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Austin was born to American parents in Spain and grew up in Munich in Germany. After completing his MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management in Netherlands, he started in the media industry at MTV Europe in London.

In 2007, he founded an online media company in Germany, which was acquired in 2010 by the U.S.’s Glam Media. Then he co-founded a second start-up with a focus on online video advertising, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2015.

In 2018, he came to Vietnam looking for a start-up opportunity since he believed the country had huge potential and was open to new kinds of businesses.

His start-up in Vietnam was unlike any other he had founded earlier as he focused on a problem that most space-hungry city dwellers face: storage. Thus was born MyStorage, the first full-service self-storage business in the country.

Austin and his compatriot Stephanie Stadler started MyStorage in July 2019 based on his personal observation that mini storage offerings are scarce in Vietnam’s increasingly dense urban areas unlike in other Asian cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

He himself had struggled to find a professional storage solution in HCMC for his belongings when he moved from Germany to Vietnam.

The company quickly gained traction, and Austin was named ‘Best Entrepreneur’ at the 2020 Eurocham Business Awards.

MyStorage’s customers are families storing belongings to save living space, small businesses that have limited office space and online sellers.

It offers warehouse space at prices starting from VND696,000 (US$30) per cubic meter per month and private storage space at VND1 million per month besides pick-up and delivery services. Customers can store their belongings for one to six months.

“We want to change the image of storage,” he says.

The warehouse in District 2, HCMC, is equipped with air conditioners, humidifiers and security cameras.

“Many customers say they wish they had known about MyStorage sooner. Some of them paid for a hotel room for three months just to store their belongings or divided their items into small packages and asked their friends to keep it for them.”

Vietnam is rapidly urbanizing, leading to denser populations in large cities, which drives up the cost of living space and results in increased demand for storage.

In Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, apartment prices surged 27.5 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020 to an average of $2,582 per square meter, according to real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

All kinds of items can be found at MyStorage’s warehouse, ranging from bicycles and Christmas decorations that are only used once a year to TVs, tablets and to expensive cooking ingredients.

Cass Le-Gardner, the Australian owner of Le Truffle restaurant, is among its customers. He says: “The truffle products I import from Australia are small in size but high-value and environmentally sensitive and therefore require secure, climate-controlled storage.

“MyStorage [has] become an essential cornerstone of Le Truffle’s business.” he says.

It took half a year for the first warehouse to be full, and the company opened its second warehouse in Thu Duc District on March 2020, which operates 24/7.

It is considering developing an application that will allow customers to see their items in storage and help return individual items at the push of a button.

“Our biggest challenge is to deliver a brand new concept of storage to the Vietnamese, our target customers,” Austin says.

Initially the start-up had focused on foreigners living in Vietnam since they already knew about the nature of the service.

“We used to think that our main customers would be foreigners, but more and more Vietnamese are using our service,” Austin says.

Asked what happens if customers store illegal goods, he says while the company respects their privacy, we have an agreement that our customers have to take full responsibility for their belongings stored in our warehouse.

MyStorage has experienced a case of items becoming overdue after a customer could not come back to Vietnam from Africa and asked the company to donate them. MyStorage sent the items to a charity.

“In case there are overdue items, we will inform the customer and wait for a response for two weeks. If we do not receive a reply within two weeks, we will unbox the package and donate the items,” Austin explains.

Competition is imminent for MyStorage in the form of new companies. But Austin is sanguine: “If there are many self-storage companies, they will be our competitors, but at the same time they will make the mini-storage concept widespread in Vietnam.So he is focusing on expanding by setting up warehouses in Hanoi and Danang.

“As a pioneer, we must take the lead to develop faster and bigger. The key is to find the right moment to enter the markets.”

MPI proposes a draft decree on procurement bidding under CPTTP

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has summited to the Government a draft decree on amending Decree 95/2020/ND-CP providing guidelines on procurement bidding under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTTP).

According to the MPI, the draft decree will amend and supplement some articles of Decree No 95. It aims to guide State companies to execute bidding packages under the CPTTP agreement and EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

However, per the Government’s Resolution No 190/NQ-CP on the provisional application of the UK-Việt Nam FTA (UKVFTA), Việt Nam agreed to temporarily apply the UKVFTA from January 1, 2021.

The agreement was negotiated based on the principle of inheriting commitments in the EVFTA with necessary adjustments to ensure compliance with the bilateral trade framework between Việt Nam and UK. By doing so, the draft decree will avoid amending Decree 95/2020/NĐ-CP many times.

The MPI has asked the Government to revise Decree No 95 as follows.

The first option aims to implement international treaties on bidding and the second option is to execute the bid for public procurement of goods under the CPTTP, EVFTA and UKVFTA.

To boost competitiveness in bidding, the draft decree has stipulated the implementation of bidding related to consultancy services, non-consultancy services and construction services.

In the draft decree, bidding packages specified in Appendix II of the Decree No 95 show State companies will decide to allow intra-regional contractors or contractors from member countries of CPTTP to attend only.

For bidding packages specified in Appendix III of Decree No 95, State companies can allow intra-regional contractors or contractors from member states of the EU and UK to bid.

Regarding the intra-regional procurement bidding for the supply of goods specified in (Appendix II), State companies will decide to allow intra-regional contractors to offer goods originated from member countries of the CPTTP, the UK and EU to attend or allow member countries of CPTTP to offer goods originated from these countries only.

For supply of goods specified in (Appendix III), State companies will decide to allow intra-regional contractors to offer goods originated from member states of the CPTTP, the EU and UK or only allow contractors from the EU and UK to offer goods originated from these countries.

Enhancing added value for rice industry

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just approved a project on restructuring the Vietnam’s rice industry until 2025 with a vision to 2030.

Accordingly, Vietnam will continue to restructure the rice industry in the direction of improving efficiency and sustainable development towards the objectives of fully meeting domestic consumption demand, being the core in ensuring national food security, and enhancing the efficiency of the rice value chain.

Under the project, Vietnam also expects to adapt to climate change and mitigate the impacts of climate change, make efficient use of natural resources and protect the ecological environment, and increase income for farmers and benefits for consumers, in addition to exporting high quality and high value rice.

The country also plans to keep its rice area at 3.6 to 3.7 million hectares by 2025, with rice production of 40 to 41 million tonnes per year.

The rice industry also aims at exporting 5 million tonnes of rice each year by 2025, including 40% fragrant rice, specialty rice and japonica rice, 20% sticky rice, 20% high quality rice, 15% medium and low-grade rice, and 5% products processed from rice. The percentage of branded rice exports is over 20%.

The country sets the target of exporting 4 million tonnes of rice by 2030, including 45% fragrant rice, specialty rice and japonica rice, 20% sticky rice, 15% high quality rice, 10% medium and low-grade rice, and 10% products processed from rice, with over 40% branded rice exports.

A notable aspect of the project is that the rice export volume has decreased gradually in each period, but the criteria for specialty rice, high quality rice, processed products from rice, and percentage of branded rice exports sees increases year by year.

This shows that the future direction of the rice industry is to reduce the area and output for export towards a focus on improving rice quality and selling prices.

This is the right target which is suitable to the current situation of rice production and export, particularly in the context that Vietnam has signed many free trade agreements (FTAs) with international partners, such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

To make the best use of the advantages from FTAs, the rice industry has to constantly improve product quality to meet the increasingly strict requirements of importing countries.

Rice is a strategic commodity of our country, not only contributing to the economic development but also playing an important role in ensuring national food security. Therefore, promoting the restructuring of this industry is essential to better boost the achieved results while igniting untapped potential.

The solution for the coming time is to develop concentrated rice production areas with identified varieties and the links between production, consumption and export. It is also important to strictly control the production process, obey the limit of pesticide residue, and ensure traceability.

The rice industry also needs to apply advanced technology in terms of post-harvest preservation and processing to reduce losses, ensure uniform quality of rice products, and fully satisfy food hygiene and safety regulations.

Danang focuses on production and export to restore economy

Even as the tourism and services sectors continue to be impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, manufacturing and export are expected to help the central city of Danang restore its economy, with several projects gearing up for acceleration.

Stealing the limelight is the Danang City Software Park No. 2 project (first phase), which will have an investment capital of more than VND1,300 billion after the investor pumps more than VND500 billion into the project.

This information was revealed in a report made by the Danang industrial and civil construction projects management board, the project’s investor, which was unveiled at a function held on February 19 at the project’s construction site in Danang City.

As planned, work on the project commenced on October 10, 2020, and it will be completed by August 31, 2022, inclusive of three main buildings ICT, ICT1 and ICT2.

However, Nguyen Huu Ninh, the board’s director, said part of the project will be accelerated and targeted to be completed at least eight months ahead of schedule, to meet demands from businesses.

Specifically, the Danang City Investment Promotion Agency had asked the project’s investor to consider requests by LG, one of the customers at the park, about putting the ICT1 block into operation soon. After a discussion, the investor agreed to hand over the site to the tenant on December 31, 2021, instead of August 2022.

In addition, a representative of the Danang Hi-tech Park said the supporting industry zone located at the park will be put into operation in June 30 this year, paving the way for potential investors to step in.

In addition to boosting projects in the information technology sector, Danang also expects the operational production projects of domestic and foreign investors to be the driving force to restore the city’s economy as well as to contribute to exports.

Tokyo Keiki Precision Technology Co., Ltd. specializes in manufacturing hydraulic equipment components and products (solenoid valves and pumps) at the Danang Hi-tech Park. It targets to earn 678 million yen (almost US$6.5 million) in the fiscal year of 2021, up 10% against 2020.

According to Tokyo Keiki, after gaining sustainability from some overseas markets, including China, the company plans to make products for the Japanese market in the near future.

In the fiscal year of 2020, the company earned 618 million yen. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the company had a large number of inventories. However, everything began improving since December 2020.

Meanwhile, Thuan Phuoc Fisheries and Trading Joint Stock Company obtained total revenue in 2020 of VND2,315 billion, up 10% against 2020. Nguyen Thi Phi Anh, general director of Thuan Phuoc, said the company is constructing a new frozen seafood processing plant in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang with a capacity of 4,950 tons a year. The plant will be put into operation in the second quarter of 2021.

As production is being restored, the central city expects exports to accelerate.

Reportedly, in 2021, Danang Port JSC will see the throughput (mainly via its Tien Sa seaport) increase by 5% against 2020, while the profit growth will increase at least by 8% compared to 2020.

In 2020, the total volume of goods through ports in Danang reached 11.4 million tons. It earned a profit of VND260 billion.

Danang port regularly welcomes ships from 18 firms around the world.

HCMC: Development of industry, trade attaches with regional economy, innovation

Vice Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Thi Thang chaired the meeting for the approval of the implementation plan for the year 2021 of the Department of Industry and Trade with the attendance of representatives of departments and industries of the city.

Reporting at the meeting, Mr. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of HCMC, said that the industry and trade of the city would strive to meet the basic targets this year.

Specifically, the index of industrial production would increase by 5 percent, with four major industries surging from 6.7 percent upwards compared to last year. Total retail sales and service revenue in the city would exceed VND835.68 trillion, up 10 percent.

Export turnover through border gates across the country would reach US$48.19 billion, up 10 percent. Import turnover would hit $56.47 billion, up 11 percent compared to the estimate of 2020.

The city’s industry and trade would upgrade 100 percent of administrative procedures to level 4, supporting people and enterprises in settling administrative procedures, especially in the process of arranging administrative units at district and commune levels and establishing Thu Duc City under the HCMC.

To achieve the above targets, the department will synchronously carry out solutions to contribute to the general goal of industrial and trade development with a fair growth rate, supporting the recovery of economic growth in the city, at the same time, creating strong changes in economic restructuring towards services – industry – agriculture, in which the service sector’s proportion in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) will be maintained at above 60 percent.

