Midfielder Luong Xuan Truong in Football Tribe’s Asia XI for MarchWith his outstanding performance, Vietnamese midfielder Luong Xuan Truong has managed to enter Football-tribe.com’s Best XI list for March. Midfielder Luong Xuan Truong in Football Tribe’s Asia XI for MarchOn their website, Football Tribe reported: “The 22-year-old was one of the most important players for Hoang Anh Gia Lai, opening the campaign with a goal and an assist. He was also the captain of the national U23 squad. He was a bridge for Vietnam during their match against Jordan at the Asian Cup, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Vietnam finished the qualification round with a second place in Group C.Other players in Football Tribe’s list are goalkeeper Takuto Hayashi of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, rightback Vourica Ghafouri of Esteghlal, striker Safawi Rasid of Johor Darul Ta’rim and rightwing Stefan Mauk of Melbourne City.

Nghe An to send young players to face Tampines RoverVietNamNet Bridge – Young players will be given the chance to compete at the Asian Football Confederation Cup when Song Lam Nghe An host Tampines Rover on their home turf today. Song Lam Nghe An and Tampines Rover coaches and players shake hands during their AFC Cup match press briefing in Nghe An on Monday. Singapore’s Tampines Rover are at the bottom position with only one point. On the other side, coach Jurgen Raab of Tampines Rover showed his team’s great willingness to win points at the Vinh Stadium. They all want to win the coming game and are ready to face Song Lam Nghe An.

Binh Phuoc cashew gets GI certifiedThe grant of geographical indication (GI) certificate to Binh Phuoc Province’s speciality cashew by the National Office of Intellectual Property has been a strong boost to efforts to create a national brand for the product. The raw cashew nut grown in Binh Phuoc is firm and dense, 14.5-18mm thick, and has a marketable kernel that is at least 30 per cent of its weight. The province, dubbed the country’s cashew capital, now has more than 134,000ha under the nut and produces around 150,000 tonnes annually. The Government plans to make Binh Phuoc the country’s main cashew-growing area by expanding the area under the crop to 200,000ha by 2020 and building a national brand for the nut. The province exports cashew products to 25 countries and territories.

Vietnam's exports flourish in Q1Vietnam’s positive economic growth trend since 2017 has carried on as can be seen in import-export turnover in the first quarter, which exceeded 54 billion USD. The General Statistics Office said the number is 22% higher than that of the same period last year, projecting a vibrant picture for Vietnam’s exports this year. Agricultural products exports in the first three months of 2018 reached 8.7 billion USD. So I have faith that the yearly target of 35 billion USD is in our hands." Vietnam’s exports still have a lot to do in terms of market expansion and adaptation policies given volatile global market.-VNA

How is the Hoan Kiem turtle preserved? VietNamNet Bridge - Modern plastination technology is helping the Vietnam National Museum of Nature to preserve the Hoan Kiem turtle. The Hoan Kiem turtle died in January 2016 and was handed over to the museum for preservation. The Hoan Kiem turtle is estimated at 200 years old. RELATED NEWSWill the Hoan Kiem turtle be cloned?

The smart glasses for visually impaired peopleThe glasses for visually impaired people won first prize at the national science contest for southern high school students. The glasses will be shown at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) 2018 in the US in May, 2018. Thao said many visually impaired people in Vietnam want to read books, newspapers and other kinds of text documents. It then emits reading sounds for visually impaired people. It then emits reading sounds for visually impaired people.

HCM City’s semiconductor industry slowing downVietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities once vowed to make the semiconductor industry a key part of the economy, but no significant action has been taken recently. HCM City vows to develop IC industryThe HCM City Semiconductor Technology Association, established in March 2013, included many experts with good ideas. After the establishment of the association, many activities associated with the 2013-2020 HCM City IC Industry Development Program were organized, raising high hopes among the IC community. The latest event related to the field was organized in November 2017, when the IC industry program was mentioned at the MEMS/Sensor HCMC. The forum was initiated by the HCM City Hi-tech Park; the HCM City Semiconductor Association was not mentioned.

