Zodiac sign for 2021

/ March 3, 2021

Vietnamese shooters aim for two main targets in 2021

"The team will try to fulfill a mission, that is qualifying for all Olympic shooting categories this year," Nguyen Thi Nhung, vice chairman of Vietnam Shooting Federation (VSF) and head coach of the national shooting team, told media. "In addition, we will propose to add some Asian Games shooting categories to SEA Games 31. Although these categories are not our strength, we want to ensure fair competition between shooters across Southeast Asia," she added. Nhung confirmed Vietnam aims to foster the next generation of elite national team shooters at SEA Games 31, which will be hosted by Vietnam in November, instead of solely relying on veterans, hoping to enter bigger contests like Asian Games and the Olympics. This is one reason why veteran shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh will not compete at SEA Games 31. The 45-year-old will instead focus on qualifying for Olympics Tokyo. Another veteran shooter, Tran Quoc Cuong, might also skip the biennial games to be held in Vietnam later this year. Vinh participated in 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, winning gold at the latter in the 10-meter air pistol and silver in the 50-meter pistol events, becoming the first-ever Vietnamese to win an Olympic gold medal. The absence of Vinh could cause certain difficulties for the national shooting team on the path to clinching SEA Games gold. To prepare for 2021, VSF hosted many top tournaments across the country last year to create opportunities for athletes to train and improve, as well as for coaches to assess and evaluate the shooter quality. Throughout national tournaments, key national team shooters proved they remain in great form following good results. …

/ January 27, 2021

Hanoi FC face easy fixtures in draw for group stage of AFC Cup 2021

The side from the capital have been drawn in the same group alongside Bali United FC of Indonesia, Boeung Ket FC of Cambodia, and the winner of play-off match one. Elsewhere in the competition local club Saigon FC are in Group H alongside Lion City FC of Singapore, Kedah FC of Malaysia, and the winner of play-off match two. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the tournament’s group stage will be held between June 22 and June 28, with all group stage matches set to be played at a concentrated place. Therefore, in order to reach the final round participating clubs must play in nine matches as opposed to 14 matches in previous versions of the tournament. This comes after the AFC Cup 2020 was cancelled due to ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 version of the tournament will see the participation of 39 teams from five zones, including West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and ASEAN. Vietnam’s two representatives in the competition will be Hanoi FC and Saigon FC and they will compete in the ASEAN zone. …

/ March 2, 2021

Vietnam gov’t to mobilize US$15.4 billion via bond auctions in 2021

The Hanoitimes - As of January 20, the total value of government bonds reached more than VND16 trillion (US$694.7 million). The State Treasury of Vietnam plans to mobilize VND350 trillion (US$15.4 billion) by issuing government bonds via auctions at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in 2021. Vietnam government plans to mobilize US$15.4 billion via bond auctions in 2021. Photo: Cong Hung Under the plan, the government would issue bonds with five-year maturity of VND20 trillion (US$886.7 million), seven-year maturity of VND15 trillion (US$433.3 million), ten-year maturity of VND120 trillion (US$886.7 million), 15-year maturity of VND135 trillion (US$5.8 billion), and bonds maturities ranging between 20 and 30 years worth VND30 trillion (US$1.3 billion). During the implementation process, the State Treasury of Vietnam could adjust the issuance volume of bond maturities to suit the market situation and the government spending. According to the Government Bond Auction Plan for the first quarter of 2021, the Treasury will issue bonds with total value of VND100 trillion (US$4.3 billion). As of January 20, the total value of government bonds reached more than VND16 trillion (US$694.7 million). The Treasury will this year strive to complete the 2021 capital mobilization plan assigned by the Ministry of Finance, comply with the state budget and public debt restructuring towards ensuring sustainable safety of the national financial system. It will issue a variety of bond tenors for different investment purposes and create reference interest rates for the market, restructure public debt (government bond repurchase and swap) according to the scheme approved by the Prime Minister. It will pilot the issuance of new types of bonds (green bonds, floating-rate bonds). …