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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City revitalization: converting old factories, underused land into creative spaces
Dr Lê Quỳnh Chi Urban regeneration, a process of improving buildings and land to reverse structural decline, is now in the limelight, taking a significant role in urban planning discussions and projects. In Việt Nam, urban regeneration remains a new concept. Việt Nam News talks about the issue with Lê Quỳnh Chi, who has a doctorate in urban planning at Tokyo University, Japan, and is vice-head of the Urban Planning Department at the National University of Civil Engineering in Hà Nội. Inner Sanctum: Could you please explain the concept of urban regeneration? Every city has pockets of underused and underutilised land or distressed and decaying urban areas. These pockets of underused land weaken the city’s image, livability and productivity. Urban regeneration is a complex process that tackles these aforementioned issues, usually requiring the collaboration of various stakeholders, including the public sector, private sector and NGOs. Young people join a dancing …
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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HCM City’s master plan to 2040 focuses on climate change adaptation
Ho Chi Minh City’s master plan calls for the city to be developed into the nation’s largest economic hub for tourism, industrial services and high-tech agriculture by 2040, with a focus on climate change adaptation. A corner of Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) According to a Government decision on the master plan, the city is expected to have 13-14 million people by 2040 and 16 million by 2060. It plans to allocate 100,000-110,000ha of land for urbanisation by 2040. The city will remain the country’s economic and technological hub, focusing on innovation as part of the national urban development strategy. Under the master plan, the city will develop a complete infrastructure linking the city with neighbouring provinces. The newly established Thu Duc city will be developed into an innovative city model that will support the development of HCM City and the southern region. The city will integrate urban development with transit-oriented development (TOD), including …
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Vietnam’s Hoi An honored among 15 best cities in Asia
Hoi An ancient city in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam has been named among the 15 best cities throughout Asia by U.S. popular magazine Travel + Leisure. The magazine’s World’s Best Awards survey was open for voting for the top tourist attractions from January to May, as destinations around the globe were gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions, Vietnam News Agency reports. Accordingly, Hoi An earned 86.98 points out of 100 to rank 13th in the list of 15 top cities in Asia. The ancient city has been placed above Singapore and Mumbai, which scored 86.93 points and 86.61 points, respectively, Hoi An has previously been honored by Travel + Leisure many times, such as the world's best city in 2019, one of the 50 best places to travel in 2019, one of the top 10 Asian cities in 2018, among others. Located on the central coast, Hoi An ancient town is a paradise for tourists and lovers of photography and food. In 1999, the city was recognized by the UNESCO as a World …
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Breakfast @ Tuoi Tre News – September 19
Here are today’s leading news stories: Politics -- Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Hanoi on Saturday night for an official visit to Cuba, which is scheduled to run from September 18 to 20. COVID-19 Updates -- The Ministry of Health documented 9,373 COVID-19 cases, including 4,237 in Ho Chi Minh City, on Saturday evening, raising the country’s tally to 677,023, with 448,368 recoveries and 16,857 deaths. -- The National Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research on Saturday approved the mid-term evaluation report of the third phase of clinical trials for Vietnam's homegrown Nano Covax COVID-19 vaccine. -- The central city of Da Nang recorded no local infection for the first time in 70 days on Saturday even though authorities had been conducting mass testing over the past days, according to the municipal steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control. -- The Ministry of Health has required authorities in …
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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. …
Tiền Giang, Đồng Tháp provinces to focus on reducing death rate from COVID-19: deputy prime minister
A fisherman on September 12 is tested after leaving his boat to enter Vàm Láng town in Tiền Giang Province’s Gò Công Đông District. VNA/VNS Photo Hữu Chí MEKONG DELTA — The Mekong Delta provinces of Tiền Giang and Đồng Tháp should continue anti-pandemic measures and focus on reducing the death rate from COVID-19, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has told provincial authorities. Đam led a inspection team to Tiền Giang and Đồng Tháp provinces on Friday. At a meeting in Đồng Tháp, Đam said the province police should visit each house to ask members to fill out medical declarations and ask them if they had returned from COVID-19 hotspots. Preventing cross-transmission at quarantine facilities was also important, Đam said. In locked-down areas, rapid tests should be administered to detect COVID-19 patients quickly. The province also needs to prepare scenarios for a possible COVID-19 outbreak after re-opening, Đam said. People must follow the Ministry of …