Day: May 4, 2022

A Thai official has said that the country will focus on excelling in Olympic disciplines at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) as there is a low chance of topping the total medals tally.

Local media cited Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Kongsak Yodmanee as saying that there were many factors that reduced Thailand’s chances of heading the medal table at the Games that will take place in Vietnam from May 12 to 23.

He held that the biggest obstacle in preparing athletes for SEA Games 31 was the COVID-19 situation. As the competition was postponed from 2021 to the following year, sports associations and the SAT had tight schedules to prepare the athletes.

However, the SAT said it had received support for every dimension, especially in sports science.

The official added the SEA Games is important for Thailand’s sports development because it is a competition of pride to which Thai fans attach high importance.

He assured that Thai athletes are 100 percent ready and will travel to Vietnam in early May as some competitions will get under way before the opening ceremony, such as the men’s football team’s match against Malaysia on May 7.

The SAT has set the target of bettering its performance at the 30th SEA Games in 2019, in which Thailand finished third with 92 gold medals, 103 silvers, and 123 bronzes.

Kongsak said the SEA Games should be seen as a stage to prepare young athletes for the Asian Games and Olympics in the future. He urged Thai fans to evaluate performances in Olympic disciplines while looking at the total medals tally.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of this year reached nearly 1.8 billion USD, according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s branch in the city.

The volume showed a 14.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Those are impressive figures in the context of complex changes in the world situation and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global trade and economic activities.

Foreign remittances account for around 12 percent of HCM City’s GRDP, becoming an important resource for socio-economic development in not only the city but also the country as a whole.

Last year, remittances to the city came to a record high of 7.1 billion USD, accounting for more than half of the national volume.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Total passengers passing through airports across Vietnam exceeded 1.1 million during the four-day National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday, reported the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

The figure represented an annual decrease of 3.3 percent, however goods throughput hit 15,900 tonnes, up 7.5 percent on year.

Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh city, Noi Bai in Hanoi, and Da Nang in the central city of the same name received 375,000, 240,000 and 94,800 passengers, as well as 4,900, 9,600 and 316 tonnes of goods, respectively.

Vietnamese airlines operated 3,600 flights, down 13.5 percent over the same period last year. Of the flights, 3,300 took off on time, and 25 were cancelled.

This year, the National Reunification Day and the May Day fell on Saturday and Sunday, so people had two more days off on May 2 and May 3.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Sprinter and hurdler Quach Thi Lan has been selected to light the cauldron of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) at the opening ceremony in Hanoi on May 12, according to the organiser.

The organiser initially selected marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh for the role. However, the Olympic medalist will not compete at the upcoming games as an athlete so the honour was transferred to Lan who championed the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2018 Asian Games (ASIAD).

Vinh is the most successful sportsperson in Vietnam’s history. He won one gold and one silver at the 2016 Rio Games, Vietnam’s best result at the world’s largest sport festival.

Vinh now has a new role to fulfill at SEA Games 31 – the national head coach of the shooting team. Vinh will join nine Vietnamese sports heroes to take the honour of anchoring the torch relay before he hands it over to Lan, a gesture symbolising the succession of Vietnam’s sports in pursuit of new heights at the international arena.

The nine athletes include Olympic 2000 taekwondo gold medalist Tran Hieu Ngan, Olympic 2008 weightlifting silver medalist Hoang Anh Tuan, Olympic 2012 weightlifting bronze medalist Tran Le Quoc Toan, multi-time wushu world champion Nguyen Thuy Hien, and multi-time SEA Games swimming winner Nguyen Thi Anh Vien.

Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang will represent all athletes to take the Games’ oath while volleyball referee Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa will make a promise to officiate matches based on fairness.

Reigning fencing champion Vu Thanh An will fly the flag for Vietnam. It will be An’s fifth time taking the honourable duty for the nation. He previously took the responsibility at the Rio Olympics in 2016, SEA Games 2017 and 2019 and the Asian Games in 2018.

An is considered a ‘lucky’ flag bearer as after his service, Vietnam won their first ever Olympic and Asian Games golds.

At this year’s Games, An is one of the country’’s gold hopefuls in men’s sabre fencing event. The 29-year-old won the title at the last three Games.

The opening ceremony will feature a cultural and artistic performance featuring 3,000 people over two hours under director Tran Ly Ly, head of the Performing Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The SEA Games’ flag raising ceremony will be held on May 11, one day before the opening ceremony.

It is an official event to welcome all teams and encourage athletes ahead of their tournament. It is also expected to show Vietnam’s hospitality and friendship to international friends.

Almost 400 representatives of all teams, guests and media will take part in the ceremony.

The 31st SEA Games will be held from May 12-23 in 12 cities and provinces. Football will be the first sport organised from May 6.

