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 …
VN football team drops in FIFA rankings in September
The World Football Federation (FIFA) has announced the rankings of national teams for September 2021. In the first half of September, the 2022 World Cup qualifiers took place in all regions, making a lot of changes on the FIFA rankings this month. The Vietnamese team got a total of 1244.09 points and dropped from 92nd to 95th in the world. The results came from the team’s two losing games against Saudi Arabia and Australia in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia, with 16.76 points deducted. Vietnam also fell from 13th to 15th in Asia. In Asia, Iran overtook Japan to take the top spot and climb to 22nd in the world. The next positions in the top 10 are still Australia, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia... In Southeast Asia, except for Vietnam, which is participating in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, the remaining teams are not to be counted this time. Therefore, the ranking of these teams remains the …
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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. …
American investor earns VND1,000 billion from Vietnam’s hot stock
The largest private equity fund management company in the US has just sold Vinhomes shares and made a profit of more than VND1,000 billion (nearly US$ 43.5 million) after a year. According to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE), Viking Asia Holdings II PTE. LTD - an organization related to the largest private equity fund management company in the US - KKR - has sold 31.96 million Vinhomes shares (VHM) during the period from August 18 to September 14, when VHM was priced at around 110,000 VND/share. At this price, the organization could collect nearly VND3,500 billion, earning a profit of more than VND1,000 billion after more than one year holding the shares. In June 2020, this organization bought VHM shares at the price of VND75,000 per share. After the transaction, the ownership of Viking Asia Holdings II PTE. LTD decreased from 5.5% to 4.6% of charter capital and is no longer a major shareholder in VHM. This means that it will not have to publish its next …
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Final train for Hanoi’s second metro route arrives in Vietnam
A ship carrying the 10th train, the last of the second metro route, docked at Hai Phong Port on Thursday and is on its way to the Nhon depot area in Hanoi, a representative of Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) said Saturday. As of August, the route was 74 percent complete, including 90 percent of its elevated section. The metro route is scheduled to begin commercial operation of its 8.5-kilometer elevated tracks in the second half of this year. However, MRB said the target could be missed due to the impacts of the Covid pandemic. The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route consists of 10 trains with four cars each, manufactured by French company Alstom. Each train, which is 80 meters long and has a designed speed of 80 kph and a commercial speed of 35 kph, can carry 944 to 1,124 people. Its low floor makes it quite convenient for passengers to get on and off, especially for those with luggage or having to move on wheelchairs. There are priority areas for people with …
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Vietnam records 9,360 new local Covid cases
Ho Chi Minh City led with 4,237 new cases, followed by Binh Duong (2,877) and Dong Nai (939). Saturday's infection tally pushed the infection tally in the ongoing wave since late April to 672,593. 220 deaths were recorded on Saturday, including 165 in HCMC, 39 in its neighbor Binh Duong and seven in the Mekong Delta's Kien Giang. Other deaths were recorded in Tay Ninh (three), Dong Thap (two) and Binh Thuan, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ngai and Hanoi (one each). The national death rate over the past week has been 250 a day on average. The coronavirus death toll in Vietnam so far is 16,857, or 2.5 percent of all infections, compared to the world's average of 2.1 percent. Also on Saturday, 14,903 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered, bringing the total tally of recovered cases so far to 448,368. The country has vaccinated over 33 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Over 6.3 million have been fully vaccinated. Ho Chi Minh City, epicenter of the fourth …
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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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State Bank of Vietnam to enforce monthly cap on e-wallet transactions
The State Bank of Vietnam, which is the country’s central bank, has issued a new fiat to restrict an e-wallet user’s monthly transactions to no more than VND100 million (US$4,324). This payment cap is stipulated in Circular 23/2019/TT-NHNN dated November 22. The order will take effect on January 7, 2020. A user’s transactions to pay for legitimate goods and services and tranfer money between e-wallets powered by the same company are limited to VND100 million a month, according to the circular. The central bank has crossed out a proposed article capping the transactions’ value at VND20 million ($865) a day. Such abolition of a daily cap will spur cashless payment, e-wallet service providers said. The fiat also requires that users top up their e-wallets via checking accounts, debit cards, or transfers from their peers, who use the same e-wallet service. Users are permitted to use e-wallets to pay for goods and services, transfer money to other users, and credit their …
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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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Wedding ritual of the Nung ethnic group in northern Vietnam
Young Nung boys and girls in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai make friends and date when they work in the fields or go to market fairs. The groom’s family takes the bride to their home. Luon singing sessions at night are also good opportunities for them to find a partner. When a boy and a girl fall in love, the boy’s family sends a matchmaker to make a proposal to the girl’s family. Tran Chi Nhan, deputy head of the Culture Office of Hoang Su Phi District, Lao Cai Province, says a love proposal is the first step of a marriage. “At the proposal meeting, the boy’s matchmaker asks the girl’s parents to allow their daughter to marry. They meet again 10 days later at an engagement ceremony, to which the boy’s family brings an offering that includes a rooster, a bottle of wine, and confectionaries. Then they cook the rooster. The rooster’s legs are given to a shaman who uses them to predict a lucky date for the wedding ceremony,” says Nhan. At the engagement …
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