Ashanti gold appoints new director

As home to nearly 300 national treasures, Hanoi has a valuable source of ritual and cultural traits that tell its history of thousands of years. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sees the partnership with Hanoi in heritage preservation as one of its key activities in the future, said Director of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Center Lazare Eloundou on March 27. Hanoi mayor Tran Sy Thanh (right) receives Lazare Eloundou, Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Center, on March 27. Photo: The Hanoi Times The UNESCO expects to bolster the relationship with Vietnam’s capital city in preserving cultural traits and heritages, he told a meeting with Hanoi mayor Tran Sy Thanh. Lazare urged the municipal and local authorities of Hanoi to come up with solutions that bring balance between heritage preservation and socio-economic growth and lift the living conditions for local people. UNESCO will always partner with Vietnam to … [Read more...] about UNESCO promises tight partnership with Hanoi in heritage and relic conservation

Visas, service quality, and technology were all part of discussions on a better-performing tourism sector Photo: Cuong Minh May’s National Assembly session is likely to help push ahead a revamp of the country’s rules on entry and exit for foreign visitors, after the Ministry of Public Security crafts amendments to the current law. The development will be an important basis for the issuance of new regulations related to the visa policy, removing difficulties for the tourism industry, and creating conditions to attract more international visitors this year, according to most observers. Dang Tuan Viet, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Secrutity’s (MoPS) Vietnam Immigration Department, said that the proposal emphasised two major areas related to unilateral visa exemption and electronic visa policy. The MoPS also proposes to expand the number of countries that can issue e-visas from 80 countries to the maximum. The MoPS will also ask to increase the temporary stay … [Read more...] about Visa upgrade at heart of fresh approach to tourism

It is now nearly impossible to buy a new apartment at the VND 2 billion mark. According to a report in 2022 from Rever, a Southeast Asia technology firm in real estate brokerage, for VND1.5-1.8 billion, one can buy a 30-55 square meter apartment built 6-10 years ago in Thu Duc City, on the secondary market. The average income of workers in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) this year is about VND148 million a year, according to property listing platform Batdongsan.com.vn. By that calculation, it will take up to 24 years to save, with no spending on anything, just to buy an apartment. The type of apartment used in this survey costs VND3.5 billion per unit. The data also shows that Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia in terms of the gap between house prices and average worker incomes. From 2018 to 2021, the ratio of the difference between real estate prices and the average income of Vietnamese has continuously increased, surpassing even Singapore. On the other hand, Indonesia, Malaysia and … [Read more...] about A laborer needs to save for 25 years to buy an apartment

Proposals relating to cooperation and encouraging foreign investors to join Vietnam’s innovation journey were addressed at some forums, including one at VIR’s headquarters and the annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) organised in Hanoi over a week back. Working groups of the Vietnam Business Forum touched on a variety of topics and recommendations for greater progress Photo: Dung Minh One particular area of discussion focused on the digital economy and tech such as blockchain. Do Tien Thinh, deputy director of the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) said at VIR’s forum on digital transformation on March 21 that the NIC is working with many big foreign technology groups to connect them with domestic enterprises to implement training courses and technical supporting programmes. Thinh said Google has implemented digital skill training courses for businesses, especially startups. In mid-2022, Google launched a certification initiative and Startup Academy Vietnam, … [Read more...] about High-tech talent pool to aid transformation

Vietnamese companies prioritize environmentally friendly and sustainable practices as part of their efforts to ensure long-term growth. More than 85% of Vietnam's 500 fastest-growing companies (FAST 500) have committed or plan to comply with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, according to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Report Company (Vietnam Report). Electronics production at SGK Company (Chuong My Industrial Park), a component supplier for Samsung. Photo: The Hanoi Times As the global community continues to prioritize environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, Vietnam is also placing a great deal of emphasis on achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050. FAST500 companies are aware of the importance of ESG standards and are in the process of adopting this strategy, the report states. Specifically, 14.8% of companies surveyed had initiated and implemented some of their ESG obligations, while 37% had fully planned and … [Read more...] about Over 85% of major Vietnamese companies are committed to ESG standards

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