Expanding Tan Son Nhat International AirportThere are many arguments related to the solutions proposed by ADPi and local organisations to expand Tan Son Nhat International Airport. This company was appointed as the consultant contractor to draw up the plan of Tan Son Nhat airport in Octorber 2017. According to the expert group set up by Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, expanding Tan Son Nhat to the north is more plausible. ADPi forecasts a passenger growth of 4.5 per cent per year at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. By 2025, before Long Thanh International Airport starts operation, the demand at Tan Son Nhat will surely exceed 50 million passengers.

Oscars 2018: Man arrested for theft of Frances McDormand's OscarA man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar after the awards ceremony on Sunday. Los Angeles Police have confirmed Terry Bryant was arrested for grand theft, after the statuette went missing from the Governor's Ball. A representative for the actress told USA Today: "Fran and Oscar are happily reunited and are enjoying an In-N-Out burger together". She finished her speech with the words: "I have two words to leave you with tonight - inclusion rider." McDormand's Oscar was awarded for playing a vengeance-seeking mother who is let down by the authorities after her daughter is raped and murdered.

US’s aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson visits Da NangThe aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain and the destroyer USS Wayne E.Meyer of the US Navy anchored at Tien Sa Port, Da Nang city on May 5. Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at Da Nang Bay. Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at Da Nang Bay. Destroyer USS Wayne E.Meyer and aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson at Da Nang Bay. Guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain at Tien Sa port, Da Nang city.

Indonesia and Thailand to resume car exports following Decree 116Indonesia and Thailand, Vietnam’s two major car exporters, are trying to provide the Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) certificates to reopen car exports to the country after Decree 116 tightened quality checks. Indonesia and Thailand are Vietnam's top car import marketsIndonesia and Thailand, Vietnam’s two major car exporters, are trying to change the Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) certificates to reopen car exports to the country after Decree 116 tightened quality checks. Indonesia has also sent sample of VTA to the Vietnamese authorities for confirmation of the acceptance of the requirement in line with Decree 116. New regulations issued by the Vietnamese government forced Indonesia to stop the exports of completely built-up (CBU) vehicles to Vietnam this month. Car importers in Vietnam are now required to obtain a VTA certification, which details the incoming vehicles' quality, safety, and environmental protection specs.

Developing domestic automobile industry to counter importsIncreasing the value of domestic production and promoting the automobile supporting industry must not depend on foreign direct investment (FDI) firms. Vietnam needs a reasonable policy to protect and develop domestic automobile industryRemoving import taxAccording to an evaluation report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the average localisation rate in the domestic automobile industry is only 7-10 per cent, much lower than the 65-70 per cent in regional countries and 80 per cent in Thailand. Currently, Vietnam is considering approving automobile firms to enhance car imports and removing the Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) certificate and other tight requirements. In order to develop the automobile industry, Dong said that Vietnam needs a strategy to protect the domestic industry while limiting car imports. The representatives of Vinafast also confirmed purchasing domestically-manufactured components and spare parts as well as support and collaborate with manufacturers and part suppliers to develop the automobile industry of the country.

HCM City real estate: eastern, western parts of city are ‘hot spots’VietNamNet Bridge - The eastern part of the city will still be hot in 2018, while infrastructure works in the western part will attract house and apartment buyers, analysts say. Meanwhile, Phuc Khang Corp has announced it will develop a housing project in the Thu Thiem urban area, also in 2018. The eastern part of the city has been driving the local market for several years. In 2016, the eastern part of the city led the market in terms of apartment supply with 35 percent of market share, while the western part was 22 percent. RELATED NEWSReal estate firms urged to listWhat will the real estate market be like in 2018?

Sagrimexco and Saigon Food are among many domestic companies that are leading the Vietnamese fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. Kantar Worldpanel’s Asia Brand Power report released on January 15 said in rural areas, Vietnamese brands hold a 78 per cent market share. With the current low consumption level in the Vietnamese market, the FCMG sector still offers huge prospects to investors. Many analysts fear however that their impressive achievements have put many local FMCG enterprises on the radar of foreign investors, who could easily buy them lock, stock and barrel. An SBV official said many agricultural enterprises are unable to borrow because of this requirement since they do not have assets.

Italian Design Day targets sustainable creationsVietnamese and Italian designers and architects will gather in Hanoi to celebrate Italian Design Day. Under the framework of Italian Design Day, a fashion show and workshop on creating a sustainable and environment-friendly fashion industry will take place on March 17-19 in Hà Nội. Italian Design Day celebrates the globally acknowledged leadership of the “Made in Italy” label. “Italian design combines the concreteness of traditional craftsmanship and the spirit of experimentation. By integrating the beauty of design into mass production, Italian design has fostered the coexistence of art and industry along a mutual development process,” she said.

