Day: April 24, 2022

The Friendship Journey 2022, a cultural exchange aiming at helping enhance Vietnam’s relations with international friends, was held in Hanoi’s Quoc Oai district on April 24.

The programme, part of annual activities organised by the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations (HAUFO) and the municipal Department of Tourism, attracted the participation of representatives from foreign embassies, international organisations, and bilateral and multilateral friendship associations of HAUFO.

Nguyen Lan Huong, President of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and Chairwoman of HAUFO, said this was a meaningful occasion to introduce the Vietnamese culture to foreigners living in the country and also a chance for cultural exchange so as to strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between the Vietnamese people and international friends.

For more than 20 years since it was granted the “City for Peace” title by UNESCO, Hanoi has always paid attention to upholding traditional cultural values while striving to become a centre for connecting global values and a place for sharing regional and international initiatives for the sake of peace, stability, and development, she noted.

Huong added that serving as the venue of the opening and closing ceremonies and many sports of the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), Hanoi is now ready for a safe and successful Games so as to leave good impression on regional and international friends.

On behalf of diplomatic delegations, Venezuelan Ambassador Tatiana Pugh Moreno said Hanoi has become a great and warm home, describing it as a capital with mixed traditional and modern features, a dynamic and strongly developing city, and a land with rich trade, tourism, cultural potential.

Hanoi has defeated the COVID-19 pandemic and is continuing its development path, the diplomat added.

During the programme, participants visited Thay Pagoda – a famous destination of spiritual tourism in Hanoi, learned about traditional culture, and experienced folk games and traditional dishes of Vietnam in Tuan Chau Hanoi tourist site in Quoc Oai district./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

In the context of instability in the world, Vietnam needs to develop its domestic market with the “Vietnamese people giving priority to using Vietnamese products” campaign.

So said Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Truong Thi Ngoc Anh said at the workshop promoting growth and efficiency in implementing the “Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese products” campaign, which was held on April 22 in Hanoi.

At the workshop, Anh said in 2021, six groups of tasks and solutions were carried out according to the Party Central Committee’s Directive 03 on promoting the implementation of the campaign, to enhance production and business, ensuring macro-economic stability and social security.

However, COVID-19 had not yet ended completely, meaning supply chains, trade activities, production and business activities still faced many difficulties.

Instability in the world economic and political situation had also affected the country’s economic recovery after the pandemic.

As a result, the Vietnamese business community needed to actively participate in the campaign to develop the domestic market, Anh said.

“One of the basic solutions in developing the domestic market is to create a chain connecting supply and demand. This is also one of the important solutions to remove difficulties for production and business activities, and form supply chains from production to consumption for enterprises,” Anh said.

“The chains will help recover the domestic economy and reach growth goals as forecast, contributing to the efficient implementation of the campaign in the new situation,” she added.

According to Prof. Dr. Vo Dai Luoc, former Director of the World Economic Institute, the campaign has had a great effect on the Vietnamese business community, especially private businesses and households. However, there are few incentives for private enterprises and households, leading to many difficulties and challenges for them.

Luoc proposed that the Government provide supporting policies for Vietnamese private enterprises and households.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said that it was necessary to connect business associations with State management agencies so that the State could grasp the needs of the businesses, thereby removing difficulties for them.

Lan recommended the State should improve the mechanisms and policies for supporting the development of infrastructure, distribution systems, and investment in product development. It should also have support for agricultural production regions, and processing and logistics enterprises.

At the same time, it would be necessary to strengthen regional linkages, thereby planning regional development policies to avoid an imbalance of supply and demand.

The State also needed to enhance investment in the development of commercial infrastructure, to avoid imbalances between urban and rural areas.

In addition, it was necessary to focus on promoting the development of e-commerce to stimulate the consumption of young people, Lan said.

Mac Quoc Anh, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, proposed that domestic businesses needed to be more careful in the preparation of production and distribution of goods, to ensure enough supply of products and services on the domestic market.

Along with that, they needed to reorganise goods selling points for people to promote market access in remote areas, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh on April 24 inaugurated its new general hospital, invested with 1.6 trillion VND (69.6 million USD) in total.

The finance for the 700-bed hospital, which covers more than 16ha, consists of 1.4 trillion VND from Government bonds and 200 billion VND from the local budget.

Construction of its main facilities started in January 2019.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Trung Hoang said this is the largest healthcare establishment in Tra Vinh.

