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Mark Ratcliff, sustainability specialist at Except Integrated Sustainability Whether we acknowledge it or not, sustainability is and always has been our most important goal. Collectively, we have gotten away with pushing it aside for too long. We can no longer ignore it, but realizing sustainability beyond a marketing slogan is easier said than done. Many countries are falling behind, and without a systemic shift to a more long-term mindset, Vietnam will also flounder and fail to achieve its bold National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030. Nevertheless, things are not as gloomy as they seem. Except Integrated Sustainability, a Dutch consultancy and design firm, has initiated ViCo, Vietnam’s first sustainability community for innovation. It aims to bolster worldwide partnerships, enhance learning, and help with new joint business models to support the shift to sustainability and attract more funding. Vietnam is perfectly positioned to prosper and, with the support of ViCo, … [Read more...] about Supporting Vietnam’s strive for sustainability

Easing weeks of punishing restrictions in the commercial hub would bring relief to China's battered economy, although there is growing concern that Beijing may yet take a similar course of action if it fails to get a nascent outbreak under control. Shanghai's deputy mayor, Wu Qing, said the city of 25 million aims to eliminate Covid outside of quarantined zones within the next week or so. After that, the city's lockdown will be "lifted in batches", with shops opened and traffic restictions eased, he said in the announcement which confirmed a Reuters story from Sunday. The vast majority of Shanghai's more than 2,000 new cases are in areas already under the tightest controls, while those found in the relatively freer communities are the ones most closely watched for clues as to where Shanghai's outbreak is heading. The number of such cases rose to four on May 12, up from two the previous day. Last week, some of Shanghai's residents were allowed outside their housing compounds … [Read more...] about Shanghai aims to defeat Covid over next week as Beijing hunkers down

The Biden administration's proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) aims to offer a U.S.-led platform for negotiating common regional standards around digital trade and data flows, labor standards, carbon emissions reductions and governance. But to the chagrin of some countries and business groups, it will not reduce tariffs between members or include traditional enhancements to market access. Azmin Ali, Malaysia's minister of international trade and industry told Reuters in an interview that the newly launched Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) gives companies the ability to use Malaysia as a hub to access a market comprising a third of the world's population and a third of global GDP output. "It represents almost 2.3 billion people under RCEP," Azmin said. "So again, we would like to invite these big companies to come to Malaysia and to use Malaysia as a gateway to penetrate a bigger market access and also to enjoy lower tariffs in terms of our export … [Read more...] about Malaysia touts trade access as US Indo-Pacific plan only a ‘good beginning’: trade chief

The lobby of OfficeHaus in Tan Phu District, HCM City. The city's office market recovers after two years being affected by COVID-19 pandemic. — Photo courtesy of OfficeHaus After a two-year slump due to COVID-19, the HCM City office for lease market is showing positive signs with demand increasing in all segments. A CBRE report said there was good recovery in the office market with total net absorption in the first quarter of 17,000 square metres (sq.m), equivalent to 32 per cent in 2021. Relocation accounted for 55 per cent of the transactions, lease renewal for 25 per cent and expansion for 20 per cent, it said. There were transactions for large areas in some high-quality grade B buildings in both the CBD and other hubs such as Thu Thiem new urban area, District 7 and District 10, the company said. Savills said demand for office space was 16,500sq.m compared to just 1,500sq.m in the fourth quarter of 2021. It partly attributed the increase to the city’s post-pandemic … [Read more...] about HCM City office market coming out of slump: property  consultancies

Illustrative image (Photo: Internet) Hanoi (VNA) – The Megabank of Taiwan has applied for permission to open a branch in the northern port city of Hai Phong , according to the Dau Tu (Investment Review) newspaper. It is noteworthy that Megabank is just one among several Taiwanese banks looking to open branches in Vietnam’s northern localities in anticipation of a wave of investment into the Southeast Asian country by technology enterprises. Taiwanese banks were among the first to arrive in Vietnam, along with the wave of Taiwanese investment in the country in the 1990s. At that time, they mostly operated in Ho Chi Minh City to serve thousands of Taiwanese-invested enterprises in southern localities. Taiwan has the largest number of banking branches and rep offices in Vietnam, with the presence of over 10 banks. Taiwanese investors are running 2,764 FDI projects in Vietnam, and most of them use services of Taiwanese banks. Banking experts said Taiwanese banks … [Read more...] about Taiwanese banks look to benefit from investment shift to Vietnam

Ninh Thuan looks forward to sustainable agricultural-rural development . - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Ninh Thuan (VNA) - The south central province of Ninh Thuan has issued a strategy for sustainable agricultural and rural development in the locality in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. Under the plan, Ninh Thuan will strive to triple per capita income by 2030 compared to 2020 and reduce the multidimensional household poverty rate in rural areas by at least 1.5 percent per year, and the ratio of agricultural labourers to total workforce to under 20 percent. The proportion of trained agricultural labourers is set to reach 80 percent by 2030. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Ninh Thuan aims to have at least five districts recognised as new-style rural areas by 2030, with at least two of them meeting all criteria of advanced new-style rural areas The locality will focus on developing green agriculture and adapting to climate change, and … [Read more...] about Ninh Thuan looks forward to sustainable agricultural-rural development