Day: October 23, 2021

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee on October 22 solemnly held a funeral for Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, Supreme Patriarch of the Patronage Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), who passed way a day prior at the age of 105, at Vien Minh (Rang) Pagoda in Hanoi’s Phu Xuyen district.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue sent wreaths to pay tribute to the late Most Venerable.

On behalf of Party and State leaders, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on October 22 paid homage to Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue.

Writing in the funeral guest book, President Phuc described Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue as a symbol of national unity and religious solidarity.

As the head of the VBS, Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue has set an example and led the Sangha along the path of “Dharma – Nation – Socialism,” he said, adding that the Most Venerable’s life has vividly reflected Buddhism’s cultural and ethical values in society.

President Phuc also conveyed his sincere sympathy to the VBS Central Committee and Buddhist monks, nuns, and followers for their loss and urged them to learn from Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue to together build and unite a strong VBS, contributing more and more to national construction and defence.

On the same day, a government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, a National Assembly delegation headed by Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the NA’s Culture and Education Committee and a Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee delegation led by Do Van Chien, President of the VFF Central Committee also paid respect to late Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue.

The Most Venerable, who led an 85-year religious life, was also a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and head of the Vien Minh Pagoda.

He used to serve as the Vice President of the VBS’s Executive Council and head of the executive board of the VBS chapter in former Ha Tay province (now part of Hanoi).

Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue was honoured with the Ho Chi Minh Order, the second-class Independence Order, the Great National Unity Order, the certificate of merit by the Prime Minister, and many other noble rewards in recognition of his dedication to Buddhism and the secular life.

The respect-paying ceremony is being held at the Vien Minh Pagoda from 7am on October 22 through October 23, while the memorial service will take place at 9am on October 24.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Nui Chua National Park in the south central province of Ninh Thuan is among the rare destinations in Vietnam where sea turtles lay their eggs.

It used to host green, loggerhead, and hawksbill sea turtles, but only green turtles have arrived during nesting season in recent years.

The peak of the nesting season in the park falls between June and October. In recent years, though, the number of sea turtles spotted during this time has fallen.

“In the evening, we patrol and protect the mother turtles, and move nests or eggs that are near the sea to safety,” said Pham Anh Dung, deputy head of the Sea Preservation Department of the Nui Chua National Park.

Each year, the Nui Chua biodiversity conservation centre releases hundreds of turtles into the sea.

Since the beginning of this year, 78 turtles have been spotted looking for a place to lay their eggs, resulting in 1,250 babies released into the sea. A rescue team also released a 10 kg blue turtle.

Since 2000, with the aid of domestic and international organisations, like the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Global Environment Fund, the Nui Chua National Park has run a project to survey visiting turtles and their nesting conditions. The results were then used to protect the species, particularly at the three protection zones of Bai Thit, Bai Ngang, and Bai Hom beaches.

“Normally, when the turtles are injured, we will feed them and take care of them, bathing them with disinfectant for a while. After they recover, we release them back into the sea,” said Ngo Minh Quoc from the Marine Preservation Department of the Nui Chua National Park.

The park has built a facility to treat turtles saved from illegal captivity, with volunteers trained to monitor them during their nesting time and to protect the eggs. The volunteers join patrols of the park’s rescue team along the beach and carry out communications campaigns.

Also joining the effort, Ninh Thuan’s authorities have requested intensified inspections of the illegal captivity, transport, and distribution of sea turtles and their eggs in the local area, with strict punishment imposed on violators.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic will largely depend on the vaccine rollout, according to experts.

They said that economic growth would also depend on the effectiveness and side effects of disease prevention measures and financial support packages. They said bad debts continued to be accumulated and could sharply increase to exceed the tolerance threshold of businesses. This is a potential financial risk in the post-pandemic economy.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Centre for Economic and Strategic Studies (VESS), said because of the slow pace of vaccination, Vietnam missed the beat of the world economy’s recovery in 2021. This might lead to the loss of relative advantage. Vietnam’s vaccine rollout was relatively slow compared to other countries.

The pandemic outbreaks in 2021 slowed the country’s economy growth and caused supply chain disruptions and labour market disturbances. Domestic businesses had been severely hurt. In addition, geopolitical shifts and developments of the world economy might increase risks for businesses in terms of the price of raw material.

