Bacterial infection has caused the mass deaths of grouper fishes being bred in cages in the central Quảng Ngãi Province’s Bình Sơn District, according to the provincial animal husbandry and veterinary department. The mass death of grouper fishes in cages last month in Quảng Ngãi Province’s Bình Sơn District was a result of bacterial infection. – VNA/VNS Photo Thế Lập The announcement was made by department head Nguyễn Đình Tuấn on Wednesday. The incident took place at the end of July in Bình Thuận Commune’s Tuyết Diêm 1 village, where locals found grouper fishes in many cages dead and floating in the water. By August 3, the number of deaths had spread to the nearby cages, too.  The fishes … [Read more...]

Shares slipped on Thursday morning after major heavyweight shares lost value on rising investor caution. Shares slipped on Thursday morning after major heavyweight shares lost value on rising investor caution. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange reversed Wednesday’s gain, slipping by 0.2 per cent to close at 772.3 points. Large-cap stocks slumped, with 17 of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity declining; only eight advanced. Financial stocks, including banks, securities firms and insurers, were also on the defensive side. Major losers include Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), BIDV (BID), Military Bank (MBB), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI). Steel shares, which buoyed the market on Wednesday, also fell on Thursday morning, with the two … [Read more...]

Oanh lost 143-144 to Sri Ranti of Indonesia in the final of the women’s individual three-string bow category. It was the first time Oanh took part in the region’s largest sporting event and is relatively inexperienced internationally. “I regretted that I made an error in the first shot because of psychological pressure. Although I tried my best I couldn’t take gold. However, I am very happy as it is my first medal in the Games. I want to give it my parents,” said Oanh. Oanh said if she won gold it would be a special gift for her on the occasion of her birthday. “I was determined to win gold in Malaysia to celebrate my 20th birthday on August 21. But in sport, anything can happen. I still have two more events so I will make every effort to gain the best result,” Oanh added. Earlier, the southern province of Tra … [Read more...]

While both Cambodia and Vietnam share strong growth prospects and risks related to their financial systems, Vietnam’s more diverse economy, stronger institutions, and higher incomes underpin greater shock absorption capacity, Moody’s wrote in an August 15 report. Robust foreign investment flows into manufacturing and steady growth in global demand have driven export-led expansion in both Cambodia and Vietnam. As the countries have become increasingly integrated into global supply chains, their economies have grown rapidly and income levels have risen markedly. Cambodia’s real GDP increased around 7 per cent per year on average over the five years to 2016 while Vietnam’s expanded about 6 per cent per year. Growth is likely to remain robust ahead. Vietnamese exports are spread across a variety of products and markets while garments and textiles and a few other low-value-added … [Read more...]

Tata Coffee Vietnam, a member of India’s Tata Coffee Limited, began construction of a freeze-dried coffee plant at VSIP II Industrial Park in Binh Duong’s Bac Tan Uyen District. The Tata Coffee Vietnam will supply instant coffee with a new flavour to Vietnamese customers and for export. - Photo bnews.vn The 8ha plant has investment capital of nearly US$60 million. It will supply instant coffee with a new flavour to Vietnamese customers and for export. This is the second project invested by Tata Coffee Limited in Viet Nam. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, Indian Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said bilateral trade between the two countries has witnessed impressive growth in recent years. In 2016, the two sides’ trade turnover reached $5.4 billion. However, this result is still … [Read more...]

Funded by the European Union (EU), the 2017-2021 project aims to strengthen voices of non-State sectors, including civil social organisations, local residents and communities, to improve sustainable forest governance in the region.  Speaking at the event, Deputy Director of the Centre for People and Nature (PanNature) Hoang Xuan Thuy said the project covers Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam with the goal of empowering and connecting non-State sectors, monitoring and responding appropriately to strengthening forest governance, particularly in the EU Action Plan for forest law enforcement, governance and trade – Voluntary Partnership Agreements (FLEGT-VPA) and REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).  By 2019, forest governance supervisory systems will be piloted and spread while an information sharing … [Read more...]

Customers make transactions at the VPBank Head Office. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet The Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) will start listing 1.3 billion shares on the HCM Stock Exchange on Thursday, while having received US$1.2 billion worth of purchasing offers from foreign investors. Both VPBank and Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) had approached more than 80 foreign investors, and most of the investors made pre-listing buying offers for the bank’s shares at the price of VND39,000 ($1.73), according to To Hai, director of VCSC. Hai said at VPBank’s pre-listing seminar on Tuesday that the value of foreign investors’ pre-listing purchasing offers might be a historical milestone for Viet Nam’s banking sector, even in the golden age of commercial banks in 2007, and it would be hard to repeat a similar-valued deal in the future. “When we were building the … [Read more...]

