Speech at 18 months

The office said that the major products Vietnam shipped to Laos included petrol, vegetables, fertilizers, clinker and cement, electric wires and cables, paper and paper products, ceramics, and garment products. Meanwhile, Vietnam mostly imported from Laos fertilizers, rubber, wood and furniture, ore and other minerals. In July alone, two-way trade hit USD 125 million, a surge of 54.1% year on year, including Vietnam’s export revenue of nearly USD 53.2 million, up 33.9%. This was the third consecutive month that Vietnam enjoyed an increase in exports to Laos, helping reduce the fall in the turnover to minus 1.6% from minus 6% in the first half of this year. In August, Vietnam expects continuous rise in exports to Laos thanks to the stable conditions of the Lao economy, the reduction in petrol prices in the world and the rising number of Vietnamese investors in Laos. Source: VNA … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Laos enjoy 24.2% rise in two-way trade in 7 months

Heavy rains from Tropical depression Mulan caused flash floods on Saturday, with towns at the Thai-Myanmar border submerged after rising water levels breached an earthen dam in Myanmar's Shan State, local media reported. The flood water, which had mostly receded on Sunday, inundated more than 2,000 households in Mae Sai township in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai province as well as Myanmar's Tachilek border town, local media Thai PBS reported. A Thai official said an earthen dam located 37 kilometers north of the border was breached since Friday causing waters of the Sai river to rise rapidly and triggering the flood. "The dike along the river that used to keep water levels under control were breached and water overflowed into the streets and people's homes," Narongphol Kid-arn, the mayor of Mae Sai, said. "In some parts, the water was at waist and chest levels," he said. Thai PBS footage show relief personnel wading through flooded streets to distribute food to people … [Read more...] about Tropical depression Mulan triggers flash floods at Thai-Myanmar border towns

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Sunday reported an additional 1,429 Covid-19 infections, raising the country's total tally to over 11 million. Illustrative photo According to the ministry's report, the national caseload has so far increased to 11,365,784. On August 14, an additional 5,932 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to over 10.02 million. On Sunday evening, one death from Covid-19 was recorded, raising the country's total fatalities to 43,098, accounting for 0.4 per cent of total infections. By August 13, the country had injected more than 251 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Vietnam has not yet drafted plans to give Covid-19 vaccines to children under five years old. The country is targeting the completion of Covid-19 inoculation for children aged between 5 - 11 in August, as well as the administration of the third shot for those aged 12 - 17, as well as the third and fourth doses … [Read more...] about Vietnam reports additional 1,429 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday

Vietnam competed in the qualifying round of the tank biathlon category within the framework of the International Army Games 2022 in Moskva, Russia on Saturday, the Vietnam News Agency reported. This year’s tank biathlon event attracts the participation of 61 crews of 21 teams, divided into two groups. The first group consists of teams from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia, while the second is comprised of Abkhazia, Armenia, Zimbabwe, Iran, Laos, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Sudan, Tajikistan, and South Ossetia. Teams in Group 1 will compete in the qualifying round to select the top eight to enter the semi-final round and then the best four for the final round. Meanwhile, those in Group 2 will only join a round-robin format. Crew No.1 of the Vietnamese tank team completed their task on Saturday, destroying four targets out of five and finishing the race after 34 minutes 53 seconds. Meanwhile, crews from … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s tank team competes in International Army Games in Russia

China's financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures. The city will require all teachers and students to take nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus every day before leaving campus, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission said. It also called for teachers and students to carry out a 14-day "self health management" within the city ahead of the school reopening, the commission said in a statement. Shanghai shut all schools in mid-March before the city's two-month lockdown to combat its worst COVID outbreak in April and May. It allowed some students of high school and middle school to return to classrooms in June while most of the rest continued home study for the remainder of the semester. The announcement on schools reopening brings great relief to many residents but fears about COVID lockdowns continue to persist, as China vows to stick to its dynamic … [Read more...] about Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist

Clients at an SHB branch. The bank was given the nod on capital expansion. — Photo courtesy of SHB The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has given the Saigon Hanoi Commercial JS Bank (SHB) the go-ahead to raise its charter capital to VNĐ26,674 billion (US$1.1 billion). The rise is the first part of SHB's plan to reach VNĐ36,459 billion in capital in 2022 to position itself among the three private commercial banks with the largest charter capital. SHB said it had submitted the plan, passed by its shareholder general meeting, to SBV for approval. Under the plan, SHB was also set to pay a dividend yield of 15 per cent to its existing shareholders for the financial year 2021 and offer a total of 45.12 million new shares for VNĐ12,500 apiece to its employees and the shareholders. By late June, SHB had VNĐ522 trillion in total assets, VNĐ471 trillion in total deposits and VNĐ390 trillion in total credit. It made a six-month before-tax profit of VNĐ5.9 trillion, up 84 per cent … [Read more...] about SHB gets approval to raise capital