MARKET OF BEAUTY: Đông Ba Market is a large trading centre imbued with the tradition of the ancient capital Huế. Photo from the market's Facebook page Mai Trang Linh Returning to the central province of Thừa Thiên Huế after more than two years of lockdown due to the pandemic, Lưu Hoàng Long and his wife, a Vietnamese Australian, chose first to visit Đông Ba Market, the biggest traditional local shopping centre in the ancient royal city of Huế. The couple and a group of overseas Vietnamese who started their trip through the country early this month from their native home in the northern coastal city of Hải Phòng could not help but be surprised at the changes in the market. Besides the usual crowded and busy atmosphere and familiar hospitality of sellers, the visitors were amazed at the changes, particularly the trade promotion programmes for traditional handicrafts -- one of the most attractions of the market. Looking at the pop-up booths displaying different kinds … [Read more...] about Huế’s Đông Ba Market revamped to lure tourists
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WB, FTSE Russell pledge regular coordination in upgrading Vietnam’s stock market
They made the commitment at a recent working session with the State Securities Commission (SSC), during which the sides discussed the actual situation, and efforts made to remove bottlenecks in support of the Vietnamese stock market’s status upgrading process. WB and FTSE Russell representatives said they highly appreciate the efforts of local management agencies and market members in upgrading the market from marginal to emerging one. They also proposed some solutions for the improvement of the market toward the upgrade. The upgrade has been included in the country’s strategy for the securities market development and received significant attention from leaders of the Government, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant units, said an SSC representative. FTSE Russell is a leading global provider of benchmarks, analytics, and data solutions with multi-asset capabilities. Its report in April this year showed that Vietnam continues to be on the list of potential stock markets for … [Read more...] about WB, FTSE Russell pledge regular coordination in upgrading Vietnam’s stock market
Shark catfish exports reach record high
Shark catfish exports to China in particular increased by 124 percent, accounting for 26.5 percent of shark catfish export trade turnover, according to data by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It is followed by exports to the U.S. with a 131 percent, EU with a 89 percent, Thailand with a 85 percent, and Brazil with a 51 percent increase. At the end of April, the price of exported frozen shark catfish to the U.S. reached a new peak at $5 per kilogram, around $2 higher than the same period last year. In China, the price of filleted shark catfish was around $3.15-3.25 per kilogram, around $0.5 per kilogram higher than the same period last year. Shark catfish trade is expected to flourish this year, BIDV Securities Company anticipated. It said demand in the U.S., China and EU would be high following long periods of Covid-19 restrictions. In the U.S., importers have taken in more shark catfish as its stock inventory had run low following two years of Covid-19. The … [Read more...] about Shark catfish exports reach record high
HCM City considers ways to speed up digital transformation
Delegates attend a digital transformation for technical infrastructure conference in HCM City last week. — VNA/VNS Photo HCM CITY — Digital transformation has become a critical need for technical infrastructure companies to recover quickly, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, a seminar heard in HCM City on Friday. The challenges brought by the pandemic fostered the need for digital transformation, which was widely and quickly adopted across ministries, other official agencies and businesses across the country. Vietnamese enterprises took a pioneering role in research, development and innovation, mastering technologies and making important contributions to developing a digital economy. Nguyễn Văn Đắng, director of the Gia Định Water Supply Joint-Stock Company belonging to the Saigon Water Corporation, said digital technologies have improved administration and production activities, helping better serve customers. Water supply companies, for example, use GIS … [Read more...] about HCM City considers ways to speed up digital transformation
Cashew exports down due to rising oil prices, epidemics, Russia Ukraine conflict
