Dance pop hits 2021

SINGAPORE - A technical glitch at entry points into Singapore led to rare delays at one of the world's busiest airports on Friday, with snaking queues and disgruntled passengers for several hours as automated immigration lanes suffered problems. The city-state's immigration authority said it had "resumed normalcy" at checkpoints by 4 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) and was investigating the cause of the disruption, after earlier reporting "system slowness" at selected checkpoints, including, Changi Airport and two land border crossings with Malaysia. Changi, one of the busiest gateways in the world, had warned passengers to expect delays and authorities urged postponement of non-essential travel. Passengers queue at the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3 in Singapore March 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters It handles nearly 150,000 passengers a day while about 300,000 people cross daily at the Woodlands and Tuas causeways linking Singapore with Malaysia. Posts on … [Read more...] about Singapore sees rare travel delays as tech problem hits immigration checkpoints

Inspectors examine a container at Cai Lan port in Quang Ninh province. More ports need to be built to promote inter-regional ties. (Photo: VNA) Thai Binh (VNA) - The Red River Delta is a region of geopolitical, economic, cultural, and social importance to Vietnam , according to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. The minister made the remarks at a seminar "Promoting investment, trade, and services to strengthen inter-regional ties" held on March 30 in Thai Binh province. He said in more than 15 years, the region saw a remarkable economic advancement with an average annual growth rate of 8.93%, far higher than the country's level. In 2022, its GDP hit 2.89 quadrillion VND (123 billion USD), contributing to nearly one-third of the national GDP. Its income per capita was 1.3 times as high as the national average, at 123.4 million VND per annum. Despite the impressive economic growth, the region still faces some major obstacles. First, its transition … [Read more...] about Red River Delta – national economic powerhouse: Official

The plan's implementation seeks to capitalize on Hanoi's import-export advantages and promote the city's socioeconomic development toward green growth and rapid and sustainable progress. Hanoi aims to sustain an annual export growth rate of 4.4-5% between 2023 and 2025 and 5.1-5.5% between 2023 and 2030. Electronics production at Channel Well Technology Vietnam at Quang Minh Industrial Park, Hanoi. Photo: Pham Hung/The Hanoi Times The goals were included in the action plan to achieve Hanoi's import-export strategy until 2030, which was signed off on March 30 by Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen. The implementation of this plan seeks to leverage Hanoi's import-export advantages and support its socioeconomic development toward green growth, rapid and sustainable progress, and a stable growth rate in import-export activities. The emphasis is on the direct export promotion of key and advantageous city goods and attracting … [Read more...] about Hanoi targets annual export growth of 5.5% until 2030

Vietnamese steel industry calling for wider investment from overseas entities, photo Le Toan Posco Yamato Vina Steel JSC, a joint venture between South Korea’s Pohang Iron and Steel Company and Japan’s Yamato Holdings, is contemplating constructing a second facility in Vietnam. Lee Youngwoo, general manager of Posco Yamato Vina, wants to “establish a robust sales network” across Vietnam while enhancing scrap supply security. In 2020, Posco Yamato Vina was the first to manufacture wide H-shaped steel in Vietnam. According to Lee, the business built a representative office in Haiphong last year in order to “create additional prospects for collaboration” with clients. In the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Posco Yamato Vina operates a steel mill with a capacity of one million metric tonnes per year and produces section steel with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year. Following a lack of foreign investment in steel manufacturing in recent years, many observers see Posco … [Read more...] about Vietnamese steel industry calling for wider investment from overseas entities

At a press conference on March 30 to report the collection of State budget in the first quarter of 2023 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - State budget revenue reached an estimated 491.5 trillion VND (over 20.9 billion USD) in the first quarter of 2023, equivalent to 30.3% of the estimate, and up 1.3% from the same period last year, the Ministry of Finance reported on March 30. Twenty-eight of the 63 provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide recorded state budget revenue hitting 28% of their yearly estimates. Twenty-three provinces and centrally-run cities saw the higher revenues than in the same period of 2022, while 40 others reported lower revenues. Meanwhile, the accumulated expenditure in the first quarter was equivalent to 17.5%  of the yearly estimate. The Ministry of Finance said expenditures in the last three months were carried out as planned, meeting requirements for socio-economic development, defence, security safeguarding, state management, debt repayment, and … [Read more...] about State budget revenue up 1.3% in Q1

