Southern land

Tam Nong Market in Tram Chim Town, Dong Thap Province used to be a hotbed of wildlife trafficking in southern Vietnam. Nowadays, however, the flood of endangered wildlife flowing into local markets from nearby Tram Chim National Park and Cambodia seems to have slowed, but across the region traffickers still breed and butcher rare animals. Any animal in demand Though the wildlife trade in Dong Thap is not what it once was, some vendors at Tam Nong Market still deal in rare animals. Tam is one of these vendors. Keeping a watchful eye of the turtles for sale at her stall, she agreed to deliver a large shipment of endangered turtles to an undercover reporter, provided that they would be set free at pagodas. Tai, a vendor at the market who primarily deals in both live and frozen copperheads and banded kraits, claims himself as the biggest wildlife seller in Tam Nong. Turtles up for sale at the Thanh Hoa bird market in Long An Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: … [Read more...] about Wildlife trafficking rife in southern Vietnam

The city has supported localities in building large-scale rice farming and encouraged businesses to expand distribution networks in the domestic market and exports. Hanoi is promoting sustainable rice production as a key solution to meet the growing demand for domestic consumption and exports. A delegate of the Hanoi's Department of Agricultural and Rural Development inspects organic farming production at Thach That District. Photo: Anh Ngoc Organic rice farming in Dong Phu Commune, Chuong My District, is considered one of the examples of rice production under the value chain. The Director of the Dong Phu Organic Agricultural Cooperative Trinh Thi Nguyet said from the original area of five hectares, the cooperative has now expanded its production area to 40 hectares. “The entire crop harvested would be later processed and distributed to other provinces/cities, as well as for exports,” Nguyet told The Hanoi Times . According to Nguyet, prices of … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes sustainable rice production

The Hanoi government will improve mechanisms and policies to encourage the participation of the private sector in the field of high-tech agriculture. Hanoi needs to remove two barriers of capital and land to attract businesses to invest in high-tech agriculture, according to local media. Applying high-tech in agriculture is inevitable for the capital city’s farming sector, especially in face of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 which has strong impacts on socio-economic life. In order to remove the agricultural development hindrance, the Hanoi government has implemented a number of solutions such as providing businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, farms, and households with money from the city's funds for processing and conservation of high-tech agricultural products. Tending hydroponic vegetables at Duc Phat High-tech Agricultural Cooperative (Thanh Tri district). Photo: Ba Hoat In particular, under the Hanoi Agricultural Sector’s restructuring plan … [Read more...] about Hanoi needs to remove barriers to develop high-tech agriculture

At the meeting with NA deputies in HCMC  (Photo: SGGP) On the afternoon of May 26, the National Assembly discussed in groups the amended Law on Inspection and the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, suggesting there will be clear regulations on medical examination and treatment for children. According to Mr. Phuc, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment directly relates to people's health, so it is necessary to fix it. But the President said that the law has not mentioned enough the responsibility of the health sector in medical care for children. The President said that children are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow, so they need to receive good healthcare. In this regard, the current Law on Medical Treatment is outdated and does not keep up with real life. Therefore, this time revised Law must add many provisions related to children's rights. The … [Read more...] about Children must be given priority for health examination: President

Many countries have recognized nuclear power as a clean type of energy with low greenhouse gas emissions after the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the National Assembly’s Economic Committee says in a report. Vietnam therefore should consider reviving its plans to develop nuclear energy to ensure energy security and independent economic development, it says. To make this happen, the Party should approve the move and the government should then consider restarting the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project at an appropriate time. The National Assembly had shut down Vietnam’s first nuclear power project in 2016, saying the nation could not afford it then. By that time seven sub-projects had begun implementation with a total investment of over VND2.3 trillion ($99.01 million), and nearly 450 students and engineers were being trained by Russian and Japanese experts. The original plan was to have two multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plants in the central province … [Read more...] about Lawmakers call for nuclear energy revival, cite zero emissions target

