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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and his then-Lao counterpart Phankham Viphavanh preside over a groundbreaking ceremony for the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Bung Kan province in October, 2022 (Photo: bangkokpost) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government on January 28 announced that the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is set to open early next year which should help boost border exchanges not only between localities between Thailand and Laos but also trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), as it will speed up imports between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam , and China (Yunnan). The bridge, which connects the Thai northeast province of Bueng Kan and Laos' Bolikhamsay province, costs 3.6 billion THB (nearly 110 million USD), of which 2.5 billion THB comes from Thailand and the rest from Laos. According to deputy government spokeswoman Tipanan Sirichana, the construction is 60% complete and proceeding faster than planned. The project is … [Read more...] about Fifth Thai-Lao bridge to open next year

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) convenes its extraordinary congress on January 28-29. (Photo: AKP/VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) convened its extraordinary congress on January 28-29, during which it issued many important decisions and policies regarding the leadership work, as well as orientations for national development in the time ahead. In his opening remarks, CPP Honorary President Samdech Heng Samrin , who is also President of the National Assembly, said 2023 marks an end to the 2018-2023 mandate of the legislature and the government, and it will also be the beginning of a new five-year tenure. There will be a lot of work to do in the future, he said, stressing the need to join hands and make all-out efforts to win the 7th-term parliamentary election slated for July 23, 2023. The congress set out major strategic goals for the next five years which are based on wishes of the people and reflect the real situation, both … [Read more...] about Cambodian People’s Party sets out strategic goals for 2023-28

Many Vietnamese enterprises achieved success in 2022 after shifting to exports through e-commerce platforms, especially Amazon. The trend is expected to continue this year. Vietnam was among the top five countries with the highest e-commerce retail sale growth rates in 2022, according to a report by the U.S.’s market research company eMarketer. Impressive growth A year after beginning to sell goods on Amazon to European and American markets, ChicnChill, a Vietnamese handicraft brand, reported a growth rate of up to 700 percent. Tran Tuan Dung, CEO of ChicnChill, said he saw the start-up thrive when a majority of Vietnamese enterprises have scaled down their operations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team spent months studying the lifestyle in European and American markets and home decoration trends there, thereby determining the company’s key products and penetrating into these markets. After a year, ChicnChill’s home decoration products are … [Read more...] about Vietnamese firms earn big from Amazon

Visiting a construction site of My Thuan 2 Bridge that crosses the Tien River and connects Trung Luong - My Thuan and My Thuan - Can Tho expressways between Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, he asked constructors to speed up work, ensure the quality of the construction, labor safety and pay proper care to workers’ living conditions. With a total investment of over 5 trillion VND (USD 213.22 million), the construction of the 6.61-km bridge was started in March 2020 and is expected to complete this year. By now, more than 70% of the work has been completed. The leader added localities must proactively build intersections and organize traffic routes connecting to the bridge and the expressways to exploit new development space. At the construction site of a section of the eastern North-South Expressway that runs through Can Tho and Hau Giang, PM Pham Minh Chinh applauded workers for their efforts during the lunar New Year (Tet) festival. For more efficient infrastructure development, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister inspects key transport project in Mekong Delta

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese people in Belarus and Bulgaria have joined their compatriots in the homeland and around the world in celebrating the Year of the Cat with different activities held recently. The Vietnamese Embassy in Belarus has organised a programme attracting over 400 Vietnamese and their Belarusian relatives. This was the first mass Tet gathering of the Vietnamese community in the European country after over two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks, Ambassador Nguyen Van Ngu informed participants about the two countries’ socio-economic situations while highlighting their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation. He pledged that the embassy will continue working to help the overseas Vietnamese further integrate into the local society, protect their rights and legitimate interests, develop the community, and contribute to the homeland. A similar celebration has also been held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Bulgaria. Ambassador Do Hoang … [Read more...] about Vietnamese communities in Belarus, Bulgaria hold Tet celebrations