It will also build and take some measures to develop the industry and trade that foresee the development trend, helping the city to maintain its role as an economic locomotive and the pioneer in innovation nationwide.

The development of the industry and trade will attach with the regional economy, the application of science, technology, innovation, and the in-depth development based on three foundations, comprising developing four key industries, supporting industries, and key industrial products and potential industrial products of the city. The department will develop e-commerce and focus on turning some advantageous products of the city into key export products in the coming time.

As for administrative reform, the department will take the enterprise as the center, and the satisfaction of the people, organizations, and enterprises as a measure of its effectiveness; promote the application of information technology in management and administration activities of the department this year, in which it will research and deploy digitization and paperless meetings.

Vice Chairwoman of HCMC People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang highly appreciated the position and role of the city’s industry and trade in deploying and implementing key programs of the city, making an important contribution to the implementation of the “dual goals” of both preventing the Covid-19 pandemic and realizing the city’s socio-economic development goals in 2020.

As for the plan for 2021, Ms. Phan Thi Thang agreed on the targets, operational directions, and groups of solutions of the Department of Industry and Trade.

The year 2021 is the first year to implement the city’s socio-economic development plan in the 2021-2025 period, and important projects approved by the municipal People’s Committee, such as the development project of e-commerce in the city to 2025-2030, logistics development project to 2025-2030, export development project to 2025-2030, programs to support the development of key industrial products and potential industrial products, and continue to restructure the city in the 2021-2025 period.

Therefore, the work program needs to clearly state the contents of the work to implement the goals and tasks in 2021, clearly assign the responsibilities of each position and prove by actual results and completion time. There should be a strong breakthrough in the administrative sector to raise the level of people’s satisfaction in the implementation process.

Regarding the recommendations of the industry and trade, Ms. Thang approved the policy and assigned the industry and trade to implement two concentrated promotions in 2021 so as to create a boost in attracting domestic and foreign tourists to visit and contribute to building HCMC into a major shopping center of the region and the country.

For recommendations related to administrative procedures, the city will prioritize helping enterprises to develop production and business. As for other recommendations, the HCMC People’s Committee will organize working sessions to collect opinions of competent departments and give specific feedback to the department.

The municipal People’s Committee will soon consider and assign personnel to strengthen the leadership apparatus to create conditions for the Department of Industry and Trade to focus on completing the assigned tasks.

RCEP offers opportunity to expand Vietnamese agricultural exports

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest trade pact, offers Vietnamese agricultural exporters an excellent opportunity to increase their participation in global value chains, experts said.

Le Duy Minh, chairman of the Viet Nam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association, said the RCEP provides the country’s farm produce with access to a larger market and opportunity to improve their competitiveness.

The trade deal brings together the 10 ASEAN member countries, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, which account for 29 per cent of the world’s GDP and have a population of 2.2 billion.

The trade pact promises to help increase Viet Nam’s exports since many of the other members have huge demand for its farm produce and processed foods.

Thanks to the harmonisation of rules of origin between the members, Viet Nam’s exports could meet all the requirements to benefit from preferential tariffs in countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Minh said.

These countries also have relatively similar import standards and consumer tastes, not to mention the lower transportation and logistics costs they offer thanks to their proximity.

It also opens new opportunities for trade with China in new categories such as communications, financial services, logistics, and e-commerce.

Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said the trade deal would further increase the country’s agricultural exports to China, already a major market.

The RCEP removes tariffs on at least 64 per cent of tariff lines.

In 15-20 years Viet Nam will abolish 89.6 per cent of tariff lines while its partner countries will remove 92 per cent of its tariffs.

Other ASEAN members will remove 85.9 per cent of all tariffs for Viet Nam.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, the general director of Vina T&T Company, said the RCEP was enabling talks on opening up export markets to more of the country’s agricultural products.

Commitments and trade facilitation measures under the deal are also expected to promote the growth of new supply chains, thus boosting international standard agricultural production in ASEAN.

However, experts also pointed to a host of challenges such as satisfying rules of origin and quality standards and competition from foreign rivals in both the domestic and foreign markets.

Tung said businesses should view free trade deals, including the RCEP, as a chance to improve their product quality, bolster supply chain management and promote competitiveness.

Vietnamese airlines’ on-time performance hits 94.6 percent

Vietnamese airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) from January 19 to February reached 94.6 percent, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Bamboo Airways recorded the highest rate of 96.7 percent, followed by Pacific Airlines (96.5 percent), Vietnam Airlines (96.3 percent), Vietravel Airlines (93.6 percent), Vasco (93.4 percent), and Viejet Air (91.7 percent).

Experts said the figures demonstrate the great efforts by the domestic airlines given the impact of new infections in the northern provinces of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

During the period, the domestic airlines operated 20,944 flights, representing a month-on-month increase of 7.4 percent.

Vietjet Air conducted the highest number of flights among domestic carriers, with 7,881. It was followed by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (6,725), Bamboo Airways (4,008), Jetstar Pacific (1,640), Vasco (518), and Vietravel Air (172).

Despite the impact of COVID-19, the Hanoi-HCM City route remained one of the world’s busiest domestic routes.

It is ranked second globally, with 1.085 million passengers in February, just behind the Jeju-Seoul Gimpo route in the Republic of Korea, according to a report released in February by OAG, a global travel data provider headquartered in the UK.

Ensuring the safety of flights, passengers, airport staff, and crew members remains the top priority of the airlines./.

Long An needs around 1.3 billion USD for transport infrastructure development

The Mekong Delta province of Long An will mobilise some 30 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD) to develop local transport infrastructure during 2021-2025, according to the provincial Department of Transport.

In the next five years, capital will be prioritised for three key transport projects and eight breakthrough projects under the Resolution adopted at the province’s 11th Party Congress. Of the total, over 18 trillion VND will be sourced from the central and local State budget, and nearly 12 trillion VND will be raised from other legal sources.

According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Transport Nguyen Hoai Trung, along with pushing construction of the belt road in Tan An city and DT830 road, the sector is sharpening focus on completing procedures for the building of several important transport projects such as DT 827E road worth 16.5 trillion VND, and DT 830E road worth over 3.3 trillion VND.

Upon completion, the projects are expected to connect local industrial parks and clusters in key economic zones with Long An International Port, Ho Chi Minh City and localities in vicinity, helping facilitate travel and transportation of goods of local people and enterprises./.

Vietnam lures 5.46 billion USD in foreign investment

As much as 5.46 billion USD worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) was injected into Vietnam as of February 20, equivalent to 84.4 percent of the figure recorded in the same time last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As many as 126 foreign projects were granted investment licences with total registered capital of 3.31 billion USD, a year-on-year fall of 33.9 percent.

Meanwhile, 115 existing projects adjusted their investment capital with a total additional sum of 1.61 billion USD, or 2.5 times higher than the same time last year.

Capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors stood at 543.1 million USD, down 34.4 percent.

Foreign investors pumped capital in 17 sectors, with processing and manufacturing holding the lead with over 3 billion USD or 55.7 percent, followed by power production and distribution with 1.44 billion USD (26.5 percent), real estate 485 million USD, and science-technology nearly 153 million USD.

Japan topped the list of 46 countries and territories landing investment in Vietnam, with 1.64 billion USD, equivalent to nearly 30 percent of the total. Singapore came second with 1.07 billion USD (19.6 percent), and the Republic of Korea third with 1.05 billion USD (19.3 percent).

The ministry said the southern province of Can Tho lured the lion’s share of FDI with 1.31 billion USD, accounting for 24.2 percent of the total. Hai Phong city was the runner-up since it attracted nearly 918 million USD, or 16.8 percent. Bac Giang came third with nearly 573 million USD (10.5 percent).

So far this year, the foreign-invested sector has earned 38.07 billion USD from exports, up 34 percent year-on-year, and making up 76.1 percent of the nation’s total export turnover. At the same time, it spent 31.6 billion USD on imports, up 31.2 percent year-on-year, and accounting for 66.6 percent of the country’s total import value. That resulted in a trade surplus of nearly 6.5 billion USD./.

Denmark prioritises supporting Vietnam in green energy development

Denmark prioritises helping Vietnam’s energy sector with green development and transformation, Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Højlund Christensen affirmed on February 24.

He was speaking at an online signing ceremony of Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation in the supply of pile foundations and logistics ports for the La Gan offshore wind power project in the south central province of Binh Thuan.

Collaboration in projects like La Gan will contribute to expanding and enhancing cooperation between the two countries in sharing information, and improving the capacity of experts and employees, especially in the offshore wind power supply chain, the ambassador said.

The La Gan wind power project, with an estimated capacity of nearly 3.5 GW, is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Asiapetro and Novasia.

It is expected to generate electricity for over 7 million households each year.

According to the BVG Associates, the project will create over 45,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and contribute over 4.4 billion USD to the economy during the course of the project.

The total rate of locally-made components will account for about 45 percent of the supply chain of the project.

As the project will be carried out for many years, more opportunities will be given to Vietnamese contractors to join the supply chain.

Since the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the provincial People’s Committee in July 2020, the project has achieved significant progress, including preparing for a field survey and approving survey license.

With a total investment of 10 billion USD, it is also one of the first large-scale offshore wind power projects in Vietnam./.

Vietnam Airlines plans to spend big on Long Thanh International Airport

The Vietnam Airlines Corporation has said it is planning to invest nearly 10 trillion VND (434.78 million USD) in Long Thanh International Airport, which is now under construction in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Vietnam Airlines Chairman Dang Ngoc Hoa said that, in its development strategy for 2021-2030, the corporation and its member units will set aside resources to participate in the building and operation of infrastructure at the Long Thanh airport, providing full services in air transport for itself and other carriers.

Services include providing aviation fuel, ground technical services, meals, cargo terminal services, aviation logistics, waiting room services, and duty-free sales, which it has already been providing at many major airports via subsidiaries or affiliates.

Hoa said that 30 percent of the total investment in these services at the Long Thanh airport will come from Vietnam Airlines, with the remainder from loans.

The corporation and its members will directly invest in infrastructure construction or cooperate with the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to set up joint stock or limited liability companies to carry out the work.

Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thang said the proposal is reasonable since the services suggested are associated with transport services.

He noted, however, that the corporation will have to participate in the tender process.

The first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport, from 2020 to 2025, will receive over 109 trillion VND (4.66 billion USD) in investment and will feature one runway, one passenger terminal, and associated facilities capable of catering to 25 million passengers and handling 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually./.

Japanese energy firm to hold 11 percent stake of Petrolimex

Japan’s ENEOS Corporation said it has registered to buy 25 million treasury stocks of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex).

The purchase will be made from March 1-30 in the form of order matching on the stock market.

It previously acquired 13 million treasury shares of Petrolimex, or a stake of 1 percent, from August 27 to September 14, 2020.

A representative said the JX Nippon Oil and Energy Vietnam Co. Ltd., an affiliate of the ENEOS Corporation, currently holds more than 103.5 million Petrolimex shares, equivalent to an 8 percent stake.

Once this latest purchase is completed, the corporation will hold about 11 percent of Petrolimex. Meanwhile, Petrolimex still has 50 million treasury shares.

Earlier, Petrolimex announced it would divest the State holding to 51 percent during 2020 and 2021.

Petrolimex earned consolidated revenue of 123 trillion VND (5.34 billion USD) last year, surpassing the plan by 1 percent. After-tax profit stood at 1.23 trillion VND, down 74 percent year-on-year.

It was honoured by Forbes Vietnam last year as the biggest earner for the fourth consecutive year, one of the top 50 listed companies, and one of the 50 leading brands in Vietnam./.

Q1 GDP growth likely lower than target

Vietnam’s GDP growth in the first quarter of 2021 is forecast to come in at 4.46 percent; 0.66 percentage points below the target set in the Government’s Resolution No 01 in a scenario where the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled during the quarter.

