15 billion to million

Naomi Kitahara, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Vietnam, speaks to Vietnam News reporter Thu Trang about the milestone of Vietnam's population passing 100 million next month, and the challenges and opportunities that this will bring. Naomi Kitahara. — Photo courtesy of the UNFPA What do you think about Vietnam's population passing 100 million people next month? In comparison with other countries in the region and the world over, how will be Vietnam’s population scale? Vietnam’s population will soon reach 100 million and Vietnam will become the 15th most populous country in the world. This should be seen as an important milestone for Vietnam, and I would like to congratulate the Government of Vietnam as this demonstrates a story of triumph. Vietnam, which was once a war-torn country, has successfully taken a substantial number of people out of poverty, and achieved remarkable socio-economic growth including health, education, … [Read more...] about Population of 100 million provides many great opportunities for Vietnam: UNFPA

The agreement surpasses the VND20 trillion ($850 million) acquisition of a 15% stake in BIDV from KEB Hana Bank (South Korea) in 2019, setting a new record in the banking industry. VPBank announced that it has completed the sale of a 15% equity interest to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. of Japan, a member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, in a transaction valued at $1.5 billion. CEO of SMBC Masahiro Yoshimura and Chairman of the Board of Directors at VPBank Nguyen Chi Dung at the signing ceremony today. Photo: VPBank SMBC Group's latest deal with VPBank makes the former a new strategic investor in the latter. The agreement sets a new banking industry record, with a deal value of VND35.9 trillion ($1.5 billion), surpassing the VND20 trillion ($850 million) acquisition of a 15% stake in BIDV from South Korea's KEB Hana Bank in 2019. The investment is expected to increase VPBank's total capital from VND103.5 trillion ($4.4 billion) to around VND140 trillion … [Read more...] about Japan’s SMBC acquires 15% stake in VPBank for US$1.5 billion

Phu Quoc welcomes over 1.5 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023 (Photo: VNA) Kien Giang (VNA) – Phu Quoc island city in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang welcomed more than 1.5 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023, a rise of 43.4% year on year, fulfilling 25.9% of its yearly target. In the period, the city earned over 4.5 trillion VND (119.44 million USD) from tourism activities, up 286.5% over the same period last year, equivalent to 39.4% of the yearly plan. The city attributed the result to effective measures to speed up tourism recovery and development and tourism promotion activities . Phu Quoc has also attracted many big tourism investors such as Vingroup, Sungroup, CEO, BIM. To date, it is hosting 286 tourism projects worth more than 375 trillion VND (15.95 billion USD), of which 47 has been operational and 78 are underway. The popular tourist destination is preparing to welcome visitors during the five day holidays on the occasion of … [Read more...] about Phu Quoc welcomes over 1.5 million visitors in Q1

Bamboo Airways is negotiating a deal with a new investor, showing its latest move one year after former chairman Trinh Van Quyet was arrested in March 2022 on charges of stock market manipulation, a representative of the airline told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday. The air carrier and the new investor are in the process of completing a part of investment procedures. Who the investor is remains unclear. The airline has found a new investor to replace former chairman Trinh Van Quyet and some relevant shareholders, said Bamboo Airways CEO Nguyen Manh Quan. The air carrier also actively helped the investor with relevant procedures of stake acquisition. The transferred stake was mortgaged at banks from 2020 by old shareholders. Apart from the stake purchase, the new investor agreed to take responsibility for all payments for the previous loans taken out by the old shareholders who used their stakes in Bamboo Airways as collateral at banks. Over the past few months, … [Read more...] about Bamboo Airways has new investor

An area in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – The northern province of Quang Ninh maintained stable and high socio-economic development in the first quarter of 2023, with gross regional domestic product ( GRDP ) growth of 8.04%, statistics showed. The service sector recovered strongly to maintain its role as the main growth engine, contributing to 30.6% of the GRDP. In the first three months, Quang Ninh welcomed 4.85 million tourists and earned some 8.55 trillion VND (363.9 million USD) in tourism revenue, respectively rising 2.3 and 2.7-fold from a year earlier. Meanwhile, state budget revenue reached some 14.8 trillion VND, equivalent to 27% of this year’s estimate and up 8% year on year. The budget comprises 11.27 trillion VND from domestic sources and 3.53 trillion VND from foreign trade, representing increases of 8% and 7% respectively year on year. For the second quarter, the provincial Party Committee targets GRDP growth of about … [Read more...] about Quang Ninh province posts growth of over 8% in Q1

Pioneering in technology to create the talking cards From March 15, VIB applied new features and a refreshed look for its Mastercard credit cards. The bank is pioneering in using cutting-edge technology and minimalist design with more luxurious and durable materials for the cards. At the same time, the bank has reorganised its credit card portfolio to feature key products including Cash Back, Rewards Unlimited, Travel Elite, and Premier Boundless to meet customers’ demands. With the new design, VIB has combined minimalism and modern styles. The special lines on the cards are carefully chosen to make the cards more luxurious and durable. On the back of the card, the QR code is incorporated with VR and augmented reality. The virtual finance expert Vie will appear at customers’ request to give advice on card usage and incentives. Vie is brought closer to users with a 3D display and voice interaction. VIB is a pioneering bank in introducing the talking card to customers, … [Read more...] about VIB offers new-look credit cards

A land plot for sale in Binh Duong Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Land plot prices in HCM City and neighbouring provinces such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An decreased by 10-25 per cent compared to early this year due to the central bank’s tight monetary policy for real estate lending. Many investors borrowed money to invest in property in previous years, hoping to make profits, but instead suffered losses as tightened credit drove up interest rates and hit liquidity. In 2021, Tran Van Nam from HCM City bought a land plot for VND5 billion (US$208,000) in the southern province of Dong Nai, hoping to resell it within a year for a profit of hundreds of millions of dong. But in late 2022, when bank interest rates went up, he had to sell it for a loss of over VND800 million. At that time, many brokers told him that land plot prices had kept increasing from 2016 to 2021 and it will keep increasing in coming years, and so he bought the land plot hoping for a profit. But he was … [Read more...] about Land prices in the southern provinces fall sharply

The authorities recommend that people should choose reputable shops with quality goods, contribute to preventing counterfeit, fake and smuggled goods. The fight against fake and counterfeit goods during Tet holiday in Hanoi has been intensified as sales of poor quality commodities tend to increase in the days prior to the Lunar New Year, or Tet, celebrations, the Government Portal reported. Illustrative photo During the peak month from November 15 to December 15, the Hanoi Market Management Sub-Department inspected 624 cases and handed fines worth more than VND6.2 billion (US$266,600). For the whole year of 2019, the department inspected 8,838 cases and fined a total of more than VND110 billion (US$4.73 million). In a short period of time, Hanoi market management forces continuously seized large quantities of unidentified goods and food safety. Besides faking the items of world-famous brands, highly-demanded and high-value made-in-Vietnam items are also … [Read more...] about Hanoi intensifies crack down on fake and counterfeit goods ahead of Tet

Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung made the suggestion at the province’s tourism development conference held in Ha Long city on March 17. He said Quang Ninh should develop special travel products that could not be found anywhere else, increase the popularization of its image, open overseas representative offices, and apply itself to tackling difficulties in tourism development such as manpower shortages and environmental pollution. The conference was also a chance for other localities nationwide to learn local tourism development lessons, including making constant reforms and capitalizing on local natural and cultural resources, the official noted, adding that Quang Ninh has continually been one of the best performers nationwide in attracting domestic and international visitors. In his remarks, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky emphasized that Quang Ninh welcomes and pledges to provide the best possible conditions for domestic and … [Read more...] about Quang Ninh advised to focus on three pillars in tourism development

Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line on a trial run in late 2022. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi’s authorities have proposed delaying the operation of the elevated section of Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line, the second of its kind in Hanoi, to August 2023 instead of late 2022 as planned. The municipal People’s Committee plans to complete the Nhon depot in May this year and hand over the system and safety certificate in August the same year. The city’s authorities blamed the delay on limited capacity of contractors, investors and consultant units as well as improper cooperation of relevant agencies. Other reasons come from problems related to regulations, standards, unit prices, railway materials and equipment. The city’s authorities also proposed extending the operation time of the whole metro line until 2027, thus increasing the construction costs by about 1.9 trillion VND (80.5 million USD to over 34.8 trillion VND (1.4 billion USD). The metro line’s expenditure was … [Read more...] about Hanoi’s second metro line delayed one more time