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Through IFC's new investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. — Photo courtesy of the bank IFC on Tuesday announced it has invested US$100 million in Southeast Asia Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (SeABank) which aims to boost access to housing loans. With a rapid annual urbanisation rate of 3 per cent, half of the Vietnamese population – about 50 million people – is expected to live in urban areas by 2040. This creates the need for an estimated 374,000 additional housing units every year. However, the limited availability of long-term funding has restricted access to housing finance, especially challenging for lower and middle-income homebuyers, who need longer-term funding due to low levels of income. Through the investment, SeABank expects to at least double the number of lower and mid-end housing loans by 2026. In addition, the project is expected to create thousands of new jobs in construction and other related sectors. … [Read more...] about IFC invests another $100m in SeABank to boost access to housing loans

Foreign tourists visit old quater in Ha Noi city. Tourism will be a key one in 2023. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyet Despite slowing trade, there are still pockets of resilience in Viet Nam’s economy. Tourism will be a key one in 2023, HSBC said in a report. In its Vietnam at a glance report on tourism to the partial rescue released early this week it said Viet Nam’s domestic tourism had been roaring, but international tourism, which historically accounted for 60 per cent of tourism receipts, saw a tepid recovery. That said, there were good reasons to expect a more meaningful recovery, in particular after China’s reopening, a 50-80 per cent return of Chinese tourists could be achievable. Following Viet Nam’s re-opening last March, its domestic tourism had been roaring, with Viet Nam easily surpassing its 2022 target of 60m and recording over 100m tourists. Meanwhile, Viet Nam welcomed 3.6m international tourists in 2022, mainly driven by travellers from South Korea (26 per cent) and … [Read more...] about VN’s Tourism Industry to bounce back in 2023: HSBC

The following is the full text of the interview. Reporter: This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam. How do you evaluate the Singapore-Vietnam relations in the past half century, especially in the last decade? What should the two countries do to further our bilateral cooperation and to advance the development of each country? Vivian Balakrishnan: The ties between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since we established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. We are longstanding friends and close partners that enjoy wide-ranging cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. I am heartened that the bilateral relationship has continued to expand and evolve to tackle new challenges over the past decade. Our linkages are particularly strong in trade and investment. The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean Foreign Minister

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam will send its four best athletes to compete for medals at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships 2023 in Kazakhstan later this week. It is the first continental tournament in which Vietnamese competitors will participate after three years of the pandemic. All four have performed impressively in recent tournaments, including the 31st SEA Games and the ninth National Sports Games (NSG) in 2022. Multi-time SEA Games winner Nguyen Thi Huyen will compete in the women's 400m event. Huyen successfully defended her 400m and 4x400m titles at the regional sports event in May in Hanoi. Seven months later, her domination continued at the NSG in the capital city, setting her seasonal best of 53.37sec. The SEA Games record breaker Nguyen Thi Oanh will participate in the women's 1,500m and 3,000m events. While the 3,000m steeplechase is usually her preferred event, the 3,000m is held instead in the indoor tournament. Oanh had a … [Read more...] about Four athletes to represent Vietnam at Asian indoor tournament

Entering 2023, Microsoft and Google announced global lay-offs of 10,000 and 12,000 employees, respectively. IBM laid off nearly 4,000 members, while Spotify cut about 6 per cent of staff. Since November last year, Meta, Amazon, and HP have also adjusted thousands of positions. Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels, Illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com In Southeast Asia, Shopee parent company Sea Group, Crypto.com, e-commerce platform JD.ID, and GoTo – a merger between ride-hailer Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia – are among the companies that experienced a drastic staff cut in the past year. GoTo in November 2022 cut 1,300 jobs, equivalent to 12 per cent of the number of employees, while Sea Group let go of 7,000 employees in the past six months. Both companies cited a common cause being challenging macroeconomic conditions. Industry insiders in Vietnam are generally wary of the effect this laid-off wave might have on the domestic market. … [Read more...] about Tech lay-off wave continues to bite at Vietnam’s heels

Actresses and actors bring the drama alive (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – Directors Lam Tung of Vietnam and Kim Min-jeong from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have worked together to create a drama about the wounds people carry in their hearts after the war and women’s desire for happiness. The special art project aims to celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year. As heard at an October 12 press conference, the play's script was adapted by author Vu Thi Thu Phong from Duong Huong’s novel 'Ben khong chong' (Quay of the spinsters) which has been adapted to film several times. It is a joint work between the Vietnam National Drama Theatre and the Korea Association of Performing Arts Producers (KAPAP). The drama is set in Dong village, a typical rural village in the Northern Delta of Vietnam. Characters in the story are women caught between the backward customs and prejudices from their families and neighbours. The objections … [Read more...] about Vietnamese, Korean directors join hands in post-war-period drama

Many tourists in HCM City choose to travel around the city by cyclos. The number of cyclo drivers in HCM City has sharply reduced over recent years due to the city’s rapid urbanisation. To compete with app-based taxis, drivers have upgraded their cyclos, using stainless lightweight steel. A cyclo driver near Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Thanh Hue, said that a cyclo was worth around VND20 million. A cyclo tour around the city is some VND300,000 while the price is just half that for a short distance like around Ben Thanh Market area, Hue added. Foreigners like taking photos with cyclos. The upgraded cyclo is quite strong and can transport heavy people. A Vietnamese woman enjoys cyclo tours. A cyclo driver said that he now is busier as tourist numbers have been on the rise after the Covid-19 pandemic. … [Read more...] about Tourists enjoy cyclo tours in HCM City