New cultural programme preserves traditional valuesVietNamNet Bridge – Dem Hoa Le (Wonderful Night), a cultural programme that offers cai luong (reformed opera) and hat boi (classical drama) shows, will be staged every week at Cho Lon Theatre in HCM City’s District 5, known as Chinatown. The first show will feature two excerpts from the play San Hau (The Reign) in tuong, a Vietnamese traditional theatrical form originating in the 12th century. “We have received support from traditional artists, cultural researchers and local authorities to stage Dem Hoa Le. He decorated his first ao dai in 1989 when the country’s first beauty contest Miss Ao Dai was held in HCM City. The programme Dem Hoa Le offers two shows on Saturday and Sunday night at 7pm at Cho Lon Theatre, 190 Hong Bang Street, District 5.

HCM City to auction 5,200 resettlement apartmentsVietNamNet Bridge – HCM City will auction 5,200 resettlement apartments and land lots out of nearly 14,000 unoccupied apartments and land lots initially designed for resident relocation, the Department of Construction has told a media briefing. Others include 1,000 units in the resettlement area of Vinh Loc B Commune in Binh Chanh District and 200 units in the Phu My resettlement project in District 7. Before the change, the State paid compensation for residents at a lower rate than market prices, therefore, they usually took the resettlement apartments rather than the money. Another reason that resettlement apartments have remained unoccupied is according to regulations, before relocating residents, the city has to make resettlement areas ready for them to move in. At least 3,790 apartments were built for District 2’s Binh Khanh resettlement area, but very few people have moved in.

Other crops to be planted on 120,138ha of rice fields in the southSome 120,138 ha of rice fields affected by a lack of water and saltwater intrusion in the southern region will be used to grow other crops in 2018, according to the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Corn, peanut, soybean, vegetables and fruits were grown on 16,500 ha of rice fields in the region in the 2017-2018 winter-spring crop. Growing fruits such as orange, grapefruit, longan, mango, rambutan, dragon fruit and durian in rice paddies in the south is becoming more popular because they have higher economic efficiency. In recent years, the MARD and authorities of localities have promoted switching crops on rice land areas affected by lack of water. In the context of climate change and prolonged drought, the switch also helps save irrigation water.-VNA

Vietnamese youth-run top baby brand goes to JapanNguyen Tuan Anh on March 17 launched an outlet to sell baby products and maternity wear of the UK-based Mamas & Papas brand in Japan. Nguyen Tuan Anh (Photo: Tomo/VNA)Anh, an IT engineer and Director of the NAL Pal Company, has been chosen to be the official distributor of the brand in Japan. Anh, born in 1983, said he will use both traditional and online marketing and sales strategies to promote the products in Japan. Beside a new shop in Tokyo-based Odaiba mall, he will sell Mamas & Papas products at other shopping centres in Tokyo, such as Roppongi and Ginza. The products will also be featured in Japanese magazines, namely Baby-mo, Bizmom, Hers, Crea, Baby life and Luxe, among others, according to Anh.-VNA

Turkey conducts second review of Vietnam’s V-shaped conveyor beltsThe Turkish Ministry of Economy has received a request for a second sunset review of anti-dumping measures applicable to Vietnam’s V-shaped conveyor belts (V-belt), according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Turkey. The Turkish Ministry of Economy has received a request for a second sunset review of anti-dumping measures applicable to Vietnam’s V-shaped conveyor belts (V-belt) (Photo: Department of Trade Defence under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam)The current duty on the V-belts imported from Vietnam is set at 4.55 USD per kg. The office said the investigation was initiated in 2006 and anti-dumping measures were applied in 2007. Turkey conducted the first sunset review in 2012 and kept the duty at 4.55 USD per kg. Upon receiving the petition, the Turkish authorities will consider evidence showing whether removing the duties will stop the dumping and causing losses to domestic production or not.-VNA

The ministry said many organisations and persons took advantage of information technology and the internet to organise online gambling rings through betting or card games. Rikvip began operations on April 18, 2015 on the websites rikvip.com and rikvip.vn, featuring 42 games simulating different forms of gambling. They also used the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) services to help gamblers send money to game accounts from bank accounts while issuing Vcard and GoCoin game cards with the same purpose. The gambling organisers set up a system of gambling agencies nationwide, including 25 tierl-1 agencies and 5,852 tier-2 agencies. Leaders of the ministry assigned the investigation to the Investigation Security Agency under the Department of Public Security of Phu Tho province.

Int’l U19 football event to start on March 22VietNamNet Bridge – The International U19 Football Tournament will begin on March 22-30 instead of March 20-30, the event’s organising board announced. Vietnam U19 team seen in a training session as they prepare for the international U19 event. So Vietnam U19 team will make every effort to give fans interesting matches. The team are the harmonious combination of the four best teams of the national event, and many of them are national players,” said coach Vu Hong Viet. The hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai, who finished third in the same event held last year, have strengthened their force with young talents Nguyen Duy Kien and Nguyen Van Van.