The regional biennial event will see the participation of almost 10,000 athletes, coaches and officials of 40 sports.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Both global synthetic and natural rubber prices are on an upward trend, but not all businesses in the industry are enough confident to set higher profit targets for this year.

Compared to the beginning of April, the price of this item has increased by 9 percent. Trading Economics also forecast that the increase in rubber prices will not stop until the end of the first quarter of 2023 and may reach 310.84 yen per kilo.

The price of crude oil on the world market has increased in recent times, pulling up the price of synthetic rubber – a petroleum product.

The rubber supply was also affected after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that the world would not be able to replace about seven million barrels of oil and other liquids lost per day from Russia.

On April 18, 2022, benchmark US crude oil for June delivery was 113.2 USD per barrel and New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was 107.93 USD per barrel.

The price of natural rubber is also supported by world demand in 2022, which is expected to increase by 1.2 percent compared to 2021, to 14.2 million tonnes.

According to the General Department of Customs, in the first three months of 2022, rubber exports reached 406,800 tonnes, worth 715.39 million USD, up 0.3 percent in volume and 6.2 percent in value over the same period of 2021.

The price trend is likely to increase in the next few months due to the seasonal shortage of supply, according to the forecast of the Vietnam Rubber Association,

Besides favourable factors from the market, the natural rubber industry is also under certain pressures. The shortage of containers, high transportation costs and slow customs clearance will affect rubber demand.

After a year of failing to complete the annual plan, the Southern Rubber Industry Joint Stock Company (CSM) has set a business plan for 2022 with strong growth. CSM expects revenue to reach 4.95 trillion VND, a slight increase of 2 percent over the same period last year, but profit before tax is expected to reach 101 billion VND, up 83 percent compared to 2021.

To realise the target, CSM managers said that the company will maintain production to meet market demand, including both domestic and exports, at the same time, increase labour productivity for existing product groups, especially investing in small equipment to complete a number of stages in the production line of motorcycle tyres, motorcycle tubes, bias tyres, and auto tubes.

Phuoc Hoa Rubber Joint Stock Company (PHR) also sets a positive growth target this year with a revenue target of more than 2.25 trillion VND and profit after tax of 744 billion VND, up 16 percent and 56 percent respectively, compared to 2021.

Meanwhile, Dak Lak Rubber Investment JSC (DRI) targets total revenue of 599.6 billion VND in 2022, a slight increase compared to 2021, but profit after tax is expected to decrease by 5.7 percent to 79.2 billion VND.

DRI Chairman of the Board of Directors Nguyen Viet Tuong said DRI is managing an area of over 8,800 hectares of rubber plantations in Laos with loans mainly in Lao kip. By the end of 2021, DRI’s total debt was more than 256 billion VND, so the company would be at risk in exchange rates. In case the kip depreciates, DRI’s revenue will also be affected. In addition, logistics costs will become high due to the sharp increase in raw material prices, which is also a disadvantage for DRI.

Da Nang Rubber Joint Stock Company (DRC) also forecasts revenue in 2022 to decrease slightly to 4.4 trillion VND and profit after tax to decrease by 12 percent to 256 billion VND compared to the previous year.

DRC said it still faced a labour shortage at some production stages because of the COVID-19 pandemic; empty containers and high rental prices; and high transportation costs which cause the purchase price of raw materials to increase sharply. In particular, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine caused oil prices to rise, pushing up prices of raw materials and goods, and DRC’s import and export activities into these two markets were also disrupted.

This year, DRC will focus on products that are the company’s strengths in the domestic market to improve production and business efficiency such as off–the-road (OTR) tyres and construction tyres. DRC’s goal is to cover all segments in the domestic market as well as increase sales opportunities in export markets.

Positive first quarter

Plenty of rubber companies have recorded positive Q1 earning results compared to the previous year.

In the first quarter, thanks to a sharp increase in the selling price of finished products compared to 2021, Dak Lak Rubber Investment JSC (DRI) recorded net revenue of 134 billion VND, up 8 percent, in which, revenue from finished rubber products reached 130.6 billion VND, the rest was from bananas and cashews.

The company’s profit after tax was 20.8 billion VND, up 27 percent year-on-year. With the results achieved, DRI has completed 22.3 percent of the year’s revenue target and 26 percent of the profit target.

Phuoc Hoa Rubber Joint Stock Company (PHR) said that in the first quarter of this year, the parent company recorded net revenue of 302.6 billion VND, up 25 percent compared to the same period in 2021, but profit after tax reached 240 billion VND, 11.3 times higher than the same period last year and completed 33 percent of the yearly plan.