Resolution No 01/NQ-CP on key measures to carry out the 2021 socio-economic development plan and State budget estimates outlines growth scenarios for each quarter and for each sector throughout the year.

The Government set a goal of posting growth of 6.5 percent and increasing workplace productivity by nearly 4.8 percent and health insurance participation to around 91 percent. The rate of multi-dimensionally poor households is expected to fall by 1-1.5 percent.

With the results in the first quarter, if the growth targets in the Resolution for subsequent quarters are reached, 2021’s GDP growth is estimated to come in at 6.37 percent; exceeding the 6 percent target set by the National Assembly but still lower than the target set in the Resolution.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said it is necessary to urgently implement the Resolution to achieve objectives in the socio-economic development plan in the 2021-2030 and 2021-2025 periods.

In a report submitted to the Government in January, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) proposed that priority be given to disease prevention and control in order to ensure the health of the citizenry and minimise the impact of the pandemic on the national economy.

It also proposed measures to promote economic growth through the “three-horse carriage” of investment, exports, and consumption.

The banking and finance sector continues to implement sensible fiscal and monetary policies to ensure macro-economic stability and stimulate economic growth, cut unnecessary expenses, especially regular spending, maintain a reasonable interest rate level and improve credit quality for priority areas, and strictly control credit in areas of potential risk.

Monetary and fiscal policies need to be assessed carefully towards developing support policies for those affected by COVID-19, especially services, tourism, and transport.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is responsible for urgently building and implementing policies to stimulate domestic consumption, improve links between production and consumption in the supply chain, and promote the development of distribution networks associated with the “Vietnamese give priority to Vietnamese goods” campaign, to boost sustainable consumption demand.

It is also working to improve institutions and create favourable conditions for the development of e-commerce and e-payments as well as supporting export enterprises to expand markets through cross-border e-commerce.

Meanwhile, the MPI also proposed continued improvements to the quality of institutions, thus creating an open and favourable business and investment environment for enterprises.

Regarding the management, disbursement, and use of overseas development assistance (ODA), ministries, sectors, and localities must determine project priorities in association with ensuring reciprocal capital, and promote investment projects in the form of public-private partnerships, to attract investment capital from the private sector, especially for transport infrastructure projects.

Localities have been urged to focus on promoting international cooperation, diversifying import and export markets, taking full advantage of free trade agreements (FTA) Vietnam has signed, strengthening defence measures, and building early warning systems to protect domestic production and support businesses responding to trade defence lawsuits./.

Dong Thap develops close to 100 community-based tourism sites

Dong Thap province has developed nearly 100 community-based tourism sites to date and become the third-most attractive locality in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region.

Ngo Quang Tuyen, deputy director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said local people have built effective community-based tourism models that have caught the attention of tour operators and helped diversify local tourism products.

Such models have also contributed to increasing the added value of farm produce and creating jobs with stable incomes, he added.

Most of these 100 sites are located in the districts of Lai Vung, Tam Nong, and Thap Muoi, as well as in Cao Lanh and Sa Dec cities.

Deemed “The land of lotuses”, visitors to Dong Thap should not miss a visit to the lotus field eco-tourism site in Thap Muoi district. There were previously only five families providing tourism services at the site, but their number now counts in the dozens and an average of 10,000 visitors come to admire the fields every month. During peak tourism times, the number of visitors can exceed a thousand a day.

Meanwhile, Tam Nong district, which is famous for its Tram Chim National Park – a Ramsar wetlands site of international importance – is home to about 30 lodging facilities and two eco-tourism sites and welcomes approximately 100,000 holidaymakers annually.

The rich and diverse agriculture for which Dong Thap is known gives it advantages in terms of community-based tourism.

Local agro-tourism sites cover between 5,000 and 10,000 sq m on average and cater to up to 1,000 visitors a day. Total revenue in the 2016-2020 period stood at more than 43 billion VND (1.86 million USD)./.

Disbursement of FDI projects increases by 2% over two-month period

The disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a positive annual increase of 2% to approximately US$2.5 billion during the first two months of the year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As of February 20, the total newly registered and adjusted capital and the value of capital contributions, and shares purchases made by foreign financiers reached US$5.46 billion, equivalent to 84.4% in comparison to the same period from last year.

February saw the country grant investment licenses to 126 new projects worth US$3.31 billion, a decline of 33.9% from the same period last year.

Most notably, a total of 115 existing projects registered to adjust their capital, marking a 2.5-fold increase compared to the corresponding period from last year, with total additional registered capital reaching US$1.61 billion.

Furthermore, the value of capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors dropped to US$543.1 million, a drop of 34.4 % compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Foreign financiers have invested in 17 local industries, of which the processing and manufacturing sectors took the lead with total investment capital reaching more than US$3billion, accounting for 55.7% of overall registered investment capital.

Moreover, electricity generation and distribution ranked second with total investment capital of US$1.44 billion, making up 26.5% of total registered investment capital, followed by real estate, along with science and technology.

Japan tops the list of the 46 countries and territories currently investing in the nation with total investment capital of US$1.64 billion, holding approximately 30% of the country’s FDI, trailed by Singapore, the Republic of Korea, China, Hong Kong (China), and the United States.

Can Tho represents the most attractive location among 43 provinces and cities after receiving US$1.31 billion in FDI, constituting for 24.1% of the overall, followed by Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Coffee industry seeks to weather COVID-19 crisis

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, local coffee firms have devised a long-term strategic vision, changed their business mindset, and invested in processing technology in an effort to increase the added value of coffee beans.

Since Vietnam joined the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the coffee industry has experienced three crises, with the first occurring in 1991 when the ICO removed the quota system, causing the price of Arabica coffee to drop from US$4,000 per tonne to US$3,000 per tonne.

The second happened in 2000 when the price of Robusta coffee dropped to US$400 per tonne, and the third took place last year when the price fell by between US$1,300 and US$1,400.

Addressing this thorny issue, almost all coffee businesses have participated in e-commerce trading platforms, marketing the products in London and New York. Private firms have also moved to swiftly set up websites in order to sell their coffee products online, with on-demand home delivery services witnessing rapid growth.

Aside from serving customers at coffee shops, take-away services have also been added to allow customers to increase the efficiency of doing business whilst simultaneously ensuring COVID-19 preventive measures are in place.

Several businesses have also invested in processing roasted, ground, and instant coffee as a means of catering to consumers’ diverse tastes. They have taken advantage of opportunities in exporting coffee beans to markets that the country has signed free trade agreements with.

Besides foreign firms such as Nestle, Olam, Ca phe Ngon, and Tata, several Vietnamese enterprises including Tin Nghia Corporation, Intimex Group, An Thai Company, and Viet My Company have poured capital into intensive processing by building instant coffee factories with popular names.

Most notably, small roasting facilities that specialise in processing specialty coffee for a chain of between 10 and 20 coffee shops by using coffee machines have also witnessed rapid growth.

Furthermore, Trung Nguyen Legend has recently launched its official brand store on Amazon, marking an important step toward bringing local coffee to the world via e-commerce platforms.

With regards to this strategic move, a representative of Trung Nguyen Legend says despite initial encouraging results, there remains a long journey ahead for the group as it attempts to popularize its brand globally, adding that e-commerce channels will develop further in line with consumer trends.

Despite an array of challenges facing the global economy caused by COVID-19, the coffee industry aims to expand markets, participate in supermarket chains in foreign countries to distribute processed coffee, and accelerate the sale of coffee through the e-commerce system.

The industry will boost consumption of coffee products within the domestic market and maintain its position as the world’s second largest coffee producer and exporter, whilst increasing the added value of coffee beans and stabilising the lives of 640,000 coffee growing households nationwide.

Binh Duong firms face recruitment difficulties

Many firms in Binh Duong Province are facing difficulties in finding workers after the Tet Holiday.

It’s estimated that 611 firms in Binh Duong need nearly 71,300 employees, 20,000 more than last year. Over 85% of the firms with trade unions have resumed work and 716,000 out of 774,000 employees have returned to work.

Firms at VSIP Industrial Park want to recruit 20,000 new employees and firms at Ben Cat Industrial Park are in need of 10,000 employees. Dozens of firms have contacted the Labour Confederation of Binh Duong and communal authorities to ask for help.

Firms in major cities like Di An, Thuan An and Thu Dau Mot cities can find new employees more easily while it’s a struggle for firms in remote areas like Bac Tan Uyen or Bau Bang districts. Firms in Binh Duong also face tough competition with firms in nearby cities and provinces. The average wages and bonuses in Binh Duong are considered lower than in HCM City and Dong Nai Province. Moreover, many people still don’t want to go to work yet due to the ongoing outbreak.

Nguyen Hai Dinh from Son La Province said, “I have done some research and realised that the minimum wages are basically the same in all companies so the question is which one has better treatment and bonuses. This is the first time I go to Binh Duong to work so I’m in the dark.”

Binh Duong Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has asked the Employment Service Centre to provide more information both offline and online, contact provinces with a labour source and consult firms about better wages and bonuses to attract employees.

Vocational schools, colleges and universities were asked to help with job introduction. Meanwhile, firms were asked to send HR employees to go find new employees in other regions with the trade unions or ask their own employees to introduce new people.

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

Vietnam saw no new COVID-19 case over the past 12 hours to 6am February 28, making the national tally unchanged at 2,432, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Among the total, 1,530 were locally infected, including 837 cases since January 27.

A total 1,844 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far, and the death toll remains at 35.

Among those still under treatment, 32 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 50 twice and 100 thrice.

By February 27 afternoon, 10 provinces and cities had gone through 14 consecutive days without new locally-infected cases of COVID-19.

As many as 63,054 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or returned from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantine across the country./.

First Vietnam medical achievement award calls 16 winners

The Voice of Ho Chi Minh City (VOH), the local official radio broadcasting station, together with the municipal Health Department hosted the first Vietnam medical achievement award ceremony on February 26 to honour 16 contributions to the community’s wellbeing in 2020 from across the nation.

The contributions were voted by the public from 22 nominations selected by the award’s council of professionals. Three months after its launch, the award received more than 60 nominations from medical facilities nationwide.

Among the winners were the work of doctors at the Cu Chi COVID-19 treatment hospital – the first of its kind in Vietnam, and medical staff at the HCM City Centre for Diseases Control. Since the pandemic begin in the country, hundreds of medical workers in Ho Chi Minh City have taken turns to be at the hospital, while preventive medicine workers at the centre have worked day and night on contact-tracing and testing sample collection.

Another was the operation that separated 16-month-old conjoined twins – Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi, with the sisters now able to walk on their own. The surgery was performed by 93 doctors and nurses.

VOH Director Le Cong Dong said the award is now an annual event in celebration of Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27).

Duong Anh Duc, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, hoped the award will encourage more contributions to the health of the community to be made in the future./.

Sapa – Safe destination during epidemic

Sapa has always been among the most popular destinations for tourists during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, and despite COVID-19 still raging around the world, the northern hill town again greeted a large number of visitors this time around.

Lao Cai province in general and Sapa in particular are considered safe, with zero cases of community transmission of the coronavirus. As a key tourism destination in the province, Sapa quickly adopted COVID-19 prevention measures at the beginning of the outbreak. Thanks to this, it was still able to welcome a huge number of visitors during the recent Lunar New Year holiday, with 60% of accommodation providers and restaurants open for business.

Every hotel and restaurant in town has carried out sanitation processes and strictly followed safety measures to protect visitors.

With mesmerising natural landscapes along with appropriate measures being carried out by local authorities, Sapa was one of the most popular and safest destinations in the country during the recent holiday./.

Aid offered for development of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

The Ministry of Health (MoH) on February 27 received 20 billion VND (866,620 USD) from conglomerate Vingroup for the clinical trials of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine COVIVAC.

The candidate vaccine is being developed by the MoH’s Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC).

