Day: June 23, 2021

The number of tourists to Hanoi in the first half of 2021 is estimated at 2.9 million, down 25 percent year-on-year, according to the municipal Tourism Department.

The city has earned only 8.1 trillion VND (352.6 million USD) from tourism services, a year-on-year decrease of 57 percent.

Currently, Vietnam has not yet opened its doors to international tourists. The number of foreigners coming to Hanoi during this time is modest, mainly experts and workers staying in Vietnam.

Therefore, the capital city’s tourism industry has actively restructured new tourism products with a view to better serving domestic tourists, such as a night tour to decipher Thang Long Imperial Citadel – a UNESCO-recognised world cultural heritage site, a folk experience tour to the Museum of Ethnology, or a night tour to the Hoa Lo prison relic site.

The city is designing and making a system of tourist signs, logos for trade villages and souvenirs related to its tourism. It is also working on a set of criteria to evaluate high-quality tourist spots and tourist areas for 2021-2025, and has a plan to upgrade the quality of tourism products and tourist destinations in association with relic sites and craft villages in Hanoi also for the period to 2025.

Recently, the municipal Tourism Department has begun to implement a tourism programme in connection with the B52 Victory Museum. Developing cuisine in line with tourism activities is also a focus of work of the department.

Regarding tourism promotion and advertisement, the municipal tourism industry has advised municipal authorities to issue a plan to popularise and promote the capital’s tourist destinations in 2021, while coordinating with the Vietnam Television and the Hanoi Television to make and broadcast reportage and documentaries popularizing the image of Hanoi’s tourism and culture, and at the same time promoting its tourism image on LED screens at Noi Bai International Airport, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ly Thai To Monument.

Regarding the cooperation programme with US-based TV channel CNN in 2021, the department is negotiating on terms of the cooperation, to advise the municipal People’s Committee to sign an additional annex to the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation during 2019-2024 and in 2021. It has also coordinated with CNN to select products suitable to the communication strategy as well as major events of Vietnam and Hanoi this year.

The municipal tourism sector has designed three growth scenarios for the sector in 2021. In the best scenario, an early recovery will allow Hanoi to welcome 15.34 million domestic visitors, double the figure in 2020, and equal to 70 percent of the figure in 2019 before the pandemic. An early recovery would mean the normal operation of services and accommodation facilities, with average occupancy exceeding 45 percent.

The sector has also set an overall target of catering to between 13.16 and 19.4 million tourists, including 10.96-15.34 million domestic visitors, for this year.

Phung Quang Thang, Director of Hanoi Tourist and President of the Hanoi Travel Association said that travel businesses should review and restructure their products to create more attractive tours.

Thang said that the firms should work more closely with local authorised agencies to focus on developing night tourism, citing statistics showing that 70 percent of people engaging in night tourism activities enjoy food, 20 percent often drink and 10 percent engage in entertainment activities. In his opinion, with its advantages in night tourism such as the two pedestrian areas of the Old Quarter around Hoan Kiem Lake and Trinh Cong Son Street near West Lake, Hanoi’s culinary tourism will help travel firms thrive.

The city attracted some 8.65 million holidaymakers in 2020, equivalent to 30 percent as compared with 2019, of whom foreign arrivals were estimated at 1.11 million, equivalent to 15.8 percent from last year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The central city of Da Nang has attracted 11 investment projects into its industrial and hi-tech parks since the beginning of this year, including three FDI projects worth 145.3 million USD and eight domestic-invested ones totaling 188.4 billion VND (8.2 million USD).

This is an encouraging achievement for the city’s investment promotion amidst complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has greatly affects domestic and international production and business, said Pham Truong Son, head of the management board of Da Nang’s industrial and hi-tech parks, on June 23.

To date, industrial and hi-tech parks in the city have attracted 499 projects, of which 368 are domestic-invested, with a total capital of nearly 26.7 trillion VND, and 131 are foreign-invested, with a total investment of 1.74 billion USD.

To help enterprises maintain production and business but still ensure the safety of employees, Son said that the management board has strengthened inspection and supervision over COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

Since the beginning of this year, 250 businesses have been inspected, with fines proposed for three firms for their violations of pandemic prevention rules. All 60,499 workers and labourers in local IPs and hi-tech parks have been given COVID-19 testing.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Ho Ky Minh said that in the last six months of the year, the committee will continue keeping a close watch on the pandemic, helping businesses deal with difficulties and maintain and develop production and export.

The city will focus on completing procedures for calling for investment in Hoa Nhon, Hoa Hiep Bac and Hoa Khanh Nam industrial clusters and promote investment in industrial clusters such as Hoa Son and Non Nuoc stone processing villages./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

British Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams on June 22 hosted a reception for newly-appointed Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Nguyen Hoang Long.

Adams welcomed Long taking his new mission as Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK at a time when bilateral relations are growing fruitfully.

