Up west line delays

Fifty-six lives were lost in the fire at the apartment block in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District on September 12, and with them, all their dreams and ambitions, all the impacts they could have made on the world. How did it come to this? The owner of the apartment building has been arrested, and investigations are ongoing. Some people will need to be held responsible. Regulations for apartment blocks will be tighter. But somehow, I feel that all these solutions have yet to reach the root of the problem. Around 10 million people in Hanoi are crammed together in a tiny area next to the Red River. Traffic jams, inundations, air pollution, lack of trees, and now fires... these are just some of the problems that Hanoians have to cope with. The capital has lost its shine over the years. Aerial view of multiple skyscrapers at the Nguyen Tuan-Le Van Luong-Hoang Minh Giam intersection in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Several generations of my family have lived on this … [Read more...] about Hanoi and its urban planning problems

One of the rare old houses in the area of Hanoi's Old Quarter, the Heritage House at 86 Hang Bac Street is full of funky secrets. One of the most prosperous streets in ancient Hanoi was Hang Bac Silver Street . It is also the city's jewelry trade cradle, with many interesting historical stories. Hanoi's "well-off" street The timeless beauty of the heritage house at 86 Hang Bac Street. Photo: Bao Xay Dung Legend has it that Emperor Le Thanh Tong ordered Luu Xuan Tin, who was in charge of internal affairs, to set up a royal mint to cast coins and silver bars. As the mint required a large number of silversmiths, Luu Xuan Tin brought many skilled craftsmen from Hung Yen Province to Hanoi, who settled on Hang Bac Street. According to local historians, the first concrete evidence of the existence of Hang Bac is on a stele still found at 42 Hang Bac Street. It indicates that people were already living and trading on Silver Street in 1783. … [Read more...] about Hanoi’s heritage house of great historical imprints

The renowned food-store has won the hearts of many Hanoian generations with its only kind of foodstuff for over 70 years. The Banh cuon , or steamed rice crepe, is not a luxury food but has become favorite of not only Vietnamese but also foreign visitors to Hanoi. The Banh cuon Ba Hoanh restaurant is always packed with diners at the weekend. Photo: Duy Khanh “I feel like I’ve just swallowed a piece of ‘silk’,” Marco Lipuma- a friend of our family from Germany exclaimed as soon as he tried his first bite of the Banh cuon . “It’s outstanding, cool and very...slippery,” he said. After his first taste in early this year, within the following months he’d tried it countless more times. “I don’t like food with rich protein, so this is a good choice and I think it’s also a perfect detox food after so many giant feasts,” he stated. Truong Kim Dung, a customer of Banh Cuon Ba Hoanh eatery said that she tried the dish some 30 years ago when she got … [Read more...] about [Quintessence of Hanoi’s cuisine] “Banh Cuon Ba Hoanh”: Gorgeous decades-long delicacy of Hanoi

Meeting with the company’s leaders, N.A. Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hailed the firm’s exports of some products to Vietnam, a market with a population of 100 million people, and stressed the possibility for Beximco to tap into a larger market of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 650 million consumers. Mentioning the company's major business fields of pharmaceuticals and apparel, the N.A. Chairman said these are two spheres where Vietnam and Bangladesh have advantages and should promote cooperation. Vietnam has paid due attention to and encouraged medical projects, products and solutions which play an increasingly important role in the post-COVID-19 period, he said, underscoring that incentives have been given to projects on research and production of medicinal materials, and technology application to produce medicines. The top legislator highlighted Vietnam’s new and breakthrough policies to improve the quality of medical examination, and create a legal … [Read more...] about N.A. Chairman visits Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Farmers harvest rice in the field. Rice exports during the first seven months this year tallied 2.54 million tonnes with a value of 40.8 billion baht, a gain of 51.8% year-on-year. (Photo: bangkokpost.com) Bangkok (VNA) – The Agricultural Economics Office of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry in Thailand has forecasted a decline in rice production for the country’s 2023-24 harvest season, primarily due to the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon. The rice output is expected to reduce by approximately 871,000 tonnes, a decrease of 3.27%, to 25.8 million tonnes. Deputy Secretary-General of the Agricultural Economics Department, Tantita Bunyamaneekul, reported a reduction in the country’s rice cultivation area for the 2023-24 crop year, which totalled 62.4 million rai (9.98 million ha). This is a reduction of 602,000 rai or 0.96% from the previous year. This decrease in cultivation area is largely due to changes in weather conditions, which have resulted in delayed … [Read more...] about Thai rice output forecasted to fall due to El Nino

