Why increasing minimum wage is good

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Political parties of Cambodia have announced their respective manifestos for the upcoming 21-day National Election campaigns across the nation, highlighting their past achievements and making promises to gain people’s support, local media reported. They include the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the main opposition Candlelight Party (CP), royalist Funcinpec and the pro-royalist Khmer National United Party (KNUP) which have been actively promoting their policies ahead of the election. While National Election Committee (NEC) officials expect that at least 20 political parties will register their candidates for the election, minor parties have carried out minimal activities both at the national and grassroots levels and have yet to announce their participation. The CPP has unveiled its manifesto, consisting of pushing for pay rises for civil servants, adjustment and increase of pensions, increase in the minimum wage for workers and striving to address … [Read more...] about Cambodia’s political parties release election plans

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh holds a board saying the name of the new born elephant at Germany's Leipzig Zoo. (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – An elephant named Voi Nam whose parents were born in Vietnam and gifted to Germany’s Leipzig Zoo in 1984 and 1985 by Ho Chi Minh City's authority has welcomed its second baby elephant in the zoo on December 20, 2022. A ceremony to name the new born elephant was held on February 2 with the name “Bao Ngoc” (valuable gem) was chosen. Vietnamese Ambassador to  Germany Vu Quang Minh said that the baby elephant is an icon of the Vietnam-Germany friendship. Elephant Voi Nam was born in 2002, marking a big event for the Leipzig Zoo as the zoo’s elephant herb had a new member after 66 years. Voi Nam and female elephants which are all from Asian countries last year gave births to two elephants and are expected to welcome two others in the next few weeks. Thomas Guenther, director in charge of Asian species at the zoo, said that … [Read more...] about Baby elephant Bao Ngoc – an icon of Vietnam-Germany friendship

Captain and vessel owner Le Quang Anh of Tam Hai commune, the province’s Nui Thanh district, said that before any fishing trip, he brings documents to Ky Ha port border guard station for registration. The documents include the list of crewmembers, their working positions, hull insurance contract, crew insurance, and the vehicle's license plate. He said that in addition to bringing along fishing equipment and tools, fishermen must fully comply with regulations on the at-sea fishing process following the Law on Fisheries. For offshore fishing vessels, these requirements are much stricter to restrict their operation in other countries' fishing grounds. Local authorities, border guards, coast guards, and fisheries surveillance forces regularly tell fishermen about the legal process of sea fishing, and this make them better aware of obeying relevant regulations. Anh said that offshore fishing vessels in the district are required to install kinds of necessary equipment including … [Read more...] about Quang Nam fishermen pledge to implement regulations against IUU fishing

Roundtable: Large foreign investment funds want to pour money into the Vietnamese stock market Quan Duc Hoang, chairman of A+ Fund, made the comments about foreign capital at the roundtable 'New Investments amid New Volatility' hosted by VIR at its headquarters in Hanoi on February 7. “Recently, I have business trips to work with big investment funds in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. Not one of these investment funds have a sensitive overview of the Vietnamese investment environment. They estimate that it is an ideal time for investors to collect a portfolio of shares,” Hoang said. “In spite of the difficult situation, during the past nearly 30 years, I have yet to see a large investment opportunity similar to the current situation because many Vietnamese enterprises are operating smoothly and generating good profits. Besides, we have yet to take thorough advantage of the opportunity from free trade agreements, especially EVFTA. The important note is … [Read more...] about Foreign investment funds plan to pour money into Vietnamese stocks

The remaining top 10 markets in the category are: Columbus, Santiago, Johannesburg, Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix, Austin, Denver, and Chicago, according to a report released by Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam on February 2. The annual report, now in its fourth year, ranks major data centre markets around the world according to 13 weighted categories including market size, connectivity, power cost and environmental risk to determine the top overall markets in each category. According to the latest Q4 2022 Ho Chi Minh City marketbeat report, the average rental price reached $159 per sq.m per lease cycle, up 3 per cent on the quarter and 10 per cent on-year. Vietnam is a frontier data centre market Vietnam may be a frontier data centre market, but it has numerous fundamentals that would suggest great potential for development. The country currently has 70 per cent internet penetration, with an estimated 29 million people yet to get online. Over 48 per cent of Vietnam’s … [Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City among top markets for data centre development

ASEAN countries like Vietnam are not spared from the impact of climate change. Rapid economic development also means increasing demand for energy and power to meet the pace of growth, which leads to an increase in CO2 emissions. The journey to a cleaner future Takeshi Masuyama, Managing director, regional head of Vietnam, MUFG Bank, Ltd. The Vietnamese government has announced in various international forums its commitment to address environmental issues, and has firmed up its national net-zero target. In addition, the announcement of the Vietnam Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in last December is another milestone and will further rally the private and public sectors towards accelerating the country’s green transition. MUFG is part of the working group convened by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) supporting the JETP initiative for Vietnam. The sustainability mission Since announcing our Carbon Neutrality Declaration in 2021, MUFG … [Read more...] about Committed to empowering a brighter future

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

In a ceremony held on Tuesday by the Ministry of National Defence, seven additional military officers were officially dispatched on United Nations peacekeeping missions. Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoàng Xuân Chiến hands over the State President's decision on Vietnamese military peacekeepers. Among those officers, two will be sent to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), four to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and one will serve at the UN mission in Central Africa, replacing their predecessors who have completed their term. At the ceremony, four officials who successfully completed their tasks on UN peacekeeping missions were welcomed home. “Today, seven officers received the State President’s Decision and the Decision of the Ministry of Defence to go on duty at the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Abyei Area,” said Major General Hoàng Kim … [Read more...] about Seven military officers join UN Peacekeeping Mission

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Singapore aims to affirm both nations’ desire to take their economic connectivity to new heights in the context of a series of new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) coming into effect and being implemented. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong PM Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam will pay an official visit to Singapore from February 8 to 10 at the invitation Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong. The visit takes place amid the dynamic and strong development of the Vietnam - Singapore strategic partnership across multiple fields. This year will see the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership. In 2022, the exchange of delegations and high-level meetings between the two countries was maintained both regularly and effectively. This saw a trip to Singapore by … [Read more...] about PM’s Singapore visit to take economic co-operation to new heights

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