Hanif Salim assumes post of Consul General of Indonesia in HCM CityHanif Salim has officially assumed the post of Consul General of Indonesia in Ho Chi Minh City after he received a written approval from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on March 9. From left: Mr. Hanif Salim, Indonesian Ambassador to VN Ibnu Hadi and Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu, Head of the Consular Department of the VN Foreign Ministry. In his speech, Hanif Salim expressed his honour to be Consul General of Indonesia in HCM City, the most populous city and an important economic hub of Vietnam. Hanif Salim began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia in 1992. Before he was appointed Consul General in HCM City by the country’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on January 12, 2018, he was Director of Political Research at the National Resilience Institute of Indonesia.-VNA

Cai Rang Floating Market to be strong tourism brand of Can ThoAuthorities of Can Tho gathered on March 9 to discuss measures to boost local tourism, especially Cai Rang Floating Market which will be built into a strong tourism brand of the Mekong Delta city. While the transport department should swiftly complete transport facilities linking with key tourism sites, the health department needs to keep a close watch on popular tourism sites to prevent disease transmission and ensure food safety. The Department of Industry and Trade must strictly manage shops at tourism sites to ensure that goods are sold according to listed prices, he said. Many provinces in the Mekong Delta also have floating markets, and that’s why Cai Rang must be imbued with particular features of Can Tho. Authorities also need to support and encourage the private sector to create new tourism products, Tam added.

V.League 2018 expected to be a successThe 2018 season of V.League, which will begin on March 10, is expected to attract more football fans to stadiums thanks to the effects of the U23’s outstanding performance at the Asia Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China last January, experts said. The tournament this year goes with the official name of Nuti Cafe V.League 2018. In preparation for the tournament, the organisation board has upgraded football fields and increased security to ensure safety for spectators as well as players. The organisers have also set the time of the matches at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm to lure more spectators to the stadiums as well as attract viewers on television. The tournament brings together 14 clubs across the country, which will compete in 26 rounds with 182 matches, and will conclude on October 6.

Trump’s decision expected to hurt Vietnamese billionairesVietNamNet Bridge - The changes in policies being pursued by US President Donald Trump will have an impact on the pockets of Vietnamese billionaires. Chair of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh LongIn Vietnam, Hoa Phat Group of Tran Dinh Long, Hoa Sen Group of Le Phuoc Vu and Nam Kim are the biggest steel companies. HSG of Hoa Sen Group on March 5 fell by 4.9 percent in price, Nam Kim by 5.5 percent, Dana Steel 9.2 percent and POM 5.7 percent.Analysts give different forecasts about the impact of the anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese steel mills.In 2017, Hoa Phat Group exported 160,000 tons of bar and rolled steel products to some countries. ASEAN remains the biggest export market.Nevertheless, this is still bad news for domestic steel manufacturers in the long term.Hoa Phat, with large production capacity in the Hoa Phat Steel Complex in Dung Quat Industrial Zone, targets VND100 trillion in revenue. It may try to boost exports to the US, the world’s biggest steel import market, and one of the countries with high steel production costs.The US’s high tax imposition means that Vietnamese manufacturers will lose a vast market in the future.

New satellite data sharing system introducedThe satellite data sharing system, Vietnam Data Cube, has been introduced in the country, promising a satellite image database for Vietnamese earth observation satellite data users. Vietnam Data Cube aims to improve the capacity of users to use earth observation satellite data in Vietnam (File Photo)“It aims to find valuable data architecture solutions for global users and enhance the role of earth observation satellite data,” Pham Anh Tuan, Director General of the Vietnam National Space Centre under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology told a recent workshop. At the event, experts introduced Data Cube and its specific applications in many countries in the world, such as Vietnam Data Cube for forest, rice and water monitoring; demand on using satellite remote sensing data for the Mekong river basin as well as use at the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. So, for many applications, the challenge is not the lack of data but how to connect the data, applications and users. The challenges of data management and analysis due to the huge open and free satellite data volumes can be overcome by having in place new computing devices, technologies and data structures such as “Data Cube”, Tuan said.

Banar babies saved from being buried aliveSix-year-old Dinh Nay Thuong is living happily with her 58-year-old adopted mother in the Chu Se District in the central highlands province of Gia Lai. The adopted mother named the baby Thuong which means Love with the hope that she would receive more love from life when growing up. More Banar babies rescued from old customThuong is one of some lucky Banar babies in Tung Ke Village saved by people with new ways of thinking who are trying to fight against their depraved customs. Besides Phuoc, Long and his wife have saved two other babies from being buried alive with their dead mothers. "According to Banar custom, if a woman died, her breast-fed baby must be buried with her so that she could continue to raise it.

Over 2.3 million international and 4.3 million domestic tourists visited Danang last year, an increase of 39% and 11.2% compared to 2016. Danang has set goals to welcome 2.7 million international and 4.77 million tourists in 2018, earning VND22.50trn (USD988.59m) from tourism. "With the VTA adjustment, Indonesian automotive exports are expected to return to the country," the Jakarta Post quoted Indonesian Trade Ministry international trade director general, Oke Nuwan, as saying. VIB receives 2 international digital banking awardsVietnam International Bank (VIB) won two international digital banking awards at a ceremony in Hong Kong on Thursday. The award ceremony will be organised on April 18 at Viet Nam National Convention Centre in Ha Noi.

