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Between December 8 and January 12, the number of Covid-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, with an average age of 80.3 among the deceased, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing on Saturday. She said 5,503 of the fatalities were caused by respiratory failure due to Covid, while 54,435 resulted from a combination of Covid and other diseases. Of the patients who died, 90.1% were aged 65 and older. China last reported daily figures of Covid deaths on Monday. Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month - figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals. In December, officials said they planned monthly, rather than daily updates. While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million Covid-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 since the … [Read more...] about China reports 59,938 Covid-related hospital deaths since Dec 8

After Thailand drew host Vietnam 2-2 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Kaewpaluk, Thailand head coach Mano Polking and midfielder Sarach Yooyen attended a press conference. When the coaches and players sat down, Kaewpaluk stood in the middle of the room, walking back and forth with a provocative look to the Vietnamese media. Despite being asked to calm down and respect everyone, Kaewpaluk maintained his behavior. Coach Polking witnessed the incident and was not happy with Kaewpaluk, so he repeatedly told him to settle in his seat for the press conference to start. According to the plan, Thailand would hold a press conference before Vietnam. However, when the organizers told them to start, Polking said the players were taking a shower and asked them to wait for 15 minutes. Therefore, Vietnam had to start the press conference first. However, when Thailand were waiting for their turn, they were not satisfied. Some of Polking's assistants got angry, kicked the door of the … [Read more...] about Unsportsmanlike behavior of Thailand assistant coach reported to AFF

Hotel room rates in HCM City have increased since the fourth quarter of last year to an average of VND 1.80 million (USD 77) per room per night, a rise of nine percent compared to the third quarter and 21 percent up on-year. Illustrative photo According to a report by Savills Vietnam, despite a rise of eight percent in room supply in 2022 with over 15,500 rooms, rates have increased after the Covid-19 pandemic was brought under control in the city. Average room rates were VND1.60 million per room per night through the year 2022 while the rates rose to VND1.80 million in the fourth quarter, the report said. "This showed an increase of 21 percent against 2021's figures. Room occupancy reached 45 percent, up 20 percent on year. Room rates of five-star hotels increased by 44 percent on-year, with room occupancy rising by 24 percent”. Although the rates were still 18 percent lower than pre-pandemic 2019, Savills expected that the market would continue to … [Read more...] about HCM City hotels report increasing rates

China reported a large jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations in the week through to January 15 to the highest since the pandemic began, according to a weekly report published by the World Health Organization on Thursday. However, the WHO said it awaited "detailed provincial data disaggregated by week of reporting" on nearly 60,000 additional COVID-related hospital deaths reported by China last week and did not include them in the tally. The number of people hospitalised with the disease in China rose by 70 % to 63,307 versus the previous week, according to the WHO report based on data submitted by Beijing. This is the highest weekly figure China has reported since COVID-19 first emerged more than three years ago. The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance of the WHO building, in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. Photo : Reuters In early December, Beijing abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel … [Read more...] about China reports big jump in COVID hospitalisations -WHO

Hoa Phat, which accounts for nearly 35% of Vietnam’s construction steel market, reported a nearly VND2 trillion (US$85 million) loss in the fourth quarter of 2022, after earning a profit of VND7.419 trillion in the same period of 2021. Losses in two consecutive quarters of Q3 and Q4 dragged the company’s profits down by around 75% compared to the first half of the year, to more than VND8.4 trillion. Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSteel), accounting for 11.2% of the construction steel market, reported VND410.5 billion loss in the fourth quarter and a VND822.4 billion loss for the whole year, which was the company’s first loss since 2014 and its biggest loss since it started issuing financial statements in 2011. Nam Kim Steel, the leading coated steel manufacturer in Vietnam, lost VND356.3 billion in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a loss of VND67 billion for 2022, after more than 10 years of making huge profits, including VND2.225 trillion in profits in 2021. The steel market … [Read more...] about Steel giants report huge losses in Q4