An HDBank transaction office in HCM City. HDBank hopes to maintain its high growth momentum in the coming years. — Photo courtesy of HDBank The Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank has announced its 2022 results audited by PwC, which shows profit before tax of nearly VND10.27 trillion (US$437.18 million), its highest ever and up 27.2 per cent from the previous year and 105 per cent of the target approved by shareholders. The non-performing loans (NPL) ratio was low, while operational safety indicators were among the best in the industry. The operating income for the year topped VND22 trillion ($936.39 million), up 31.1 per cent. Its credit, services, card, and digital banking businesses all saw high growth. The total number of credit cards it issued quadrupled while their transaction value nearly tripled, and the number of e-banking transactions doubled with their value growing by six times to VND761 trillion ($$32.39 million). The return on equity and … [Read more...] about HDBank outstanding loans to property sector, corporate bond holdings among industry lowest

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan (left) presents a national team jersey to Herbalife General Director Vu Van Thang after their sponsorship signing ceremony on March 29 in Ha Noi. — Photo courtesy of the the company The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) announced on March 29 that Herbalife has been selected as the official sponsor of the national teams. As part of the agreement, Herbalife will provide substantial support to both the men's and women's squads as they compete in major tournaments such as the Asian Cup, SEA Games 32, Asian Games and World Cup in 2023. Herbalife has been a partner of the VFF since 2021. In addition to financial backing, the company will also supply nutritional supplements to help players enhance their physical strength and endurance in training and competitions. Herbalife experts will also conduct courses and talks on sports nutrition to share helpful information with coaches and athletes. "With the continued companionship of Herbalife along with … [Read more...] about VFF welcomes Herbalife as main sponsor for national football squads

British Ambassador to Viet Nam Iain Frew. — VNS Photo Le Viet Dung It is particularly meaningful that Viet Nam hosted the final round of negotiations on UK accession, as the two countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties in 2023, Iain Frew, British Ambassador to Viet Nam, said in a press briefing on Friday. The UK announced the conclusion of trade negotiations with all member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) the same day. With the conclusion, the UK has become the first European country to join the dynamic trade bloc and the first new member since its inception. The UK and CPTPP members will now take the final steps required for the UK to formally sign in 2023. After an intense round of talks in Viet Nam, negotiations, which began in June 2021, came to a unanimous agreement that the UK has reached the conclusion of its accession process to join the trade bloc. Accession could mean lower tariffs on some … [Read more...] about UK, the first European country, to join CPTPP

The call was due to the first quarter (Q1) of the year getting off to a slow start, likely hampering the total performance for the year. Vietnam’s real GDP growth in Q1/2023 decelerated to 3.32 per cent on-year, and from 5.92 per cent in Q2/2022, missing both the UOB and consensus forecasts. The main cause for the weak performance was due to manufacturing, which dipped into negative territory with a 0.4 per cent decline, for the first contraction since Q3/2021. The sector undershot estimates considerably and saw the slowest pace of expansion since that 6 per cent fall over 18 months ago, when the economy was in a state of shutdown during the pandemic. UOB said that the main cause for the manufacturing sector’s poor performance came primarily from weak external demand, which was largely expected. Exports in Q1 fell just under 12 per cent on-year to $79.2 billion, compared with an almost 13 per cent increase in the same quarter last year, while imports declined by over 14.5 per cent, … [Read more...] about UOB trim GDP growth forecast for Vietnam

An overview of the event (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – A conference was held in Hanoi on March 31 to review a German-funded project under the moniker “Support to Vietnam for the implementation of the Paris Agreement” (VN-SIPA). The project was funded by the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) from 2019 to 2023. Addressing the event, Tang The Cuong, Director of the Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said as one of the countries that are hardest hit by climate change, Vietnam has made strong commitments to joining hands with the international community in responding to climate change. The Government of Vietnam ratified the Paris Climate Accords in 2016 and issued a plan to implement the agreement. At the 26th UN Climate Change Conference … [Read more...] about German-funded project supports Vietnam in implementing Paris Agreement