A building near Bến Thành Market in downtown HCM City whose construction stopped at the end of last year. The property market slump is expected to continue until the end of 2024. — VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp Despite the Government’s efforts to address them, the challenges for the property market will continue until the end of next year, experts have warned. Speaking at a forum late last week, Nguyễn Văn Đính, chairman of the Việt Nam Real Estate Brokers Association, said the market would continue to struggle with limited access to capital, legal bottlenecks and companies’ inability to redeem bonds. A recent survey by his association found over 70 per cent of businesses saying Government policies aimed at resolving funding difficulties have not been effective, he said. Real estate transactions have plummeted by 90 per cent in 2022-23, indicating weak market demand, he said. Even after almost five months since its announcement, the Government’s VNĐ120 trillion credit package has … [Read more...] about Real estate market challenges to continue until end of 2024: experts

“In recent times, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) haven’t been contributing as much as they once did,” said Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, at last week’s national conference to address SOE production, business, and investment improvements. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are almost 50 SOEs. As of July, these enterprises boasted total assets of $4.43 billion with an equity capital of $3.16 billion. Their collective revenues for the first six months stood at $1.33 billion, with a profit of $205 million. Harnessing the vast resources of these SOEs is imperative for Ho Chi Minh City’s economic growth, Mai stressed, adding that the private sector, inclusive of both private domestic groups and foreign direct investment, have also been expected, and even tasked, to stimulate economic growth. Such a predicament is not solely Ho Chi Minh City’s cross to bear. The decline has echoes globally, influenced by international economic instability, political … [Read more...] about State-owned groups keen on roadmaps for reform

A representative from Noi Bai said crew members of four planes reported the presence of kites and lanterns in the sky above the tarmac on September 23. Police later verified that people were throwing a Mid-Autumn Festival party in Thanh Xuan Commune, Soc Son District, a neighborhood that borders the airport to the west. Lanterns were released into the sky as part of the party, police said. Meanwhile, to the east of the runway in the capital’s Xuan Non Commune, Dong Anh District, some children were flying kites, police added. "Lanterns and kites entering the runway area may collide with planes, endangering the pilots and passengers. Regarding the aforementioned cases, as pilots were able to detect them early and inform ground control to deal with them, the flights were not affected," an airport representative said. Operations at Noi Bai Airport have also recently been affected by lasers and high-capacity lights coming from several areas of Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Vinh Phuc. Since … [Read more...] about Planes face kites, lanterns during takeoff and landing

On September 22, Vietnam Report unveiled its annual list of the Top 10 Credible Retail Companies for 2023. The rankings, reflected an industry grappling with significant challenges of considerable interest to investors and stakeholders. Since the fourth quarter of 2022, Vietnam’s retail sector has witnessed subdued growth. Profits have been under strain thanks to subdued demand stemming from a dip in public incomes due to export challenges. Additionally, many retailers are navigating the complexities of high interest rates and stringent credit conditions set by consumer finance entities. The fresh survey conducted by Vietnam Report highlighted that almost all businesses (100 per cent) cited weak consumer demand as a concern, with 92.9 per cent noting the persistent economic slowdown. Early 2023 also saw retailers facing fierce price competition, further straining profits. To combat this dip in consumer spending, nearly 64 per cent of retailers plan to launch consumer incentive … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s retail sector faces mounting challenges

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican archaeologists unearthed a richly adorned human body in a grave that could be more than 1,000 years old, in an area where workers were finishing construction on a major tourist rail project, the country's national antiquities institute INAH said on Monday. The discovery took place this month during archaeological salvage work carried out in tandem with building a multibillion-dollar tourist train in southern Mexico designed in large part to draw tourists to southern Mexico's many ancient Maya sites, as well as nearby top beach resorts like Cancun and Tulum. The remains of a human burial, unearthed by Mexican archaeologists during salvage work carried out in Palenque in tandem with building the rail project known as the Maya Train, are seen in this undated Handout photo received from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) on September 25, 2023. Photo: Reuters The rail project, known as the Maya Train, is a top economic … [Read more...] about Ancient Maya grave found in Mexico as tourist rail project advances