Sand sediments strand ships in central provinceVietNamNet Bridge – The serious encroachment of sand sediment along Lach Bang Sea Port in Tinh Gia District of central Thanh Hoa Provine has been blocking many cargo ships and fishing vessels as they try to approach the port. In 2016, the total amount of goods transported to the Lach Bang Sea Port was 246,000 tonnes. On the Lach Bang wharf, small boats formed a long line – they had no goods to transport to hore. Nguyen Van Dong, owner of two fishing ships in Hai Binh Commune, said his ships have been unable to sail since the end of the Tet holidays (Viet Nam’s Lunar New Year festival). Sand sediments along the sea port could easily strand the ships,” he told Natural Resources (Tai Nguyen Moi Truong) Newspaper.

Koreans flood VN finance firmsInstitutions from the Republic of Korea (RoK) have increased their investment in Viet Nam’s financial market significantly, expecting to gain from the market, thanks to the economic growth outlook. In January, RoK’s Shinhan Card Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Shinhan Financial Group (Shinhan), announced the acquiring of 100 per cent stake of Prudential Vietnam Finance Company at a cost of US$151 million. Last year, Shinhan Bank Vietnam, a wholly owned unit of Shinhan Bank, also acquired the retail division of ANZ in Viet Nam. Besides the acquisition and capital contribution to Vietnamese financial institutions, Korean investors have also increased their presence in Viet Nam’s financial market through comprehensive co-operation with local financial firms. In mid-April, Korea Development Bank (KDB) marked its presence in Viet Nam through a comprehensive cooperation agreement with BIDV.— VNS

SOEs face punishment over infoThe Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has asked the Government to handle the State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that failed to disclose their business information in 2017. By the end of 2017, only 265 out of 622 SOEs had sent reports to publicise their information on MPI’s business information portal. According to the ministry’s report, by the end of 2017, only 265 out of 622 SOEs had sent reports to publicise their information on MPI’s business information portal. They include the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Vietnam Express Corporation, Viet Nam Northern Food Corporation, Agriculture and Rural Development Bank and enterprises under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As of December 31, 2017, only 20 out of 84 governing bodies disclosed their business information in line with the decree.

Ly Hoang Nam runner-up at India F3 FuturesTop Vietnamese tennis player Ly Hoang Nam finished runner-up at the India F3 Futures tennis tournament on March 17. Vietnamese tennis player Ly Hoang Nam. — Photo mediacdn.vnNam, world No 475, lost to Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India, world No 235, 3-6, 4-6 in the men’s singles final after 67 minutes. This is the first time Nam has entered the international event’s final match in the men’s singles category since early this year. Earlier, Nam also reached the finals in the men’s doubles at the India F2 event.

Catfish sector plans $2b export target in 2018The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has targeted to earn US$2 billion from catfish exports this year, accounting for 31.5 per cent of the fishery industry’s total export value. To meet its targets, Oai said that the industry needs to improve the quality of catfish breeding, besides enlarging export markets. Van further said catfish farms are lacking high-quality catfish breeds, which negatively affects the quantity of fish during the growing process. At the conference, experts also expressed their concern about the importing of Vietnamese catfish via a small-scale by Chinese buyers. According to Vo Dong Duc, director of Caseamex, it is troubling that China has recently imported a substantial amount of Vietnamese catfish via a small-scale.

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 19/3Banks offer preferential credit packages to businessesBanks have launched credit packages with preferential interest rates, aiming to assist capital sources for businesses and further boost domestic production. In fact, many Vietnamese enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still facing long-standing difficulties in accessing loans. The conference was organised by the Netherlands Embassy in Viet Nam and saw the participation of some 150 enterprises from the two countries. It is expected that in the 2018-20 period, the WB will lend Viet Nam about US$4 billion, according to Achim. Head of Project Administration Unit of ADB in Viet Nam Steven Schipani said the ADB would focus more on transport, energy and water supply this year.

Online retail market may fall into Chinese hands: expertsVietNamNet Bridge - Three giant e-commerce corporations, Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com of China, have arrived in Vietnam. Many foreign retail chains have entered Vietnam and expanded their network in the domestic market, such as Lotte, Aeon and MM Mega Market. The same thing may happen in the online retail market. Many foreign retail chains have entered Vietnam and expanded their network in the domestic market, such as Lotte, Aeon and MM Mega Market. The same thing may happen in the online retail market.

Organ transplantation technology needs new policyVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s organ transplantation technique is now on equal footing with developed countries, experts say. The organ transplant center saw a sudden surge in the number of people registering to donate organs after their deaths. Speaking about organ transplant techniques, Quyet said that Vietnam's technique is approaching world levels. “The hospital once carried out seven organ transplant operations – 3 kidney transplant operations with organs from living people, 2 kidney transplant operations from brain-dead people, and one liver and 1 heart transplant operations,” Quyet said. If they have an organ transplant, they will recover just one week after the operation and can return to work after several months.