Da Nang Rubber Joint Stock Company (DRC) earned net revenue of 1.28 trillion VND in Q1, profit before tax of 81.7 billion VND, up 40.6 percent and more than 3 percent, respectively. Entering the second quarter, the company set a business plan similar to the first quarter, with net revenue of 1.25 trillion VND, profit before tax reaching 80 billion VND.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

With the good progress seen in recent years, Vietnamese track and field team is determined to win the top position at the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) with 15-17 gold medals.

Looking back on 15-20 years ago, it was a big hurdle for Vietnam to surpass Thailand in this sport at SEA Games.

Recalling the past day, Duong Duc Thuy, former head of the Athletics Department under the Vietnam Sports Administration, said that overcoming Thailand was once a hard nut to crack. “However, at that time, we believed that one day we will surely surpass Thailand. It was like we were once worried who will succeed Vu Thi Huong then? Then we found the answer – Le Tu Chinh.”

Three years ago at SEA Games 30, the Vietnamese track and field team bagged six gold medals in the last competition day on December 10, 2019, at New Clark City Stadium.

The happiness was doubled when the Vietnamese team won another gold medal at men’s 4x400m relay at the end of the day thanks to the excellent performance by Tran Nhat Hoang. Concluding the SEA Games 30, Vietnam brought home 16 gold, 13 silver and nine bronze medals, noted Thuy.

The victories of the Vietnamese track and field athletes at SEA Games 30 were resonated. In the women’s 100m event, despite facing a naturalised Philippine athlete Marie Knott, Chinh still ended the competition at the first place, 0.01 seconds ahead of her rival. Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Oanh, who finished first in the 5,000m distance, recorded a hat-trick to bag individual gold medal when winning the 3,000m hurdle. In the men’s 3,000m event, Do Quoc Luat did not have a clear rival.

Thuy underlined that from that day, Vietnamese track and field affirmed their number one position in Southeast Asia. “The most important thing was that we saw the uniformity of all athletes. Gone are the days when female medalists outnumber males, as male athletes made a strong impression at the SEA Games 30,” said Thuy.

At the upcoming SEA Games 31, the Vietnamese track and field team targets 15-17 gold medals, clinching their top position in the region.

To this end, right from the beginning of 2022, about 110 athletes, coaches and experts of the team have worked hard with their training courses in five different venues across the country.

As scheduled, at SEA Games 31, the team will have 85 members, including 66 athletes and 19 coaches. The athletes were carefully selected through national tournaments in 2022 and the competitions in March.

According to the team’s training board, 12 major athletes undertaking training in Hanoi are gold hopefuls, while young athletes are likely to bag 6-7. Therefore, the goal of 15-17 gold medals is reachable and may be even exceeded.

“Of cause, there are always surprise on the racing courses that may go beyond the calculation. But we believe that SEA Games 31 will be a successful game for Vietnamese track and field team,” stressed Thuy.

With reliable names of Nguyen Thi Oanh, Le Tu Chinh, Bui Thi Thu Thao, Do Quoc Luat, Khuat Phuong Anh, Quach Thi Lan and Quach Cong Lich, Vietnamese fans can feel assured that the team will show highest performance at SEA Games 31.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is working to enhance cooperation with international partners in education and training in efforts to develop high-quality human resources, a local official has said.

Speaking at a workshop on May 4, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Duong Quang Ngoc said training high-quality human resources has received special attention from the Party and State, and boosting cooperation with foreign partners is seen as a way of realising that target.

Tra Vinh is coordinating with Germany to provide vocational training for local students through courses held in the European country, he noted, adding that the programme will help the province to improve its young workforce, which in turn will aid sustainable socio-economic development.

At the workshop, more than 300 students from high schools across the province were provided with information about the the programme, including free training, a monthly salary of at least 939 EUR (nearly 990 USD), along with support from local authorities.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The visit to Vietnam by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio from April 30 to May 1, along with the visit by his predecessor Suga Yoshihide in 2020, showed that Vietnam is emerging as one of the promising important economies in Southeast Asia, commented Pankaj Jha, Director of Indian Jindal Global University’s Centre for Strategy and Security Research.

PM Kishida’s visit took place nearly five months after the Japan visit by Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh in November 2021.

In his article run in website moderndiplomacy.eu, Pankaj Jha mentioned talks between PM Chinh and his Japanese counterpart Kishida, in which PM Chinh highly valued Japanese investment in Vietnam. The scholar noted that the Japanese government leader’s visit aims to explore possibilities for cooperation between the two countries in areas of developing technology parks, software industry and export processing zones, bringing Vietnam into the Japanese trade network, vocational training and tourism promotion.

He added that the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the facilitation of regional trade is the priority of both Vietnamese and Japanese governments.

Jha highlighted that Vietnam is seeking to diversify its supply chain, adding that Vietnam and Japan can be seen as each other’s natural partner in strengthening regional security, trade, investment, innovation and research as well as promoting peace and prosperity in the region.

Source: Vietnam News Agency