery village, and Me Linh flower village.

Of which, the tour to Indochinese-styled buildings, which is designed by travel company Hanoitourist, helps visitors to gain a closer insight into typical buildings constructed in Hanoi in early 20th century, namely the Sofitel Metropole Legend, the Hanoi Opera House, the National Historical Museum, and the Government Guest House.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi Tourism Department in coordination with tourism departments of Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Sa La, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City recently debuted the ‘Hanoi+’ tours, which connects Hanoi with tourist attractions in the neighbouring localities.

In order to provide travellers with high-quality tourist products at affordable prices, Hanoi’s tourism sector has actively worked with, airlines, railway sector, travel associations, hotels, restaurants and management boards of tourist attractions in implementing programmes on restructuring the hospitality sector and stimulating domestic travel demand.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said that after more than a year facing numerous many difficulties caused by COVID-19 pandemic, travel businesses want to grasp opportunities for recovery.

Therefore, the department receives enthusiastic cooperation from those operating in the tourism sector, she stated, adding that airlines have launched generous discounts for passengers, particularly for travel agents who buy tickets in bulk.

The active participation from the businesses has contributed to the building of tourism products at attractive prices while ensuring quality.

The recent Hanoi Tourism and Cuisine Festival 2021 brought together travel agents and transport businesses from 12 localities which have strong advantages of tourism, including Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh, and Ha Giang, among others. Around 1,000 tour packages were on sale at the event with prices seeing discounts of up to 25%.

However, after a year of falling in “hibernation” and facing great losses due to COVID-19, thousands of travel businesses and accommodation establishments have remained closed. Many of them have hesitated to “restart” because of worries that the risks may return.

Since then, as stated by Director of Flamingo Redtours Company Nguyen Cong Hoan, travel businesses are seeking for the State’s support, particularly in terms of tax and land lease payment extensions so that they are able to return to the market.

Vietnamese tourists pay stronger attention to sustainable tourism

According to a survey by Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel companies, nearly 100% of Vietnamese tourists want to stay in eco-friendly accommodations at least once.

The survey was conducted with 29,349 participants from 30 travel markets found that 81% of global travellers aspire to stay in eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable accommodations at least once. Accordingly, almost 1,005 Vietnamese tourists aged 18 years and over who participated in the survey expressed their desire for these kinds of accommodations. Meanwhile, the figure is 98% in Thailand, 90% in Singapore and 81% in the Republic of Korea.

Previously, an online survey conducted by Booking.com in July 2020, with the participation of 20,934 people from 28 countries and territories around the world, showed that over 53% of global visitors, including 59% from Vietnam, 68% from Thailand and 60% from Chinese Taipei, admitted that they pay more attention to sustainable tourism as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Anthony Lu, Country & Mekong Region Head (China) at Booking.com, its study proved many restrictions enacted globally have inspired 59% of Vietnamese travellers to prioritise sustainable travel in the future. This is a positive sign that travellers will be more considerate before they make decisions about their future travels, while also being aware that any sustainable actions they take will help correct their impact on the environment. No matter how small or simple, Vietnamese visitors are believed to have a great impact on the environment and the tourism sector.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made global residents to re-evaluate their effects on their surroundings, towards sustainable travel in the future after travel restrictions are removed.

In fact, Vietnam is an advantageous country for sustainable tourism development. The country possesses nine world biosphere reserves recognised by UNESCO and over 30 national parks, including six ASEAN heritage parks that maintain their ecosystems, diversity and values of population. Notably, Vietnam owns 400 hot water resources, ranks 27th out of 156 nations with seas in the world with 125 beaches, most of which are beautiful. It is also among the 12 countries with the most beautiful bays (Ha Long and Nha Trang).

Over the years, tourism activities in Vietnam have been held towards sustainable tourism, with many resorts receiving international green certificates such as EarthCheck and Green Growth 2050, including Banyan Tree Lang Co in Hue City, Caravelle Saigon, Angsana Lang Co, Avani Quy Nhon, Anantara Mui Ne Resort and Spa, Harbour View Hai Phong and Anantara Hoi An Resort.

Long An wants companies to invest in Ring Road 3

The Long An government has proposed allowing companies to invest in a section of the Ring Road No. 3 project that will run through the Mekong Delta province aimed at speeding up the construction of the key traffic route, according to the provincial government.

The section will be 6.65 kilometers long, have six lanes and cost VND4.63 trillion. Of the total investment, site clearance will cost VND1.6 trillion, Thanh Nien Online reported.

The provincial government had earlier passed a plan allowing the Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (Becamex IDC Corp.) and Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Co. to study and map out a 1/2,000 master plan for the Becamex-VSIP Service-Industrial and Urban Area project in Ben Luc District. The project is set to cover some 2,300 hectares, with some 4.7 kilometers of the Ring Road No. 3 cutting through.

As such, the investors proposed allowing them to implement the site clearance works for the 4.7-kilometer section and invest in two parallel lines in line with the master plan.

The solution was appropriate, said the Long An government, proposing the Ministry of Transport ask the Government and relevant ministries and departments for opinions so that Long An Province can hold tenders and choose investors to speed up the project.

Due to its limited budget, the province also proposed the Ministry of Transport use the capital from the central budget to develop the remaining 1.95 kilometers of the section of the Ring Road No. 3.

The Ring Road No. 3 project was approved by the prime minister in 2011. The 89.3-kilometer-long Ring Road 3 will pass through Dong Nai, HCMC, Binh Duong and Long An. As planned, the ring road would be completed by 2020, but a mere 16.3 kilometers of the road running through Binh Duong Province has been completed, accounting for 17.9% of the total length.

Number of newly-established firms in Jan-Apr hits new record

In the first four months of 2021, nearly 44,200 new enterprises were established, up 17% over the same period last year and the highest-ever recorded for the period, according to the Business Registration Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The result was positive as the number of newly-established enterprises fell over 13% in the same period last year due to the pandemic, news site VnExpress reported.

The retail, wholesale and auto and motorbike repair sectors saw the highest number of newly-established enterprises at nearly 14,700, followed by the construction sector with 5,700 companies and the processing and manufacturing sector with 5,600 firms.

However, the real estate, healthcare, social welfare, service, education and logistics sectors reported the highest growth in the number of new enterprises.

New firms registered total capital of nearly VND628 trillion, also an all-time high for the period.

According to the Business Registration Department, the increase in newly-established firms highlighted the recovery of the economy and enterprises’ confidence in the country’s economic development prospects in the coming periods.

However, the number of enterprises withdrawing from the market in the first four months of the year also increased to some 51,500, mainly the small ones. Of the total, 28,350 businesses temporarily stopped operations for a certain period and 16,400 others completed procedures for disbandment.

Firms withdrawing from the market were mainly those in the healthcare, education, mining, property and agriculture sectors. More than 91% of enterprises suspending their operations and 89% of dissolved firms had charter capital of less than VND10 billion and operated for less than five years.

According to the Business Registration Department, they were vulnerable to the pandemic. Many enterprises have chosen to suspend operations to review the development of the market, seek new business plans or wait for the Government’s support policies.

HCMC plans to borrow US$100 million from WB for eight programs

The HCMC government has proposed borrowing US$100 million from the World Bank (WB) to provide capital for its eight policy programs as the city’s budget is not enough for its development demand.

The municipal government has asked the standing board of the municipal Party Committee for its opinion on the second development policy operation program (DPO-2). This program includes eight policy sub-programs relating to the standardization of the shared database, announcement of vector-based zoning plans, increase of wastewater drainage and treatment service prices and organization of tenders for State-owned commercial housing assets for production and business purposes, among others.

According to the municipal government, the Government approved over VND42.2 trillion for the city this year, including VND14.8 trillion in official development assistance loans and VND27.4 trillion from the city’s reciprocal capital, Thanh Nien Online newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the capital needed is over VND47.8 trillion. Thus, the city will face a shortage of over VND20.4 trillion.

In April 2020, the Ministry of Finance disbursed loans for the DPO-1 program and VND2.86 trillion was provided for 153 projects.

