Rescuers have recovered the body of a 10th grader who was swept away by floodwater in Nghe An Province, north-central Vietnam after conducting a two-day search and rescue operation. Authorities in the province’s Quy Hop District completed procedures to hand over the body of the student to his family on Tuesday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Ngo Quoc Chinh, 16, a native of Quy Hop. Before the fatal incident happened, Chinh and Luong Minh Huu, 17, both from Quy Hop 3 High School were riding an electric bike from Quy Hop Town to Chau Cuong Commune at around 0:30 am on Sunday this week. When the boys arrived at a spillway bridge in Chau Cuong, they found the bridge barricaded due to rising water level in the river after a heavy rain. They decided to remove the barricade and crossed the bridge. Unfortunately, they and the electric bike were swept away by floodwater when they reached one third of the bridge. Huu managed to swim ashore but Chinh went missing. … [Read more...] about Body of 10th grader swept away by floodwater found in north-central Vietnam
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Engineering Company Rotation 2 departs for UNISFA
Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Head of the Intersectoral Working Group, and Deputy Head of the Ministry of National Defense's Steering Committee on Vietnam’s participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations, presided over the ceremony. At the event, Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan entrusted the mission to the Engineering Company Rotation 2 and urged all of its members to uphold unity, overcome challenges, and successfully fulfill all assigned tasks. The deputy chief of the General Staff also called on the entire company to promote internal unity and international solidarity, provide active support to the locals, and collaborate with other forces stationed in the UNISFA to carry out their tasks effectively. They were also encouraged to promote good images of Uncle Ho’s soldiers to international friends. Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan expressed his confidence that following the successful … [Read more...] about Engineering Company Rotation 2 departs for UNISFA
Vacancy rate of offices in HCM City predicted to reach record in 12 years
Office buildings in Thu Thiem area, Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The vacancy rate of offices in Ho Chi Minh City reached 18% in the third quarter of 2023, while rents decreased by between 0.2 -2.2% quarterly, according to Knight Frank Vietnam, a leading real estate consultancy. In its report on HCM City office market in the third quarter of 2023, Knight Frank Vietnam predicted that in the fourth quarter, the office vacancy rate will increase to over 20% due to new supply in Thu Thiem area in Thu Duc city, which is a 12-year high. Specifically, in Ho Chi Minh City, rents decreased 2.2% quarter-on-quarter for Grade A office and 0.2% for Grade B office, while Grade A office vacancy rate increased to 18.2% and that in Grade B rose to 11.6%. Currently, the Grade A office segment has a total vacant floor area of about 73,000 sq.m and an average asking rent of 57.60 USD per sq.m per month. Alex Crane, CEO of Knight Frank Vietnam , said that a … [Read more...] about Vacancy rate of offices in HCM City predicted to reach record in 12 years
Ho Chi Minh City to spend over 7 trillion VND on medical infrastructure, equipment
The decision is part of a resolutions adopted by the 10th municipal People’s Council at its 10th meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on September 19. Accordingly, the municipal People's Council approved a total investment of over 1.49 trillion VND for medical equipment in Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital, more than 1.36 trillion VND for Cu Chi Regional General Hospital, and 1.45 trillion VND for Thu Duc Regional General Hospital. It also adopted projects for the construction of new infrastructure and procurement of equipment in 17 medical facilities. With the adjustments, the total mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period is valued at over 3 trillion VND, and that for 2026-2030 is more than 4 trillion VND. The council also approved for the first time the minimum investment amount for a public-private partnership (PPP) project in the health care sector at 30 billion VND. Source: VNA … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City to spend over 7 trillion VND on medical infrastructure, equipment
Green-certified office buildings on the rise
Green-certified office buildings on the rise, Photo: Shutterstock Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam’s head office in Hanoi was the latest to be awarded LEED Gold certification at the beginning of September, demonstrating the bank’s commitment to sustainability and delivering the most environmentally conscious design. The bank has fulfilled the standards set by the LEED Green Building rating system of the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The verification includes a range of factors including energy efficiency, human health and wellbeing, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, sustainable and regenerative material cycles, and active community engagement. Michele Wee, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam), said that certification reflected the bank’s shared values and commitment to crafting spaces that excel in functionality while minimising ecological footprint. “Standard Chartered commits to continuing to drive sustainable economic growth, embrace responsible … [Read more...] about Green-certified office buildings on the rise
Singers say they are ‘victims’ at businesswoman’s trial
Singer Vy Oanh. Photo from Oanh's Instagram Hang, the general director of the Dai Nam Joint Stock Company, is set to stand trial at the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Court on Thursday, after she was arrested by Ho Chi Minh City police in March last year for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, and the lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens." The two singers claimed that Hang’s words and behaviors had directly harmed their reputations, causing them mental and physical repercussions. Thus, they argued, they were qualified to be considered "victims" in the case, according to the Criminal Procedure Code. If the court approves their requests, the singers will have many rights that "relevant parties" do not enjoy, including the right to ask the court to consider the defendant's particular behavior and punishment, as well as appealing against the defendant’s conviction. The court has not announced a decision on the singers’ … [Read more...] about Singers say they are ‘victims’ at businesswoman’s trial
Defense Minister receives Thai Chief of Defense Forces
At the meeting, the host affirmed that over the past nearly 50 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations, Vietnam - Thailand relations have comprehensively developed. The political-diplomatic, defense and security relations have been constantly boosted, contributing to strengthening strategic trust between the two countries. The two sides have also achieved positive achievements in economic, trade, investment, and tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchange. General Giang emphasized that Vietnam and Thailand are active and responsible members of the ASEAN Community. He highly appreciated the position, role, and active and pro-active participation of Thailand in general and the Thai Ministry of Defense in particular in promoting multilateral cooperation, especially within the ASEAN framework, contributing to strengthening intra-bloc solidarity and enhancing ASEAN's position. According to Vietnamese Defense Minister, on the foundation of the good friendship … [Read more...] about Defense Minister receives Thai Chief of Defense Forces
Thai Chief of Defense Forces visits Vietnam
On September 20, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Tan Cuong chaired a solemn reception for General Chalermphon Srisawasdi at the Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense. After the reception, the two sides held talks. During the talks, General Cuong affirmed the significance of the visit which takes place in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their strategic partnership, contributing to creating new momentum for Vietnam - Thailand defense relations. On the basis of the bilateral friendship and fruitful cooperative relations, the cooperation between the two militaries has continuously developed with many practical and effective activities. Such cooperation mechanisms as defense policy dialogue; coast guard exchange; collaboration between arms and services; young officers’ exchange; information sharing; consultation; support to each other at ASEAN-led … [Read more...] about Thai Chief of Defense Forces visits Vietnam
Working with American business partners requires understanding their way of thinking
In January 2000, we established our first branch in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. The director of that branch was a patriotic diasporic Vietnamese. But the American Dream did not come true for us. After merely one year of operations, FPT USA had to temporarily stop operating due to a lack of customers. We tried everything, with different people attempting to take the reigns of business development. From a Vietnamese expat to a graduate from prestigious MBA programs. What we received were critics, portraying our managers as "delusional about our corporate capability" and our programmers "weak in both expertise and language skills." It was a total failure. No one cared about a nameless company from Vietnam, a country only known then for the prolonged war. One of our then-potential customers was surprised to learn that it only took one hour to fly from Hanoi to Bangkok. He could not imagine the locations were so close, despite his own flying to Bangkok quite … [Read more...] about Working with American business partners requires understanding their way of thinking
Singers want apology not money from tycoon in alleged defamation case
Business mogul Nguyen Phuong Hang at her trial on September 21, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung Hang, the general director of the Dai Nam Joint Stock Company, stands trial at the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Court on Thursday, after she was arrested by Ho Chi Minh City police in March last year for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, and the lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens." She was accused of using different social media accounts to livestream and make allegedly false claims about various celebrities, as well as spread information related to celebrities' private lives. In her videos, she said singer Dam Vinh Hung had not been transparent in distributing money he collected from others, and singer Vy Oanh had earned a huge amount of money after having a child with a rich man. "My reputation, which I have built over the past 20 years, was damaged," Hung said at the trial of Hang at the HCMC People’s Court, … [Read more...] about Singers want apology not money from tycoon in alleged defamation case