He expressed his delight at significant development steps of the bilateral relationship over the past years and thanked Vietnam for supporting the UK to become a Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The new ambassador, for his part, said Vietnam is committed to implementing the “Joint Declaration on UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership: Forging ahead for Another 10 Years,” in order to beef up the bilateral cooperation in all areas in a more practical and effective manner, and to promote the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

Long held that Vietnam and the UK should step up collaboration in multiple fields, including politics, diplomacy, defence, security, economy, trade, education, and culture, as the two nations are heading towards the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2023.

On the occasion, he asked Adams to help Vietnam gain access to COVID-19 vaccine supplies, production technology and medicine for COVID-19 treatment.

The British official affirmed that Vietnam is in the UK’s priority list of COVID-19 vaccine access.

He wished Long success during his term of office in the UK and pledged to stand ready to assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Vietnam in the UK in deploying priority foreign affairs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delay in issuing official legal regulations on managing cryptocurrencies will cause a rise in the risks of fraud and theft related to virtual assets, experts have warned.

Recently, investment in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Pi Network, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin has increased in Vietnam. It is estimated 1 million Vietnamese are already trading cryptocurrencies and the number is expected to increase 30 times by 2030.

At present, Vietnamese law does not mention cryptocurrencies as a legal means of payment, and neither does it recognise them as an asset or a foreign currency. Possessing, trading, and investing in cryptocurrencies therefore is not legal in Vietnam.

Finance expert Nguyen Tri Hieu told Vietnam News there are currently no regulations about the issuance, trading and exchange of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies nor regulations on an agency to manage virtual assets. Thus, the trading and exchange of cryptocurrencies via international platforms such as Binance, Coinbase Okex, Houbi, Bittrex, Remitano, Santienao and Kenniex or through direct agreements carry a lot of risks.

It was very easy for those who buy and sell virtual currencies online to become victims of scammers, Hieu said, warning that the investors would not be protected by law.

Management agencies and experts have repeatedly warned investors over cryptocurrencies. Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu said under current regulations, Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies were not legal means of payment in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) said the trading and exchange of cryptocurrencies via platforms such as Binance and Coinbase or through direct agreements carry a lot of risks.

The State Securities Commission last month advised people to be cautious when investing in virtual assets and currencies while asking public companies, securities companies, fund management companies and investment funds not to conduct the illegal issuance, trading or brokerage of virtual currencies.

Despite the warnings, investors still flock to cryptocurrency due to the offers of high profits. Therefore, experts have urged the Government to rapidly fill the legal gap in cryptocurrency management to minimise the drawbacks arising from the investment channel.

According to lawyer Nguyen Thanh Ha, Chairman of SBLAWS Law Firm, there is a huge legal gap in cryptocurrency management. Currently, the SBV is the only management agency to have issued a written document confirming digital currency is not an accepted payment instrument in Vietnam while some other agencies such as the MoF and the Ministry of Public Security have just warned of the risks when investing in cryptocurrencies.

It was very difficult to handle issues that might arise when investors trade cryptocurrency as there are no official legal prohibitions or guidelines related to this type of asset, Ha said.

Expert Can Van Luc said management agencies should research and create a legal framework for official digital currencies and business models in the new electronic financial environment such as e-wallets and fintech.

At the same time, it was necessary to complete the national identity database with a focus on upgrading information technology infrastructure and network security to protect the interests of consumers and financial institutions, Luc said.

Currently, ministries and agencies including the SBV, the MoF and the Ministry of Justice are working to implement the Prime Minister’s Decision No1255/QD-TTg on the project of completing the legal framework to manage virtual assets, digital currencies and cryptocurrencies.

The MoF has set up a research group, which began an in-depth study of cryptocurrencies, aiming towards legislative reform for the industry in the near term. The group is studying laws already enacted by the US, the EU and Japan related to the issue.

Before the issuance of asset-related legal regulations, the ministry will continue to raise people’s awareness about virtual assets and cryptocurrencies as well as warn about their risks.

The central bank also directs credit institutions and payment intermediaries to regularly warn users about the trading and use of such assets.

According to experts, the issue of legal regulations on managing virtual assets and cryptocurrencies might have long-term public, social and economic benefits as the trading of the assets without legal regulations as done currently can cause losses of State budget revenue, foreign currency shortage, or cross-border money laundering.

According to experts, cryptocurrency management will provide an opportunity for Vietnam to make additional revenue by taxing cryptocurrency trading. By defining them as exchanges of foreign currencies or financial assets, such exchanges, previously tax-free, may fall within the scope of corporate or personal income tax.

In addition, regulating cryptocurrencies in the country should effectively fight fraud and abuses related to virtual currencies, such as money laundering, hacking, or the anonymous financing of illegal activities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Party Central Committee’s Theoretical Council held a seminar on June 23 to look into some theoretical and practical issues related to the continued enhancement of Party building and rectification work.

