The xinhua news agency

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue asked agencies of the NA and its Standing Committee to keep a close watch on the macro-economic situation, as well as financial, monetary, stock and real property markets, while meeting their standing members on February 7. For urgent issues, NA agencies should actively and promptly work with relevant ministers and heads of ministry-level agencies to seek solutions, instead of waiting for question and answer (Q&A) sessions held by the legislative body and its Standing Committee. Read full story - The coming visit to Singapore by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will be a key platform for both countries to reaffirm their excellent ties, said Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in his written interview with the Vietnam News Agency. Read full story - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s upcoming … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on February 7

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency. - The Politburo on February 6 held a meeting with former senior leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Lunar New Year. Participating former leaders all expressed their belief in and pride of positive outcomes that the country has achieved in the past time. Read full story - Acting President Vo Thi Anh Xuan has hailed outgoing Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam Fernando Apparício da Silva’s contributions to consolidating the practical and effective development of Vietnam-Brazil comprehensive partnership during his tenure. During a reception for the diplomat in Hanoi on February 6, Xuan affirmed that Vietnam always wishes to further strengthen its ties with Brazil, one of the top important partners in Latin America. Read full story - On behalf of the Politburo, Party … [Read more...] about ☀️ Morning digest February 7

Nguyen Thi Thanh, who said that she was a survivor of the mass killing of about 70 people in Phong Nhat - Phong Nhi Village in the central province of Quang Nam in 1968 by South Korean marines, filed a damages suit against the South Korean government in 2020, seeking ₩30 million as compensation. Thanh said she lost her family members and received gunshot injuries during the incident, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Thanh, ordering the state to compensate her the aforementioned amount of money, plus interests. While the South Korean government argued that it was immune to the damages suit filed by a Vietnamese due to an agreement signed between Vietnam, South Korea and the U.S., the court rejected the argument. It also rejected another claim that the South Korean marines’ involvement in the murder has not been clearly proven, or that it was justifiable in the context of the war. Thanh said she was "tremendously … [Read more...] about South Korean court orders state to compensate Vietnamese woman for Vietnam War massacre

Representatives of Vietnam’s Internet service providers on Tuesday said the NOC (Network Operation Center) system of international undersea cables announced that three undersea cables: the APG (Asia Pacific Gateway), the AAG (Asia, America Gateway) and the IA (Intra Asia) are expected to undergo reparation in either mid-March or early April, the Vietnam News Agency reported. The APG would see two segments being prepared, one from March 22 to March 27, and the other from April 5 to April 9. The AAG would be repaired from March 30 to April 4. The IA meanwhile is expected to be repaired in mid-March. Reparation schedule for the AAE-1 cable (Asia-Africa-Euro 1) has yet to be announced. Vietnam is currently connected with seven undersea cables: SMW3, AAG, IA, APG, AAE-1, SJC2 and ADC. The SJC2 and the ADC are yet to be officially operational, while the SMW3 cable is outdated and about to be decommissioned. It means Vietnam has five active undersea cables that connect it to the … [Read more...] about Three undersea Internet cables to be repaired from March

A vendor counts banknotes at a market in Vientiane, Laos, on January 9, 2023. (Photo Xinhua/VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – The inflation rate in Laos surged to 40.3% in January, a record high in the last 23 years, according to the Statistics Bureau under the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment. According to the agency, the depreciation of the Lao currency kip against USD and Thai baht and the soaring prices of fuel, gas, and other imported goods are among the main factors driving inflation. High fuel prices have pushed up production costs in the country because it has to import machinery, animal feed, and fertilisers at increasingly high prices. Laos’s consumer price index has spiked unexpectedly since the beginning of last year. Inflation in May 2022 was recorded at 12.81% before rising to 23.61% in June, 25.62% in July, 30.01% in August, 34.05% in September, 36.75% in October, 38.46% in November and 39.27% in December. Overall, Laos's average inflation in 2022 is up to … [Read more...] about Laos’s inflation continues to rise in January, hits 23-year record