Vietnam’s outward investment in Jan-Apr soars 7.9 times

Vietnam’s outward investment in the first four months of 2021 reached nearly US$546 million, surging by 7.9 times compared with the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Specifically, 18 projects worth US$142.8 million received investment licenses and nine projects got additional capital of US$403.2 million.

Data of the ministry showed that Vietnamese companies invested in 10 sectors in foreign countries between January and April. The science and technology sector attracted the largest investment with US$279.8 million, accounting for 49.6% of the total.

Retail ranked second with US$147.8 million, accounting for 27.1%, followed by agriculture-forestry-aquaculture and supporting services.

Vietnamese companies invested in 15 countries and territories, with the United States absorbing US$302.3 million of the registered capital (accounting for 55.4%), followed by Cambodia with US$89.1 million (16.3%), France, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.

As of April 20, Vietnam had 1,417 valid outward investment projects worth US$21.8 billion. The biggest investment was poured into mineral exploitation, accounting for 36% of the total, followed by the agriculture-forestry-aquaculture sector with 15.4%.

Laos was the biggest recipient of Vietnamese investment to date, accounting for 23.1% of the registered capital, followed by Cambodia with 13% and Russia with 12.7%.

Vietnam’s outward investment in 2020 was more than US$590 million, increasing 16.1% year-on-year.

It needs objective remarks for rice export decline

There are different remarks over the good harvest and export prices of rice in the Mekong Delta but the strong decline in rice export volume. In all, subjectively, businesses have been paying more attention to improving rice quality to meet the strict standards of many markets; while objectively, the global demand for food reserves has been increasing and the prices of Thai and Indian rice have made record highs in recent years. In this context, Vietnam can “leisurely” wait for positive rice export results in the upcoming months. However, the real scenario is not quite so.

The scenario may not unfold as expected because of the following reasons.

First, it’s not known what the basis for the remark “The high global demand for food reserves has pushed up the world’s rice price”(1) is but two most prestigious agencies for global rice, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have quite different remarks.

According to the latest forecast by the USDA, the global rice reserves early this year were large, at nearly 178 million tons. Though the volume grew insignificantly against the year-earlier period, it increased by more than 14 million tons from the same period in 2019 and was enough to meet the consumption demand over 129-130 days. Obviously, this is a scenario contrary to the period when the global rice reserves were thin, only enough to meet the consumption demand over half the time above (64-68 days in 2006-2009). For the consumption demand for up to 80 days, the time the reserves can meet this demand is equivalent to seven years (2005-2011), which was the period of the global rice price fever.

Further, the USDA also argued that the global rice growing area this year has increased quite strongly, resulting in an increase of 10 million tons of rice, not standing “the same” as in 2020.

In this situation, the global rice imports this year are forecast at only 43.7 million tons, up 1.33 million tons from 2020, while imports in 2020 were 1.65 million tons lower than 2019. As a result, the global rice imports have been on a downward trend against the record imports of 47.2 million tons in 2018.

The statistics and the forecast of FAO, albeit somewhat different, also show a similar trend in general.

Therefore, one cannot refer to certain particular phenomena to assess the global rice supply and demand as mentioned above. This is also the unpersuasive point mentioned in the scandal over rice export quotas in Vietnam early last year.

Second, the price increase by Thai rice exporters is true, but possibly because of force majeure causes, while the information about the increase of Indian rice price “past the records in recent years”(1) needs verification.

India’s rice exports in the first two months of this year increased exponentially, certainly because of the strongest price decline since the end of the global rice price fever.

According to official statistics of India, the country’s rice exports in the first two months reached 3.63 million tons, surging 84.2% year-on-year, but the average price was only US$460 per ton, the lowest since 2008.

Notably, while exports of fragrant rice fell, exports of non Basmati rice surged 162.1%. The average price of Basmati rice in the first two months was US$855 per ton, the lowest since 2017, and white rice US$353 per ton, a record low since 2008.

