Developing airports: new playing field for billionairesVietNamNet Bridge - A series of new airport projects and upgrading of existing airports have been suggested with total investment capital of billions of dollars. A series of airport projects have been suggestedThe Cam Ranh complex, worth VND4 trillion, was developed under the BOT (build, operation, transfer0 mode by a joint venture of private investors. Many resort tourism projects, valued at billions of dollars, located 10-30 kilometers from the airport, have been implemented. Sun Group, a giant real estate developer, has inaugurated the Van Don International Airport, capitalized at VND7.2 trillion. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), 94 million passengers went through airports in 2017 in Vietnam and the number of air passengers may reach 142 million by 2020.

Painting exhibition focuses on Vietnam’s land, peopleAn exhibition of 44 paintings on Vietnam’s land and people by 22 artists from Asian countries was opened to the public in a ceremony in Hanoi on August 25. Through this, Asian artists will have a chance to explore and depict the beauty of the nature, culture, land and people of Vietnam, as well as to intensify their exchanges in this field of art. This kind of exhibition has been held over the recent years with a view to popularizing the image of Vietnam among foreign friends. This year’s exhibition saw the participation of artists from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam who just made a field trip to Hoa Lu ancient capital in the northern province of Ninh Binh. The exhibition will run through September 3 in both Hanoi and Ninh Binh province.-VNA

Hue city hosts int’l cycling tournament Coupe De HueThe I-on Health Cup Race was held in Hue City, the capital of the central province of Thua Thien Hue on August 25 to kick start the Coupe De Hue cycling tournament, which attracts over 700 local and foreign riders. Coupe De Hue cycling tournament takes place on August 25-26, attractting over 700 local and foreign riders. (Photo: coupedehuecyclerace.com)The I-on Health Cup Race includes two events stretching the two distances of 25.8 km and 43.7 km, starting from Phu Van Lau Park in Hue City. The tournament, running through August 26, also hosts the 138-km Gran Fondo Sportive Ride which centres around the historical Citadel. The Coupe De Hue has become the first Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) – registered Gran Fondo Sportive event in Vietnam and only one of a limited number in Southeast Asia.

PM to chair Quang Binh investment promotion conferenceThe central province of Quang Binh’s investment promotion conference will take place on August 26-27 in Dong Hoi city under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to the provincial People’s Committee. Dinh Huu Thanh, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment said that the conference aims to introduce the investment potential and opportunities in the province. This is also a chance for investors to meet and make dialogue with local authorities, seeking new cooperation opportunities and sketching out orientations and solutions to effectively exploit the potential and strengths of Quang Binh. According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Tien Dung, the conference is of significant importance to the locality. Earlier, Quang Binh held a number of sideline activities such as investment promotion conferences in the Philippines and Singapore, and a meeting with promising investors in Hanoi.-VNA

Vu Lan festival – a Vietnamese cultural beautyVu Lan festival is in full swing in Vietnam. In all pagodas and worship places around the country, Buddhist followers gather to hear talks about parental love and to pray for their parents. Vu Lan festival takes place on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. The Buddhist festival has been popular in Vietnam for many years. He asked for the Buddha’s guidance and other Buddhist monks’ help to save his mother’s soul.

Regulation on sale promotions might help foreign retailers crush smaller competitorsVietNamNet Bridge - Experts have voiced their concern about the capability of Vietnamese retailers, wondering if they can compete with powerful foreign retail groups flocking to Vietnam. Huy also thinks that in the long term, the regulation on 100 percent promotion value will bring advantages to big retailers. More and more foreign retailers have flocked to Vietnam recently. Vu Vinh Phu, a retail expert, estimates that each sale point in foreign retail chains has revenue 5-7 times higher than Vietnam’s supermarkets. Therefore, once foreign retail chains have the right to raise promotion value, they will have more ‘weapons’ to struggle with Vietnamese ones.

NA to postpone consideration of special economic unit billThe National Assembly will not review the draft law on special administrative economic units at the sixth National Assembly session in October to have more time for consolidating the bill. Authorities have studied special economic zones in other countries for reference but there are many different views about it so the NA decided to delay the voting for further research, he noted. The bill had been deliberated at the fourth sitting of the 14th National Assembly (October 2017). At the fifth session in May 2018, deputies, scientists, economists, experts and constituents had actively contributed their opinions to the draft law. On June 11, the NA had agreed to postpone the consideration and adoption of the bill until the sixth session of the parliament later this year, instead of in the fifth session.-VNA

Vietnamese spend billions of US dollars to buy properties overseasVietNamNet Bridge - A Vietnamese corporation has reportedly spent $14 million at an auction to buy a shopping mall in the suburbs of Marrickville in Sydney, Australia, taking the first step in its plan to penetrate overseas markets. Vietnamese spend more money to buy properties overseasSome months before, another business acquired an apartment project on Racecourse street in Kensington in Melbourne in a deal worth $6 million. Vietnamese businesses and individuals began looking for properties overseas some years ago. Vietnamese businesses and individuals began looking for properties overseas some years ago. According to Phoebe Huynh from Denzell Consultancy, Greece has also become one of the countries eyed by Vietnamese house buyers.

