Near death experience a touch of frost

Despite the high demand for housing, the transaction volume stays low due to the high prices compared to people’s average income. The scarce supply of new projects remains a key factor keeping demand for housing high in Hanoi’s real estate market in 2023. Locals looking at a real estate project in Hanoi. Photo: Pham Hung/The Hanoi Times During the last months of 2022, transactions in the real estate market stayed in stark contrast to the previous boom period. Experts suggested that this was due to several laws regulating the market not being completed, coupled with a sharp decline in liquidity as a result of the government's direction to restrict credit flows in high-risk fields and tighter regulations on corporate bond issuance. The sharp drop in transaction volume and supply, coupled with the high demand for housing, means that prices continue to rise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS) showed in the fourth quarter of 2022, Hanoi has … [Read more...] about Demand for housing in Hanoi forecast to rise in 2023

​Vietnam is considered to be one of the few safest countries in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2017 report of the Australian Institute for Economic & Peace. The 2017 report highlights how terrorism remains unevenly spread throughout the world. Central America and the Caribbean continues to be the least affected region. There were only 12 deaths recorded in 2016, which accounts for less than 0.4 per cent of all terrorism deaths. Meanwhile, 94 per cent of all terrorist deaths are located in the Middle-East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Vietnam is one of the safest countries in the world. The 2017 GTI report highlights a turning point in the fight against radical Islamist extremism. The main positive finding shows a global decline in the number of deaths from terrorist attacks to 25,673 people, which is a 22 per cent improvement from the peak in 2014. Terrorism has fallen significantly in the epicenters of … [Read more...] about Vietnam: One of the safest countries in the world

The group offered services to nearly 80,000 passengers on nearly 500 flights on January 18. Later on January 29, it recorded around 93,000 passengers with around 550 flights. Compared to the same period three years ago, the number of passengers served by Vietnam Airlines increased by some 20%. Though the number of flights increased, Vietnam Airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) remained high, at about 90%. To ensure good services during the holiday, the group took a number of solutions, from making the most of wide-body aircraft, increasing night flights to enhancing ground staff and promoting online check-ins. Between now and February 5, the group suggested passengers check in online, arrive at the airport two hours before departure for domestic flights and three hours for international flights. Source: VNA … [Read more...] about Vietnam Airlines Group serves 2.4 million passengers during Tet holiday

At the forum, Vietnam will introduce tourism development, mechanisms and policies, tourism products and services after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the message of Vietnam tourism through the slogan "Vietnam - Timeless Charm" and the campaign "Live fully in Vietnam." TRAVEX is one of the most important activities within ATF 2023, attracting the attention of international partners, businesses and tourists. It will feature exhibitions and symposiums. Vietnam’s booth at the exhibition will highlight the National Tourism Year 2023 in the South-central province of Binh Thuan. The events are expected to offer a good chance for the tourism sector to introduce Vietnam’s attractive destinations, and help travel agencies to seek partners, towards speeding up tourism recovery. ASEAN is one of the most dynamic tourism development regions in Asia and the Pacific. Most of ASEAN member countries consider tourism an important economic sector. According to data from the ASEAN Secretariat, in … [Read more...] about Vietnam to attend ASEAN Tourism Forum 2023 in Indonesia

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs noted about 95% of employees in local agencies, factories, and businesses had been back to work as of January 30. Among the over 1,300 companies surveyed by the department, more than 42% of those allowing their workers to return to their hometowns for Tet from January 18 - 19 (the 27th and 28th days of the last lunar month) have resumed operations. Director of the department Le Van Thinh said despite many difficulties leading to lay-offs in late 2022, the situation has improved as many businesses and factories have received new orders. A number of companies have launched various incentives and better treatment policies to keep employees. Resignations after Tet have declined as most workers want to have stable jobs, especially amid numerous difficulties facing the economy and daily lives, he noted. As of the end of 2022, Ho Chi Minh City was home to more than 286,000 enterprises and 460,000 individual … [Read more...] about Majority back to work after Tet in Southern industrial hubs

