Category: Government Policy

Legislative studies should serve facilitation of development, and help remove problems and shortcomings of the current legal system, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said on June 22.

During a working session with the Institute for Legislative Studies, Hue said since its inception 13 years ago, the institute has made efforts to complete tasks regarding legislative scientific research and publish the Legislative Studies Journal.

Hue urged the institute to play a more active role in researching and making recommendations on how to concretise the Party’s guidelines in the resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress, particularly new issues raised in the document.

Another task for the institute is to review and perfect the existing legal system, he said, stressing the Politburo’s requirements of building a unified, synchronous, transparent, stable and highly feasible legal system, and asked the institute to take them into account.

To raise its operational efficiency, the institute should quickly draw up a project to revamp its operation, Hue said, noting that information products must be digitalised to make it easier for users./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh suggested several measures to augment the Vietnam – Singapore strategic partnership during a meeting with visiting Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Hanoi on June 22.

Balakrishnan affirmed that the Vietnam – Singapore strategic partnership has been developing in a substantive and effective manner with high political trust and huge cooperation potential, especially when both are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The two countries share many common benefits in combating COVID-19 and strengthening cooperation towards post-pandemic recovery, he emphasised.

The Singaporean official also informed his host about the outcomes of the talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son on June 21, including the proposals to establish working groups on COVID-19 response and cooperation in the digital economy as well as facilitate travel between the two countries.

Welcoming Minister Balakrishnan, Deputy PM Minh highly valued the Singaporean Government’s efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and conduct mass vaccination, expressing his hope that Singapore will share its experience and cooperate with Vietnam in applying high technology in rapid testing and contact tracing and access to safe and effective vaccines.

He applauded the two countries working to soon establish and convene meetings between their working groups on COVID-19 response towards mutual recognition of each other’s vaccination certificates.

The Deputy PM also welcomed the cooperation in the digital economy to create momentum for economic recovery and development in the new context.

The two sides should devise measures for effectively carrying out the cooperation aspects within the framework of the Vietnam – Singapore economic connectivity agreement, including organising the 15th connectivity ministerial meeting early, promoting the effective and balanced development of trade, and developing the existing Vietnam – Singapore industrial parks (VSIPs) towards smart, high-tech, innovative, and environmentally friendly ones, according to him.

Minh also suggested Singapore continue the capacity building cooperation programmes in the Mekong sub-region, coordinate viewpoints on regional and international issues of shared concern, including the East Sea issue, and uphold the solidarity and centrality of ASEAN.

Balakrishnan pledged coordination with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to step up all-level mutual visits and effectively implement directions issued by the countries’ leaders, thereby helping to develop the strategic partnership extensively and substantively on the basis of mutual political trust and common benefits./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

As technology develops and demand keeps increasing in the property sector, proptech will develop in a similar way to fintech, experts have said.

Proptech, or property technology, has developed strongly in Vietnam with many start-ups being launched and attracting investment from major players and many services being developed to meet market demand.

An expert from Savill Vietnam said there are certain reasons for the market’s rise: the country’s huge population, the problems it faces, which could be resolved by proptech, and Vietnamese people’s ability to use technology.

Hoang Duc Trung, a partner at VinaCapital Ventures, told Viet Nam News: “We believe proptech will develop in a similar way to fintech, that is, mostly based on how technology stacks are developed and evolve to resolve structural pain points and inefficiencies and positioned at the intersection of all market stakeholders.

“We think that the trendsetters and growth drivers will continue to be those companies that create and offer disruptive solutions that optimise and aggregate resources and financing, improve industry standards and customer experiences and ensure transparency and data security.”

He attributed the growth of the market to the strong economy, accelerating urbanisation and rising incomes which continue to drive demand in the property market.

“This growth is also fuelling digital transformation and the development of disruptive technology infrastructure, which is commonly known as ‘proptech’.”

According to Trung, proptech has gained ground in Vietnam in recent years, mostly thanks to the country’s young and tech-savvy population.

“Hundreds of proptech start-ups and traditional real state firms are aiming to leverage technology to improve their operations and competitive edge by providing effective solutions to enhance home buying, selling, renting, and living experiences.”

Some of the famous apps and proptech products in the market include Saas, Propzy, Go2Joy Vietnam, Citics, Homebase, and A.Plus Home.

They have successfully raised capital from foreign investors.

For instance, Propzy, a leader in the proptech industry and provides transparent online property services, raised 37 million USD.

Speaking about the reasons for investing in proptech, Doan Le Minh Tri, senior investment manager at VinaCapital Ventures, said: “We have been monitoring the development of the proptech sector and see its enormous potential, given the continuing growth of the real estate market and increasing digitisation trends.”

VinaCapital’s first investment in the sector was in Rever, which has built infrastructure to make the transaction process smoother. Its solution has outpaced the industry’s benchmarks related to data accuracy, the number of days a property is on the market and agent efficiency ratio.

