World bank

Laos has yet to apply “vaccine passport”: Health Ministry

June 18, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

A young man receives a COVID-19 vaccine jab at a hospital in Vientiane (Photo: VNA)

Vientiane (VNA) – All people entering Laos, even those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, still have to follow preventive measures and quarantine for 14 days, announced the country’s Ministry of Health.

Director General of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health , Phonepaseuth Ounaphom, said that as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not given any recommendations on reducing quarantine time, the country will continue to apply WHO’s current guidelines.

It means that Laos has not considered the implementation of the “vaccine passport”.

Meanwhile, people having received two COVID-19 vaccine shots in the country for at least one month are allowed to travel from Vientiane capital to other localities without a two-week quarantine.

According to the Health Ministry, Laos reported 13 new COVID-19 cases on June 18, including seven domestic ones detected in the capital city.

The national count reached 2,047, with three fatalities./.

VNA

COVID-19 situation eases in Laos, Cambodia

May 14, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Collecting a sample for COVID-19 testing in Laos (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Laos logged the lowest number of domestic infections since April 20 and Cambodia continued to record a lower number of new cases on May 14.

The Lao Ministry of Health confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19, including one domestic infection, and one more death from the coronavirus epidemic on the day. The remaining 15 imported cases have been immediately placed under quarantine upon arrival.

As of May 14 afternoon, the total number of confirmed cases in Laos rose to 1,498 with two deaths. A total of 513 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Meanwhile, Cambodia ’s number of new infections on May 14 stood at 358, down from 448 cases documented on May 13 and 472 on May 12.

The new infections included 350 local and eight imported cases, the country’s health body said in a statement.

Five more fatalities were recorded on the day, taking the death toll to 147, it said, adding that 348 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the total number of recoveries to 9,867.

To date, the nation has confirmed a total of 21,499 COVID-19 cases, of which 20,835 were related to the February 20 community event.

In Singapore , 24 community cases were among 52 new COVID-19 infections reported as of noon on May 14, said the local Ministry of Health (MOH). This was the nation’s highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases since Jan 30, when 58 cases were logged.

Twenty of the new community cases are linked to previous clusters, of which 13 have been linked to the Changi Airport cluster.

Singapore has so far logged a total of 61,505 COVID-19 cases, including 61,029 recoveries and 31 deaths.

Singapore will apply new restrictions from May 16 to June 13 to curb the spread of the disease in the community.

On the same day, the Philippines’ Department of Health reported 6,784 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1,131,467.

The death toll climbed to 18,958 after 137 more patients died from the disease on May 14, it said.

In Thailand, there were 2,256 new COVID-19 cases and 30 deaths posted on the same day.

According to the nation’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the new cases took the total count to 96,050 and the death toll to 548./.

VNA

Reference exchange rate up 34 VND

June 18, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,148 VND per USD on June 18, up 34 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial bank during the day is 23,842 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,453 VND/USD.

The rates listed at commercial banks all went up.

At 8:20 am, the rates at Vietcombank stood at 22,830 VND/USD (buying) and 23,060 VND/USD (selling), both up 10 VND from June 17. daily reference exchange rate was adjusted down on Monday but then around to follow an upward trend until the end of the week. It ended the week up 49 VND compared to the rate on Monday./.

VNA

VN-Index hits new peak on strong cash flow

June 18, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

VN-Index hits new peak on strong cash flow

The Saigon Times

An investor watches stock information on the computer. Strong cash flow into bank and steel stocks pushed the VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange up today, June 18, to its record of 1,377.77 points – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – Strong cash flow into bank and steel stocks pushed the VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange up today, June 18, to a new record of 1,377.77 points.

At the close, the main index jumped by 17.85 points, or 1.31%, against the day earlier, with 249 winners and 138 losers. Trade volume totaled over 809 million shares worth VND23.7 trillion, up over 5% in both volume and value from the previous session.

Over 58 million shares valued at VND2.8 trillion were traded in block deals.

In the group of bank stocks, HDB, EIB, BID, MBB and TCB were in positive territory, while lender VCB made a strong rise and reported a matching volume of over 3.2 million shares.

Housing developer VHM was among key drivers of the southern bourse, improving 3.2% at the close.

Among the steel stocks, TLH and SMC shot up to their ceiling prices, while NKG, POM and HSG soared by 2.9%-5.2%.

Many small and medium stocks also became cash magnets and moved up at the end, with property group FLC maintaining its growth momentum and closing up 3.1%. FLC became the most actively traded stock on the southern market with 53 million shares traded.

Financial firm FIT was also one of biggest gainers, rising by 2% and reporting a matching volume of 30 million shares.