Real estate bonds shackled by rules - illustration photo At last week’s conference on corporate bonds held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, experts discussed ways to develop an efficient and sustainable corporate bond market. One of the common recommendations regarded appropriate approaches to credit ratings. According to Can Van Luc, BIDV’s chief economist, there should be clear regulations on credit ratings to help investors easily determine business quality and the risk level of the issued bonds. “It is necessary to identify where a credit rating is mandatory and where a credit rating is encouraged. High-risk businesses should go through compulsory credit rating before bond issuance,” Luc said. “On the other hand, for businesses that have been audited and internationally rated with a long-standing history, a credit rating might not be necessary.” In recent years, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has steadily redirected loan flows towards industry, services … [Read more...] about Real estate bonds shackled by rules

Kevin Coppel, Asia-Pacific managing director (left ) and Christine Li, Asia-Pacific head of research for Knight Frank in Singapore When the US-China trade tensions bubbled over in 2018, corporates found it increasingly difficult to carry out business in China due to sourcing uncertainties and rising costs. This trend only worsened in the face of the pandemic and resulting border closures. Businesses responded by pursuing opportunities to set up bases outside of China while still retaining a stake in one of the world’s strongest economies. The China+1 strategy thus emerged. It is based on diversifying its supply base into other countries in order to minimise the risk of disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions, trade wars and tariffs, as well as rising labour costs. These companies are not abandoning China but rather giving themselves options, enjoying the best of what China and other economies have to offer. In pursuit of the China+1 strategy, the spotlight is naturally … [Read more...] about Will Vietnam become a big geopolitical beneficiary?

Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities, illustration photo/ baodautu.vn Assoc. Prof. Pham The Anh from the National Economics University said that changing the slow disbursement of public investment would be very challenging because of legal risks and responsibility. “I don’t think the slow disbursement is due to the lack of motivation by those responsible for the implementation,” said Anh. “In the past two years, the bottlenecks in public investment were related to the legal environment,” he added, citing legal problems in land clearance. “The Vietnamese government still has the ability to keep up with the disbursement speed by reviewing the legislation related to public investment decisions.” In 2022, the government expects to disburse $17.69 billion according to Decision No.2048/QD-TTg dated December 6, 2021 on assigning state budget investment for 2022. “The latest directives are aimed at disbursing public investment on schedule … [Read more...] about Legislation review necessary to increase tempo on public disbursement activities

Kim Højlund Christensen, Danish Ambassador to Vietnam With the return of tourism and trade activities, can you see any movement from business and investment promotion delegations that are going to visit Vietnam? The Vietnamese government’s recent decision to lift entry restrictions and especially to resume the visa-exemption travel programme for countries, including Denmark, is great news and positively welcomed by the Danish business community. Many Danish companies are already planning their visits to Vietnam this month and early next month to meet with their local business partners in person. At present, there are over 130 Danish companies represented in Vietnam. Therefore, there will be a large number of business visitors and delegations from headquarters in Denmark or other locations in the region coming here in the near future to visit their production facilities or to find new investment opportunities. Besides that, we also expect to have trade delegations visit our … [Read more...] about Danish investors pinpointing rising potential of Vietnam’s green energy

Workers loading Hoa Phat's steel products on a truck. The company shares surged 1.6 per cent on Thursday after a long losing streak. — Photo hoaphat.com.vn Indices were little changed on Thursday as rising selling pressure in the afternoon trade weighed on many large-cap stocks. The market benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended the day at 1,268.57 points, up 0.14 points, or 0.01 per cent. It rose 0.22 per cent in the morning trade. The market's breadth remained positive as more stocks gained points, of which 252 stocks climbed, while 191 stocks declined. However, liquidity decreased over the last session. Accordingly, the matching value on the southern bourse fell by 18 per cent to nearly VND13 trillion (US$559.8 million). The index edged higher for the third consecutive session, but gains were pared by stronger selling pressure. The 30 biggest stocks tracker VN30-Index dropped 1.2 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 1,309.5 points. Of the VN30 basket, … [Read more...] about VN-Index pares gains on stronger selling force