More recently, VinaCapital Ventures invested in Homebase, which offers a rent-to-own financing option for millennials and the under-banked population to realise their home ownership goals.

Both companies are addressing long-standing pain points in Vietnam’s real estate market.

“We invested in these companies because they possess operational know-how blended with superior technology stacks that aim to serve homebuyers throughout the transaction journey, from screening and touring properties, conducting legal checks, arranging financing, and related paperwork that comes with owning a home.

“These services are provided affordably and transparently, enabling these companies to provide a higher level of customer service. We have a strong belief that Rever and Homebase are well-positioned to become leaders in their respective segments,” he told Viet Nam News.

The investment in the market has shown how promising it is.

Speaking about the efficiency of proptech, John Le, CEO and founder of Propzy Vietnam said: “Our sales guys are now on average bringing much more with much less, so our technology SAM has been a major influence because it has ensured certain business processes that otherwise cannot be done in any normal world because you cannot get 300 salespeople to collaborate.

“But this technology allows the sales team to be connected, engage with one another and collaborate to get the best outcome possible which is a real estate transaction from buyer to seller, an asset we have been able to enable our sales guys to perform at absolute best.

“We’ve seen glimpses of success in other developed markets where property buyers are able to make purchase decisions without physically visiting the properties; however in Vietnam, there’s still a long way to go.

“Having said that, there is a silver lining in the cloud and that’s the high-rise or condo market. As that segment of the property market grows relative to the overall market we can anticipate adoption of virtual touring and purchasing potentially happening sooner rather than later.”/.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has praised press agencies and journalists for their hard work and contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic on the occasion of the 96th Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21).

In an interview granted to the press, the President stressed that since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in Vietnam, leaders of the Party, State and people across the country have realized the important and indispensable role of the press in the fight against COVID-19.

President praises press agencies’ contributions to COVID-19 combat hinh anh 2

Reporters and cameramen of many press agencies accurately and quickly convey the directions and decisions of the Party and State on disease prevention and control (Photo: VNA)

Reporters and cameramen of many press agencies have accurately and quickly conveyed the directions and decisions of the Party and State on disease prevention and control. They have accepted risks to work in the frontline of the combat against the pandemic, such as pandemic hot spots like Da Nang, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City, border areas, and medical quarantine areas, so as to promptly reflect the pandemic situation, he said.

The President emphasized that journalists have made their utmost efforts and braved great difficulties to work side by side with COVID-19 prevention and control forces.

Their works have served as a source of encouragement to Party committees, local authorities, and people in pandemic-hit area, helping increase their confidence in the Party and State’s leadership to repel the pandemic and restore business and production.

He took the occasion to congratulate and highly appreciated reporters, editors and cameramen at press agencies nationwide in the past time, affirming that that they have contributed to embellishing the tradition of the Vietnamese revolutionary press founded and trained by President Ho Chi Minh./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has asked for stepping up the vaccine strategy with a specific roadmap and measures to achieve herd immunity, thus laying an important foundation to catch up with the global economy.

Chairing a working session with permanent members of the NA Committee on Social Affairs and several NA organs in Hanoi on June 13, Hue urged the Government to review the efficiency of support packages for laid-off workers and those hit by COVID-19 pandemic to report to the NA in the next meeting.

He reiterated the Politburo’s stance on continuing to realise the dual goals of fighting the pandemic and ensuring macro-economic stability and the safety of finance-banking and public debts.

The leader suggested continuing with the 5K technology message, considering vaccination a strategy; and enhancing international cooperation in seeking vaccine supplies.

In order to effectively perform socio-economic development policies and provide support for those hit by the pandemic, Hue asked the Government to soon issue a growth scenario, accelerate the disbursement of public investment, continue improving business environment, developing private and digital economy, and stimulating domestic demand while boosting collaboration to effectively direct fiscal-monetary policy, and soon bring the Resolution adopted by the 13th National Party Congress into life.

Lawmakers reported that the NA and its Standing Committee issued nine resolutions and documents to ease difficulties amid the pandemic.

As a result, payment of 99.2 trillion VND (4.3 billion USD) worth of added value tax, corporate and individual income tax, land lease for 57,000 business households and 128,600 firms has been extended, along with 19.3 trillion VND in special consumption tax for automobiles last year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Young Initiatives forum was held virtually on June 12, with Vietnamese students across Europe taking part.

The event also marked the beginning of the Innocity 2021 competition for Vietnamese youths at home and abroad, which was a joint effort between the Vietnamese students’ associations in Europe and the Global Network of Young Vietnamese Intellectuals under the auspices of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association, and the Association of the Vietnamese in Europe.

The competition aimed to seek solutions to developing smart cities and urban areas in Vietnam.

Discussions at the event focused on the role of young Vietnamese on innovation and ecological system in Vietnam, and support for Vietnamese at home and abroad in the country’s innovation.

Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh, member of the Vietnam Youth Federation and President of the Vietnamese Students’ Association in the Czech Republic, expressed her hope that new factors will be discovered at the event to contribute to the homeland./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency