As a key part of the Asian furniture fair circuit, VIFA EXPO 2025 promises to meet the diverse requirements of buyers worldwide, who are seeking a wide variety of furniture and wooden goods from Vietnam and beyond. The expo is expected to feature more than 600 exhibitors with over 3,000 booths, making the 16th VIFA EXPO in 2025 the largest edition ever. For the first time, VIFA EXPO 2025 will be held concurrently at two of the largest exhibition centers in Ho Chi Minh City: SECC and SKY EXPO. It has hosted many prestigious international exhibitions and events across various industries, including VIFA EXPO, VIETBUILD, Solar & Storage, and Lifestyle Vietnam. With increasing demand from participants in this trade show, VIFA EXPO 2025 will, for the first time, expand across both exhibition centers: SECC and SKY EXPO.

HÀ NỘI — Placing restrictions for individual investors in buying and selling private corporate bonds is a step in the right direction, said market analysts and experts. The draft securities law has been reported to restrict individual investors in the private corporate bond market, while facilitating foreign investors' activities. Only institutional investors will be allowed to trade corporate bonds, except for private bonds issued by credit institutions. On the other hand, institutional investors are significantly better equipped and have more experiences and knowledge to handle the risks associated with private corporate bonds. According to FiinRatings, limiting individual investors' participation in the private corporate bond market aligns with international practices.

Many florists in Ho Chi Minh City have hesitated to restock and voiced concerns over slow sales on Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20) because the demand for flowers was expected to be sluggish. “I did not dare to restock my shop with flowers as shoppers seemed to be shying away from purchases," Bich lamented. “A few years ago, up to 40 percent of shop's flowers were sold on October 19, but this year, just 20-25 percent here found buyers.”She hoped that the demand would be higher on Vietnamese Women’s Day. At his flower shop, a rose branch sells for VND15,000 (US$0.6), while the price of a bouquet ranges from VND200,000 ($8) to VND700,000 ($28). Qui predicted that while the demand for flowers might rise on Sunday, Vietnamese Women’s Day, prices will likely remain unchanged or could even drop in the afternoon if sales slow.

Studying at two universitiesRecently, Hieu was offered a full scholarship from RMIT University Vietnam, which covers all of his undergraduate tuition fees, English program costs, and additional mandatory charges. Meanwhile, he has just started his second year in the marketing technology program at UEH. When asked about his motivation, Hieu attributed it to his desire to seize opportunities that many visually impaired individuals do not have. He worked with classmates from Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School for the Visually Impaired on the Microsoft-funded 'Neverland' project in eleventh grade. Empowering visually impaired individualsHieu's passion lies in marketing, particularly technology marketing.

HÀ NỘI — A national conference on implementing the strategic resolution from the 10th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee was held on Sunday in Hà Nội, with the country’s top leaders and over 1.2 million Party members in attendance both in person and online. Accordingly, the 10th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee in September has set out strategic directions, breakthroughs and principles to fulfil these development aspirations. The Politburo will soon study and issue a resolution on national digital transformation. Regarding preparations for the 14th National Party Congress in 2026, top leader Lâm underlined building and ensuring the quality of documents for Party meetings at all levels, with each locality required to define the directions and solutions to implement socialism that align with their conditions. Lê Minh Hưng, secretary of the Central Party Committee and head of the Central Organisation Commission, also presented the draft report on Party building and Party Charter implementation in its 13th term, as well as several key points regarding the amendment of election regulations within the Party and personnel work for the 13th and 14th National Party Congresses.

HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly (NA) is expected to vote on the new State President on the first day of its eighth session on Monday in accordance with the Constitution and laws. This is part of the personnel-related tasks in the tentative agenda for the upcoming meeting of the 15th-tenure assembly, revealed at a press conference on Sunday. Previously, the 10th session of the 13th Party Central Committee reached a consensus on qualified candidates for the position of President for the 2021-26 term. The NA is expected to review and vote on 15 laws and three legal resolutions as well as commenting on 13 law projects. Given the importance of this NA meeting, Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm is expected to deliver a speech at the opening session.

FAO Representative to Vietnam Rémi Nono Womdim said that in Vietnam, the proportion of the population that cannot afford a healthy diet is much lower than in neighbouring countries. They plan to mobilise more long-term resources supporting the province to implement programmes and projects on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. He recommended UNESCO continue initiatives and programmes to promote sustainable development goals (SDGs) in education, enhance the effectiveness of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, and combine culture and heritage for sustainable development. They emphasised Vietnam's exemplary role in harmonising the conservation and promotion of heritage values and sustainable development. To implement these programmes, the Government has issued an action plan and established the Central Steering Committee for the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction.