The event, drawing leaders from some central commissions, ministries, and agencies, aimed to gather opinions for the compilation of an advisory report to be submitted to the Politburo and the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat.

Participants focused on some newly-arising theoretical and practical issues related to Party building and rectification; the prevention of and fight against the degradation in political thought, morality, and lifestyle; as well as signs of internal “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”.

The steering viewpoints, focal tasks, and breakthrough solutions to continue promoting the Party building and rectification work were also high on the agenda.

They assessed the implementation of the resolution on the issue released at the fourth session of the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee in October 2016, pointed out shortcomings and causes, and proposed solutions to the pressing matters in Party building.

In his closing remarks, Politburo member Nguyen Xuan Thang, Chairman of the Theoretical Council and President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, asked for more seminars and fact-finding tours of some localities to be organised in order to define clearly the advisory report’s content so that the report will be completed early and submitted to the Politburo and the Secretariat in the time ahead./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Le Huy Vinh hosted a reception for Anatoly Chuprynov, resident representative of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, in Hanoi on June 23.

At their meeting, Chuprynov congratulated Vinh on his appointment as Co-chair of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Military-Technical Cooperation and chairman of the Vietnamese sub-committee.

Authorised by chairman of the Russian sub-committee under the Russia-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee on Military-Technical Cooperation, Chuprynov shared his views on the status and results of military-technical cooperation between the two countries’ defence ministries.

Russia wants to further enhance ties with Vietnam in this field in the coming time, he said, proposing the two sides convene the 22nd meeting of the Russia – Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee on Military-Technical Cooperation this year.

Deputy Minister Vinh, for his part, highly spoke of the outcomes of the bilateral military-technical cooperation over the previous years, particularly highlighting the role of the committee in this regard.

Taking note of Russian side’s proposal, he suggested both sides to continue effectively implementing agreements and improving existing partnership mechanisms./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on June 23 attended the Asia and Pacific High-level Conference on Belt and Road Cooperation at the invitation of China State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

In his remarks, Son called on the international community to continue supporting countries, particularly developing nations, to soon push back the COVID-19 pandemic, shift towards the green and circular economy, and expand trade and investment, to promote sustainable and inclusive recovery.

Regional cooperation plays an important role as it helps Asia-Pacific recover and adapt to rapid changes of the global economy, the minister said.

He, therefore, suggested countries enhance multilateral cooperation, carry forward regional cooperative frameworks and initiatives in the region such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Belt and Road Initiative, step up assistance to developing countries to complete sustainable development goals by 2030, and share experience and transfer technologies on green economy.

Son highlighted Vietnam’s dual goals of pandemic containment and socio-economic recovery and development, adding the country will also press ahead with international economic integration, and expand and deepen cooperation with countries in Asia-Pacific, for peace, prosperity and sustainable development in the region. Themed “Promoting Cooperation on Combating the Pandemic for Sustainable Recovery”, the event focused its discussion on challenges faced by the region, especially COVID-19 impacts, and efforts to cope with the pandemic and promote economic recovery, towards developing green and circular economy for sustainable and inclusive growth on both regional and national scales.

Participants highlighted a need to enhance the sharing of information and experience in the fight against the pandemic. They expressed support for COVAX Facility and called on development partners and international organisations to continue assisting developing nations in accessing vaccines at reasonable costs.

They called for stepping up cooperation in vaccine research and production technology transfer while encouraging regional and global financial organisations to provide preferential credits for developing countries to effectively cope with the pandemic.

Priorities should be given to the full and on-schedule fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals till 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, cooperation in green economic development and environment, sustainable infrastructure development, clean energy, and improvement of the capacity to respond to climate change.

Several opinions said Belt and Road cooperation could positively contribute to the region’s common efforts via connectivity projects, facilitation of trade and investment, vaccine production and supply, green and circular economic development./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland raised more than 32,500 CHF (35,395 USD) for Vietnam’s COVID-19 prevention and control fund at an event held on June 21.

Of the sum, 20,000 CHF were donated by Swiss businessman Urs Angst, CEO of the food processing company Metzgerei-Angst; and 5,000 CHF from Truong Thanh Nguyen, the Vietnamese owner of the Truong Vinh AG company in Switzerland.

Urs Angst told the Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Geneva that he wants to revisit to Vietnam as soon as possible, and his desire could only be achieved if the nation secures enough vaccine for its people.

Nguyen said he donates to the fund to help Vietnamese get vaccinated and Vietnam soon open its border and bring life back to normal.

At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Linh Lan expressed her appreciation for the donors’ contributions in the context that the COVID-19 situation has basically been put under control in Vietnam but the risk of new outbreaks remains high due to the emergence of new coronavirus variants./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency