Digital transformation plays a vital role in agricultural development To achieve ambitions to become a modern-oriented industrialised nation by 2030 and a developed country with high income by 2045, Viet Nam must succeed in the digital transformation process, in which agriculture is one of the priority areas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said. Minister Son gave the statement at the Vietnam Agricultural Digital Transformation International Forum 2021, themed “Keeping up with market trends, ensuring the pivotal role of the economy during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.” which was held virtually on Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Vietnam Digital Agriculture Association (VIDA), and e-newspaper VnExpress. The forum is a place for dialogue and public-private policy activities between the Government, private sector and stakeholders. It was also an activity within the framework of the Vietnam International Agricultural Exhibition 2021 (AgriTech Expo …
Adversity brings wisdom: new business ideas arise during pandemic
T-shirts with images of personal QR Codes containing vaccination information have been launched in the market. Local newspapers report that Hanoi has asked the Ministry of Health to give guidance on allowing people who have two vaccination shots to travel. This has spawned several business ideas. Citizens may have to show their printed vaccination certificates or QR Codes certifying vaccination. If they use QR Codes, they will have to use smartphones and have their QR Codes scanned at checkpoints. To make the process convenient and time saving, personal QR Codes can be printed on T-shirts. If so, they will not have to show their smartphones to officers at checkpoints. The price of one T-shirt, including the printing fee, is VND100,000-150,000. Nguyen Truong Vu, a T-shirt seller, said that he can print the customized QR Codes. “The T-shirts help their owners scan QR Codes very quickly and conveniently. The owners don’t have to spend time to take their smartphones from …
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E-commerce turns small businesses into big cross-border traders
Many business owners have found major partners after joining international B2B marketplaces. Vihaba is a small and medium enterprise that exports and distributes agricultural products, handicrafts and garments. Since the enterprise began selling products on Alibaba, its revenue has increased by 55 percent over the last two years. Vietnam’s products are exported to many big markets, including the EU, US, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, thanks to the e-commerce platform. A representative of the company said the company makes the most of the e-commerce platform to effectively manage clients and improve the advertisement of products. DSW received orders soon after entering Alibaba. Its CEO Tran Thi Yen Phi said since the day of getting the first order worth $3,000, the company’s export turnover reached $400,000 a month. Ten percent of that comes from the contracts it gets via Alibaba. DSW has expanded its business scale, exporting products to 10 markets, while its staff …
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Businesses propose new regulations to replace Directives 15, 16
Associations of businesses have asked the Prime Minister to issue new directives on pandemic prevention and control to replace Directives 15 and 16 with regulations that fit the new circumstances. Localities should be allowed to conduct random examinations on people in transfer vehicles at departures and destinations. Enterprise associations in the fields of textile and garment, footwear, beverage, plastics, seafood processing, paper and pulp, forestry, dairy production, and food and foodstuff signed a document to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh containing a strategic proposal on "preventing and controlling the pandemic by points" to recover production and business safely in the new conditions. The social distancing during the fourth Covid-19 outbreak in Hanoi, HCM City and southern provinces has lasted 2-3 months, which has put a lot of businesses at risk of going bankrupt, disrupted supply chains, and caused workers to lose jobs, and made it more difficult for farmers and …
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Vietnam’s auto market hits bottom
Although car manufacturers have cut prices deeply to stimulate demand, the Vietnamese auto market witnessed a record decrease in monthly sales over the past five years when fewer than 9,000 cars were sold in August 2021. Vietnam's auto market has declined for 5 consecutive months. According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), a total of 8,884 vehicles were sold in August, a drop of up to 45% compared to July. This is the 5th consecutive month the auto market recording a decline in retail sales and is also the month with the lowest sales in the history of the Vietnamese auto market since 2015. Monthly sales began to decline from April, when the fourth wave broke out, with 3.7% compared to March, while the decrease of May was 15% compared to April, the decrease of June was 8% compared to May, and the decrease of July is 32% compared to June. Since the fourth outbreak, many factories of VAMA members have had to suspend production sometimes. …
