Dream world travel

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and his then-Lao counterpart Phankham Viphavanh preside over a groundbreaking ceremony for the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Bung Kan province in October, 2022 (Photo: bangkokpost) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government on January 28 announced that the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is set to open early next year which should help boost border exchanges not only between localities between Thailand and Laos but also trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), as it will speed up imports between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam , and China (Yunnan). The bridge, which connects the Thai northeast province of Bueng Kan and Laos' Bolikhamsay province, costs 3.6 billion THB (nearly 110 million USD), of which 2.5 billion THB comes from Thailand and the rest from Laos. According to deputy government spokeswoman Tipanan Sirichana, the construction is 60% complete and proceeding faster than planned. The project is … [Read more...] about Fifth Thai-Lao bridge to open next year

Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023 (Photo:travelweekly-asia.com) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s Kenanga Research (Kenanga) expects tourist arrivals in the country to jump almost four-fold to 9.6 million in 2023 from an estimated 2.5 million a year ago. The research house said the projection is supported by the resumption of both business and leisure air travel globally as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, the revocation of all on-arrival quarantine and testing requirements in Malaysia from Augusut 1, 2022, and the gradual reopening of China. In a study released on January 30, it noted the gradual reopening of China is positive for the country as historically, Chinese tourists account for an estimated 12% of the total tourist arrivals in Malaysia. Meanwhile, MIDF Research (MIDF) revised its FY23F passenger traffic recovery downward to 85% from 95% previously due to the slower return of Malaysia AirAsia’s (MAA) aircraft, but expect stronger growth … [Read more...] about Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) convenes its extraordinary congress on January 28-29. (Photo: AKP/VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) convened its extraordinary congress on January 28-29, during which it issued many important decisions and policies regarding the leadership work, as well as orientations for national development in the time ahead. In his opening remarks, CPP Honorary President Samdech Heng Samrin , who is also President of the National Assembly, said 2023 marks an end to the 2018-2023 mandate of the legislature and the government, and it will also be the beginning of a new five-year tenure. There will be a lot of work to do in the future, he said, stressing the need to join hands and make all-out efforts to win the 7th-term parliamentary election slated for July 23, 2023. The congress set out major strategic goals for the next five years which are based on wishes of the people and reflect the real situation, both … [Read more...] about Cambodian People’s Party sets out strategic goals for 2023-28

Pham Tuan Huy has become the second Vietnamese mathematician after famed Professor Ngo Bao Chau to receive a research fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute. The Clay Mathematics Institute officially announced two mathematicians who will be awarded research fellowships in 2023, including Paul Minter, who obtained his PhD in 2022 at the University of Cambridge, and Pham Tuan Huy, who is about to receive his PhD from Stanford University. Both Minter and Huy will be Clay Research Fellows starting July 1. The appointment term of Minter is four years while Huy's is five years. On the website of the Clay Mathematics Institute, Huy is introduced as a highly inventive and prolific researcher who has already made fundamental contributions to combinatorics, probability, number theory, and theoretical computer science. The 27-year-old is the second Vietnamese mathematician to receive a research fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute after famed Professor Ngo Bao Chau in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese mathematician granted Clay Research Fellowship

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese people in Belarus and Bulgaria have joined their compatriots in the homeland and around the world in celebrating the Year of the Cat with different activities held recently. The Vietnamese Embassy in Belarus has organised a programme attracting over 400 Vietnamese and their Belarusian relatives. This was the first mass Tet gathering of the Vietnamese community in the European country after over two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks, Ambassador Nguyen Van Ngu informed participants about the two countries’ socio-economic situations while highlighting their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation. He pledged that the embassy will continue working to help the overseas Vietnamese further integrate into the local society, protect their rights and legitimate interests, develop the community, and contribute to the homeland. A similar celebration has also been held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria. Ambassador Do Hoang … [Read more...] about Vietnamese communities in Belarus, Bulgaria hold Tet celebrations

Foreign capital is expected to continue to flow into the stock market as foreign investors' confidence remains strongly.(Photo: VNA) Hanoi - From being net sellers in the first nine months of 2022, foreign investors have become the driving force supporting the Vietnamese stock market in the last few months, and the inflows are expected to continue this year. In 2022, this group net disbursed more than 29.2 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD) to the market, while it has net sold nearly 18.8 trillion VND and set a record net selling value of over 62.2 trillion VND in 2021. In November alone, more than 16 trillion VND in net disbursed cash flow from foreign investors was significantly supported by exchange-traded fund (ETF) capital inflows into the market, primarily from the Fubon ETF and the VNDiamond Index-based ETF. A study by BIDV Securities Company (BSC) analysing over 50 billion USD owned by foreign investors on the Vietnamese stock market showed that more than half of foreign … [Read more...] about Foreign investors remain optimistic about Vietnamese stock market

Many Vietnamese enterprises achieved success in 2022 after shifting to exports through e-commerce platforms, especially Amazon. The trend is expected to continue this year. Vietnam was among the top five countries with the highest e-commerce retail sale growth rates in 2022, according to a report by the U.S.’s market research company eMarketer. Impressive growth A year after beginning to sell goods on Amazon to European and American markets, ChicnChill, a Vietnamese handicraft brand, reported a growth rate of up to 700 percent. Tran Tuan Dung, CEO of ChicnChill, said he saw the start-up thrive when a majority of Vietnamese enterprises have scaled down their operations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team spent months studying the lifestyle in European and American markets and home decoration trends there, thereby determining the company’s key products and penetrating into these markets. After a year, ChicnChill’s home decoration products are … [Read more...] about Vietnamese firms earn big from Amazon