Budget honeymoon

Soybean meal is the main raw material in the formulation of pork bran. (Photo: sggp.org.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Government has received a proposal from the Vietnam Feed Association to eliminate the import tax on soybean meal, currently set at 2%. In response to the proposal, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, under the direction of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, instructed the Ministry of Finance to work with relevant ministries and branches to study and consider the association's recommendations and submit them for consideration and decision following the law. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility with relevant ministries and branches to study, consider and handle the association's recommendations on amending relevant documents on import tax and submit them to competent authorities for consideration and decision according to law. Before that, the Vietnam Feed Association sent a written proposal to reduce the import tax on soybean meal near … [Read more...] about Animal feed industry asks for import tax reduction on raw materials

Illustrative photo. (Photo:thejakartapost.com) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia ’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on March 20 said that Indonesia’s Government will spend 7 trillion rupiahs (nearly 456 million USD) from its State’s budget to subsidise the sales of new electric motorcycles and the conversion of combustion engine motorcycles in two years 2023 and 2024. Speaking at a press conference, Sri Mulyani said that the subsidies will cover the sales and conversion of a total of 1 million electric motorcycles including 800,000 new ones and 200,000 combustion engine motorcycles to be converted. According to her, the Ministry of Industry will manage the support of the programme for new purchases while the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) will manage the programme to convert conventional motorbikes to electric ones. The new purchase support programme will be for micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses that are eligible for support of loans, production, and … [Read more...] about Indonesia to spend 456 million USD to subsidise electric motorcycle sales, conversion

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

A customer shops for mobile phones at a Mobile World store. For Mobile World (MWG), Q4 profit after tax dropped sharply by 60.4% year-on-year to 619 billion VND, a multi-year low. (Photo: thegioididong.com) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Retail stocks have dropped significantly due to the decline in business results in the context of the global economic recession and high interest rates. Mobile World (MWG) and Digiworld (DGW) are both hovering around the long-term bottom with a drop of more than 50% from the peak. Petrosetco (PET) has been almost flat since the beginning of February while Petrosetco Distribution JSC (PSD) is finding the bottom. This duo has dropped by 60-65% of the market price compared to their peak. The Phu Nhuan Jewelry Group (PNJ) and FPT Retail (FRT) have been struggling since the end of January. These two stocks have fallen by 16% and 38% respectively from the peak. The recent plunge in retail stocks partly came from the decline in business results. … [Read more...] about Retail stocks drop amid economic downturn and high interest rates

The northern province of Ninh Binh is seeking the prime minister’s approval to build a VND8.4 trillion (USD35.744 million) expressway linking the northern coastal city of Haiphong. The project will be 25 kilometres long and will be linked to the North-South Highway which runs through Mai Son Commune in Ninh Binh. The route will have four lanes, allowing vehicles to run at speeds of 120 kilometres per hour. The project is expected to be started early 2024 and completed in 2026. Site clearance would last for around 12 months. VND6.5 trillion would be from the state budget, while the remainder sourced from the province. The project is seen as one of several important routes in the key northern economic zone. It will help ease pressure on National Highway 10 as well as boost Ninh Binh’s economic and tourism development. … [Read more...] about Ninh Binh seeks PM expressway approval

Tran Thi Hai and his husband, residing in Nui Thanh District, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, have used their own budget to build a boarding house and offer free shelter for underprivileged students. The boarding house has become an address of love and nurtures the kindness and dreams of many poor students. House of kindness Only 10 minutes after school finishes, students ride their bicycles to return to the boarding house. Despite being busy as a bee, both Hai and her husband try to observe students living in their boarding house and care about their studying. “We are happy to see them going to school regularly and studying hard. "Their families believe in us and say that their children have made progress. "Money is not a matter to help them pursue their learning journey." The help to the disadvantaged and the community by the family of Hai is well known in Nui Thanh Town of the namesake district. Local authorities and associations often visit and support the … [Read more...] about Couple offer free boarding house for poor students in central Vietnam

The assistance is meant to help with the implementation of the national target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for 2021 - 2030, in the first phase from 2021 to 2025. Accordingly, a maximum of 40 million VND (nearly 1,700 USD) from the central budget will be provided for each household to carry out site clearance, prepare housing and land infrastructure, or settlement. A maximum of 40 million VND for each household will be provided to build a solid house in line with local customs, and up to 22.5 million VND for each to conduct land reclamation for farming. It also regulates that an average of 3 billion VND from the central budget will be given to help with the building of a concentrated water supply facility in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. The paving of roads towards communes' centre can receive support of about 1.6 billion VND for each kilometer, and the construction of a new market can receive financial aid of 4.4 billion … [Read more...] about Financial aid for ethnic minority housing and land reclamation

Illustrative image (Source: Bernama) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Cybersecurity threats in Malaysia have increased in terms of frequency and severity of attacks, said Communications and Digital Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching . Last year alone, she said the country experienced a number of serious cyber attacks including ransomware attacks, cyber espionage attempts, data leaks and cyber scams. Based on the statistics from Cyber Security Malaysia (CSM), Malaysia reported 4,741 cases of cyber threats last year, while this year, 456 fraud cases were recorded as of February 2023. The National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) received a total of 3,482 genuine calls recording losses of 27 million RM (1.23 million USD) for January and February this year alone, she said after launching #BeCyberSmart, a cybersecurity campaign and Protect 360, an all-in-one network security solution application, on March 17. The campaign will feature various initiatives including engagements to reach out … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity threats in Malaysia on the rise: official

Brunei plans to build waste-to-electricity incinerator plant (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Brunei plans to build a waste incineration plant that can process 800 to 1,000 tonnes of waste per day to generate electricity, according to Minister of Development Dato Haji Mohd Juanda. Speaking at the 19th meeting of the Legislative Council on the ministry's annual budget on March 19, the minister said that the waste incineration plant will help achieve more resilient and efficient solid waste management and much smaller area for landfill s. He stressed problems such as odour and leachate that are usually associated with landfills can be avoided. With the incorporation of the latest solid waste management technologies, pollution problems such as gas emissions from incinerators can be dealt with as best as possible. This approach also ensures more effective waste management for the next 20 years, he added. Brunei's Sungai Paku Engineered Landfill site, which covers 104 … [Read more...] about Brunei plans to build waste-to-electricity incinerator plant

Tourists are lapping up the nation’s major attractions, but service levels are not yet where they should be, Photo: Shutterstock Addressing the lack of a quality workforce has emerged as a top priority for the tourism sector, Cao Thi Ngoc Lan, standing vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA), highlighted the severe labour scarcity throughout the nation, particularly during busier seasons. She also emphasised the lack of qualified employees, especially for senior management positions. Additionally, the disparity in manpower between regions contributes to poor service in some areas. “The tourism sector requires 485,000 workers to staff accommodation facilities,” Lan said. “Between now and 2030, Vietnam is anticipated to experience strong tourism development and will require an additional 60,000 workers per year. However, vocational institutions and colleges of tourism can only supply 15,000 workers per year.” The VTA has proposed that the government issue a … [Read more...] about Training a necessity to equip tourism staff for next boom