Phnom Penh (VNA) – Political parties of Cambodia have announced their respective manifestos for the upcoming 21-day National Election campaigns across the nation, highlighting their past achievements and making promises to gain people’s support, local media reported. They include the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the main opposition Candlelight Party (CP), royalist Funcinpec and the pro-royalist Khmer National United Party (KNUP) which have been actively promoting their policies ahead of the election. While National Election Committee (NEC) officials expect that at least 20 political parties will register their candidates for the election, minor parties have carried out minimal activities both at the national and grassroots levels and have yet to announce their participation. The CPP has unveiled its manifesto, consisting of pushing for pay rises for civil servants, adjustment and increase of pensions, increase in the minimum wage for workers and striving to address … [Read more...] about Cambodia’s political parties release election plans
Cambodia vaccinations
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean Foreign Minister
The following is the full text of the interview. Reporter: This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam. How do you evaluate the Singapore-Vietnam relations in the past half century, especially in the last decade? What should the two countries do to further our bilateral cooperation and to advance the development of each country? Vivian Balakrishnan: The ties between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since we established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. We are longstanding friends and close partners that enjoy wide-ranging cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. I am heartened that the bilateral relationship has continued to expand and evolve to tackle new challenges over the past decade. Our linkages are particularly strong in trade and investment. The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean Foreign Minister
IFC invests another $100m in SeABank to boost access to housing loans
Through IFC's new investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. — Photo courtesy of the bank IFC on Tuesday announced it has invested US$100 million in Southeast Asia Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (SeABank) which aims to boost access to housing loans. With a rapid annual urbanisation rate of 3 per cent, half of the Vietnamese population – about 50 million people – is expected to live in urban areas by 2040. This creates the need for an estimated 374,000 additional housing units every year. However, the limited availability of long-term funding has restricted access to housing finance, especially challenging for lower and middle-income homebuyers, who need longer-term funding due to low levels of income. Through the investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. In addition, the project is expected to create thousands of new jobs in construction and other related sectors. … [Read more...] about IFC invests another $100m in SeABank to boost access to housing loans
Three monkeys released to nature in Quang Ngai province
One of three northern pig-tailed macaques which are returned to the protection forest in Minh Long district, the central province of Quang Ngai on February 2. (Photo: VNA) Quang Ngai (VNA) – Three northern pig-tailed macaques were returned to the protection forest in Minh Long district, the central province of Quang Ngai on February 2. Earlier, the border station in the district received the primates from a company. The macaque, known as Macaca leonina, is of a vulnerable species in the subfamily Cercopithecidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. A northern pig-tailed macaque (Photo: VNA) The monkey belongs to a species listed in Group IIB of the Vietnam Red Book. On this occasion, Minh Long district authorities also called on local people to raise their awareness of protecting the biodiversity of the nature./. VNA … [Read more...] about Three monkeys released to nature in Quang Ngai province
Vietnam: the place to innovate with tech
Could you give an update about Antler’s portfolio? Magnus Grimeland It boasts about 680 companies in 25 locations across the world including Brazil, the United States, and Canada. In Europe, we are in most of the big capitals. In Africa, we’re in Nairobi. Asia is obviously a big focus for us with most of the major tech ecosystems in India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. We’re the world’s second most active early-stage investor now, and back the top 1 per cent of founders. We got 65,000 applicants last year from founders who want to work with us. Antler backs the best of the next generation of great companies, supporting their access to co-founders, supporting business model validation, putting in the first bit of capital with advisors across the globe, helping internationalise, and then we continue to back them. We also have a later stage fund, which enables us to invest directly into later stage companies. I’m incredibly … [Read more...] about Vietnam: the place to innovate with tech