The list of State-owned enterprises that needed to be divested in the 2017-20 period will be made public soon. — Photo vietbao.vn Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on Wednesday urged the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to quickly finalise the list of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that needed to be divested. At the meeting with MPI, ministries of Finance and Justice, as well as the Government Steering Committee on Corporate Renovation and Development, Hue asked the MPI to submit the list of SOEs to be divested by 2020 to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for approval. He also assigned the Ministry of Finance to review and calculate the number of SOEs and State capital needed to be divested by 2020 and report it to the Prime Minister (PM). Hue said that the PM will issue a separate decision on equitisation and divestment of State capital at large SOEs such as Habeco, Sabeco, State Capital … [Read more...]

Employees at VCCorp, a local digital content firm based in Ha Noi. — Photo vccorp.vn Local digital content firms are claiming of unfair treatment compared to their foreign peers, with Vietnamese companies saying they face many regulations while firms like Google, Facebook and YouTube don’t pay taxes and are unhindered by regulations and policies. Leaders of digital content businesses made the gripes at a forum about the law on information and technology and development orientation held in Ha Noi on Tuesday. Nguyen Thanh Hung, director of VTC Intecom was reported by online newspaper vneconomy.vn as saying that 10 years ago, revenue of digital content from added value services reached VND3 to 4 trillion (US$133-177 million). The revenue has risen due to the development of television, online services and the shift from traditional advertising to online ads and content on social networks. Nguyen The Tan, … [Read more...]

Stock trading at MB Securities Company. — VNS Photo Truong Vi Shares recovered from morning losses on Wednesday, with large-cap stocks, especially steel and fertiliser shares, leading the way. On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index edged up 0.33 per cent to close at 773.57 points. The key southern market index went down 0.66 per cent on Tuesday. On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index picked up 0.44 per cent to end at 101.74 points. It inched down 0.2 per cent in the previous session. Capital flows yesterday focused on the steel, fertiliser and construction sectors. The two biggest listed steelmakers – Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG) – increased 2.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. Other small steel firms such as Nam Kim Steel (NKG), Vietnam-Italy Steel (VIS) and Tien Len Steel (TLH) rose between 0.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent each. Big companies … [Read more...]

Minister-head of Government Office Mai Tien Dung reports the Prime Minister’s requirements to Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation and Airports Corporation of Viet Nam. — Photo gov.com.vn Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the aviation industry to tighten security and safety as they are important issues currently. This requirement was one of six in a message from the Prime Minister sent to the aviation industry at the meeting between the Government working group led by Minister-head of Government Office Mai Tien Dung and representatives of three aviation firms, including Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation and Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), in Ha Noi on Wednesday. The meeting aimed to urge the industry to boost business and production, contributing to hitting the country’s GDP growth target this year as well as discovering and solving … [Read more...]

Huu Ngoc was born in 1918. He has a profound knowledge of French, English, German, and ancient Chinese. Born and raised in Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh province, a cradle of Vietnamese culture, Huu Ngoc showed a great passion for culture from a young age. Later, he had many opportunities to travel, which gave him an opportunity to introduce Vietnamese culture to international friends. Huu Ngoc has written many books, including a prized book entitled “A Sketch of Vietnamese Culture” in French and English. The book was given by the Vietnamese Government as a special present to the heads of state at the 7th Francophone Meeting in Hanoi in 1997.   Among his books on Vietnamese culture, the ones on Hanoi are noteworthy, with four works, namely ‘Sketches for a portrait of Hanoi’ in French; ‘My Hanoi’ in Vietnamese, and ‘Portrait of Traditional Hanoi’ and ‘Hanoi, Who Are You’ in English. Each of Huu Ngoc’s … [Read more...]

An Italian man has admitted strangling his sister, chopping her body into parts and dumping them in communal bins in an upmarket area of Rome, Italian media reported Wednesday. The man, identified as Maurizio Diotallevi, 62, confessed to the grisly crime after 10 hours of interrogation over the death of his sister, Nicoletta, 59, the Corriere della Sera newspaper and other outlets reported, citing police sources. The two shared a flat and are believed to have quarreled over money. Police were alerted to the killing after the legs of the woman, severed at the groin, were discovered Tuesday night by a young woman who was rummaging through bins in Parioli, one of Rome's swankiest neighborhoods. On Wednesday, the head and chest of the victim were extracted from another bin, near the flat where the brother and sister lived. Diotallevi was taken into custody after police examined CCTV footage that showed him dumping something into the bin where the legs were … [Read more...]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a "wise" decision not to fire missiles towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, which has eased escalating tension between the two countries. Reclusive North Korea has made no secret of its plan to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States to counter what it perceives as constant U.S. threats of invasion. Trump warned North Korea last week it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, prompting North Korea to say it was considering plans to fire missiles toward Guam. But North Korean media reported on Tuesday that Kim had delayed the decision while he waited to see what the United States did next. "Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision," Trump wrote on Twitter. "The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!" North Korea's threat to fire into the sea near Guam had prompted Trump … [Read more...]

