Vietnam logs no new COVID-19 infections on March 1 morning Vietnam documented zero COVID-19 infections in the past 12 hours as of 6:00 am on March 1, leaving the national tally unchanged at 2,448 patients, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Earlier, Vietnam reported 16 COVID-19 cases at 6pm on February 28, including 12 locally infected cases in the northern province of Hai Duong, the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot, and four imported cases in the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap. Of the total infections, there were 1,542 domestically-transmitted cases, including 849 recorded since the latest outbreak hit the northern province of Hai Duong on January 27. Ten cities and provinces nationwide have gone through 16 consecutive days without any locally-infected cases of COVID-19, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, Hanoi has recorded 14 straight days of no coronavirus cases. A total 60,693 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 560 at hospitals, 12,298 at other quarantine sites, and 47,835 at home. Among patients under treatment, 62 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 53 twice, and 95 thrice. Report from the Treatment Sub-committee showed that Vietnam has seen 1,876 recoveries so far. In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration)./. Hai Duong dissolves COVID-19 treatment hospital No.1 Chairman of the Hai Duong provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duong Thai, who is also head of the provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on February 27 decided to …
Free cash flow approach
How a 10-second video clip sold for $6.6 million
LONDON -- In October 2020, Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile spent almost $67,000 on a 10-second video artwork that he could have watched for free online. Last week, he sold it for $6.6 million. The video by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was authenticated by blockchain, which serves as a digital signature to certify who owns it and that it is the original work. It’s a new type of digital asset - known as a non-fungible token (NFT) - that has exploded in popularity during the pandemic as enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend enormous sums of money on items that only exist online. Blockchain technology allows the items to be publicly authenticated as one-of-a-kind, unlike traditional online objects which can be endlessly reproduced. “You can go in the Louvre and take a picture of the Mona Lisa and you can have it there, but it doesn’t have any value because it doesn’t have the provenance or the history of the work,” said Rodriguez-Fraile, who said he first bought Beeple’s piece because of his knowledge of the U.S.-based artist’s work. “The reality here is that this is very, very valuable because of who is behind it.” Examples of NFTs range from digital artworks and sports cards to pieces of land in virtual environments or exclusive use of a cryptocurrency wallet name, akin to the scramble for domain names in the early days of the internet.“Non-fungible” refers to items that cannot be exchanged on a like-for-like basis, as each one is unique - in contrast to “fungible” assets like dollars, stocks or bars of gold. The computer-generated video sold by Rodriguez-Fraile shows what appears to be a giant Donald Trump collapsed on the ground, his body covered in slogans, in an otherwise idyllic setting. OpenSea, a marketplace for NFTs, said it has seen monthly sales volume grow to $86.3 million so far in February, as of Friday, from $8 million in January, citing blockchain data. Monthly sales were at $1.5 …
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Vietnam offers numerous investment opportunities for Indian businesses
Delegates attend Vietnam-India trade-investment promotion conference (Photo: VNA) New Delhi (VNA) – The increasing importance of Vietnam in global supply chains is great potential helping to enhance the Vietnam-India relations, particularly between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that are considered the main drivers for economic growth in each country, heard an online conference on February 25. The bilateral trade-investment promotion conference titled “Boosting trade-investment cooperation opportunities between Vietnam ese and Indian SME s” was jointly organised by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in India, Uttar Pradesh state government, the Indian Industries Association (IIA) and the Hanoi SME Association. IIA President Pankaj Gupta said that several major enterprises of India such as Adani Group, Mahindra, SRF and Suzlon have shown interest in investing in Vietnam. He suggesting Indian enterprises invest in Vietnam in the fields of energy, mineral exploration, agricultural chemicals, sugar production, tea, coffee, information technology, and automobile components. Vietnam is currently holding a lot of advantages for investors such as favourable investment policies, numerous free trade agreements, rapid economic growth, stable political situation, cheap labour costs, and young labour force, he stated. However, participants pointed to several challenges for foreign investors in Vietnam, including high corporate tax rates of 32-50 percent for companies operating in oil and gas exploration and exploitation and other valuable natural resources, complicated administrative procedures, and dependence on cash transactions. Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau proposed the two countries’ enterprises expand cooperation in supporting industry, automobile and motorbike spare parts, garment and footwear materials and household appliances. According to the Vietnam Foreign Investment Agency, as of December 2020, …
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