Festival 11 12 juin 2022

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Ninh Thuan (VNA) – The south central province of Ninh Thuan will hold a grape and wine festival from June 13-18 to highlight the local products and culture. The opening ceremony is slated for June 16 evening. On the occasion, the locality will also hold a ceremony receiving UNESCO’s certificate recognising the pottery making art of Cham ethnic people as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. A tourist tastes wine in a grape orchard. (Photo: VNA) Activities during the festival are designed in response to the 2023 National Tourism Year themed “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”. Grapes were introduced to Ninh Thuan province in the 1960s. With its hot and dry climate and sandy soil, Ninh Thuan has favourable conditions for grape cultivation, making it a unique agricultural product of the region. Ninh Thuan grapes have been certified for geographical indication by the National Office of Intellectual Property. … [Read more...] about Ninh Thuan grape and wine festival 2023 to be held in June

People shop at a supermarket in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam is becoming an attractive retail market for companies all over the world with many regional and global FDI investors recently announcing plans to increase capital and expand distribution networks here. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese retail market is worth 142 billion USD and is expected to increase nearly 2.5 times to 350 billion USD by 2025. In January, total retail sales of consumer goods and services decreased by 6% on-month to more than 481.8 trillion VND (20.4 billion USD) due to weaker demand as many commodities were purchased ahead of the Lunar New Year. People spent more on festival activities post Tet, said the General Statistics Office. However, it still rose 13% year-on-year. For the first two months of the year, the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services advanced 13% over the same period of 2022 to over 994.1 trillion VND. … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s retail market proves attractive for foreign investors

Illustrative image (Photo: nation thailand .com) Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand's domestic car and motorcycle sales may suffer the brunt if Thai financial institutions are affected by the risk of bank failures in the US and Europe, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). The concern was raised after US and European banking executives and regulators stepped in to save California-based Silicon Valley Bank, New York-based Signature Bank and 167-year-old Credit Suisse in Switzerland from potential crisis. Surapong Paisitpatanapong, FTI Vice Chairman, said that if the financial turbulence cannot be contained, the global financial system will be affected, which may eventually have a negative impact on Thai banks and non-banks that grant loans to car and motorcycle buyers. The FTI is closely monitoring whether global financial institutions will face an impact, he said. The FTI’s Automotive Industry Club predicted that if the Thai auto industry is not … [Read more...] about Thailand’s car, motorcycle sales may be affected by bank failure risk

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Commercial banks that underwrite and sell corporate bonds have to buy them back if investors so demand, the central bank has said. It followed a meeting with voters (members of the public) the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held in Ho Chi Minh City amid the ongoing bond market troubles. Besides asking for underwriting banks to take responsibility for redeeming bonds, the voters also urged the SBV to tighten inspection of credit institutions to ensure they comply with regulations while investing in bonds. The SBV recently raided 11 banks and fined a number of them for violating regulations related to bond purchases. Under current regulations, banks must have an internal credit rating system and can only buy bonds if their bad debts ratio is below 3%. For bonds sold in the domestic market, when issuers cannot pay in full and on time the bond principal and interest, they must negotiate with bondholders for extending the term … [Read more...] about Banks underwriting bonds should buy back bonds: Central bank

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

The CFA is part of the UK Government's efforts to help Vietnam meet the commitments made by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. Nine low carbon projects from across Vietnam have been announced to be part of the first cohort of the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Vietnam. The selected projects come from diverse sectors including renewable energy, resource and energy efficiency, electromobility, AFOLUs (agriculture, forestry and other land uses), decarbonised construction, circular economy and waste management, and have the potential to benefit communities across Vietnam. Deep C Green is one of the first nine low-carbon projects in Vietnam to join the CFA. Photo: Deepc.vn Projects will receive tailored one-on-one and group support to improve project readiness and chances of attracting investment from Vietnamese and international investors. This will include advice on technical aspects, financial models, and pitch materials, as well as … [Read more...] about UK-funded CFA to support nine low-carbon projects in Vietnam

Some 600 new European standard shelters will be built at public bus stops in Hanoi city. Hanoi will allow investors to build advertising boards in exchange for 600 modern bus stop shelters and shelter displays worth VND1 trillion (US$43 million) in 12 urban districts, Kinhtedothi.vn reported. The move is part of efforts to encourage Hanoi’s residents to turn to public transportation for mobility, thus easing the number of cars on road and improving air quality. Hanoi to have 600 new bus stop shelters Currently, there are 1,078 bus stops in Hanoi's downtown, but only 365 of them have shelters. The shelters are built by different investors, which make them apprear ununiform. According to the municipal People's Committee, 600 new European standard shelters will be built at public bus stops in the city under the PPP funding mechanism. Among them, 270 shelters will be newly installed and the other 330 will be replaced. In exchange, 1,200 advertising boards … [Read more...] about Hanoi to allow advertising rights in exchange for 600 bus stop shelters

The cooperation aims to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Australia. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is collaborating with businesses and government in Hanoi, Hue, and Danang to deliver the "Vietnam- Australia: Unlocking Opportunities in Education and Agrifood" roadshow series starting on March 27 in Hanoi with the participation of over 400 Australian and Vietnamese businesses, organizations, associations and institutions. The program aims to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Australia. Australian food and beverage showcase during the seminar took place on March 27 in Hanoi. Photo: Australian Embassy Vietnam At the kick-off event in Hanoi, Andrew Goledzinowski - Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam shared that the program will deepen engagement and expand opportunities for Australian and Vietnamese partners in the agrifood and education … [Read more...] about Vietnam and Australia boost cooperation in education, agrifood

The Vietnamese broke all three of his own youth world records when he finished 24kg clear of his nearest rival in the men’s 55kg category on March 26. K'Duong, who celebrated his 16th birthday three weeks ago, was the only current world record holder among the men’s entries in Durres. He has made only 11 attempts in his international weightlifting career and he has already set six world records. In the snatch event, he missed his first attempt at 107kg because of a press-out, but successfully managed it the second time to secure the first gold. He then went up 7kg to better his world best by 1kg at the Ramazan Njala Sport Complex. In the clean and jerk, his first attempt of 132kg gave him a sweep of gold. He then jumped 12kg, and just failed with the jerk. However, he came back to make the lift with his final attempt and scored his second record, also 1kg better than the previous one. In total, his combined weight of 258kg brought him the third gold and third record. Last … [Read more...] about Vietnamese lifter K’Duong triumphs at World Youth Weightlifting Championships

In his remarks, Chairman of the People’s Committee Phan Van Mai highlighted the increasingly close ties between the two countries, saying over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has grown actively across spheres, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The good traditional friendship has also been consolidated and enhanced, the official added. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam presented Italy with more than 300,000 masks, while Italy donated 2.8 million doses of vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation. This vividly demonstrates the intensive and effective strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, he said. Ho Chi Minh City, for its part, has actively worked to promote cooperation with Italy, Mai noted, adding that the relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Italy have reaped achievements in trade, investment, education and training, culture, and tourism. According to the official, the two-way trade reached 591 million USD last year. For … [Read more...] about 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City