Times of malta 8 february 2021

Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thể at National Assembly meeting on Tuesday. VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI The trans-Việt Nam 2,744-km-long Hồ Chí Minh Expressway Project was planned to open in 2020 but so far only around 86 per cent of the work has been completed, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thể told National Assembly deputies on Tuesday. In particular, the Government has yet to arrange investment for about 171km of the expressway, he said. The Hồ Chí Minh Expressway project approved by the National Assembly in 2004 was once expected to be completed in 2010, with a total length of 3,183km, including its main line of 2,499km and a western branch of 684km long. Passing through 28 provinces and cities from Pác Pó in the northern Cao Bằng Province to Đất Mũi in the southernmost province of Cà Mau, the expressway project was estimated to receive a total investment of VNĐ99,170 billion (US$4.3 billion). However, in 2013, the National Assembly passed Resolution 66/2013/QH13 … [Read more...] about Trans-Việt Nam Hồ Chí Minh Expressway project lags two years behind schedule

This is the fifth time VIB’s application has received an award from The Asset. — Photo courtesy of VIB. HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam International Bank’s MyVIB has been recognised as the best mobile banking application in Vietnam by The Asset magazine at the Asset Triple A Digital Awards 2022. This is the fifth time that VIB’s application has received an award from The Asset and is also the eight consecutive year this application has been granted prestigious awards by major international media companies such as The Banker, The Asset , and Global Finance Review . Head of Digital channels at VIB Phạm Thu Hà, considered 2021 a challenging year for traditional business models due to the impact of the pandemic. But this difficult period was also a test of the effectiveness of digital banking models that banks have implemented. Thanks to VIB’s effective and focused investment in digital banking during a five-year transformation journey, the bank’s … [Read more...] about MyVIB honoured as best mobile banking application in VN

Steel wire coil stored at a steel mill in the northern province of Hung Yen. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Dung Steel prices have been steadily on the decline in the last few weeks as prices for raw materials dropped on the global market, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA). VSA reported prices for iron ore have gone down to US$139 per tonne, a $16 decrease from prices at the beginning of April, and a $71-73 decrease from the record-breaking prices reported in May 2021 at $210-212 per tonne. Meanwhile, prices for steel scrap have also seen a significant drop to $530 per tonne, a $94 decrease from early April. Hot-rolled coil has fallen to $797 per tonne, an $81 decrease. Since the beginning of the year, demand for steel in the domestic market has been high as economic recovery was in full swing. Steelmakers, taking full advantage of robust demand, also raised their prices on the pretext of higher input costs of imported raw materials. However, a sharp fall in demand in … [Read more...] about Steel prices cool down as input costs drop

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong Accumulating from August 15, 2017 to December 31, 2021 all CIs settled VND380,200 billion ($16.4 billion), less than a half of the expected amount. If Resolution No.42 expires, the sum of unsettled bad debts identified by that Resolution (including newly arisen one) will reach VND430,000 billion ($18.5 billion) and VND443,000 billion ($19.1 billion) at the end of 2022 and 2023, respectively. After a large amount of bad debts in 2018 and 2019 had been successfully handled, this speed slowed down considerably, especially that in the form of customer self-payment, due to negative influences of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Government, when Resolution No.42 expires on August 15, 2022, the bad debt settlement mechanism of CIs comes back to observe normal legal regulations, which might lead to unwanted prolonging of bad debt handling among CIs, particularly weak ones. More importantly, since the pandemic as well as … [Read more...] about Extension for Resolution No.42/2017/QH14 on bad debt handling proposed

Customers at a BigC supermarket in Hanoi. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The capital city of Hanoi plans to strengthen promotion programmes to stimulate consumption , thereby supporting businesses and enhancing economic growth. Hanoi is implementing a series of promotional programmes for 2022, focusing on May, July and November at more than 2,000 sales points of businesses. Notably, the businesses have registered more than 10,000 promotion programmes with the Department of Industry and Trade in May, worth nearly 20 trillion VND. In July and November, Hanoi expects to have about 25,000 promotion programmes. "The most important stimulus solution is to ensure the quality of goods and increase incentives for customers, and at the same time, the enterprises must enhance the production of high-quality goods," Tran Thi Phuong Lan, acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade. In addition, many trade promotion activities will be implemented … [Read more...] about Hanoi strengthens consumption stimulus programmes

At the talk, the military commands of the two provinces updated each other on the socio-economic, defense-security situations in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, and reviewed their coordination in military-defense task performance over the past time. In particular, in 2021, the two sides maintained information exchange and promoted dissemination among local people of information about the traditional relationship between the two parties, states, and peoples, as well as regulations and border restrictions signed by the two countries. Additionally, the two military commands coordinated with each other to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing immigration issues, maintaining security, social order and safety in the shared borderline, and combating cross-border crimes. Since 2020, the Thanh Hoa provincial Military Command has presented anti-COVID-19 medical supplies and equipment, worth more than VND 2.5 billion, to the Houaphanh provincial Military Command and … [Read more...] about Vietnamese and Lao military units promote defense cooperation