Exhibition of Vietnamese archaeological treasures to run in HanoiThe Vietnam National Museum of History announced on April 9 that it will begin displaying archaeological treasures of the country on April 12. Lasting until July, the exhibition consists of 300 items collected across museums from north to south. They have been classified into different themes, such as metalware from the Dong Son, Sa Huynh and Dong Nai cultures, Champa & the UNESCO world heritage My Son Sanctuary, and Dai Viet culture – civilisation. The archaeological collection was displayed at three German museums from October 2016 to February 2018 as part of a programme promoting Vietnamese culture and history in the European country. The exhibition attracted a great deal of attention from the local residents.-VNA

PM vows best environment for agriculture, rural developmentThe government will continue paying close attention to agriculture and rural areas and create the best environment for their development, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said during a dialogue with farmers in the northern province of Hai Duong on April 9. He said the Government and the people should join hands to remove difficulties for the development of agriculture and rural areas. The development of rural areas must focus on building modern socio-economic infrastructure and stable society with rich cultural identity, improving living conditions for rural population, and protecting the environment. The leader requested ministries, agencies and localities step up administrative and institutional reform, and improve investment environment in agriculture and rural areas. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade must work to attract more businesses in agriculture and rural development, build agricultural value chains and form linkages with farmers.

Green colour covers banking, real estate sharesThe benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) rose 4.37 points to close April 9 at 1,024.33 points. A total of 251.4 million shares worth 8.019 trillion VND (352.8 million USD) were traded. In the contrary, the HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange was down 0.23 point to 137.79 points, with 72.6 million shares worth over 1.26 trillion VND sold. However, strong gains were seen in VIC (2,500 VND per share), SSI (2,400 VND per share), and FPT (700 VND a share). Meanwhile, on the HNX, foreign investors purchased 2.28 million shares and sold 1.35 million shares, posting a net purchase value of 5.52 billion VND.-VNA

Vietnam plays active role in GMS trade, investment cooperationVietnam has proactively participated in trade and investment cooperation activities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which comprises Cambodia, China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, over the past 25 years. The expressway, the longest of its kind in Vietnam, is considered a strategic part of the Kunming (China)-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong road corridor under the GMS cooperation programme. Based on its strategic location and speed of development, Vietnam has a key role in the regional economic cooperation, according to Bundik. Fourthly, the GMS countries are well positioned geographically to connect South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Last but not least, the GMS countries’ development is backed by a strong sense of cooperation and frameworks for working together through such mechanisms as the GMS.

Development of organic fertiliser key to VN’s future agricultureVietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has identified organic agriculture as the way forward, and why the development and promotion of the product is key to achieving their goals. Farmers harvest rice grown with organic fertiliser in Vi Thanh Commune, Vi Thuy District of the Mekong Delta Province Hau Giang. One signal is the growing demand for environmentally friendly and organic production, which makes organic fertiliser "an inevitable trend". The development of organic fertiliser would not just help better the quality of soil in the long-term, but also propel the growth of organic agriculture. A growing number of enterprises who collaborate with farmers have also switched to the use of organic fertiliser as customers’ demands for organic fertiliser is mounting.

Investors happy about new cut in corporate income taxVietNamNet Bridge - The stock market has shown positive reactions to the disclosure of the government’s intention to slash the corporate income tax (CIT) from 20-22 percent to 15-17 percent. HSC believes that the tax reduction will not have a big impact on the tax collections, but will bring significant economic benefits. The figure is equal to 3.5 percent of total revenue from CIT collections and 0.8 percent of total revenue from tax collections. The stock market bounced back after the announcement as investors hope large corporations will also enjoy the tax reduction. Nguyen Tri Hieu, a finance expert, commented that the tax reduction, if applied only to SMEs, will be significant.

Vietnam spends $194 million on pesticidesViet Nam spent US$58 million to import pesticides and raw materials in March, lifting total imports of the commodities in the first three months of this year to $194 million. The imports mainly came from China, accounting for 54.2 per cent of the total value, Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) reported. According to statistics from the Department of Plant Protection, Viet Nam currently has about 1,700 pesticide active ingredients with 4,080 goods. Apart from pesticides, the country also imports a lot of fertiliser. It is estimated that the volume of imported fertiliser in March reached 350,000 tonnes, worth $100 million.

Massive breeding of tra fish poses risks to farmers, environmentVietNamNet Bridge – Diep Thi Nguon, a farmer in Long An Province, says she decided to breed tra fish in recent years because of the anticipated high profits. Households in Tân Hưng District in Long An Province dig ponds to breed tra fish on their rice fields. “After the first tra fish breeding crop, I plan to dig even more ponds,” Nguon said, pointing to her rice field. For example, on average, a farmer earns a profit of VND100-300 million per hectare for breeding fish. Although tra fish breeding brings higher income than rice farming, the local authority discourages farmers from the practice because of the challenges related to output.