Another 33% of respondents are willing to spend VND20,000-40,000 on drinks, according to the survey of 3,940 consumers conducted by food and beverage market solutions firm iPOS. Only 14% said they would splurge more than VND70,000 for a drink, the equivalent of the price of a drink at high-end coffee shops such as Starbucks and Runam Bistro, it added. Nearly 54% of respondents said they visit coffee shops once to twice a month. According to the survey, Vietnamese people spend more money on drinks than on their main meals. They prefer to spend VND10,000-30,000 for their breakfast and VND31,000-50,000 for lunch and dinner. Vu Thanh Hung, CEO of iPOS, said that the daily main meals are usually popular dishes such as com tam (broken rice) or pho (noodle soup) at sidewalk stalls which have cheap prices while many Vietnamese have a tendency to drink coffee or milk tea at high-end establishments with prices of VND40,000-70,000 for each drink. On special occasions like … [Read more...] about Many Vietnamese spend more on drinks than main meals: report

The Thanh Cong Group sold more than 81,500 Hyundai automobiles of all kinds during the year, accounting for some 16% of the country’s total automobile sales in 2022. Late last year Thanh Cong inaugurated its second Hyundai automobile plant in Vietnam in the northern province of Ninh Binh, with a designed capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year. It is expected to only assemble the Hyundai Ionic 5 electric vehicle at the plant this year. Established in 1999 as a manufacturer, Thanh Cong has now become a multi-industry firm, mainly operating in the spheres of automobiles, services and real estate. Other automobile distributors in Vietnam also reported big revenues or profits last year. Selling some 130,000 vehicles of all kinds, Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda and Peugeot achieved a consolidated revenue of more than VND100 trillion, nearly doubling its revenues for 2021. Haxaco, the distributor of Mercedes … [Read more...] about Hyundai distributor reports revenue of $5B

Savico, which distributes Toyota, Honda, Ford and other cars, reported record profits of VND688 billion ($29.34 million), which represents a 2.7-fold rise from 2021 and is larger than the combined figures of the previous two years. Haxaco, the main Mercedes distributor in Vietnam, saw pre-tax profits nearly double to VND300 million, also a record figure, mostly thanks to high demand in the first nine months. City Auto, distributor of Ford cars, saw pre-tax profit double to VND145 billion, the highest since the company listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in 2017. Its revenues rose by 40% to VND6.36 trillion. TC Group, the assembler and distributor of Hyundai in Vietnam, estimated its revenues at VND118 trillion after a 15.6% increase in sales to 81,500 units. The company has not released its profit figures. The 50% cut in registration fees – of 10-12% of the price -- on locally assembled cars, in the first five months of last year helped boost demand post-Covid. … [Read more...] about Auto distributors report record profits in 2022

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The relatively low devaluation of the VND against the USD in comparison with that of other currencies in the region shows that the Vietnamese stock market remains an attractive destination for investment flows , as uncertainties persist in most of the global financial market, according to a weekly investment strategy report of the Vietcombank Securities Co., Ltd (VCBS). That the US Dollar Index continues to decrease slightly and the State Bank of Vietnam’s successful increase of foreign exchange reserves in the past week is considered a positive signal for the domestic market, it said. In the short term, the liquidity of the VND will continue to improve significantly, resulting in the possibility of interest rate reduction in the interbank market. At least 12 commercial banks, notably Vietcombank and Agribank, have announced to reduce lending interest rates to support businesses following a directive from the central … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s stock market still attractive to investors: report

The standalone pre-tax profits of three state-owned lenders, Agribank, BIDV and VietinBank, surged by 40%, nearly 80% and over 20%, respectively, to nearly $1 billion each; Vietcombank saw an increase of roughly 40% to VND36.77 trillion ($1.558 billion). Agribank Deputy General Director Nguyen Thi Phuong told VnExpress that her bank surpassed the target of VND20 trillion in profits. The exact profits have not been announced yet. BIDV’s profits stood at VND22.56 trillion, while its capital mobilization increased by 8.8% and its credit balance rose by 12.65% against the beginning of last year, leading the market in terms of credit market share. Its bad debt ratio was 0.9% and provision for bad debts was 245%. BIDV currently has assets of more than VND2,080 trillion, the biggest in the banking system. VietinBank’s profits were some VND20.5 trillion, its bad debt ratio was 1.2%, and provision for bad debts was approximately 190%. Vietcombank’s provision for bad debts … [Read more...] about Four biggest banks report profits of around $1B each