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long spoke highly of the support of enterprises, organisations and individuals for Vietnam’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first “Made-in-Vietnam” ventilators were produced under the collaboration of the ministry and Vingroup, he noted, adding that the machines have been provided to localities nationwide.

Vietnamese scientists have regarded vaccine development as the key factor to contain the pandemic, and the MoH has spared no efforts in the research for vaccine in order to be able to produce the vaccine as soon as possible.

The COVIVAC vaccine project has been rolled out since May 2020.

Results of pre-clinical trials affirmed its safety and efficiency, and the IVAC has been able to produce three batches of vaccine consisting between 50,000 and 10,000 doses each.

Clinical trials of the vaccines are projected to start this March and complete by October, said IVAC Director Dr Duong Huu Thai.

A dose may cost no higher than 60,000 VND and the vaccine is effective against emerging coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 variants originated from the UK and South Africa, he affirmed.

Meanwhile, the third domestic candidate vaccine VABIOTECH developed by the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, is also set to enter clinical trials in the coming time./.

Politburo holds meeting with former Party officials

The Politburo and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat hosted a gathering in Hanoi on February 27 with former members of the 12th Politburo, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and Party Central Committee.

Chairing the event, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong said the Politburo and Secretariat highly value the great contributions that the former officials have made to the Party, people and country during the time they held important positions in central and local agencies.

He highlighted that the country had reaped comprehensive achievements last year. The entire Party, people and army stood united and fulfilled the working programme for the tenure.

After the 13th National Party Congress, the people have demonstrated their trust in the Party’s leadership and the country’s future, despite the impact of the pandemic.

The Party chief wished that the former Party officials will continue to make contributions to the Party, people and nation, and lend their experience in addressing important issues of the country.

Participants expressed their belief that the 13th Politburo, Secretariat and Party Central Committee will lead the country to a higher development level in the near future.

They pledged to continue contributing to the Party’s cause and strengthening solidarity in the Party.

Expressing pride in being a Party member, they vowed to set examples and lead the way in implementing the Party’s policies, mechanism and resolutions to build a prosperous country with democratic, equal and civilized society./.

US pledges to enhance cooperation with Mekong subregion’s countries

The US will bolster support for countries in the Mekong subregion through the Mekong-US partnership, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Atul Keshap said at a recent online seminar to reveal results of a report on transboundary rivers and addressing challenges in Mekong River.

The report was based on outcomes of a virtual Indo-Pacific conference on enhancing management of transboundary rivers hosted by the East-West Centre last October.

Speakers at the event said that the Mekong subregion is facing challenges in security, development and climate change.

Keshap expressed the US’s concerns over impacts of hydropower dams in the Mekong River’s upper reaches on food security, economic development and environmental conditions of countries in lower reaches.

The US highly appreciates Vietnam’s efforts in pushing ASEAN’s cooperation to help the Mekong subregion cope with such challenges, he said.

Congressman Ted Lieu also affirmed that the US Congress wants the US government to further boost cooperation with the Mekong sub-region via the US-Mekong partnership. Since the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative in 2009, the US has earmarked 3.5 billion USD for countries in Mekong River’s lower reaches.

At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc underscored the significance of water security, especially transboundary water resources, to peace and prosperity in the region.

Countries in the Mekong subregion share responsibilities for the use and management of Mekong River’s water resources in a sustainable manner in a bid to offset impacts on development and the environment, he added.

The diplomat affirmed that Vietnam is always a responsible member in joint efforts to cope with challenges in environmental issues, climate change, economic development and security in the Mekong subregion.

He proposed that countries work together to build regulations and legally binding frameworks to manage transboundary rivers.

He also called on the US and other partners to invest in the region in the spheres of energy, infrastructure, climate change adaptation and sustainable development./.

Bars and beer clubs on Bui Vien pedestrian street of HCM City

The municipal People’s Committee has ordered continued closure of dance halls, bars, karaoke parlours, pubs, beer clubs, and facilities for indoor sports activities like gym, fitness, billiards, and yoga centres.

Others not included in this list can be reopened but have to carry out all anti-coronavirus measures regulated by health authorities.

Besides, the set of safety assessment criteria in COVID-19 prevention and control must be seriously implemented in the fields of tourism, transport, and restaurant services, as well as at wholesale and retail markets, supermarkets, trade centres, relic sites, and libraries.

A distance of at least one metre from each other must be kept in those activities, and food service supplying establishments are not permitted to serve more than 30 people at the same time, according to the administration.

Meanwhile, religious activities and rituals at local places of worship can take place with no more than 50 participants at the same time. They also have to comply with other disease prevention measures regulated by the health sector, the People’s Committee said.

Earlier, the committee also permitted schools across the city to be reopened from March 1.

On February 23, the lockdown on an apartment block in Ward 13 of Tan Binh district was lifted. This was the last of the 35 sealed-off sites that had their COVID-19 lockdown removed in HCM City./.

Campaigns to provide 90,000 job opportunities to Vietnamese youngsters

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Hanoi chapter has cooperated with recruitment platform TopCV.vn  to launch a campaign to provide 90,000 job opportunities to Vietnamese students and youngsters in and outside the country.

Running from March 1 to September 1, the campaign aims to support the youngsters and students to connect with enterprises having recruitment demands, while bringing more employment and internship chances to them, said Deputy Secretary of the chapter Tran Quang Hung.

Hung said that the campaign will assist 5 million young people in Hanoi and Hai Duong and Vietnamese students abroad to seek suitable employment, while helping them design curriculum vitae and necessary job applying skills.

Besides, it will support colleges and universities to link with companies having recruitment demands on TopCV.vn.

A number of online job bazaars will be organised, while a series of online training courses will be held to equip job seekers with skills to apply for employment, added Hung./.

PM asks for timely, transparent COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Health Ministry to take responsibility for importing, receiving and distributing COVID-19 vaccines in a timely and transparent manner in line with instructions of the Politburo and Party Central Committee’s Secretariat.

The request was noted in Notice No.31/TB-VPCP dated February 25 along with other instructions that the Government leader made at a meeting of permanent Government members on pandemic prevention work.

The Health Ministry must work with the Foreign Ministry, especially Vietnamese embassies abroad, to access vaccine suppliers.

Vaccination for priority cases must be conducted quickly in accordance with the Government’s Resolution.

The PM also agreed with proposals by a number of localities including Hanoi and Hai Phong on buying vaccines using private financial sources.

Authorities of centrally-run cities and provinces are required to take the initiative in adopting suitable prevention and control measures based on the level of risk in each area, while ensuring smooth flows of goods, production and trade, thus minimizing negative impacts on trade and production and people’s lives.

The PM also demanded the strict enforcement of the 5K principle, especially the wearing of face masks, and pandemic prevention rules at workplaces, factories and trade and public facilities.

Authorities of pandemic-hit localities, especially Hai Duong and Hai Phong, must continue contact tracing, quarantining and testing in order to prevent any outbreak from spreading.

The Transport Ministry was assigned to partner with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Health Ministry to issue regulations on ensuring safety in transportation to/from and in pandemic-hit areas, particularly in key economic areas such as Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Hai Duong.

The MoIT will be responsible for working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Health Ministry to regulate the procedures for buying farm produce from pandemic-affected areas.

The PM assigned Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to direct the repatriation of citizens from abroad and conduct timely quarantine in line with regulations./.

First 35 volunteers receive injections of home-grown COVID-19 vaccine in second-stage trial

The first 35 volunteers received injections of the home-grown Nano Covax in the second phase of human trial at the Military Medical University on February 26.

Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Military Medical University, Nanocovax is Vietnam’s first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the human trial stage.

The 35 volunteers were chosen among about 300 people who registered to participate in the second-stage trial of the vaccine at the University after undergoing rigorous medical examinations. They are divided into three groups for receiving three different doses of 25mcg, 50mcg and 75mcg, and one group with five people getting placebo.

According to a representative from the University, a total 560 volunteers, aged 18-60, including those with several diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, among others, will participate in the second-stage trial, which is carried out in Hanoi and the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

Lieutenant-General Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical University, said since the trial sees the participation of volunteers with underlying health conditions, competent authorities have been prepared for all scenarios and ensure safety for all volunteers.

Results of the trial will be announced in May 2021 before preparing for the third-stage trial during which only one single shot of the vaccine will be administered to 10,000-15,000 people from both domestic and foreign pandemic-hit regions, Quyet added.

Present at the second-stage trial of Nano Covax at Military Medical University, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam encouraged the volunteers and the medical workers, while expressing his firm belief in the ability of the Vietnamese scientists in successfully developing COVID-19 vaccines.

The first-stage trial of the Nano Covax vaccine showed that it is likely to be effective against B117 variant from the UK.

Vietnam is one among 40 countries in the world that have started human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, after successfully producing coronavirus test kits early into the pandemic.

The country also has several other COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed, which are IVAC by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, VABIOTECH by the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, and POLYVAC by the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals./.

First Hanoi market to be installed with solar panels

The government of Hanoi has approved a pilot project to install rooftop solar power panels for the iconic Dong Xuan Market in Hoan Kiem District, making it the first wet market in the capital city to be equipped with the solar power system, aimed at saving energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The market will be installed with 600 solar panels, which account for 18% of total area of the market’s roof. The system will generate 198 kWp of electricity.

The project is funded by the German non-profit limited company Engagement Global’s Servicestelle Kommunen in der Einen Welt (SKEW) through the following activities: enhancing the qualification and skills of employees of the district, which is in charge of operating and managing the pilot project using renewable energy; protecting the environment, saving energy, and using clean energy.

The project requires over 274,000 euros (US$333,000) in investment, with over 246,000 euros being provided by the German firm and the remaining amount being mobilized from legal sources by the district’s government. The project would be implemented from the date it was approved by the authorities to November 30, 2022.

After the pilot project is completed and proves effective, Hanoi will scale up the project to other places in the district.

Further, the government of Hanoi tasked the departments of Science and Technology, Industry and Trade, Natural Resources and Environment, Police and the Hanoi Power Corporation with instructing the project’s investor to conduct investment procedures, electricity connection, measuring and pricing activities in line with the prime minister’s decision on encouraging the development of solar power in Vietnam.

Trial on violations at Phu Tho ethanol plant to open on March 8

The Hanoi People’s Court will open a 10-day trial on March 8 to hear a case of violations of regulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences, at an ethanol plant in the northern province of Phu Tho.

The 12 defendants include former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) Dinh La Thang, former Chairman of the Board of Directors and former General Director of the PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC) Trinh Xuan Thanh, former General Director of the PetroVietnam PetroChemicals and Biofuel JSC (PVB) Vu Thanh Ha, former General Deputy Director of PetroVietnam Tran Thi Binh, former General Director of PVC Pham Xuan Dieu, former Deputy General Director of PVC Nguyen Ngoc Dung, former head of PVC’s economic and planning board Do Van Quang, former deputy head of PVB’s investment office Nguyen Xuan Thuy, former deputy head of PVB’s commercial office Khuong Anh Tuan, former head of PVB’s business office Le Thanh Thai, former chief accountant at PVB Hoang Dinh Tam, and Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of the Kinh Bac Petroleum Construction and Investment JSC Do Van Hong.

Trinh Xuan Thanh has been charged with “violating regulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences”, under Article 224, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code 2015, and “abusing position and power while performing duties” under Article 356, Clause 3.

Do Van Hong has been charged with “abusing position and power while performing duties”.

The 10  remaining defendants are facing charges of “violating regulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences”.

According to the indictment, Thang signed a resolution to approve the investment in the project in October 2007. With Thanh’s support, PVC/Alfa Laval/Delta-T joint contractors, who had no previous experience in carrying out ethanol projects, were assigned to be in charge of the project.

As a result, the project was continuously lagged behind schedule and stopped in March 2013 with no construction items done.

Wrongdoings of the defendants were said to cause a loss of more than 543 billion VND (23.49 million USD) for PVB./.