With modern infrastructure and equipment, it is expected to meet the demand for medical examination and treatment of local residents, as well as those from nearby provinces, helping ease the overload at the old hospital and higher-level health establishments, he added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Thailand will remove its Test & Go travel scheme for foreign arrivals and RT-PCR testing upon arrival from the end of this month as vaccinated travellers will only need to take self-antigen tests during their stay from May 1 as part of a further easing of entry rules to boost the economy and tourism.

However, the Thailand Pass registration will be retained. The change was approved at a meeting of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on April 22 under the chair of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Vaccinated visitors will not be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival anymore. It will be recommended they self-test using antigen kits during their stay. Vaccinated travellers must register for entry via Thailand Pass and present proof of vaccination.

If they test positive, they could enter their COVID-19 insurance process or take care of their own treatment. Unvaccinated travellers will be welcomed if they present proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than 72 hours before their trip and register via Thailand Pass.

They will be quarantined for five days, with another RT-PCR test on day 4-5. They will also be advised to do self-antigen testing during their stay.

High-risk visitors will be quarantined for five days. The minimum COVID-19 insurance coverage for all foreign arrivals will be 10,000 USD.

For arrivals by land, foreign visitors who intend to stay no longer than three days must be fully vaccinated and pass self-antigen tests.

Otherwise, they cannot enter the country. For visitors who intend to stay longer, fully vaccinated travellers will not be quarantined if they pass antigen tests, while those who are unvaccinated would be quarantined for five days.

Prayut said the government will consider the possibility of the “Two Countries, One Destination” project to promote tourism between Thailand and other countries.

With the easing of travel regulations, he confirmed that Thailand will fully reopen to foreign visitors from May 1./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

As of April 23 afternoon, 374,255 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to children from 5 to under 12 years old in 41 out of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The vaccination campaign for this age group started in northern Quang Ninh province on April 14.

In Vietnam, there are more than 11.8 million children from 5 to below 12 years old. About 3.6 million of them are subject to a three-month delay of vaccination after contracting COVID-19, and they will get the first shot in July or August.

Over 374,200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered to children from 5 to under 12 years old hinh anh 2

A student is vaccinated against COVID-19 (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, the 8.2 million remainders began receiving inoculation on April 14, and they will receive the second dose in the second quarter, the MoH’s Department of Preventive Medicine reported, noting that COVID-19 vaccination for children is one of the important tasks of the health sector in 2022.

The country had received 4.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by Australia for child vaccination. Over 2.3 million doses have been allocated so far.

The Netherlands has also committed to provide 2 million doses of Moderna vaccine while France will donate 2 million doses of Pfizer vaccine for children. These vaccines are scheduled to arrive in Vietnam in April./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Seaports in the central province of Quang Nam have recorded a surge in the volume of handled cargo in recent years, and are expected to make new breakthroughs.

Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the throughput at local seaports still met the target of over 2.5 million tonnes in 2021.

The figure topped 702,820 tonnes in the first three months of 2022, including 144,050 tonnes of exports, 86,847 tonnes of imports, and 471,923 tonnes of domestic cargo, according to Director of the Quang Nam Maritime Port Authority Truong Hoan Lac.

He said with the production and throughput growth, especially the soaring volume of exports and imports via seaports in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, the cargo handled at seaports in the province is predicted to surpass 4 million tonnes this year and reach 13 – 16 million tonnes by 2030.

Quang Nam boasts many advantages thanks to connections by air, road, railway and sea, while transport infrastructure is relatively comprehensive. The task now is to tap into the local potential to develop seaports, Lac noted.

Quang Nam’s seaports expected to make breakthroughs in near future hinh anh 2

Containers at Chu Lai Port (Photo: VNA)

A representative of the Vietnam Maritime Administration said with an over-100km-long coast, Quang Nam was identified by the Ministry of Transport as an important seaport centre in the central region. Established in 2011, the Quang Nam Maritime Port Authority has been continually making reforms, improving efficiency and effectiveness of its governance, and creating optimal conditions for seaport activities to become a key part of the service sector.

Lac went on to say that the authority is working to apply online public services at Level 3 and 4, the highest levels, for most administrative procedures for vessels arriving at and leaving the local seaports.

The time needed for handling procedures has been shortened from one hour to 15-30 minutes, while 98 percent of the procedures are handled electronically, thereby creating a favourable and transparent environment for enterprises. This has given an impulse to maritime activities and won over maritime transportation companies, thus helping improve the competitiveness of local seaports, the official added.

In the planning scheme on the development of Vietnam’s seaport system by 2020 with a vision to 2030, Chu Lai Port in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone is one of 15 of its kind nationwide to be developed from a second-tier seaport (which means a local integrated seaport) into a first-tier one (a national port that serves as a regional gateway).

To do that, the Quang Nam People’s Committee approved a plan on the Chu Lai Port’s development which aims to turn the facility into a centre of domestic and international transport and trade in the central and Central Highlands regions, and a gateway to the East Sea of the Central Highlands, southern Laos, northeastern Cambodia, and Thailand./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Up to 88 professional athletes from provinces and cities across the country, and Japan took part in a marathon on Pavi ancient stone road which ended on April 24 in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau.

Of these, 28 athletes ran in the 42km category and the remainders competed in the 21km event.

The Pavi ancient stone road was built by the French in 1920 and it took seven years to complete. It was 100km long connecting Lao Cai province’s Bat Xat district and Lai Chau province’s Lai Chau city. During the French colonial period, it was used to transport goods, agricultural products and weapons from Lao Cai to Lai Chau and vice versa. Now the road is only 17km long, stretching from Bat Xat district’s Sang Ma Sao commune to Phong Tho district’s Sin Suoi Ho commune (Lai Chau province).

This is the first time Phong Tho district has organised the marathon on the Pavi ancient stone road in response to the campaign “All people take exercise following Uncle Ho’s example” in the 2021-2030 period; a national action programme on tourism in 2020-2025 period with a vision to 2030; and Lai Chau Tourism – Culture Week 2022 as well as to celebrate the 20th division anniversary of Phong Tho district.

Through the tournament, the organising committee wants to exploit the tourism potential, especially promoting the image of beautiful nature, friendly and hospitable people of Phong Tho district in particular, and Lai Chau province in general, to domestic and international tourists./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese industrial real estate market continued to record positive signals, attracting a large amount of foreign capital.

The main leverage of foreign capital inflows in the first quarter of this year came from the industrial real estate segment.

VSIP Bac Ninh Co Ltd increased capital by nearly 941 million USD for the investment project to build urban infrastructure and VSIP Bac Ninh services, which helped the total registered capital of foreign investment in real estate to leap.

With this capital increase, Singapore continues to maintain its leading position in foreign investment flows into Vietnam in the first quarter, with a total registered capital of 2.29 billion USD, accounting for 25.7 percent of total investment capital into Vietnam.

In the southern province of Long An, a significant industrial park real estate from Singapore has also announced a new land fund of 20.9 hectares in Vinh Loc 2 Industrial Park and 22.3 hectares in Xuyen A Industrial Park for factories to rent.

These are the first two projects of BW in the province and are part of the company’s expansion strategy in key industrial areas adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City.

These two projects are expected to be completed in the second and fourth quarters of next year, respectively, providing 433 square metres of two-storey ready-built warehouse.

Nguyen Thanh Thanh, head of the economic zone authority of Long An province, said that thanks to the promotion and investment attraction taking place throughout and without interruption during the pandemic last year, the process of investing in industrial land in the province has prospered from the beginning of this year.

“From the beginning of the year until now, it has attracted 230 million USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), including new registration and capital adjustment into industrial parks. Domestic investment has reached over 7 trillion VND (304 million USD). There are many big projects, such as Coca-Cola’s investment in a factory with a total capital of more than 136 million USD in Phu An Thanh Industrial Park in Ben Luc district,” Thanh told Dau tu (Investment) newspaper.

Long An’s foreign investment attraction was based on investment procedures and licenses improving, as many businesses received certificates within the same day, he added.

The massive influx of international investors into the industrial real estate market has pushed up industrial land rents.

JLL’s industrial real estate market report shows that industrial land prices still maintained strong growth momentum in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent.

This is attributed to the wave of FDI poured into the country after restoring flights and opening international borders. The average rental price of industrial land is 120 USD per metre per lease cycle.

JLL said that the ready-built factory market has moved to a larger scale to meet the needs of tenants, especially international customers who choose to lay foundations or expand production in Vietnam, but wanted to save time, cost and quickly put businesses into operation./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency