Paying friends through paypal

The Club Benefits Program affords clubs a share of national team competition revenues in return for releasing players and also protects clubs in case their players are injured on international duty. The previous amount earmarked for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was $209 million. A renewed Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Monday at the ECA General Assembly in Budapest, Hungary. "We are delighted to have signed this landmark agreement," ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. "The MoU recognizes the central role of clubs in football globally and ensures that they are properly represented in decision making around issues which affect them." Earlier this month, FIFA had announced a 32-team Club World Cup will be played every four years from June 2025, replacing its annual competition which featured seven teams. The decision was met with opposition from leagues such as Spain's LaLiga but the MoU will now have both FIFA and the ECA working together on its various sporting … [Read more...] about FIFA to pay clubs $355M for sending players to 2026 and 2030 World Cups

Visas, service quality, and technology were all part of discussions on a better-performing tourism sector Photo: Cuong Minh May’s National Assembly session is likely to help push ahead a revamp of the country’s rules on entry and exit for foreign visitors, after the Ministry of Public Security crafts amendments to the current law. The development will be an important basis for the issuance of new regulations related to the visa policy, removing difficulties for the tourism industry, and creating conditions to attract more international visitors this year, according to most observers. Dang Tuan Viet, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Secrutity’s (MoPS) Vietnam Immigration Department, said that the proposal emphasised two major areas related to unilateral visa exemption and electronic visa policy. The MoPS also proposes to expand the number of countries that can issue e-visas from 80 countries to the maximum. The MoPS will also ask to increase the temporary stay … [Read more...] about Visa upgrade at heart of fresh approach to tourism

Police in Vietnam managed to rescue a 15-year-old girl from a labor trafficking ring on Monday after she was sold for forced labor at pubs and karaoke parlors by an acquaintance on social networks. The victim, identified as N.T.A., was induced to travel from Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta region to Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, to take a job with a monthly salary of VND10-15 million (US$425-638). However, she was sold to a woman in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak at the price of VND25 million ($1,063) to work as a karaoke parlor attendant. The victim, a resident of Tan Hong District in Dong Thap, made friends with Liem on social media in February and was introduced to a job with a monthly wage of VND10-20 million ($425-850). After A. agreed to Liem’s proposal, she was transported to Binh Duong and was picked up by a stranger. She was then transported to Dak Lak and was sold to a woman called Hoa for VND25 million. After her arrival … [Read more...] about 15-year-old girl rescued from human traffickers in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Vietnamese companies prioritize environmentally friendly and sustainable practices as part of their efforts to ensure long-term growth. More than 85% of Vietnam's 500 fastest-growing companies (FAST 500) have committed or plan to comply with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, according to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Report Company (Vietnam Report). Electronics production at SGK Company (Chuong My Industrial Park), a component supplier for Samsung. Photo: The Hanoi Times As the global community continues to prioritize environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, Vietnam is also placing a great deal of emphasis on achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050. FAST500 companies are aware of the importance of ESG standards and are in the process of adopting this strategy, the report states. Specifically, 14.8% of companies surveyed had initiated and implemented some of their ESG obligations, while 37% had fully planned and … [Read more...] about Over 85% of major Vietnamese companies are committed to ESG standards

The event was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam Youth Federation, and the city’s Vietnam Students’ Association, with the support of the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation. During the event, Tran Thu Ha, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and Chairwoman of the city’s Vietnam Students’ Association, delivered a speech in which she stated that the running contest aimed to raise awareness about the importance of a green lifestyle. The city’s young people hoped to contribute to the common efforts of saving energy, protecting the environment, and preventing climate change. In addition to the running competition, various activities were implemented by the city’s youth unions on the morning of March 25. These included organizing sports activities to encourage young people to run 10,000 steps per day, as well as an Olympic Run Day for the health of the entire  in 2023. The youth unions also organized environmental … [Read more...] about Over 1,300 people join run in Ho Chi Minh City to mark Earth Hour