Thanh said economic growth in the first nine months this year did not really reflect all the difficulties of the economy. The resistance of enterprises had declined, particularly businesses in the southern cities and provinces which were suffering great losses due to the fourth wave of COVID-19.

Pham The Anh, Head of the Macroeconomics Department under the National Economics University, said the market demand had worsened due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and goods circulation had also been severely affected.

Anh told participants that sooner or later, production costs would be reflected in the output prices such as expenses on gasoline, logistics, and costs of disease prevention. When social activities return to normal, consumer demand increases, the above factors would affect prices and put pressure on inflation. It was forecast that by the end of this year, the price of foodstuffs might rise due to difficulties in supply.

Thành forecast that the high growth scenario could be gained this year if all businesses reach adaption in terms of production and limit disruptions in goods supply as of the fourth quarter of 2021. With such a prediction, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) could reach less than two percent.

According to the expert the low growth scenario is that cities and provinces have not conducted synchronised measures in the fight against the pandemic. This will cause difficulties in goods circulation. This may lead to the disruption of contracts and production plans and a labour shortage. As a result, the country’s GDP can fluctuate at 0.2 percent.

In order to ensure the country’s economic growth in the high growth scenario, the Government should speed up vaccination campaigns in cities and provinces and ensure smooth circulation of goods as well as work out fiscal packages for businesses and assist unemployed workers.

Provincial authorities are also required to offer jobs for those who had fled Ho Chi Minh City and nearby provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc several months ago due to the fourth COVID-19 wave that emerged in the country in late April.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ministry of Construction has proposed a 30 trillion VND (1.3 billion USD) credit package to build low-cost homes for workers.

According to the Ministry of Construction (MoC), the package will help ensure social welfare for vulnerable people, enhance economic recovery and development, remove the difficulties plaguing enterprises and support the development of the housing and real estate market.

Although the Government has issued multiple solutions to develop affordable housing for workers, the supply of homes for workers at industrial parks have yet to meet the demand.

Across the country, there are 266 social housing projects with more than 142,000 units totalling more than 7.1 million square metres. Another 278 projects including 276,000 units with a total area of 13.8 million square metres are under development.

Cities and provinces have completed 121 social housing projects with 54,000 units for workers of industrial parks and are building 100 other projects with 134,000 units.

However, since early this year, no social housing projects for workers have been completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the ministry, policies for housing development for workers have yet to be worked out. They are included in the policies for social houses.

Additionally, some localities have not paid much attention to formulating plans to develop social housing projects, especially for workers.

Therefore, the Ministry has proposed amending the 2014 Housing Law, specifying policies for homes for workers to attract investment.

While developing industrial parks, the investors must set aside a certain proportion of land to build homes for workers. These homes must have a minimum area of 10 square metres per person.

Land use fees, value added tax and corporate income tax should be reduced or exempted for investors of these housing projects. They should be given easier access to preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and other credit institutions.

The Ministry also urged the Government to propose the National Assembly add social housing projects, including those to develop homes for workers in industrial parks, to the mid-term public investment plan in the 2021-2025 period.

The Government should also quickly provide 3 trillion VND for social housing projects in line with its Resolution 41/NQ-CP dated 9 April, 2020.

According to the ministry, the additional credit package aims to ensure “dual goals” consisting of social security and housing for the disadvantaged while promoting economic recovery and development and removing difficulties for businesses in terms of housing development and the real estate market.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) stands ready to provide comprehensive assistance for Ho Chi Minh City’s economic recovery in the short term, as well as its economic development in both medium and long terms.

ADB Country Director for Vietnam Andrew Jeffries made the promise during his virtual meeting with Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai on October 23.

ADB is also willing to coordinate with HCM City in the disbursement of capital for joint projects and provision of credit to help recover local businesses affected by COVID-19 through intermediate financial institutions or guaranteed bank loans, he said.

Jeffries expressed his belief that HCM City will soon overcome adverse impacts of the pandemic, and spoke highly of the economic development capacity of HCM City and Vietnam as well in the medium and long terms.

The next six months will be an important period when businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and investors should receive support to surpass difficulties caused by COVID-19, he said.