Around 60 plays by artists from over 20 countries have registered to take part in the 3 rd International Experimental Theater Festival, which will be held from November 12-19 in Hanoi. Among the entries, 23 plays by artists from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Singapore, Hungary, Germany, France and Vietnam, among others have been selected to perform at the festival, which is co-organized by the Vietnam Stage Artists Association and the Performing Art Bureau (under Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism). The event provides an opportunity for domestic and international artists to exchange experiences and raise the level of expertise and artistic quality, said Meritorious Artist Le Chuc, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association at a press conference on October 25 in Hanoi. Meritorious Artist Le Chuc, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, speaking at the press conference on October 23. Photo: sankhau.com.vn It … [Read more...] about Hanoi to host 3rd Int’l Experimental Theater Festival next month

Nguyen Thi Hang, 31, a citizen of Yen Thanh District of Nghe An Province, is facing the charge of "not helping someone in a life-threatening situation" under the Penal Code, prosecutors said Tuesday. Police said at around 10 p.m. on October 2 last year, Hang stopped her five-seat car on National Highway 1A in Can Loc District of Ha Tinh Province, which neighbors Nghe An, and left the car to do some personal business. There were two others with her in the car. Nguyen Cong Phuong, 32, a resident of nearby Thua Thien-Hue Province, was driving a motorbike right behind the car, but could not stop in time and slammed into the back of Hang’s parked car. The collision caused Phuong injuries so severe that he could not move out of the street by himself. A frightened Hang decided to leave Phuong lying on the street and drove away. A truck then passed by the area and crushed him to death. Police and prosecutors said Phuong had made a mistake by failing to keep a safe distance between … [Read more...] about Driver faces charges after leaving motorcyclist for dead in central Vietnam

In 2022, Ho Chi Minh City's industrial food production recorded a significant increase of 30.5 per cent on-year. However, the industry is facing many fresh challenges this year due to fluctuations in the global economy affecting export markets and a slowdown in economic growth. Phan Van Co, marketing director of Vrice Group, said, "Since the beginning of the year, the cost of materials for rice production has increased considerably, by 3-5 per cent. While the price of rice has increased in many countries around the world, it has not increased as it has in the Vietnamese market, making it difficult for Vietnamese rice exporters to compete." In 2023, industry and trade in Ho Chi Minh City will strive for an increase in the index of industrial production of 7.5 per cent; growth in the total retail sales of social consumer goods of 12 per cent; and a 10 per cent jump in exports, excluding crude oil, through the city's port. The targets were set while taking such difficulties as the … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City food enterprises hope expansion is key

Trucks carry goods to China via Mong Cai International Border Gate. (Photo: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – Import-export activities at the Mong Cai International Border Gate have turned busy as the border gate reopened on January 28 after 7-day closure for Lunar New Year (Tet) celebration. Only on the morning of January 28, 120 vehicles carrying more than 600 tonnes of products and container trucks carrying electronic items traversed the border gate. Head of the Mong Cai International Border Gate Management Board Tran Bich Ngoc said that in the first 30 days of 2023, nearly 73,500 tonnes of products were traded via the border gate, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%. Vietnam are mainly fabrics and electronic components. VNA … [Read more...] about Mong Cai international border gate busy after Tet holiday

Speaking at a gala dinner held in London on January 29 to review VBUK’s operation in 2022 and sketch out development orientations in 2023, Phuong said the association organized many activities, including online workshops with Vietnamese economic experts and entrepreneurs in the U.K. to share business knowledge and experience for the Vietnamese business community in the country. The VBUK has also supported business cooperation between its member enterprises and businesses at home, he added. Addressing the event, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long spoke highly of the role of the VBUK in connect Vietnamese firms in the U.K. and the homeland. At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos earlier this month, Vietnam was seen as one of the three VIP markets (Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines) in the world, he said, adding that it is the second largest trade partner of the U.K., so there is a large room and opportunities for the Vietnamese business community in the European nation. The … [Read more...] about Vietnamese businesses in U.K. boost cooperation with companies at home