In his remarks, Chairman of the People’s Committee Phan Van Mai highlighted the increasingly close ties between the two countries, saying over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has grown actively across spheres, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The good traditional friendship has also been consolidated and enhanced, the official added. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam presented Italy with more than 300,000 masks, while Italy donated 2.8 million doses of vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation. This vividly demonstrates the intensive and effective strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, he said. Ho Chi Minh City, for its part, has actively worked to promote cooperation with Italy, Mai noted, adding that the relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Italy have reaped achievements in trade, investment, education and training, culture, and tourism. According to the official, the two-way trade reached 591 million USD last year. For … [Read more...] about 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City

Proposals relating to cooperation and encouraging foreign investors to join Vietnam’s innovation journey were addressed at some forums, including one at VIR’s headquarters and the annual Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) organised in Hanoi over a week back. Working groups of the Vietnam Business Forum touched on a variety of topics and recommendations for greater progress Photo: Dung Minh One particular area of discussion focused on the digital economy and tech such as blockchain. Do Tien Thinh, deputy director of the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) said at VIR’s forum on digital transformation on March 21 that the NIC is working with many big foreign technology groups to connect them with domestic enterprises to implement training courses and technical supporting programmes. Thinh said Google has implemented digital skill training courses for businesses, especially startups. In mid-2022, Google launched a certification initiative and Startup Academy Vietnam, … [Read more...] about High-tech talent pool to aid transformation

Lan Ha Bay in the northern city of Haiphong is struggling with pollution, mostly caused by deteriorating styrofoam buoys. Pieces of styrofoam buoys have appeared on Lan Ha Bay since early this month in addition to rubbish that has also been discharged into the bay, worsening the pollution. The area which is adjacent to Ha Long Bay has been the hardest hit. Pieces of styrofoam buoys have worsened Lan Ha Bay's pollution The bay has also recently seen red-orange water areas. A person who specialises in raising groupers in Cat Ba Town said that he witnessed the phenomenon on March 23-24. According to some local fishermen, this would be the phenomenon of red tide, caused by the simultaneous blooming of marine algae, which occasionally appears in the waters of Cat Ba. Red tides can threaten fish. A representative from the Cat Ba Bay management board said that since early March, the pollution has had a bad impact on tourists. The board is focusing on rubbish … [Read more...] about Lan Ha Bay faces pollution

At the signing ceremony between VPBank and SMBC (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese lender VPBank on March 27 signed an agreement to sell its 15% stake to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) through a private placement. With this deal, SMBC, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc (SMFG), has officially become a foreign strategic investor of the Vietnamese bank. The investment from SMBC will help VPBank raise 35.9 trillion VND (approximately 1.5 billion USD) of Tier 1 capital (equal to 30,160 VND per share), increasing its equity to approximately 140 trillion VND from 103.5 trillion VND. Following the investment, VPBank will become Vietnam’s second largest bank in terms of equity, which allows it to serve a wide range of customer needs in various segments, including retail banking, corporate banking and SMEs. The robust capital stance will also back VPBank in serving large-scale enterprises, particularly the FDI and multi-national … [Read more...] about VPBank sells 15% stake to Japan’s SMBC for 1.5 bln USD

Illustrative image (Photo source: vneconomy.vn) Hanoi - Vietnam is studying and adjusting its investment policies to adapt to the global minimum corporate income tax which is scheduled to be applied from 2024, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc. The global minimum corporate income tax is part of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which involves the participation of 141 member countries. Accordingly, large companies with annual global consolidated revenue of at least 750 million EUR (806 million USD) over at least 2 years of the preceding 4-year period will be subject to a minimum tax rate of 15 per cent. If they are currently paying a tax rate lower than 15 per cent in the country where they are investing, they will have to pay the remaining "shortfall" at a tax rate of 15 per cent to the country where they have their headquarters. According to economists, investment exporting countries’ application of the global … [Read more...] about Vietnam adjusting policies to adapt to global minimum corporate income tax: Official