Losing job during pandemic

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung has highlighted the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s coming official visit to the city state, the first among many events to be held in both countries to mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and 10 years of the strategic partnership. PM Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam are paying an official visit to Singapore from February 8 to 10. Read full story - Two-way trade revenue between Vietnam and Laos in 2022 grew 24% from the previous year to reach some 1.7 billion USD, beyond expectations of their leaders at the 44th meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee on Bilateral Cooperation earlier last year. Read full story - Jeju Air Co., the biggest low-cost carrier of the Republic of Korea, said on February 6 that it will resume many routes to Vietnam … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on February 6

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam are paying an official visit to Singapore from February 8 to 10. Dung said the trip follows the mutual visits by the heads of the two states in 2022, reflecting the special mutual political trust and relations between the countries. Looking back upon achievements in bilateral relations, he said over the last 50 years, especially since the establishment of the strategic partnership 10 years ago, the two countries have enjoyed strong cooperation across the board, from politics, diplomacy, defense, and security to people-to-people exchange. Singapore currently ranks first among Southeast Asian investors and second among global ones in Vietnam. Among the large number of its projects in Vietnam, 11 Vietnam - Singapore industry parks (VSIPs) with total investment of over USD 11 billion nationwide are providing jobs for more than 300,000 people. During the coming trip, he noted, the two Prime … [Read more...] about Prime Minister’s visit reflects special ties between Vietnam, Singapore: ambassador

Despite the festive occasion, the consumption of non-essential goods in the first month of 2023 remained stagnant, with analysts believing the situation will linger throughout at least the first half this year. Despite the unfavourable environment, Mobile World Group (MWG) – the largest consumer electronics retailer in Vietnam – still aims to post positive revenue and net-profit growth in 2023, as well as two-digit growth compared to average level during the 2020-2022 period. To achieve this goal, the company envisages opening new stores on a selective basis and striving for new shops to generate profit for the patent company within three months after launching. Simultaneously, all shops in the system will focus on augmenting the sales revenue at existing outlets and controlling their operating costs to boost profits. Besides this, MWG will optimise its cash flow and slash financial expenses through improved inventory management. Specifically, the group aims to … [Read more...] about Retailers flexibly steering through turbulent times

Deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu has said that bad debts are climbing for both credit organisations and the wider economy. "It is an ongoing challenge to manage bad debts and banking activities will be seriously affected over the next few years," said Tu. He said that the woes would be revealed more clearly as the ratio of on-balance-sheet bad debt continues to grow due to inflation and interest rate rises. At the end of 2022, bad debts were classified based on the groups of borrowers and economic issues like recovery and inflation curbing. Can Van Luc, a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, said that on-balance-sheet bad debt could reach 2.3-2.5 per cent and gross bad debt could hit 6 per cent in 2023, rising into 2024. As the regulations on unchanged debt groups in Circular No.14/2021/TT-NHNN expire, economic recovery could suffer. According to the SBV, at the end of 2022, the ratio of … [Read more...] about Bad debts continue to soar at commercial banks

Illustrative image (Source: GettyImages) Hanoi (VNA) - Jeju Air Co. , the biggest low-cost carrier of the Republic of Korea , said on February 6 that it will resume many routes to Vietnam in April after three years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier plans to restore services on the routes from Incheon to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on April 20, Yonhap news agency said, citing the company's statement. Jeju Air operated eight routes to five Vietnamese cities – Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc -- at the end of 2019. Most of the routes were suspended in early 2020, when the pandemic hit the airline industry. In June last year, the company resumed the routes from Incheon to Da Nang and Nha Trang, and the Busan-Da Nang route. Jeju Air also plans to restore flights between Incheon and Vientiane of Laos from April 20. The airline aims to turn around this year after posting net losses for three consecutive years through 2021 … [Read more...] about RoK’s Jeju Air to expand flights to Vietnam

