Dozens of children in Vietnam have been born to infertile parents under a program that pays for the costs of the expensive in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for low-income couples who struggle to conceive naturally. The annual program, known as ‘Uom mam hanh phuc’ (Sowing Happiness), was launched in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, who spearheaded the introduction of IVF treatment in Vietnam in the late 1990s. Each year, organizers select from hundreds of applications and provide financial as well as medical support to some dozen couples who need help the most. Selected couples are sponsored for all steps of a standard IVF treatment, which is a process of fertilizing an egg with sperm outside of the body. This treatment involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing ova from the woman's ovaries, letting sperm fertilize them in a laboratory, and implanting the resultant embryo in the female’s uterus. A couple plays with their child born through in vitro fertilization sponsored by a program that supports infertile couples in Vietnam. Photo: Huu Thuan / Tuoi Tre According to Dr. Dang Quang Vinh, deputy director of My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City that provides the treatment, selected couples will have all their medical costs covered, including those of storing unused embryos, which can be accessed for future IVF attempts. Under this program, each couple can save up to VND80-100 million (US$3,500 - 4,300) per attempt. As of the time of writing, 80 children have been born to parents who underwent IVF treatment sponsored by the program, while six mothers are expected to give birth through IVF treatment soon. This year, on its fifth annual call for candidates, the program has received 621 applications from infertile couples from across the country and selected 167 satisfying all criteria laid out by the organizers. “As our funds are limited, we have no choice but to give priority to …
Free cash flow theory
Vietnam – UK free trade agreement takes new step for bilateral ties
The Hanoitimes - A trade deal in place will help ensure continuity in trade relations between the UK and Vietnam after Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020. Vietnam and the UK today [December 11] officially concluded the negotiation process for the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). Overview of the signing ceremony. Source: MoIT. The agreed minutes on the conclusion of the free trade agreement negotiation were signed by Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and the UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in Hanoi. “The agreed minutes signed today is a first major step towards the signing of the UKVFTA in the coming time,” stated Mr. Anh. The Vietnam minister said both sides started the negotiation process for the deal since August 2018. As the UK is set to leave the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) after the Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020, a new FTA between Vietnam and the UK will help ensure the continuity in bilateral trade relations. On her part, UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the UKVFTA is a milestone for the country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which remains a priority for the UK government next year. The fact that most of the clauses stipulated in the UKVFTA are similar to those in the EVFTA, significantly shortening the negotiation process for the two sides. Mr. Anh suggested with the UKVFTA, Vietnam will hold advantages compared to regional countries such as China, India, Thailand, or Malaysia, those do not have a similar deal in place with the UK. Vietnam is set to have more opportunities in attracting investment capital, technology transfer, and tourists from the UK once the Covid-19 is rolled back, while the deal presages positive outlook for the Vietnam – UK relations on the occasion of 10 th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership. …
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Shares surge on strong cash inflows
Workers operating equipment for oil and gas production. PetroVietnam Gas shares inched higher on Monday, contributing to the gain of the VN-Index. Photo courtesy of PetroVietnam Gas HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's stock market edged higher on Monday as investors flocked into oil and gas, construction and banking stocks. The market benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished the first trading day of the new month at 1,186.17 points, up 1.51 per cent. The gain ended last week's downward trend. The index decreased by 0.43 per cent last week. Trần Xuân Bách, a senior analyst from Bảo Việt Securities Co., wrote in a daily report to customers that the market's trend is expected to continue sideways with alternating up and down sessions. And the index might test the resistance territory of 1,175 - 1,185 points during first sessions of this week. At the end of the session, 358 stocks climbed, of which 35 stocks hit the maximum daily gain, while only 85 stocks declined. And 60 stocks stayed steady. High liquidity in the market was the main force for the gain Monday. Nearly 643.4 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth over VNĐ16 trillion. In the morning session alone, over VNĐ10.2 trillion was poured into the market. However, the strong cash inflows once again created an overload on HoSE in Monday's afternoon session. Big stocks across all sectors posted good performance on Monday with the VN30-Index rising by 1.55 per cent to 1,191.83 points. Of the VN30 basket, 27 stocks climbed, while only three stocks declined. Top five stocks influencing the market's trend were in gas and oil, construction and banking sectors including PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), up 2.91 per cent, Vinhomes JSC (VHM), up 1.38 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB), up 1.02 per cent, Techcombank (TCB), up 2.42 per cent and Việt Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), up 6.93 per cent. On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index rose 1.26 per cent to …