Japan invests big in Vietnamese real estateViet Nam’s real estate sector has witnessed significant participation from Japanese investors through cooperation with Vietnamese businesses recently, promising to bring benefits to the real estate market. In 2017, Japan has replaced the Republic of Korea as the largest foreign investor in Viet Nam in general, and in the real estate market in particular. — Photo tapchitaichinh.vnAccording to real estate company Savills Viet Nam, over the past years, Asian investors, including Japanese ones, were only involved in commercial real estate like commercial centres, serviced apartments or office buildings. Regarding potential cooperation between the two countries, Le Hoang Chau, president of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said, in 2017, Japan replaced the Republic of Korea as the largest foreign investor in Viet Nam in general, and in the real estate market in particular. The potential for investment and business cooperation among real estate companies in Japan and Viet Nam is very large, with 1,200 real estate development projects of Vietnamese enterprises in need of cooperation, joint ventures or teaming up with domestic and foreign businesses, especially Japanese ones.

HCMC aims to reduce property speculationThe People’s Committee of HCM City has proposed to impose a tax on apartments and houses which are sold within one year after purchasing, aiming to reduce speculation and ensure stability in the estate market. — Photo thoibaotaichinh.com.vnThe People’s Committee has submitted the proposal in its property market development project for the 2016-20 period with an orientation to 2025 and a vision to 2030 to the National Assembly and the Government. The city’s property market still lacks transparency, causing speculation, it cited. In the short-term, the Government could allow a pilot implementation of some new financial tools such as housing saving funds or a real estate investment trust (REITS) to diversify capital resources in the estate market. The city proposed that the Government replace the calculation of land use payments with a fixed tax rate of 10-15 per cent.

Banks’ services revenue leaps 35%Income from services of most of Viet Nam’s commercial banks surged sharply by an average of 35 per cent annually in the past three years. The achievements were a result of considerable investment by the banks to improve the quality of their retail banking services to enhance competitiveness in the market. This year, banks continuously expected the revenue from fees and retail banking services to become their main sources of income as a result of rising market demands. Vietcombank also expects to better exploit the potential retail banking segment this year. The bank last year recruited Thomas William Tobin, a senior Canadian expert in retail banking, to be its retail banking director.

Doctors help infertile couples with IVFVietNamNet Bridge – Four years ago, Doan Viet Ha and Pham Thi Trang of Hai Chau District, central city of Da Nang had their first son thanks to in vitro fertilization (IFV) treatment. Two other couples in Da Nang City also had children thanks to IVF at the Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children at that time. He warned that after IVF treatment, it can be a long path couples until the babies are born, and sometimes the procedure does not work. However, the rate also meant that failure is more likely than success, which creates pressure on both medical staff and infertile couples, Le said. IVF was usually considered the “last hope” for many infertile couples, Le said.

Vietnamese trade minister meets with Japanese, Chilean officialsVietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh had bilateral meetings with ministers of Japan and Chile on the sidelines of the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Chile on March 9. Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (L) and Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu MotegiMeeting with Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister Anh stressed that Vietnam highly values the leading role of Japan, especially Minister Motegi, in the promotion and negotiation on the CPTPP, which has high quality but still has necessary flexibilities that suit the development level of each member country. At the meeting with Chilean Foreign Minister Healdo Munos, Minister Tran Tuan Anh said Vietnam welcomes and highly appreciates Chile’s organisation of the CPTPP signing ceremony. Vietnam thanks Chile for its support during the CPTPP negotiation process, especially in issues Vietnam are interested in such as labour - trade union, he added. Regarding the bilateral ties, the two sides spoke highly of positive outcomes in trade reached over the past time, especially after the Vietnam – Chile free trade agreement (FTA) took effect.

Agreement to bolster ties between Vietnam’s localities, Australia’s VictoriaThe Foreign Ministry of Vietnam and the administration of the Australian state of Victoria signed an agreement on March 9 to facilitate connectivity and cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Victoria in the fields that both sides are interested in and Victoria is strong at. The agreement is expected to create conditions for enhancing connectivity and increasing support for effective cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Victoria in such areas as administration-to-administration ties, people-to-people exchange, trade, investment, education-training, science-technology, smart city building, agriculture, tourism, and services. During his stay, Director Long also attended and delivered a speech at a meeting on introducing the business environment in Vietnam. The Vietnamese delegation had working sessions with the agencies for external affairs of Victoria and Melbourne, the Business Council of Australia, and some Australian enterprises. They also visited the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and RMIT University.-VNA

Achain offers solutions to Blockchain scalabilityAchain, a public blockchain platform, offered solutions to problems related to blockchain scalability and adoption at the Viet Nam Blockchain Week on March 7 and 8. Achain’s representative (left-most) taking part in a discussion on blockchain scalability. Many companies are studying solutions as the mass adoption of blockchain continues. During a panel discussion, Achain proposed two solutions for this. Achain also proposed the forking theory in which it can create different forks (subchains) through which developers of future blockchain applications can gain access to users of the original blockchain and gain more exposure.

Vietnam U16 team top Group D at ASEAN eventVietnam’s national U16 team tied goalless with Miyazaki of Japan to top Group D of the international friendly tournament ASEAN 2018 held in Miyazaki on March 9. The Vietnamese side created several chances to open the score but they failed in the first half. Earlier, Vietnam defeated Laos 2-1. They topped Group D with four points after two matches, followed by Miyazaki with one point and Laos with zero. The event attracts the participation of 12 teams who are competing in a round robin format to choose the best team in each group to reach the semi-finals.-VNA