Illustrative photo (Source: thoibaonganhang.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s e-commerce is projected to continue booming in 2023 and developing firmly in the following years, aided by a series of growth drivers such as the wave of digital transformation, consumers’ trust, technological infrastructure, and favourable mechanisms and policies issued by the Government. Boasting some 100 cross-border e-commerce platforms, Vietnam has been ranked among the top five nations with regard to the sector’s growth of 20% a year by eMarketer. Last year, the country’s top four platforms – Shopee , Lazada , Tiki , and Sendo – generated 135 trillion VND (5.73 billion USD) in revenues. Meanwhile, the scale of the country’s retail e-commerce market was estimated to reach 16.4 billion USD last year, accounting for 7.5% of the country’s goods and service revenues. There were approximately 57-60 million Vietnamese people shopping online, with their spending averaging 260-285 USD. … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s e-commerce forecast to continue booming

The first issue of Ulsan City News newspaper in Vietnamese version. (Photo: Foreign Resident Support Centre in Ulsan) Seoul (VNA) – The newspaper Ulsan City News of Ulsan city of the Republic of Korea (RoK) has launched a multilingual electronic version , including Vietnamese. The newspaper is published in 11 languages with a view to providing a variety of news to foreigners, including international students, immigrants and tourists in Ulsan. It also aims at popularising the city’s image. The first issue was published in late January with news about the inauguration of the Foreign Resident Support Centre and the commitment of the city’s mayor to changing policies in 2023 as well as dissemination of its main tourist attractions. The introduction of the multilingual version is expected to facilitate foreign residents residing in the city in receiving different information in their native languages, thus helping them secure better lives. Ulsan is the 7th … [Read more...] about Vietnamese included in Ulsan city’s multilingual e-newspaper

The government plans to enact a new law on real estate taxation in place of the Law on Agricultural Land Use and the Law on Non-Agricultural Land Use, and separating houses and land for tax purposes. There is currently a very low tax on lands and, unusually for any country, none on houses. The Government is on course to submit the bill to the National Assembly for comments in October 2024 and approval in May 2025. Several experts told VnExpress they agree that taxing houses and lands is necessary in the context that the property market is opaque and plagued by speculation, lack of systematization and ineffective management. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, said taxing housing and land would help make the real estate market fairer and more transparent. Nguyen Van Duoc, general director of Trong Tin Accounting and Tax Consulting Company, supported an increase in the tax rates on lands but warned it is necessary to safeguard the … [Read more...] about Taxing housing necessary but challenging: experts

Miss Spring 2023, themed “Vietnamese Charm in Europe", is part of VietFest organised by the Vietnamese Students’ Association in France (Photo: UEVF) Paris (VNA) – Miss Spring 2023, which honours the beauty of Vietnamese women and promotes Vietnamese culture to international friends, has been held in Paris after a three-year disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UEVF President Nguyen Phan Bao Thuy said that as 2023 marks many important celebrations such as 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic partnership between Vietnam and France, UEVF organised the biggest community Lunar New Year (Tet) celebration to connect generations of Vietnamese people and businesses, as well as Vietnamese people with international friends. Miss Spring 2023, first organised in 2007, is not only for Vietnamese women who are living, studying, or working in Europe but also a meeting place for young people who share the same passion, ambition, and confidence to lead the trends … [Read more...] about Miss Spring 2023 honours Vietnamese beauty, culture in Europe

The U.S. Bank will provide financing and leasing solutions for VinFast vehicles at VinFast showrooms and via the VinFast website. (Photo: VinFast) Hanoi (VNA) – VinFast on February 7 announced U.S. Bank (listed as US B on New York Stock Exchange) has been chosen as its preferred provider of retail financing and leasing of VinFast vehicles in the US. The announcement comes as VinFast - a Vietnamese electric car producer - is preparing to open more showrooms in California, and develop plans for more locations around the country soon. Under the partnership, the bank will officially provide financing and leasing solutions for VinFast vehicles at VinFast showrooms and via the VinFast website. Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chair and CEO of VinFast Holdings, said that with the goal of making electric vehicles accessible to everyone, VinFast is constantly looking for optimal solutions for customers. Thanks to this agreement, VinFast customers will have access to competitive … [Read more...] about U.S. Bank chosen to provide financing solutions for VinFast electric car users