Natural events that cause climate change

ASEAN countries like Vietnam are not spared from the impact of climate change. Rapid economic development also means increasing demand for energy and power to meet the pace of growth, which leads to an increase in CO2 emissions. The journey to a cleaner future Takeshi Masuyama, Managing director, regional head of Vietnam, MUFG Bank, Ltd. The Vietnamese government has announced in various international forums its commitment to address environmental issues, and has firmed up its national net-zero target. In addition, the announcement of the Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in last December is another milestone and will further rally the private and public sectors towards accelerating the country’s green transition. MUFG is part of the working group convened by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) supporting the JETP initiative for Vietnam. The sustainability mission Since announcing our Carbon Neutrality Declaration in 2021, MUFG … [Read more...] about Committed to empowering a brighter future

Attending the 77th U.N. General Assembly (UNGA 77)’s plenary on Secretary-General António Guterres’s priorities in 2023, the UNGA 77 Vice President also called on the international community to join efforts to implement the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the 2030 Agenda and other global commitments and priorities, through respecting the U.N. Charter and international law. It is important to address conflicts by peaceful means, boost multilateral cooperation, strengthen financial support and reform of the international financial system, ensure resources for sustainable development, and pay more attention to climate change and justice, he emphasized. The diplomat also reaffirmed the country’s backing for the U.N. Secretary-General’s role and efforts, and its commitment to maintaining close collaboration with other U.N. member states. Guterres expressed his concerns about the complicatedly developing world situation, with multi-dimensional challenges from the lingering … [Read more...] about Vietnam reaffirms support for U.N. Secretary-General’s role, efforts

The following is the full text of the interview. Reporter: This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam. How do you evaluate the Singapore-Vietnam relations in the past half century, especially in the last decade? What should the two countries do to further our bilateral cooperation and to advance the development of each country? Vivian Balakrishnan: The ties between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since we established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. We are longstanding friends and close partners that enjoy wide-ranging cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. I am heartened that the bilateral relationship has continued to expand and evolve to tackle new challenges over the past decade. Our linkages are particularly strong in trade and investment. The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean Foreign Minister

Could you give an update about Antler’s portfolio? Magnus Grimeland It boasts about 680 companies in 25 locations across the world including Brazil, the United States, and Canada. In Europe, we are in most of the big capitals. In Africa, we’re in Nairobi. Asia is obviously a big focus for us with most of the major tech ecosystems in India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. We’re the world’s second most active early-stage investor now, and back the top 1 per cent of founders. We got 65,000 applicants last year from founders who want to work with us. Antler backs the best of the next generation of great companies, supporting their access to co-founders, supporting business model validation, putting in the first bit of capital with advisors across the globe, helping internationalise, and then we continue to back them. We also have a later stage fund, which enables us to invest directly into later stage companies. I’m incredibly … [Read more...] about Vietnam: the place to innovate with tech

Entering 2023, Microsoft and Google announced global lay-offs of 10,000 and 12,000 employees, respectively. IBM laid off nearly 4,000 members, while Spotify cut about 6 per cent of staff. Since November last year, Meta, Amazon, and HP have also adjusted thousands of positions. Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels, Illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com In Southeast Asia, Shopee parent company Sea Group, Crypto.com, e-commerce platform JD.ID, and GoTo – a merger between ride-hailer Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia – are among the companies that experienced a drastic staff cut in the past year. GoTo in November 2022 cut 1,300 jobs, equivalent to 12 per cent of the number of employees, while Sea Group let go of 7,000 employees in the past six months. Both companies cited a common cause being challenging macroeconomic conditions. Industry insiders in Vietnam are generally wary of the effect this laid-off wave might have on the domestic market. … [Read more...] about Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels