HA NOI — National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung was full of praise for Ha Noi's achievements and urged city leaders to exert even greater efforts during a meeting yesterday where he offered them and city dwellers New Year wishes. He praised the capital city for its socio-economic achievements, its guaranteed security and national defence, as well as its social order throughout the last year. Hung said he wanted the city to maintain its achievements and further bring them into play while improving the living standards of all. He asked city leaders to be determined and exert their best efforts to successfully implement the Resolution of the 11th National Party Congress 2011, the city's socio-economic goals for this year, amendments and completion of the 1992 Constitution among others. Emphasising common difficulties caused by a complicated political and economic situation throughout the world in the past and years to come, the chairman said the capital city had a significant … [Read more...] about NA chairman offers New Year wishes
New year
New year party to be held for returning Vietnamese
HA NOI — A programme to welcome overseas Vietnamese will be held in Ha Noi later this month by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This year, the event, named Xuan Que Huong (Spring in the Homeland), will be held at the President Ho Chi Minh relic site and Ba Dinh Square on January 15, eight days before Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival, said Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son at a press briefing yesterday. The programme will include cultural activities and traditional festivals, with the aim of entertaining and sharing stories with overseas Vietnamese who return for the Tet holiday. "The programme not only helps overseas Vietnamese understand more about their motherland but to also pursue investment opportunities via conversation and sharing," Son said. "It has become a traditional springtime activity to call on overseas Vietnamese support and enhance national solidarity, especially in the first year of implementation of the … [Read more...] about New year party to be held for returning Vietnamese
Classical music ushers in new year
New tunes: Violinist Tang Thanh Nam and pianist Joo Eun-young will perform at a concert to celebrate the New Year at the HCM City Opera House on Monday. — VNS Photo Duc Ngoc HCM CITY — The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera will celebrate the New Year with a chamber music and opera show by South Korean and Vietnamese artists at the Opera House on Monday. Korean cellist Joo Hye-young and pianist Joo Eun-Young will open the concert with Beethoven's Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major. The former returned home with a master's degree from the Vienna State Conservatory in Austria and joined first the Seoul Sinfonietta orchestra and later the Seoul Millennium Orchestra, and has taught at Sahmyook University in Seoul. Eun-young graduated from the same Vienna school and did her master's at the Moscow Gnessin Academy. She is now a professor in the piano department at the HCM City Conservatory of Music (HCCM). She will then join violinist Tang Thanh Nam to play the … [Read more...] about Classical music ushers in new year
Gloomy market greets new year
HA NOI — Shares lost ground on both of the nation's stock exchanges on the first trading session of the new year, despite strong performances by global stocks. On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index closed off yesterday by 0.44 per cent to 350 points – with nearly half of all listed stocks losing value. The total value of trades plummeted by 60.4 per cent over the previous session, totaling just VND320.5 billion (US$15.2 million), while volume retreated by over 63 per cent to 20.6 million shares. "The VN-Index is constantly undergoing alternately increasing and decreasing sessions – which indicates that investors have not yet established a clear attitude towards the market," said Kim Eng Securities Co analyst Vu Thi Thuy Hang. The decline of the VN-Index yesterday was despite gains by some major blue chips, including insurer Bao Viet Holding (BVH), up 4.6 per cent; PetroVietnam Finance (PVF), up 2.8 per cent; Sacombank (STB), up 2.6 per cent; and Military Bank … [Read more...] about Gloomy market greets new year
Festivities nationwide welcome New Year
Vietnam joined other countries around the globe in welcoming the New Year with parties, art performances, and fireworks, with expectations for all things to be better in 2012. In the capital city of Hanoi, despite chilliness, thousands of people gathered in the area surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake enjoying the beauty of various kinds of flowers and counting down the time to the New Year. The New Year countdown party in the August Revolution Square in front of the Hanoi Opera House to welcome the New Year also attracted big crowds. Ho Chi Minh City greeted the New Year with special artistic performances on its main streets and in blaze of fireworks set off from the Dam Sen Cultural Park and the banks of the Saigon River. The city authorities decided to halt traffic to the inner area of the city during the night to allow thousands of people to join in the New Year countdown party on Nguyen Hue Street. First held in Vietnam in 2010 by Heineken, this year countdown party saw the participation … [Read more...] about Festivities nationwide welcome New Year