VietNamNet Bridge – A Folk Music Festival is being held every Saturday on an open stage at the Dong Xuan Market in the capital city. The event is organised by the Viet Nam Art and Folk Music Development Centre, and features some 80 performances by individuals and folk music clubs in Ha Noi, HCM City and several northern provinces. Illustrative image -- File photo The centre was established in 2006 to revive traditional music genres such as ca tru (ceremonial singing) and xam (blind busker singing). Musician Thao Giang - one of the centre’s founders, has been working hard to revive xam.  His piece, Ke Chuyen Ngay Mua (Telling Stories during the Crop Season) is always part of the repertoire of Vietnamese art troupes when they perform abroad. Giang spoke to Viet Nam News about his work.  Why did you choose … [Read more...]

VietNamNet Bridge – Police in Krong Nang District in Central Highland Province of Dak Lak have charged a local man for allegedly stealing gold worth more than VND 112 million (US$4,928). Police in Krong Nang District in Central Highland Province of Dak Lak have charged a local man for allegedly stealing gold worth more than VND 112 million (US$4,928). — Illustrative Photo The suspect, Le Anh Tai, 25 years old, a resident of Krong Nang Town, Krong Nang District told police that on July 21, he prepared equipment to commit a burglary. He discovered Kim Ngoc Nhan Store, a gold store in the town, had a closed door but no security guard, and climbed up on the store’s iron roof, cut through it and entered the store. After cutting power to the security camera, he pilfered many gold and silver rings, necklaces and … [Read more...]

For women, only by men VietNamNet Bridge – Around 60km from downtown of capital Ha Noi, Trach Xa Village in Ung Hoa District has been known for making tradional long dress ao dai for centuries. Male bastion: For a very long time, only men were taught and allowed to make an áo dài in Trach Xa Village.--VNS Photo Doan Tung A strange feature of this fame, however, has been the fact that the iconic national dress for women was made exclusively by men. To this day, 90 per cent of the local tailors are men, owing to a long-standing rule in the region: the job was taught only to men. Explaining the special rule, Nguyen Van Nhien, 84, who has been an ao dai maker for 65 years, said that in the old days, local inhabitants had to go far away to work as dress makers to earn their living. Only men could travel thus. … [Read more...]

In late August, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will divest their capital in three major companies with a total charter capital amount of VND1 trillion ($44 million). RELATED CONTENTS: EVN banned from investing in property, banking sectors VNPT to divest capital from Maritime Bank Free wifi at festival spots in major cities SK Telecom to lose rights to coveted bandwidth PM tells VNPT to get ready for equitisation EVN divests from non-core businesses Saigon Postel Corporation On August 29, VNPT will sell all … [Read more...]

VSIP has developed world-class industrial estates across Vietnam with self-contained facilities to serve the needs of its customers. John Lim HM, head of Commercial & Residential Properties at VSIP JV Co., Ltd., shared with Thanh Van the group’s vision to complement foreign investors’ growth in the park. Following the success of industrial parks (IPs), VSIP has transformed into a developer of integrated townships and IPs. Could you highlight the advantages and challenges of this business model? Vietnam is a land of immense potential for growth. We realised early on that the country possesses unique strengths, including abundant land and young, hardworking labour force, to attract As Vietnam grows, the community’s needs to evolve. This is why VSIP has transformed our core offering from standalone IPs to integrated … [Read more...]

NDO/VNA – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the aviation industry to tighten security and safety as they are important issues currently. This requirement was one of six in a message from the Prime Minister sent to the aviation industry at the meeting between the Government working group led by Minister cum Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung and representatives of three aviation firms, including Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation and Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), in Hanoi on August 16. The meeting aimed to urge the industry to boost business and production, contributing to hitting the country’s GDP growth target this year as well as discovering and solving difficulties. The businesses will then have to report and explain the problems to the Government and the PM. In the message, PM Phuc said the industry has grown but has to ensure security and safety, seen as the most important issue. The PM mentioned … [Read more...]