With 109 gainers and 84 decliners, the HNX-Index of the Hanoi Stock Exchange stood at 318.73 points at the close, inching up a slight 0.52% from the session earlier.

Among the bank stocks, NVB ended at the reference price, while SHB and BAB made a mild rise. Lender SHB also took the lead on the northern bourse by liquidity, with 16.7 million shares changing hands.

Other largecaps such as securities companies SHS and MBS and service company THD finished the day up and contributed to the growth of the index, while many steel stocks were among the best performers.

GE Aviation and Safran launch advanced technology demonstration program for sustainable engines

June 18, 2021 by ven.vn

The companies today also signed an agreement extending the CFM International 50/50 partnership to the year 2050, declaring their intent to lead the way for more sustainable aviation in line with the industry’s commitment to halve CO2 emissions by 2050.

“The relationship between GE and Safran today is the strongest it has ever been,” said John Slattery, President and CEO of GE Aviation. “Together, through the RISE technology demonstration program, we are reinventing the future of flight, bringing an advanced suite of revolutionary technologies to market that will take the next generation of single-aisle aircraft to a new level of fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. We fully embrace the sustainability imperative. As we have always done in the past, we will deliver for the future.”

“Our industry is in the midst of the most challenging times we have ever faced,” said Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran. “We have to act now to accelerate our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment. Since the early 1970s, breakthrough engine efficiency and reliability have been the hallmark of our historic partnership and our LEAP engine already reduces emissions by 15 percent compared to previous generation engines. Through the extension of our CFM partnership to 2050, we are today reaffirming our commitment to work together as technology leaders to help our industry meet the urgent climate challenges.”2

Technologies matured as part of the RISE Program will serve as the foundation for the next generation CFM engine that could be available by the mid-2030s. The program goals include reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent compared to today’s most efficient engines, as well as ensuring 100 percent compatibility with alternative energy sources such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels and hydrogen.

Central to the program is state-of-the-art propulsive efficiency for the engine, including developing an open fan architecture. This is a key enabler to achieving significantly improved fuel efficiency while delivering the same speed and cabin experience as current single-aisle aircraft.

The program will also use hybrid electric capability to optimize engine efficiency while enabling electrification of many aircraft systems.

The program is being led by a joint GE/Safran engineering team that has laid out a comprehensive technology roadmap including composite fan blades, heat resistant metal alloys, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), hybrid electric capability and additive manufacturing. The RISE program includes more than 300 separate component, module and full engine builds. A demonstrator engine is scheduled to begin testing at GE and Safran facilities around the middle of this decade and flight test soon thereafter.

The original 1974 framework agreement creating CFM International as a 50/50 joint venture between the two aircraft engine manufacturers redefined international cooperation and helped change the course of commercial aviation. The partnership was renewed in 2008 for the launch of the LEAP engine program. Today, CFM is the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines with a product line that serves as the industry benchmark for efficiency, reliability and low overall cost of ownership. More than 35,000 CFM engines have been delivered to more than 600 operators around the globe, accumulating more than one billion flight hours.

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 79,000 employees and sales of 16.5 billion euros in 2020, and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes research and development programs to maintain the environmental priorities of its R&T and Innovation roadmap.

GE Aviation , an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.

Steering committee requires prompt vaccination

June 18, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also head of the steering committee.

The standing board agreed on specific instructions to create favourable conditions for local authorities and businesses to access and purchase vaccines and quickly transport them to Vietnam.

The Health Ministry will work with authorized suppliers and Ho Chi Minh City’s administration on the city’s needs for vaccines.

Localities and businesses must be cautious when seeking vaccines to avoid the case when the manufacturer commits to selling them but deliver in 2022, not in this year.

The standing board urged the Health Ministry to early issue a document on extending the groups prioritized to receive vaccination, while preparing for launching the free-of-charge expanded vaccination drive and on-demand paid vaccination service after completing inoculation for priority groups.

Participants agreed to create the best possible conditions for the trial of homegrown vaccine. If the trial goes well, in the context of vaccine scarcity the Ministry of Health will submit to competent agencies for approval for use homegrown vaccines in emergency circumstances.

The Ministry of Health will coordinate with ministries and sectors to submit to the Government a proposal on accessing all vaccine supply sources in the world towards the goal of achieving herd immunity by the end of 2021, and create mechanisms to facilitate investors’ investment in the production of vaccines in the country to serve not only domestic use but also export.

The health ministry reported that in the coming time, along with Pfizer vaccine already bought, Vietnam is expected to receive a number of vaccines that have been approved for emergency circulation by the World Health Organisation.

Source: VNA