Overseas Vietnamese and foreigners' demand for entering the country has rebounded strongly. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The diplomatic sector will continue improving public consular services, both at home and abroad, to contribute to the common efforts in post-pandemic recovery and development, an official has said. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Doan Hoang Minh, Acting Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)’s Consular Department, said most countries removed travel restrictions in 2022, and Vietnam was one of the first to reopen its borders, in mid-March. Since then, the number of people going abroad for working, studying, tourism, and business purposes as well as those entering the country has bounced back strongly. Highlighting the ministry’s determination to build a comprehensive, modern, professional, clean, and strong diplomatic sector, he said that in the current context, as the Government is stepping up administrative procedure reforms and demanding … [Read more...] about Improvement of consular services to continue: official

HSBC predicted in its latest report on Vietnam’s economy that the Southeast Asian country will see a recovery of the number of Chinese visitors by 50-80 percent in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic volume. In other words, Vietnam is set to welcome three to 4.5 million Chinese tourists this year. The increasing return of Chinese tourists following China’s border reopening on January 8 will notably contribute to the growth of Vietnam’s tourism, which can be a key sector for the latter in 2023, offsetting the decline in trading and manufacturing, according to HSBC experts. In a broader view, the experts believe that the Vietnamese economy will witness a shift from goods to services, which they consider a driver for economic stability despite the trade slowdown. Red represents Chinese tourists as a percentage of the total number of international visitors to countries in Southeast Asia. After Vietnam resumed inbound and outbound tourism in March 2022, its domestic … [Read more...] about Chinese visitors to Vietnam to reach 3-4.5 million in 2023: HSBC

New momentum For over one week now, more than 94% of businesses in the Southern economic hub has resumed their production with over 95% of workers being back to work after Tet holiday. Workers at Go Vap district-based Joint Stock Company 28.1 under the Corporation 28 of the General Department of Logistics, which specializes in garments making, are working with the highest capacity, focusing on orders from the U.S., Australia, and European countries. Working for the company for more than 21 years now, Nguyen Van Hong from Hai Duong province said that good income and policy offered by the company make him feel secure at work. Despite difficulties facing the garment sector due to COVID-19, his company has ensured orders uninterrupted, so workers have resumed work since the beginning of the lunar New Year. In addition, good Tet welfare policy has helped keep workers attached to the company. Senior Colonel Tran Doan Thoan, Director of Joint Stock Company 28.1 informed that the … [Read more...] about Businesses in Ho Chi Minh City speed up production to achieve set targets

The festival is held to thank the god for abundant crop and happy life in the past year and pray for peace and health in the new year. Long Tong Festival is annually held on the 14th and 15th day of the first lunar month. During the event, tourists to Bang Van listen to the story related to the origin of the festival. It is said that a long time ago, the country was in turmoil, so the king sent a general to this land to drive away the enemy. Thanks to the assistance of his talented wife, wherever the general went, the enemy troops were defeated. One day when the general was chasing the enemy’s troops, he was ambushed by them at Phja Den Mountain. His wife tried to hold back the enemy at Phja Cong Mountain. The general then blindfolded his horse and jumped off Phja Den Mountain. Having heard of the news about her husband’s death, the woman committed suicide at Phja Cong Mountain. Sympathizing with the fate of the general and his wife, local people set up a temple on Phja Den … [Read more...] about Long Tong Festival in Bang Van commune

The Republic of Korea's largest low-cost airline Jeju Air unveiled on February 6 that it will resume additional air routes to Vietnam, starting in April 2023, after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeju Air plans to reopen flights from Incheon to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam as from April 20, the airline said in its announcement. Last June, the budget airline re-operated flights from Incheon to Da Nang and Nha Trang, and from Busan to Da Nang in central Vietnam. By the end of 2019, Jeju Air had operated eight air routes to five cities in Vietnam including Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc. However, most of the routes were suspended in early 2020 due to subsequent COVID-19 outbreaks. Jeju Air also plans to resume flights from Incheon to the Lao capital Vientiane from April 20. … [Read more...] about Jeju Air to resume more air routes to Vietnam this April