Vingroup to join in higher educationThe property developer Vingroup has officially announced its plan to join in the field of higher education by establishing VinUni University (VinUni). After successful completion of the Vinschool Inter-Level School model, VinUni will be a non-profit private Vietnamese university built on a par with international standards, integrating the elite model of higher education in the world. VinUni aspires to create a breakthrough in the quality of higher education in Viet Nam, aiming to achieve world-class standards. VinUni is also geared to meet the world-class standards and rankings in higher education, such as Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education. VinUni University will focus on the education and training in three key areas including business, technology and health sciences.

Hailstorms destroy crops, houses in Ha GiangTens of houses and several hectares of vegetable crops in the northern mountain province of Ha Giang were reportedly damaged in hailstorms on Sunday. Unusual hailstorms and whirlwinds damaged houses and crops in some districts of Ha Giang Province. According to preliminary reports, a hailstorm blew away a medical station and the roofs of nearly 70 houses in Meo Vac District. In Dong Van and Yen Minhdistricts, hailstorms damaged dozens of houses and several hectares of vegetable crops. The commune authorities were asked to use the reserve budget to support the families whose houses were damaged.

Banks need to recruit more employees to expandMany banks throughout the country need to recruit more employees for their newly opened branches this year or to replace staff members who quit their jobs before the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. More than 52 percent of these organisations plan to increase their staff in the first quarter and 68.7 percent will recruit more employees for the whole year, the SBV statistics say. Thirty seven percent of employers also said that in order to increase the efficiency of recruitment, banks should consider offering financial incentives to attract candidates. Moreover, the average annual salary increase of the surveyed candidates is quite high. Forty percent of them have an annual salary increase of over 10 percent.

Techcombank to sell treasury shares to foreign investorsVietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) plans to sell more than 158 treasury shares to foreign investors. Techcombank will prioritise investors from the United States and Europe for the treasury share sale. Anh said Techcombank would prioritise investors from the United States and Europe for the sale. The bank will also sell 14 million preferred shares from the treasury stock, equal to 1.5 per cent of the bank’s charter capital, to its employees in the second quarter of the year. The proceeds from the treasury share sale will be used to increase the bank’s assets, expand its network and credit operations and for investments in Government bonds.

First duty-free ASEAN cars arrive in VietnamOver 2,000 Honda cars from Thailand - the first batches of cars to enjoy zero percent import duty under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) have been imported to Vietnam. A Honda CR-V car (Photo: caranddriver)Under the AFTA commitments, a zero percent tax is applicable to cars imported from the bloc, with a localisation rate of 40 percent or more in the country of origin, starting January 1 this year. “The price of each car is expected to fall by more than 200 million VND. Earlier, the insiders calculated that with the zero percent import tax, the price of imported cars from ASEAN countries to Vietnam would fall by 20-25 percent. Toyota Motor Vietnam and Ford Vietnam are completing procedures to meet the requirements of Decree 116 to import cars which are favourites in Vietnam, such as the Ford Explorer, Everest, Ranger, Toyota Fortuner and Yaris.-VNA

Vietnam likely to export 6.5 million tonnes of rice in 2018Vietnam may export 6.5 million tonnes of rice in 2018, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan. Transporting rice for exportHigh-quality rice accounts for a large proportion of total rice export volume and normal rice makes up less than 20 percent, Tuan said. The Philippines was the biggest importer of Vietnamese rice, accounting for 26.9 percent of the market share. Vietnam is doing well in increasing rice quality, Deputy Minister Tuan said, suggesting the country focus on improving the brand name of its rice. Last year, Vietnam pocketed 2.6 billion USD from exporting 5.8 million tonnes of rice.-VNA

AI can recognize faces through masksVietNamNet Bridge - Even with face masks or beards, artificial intelligence (AI) can recognize faces at a high accuracy rate of 86 percent, according to a study "Identification of human faces through inadequate information" by Vo Hoang Trong, a Mathematics and Information Technology major from HCMC National University. FaceID technology on Apple's phones builds a three-dimensional model of human faces based on sensors, which makes it easier to identify different sides and hidden faces. Trong decided to use AI to recognize human faces in different conditions, even when images have low quality. Many smart urban areas have used the solution to recognize human faces in the crowd through security cameras, or identify persons going in/out of companies. He suggested using individuals’ images on identity cards, student cards and passports to train computers, so that they can recognize faces later.