For his part, Mai applauded the bank’s support to Vietnam in economic recovery and safe adaptation to the pandemic, highlighting the ADB-funded COVID-19 financial relief worth 5 million USD to support women-led SMEs, among others.

According to the official, the city has identified a phased economic recovery roadmap and drawn up 11 strategies to safely, flexibly adapt to and effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic.

HCM City wants to receive ADB’s recommendations for its economic recovery strategies, he added.

The two sides agreed to improve the efficiency of cooperation in ongoing projects, and discuss new ones associated with economic recovery plans of HCM City and Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Three Vietnamese seaports have been named among the top 50 of the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) launched by the World Bank and IHS Markit.

Cai Lan International Container Terminal in the northern province of Quang Ninh ranked at 46th while Hai Phong Port and Cai Mep International Terminal in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau ranked at 47th and 49th, respectively.

Yokohama port in Japan has been ranked as the most efficient port in the world, followed by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port. Other ports in the top five are Chiwan, part of Shenzhen’s port in Guangdong province, Guangzhou port of China and Taiwan’s Kaoshiung port.

Ports in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa dominated the top 50 spots, while four US ports cracked the top 100 – Philadelphia (83rd), the Port of Virginia (85th), New York & New Jersey (89th) and Charleston, South Carolina (95th).

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted trade around the globe, snarling trade and exposing the frailty of a supply chain of goods. The US is the world’s biggest consumer, importing goods valued at roughly 2.5 trillion USD a year.

Southern California’s Los Angeles and Long Beach ports handle the most ocean cargo of any ports in the US, but are some of the least efficient in the world, according to the ranking which reviews 351 container ports around the globe.

Los Angeles was ranked 328th, behind Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam and Alaska’s Dutch Harbor while the port of Long Beach was at 333rd, behind Turkey’s Nemrut Bay and Kenya’s Mombasa.

The CPPI is based on the total port hours per ship call, with this being defined as the elapsed time between when a ship reaches a port to its departure from the berth after completing its cargo exchange.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Over the past four years, the Vietnamese Government, associations and businesses in the fishery sector have made efforts to carry out recommendations of the European Commission (EC) and have its “yellow card” warning against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing lifted, heard a conference on October 23.

Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and head of the VASEP Marine Product Committee, said Vietnam’s aquatic product exports reach nearly 9 billion USD a year.

She, however, pointed out limitations in the management and exploitation of aquatic resources, which have yet to fully meet relevant legal regulations. Violations in fishing regulations should be quickly handled to remove the “yellow card” issued by the EC in 2017, Sac said, adding that such violations would be threats to the fishery sector’s sustainable and responsible development.

She also warned that once the EC imposes a “red card”, Vietnamese seafood will not be allowed to enter the EU market, and the sector would loose around 387 million USD each year.

VASEP Deputy Secretary General Nguyen Hoai Nam said VASEP’s IUU control board will work to maintain results recorded over the past four years, and deal with the limitations.

The communication work will be stepped up to raise public awareness of fishing regulations, he said, stressing the aim of ending violations in foreign waters at the end of this year, and have the “yellow card” removed in 2022.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The goal of 600 billion USD in foreign trade is likely to be realised by the end of the year because by October 15, the national import-export turnover had exceeded 510 billion USD, according to Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The country’s import-export turnover hit more than 26 billion USD in the first half of October, including 13.16 billion USD from exports.

Four groups of commodities with an export turnover of 1 billion USD upwards were phones and components; computers, electronic products and components; machinery and equipment; and garments.

Vietnam earned 254 billion USD from exports and spent 256.45 billion USD on imports, resulting in a trade deficit of 2.45 billion USD by October 15.

According to the MoIT, the monthly trade balance has gradually shifted to a trade deficit since the beginning of the second quarter, and this trend is showing signs of decreasing, with just 100 million USD worth of trade deficit recorded in August.

With the current trade growth rate, the import-export turnover for the whole year is expected to exceed 600 billion USD, it said.

The trade balance will heavily depend on the results of the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the MoIT said, adding that it would continue to implement a range of solutions to support businesses and promote exports.

The MoIT said quickly resuming production and boost exports are the most important solution to reduce the trade deficit and move towards a trade surplus in the near future.

Ministries, sectors and localities should focus on measures to keep the pandemic under control as well as remove difficulties for production and circulation of goods, it said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency