8 million tons of plastic in the ocean

Manulife Vietnam repays over $34 million in light of accusations Lieutenant General To An Xo, the official spokesperson for Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, addressed inquiries from local media during a routine government press conference on June 3. It concerned the ongoing developments in the case involving Manulife Vietnam and Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and accusations of illicitly transforming customers' savings deposits into life insurance agreements. Lieutenant General Xo disclosed that the police have received a total of 579 complaints and have taken decisive action in response to each one. According to local media Dantri, Lieutenant General Xo shared that as of May 31, Manulife Vietnam had received a staggering 6,060 complaints pertaining to insurance contracts. Out of this substantial number, Manulife has successfully addressed and resolved 3,553 of the complaints. "Manulife has demonstrated its commitment to resolving this issue by refunding a large sum of … [Read more...] about Manulife Vietnam repays over $34 million in light of accusations

There are 9,953 Mobile Money service points nationwide. — Photo vnexpress.net Viet Nam had more than 3.9 million people using Mobile Money service by the beginning of last month, an increase of 6.3 per cent compared to March and three times higher compared to the same period last year. Statistics of the Viet Nam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) under the Ministry of Information and Communications show that the number of Mobile Money users in rural, mountainous, and remote areas reached more than 2.7 million customers, accounting for 69 per cent of service users. Currently, there are 9,953 Mobile Money service points nationwide, an increase of 12 per cent compared to March. The number of units accepting payment via Mobile Money reached 15,326 points, up 0.2 per cent. The total number of transactions including deposit, withdrawal, money transfer, and payment by Mobile Money is more than 26.1 million transactions, with a total transaction value of more than VND1.7 trillion … [Read more...] about Mobile Money has nearly 4 million users

Nearly 250 athletes take part in the first sea swimming Ly Son Cross Island tournament on May 28. (Photo of organisers) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The open sea swimming competition on Ly Son island was highly appreciated for its organisation and preparation as it was held for the first time in the central province of Quang Ngai last weekend. In its inaugural race, nearly 250 athletes, locals and foreigners, swam in the middle of the sea paradise and overcame ancient craters and millions of years of volcanic sediment as well as diverse coral reefs. They were guided by a special corridor made of national flags from the start to the finish of the three-category competition entitled Ly Son Cross Island. Khoa Sun and Nguyen Thi Thu Trang won the men's and women's 5km, respectively. Vo Tri Trung and Tran Thanh Binh were winners of the men's and women's 2km classes. Nguyen Dang Khoa and Dang Linh Giang topped the men's and women's 1km divisions. "Congratulations to all the … [Read more...] about Ly Son island swimming event successful, to become annual tourism product

In early April, the Board of Directors at Nam Viet JSC, a seafood producer in the southern region, gave the nod to the decision on dissolving Nam Viet Real Estate Co., Ltd. This company, based in Long Xuyen city in the Mekong delta province of An Giang, was founded in March 2022 to operate in real estate. Real estate might not always prove a fertile venture At the inception, the company had $3.5 million in chartered capital, which was scaled down to around $391,300 in mid-June 2022 before terminating operation in the recent past. At the company’s 2022 general annual shareholders meeting in June, CEO Doan Toi told shareholders that the company owned land, and that they would unveil two real estate projects later in the year, and another two in 2023. Last year, Nam Viet set an ambitious pre-tax profit target of VND1 trillion ($43.4 million) compared to a mere $6.5 million pre-tax profit posted in 2021, and committed to maintaining its profit in the range of a … [Read more...] about Core business key as companies pull out of real estate

Illustrative image (Photo: laodong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Although the aquaculture industry have been facing many challenges, it continues to receive support from the Government, Director in charge of communications of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers ( VASEP ) Le Hang told Lao dong newspaper. According to Hang, the Prime Minister has demanded the State Bank of Vietnam effectively manage credit operations to ensure the suitable provision of credit capital, and continue to reduce interest rates to support businesses, especially those in aquatic export . The bank has been required to implement supportive and preferential policies, including proposing a credit package worth 10,000 billion VND (over 425.4 million USD) to support businesses operating in forestry and aquatic production and processing industries. Credit programmes should be prioritised for the fisheries sector, towards creating favourable conditions for businesses involved in the … [Read more...] about Government support helps aquaculture industry weather difficulties