At the meeting According to general statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first five months of 2022, approximately 206,110 tons of cashew kernels of all kinds were exported earning over US$1.19 billion in export turnover, down 7.81 percent in volume and 6.81 percent in value. However, the average export price was about $5,792 a ton, up 1.45 percent from the same period last year. Regarding imports in the first five months, enterprises imported about 968,000 tons of raw cashew nuts from abroad with a value of nearly $1.4 billion, down 35.24 percent in volume and down 37.84 percent in value over the same period in 2021. However, prices of imports from Africa increased by 15 percent-20 percent since the beginning of the season. More importantly, importers are tending to be slow to purchase raw materials due to many reasons but the most common is the price difference between imported raw cashew nuts and export kernel prices. The price of raw cashew … [Read more...] about Cashew exports down due to rising oil prices, epidemics, Russia Ukraine conflict
Vietnamese cashew industry sees trade deficit for the first time
The US, China, and the EU remain the three largest markets for Vietnamese cashew, accounting for 26.8 percent, 17.7 percent, and 20.5 percent of the total export value of the cashew industry of Vietnam, respectively. Cashew nut exports to the US market declined by 10.1 percent in volume and 30.5 percent in value over the same period last year. Cashew nut exports to the EU market surged by 14 percent in volume but dropped by 21.2 percent in value. Cashew nut exports to China jumped by 136.4 percent in volume and 140.2 percent in value. Meanwhile, Vietnamese cashew processing enterprises imported 480,000 tons of raw cashew in April, spending up to $772 million, a sharp increase of 375 percent in volume and 470.5 percent in value compared to that in April last year. In the first four months of this year, Vietnam imported a total of 1.19 million tons of raw cashew, with a value of up to $1.88 billion, up 300 percent in volume and 323.5 percent in value over the same period last year. … [Read more...] about Vietnamese cashew industry sees trade deficit for the first time
Việt Nam among few countries totally re-opening international tourism
Foreign tourists on the express boat trip between Đà Nẵng City and Lý Sơn Island. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — UNWTO's Destination Tracker tool showed that 52 countries have fully reopened their borders to foreign tourists as of June 17, and Việt Nam is one of only four in the Asia-Pacific, said Harry Hwang, executive director of the Asia-Pacific region for UNWTO. The executive director made the announcement at a tourism conference held in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on June 23-26, the Government Portal reported. The Asia-Pacific region is recovering tourism slowly, because many source markets have not yet fully reopened. Experts predict that the recovery prospects of the Asia-Pacific region would also be slower, maybe taking until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels. In Việt Nam, foreign tourists do not need to submit health declarations before entry while the domestic tourism market is also witnessing a strong recovery post reopening, said Hà Văn Siêu, deputy head … [Read more...] about Việt Nam among few countries totally re-opening international tourism
Hanoi applies IT to enhance value of agricultural products
A worker produces anti-counterfeit stamps at Tien Duong Organic Agricultural Cooperative in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) — Despite production and market difficulties due to the pandemic and climate change, many districts, firms and organisations in Hanoi 's agricultural sector have remained strong thanks to the application of science and information technology. It has helped them improve their products’ value and meet the technical requirements of import markets. In the past few years, Hanoi’s agriculture sector has implemented many programmes and solutions to support businesses and cooperatives to promote the application of information technology in the production and processing of agricultural products, which have brought many benefits, such as increasing the product value, food safety management and product information transparency. Tran Sy Hung, Director of Nghia Minh Mushroom cooperative in Dan Phuong district, said his cooperative had applied information … [Read more...] about Hanoi applies IT to enhance value of agricultural products
Identifying value of creative spaces
Many sculptures not only beautify public spaces but also breathe new life into them, bringing distinctive values to the community. Most travelers visit Hanoi for fantastic food. Yet the Hanoi art scene is doing well to compete for attention with the city’s food scene. Hanoi’s public sculpture The statue of King Ly Thai To is located at Ly Thai To Flower Garden in Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Photo: VISTA According to architect-sculptor Nguyen Truong Giang, after a long time of being ignored, public sculpture in Hanoi has regained public attention with many issues to deal with. Looking back at history, this kind of art appeared in the capital with the arrival of the French. In the old French quarter, many crossroads and central squares were built for displaying sculptures. Typically, there used to be a memorial to French soldiers who died in battle, with the sculpture of a soldier above and the ranks of scholars, farmers, craftsmen, … [Read more...] about Identifying value of creative spaces