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 30 meets and extends Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings to workers at the construction site of My Thuan 2 Bridge. (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 30 examined the progress of key transport project s in the Mekong Delta . Visiting a construction site of My Thuan 2 Bridge that crosses the Tien River and connects the Trung Luong-My Thuan and My Thuan-Can Tho expressways between HCM City and Can Tho, he asked constructors to speed up work, ensure the quality of the construction, labour safety and pay proper care to workers’ living conditions. With a total investment of over 5 trillion VND (USD 213.22 million), the construction of the 6.61-km bridge was started in March 2020 and is expected to complete this year. By now, more than 70% of the work has been completed. The leader added localities must proactively build intersections, organise traffic routes connecting to the bridge and the … [Read more...] about PM inspects key transport project in Mekong Delta

Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023 (Photo:travelweekly-asia.com) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s Kenanga Research (Kenanga) expects tourist arrivals in the country to jump almost four-fold to 9.6 million in 2023 from an estimated 2.5 million a year ago. The research house said the projection is supported by the resumption of both business and leisure air travel globally as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, the revocation of all on-arrival quarantine and testing requirements in Malaysia from Augusut 1, 2022, and the gradual reopening of China. In a study released on January 30, it noted the gradual reopening of China is positive for the country as historically, Chinese tourists account for an estimated 12% of the total tourist arrivals in Malaysia. Meanwhile, MIDF Research (MIDF) revised its FY23F passenger traffic recovery downward to 85% from 95% previously due to the slower return of Malaysia AirAsia’s (MAA) aircraft, but expect stronger growth … [Read more...] about Malaysia expects tourist arrivals to quadruple in 2023

Foreign capital is expected to continue to flow into the stock market as foreign investors' confidence remains strongly.(Photo: VNA) Hanoi - From being net sellers in the first nine months of 2022, foreign investors have become the driving force supporting the Vietnamese stock market in the last few months, and the inflows are expected to continue this year. In 2022, this group net disbursed more than 29.2 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD) to the market, while it has net sold nearly 18.8 trillion VND and set a record net selling value of over 62.2 trillion VND in 2021. In November alone, more than 16 trillion VND in net disbursed cash flow from foreign investors was significantly supported by exchange-traded fund (ETF) capital inflows into the market, primarily from the Fubon ETF and the VNDiamond Index-based ETF. A study by BIDV Securities Company (BSC) analysing over 50 billion USD owned by foreign investors on the Vietnamese stock market showed that more than half of foreign … [Read more...] about Foreign investors remain optimistic about Vietnamese stock market

Pham Tuan Huy has become the second Vietnamese mathematician after famed Professor Ngo Bao Chau to receive a research fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute. The Clay Mathematics Institute officially announced two mathematicians who will be awarded research fellowships in 2023, including Paul Minter, who obtained his PhD in 2022 at the University of Cambridge, and Pham Tuan Huy, who is about to receive his PhD from Stanford University. Both Minter and Huy will be Clay Research Fellows starting July 1. The appointment term of Minter is four years while Huy's is five years. On the website of the Clay Mathematics Institute, Huy is introduced as a highly inventive and prolific researcher who has already made fundamental contributions to combinatorics, probability, number theory, and theoretical computer science. The 27-year-old is the second Vietnamese mathematician to receive a research fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute after famed Professor Ngo Bao Chau in … [Read more...] about Vietnamese mathematician granted Clay Research Fellowship

Fluctuations in the global market in 2022 have forced Vietnam to import petrol to meet the domestic market's demand. Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that the import volume of petroleum in December 2022 was more than 944,000 tonnes, valued at $823 million. It marked a 22.3 per cent month-on-month rise in volume and 10.9 per cent in value. In 2022, the country imported 8.87 million tonnes of petrol worth $8.97 billion, a sharp increase of 27.7 per cent year-on-year in volume and 118.5 per cent year-on-year. In which, imported diesel oil reached 4.74 million tonnes, increased by 1.5 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 54 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country. The imported petrol volume reached 1.7 million tonnes, increased 2.3 times compared to the previous year and accounted for 21 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country. Besides that, imported jet fuel reached 1.46 million tonnes, increased 2.2 times compared to the … [Read more...] about Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to stabilise petrol market