Vinh Phuc moves towards sustainable population development

The northern province of Vinh Phuc plans to have its entire population managed by the national population database system.

Under the province’s population strategy in the 2021-2025 period, it will provide health insurance and offer medical examinations and treatment to all elderly people at home and in healthcare facilities.

Vinh Phuc aims to maintain a reasonable age structure, with the ratio of children under 15 years old to be 23.5 percent and people aged 65 and over to be 9 percent.

It will bring the fertility rate closer to the replacement fertility level, increase the rate of women of reproductive age having convenient access to modern contraception and support in reproductive health to 95 percent, and halve the number of unwanted pregnancies.

The province aims to have 70 percent of young men and women obtaining health advice and check-ups before marriage, 50 percent of pregnant women being screened for at least four of the most common birth defects, and 70 percent of new-born babies being screened for at least the five most common congenital diseases.

It expects to see life expectancy of 75 years, while the urban population rate is to stand at 50 percent of the total.

The province is working to fully tap into its “golden population structure”, adapt to population aging, and improve quality of the population, thus contributing to its socio-economic development.

To reach these targets, provincial authorities will focus on improving mechanisms, policies, and laws on population, and bolstering the quality of population-related services.

It also has policies to encourage organisations, businesses, individuals, and production and distribution establishments to provide population-related services./.

Investors confident in Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem

Investors are confident in the potential of Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem, and believe the country will become a big investment market in the region and the world, according to head of the Vietnam representative office of Genesia Ventures, an investment fund of Japan, Hoang Thi Kim Dung.

According to a report published by Do Ventures – a venture capital fund that focuses on making investments in tech startups in Vietnam and Southeast Asia – in 2020, Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem ranked third in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Indonesia.

Vietnam’s national innovation startup ecosystem is likely to earn a berth in the top 15 emerging ones in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030, the report said.

The Prime Minister in 2016 approved a project to support the national innovative startup ecosystem through 2025 under Decision No. 844/ QD-TTg (Project 844), which was designed to promote and support the formation and development of startup projects or startup enterprises and urgently complete the legal system to support innovative startups.

To further promote the development of Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem in an intensive manner, recently the PM has approved the amending and supplementing of a number of articles in Decision No 844/QD-TTg.

Vietnam hopes to establish international cooperation programmes with partners in at least five prestigious innovative startup ecosystems in the world by 2025, and attract more foreign resources to support domestic innovation startups.

According to statistics from the Project 844’s office, there are nearly 100 venture capital funds in Vietnam, including about 20 domestic funds. Each investment fund has different networks and strengths, so startups need to thoroughly research and group potential investors in accordance with their development orientation and goals./.

Vietnamese airlines gear up to transport COVID-19 vaccine

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways have said they are well prepared for the transport of COVID-19 vaccines for local pandemic prevention.

Bamboo Airways have put necessary resources in place for a couple of months, including the best possible means of transport, standardised vaccine storage, and effective arrangement of human resources.

A representative from the carrier said that wide-body aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be deployed for the mission, while staff with considerable experience will serve on the flights carrying COVID-19 vaccines.

Rehearsal was held regularly to ensure smooth transport of the vaccines, the representative said, adding logistics services, warehouses and refrigerated containers are ready for the mission as well.

Bamboo Airways also has experience in transporting critical goods to Northeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. The carrier has receive good response from its customers and logistics firms.

In the meantime, Vietnam Airlines has proposed it be officially permitted by authorised health agencies to transport COVID-19 vaccines from overseas.

The carrier said it has prepared all necessary resources to meet the strictest requirements on vaccine transportation by air. It has sufficient logistics services, modern cold storage systems, and trained human resources that meet international standards.

It is ready to introduce refrigerated container services for carrying vaccines, as poor preservation can affect quality and efficiency.

The carrier will also set up a specialised unit to perform these tasks.

Vietnam Airlines also has experience in transporting medical supplies, such as medicine and surgical instruments, as wells organs for transplant, even in time-sensitive emergencies.

It can deploy a fleet of wide-body aircraft such as Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s to transport large quantities of vaccines.

Transporting COVID-19 vaccine is seen as a century mission of the global aviation sector.

In Vietnam, ensuring sufficient COVID-19 vaccine supply in 2021 is a priority of the Ministry of Health and competent ministries and sector.

The Ministry of Health said it is working to secure 90 million COVID-19 doses this year, and to implement the biggest vaccination drive in Vietnam’s history./.

Australian-funded course helps improve social work for abused women, children amid COVID-19

More than 30 consultants and social workers, on February 26, began a three-day Australian-funded course that helps them improve their work toward abused women and children during the current time of pandemic.

Sponsored by the Australian Government, the course is co-organised by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and Vietnam’s Centre for Women and Development (CWD) as part of a project on emergency response to violence against women and children amid COVID-19.

Participants are currently working at the CWD in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, as well as hospitals and social centres in the two cities.

During the training session, they will be provided with knowledge and skills to identify symptoms of stress and types of psychological trauma as well as practice some first aid and psychological care methods.

Statistics showed that, in the context of the pandemic, the rate of violence against women and children in Vietnam and in the world has increased by between 30 and 300 percent.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, a social worker at CWD, said amid surging number of calls to a CWD hotline for abused women and children in conjunction with the pandemic happening, knowledge from the course will help her better approach and support the victims to soon ease their trauma./.

Vice President presents title of “People’s Doctor” to five doctors

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on February 26 to present the title of “People’s Doctor” to five lecturers of the Hanoi Medical University on the occasion of the Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27).

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented the title of “People’s Doctor” to Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Huu Binh; Associate Prof, Dr. Doan Quoc Hung; Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Tuan; Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc, and Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Viet. They are former and incumbent leaders of important faculties and institutes of different central hospitals.

Associate Prof. Dr. Doan Quoc Hung, Vice Principal of the Hanoi Medical University, said that he is proud of his contributions to the health sector and the caring for people’s health and the community as a doctor and a teacher.

Authorities of Saint Petersburg city updated with result of 13th National Party Congress

The Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations held a teleconference on February 25 to inform authorities of Saint Petersburg city and several agencies in Russia about the results of the 13th National Party Congress.

Speaking at the event, head of the commission Hoang Binh Quan briefed the participants on the freshly-concluded congress’s main outcomes, including the review of the implementation of the 12th congress’ Resolution, achievements during 35-year reform and 30-year implementation of the Platform on national development.

He also shared vision, goals, development orientations, tasks and measures decided by the 13th National Party Congress and personnel work.

About external policy for the tenure of the Congress, he affirmed that Vietnam continues the consistent external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, active and proactive global integration, while maintaining an environment of peace and stability, and further improve Vietnam’s position and prestige on international arena.

The Vietnamese Party and State consistently treasure traditional ties and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, he said.

Participants said documents at the Congress reflect the strong will of the Vietnamese Party and people for a country of prosperity and well-being for citizens. They also highly valued Vietnam’s achievements in the cause of national construction and development.

Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg N.Bondarenko vowed to work with Vietnam to improve the efficiency of bilateral cooperation, step up practical projects in the fields of economy, trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchange, especially among the young generation.

Both sides also discussed orientations and several specific cooperation plans in the near future./.

Da Nang working to preserve, develop Cham relics

Leaders in the central city of Da Nang recently handed over a certificate to authorities in Hoa Tho Dong ward in Cam Le district recognising the Cham Phong Le archaeological site as a city-level relic, in an effort to improve the management and preservation of the site.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Quang Nam said the city is now home to two national special, 17 national, and 60 city-level relics.

Of these, only Cham Phong Le is named an archaeological relic, demonstrating its importance and exceptional values.

Excavations and studies reveal it is a large-scale architectural construction and part of the Cham tower system in the central region. The lives of Cham people in Amaravati land, as they called the area around Da Nang, between the 10th and 12th centuries are reflected through unearthed exhibits.

Nam took the occasion to request that Cam Le district leaders, people, and relevant agencies work together in the conservation and development of the relics.

The site was discovered by local residents in April 2011. The foundations of a brick construction and other elements were then found during an excavation by the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture.

After three excavations on nearly 790 sq m, the entire scale and basic structure of a large Cham tower was exposed.

It is believed to be have been built by the Cham in early 10th century and remained a place of worship until the 12th century at least.

The Champa Kingdom, from where the Cham ethnic minority people originated, ruled what is today Vietnam’s central coastal region between the 4th and 13th centuries.

They built a range of distinctive towers across the kingdom. Some still stand today, such as Po Nagar in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province, Po Klong Garai and Po Rome in Ninh Thuan province, Nhan tower in Phu Yen province, and, especially, the 21 towers at the UNESCO-recognised My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam province./.

Vice President presents title of “People’s Doctor” to five doctors

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on February 26 to present the title of “People’s Doctor” to five lecturers of the Hanoi Medical University on the occasion of the Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27).

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented the title of “People’s Doctor” to Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Huu Binh; Associate Prof, Dr. Doan Quoc Hung; Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Tuan; Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Uoc, and Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Viet. They are former and incumbent leaders of important faculties and institutes of different central hospitals.

Associate Prof. Dr. Doan Quoc Hung, Vice Principal of the Hanoi Medical University, said that he is proud of his contributions to the health sector and the caring for people’s health and the community as a doctor and a teacher.

Australian-funded course helps improve social work for abused women, children amid COVID-19

More than 30 consultants and social workers, on February 26, began a three-day Australian-funded course that helps them improve their work toward abused women and children during the current time of pandemic.

Sponsored by the Australian Government, the course is co-organised by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and Vietnam’s Centre for Women and Development (CWD) as part of a project on emergency response to violence against women and children amid COVID-19.

Participants are currently working at the CWD in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, as well as hospitals and social centres in the two cities.

During the training session, they will be provided with knowledge and skills to identify symptoms of stress and types of psychological trauma as well as practice some first aid and psychological care methods.

Statistics showed that, in the context of the pandemic, the rate of violence against women and children in Vietnam and in the world has increased by between 30 and 300 percent.

Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, a social worker at CWD, said amid surging number of calls to a CWD hotline for abused women and children in conjunction with the pandemic happening, knowledge from the course will help her better approach and support the victims to soon ease their trauma./.

GEF-funded project proves effective

The “Energy Efficiency Improvement in Commercial and High-Rise Residential Buildings in Vietnam” (EECB) project is expected to complete some of its commitments in 2021.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the project’s goals are to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from Vietnam’s building sector and to improve energy utilisation at commercial and high-rise residential buildings in HCM City and Hanoi.

Completion will be achieved through the implementation of the three following components: improved enforcement of energy efficiency building codes, building market development support initiatives, and building EE technology applications and replications.

Each component comprises a number of complementary activities designed to remove barriers to the stringent enforcement of the revised EEBC, and for the greater uptake of energy-efficient technologies, systems, and practices in commercial and residential buildings.

Vu Ngoc Anh, Director of the Science and Technology and Environment Department at the Ministry of Construction, who is also EECB director, said the project will complete mechanisms recognising energy consumption and announcing information on energy consumption, along with documents guiding the design, construction, and assessment of energy-efficient projects.

It has already studied energy consumption at 250 projects and recognised energy-efficient facilities. Many training courses within its framework have been organised nationwide.

The project fulfilled 11 of 14 set targets, including major targets like providing consultation for the national target programme on the economical and efficient use of energy, and contributing opinions on the Law on Construction.

The project is supporting the Ministry of Construction in amending a decree on the management of projects and their quality, and other documents.

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam Sitara Syed said relevant parties have made great efforts over recent times. But, she added, they need to further their close coordination and flexibly adopt different solutions to optimise results brought about by the project./.

Ca Mau: Nam Can crab, U Minh Hot Pot named among Vietnam’s Top 100 specialties

A species of crab in Nam Can district and a fish sauce hot pot in the U Minh Forest in the southernmost province of Ca Mau have been listed among the Top 100 specialties in Vietnam in 2020-2021 by the Vietnam Record Organisation (Vietkings).

Ca Mau dried shrimp and U Minh honey, meanwhile, are in the Top 100 Vietnamese specialty gifts.

The specialties will be granted certificates at an event on April 24 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Over the past 10 years, Vietkings has sought and promoted Vietnamese cuisine, contributing to elevating the Vietnamese catering and tourism industries./.

VFF Central Committee gives guidance on introducing candidates for upcoming elections

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee’s Standing Board has issued a guiding document on the organisation of negotiations to introduce candidates for election to the 15th National Assembly (NA) and People’s Councils at all levels in the 2021-2026 tenure and election campaigns in localities hit by COVID-19.

Localities are instructed to hold the elections flexibly in accordance with the situation on the ground, ensuring the strict implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

Along with direct meetings, localities can choose other formats to collect voters’ opinions, such as online conferences or via email, SMS, mobile apps such as Zalo and Viber, and the post.

Earlier, on February 20 in Hanoi, Vice President and General Secretary of the VFF Central Committee Hau A Lenh and Vice President of the VFF Central Committee Nguyen Huu Dung co-chaired a meeting on guiding procedures to introduce candidates from central agencies, organisations, and units.

In the final step, an expanded meeting of leaders of the agency, organisation, or unit will be convened to discuss and make a final decision on the candidates to be introduced.

Candidates must complete documents for nomination by 5pm on March 14.

Addressing the meeting, Lenh said that from March 18, the VFF Central Committee Presidium will organise the second round of negotiations to discuss and make a list of candidates running for a seat at the 15th legislature.

The elections of deputies to the 15th NA and People’s Councils at all levels will take place in May./.

Nearly 300 volunteers in Long An engage in second-stage trials of Nano Covax

Nearly 300 volunteers in the Mekong Delta province of Long An are set to receive injections of Nano Covax in the second-stage human clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health began the second phase of human trials at the healthcare centre of Ben Luc district on February 26.

The volunteers, chosen from more than 800 people who registered to take part, consist of two age groups: from 18 to 60 and over 60.

They will receive two doses of either the vaccine or the placebo AIPO4, with an interval of 28 days. Each volunteer will be monitored for 12 months after the first dose.

Volunteers receiving jabs on the morning of February 26 will receive the second dose in late March.

The research outcomes of these second-phase trials will be available in late April.

The second stage human trials of Nano Covax are also underway in Hanoi.

Developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Hanoi-based Military Medical University, Nano Covax is Vietnam’s first COVID-19 vaccine to reach the human trial stage.

According to a representative from the university, a total of 560 volunteers, including those with other ailments such as hypertension or diabetes, among others, will participate in the second-stage trials in both localities.

Lieutenant-General Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical University, said that since the trial is seeing the participation of volunteers with underlying health conditions, relevant authorities are prepared for all possible scenarios and will ensure the safety of all volunteers.

The first-stage trial of the Nano Covax vaccine showed that it is likely to be effective against the B117 variant from the UK.

Vietnam is one of 40 countries and territories in the world to have begun human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine, after successfully producing coronavirus test kits early in the pandemic.

The country also has other COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed: IVAC from the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, VABIOTECH from the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, and POLYVAC from the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals./.

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

Vietnam documented zero COVID-19 infections in the past 12 hours as of 6:00 am on March 1, leaving the national tally unchanged at 2,448 patients, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Earlier, Vietnam reported 16 COVID-19 cases at 6pm on February 28, including 12 locally infected cases in the northern province of Hai Duong, the country’s largest COVID-19 hotspot, and four imported cases in the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap.

Of the total infections, there were 1,542 domestically-transmitted cases, including 849 recorded since the latest outbreak hit the northern province of Hai Duong on January 27.

Ten cities and provinces nationwide have gone through 16 consecutive days without any locally-infected cases of COVID-19, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, Hanoi has recorded 14 straight days of no coronavirus cases.

A total 60,693 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 560 at hospitals, 12,298 at other quarantine sites, and 47,835 at home.

Among patients under treatment, 62 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 53 twice, and 95 thrice.

Report from the Treatment Sub-committee showed that Vietnam has seen 1,876 recoveries so far.

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)./.

Hai Duong dissolves COVID-19 treatment hospital No.1

Chairman of the Hai Duong provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duong Thai, who is also head of the provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on February 27 decided to dissolve the hospital No.1 for COVID-19 treatment as the locality has basically kept the pandemic under control.

All the COVID-19 cases being treated at the hospital were transferred to the COVID-19 treatment hospital No.3 at Sao Do University in Chi Linh city, which is managed by the Hai Duong General Hospital.

The hospital No.1 was established on February 2 at Chi Linh city’s medical centre to serve treatment for COVID-19 patients after a new COVID-19 outbreak in the locality, with hundreds of infections were confirmed.

According to the provincial Centre for Disease Control, as of 4:00 pm on February 27, Hai Duong recorded a total of 653 coronavirus infections. The number of F1 cases is 16,385, of which 3,328 are quarantined in concentrated quarantine sites. The locality has so far collected over 400,000 samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 case on February 28 morning, making the national count unchanged at 2,432, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

A total 1,844 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far, and the death toll remains at 35./.

HCM City plans to trial exclusive lanes for buses

The HCM City Public Transport Management Centre has announced plans to trial bus lanes on Điện Biên Phủ and Võ Thị Sáu streets during peak hours.

Private vehicles will be prohibited from entering the lanes at that time.

The lanes, 3.25 metres wide, will be separated from the other lanes by barriers.

Nguyễn Trung Tín, former head of the department’s road transport management, said the city used to have an exclusive bus lane on Trần Hưng Đạo Street (District 5), but it did not work efficiently though they are successful in other countries.

This was because other vehicles kept intruding and there was lack of support from the public since the lanes affected shops and other businesses, he explained.

Before the pandemic buses would often get stuck in traffic during peak hours and be late.

The centre also plans to start new 21 bus routes with high-quality service, free wi-fi and other modern conveniences.

Gia Lai rapidly expands forest cover, helps improve livelihoods

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has been growing new forests and protecting existing ones in recent years to expand forest cover and improve people’s livelihoods.

The province, which has the largest forest cover in the Central Highlands region, planted nearly 25,300ha in 2017-20, 6.3 times its target.

In Mang Yang District’s Hra Commune, the Hra Protective Forest management board allocated more than 6,300ha of forests last year to individuals, households and communities to exploit while also protecting them.

Nguyen Van Chin, head of the board, said besides planting and protecting forests, the board focuses on advocacy activities to enhance awareness of households and communities living near forests of the need to protect them.

Together with local authorities it organises advocacy activities to annually reach around 1,500 people in the commune’s 12 villages.

With these and support for illegal loggers to overcome their family’s financial difficulties, it has managed to stop the logging and make loggers forest guardians.

Seeing the good examples set by the former illegal loggers, other residents in the commune have also stopped cutting trees and are instead keen to be allotted tracts of forest for protection.

The money authorities pay them for this task helps them have a stable life.

Krong Chro district is one of the localities to do well in growing and protecting forests through advocacy.

Nguyen Lam, deputy head of its forest protection bureau, said the district organises meetings in villages to encourage people to grow trees on deforested lands.

“The new forests are growing well, creating jobs and improving people’s incomes.”

There were nearly 200 households in the district registering to grow nearly 400ha of new forests last year, according to the bureau.

Around 700 households in the district, mostly ethnic minorities, registered to plant trees on nearly 2,250ha in 2017-19, comfortably higher than the target the province People’s Committee set the district.

The province’s Forest Protection Sub-department has petitioned the Government to increase the fee paid to ethnic households for forest protection.

Gia Lai wants to increase its forest cover rate to 47.5 percent by 2025.

It has 633,325ha of forests now, including 543,131ha of natural forests, according to the department./.

Hanoi police investigate attacks on foreign women

Police in Tay Ho district, Hanoi are conducting an investigation after they were informed that several foreign women were attacked by a group of youngsters while they were strolling around the West Lake, Hanoi Police said on February 28.

Initially, 25 suspects were found to have close links to the case.

The police have summoned an individual suspected of carrying out violent assaults against the foreign women.

Earlier, the women reported to the police in Quang An ward (Tay Ho district) that they were attacked by a group of youngsters who drove motorbikes. The young men even threw stones, and used belts to hit them./.

Vinh Phuc moves towards sustainable population development

The northern province of Vinh Phuc plans to have its entire population managed by the national population database system.

Under the province’s population strategy in the 2021-2025 period, it will provide health insurance and offer medical examinations and treatment to all elderly people at home and in healthcare facilities.

Vinh Phuc aims to maintain a reasonable age structure, with the ratio of children under 15 years old to be 23.5 percent and people aged 65 and over to be 9 percent.

It will bring the fertility rate closer to the replacement fertility level, increase the rate of women of reproductive age having convenient access to modern contraception and support in reproductive health to 95 percent, and halve the number of unwanted pregnancies.

The province aims to have 70 percent of young men and women obtaining health advice and check-ups before marriage, 50 percent of pregnant women being screened for at least four of the most common birth defects, and 70 percent of new-born babies being screened for at least the five most common congenital diseases.

It expects to see life expectancy of 75 years, while the urban population rate is to stand at 50 percent of the total.

The province is working to fully tap into its “golden population structure”, adapt to population aging, and improve quality of the population, thus contributing to its socio-economic development.

To reach these targets, provincial authorities will focus on improving mechanisms, policies, and laws on population, and bolstering the quality of population-related services.

It also has policies to encourage organisations, businesses, individuals, and production and distribution establishments to provide population-related services./.

150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be offered free of charge for Vietnamese people

Vietnam has planned to provide around 150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for local people free of charge this year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a resolution on the purchase and use of Covid-19 vaccines this year.

According to the resolution, Vietnamese people aged from 18 years old will be vaccinated with 150 million doses of Covid-19. The vaccines are sourced through purchase, import and aid.

The vaccines will be prioritised to medical workers; people in the anti-pandemic efforts (Covid-19 prevention and control steering committees of all levels, quarantine facility staff, reporters.); diplomats, customs officers and people working entry and exit procedures; military personnel; public security forces; teachers; those aged above 65; essential workers (aviation, transport, tourism staff, utility workers, etc.); people with chronic health issues; people who want to study or work overseas; and people in virus-hit regions.

The priority ranking is evaluated based on criteria such as areas where Covid-19 cases are present, areas with Covid-19 deaths occurred, major cities with high population density and localities considered traffic and transit hubs.

The government is also encouraging agencies to hold Covid-19 vaccination services for their staff.

The resolution, however, does not mention the specific time for the vaccination.

Gia Lai rapidly expands forest cover, helps improve livelihoods

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has been growing new forests and protecting existing ones in recent years to expand forest cover and improve people’s livelihoods.

The province, which has the largest forest cover in the Central Highlands region, planted nearly 25,300ha in 2017-20, 6.3 times its target.

In Mang Yang District’s Hra Commune, the Hra Protective Forest management board allocated more than 6,300ha of forests last year to individuals, households and communities to exploit while also protecting them.

Nguyen Van Chin, head of the board, said besides planting and protecting forests, the board focuses on advocacy activities to enhance awareness of households and communities living near forests of the need to protect them.

Together with local authorities it organises advocacy activities to annually reach around 1,500 people in the commune’s 12 villages.

With these and support for illegal loggers to overcome their family’s financial difficulties, it has managed to stop the logging and make loggers forest guardians.

Seeing the good examples set by the former illegal loggers, other residents in the commune have also stopped cutting trees and are instead keen to be allotted tracts of forest for protection.

The money authorities pay them for this task helps them have a stable life.

Krong Chro district is one of the localities to do well in growing and protecting forests through advocacy.

Nguyen Lam, deputy head of its forest protection bureau, said the district organises meetings in villages to encourage people to grow trees on deforested lands.

“The new forests are growing well, creating jobs and improving people’s incomes.”

There were nearly 200 households in the district registering to grow nearly 400ha of new forests last year, according to the bureau.

Around 700 households in the district, mostly ethnic minorities, registered to plant trees on nearly 2,250ha in 2017-19, comfortably higher than the target the province People’s Committee set the district.

The province’s Forest Protection Sub-department has petitioned the Government to increase the fee paid to ethnic households for forest protection.

Gia Lai wants to increase its forest cover rate to 47.5 percent by 2025.

It has 633,325ha of forests now, including 543,131ha of natural forests, according to the department.

Police break up cross-border infant trafficking ring

Police forces operating in Hanoi and Cao Bang have busted a group trafficking newborn babies, saving the lives of four infants and subsequently arresting four mothers.

The police searched houses on February 25 to investigate traders hired to take care of the newborn babies before selling them on to China.

Four mothers were arrested on suspicion of getting involved in the trafficking ring, while four babies were also rescued.

During the operation, the police also discovered an eight-month pregnant woman who had intended to sell her child once the baby is born, along with two other pregnant mothers who had been brought to China.

The police said the large-scale nature of the newborn trafficking ring involves the participation of both domestic and foreign suspects.

At present, the four babies are now being taken care of by a social welfare centre operated by the Vietnam Women’s Union.

The police are expanding the scope of investigation.

HCM City to provide support to both public and private schools

The HCM City Department of Education and Training has proposed to provide financial support to both public and private schools to lower tuition fees.

Private primary schools and public primary schools which have been granted financial autonomy will get the support. This move aims to create education equity between all kinds of educational facilities and students since primary education is mandatory.

Not only will the plan help ease the burden on the students’ families, but it will also have positive impacts on the development of the private sector and help deal with the overcrowding problems at public schools. It will encourage more investment in private schools. The funds will come from the city’s budget.

At some public schools in HCM City, students go to schools in both the morning and afternoon, half of the day is mandatory and another half is voluntary with parents and schools needing to reach an agreement over tuition fees.

The HCM City Department of Education and Training also proposed giving VND70,000 per student per month to students that go to all-day public primary schools for the 2021-2022 school year.

COVID-19: Made-in-Vietnam vaccine protects people against UK variant

Nano Covax, Vietnam’s first locally-produced COVID-19 vaccine, has elicited a host of antibodies that help to protect those injected against the B.1.1.7 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which originates from the UK, according to a leading Vietnamese scientist.

Prof. Do Quyet, director of the Vietnam Military Medical Academy, outlined the information as part of a brief announcement during the launch of the second phase of human clinical trials on Nano Covax which took place on February 26 in Hanoi.

“Preliminary research results show that the potent antibodies elicited by Nano Covax prove to be effective against the variant B.1.1.7 from the UK,” said Prof. Quyet.

The country kick-started the initial phase of human trials of Nano Covax last December, marking the first vaccine of its kind to be produced locally by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, one of the four COVID-19 vaccine producers currently operating in the country.

It is now in the process of launching the second phase of trials in both Hanoi and the southern province of Long An with the participation of approximately 560 volunteers aged between 12 and 75.

The second phase is set to be focused on the safety and efficiency of the vaccine, especially the generation of antibodies, as the vaccine will also be tested on elderly people suffering from underlying health issues, according to Prof. Quyet.

“In phase 2 we will continue to evaluate whether these antibodies can resist the variant from South Africa,” he said.

Vietnamese scientists have conducted genome sequencing and found there are five variant strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus since the initial COVID-19 outbreak erupted in January 2020.

Most notably, variants VOC202012/01 and B.1.1.7 which originate from the UK and A.23.1 from South Africa have recently been detected at COVID-19 hotspots in Hai Duong province and Ho Chi Minh City, respectively.

While locally-made vaccines are currently in the process of undergoing clinical trials, the country is striving to ramp up the import of COVID-19 vaccines as part of the national vaccination campaign.

The initial batch of AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on February 24, with more than 117,000 doses landing in the country.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is due to ramp up the inoculation programme in early March, with priority set to be given to frontline healthcare workers, soldiers, border guards, policemen, along with those on duty in isolation areas and quarantine facilities.

Vietnam requires at least 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the national vaccination programme this year. However, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long believes the country is likely to receive only 90 million doses in 2021.

Along with the import of 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine agreed with AstraZeneca and COVAX, the nation is also negotiating to import a further 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine of the United States.

The MoH is therefore considering licensing two additional COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna of the United States and Generium of Russia.

British Council announces In Progress-series in Vietnam

Cutting across multiple disciplines, the In Progress will introduce 12 interesting events ranging from exhibition, multisensory puppet show, film screenings to a workshop bridging art and education, a new engagement with an old art form, and many more. In the context that COVID-19 is still complicated, there is likely a change in time and organisation form for each event.

During the time of the program, from March to May 2021, the British Council will be closely monitoring the situation and ready to take necessary measures as well as cooperate with local government agencies to put all necessary measures in place. Follow the council’s Website and Facebook for the update and further information about the 12 events.

With an aim of contributing to the enrichment of the cultural life of Vietnamese people by bringing diverse art and cultural events to the public; and to offer opportunity for cultural and creative hubs from different parts of the country to connect with each other and to work with artists and creative practitioners in designing and organising art and cultural events, in November 2020, under the Cultural and Creative Hubs Vietnam, the British Council launched an open call to the artistic and creative community for proposals to organise art and cultural events in all parts of Vietnam.

The response to the Open call has been overwhelming and 12 event proposals were selected to form In Progress that includes:

1. A visual art exhibition named ‘Abracadabra’ by Old Soul Art hub, Danang

2. A group exhibition ‘Virtual Private Realms’ by Vân Đỗ and Hà Ninh, Hanoi

3. A series of exhibition, discussion, and poetry reading ‘I write (in Vietnamese)’, by BlueBirds’ Nest, Hanoi

4. An experimental project with a library, an installation, a performance, workshops and talks ‘A queer museum’ by Đinh Thị Nhung, Hanoi

5. An educational concert and storytelling concert ‘Mummy’s Heart’ by Phạm Thị Hoài Anh, Hanoi

6. A public art event ‘Edge of the Citadel’ by Mơ Đơ, Hue

7. A series of art for children workshops and training of trainers ‘Listen to the Little Ones’ by Đông Thanh creative learning hub and Vẽ Voi (Drawing Elephant) project, HCM City

8. A journey with films ‘Như Trăng Trong Đêm’ by the Centre for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD), HCM City

9. Hai Phong: A week of Culture and creativity by Cửa Biển creative and cultural hub, Hai Phong

10. A multisensory puppet show ‘Little Peanut and the Sneeze Theory’ by Mắt Trần Ensemble, Ninh Binh

11. A series of exhibition, mini concert, and audience-interactive activities ‘Eyes of Xẩm’ by Chèo 48h, Hanoi

12. A concert and film screening event ‘Wandering/Sheltering’ by The Empathy Museum, Hanoi

One of the challenges that In Progress posed to all participating artists and creatives was to reach out to the harder to reach groups, and to thrive to create tangible values for those who might not have previously been benefiting from independent artistic and cultural practices.

All 12 projects have taken up this challenge brilliantly by not only aiming to reach people who live outside of megacity areas, but also by demonstrating how the arts and culture can become effective vehicles in exploring, understanding and improving many aspects of life for a wide range of audiences of different age groups and backgrounds, thus contributing to enhance people’s awareness and wellbeing.

In Progress is truly an unprecedented opportunity for creative hubs and cultural practitioners to connect with artists across the country and thereby reaching out of their areas to new groups of audiences, shared by Vu Thi Thanh Binh, project manager of Hai Phong: A week of Culture and creativity.

Meanwhile, Tran Duy Hung, project manager of ‘Như Trăng Trong Đêm’ has good expression that In Progress is an exciting project with a look of a festival. The program is highly valued for its diversity in the content, in form of presentation as well as difference in location of events. He does hope this will be a stepping stone for many similar programs from the British Council in the future.

ASEAN seeks to strengthen minerals cooperation

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has held a workshop on the Development Prospects for the ASEAN Minerals Cooperation (DPAMC) and Scoping Study of the ASEAN Minerals Database and Information System (AMDIS), aiming to promote regional minerals cooperation.

During the two-day workshop, participants discussed the initial findings and recommendations from the drafts of the DPAMC Study and the AMDIS Scoping Report under the “Strengthening ASEAN Cooperation in Minerals” project.

The DPAMC Study will stock-take existing ASEAN minerals development and cooperation in the context of global markets and minerals industry, and propose corresponding regional strategies and measures.

The study’s recommendations are expected to help define the future direction of ASEAN minerals cooperation and will be considered in the development of Phase 2 (2021-2025) of the ASEAN Minerals Cooperation Action Plan.

Meanwhile, the development of an effective ASEAN minerals database is crucial to minerals cooperation which includes facilitating much needed investment into minerals exploration and development in the region. AMDIS Scoping Study’s recommendations are expected to be considered in the enhancement of the current system.

Both project components aim to promote economic activities in the post-COVID-19 period, as well as ASEAN’s efforts to respond to the challenges and opportunities of a more minerals-intensive future.

The project is a collaboration between the Energy and Minerals Division of the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Programme II, along with a team of experts from the University of Queensland. The final reports are expected to be completed by November 2021./.

Youth Month 2021 launched in Thai Nguyen province

The youth unions of the Central Agencies Bloc and the northern province of Thai Nguyen on February 28 co-organised a ceremony in the locality to kick off the Youth Month 2021, and launch a tree-planting festival.

The event was in response to the 90th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26, 1931-2021).

A wide range of programmes and activities were held in the framework of the event, including presenting gifts to 15 former volunteer youths, bikes to 10 students with special circumstances in Dai Tu district and bookcases to local schools, and supporting the building of house for one poor household, among others.

Following the launching ceremony, the participants and local youths planted trees, and clean up the Vietnamese youth historical relic site, and several roads in Dai Tu district./.

ASEAN, Canada, UN Women advance women’s role in conflict prevention

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Canada and UN Women recently launched a five-year programme to expand and strengthen women’s leadership and participation in conflict prevention, resolution and recovery in Southeast Asia.

The 8.5 million CAD (6.36 million USD) programme, “Empowering women for sustainable peace: preventing violence and promoting social cohesion in ASEAN”, is funded by Global Affairs Canada to support ASEAN and the implementation of the ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action 2021-2025, with the support of UN Women as a lead UN partner.

“Canada is proud to launch this flagship initiative that uses the women, peace and security approach to promote inclusive and sustainable peace and security in the region, while addressing the systemic gender inequality,” said Diedrah Kelly, Canada’s Ambassador to ASEAN.

ASEAN has made important strides to advance women, peace and security agenda, including the adoption of the first ‘Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN’ in 2017, the launch of the ASEAN Women’s Peace Registry in 2018, and convening the first ASEAN Symposium on Women, Peace and Security in 2019 and the ASEAN Ministerial Dialogue on Strengthening Women’s role for Sustainable Peace and Security in 2020.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi said, “ASEAN is working concertedly to advance women, peace and security agenda across the three ASEAN Community Pillars as part of our commitment to promote gender equality and the roles of women in the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework.”

The COVID-19 impact has increased the risks for women and girls in fragile and conflict-affected contexts and this challenges us to re-examine threats to human security. “The pandemic highlights the important linkage between peace, humanitarian and development and the critical need for women’s leadership and participation to ensure effective and comprehensive response, from policy decision-making to peace building and pandemic response,” said Jamshed Kazi, UN Women Representative and Liaison to ASEAN.

The new programme reflects the commitment of ASEAN and Canada to promote gender equality and to respond to an increasingly widespread call across the globe for women to be empowered to lead and participate in peace and development.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam./.