Vietnam Airlines to arrange more flights to Jakarta to serve footballVietnam Airlines will conduct additional flights to Jakarta, Indonesia to serve Vietnamese football fans as the country’s Olympic team is making history by entering the quarter finals at the ongoing ASIAD 2018, the national flag carrier has announced. Accordingly, the carrier will launch two direct flights from Hanoi to Jakarta and add one more HCM City - Jakarta round trip on the day. Vietnam will face Syria in a match the same day. Vietnam Airlines will join hands with tourism companies in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City to devise travel packages on the day, which include flight and match ticket, tour guide and travelling fees for tourists. Vietnam won 1- 0 against Bahrain during the last stages of the 16-team knockout round for the men’s football on August 23.

Vien enters final of women’s 400m medley at Asian GamesVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien booked a ticket to the final of the women’s 400m medley at the Asian Games (ASIAD) in Indonesia this morning. Vietnamese top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien. In the 2014 ASIAD, Sakiko won a silver medal in the event with a time of 4:38.63, while Vien won the bronze in 4:39.65. Another Vietnamese swimmer, Mai Thi Linh, failed to qualify for the final after finishing her heat in 5:03.65. At last year’s Southeast Asian Games, Vien won the gold medal in 4:45.82.

Three major airlines still want to raise airfares, despite big profitsVietNamNet Bridge - All three airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific, have asked for permission to raise airfares, citing fuel price increases. The attempt by airlines to raise airfares has faced criticism from the public. Nguyen Phuong Thao, an office worker in Hanoi, said the airlines should improve the quality of services if they raise airfares. “Once three airlines want to raise airfares, this will generate a monopoly and violate the competition principle,” he said. CAAV thinks it would be better not to raise airfares this year as the government is making every effort to curb inflation.

Local paper firms face losing out to foreign businessesA capital shortage for local paper manufacturers could make them lose out to foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in their own country, according to experts. Capital shortage has been a headache for local paper manufacturersCurrently, paper demand in the world in general and China in particular is huge. However, domestic paper firms have not fully taken the opportunities as most of the Chinese market share belongs to FDI companies. In May 2018, Tan Mai Group in Dong Nai province began developing new pulp and paper plants, including the Tan Mai – Kon Tum Pulp & Paper Plant, worth 1.3 trillion VND. Instead, local paper manufacturers should restructure and build large and modern factories to compete with FDI firms, he said.

ASIAD 2018: shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh fails in forte categoryVietnamese marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh has been knocked out of the 10m air pistol event at the ongoing Asian Games (ASIAD) 2018 in Indonesia on August 21. Vietnamese marksman Hoang Xuan VinhVinh finished ninth, getting only 579 points, not enough to qualify for the final of the event, which features the top eight shooters. Vietnam won two more medals on August 20 at ASIAD 2018, raising its total to four, 16th in the medal tally of 10pm of August 20. Weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan bagged silver in the men’s 56kg event, while swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang won bronze in the men’s 800m freestyle event. The ASIAD 2018 opened in Jakarta on August 18 evening with the theme “Energy of Asia”.

VN should carefully consider ODA loans: ministryVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has been advised to carefully consider whether to borrow from Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans in the future. For example, some ODA loans could have requirements of technologies and selected contractors, causing the actual borrowing cost to be higher than competitive bidding, the ministry said. The ministry also named ODA projects that had investment capital increasing a lot compared to initial estimates. The ministry said ODA loans and preferential loans should only account for about 30-50 per cent of the total investment capital for a project. The Government was urged to better use ODA loans for projects to improve infrastructure, develop smart agriculture or boost export activities, the ministry said.

Weightlfiter Tuan brings home first silver medal in ASIADVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese weightlifter Thach Kim Tuan brought home the country’s first silver medal at the Asian Games (ASIAD) yesterday. Om Jun Chol of North Korea took gold medal with 287kg and Indonesian Bin Suwoto Surahmat won bronze medal with 272kg. Sun Yang of China won gold with a time of 7:48.36, while the silver medal went to Japanese Takeda Shogo with a time of 7:53.01. The gold medal belonged to Indonesian Lindswell Kwok with a total score of 19.50 points. The second place earned by Hong Kong athlete Juanita Mok Eun Ying, while the bronze medal secured by the Philippines athlete Chrystenzen Wong Agatha.