Tetra Pak expands investment in Vietnam
Tetra Pak's factory in Binh Duong (Photo: Tetra Pak) Binh Duong (VNS/VNA) - Tetra Pak has announced an additional investment of five million EUR in its 120 million EUR packaging material factory in southern Binh Duong province. The additional investment reaffirms its confidence in Vietnam's economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing commitment to support food and beverage producers in Vietnam. “This additional investment of five million euros reflects our confidence in the strong recovery of Vietnam’s post-pandemic economy ,” said Eliseo Barcas, Managing Director for Tetra Pak Vietnam. “This investment also enables us to better serve our customers by offering greater capacity, more exciting packaging innovation and reducing our environmental footprint.” The new investment is expected to increase the factory’s annual output from the current 11.5 billion to 16.5 billion packages, thereby meeting the growing needs for aseptic packages in Vietnam …
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Finance Ministry rejects VAMA’s proposal to slash car registration fee by 50%
The Ministry of Finance has just responded to the petition of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA) on additional support policies for businesses facing difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry said that over the past time, to solve difficulties for businesses, organizations, households and individuals, including those in the automobile manufacturing and assembly industry, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, many policies to support all economic sectors have been issued. Specifically, the Ministry has submitted to the Government to issue Decree No.41/2020/ND-CP on an extension of deadline for tax payment and land rent; Decree No. 109/2020/ND-CP on extension of payment deadline for special consumption tax for domestically manufactured or assembled automobiles; Decree No. 70/2020/ND-CP on reduction of 50% of registration fee for domestically manufactured and assembled automobiles by December 31, 2020; Decree No. 52/2021/ND-CP on …
Ministry of Health gives conditional approval for Cuba’s COVID-19 vaccine Abdala
The Abdala vaccine has been approved with conditions for use in Việt Nam. — AFP/VNA Photo HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health (MoH) on Friday gave conditional approval for Cuba's Abdala COVID19 vaccine for emergency use in Việt Nam. It is produced by the AICA Laboratories Company and Base Business Unit (BBU) AICA in Cuba. The Centre for Immunisation Vaccines Polyvac in Việt Nam asked for permission for the vaccine to be used. The MoH insisted on a number of conditions before granting approval. It has stated that the Drug Administration of Vietnam is responsible for licensing Abdala vaccine based on regulations for importation and quality management. The Department of Science, Technology and Training has been given responsibility for selecting a unit that is qualified to evaluate the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. The General Department of Preventive Medicine is in charge of injecting the vaccine. And finally, the National Institute for Control of …
Rustic craft passed from generation to generation
Colours in Định Yên mat village. — Photo thamhiemmekong.com Located next to the gentle Hậu River, Định Yên mat village in Lấp Vò District, in the southern province of Đồng Tháp is famous for its long-standing tradition of sedge mat-weaving. After more than 100 years of development, transcending time, space and market competition, the village has continued to make mats for domestic use and export, and was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. Although rustic, the patterned sedge mats have an ethereal and attractive beauty. Now as the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the country, Định Yên has been affected, with the market for the mats stagnant. However, locals are still trying to maintain a moderate production of their traditional craft. Dyeing sedge threads in Định Yên mat village. — Photo thamhiemmekong.com Origins When this land was still nothing but wild jungle, the first inhabitants here soon worked out how to take …
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Life smells sweet for essential-oil entrepreneur
Befine is making a significant contribution to society and protecting the environment. Photo courtesy of Befine Mai Phương and Hạ Thảo "Pursuing passion should accompany social responsibility" is the mantra of Dương Xuân Trường, a successful young entrepreneur from the central province of Thanh Hóa's Thạch Thành District. Wishing to raise the value of local herbs, Trường, 24, and his company, Befine, extract essential oils from local agricultural by-products, making a significant contribution to society and protecting the environment. "In parallel with business development, pursuing passion is a social responsibility. The products we produce and sell to the market should not only be safe for human health but also friendly to the environment," Trường said. During a visit to his hometown in Thạch Thành, he witnessed local farmers harvesting 500 hectares of lemongrass but they only took the roots. Other parts of the plant, particularly thousands of tonnes of leaves, were …
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