Access to this huge amount of customer data is a golden opportunity for banks to promote digital services and products, especially online lending. — Photo baodautu.vn Through a series of newly-issued regulations and access to the national population database, banks are planning to expand their online money-lending services. Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) Pham Tien Dung said accessing the national population database will help banks to check and authenticate new customer information more easily. Commercial banks will promote lending services on their electronic platforms based on this database. The draft amending the Law on Credit Institutions has many regulations specifying banking services via electronic devices. Besides that, several provisions supplemented by Civil Law and the Law on Electronic Transactions are necessary to complete the legal framework for online lending. Online lending, mostly small loans, has been implemented by many banks for a … [Read more...] about Banks to promote online lending through national population database access

The northern region of Vietnam is in the midst of a scorching heatwave. A representative from EVN stated that electricity consumption, both nationally and in Hanoi in particular, has steadily increased recently as a result of widespread and prolonged hot weather. According to EVN's statistics, the average daily electricity consumption in the city was 58,336 million kWh in March, 61,542 million kWh in April, and 75,406 million kWh in May. Consequently, average electricity consumption in May increased by more than 22.5 per cent compared to April. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Do Thang Hai, speaking on June 3, said, "Some areas currently lack sufficient electricity for production and daily, but the situation will soon be rectified." The power disruption in Hanoi and other areas will only last for a limited duration. According to Hai, hydropower, one of the primary sources of electricity in the north, is being mobilised at a low level due to the lack of sufficient … [Read more...] about Northern Vietnam lacking sufficient electrical power

Difficulties on way out for Vietnam’s Visa policy The short duration of stay, along with complicated factors related to the visa application procedure, have been causing headaches for foreign tourists. However, the Minister of Public Security has submitted to the National Assembly a draft amendment and supplement to a number of articles of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam at the end of May. The new draft has proposed to increase the duration of e-visas from no more than 30 days to a maximum of three months, valid for one time or multiple times. At the same time, the scope of e-visa issuance would be expanded to more than 80 countries and temporary residence would rise from 15 to 45 days. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also proposed to consider supplementing the pilot regulation of issuing visas at border gates for international tourists. This proposal also requires a clearer regulation of the extension of visa-free entry for … [Read more...] about Difficulties on way out for Vietnam’s Visa policy

In the first five months of the year, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.6 million international visitors, 13 times the amount on-year and equal to 63 per cent compared to 2019. The ten largest markets were South Korea, Mainland China, the US, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Australia, and Singapore, providing a combined total of 3.3 million arrivals, accounting for 71 per cent of the total number of visitors. Before 2019, China was Vietnam's largest international tourist market, accounting for about 30 per cent of the total number of visitors. That year, Vietnam welcomed 18 million international visitors, of which China contributed 5.8 million, followed by visitors from Russia, the UK, and France. After the Covid-19 pandemic, South Korea has since risen to be the largest tourist market with 1.3 million arrivals, followed by China in second. Several European markets have also dropped out of the top ten, replaced by the likes of Cambodia and Singapore. According to … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s Top 10 international tourist markets

The investor of a tourism project in the northern province of Hoa Binh has just been fined for carrying out vast site clearance at a local forest despite having not received a licence from local authorities. A tourism project in the northern province of Hoa Binh has carried out vast site clearance at a local forest despite having not received a licence from local authorities. Between April-September 2022, Legacy Riverside Company was approved by local authorities to conduct a geological survey for their Dong Truong Son Ecological Resort which was planned to cover 98 hectares in Luong Son District. However, the company sent lots of machinery to the site and destroyed a large area of forest. According to residents in Tan Vinh Commune, the Legacy Riverside Company started site clearance work in the local forest in 2022 and more forest area had been destroyed in early 2023 but local authorities took no action. It was not until April 2023 that Tan Vinh Commune … [Read more...] about Hoa Binh tourism investor fined for unlicensed project