Meanwhile, the increase in the price of Thai rice since 2020 is due to reasons beyond the imagination of Thai rice traders, in addition to other reasons similar to those of Vietnam. They are the heavy crop losses in early 2020 due to record droughts in decades, floods which have pushed up production costs, the Thai Government’s diverse rice supports to stabilize prices and the appreciation of the baht. The synergy of these factors slumped rice exports and increased rice storage strongly in 2020. The storage is forecast to continue at a very high level this year.

This situation in Thailand, coupled with the strong price rise of Vietnamese rice, may force some customers to turn their back on Vietnamese rice and switch to the abundant supply of Indian rice with soft prices, especially white rice.

Third, the increase in the price of Vietnamese rice due to the improvement of the rice quality or Vietnamese rice exporters’ increased attention to rice quality improvement and traceability to meet strict standards of export markets like the EU, the U.S. and South Korea is certainly something true and worth cheering in terms of quantity, but it may be doubtful in terms of quality.

Statistics of the USDA show that five years ago, the fastidious markets of Europe, America and Australia accounted for 11.3% of the total of 50.8% of Vietnamese white rice exports and only 2% of the total of 44.6% of Vietnamese fragrant and glutinous rice exports (the total rice exports is 100%). However, in 2020, the share of white rice exports to these markets plunged drastically to 6.9% while the share of glutinous and fragrant rice exports increased to only 2.7%.

Nevertheless, this statement is not meant to completely negate the efforts of the rice industry, but on the contrary, it needs recognition for enterprises which have developed rice material areas and sustainable rice value chains to build a brand for rice. Still, with the possibly vast remaining rice area, it’s too optimistic to say that more and more attention is being paid to the rice quality, and so it may not be sound to say that this is the reason for the rice price increase.

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

HÀ NỘI — The southern province of Long An will be admitted as the 130th member of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO), based in South Korea, in October.

The announcement was made at the 35th executive committee meeting of the organisation held in Busan, South Korea, earlier this year.

The participation of Long An in TPO is expected to promote local tourist destinations among international friends and cooperation in tourism among TPO member cities.

TPO was established in 2002 with the blessing of the 5th Asian-Pacific City Summit. The organisation was created to be an inter-city network to promote the exchanges and development of the tourism industry among major cities in the Asia-Pacific region. It also aims to encourage its members to work together to support the tourism industry.

Beginning with the membership of 25 cities from 13 countries in 2002, the organisation now has 130 member cities from 50 countries and 50 tourism institutes working on tourism, supporting the development of local tourism products and sharing tourism information among its members.

Other Vietnamese localities that are also TPO members include Bắc Ninh, Đà Lạt, Đà Nẵng, Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, HCM City and Vũng Tàu.

Long An Province is the gateway from HCM City to the western provinces where the land stretches along the two rivers of Vàm Cỏ Đông and Vàm Cỏ Tây.

The province plays a bridging role between two important economic regions in the south due to its significant strategic position for trade and tourism.

Some of the popular tourist destinations in Long An Province include the ancient house with hundreds of pillars located in Long Hựu Đông Commune, Tân Lập Floating Village, Đồng Tháp Mười eco-tourism area and Láng Sen Wetland Reserve.

Láng Sen Wetland Reserve was recognised as the seventh Ramsar site in Việt Nam and 2,227th of the world in 2015.

Established in 2004, the site, located in the south of Long An, still preserves the original ecosystem of the Đồng Tháp Mười Wetlands in Việt Nam’s Mekong Delta, similar to Tràm Chim National Park in the southern Đồng Tháp Province.

Spreading over 4,800ha, it is home to more than 150 kinds of plants and 140 kinds of birds, many of which are mentioned in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, such as the red-crowned crane, oriental darter and glossy ibis.

According to Long An Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists who visited the province in 2020 was estimated at 800,000, down by 57 per cent in compared with 2019, of which there were only 1,500 international visitors, a 94 per cent decrease.

In an effort to boost local tourism and reach the goal of attracting 920,000 tourists this year, Long An Province authorities have implemented various measures like investing in promotions, training human resources in tourism and improving tourism co-operation with other provinces. VNS