Hospitals nationally hit hard by medicares safety penalties

According to Nguyen Thi Le Thu, director of Marketing and Business Development at FV Hospital, the hospital is going to build a new facility to meet the growing need for high-quality healthcare services in Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring areas. “We plan to recruit more doctors and nurses to work at the new facility,” she told VIR. “FV is an ideal working environment that many health workers are looking for.” Many healthcare staff have switched jobs due to pandemic stress and low salaries, Le Toan The French-funded hospital now boasts over 130 doctors from many countries, including 116 full-time. The hospital receives more than 200,000 patients a year, most Vietnamese but also many expatriates. Like FV, Hanoi French Hospital is hiring new medical and support staff to support its development plan. “We have reactivated our recruitment for European specialist doctors and expect to welcome at least six more before the end of the year,” said CEO Jef Peeters. “We continue … [Read more...] about Post-pandemic staff headaches continuing for local hospitals

From five grams of toothpaste to 10 millilitres of cooking oil, many Nigerians struggling with soaring prices now buy their basic necessities in small quantities packed in tiny plastic bags to be consumed on the same day. Consumer brands behind this "sachetisation of the economy" see it as a creative innovation, allowing consumption for all Nigerians, the majority of whom live on less than $2 a day. But critics see the development as an economic and ecological aberration, even as Africa's largest economy struggles with the inflationary fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine. In the streets of Lagos, the vibrant economic capital of Africa's most populous country, small sachets are now part of the decor: they colour its streets, packing the wood and tin shops found on the corner of most streets. Sitting on a stool, Ibrahim Atahire has been running his small grocery store for 30 years in a busy area of Obalende, a popular district of the megalopolis. "At my place, you can buy … [Read more...] about From coffee to toothpaste, Nigerians buy small as hardships bite

Thai Airways plane (Source: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – The Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand on September 14 approved a request for a debt restructuring plan of Thai Airways International Plc, the nation’s flagship carrier, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19. Thai Airways reduced its stake in May and went to the insolvency court to resolve its debt, which totalled 332.2 billion (10.6 billion USD) by the end of June, according to local media. The carrier, which reported a loss of nearly 900 million USD in the first quarter of this year, is seeking a loan worth around 1.78 billion USD in the short term to operate and pay for its employees. It is expected to submit the debt restructuring plan by the end of this year. The global aviation sector has plunged into crisis by the pandemic as countries severely restricted travel, forcing airlines to ground vast numbers of planes and seek government help as they hemorrhaged cash./. VNA … [Read more...] about Thai Airways receives court greenlight for debt restructuring

Various kinds of mooncakes with wholesale prices hovering around VND2,000-4,000 (US$0.09-0.17) apiece have been imported in large volumes from China into Vietnam ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The ingredients in mooncakes can easily go bad if they are not well preserved, posing a high health risk to consumers, according to experts. Meanwhile, designated agencies find it hard to control the quality of these products. Super cheap mooncakes As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the mooncake market is always bullish. This year, some kinds of sticky rice mooncakes originating from China are being offered on social networks at only VND2,000-5,000 ($0.09-0.21) apiece. A mooncake seller named Hong said the wholesale prices of these cakes were only VND2,000-4,000 ($0.09-0.17) each and their retail price was VND5,000 ($0.21). Her products are available for any request. "No one offers lower prices. With only over VND100,000 [$4.3], customers can buy tens of mooncakes with … [Read more...] about Dirt-cheap Chinese mooncake imports swarm Vietnamese market

Lam Son, a Hanoian, first learned about the nomadic lifestyle after watching American movies depicting mobile homes parked in the middle of vast valleys. This was the source of inspiration for the Vietnamese YouTuber to set out on his first road trip in a mobile home with his family a couple of years ago. Son converted his old Mercedes Sprinter into a mobile home fully equipped with essential items for long-haul road trips. “This was originally a van. When traveling, my family members sit in the driver’s cabin full of safety equipment. We only use the renovated part on the back of the vehicle at rest stops or campgrounds,” the 35-year-old said. Since he renovated his first mobile home, the Son family has traveled to many parts of Vietnam on the vehicle, bringing exhilarating experiences to their two children. He expects the road trips will make their childhood more colorful and help them unplug from screens to fully experience van life. Lam Son's children view … [Read more...] about American movies inspire Vietnamese family to take memorable van life road trips