Đồng Tháp Province tightens control of border gates, trails after Vietnamese woman with COVID-19 enters illegally

The People’s Committee in the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp on Saturday instructed local authorities and agencies to strengthen control of border gates, trails and crossings following the illegal entry of a Vietnamese woman who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Đoàn Tấn Bửu, vice chairman of the People’s Committee and standing deputy head of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said that health officials should quickly track down and quarantine people who have come into contact with the woman.

Previously, the woman was quarantined at Hồng Ngự Vocational Training School after it was discovered that she illegally entered the province with another woman from Cambodia and booked a room at a guesthouse in Tân Hồng District’s Sa Rài town on February 23.

On February 25, testing results at HCM City Pasteur Institute showed that one of them had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The Vietnamese patient worked at a casino in Phnom Penh.

The other woman tested negative for the virus.

The patient is being treated at Hồng Ngự General Hospital in the province.

According to provincial agencies, 11 people have had close contact with the woman. Of these, nine, including three from Cần Thơ, have been quarantined. The remaining two are still being traced.

Forty people, who are contacts of her close contacts (F1), are quarantined at home.

Bửu warned that people in the province should comply with the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: Khẩu trang (facemask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration).

People should contact local health officials to report people suspected of returning to the province from COVID-19 hit areas.

The province shares a 50-kilometre border with Prey Veng Province in Cambodia. The province’s border guards have been working with police to patrol the border for illegal entries.

Village elder dedicated in Krêl economic and cultural development

In Krêl Village in Đức Cơ District of Gia Lai Province in the Central Highlands, one ethnic minority member stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Rơ Mah Chel is a inspiration to his peers and has gained the trust and respect of all those around him.

Together with the head village and local authority, he has helped residents improve their education, change the old habits, and apply advanced techniques in cultivation and husbandry to get out of poverty.

He is also the person who informs people of the Government’s policies and conveys their aspirations to the local authority.

Chel has been a teacher since he was 20. He chose the career as he believed that knowledge would change his life and he could help his villagers improve theirs too.

Chel said he started his job when the village was quite poor and underdeveloped. He had to go to every students’ house to persuade their parents to let the kids go to school. In the morning, he came and picked up the students and took them home, even continuing lessons late into the night.

Years have gone by and some of his students have become officials with the local authorities. He is still dedicated to the job at Võ Văn Kiệt Primary School in Ia Dơk Commune in Đức Cơ District.

Among few literate people in the village, Chel read books on techniques of cultivation. He realised that the land of his village was nutritious, but the crops’ productivity remained poor due to people’s lack of knowledge and old fashioned habits.

He decided to be the pioneer to change people’s cultivation techniques. He took courses on coffee and rubber planting and applied these methods himself.

After the first year, he had earned nearly VNĐ300 million (US$13,070) from two hectares of rubber trees, one hectare of coffee trees and more than 100 pepper trees. After several years, he built a new house much to the surprise of local residents.

People rushed to his home to ask for advice and Chel was happy to share his knowledge and experience with the villagers. The more he shared, the more he gained their trust and respect.

It was time for Chel to make revolution in changing people’s bad habits. He taught them to cook and preserve food properly. He told them to move the animal farm far away from the residential areas. He encouraged them to eliminate old habits and apply new technology in cultivation to improve the productivity.

Chel is also the person to give mediation for local couples and young people. He is enthusiastic about preserving the traditional culture of the Central Highland. Chel opens free gong classes to teach the young generation how to play musical instruments and contributes to rebuild the traditional Rông community houses in the village.

Đức Cơ District’s People’s Committee chairman Siu Luynh said the local authority highly appreciated Chel’s contribution to the cultural and economic development of Krêl Village.

He was among reputable and knowledgeable person dedicated to the cultural preservation of the ethnic minority in the locality.

Mekong Delta farmers get bumper harvest, high prices for winter-spring rice

Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country’s rice granary, are having a bumper winter-spring harvest and getting high prices for their grain.

In Tiền Giang, farmers in the Gò Công freshwater zone have harvested around 4,000ha and got an average yield of 6.5 tonnes per hectare, 1.2 tonnes more than last year, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The zone, which comprises Gò Công Đông, Gò Công Tây and Chợ Gạo districts and Gò Công Town, is well known for growing fragrant and high-quality rice varieties for export.

Nguyễn Văn Mẫn, the department director, said farmers there sowed more than 21,800ha of rice, or 96 per cent of the target, almost all of it with fragrant and high-quality varieties.

Traders have been buying at the field at VNĐ8,600 per kilogramme, VNĐ1,900-2,000 higher than last year, enabling farmers to earn nearly VNĐ32 million (US$1,520) per hectare, VNĐ13.3 million ($580) higher, according to the department.

The delta’s 12 provinces and Cần Thơ City had sowed the crop about one month earlier than normal to escape the impacts of saltwater intrusion and lack of freshwater during harvest.

Farmers grew 1.5 million hectares, slightly down from last year since in some places they were worried about possible saltwater intrusion and drought.

However, they have had sufficient water for irrigation.

In Cà Mau Province, they have harvested more than 2,000ha of the 36,000ha grown so far, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In Trần Văn Thời District, which has large areas under the rice-shrimp farming model, many farmers have started growing high-quality rice varieties like ST 24 and ST 25.

Both the rice and shrimp farmed under this model are clean since little chemical is used.

In Trần Văn Thời District, farmers are getting a high price of VNĐ9,000 for ST 25, which ranked first in the 2019 World’s Best Rice Contest.

In Hậu Giang Province, farmers are selling their rice at VNĐ500-800 a kilogramme higher than last year.

Trần Chí Hùng, director of its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said local authorities and farmers had been regularly warned about saltwater intrusion so that they would take proactive measures to protect themselves.

A salinity level of 0.39 per cent or more has been recorded in Vị Thanh City since the middle of this month while 0.24 per cent has been found in Long Mỹ District.

Most rice varieties can only cope with a salinity level of up to 0.1 per cent.

The peak saltwater intrusion in the delta this year is forecast between February 25 and March 4.

Farmers are expected to complete harvest of the rice crop by May, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Cultivation Department.

Bus goes around HCM City supplying free face masks

A ‘face mask bus’ has been going around HCM City, dispensing high-quality face masks for free.

Painted bright yellow, it has a sensor that automatically sprays hand sanitiser first when someone puts their hand in before coming up with the mask.

People have to stand in a queue and keep a distance of two metres from others.

The vehicle has travelled to some crowded places like Miền Tây and Miền Đông bus stations, several industrial zones, the cultural house in Tân Bình District and other public places.

It was launched on February 6.

Phạm Quang Anh, director of Dony International Joint Stock Company, came up with the idea six months ago when COVID-19 was raging.

The masks it dispenses are certified as meeting Germany’s REACH standards for protecting human health and the environment.

They can be reused several times, reducing the impact on the environment, Anh said.

Beside donations from sponsors, Dony also plans to spend 5 per cent of its revenues on providing the masks.

The bus also plans to travel to Hải Dương Province, a COVID-19 hotspot.

Aid offered for development of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

The Ministry of Health (MoH) on February 27 received VNĐ20 billion (US$866,620) from conglomerate Vingroup for the clinical trials of homegrown COVID-19 vaccine COVIVAC.

The candidate vaccine is being developed by the MoH’s Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC).

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long spoke highly of the support of enterprises, organisations and individuals for Vietnam’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first “Made-in-Vietnam” ventilators were produced under the collaboration of the ministry and Vingroup, he noted, adding that the machines have been provided to localities nationwide.

Vietnamese scientists have regarded vaccine development as the key factor to contain the pandemic, and the MoH has spared no efforts in the research for vaccine in order to be able to produce the vaccine as soon as possible.

The COVIVAC vaccine project has been rolled out since May 2020.Results of pre-clinical trials affirmed its safety and efficiency, and the IVAC has been able to produce three batches of vaccine consisting between 50,000 and 10,000 doses each.

Clinical trials of the vaccines are projected to start this March and complete by October, said IVAC Director Dr Duong Huu Thai.

A dose may cost no higher than 60,000 VND and the vaccine is effective against emerging coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 variants originated from the UK and South Africa, he affirmed.

Meanwhile, the third domestic candidate vaccine VABIOTECH  developed by the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No 1, is also set to enter clinical trials in the coming time.

Restaurants, other services in HCM City to reopen

The city authorities of HCM City have allowed the reopening of restaurants and other services starting from March 1.

There have been no community transmitted COVID-19 cases in the city since February 11.

Dương Anh Đức, deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said the city could reopen tourism activities, food and beverage businesses, wholesale markets, wet markets, museums and libraries.

However, services such as bars, pubs, beer clubs, sports facilities and gyms will remain closed until further notice.

Activities not included in these groups can reopen but must comply with COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control regulations.

Ceremonies, religious and worship activities can be held with no more than 50 people at the same time. Attendees must follow COVID-19 prevention regulations and maintain social distancing of one metre or more.

On February 24, the city People’s Committee approved the Department of Education and Training’s proposal to reopen schools from Monday (March 1).

The People’s Committee on February 9 directed related units to stop all cultural, sports, entertainment activities, and temporarily close all beauty salons, karaoke, pubs, bars, beer clubs, massage, video games, theatres, movie cinemas, sports facilities, yoga classes and gyms to avoid the spread of the COVID 19.

Three in Hà Nội arrested for role in cross-border baby selling ring

Hà Nội police announced Friday they have arrested three people in a “major ring” charged with trafficking Vietnamese infants to China and rescued four babies last night.

The three are Mai Minh Chung (born in 1985) and Đặng Trương Đào Nguyên Anh (born in 1996), both residing in Ngọc Hồi Commune, Thanh Trì District, Hà Nội, and Ninh Thị Hải Yên (born in 1988), residing in Quán Thánh Ward, Ba Đình District, Hà Nội.

According to police, in 2019, Chung worked in Fujian Province, China, and met a man named Tính, who claimed to be from the central province of Thanh Hoá and served as a middle man to bring Vietnamese to China to work in factories.

Chung learned Tính had been selling Vietnamese infants to buyers in China and asked to be involved in the ring.

Chung was tasked with finding pregnant mothers who cannot afford to provide for the babies or those who want to put their babies for adoption, police said.

Via social media, Chung reportedly colluded with people identified only as Lương Ngọc and Hải Nga (whose identities remain unknown) to have these two people receive the pregnant women in the border province of Cao Bằng and then guide them to China through unofficial routes and hand them over to Tính.

For every successful handover, Tính is thought to have paid VNĐ30 million (US$1,300) to Chung and VNĐ80 million ($3,400) to the mother.

From 2020 November to January 2021, Chung allegedly colluded with three Vietnamese people known only as Út, Loan and Sáu, and found seven pregnant women who wished to sell their babies – including one who had crossed over to China to give birth to the baby and sell it to Tính, two women who came to Cao Bằng Province but could not cross the border, and four others that they lost contact with.

On January 31, 2021, Chung rented an apartment in Hà Nội and worked with Ninh Thị Hải Yến to find four pregnant women. Two went to China to give birth and handed the babies to Tính while two had given birth but were waiting to bring their babies to China.

In addition, through his girlfriend Đặng Trương Đào Nguyên Anh, Chung learned about a woman in the southern province of Cần Thơ who was eight months pregnant and brought her to Hà Nội, waiting for the day to go to China.

Tính is thought to have paid Chung VNĐ66 million for this case.

This is a major infant trafficking ring that the criminal police has been following for a long time, Colonel Phan Mạnh Trường, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Police Department said.

The police raided locations related to the ring’s activities on Thursday night and rescued four babies that were about to be brought to China.

Four mothers have been arrested, including the eight-month pregnant woman.

The police also managed to identify two other expecting women who had been brought to China, Trường told the media.

The investigation is ongoing.

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