The dearth of human resources in the hospitality industry is posing big challenges to operators of accommodation establishments in Vietnam, especially when they are expecting to welcome a large number of tourists following the COVID-19 pandemic. Four months after the country’s full reopening, more than 90 percent of accommodation establishments in Vietnam have resumed operations, Nguyen Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Hotel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said at a seminar on Tuesday. All hotels in the country are expected to be put back into operation by the end of the year, Binh continued. In June and July, the average occupancy rate on weekends was over 55 percent and was between 25 and 50 percent on weekdays. Hotels and resorts at popular beaches reported a higher overall occupancy rate, at 70-95 percent on weekends and over 60 percent on weekdays. In famous destinations such as Ha Long, Sa Pa, Quy Nhon, and Phu Quoc, the occupancy rate of … [Read more...] about Manpower shortage challenges Vietnam’s accommodation establishments

French-based Sanofi sales reached almost €19.8 billion ($20.17 billion) in the first half of the year, up 14.2 per cent on a reported basis. Exchange rate movements had a positive effect of 5.8 percentage points. At constant exchange rates (CER), company sales were up 8.4 per cent. The group’s second-quarter sales growth of 8.1 per cent at CER was driven by allergy medicine Dupixent as well as vaccines and consumer healthcare. Pharma giants gaining big in 2022,illustration photo/ freepik.com Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said, “Our performance in the second quarter was again marked by higher sales across our key growth drivers and outstanding financial results leading us to upgrade our business earnings per share guidance for the full year.” While Sanofi continues to increase investment in research and development (R&D), Hudsen added that it is confident in the business outlook for the second half and reiterated the commitment to achieve the business operating income … [Read more...] about Pharma giants gaining big in 2022

Revisions to the Petroleum Law are necessary to help boost the oil and gas industry's development. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – After nearly 30 years of enforcement, the Petroleum Law now needs revisions to be in line with international practices and Vietnam’s energy development strategy and create momentum for the oil and gas industry’s development. Nguyen Van Que, General Director of the Cuu Long Joint Operating Company - which is running the Su Tu Trang (White Lion) project, said the overlaps among existing laws such as the Petroleum Law and the Law on Public Investment have been impeding the implementation of exploration and exploitation projects. Citing difficulties his company faced when operating Su Tu Trang, he said in this law, the regulation on capital preservation at risky projects such as oil and gas exploration and exploitation should be amended in order to attract businesses, especially foreign ones. The Cuu Long JOC also proposed Article 47 on the making, … [Read more...] about Comprehensive revisions needed for Petroleum Law

Subway stations and major roads were underwater in the South Korean capital Seoul after record-breaking rains caused severe flooding, with at least seven people dead and seven more missing, officials said Tuesday. Roads and sidewalks near Eunma Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul were submerged due to heavy rain on Monday night. (Yonhap) Dramatic images shared on social media late Monday showed people wading through waist-deep water, metro stations overflowing, and cars half-submerged in Seoul's posh Gangnam district after torrential rain battered the city. The downpour that began Monday is the heaviest rainfall in South Korea in 80 years, according to Seoul's Yonhap news agency. "At least seven people died in the Seoul metropolitan area, while seven others are missing, due to heavy rain as of 7:30 this morning," an official at Seoul's Interior ministry told AFP. Local reports said three people living in a banjiha -- cramped basement flats of the kind … [Read more...] about Torrential rain, flooding in Seoul kill seven

VCs are backing startups in everything from video games to healthcare insurance services, Photo: Djinn Guild Nano Technologies, a Vietnamese pioneer that lets workers access their wages through its Vui App platform, successfully secured $6.4 million last week in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round led by Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm (VC) OpenSpace. New investors in the round included Partech Partners, Tekton Ventures, IT Farma, and Sketchnote Partners, in addition to Golden Gate Ventures (GGV), FEBE Ventures, ACE & Company, and more. The fresh funding round comes a year after Nano Technologies raised $3 million in its seed funding round, led by returning investors GGV and Venturra Discovery, noted Dealstreetasia. Previous to its involvement in Nano Technologies, OpenSpace has also invested in other Vietnam’s startups, such as edtech Topica and Finhay. Finhay, a domestic digital investment platform, bagged a $25 million Series B round co-led by … [Read more...] about Indicators ripe for wave of tech startup successes