Experts have pointed out the significant untapped potential for combining cultivation of medicinal herbs with ecotourism in Việt Nam, thanks to the country’s rich diversity of medicinal resources. Việt Nam is home to more than 5,110 species and subspecies of medicinal plants, used for health and healing purposes. Several localities have successfully combined medicinal herb cultivation with forestry development and ecotourism. Tuấn proposes some strategies for Việt Nam to replicate these successes. Standards for both medicinal products and tourism services should also be established to ensure quality, safety, and consistency.

A storm or a tropical depression is expected to form in the East Vietnam Sea between October 23 and 25, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. The center forecast that an intertropical convergence zone will form in the East Vietnam Sea between October 21 and 22. In the zone, tropical cyclones may take shape. The national weather forecast agency also predicted that tides in coastal regions in the southeastern region will remain high until October 22. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

The man voluntarily took out seven yellow metal pieces, believed to be gold. He confessed that he had been hired to transport the gold from Hong Kong to Vietnam and would have been paid 100 Hong Kong dollars (US$12.9) for each piece. A person would have met him at Noi Bai International Airport to collect the metal. The foreign man who hid the yellow metal pieces in his body works with Vietnamese authorities on October 18, 2024. A leader of the customs agency at Noi Bai International Airport said they would raise vigilance to detect fraudulent activities.

Gender equity and inclusion in disaster risk management were among the issues discussed at formal sessions of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) 2024 recently held in Manila, Philippines. MANILA — Gender equity and inclusion in disaster risk management were among the issues discussed at formal sessions of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) 2024 recently held in Manila, Philippines. The 10th Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction lasted for five days, from October 14 to 18, with the theme “Surge to 2030: Enhancing ambition in Asia Pacific to accelerate disaster risk reduction”. Delegates focused on discussing three main issues, including Practical solutions to increase financing for disaster risk reduction; Leaving no one behind: Gender-equitable and inclusive disaster risk management; and Localisation and resilience of urban and rural areas. Despite many challenges, when women are leaders in disaster preparedness, response and recovery, their contributions can improve the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction efforts.

Hong Kong SAR's Chief Executive John Lee (second right) listened to local residents' views before formulating his Policy Address. The 2024 Policy Address overarches the priority of improving people’s livelihood and promoting a caring community. HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 19 October 2024 - John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, announced his annual Policy Address (October 16), with the overarching priority of improving people's livelihood and promoting a caring community. The Government will also give young family applicants and one‑person applicants aged below 40 greater chance in applying for subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats. A three-year pilot scheme will be launched next year to subsidise elderly recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to reside in designated residential care homes in Guangdong.

Phase 1 (2024-25) will focus on 200,000 hectares with appropriate production infrastructure and cooperative capacity to produce and connect with businesses, targeting high-quality, low-emission rice. Key legal frameworks, including technical processes for high-quality, low-emission rice production in the Mekong Delta and a national plan to measure emission reductions, have been issued. 'Rice revolution' Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has called for revitalising the rice production through digital technology, green development, the circular economy, the sharing economy, the knowledge economy, and the application of science, technology, and innovation. PM Chính urged for faster progress in achieving the target of one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, aiming for 14-15 million tonnes of rice and 9-10 million tonnes of high-quality rice by 2030, or earlier if possible. Among the key tasks, the application of science and technology would be critical to building high-quality rice brands, including geographical indications, traceability, and planting area codes.

Chinese e-commerce platforms are facilitating an influx of low-cost products into Vietnam, tormenting Vietnamese enterprises. Chinese products sold in Vietnam via Temu, Taobao, and 1688 are challenging Vietnamese enterprises in terms of price, quality, and service. The influx of these low-cost Chinese commodities at such stores or on e-commerce platforms like Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop is starting to chip away at Vietnamese market shares. With such a large price difference, buying Chinese products is a no-brainer for Tran. In the Vietnamese market, Shopee currently holds a 61-percent market share, followed by TikTok Shop with 24 percent and Lazada with 14 percent.

HCM CITY— Vietnam International Bank (VIB) has announced the official launch of its Card Design On Demand, powered by Fiza x Zalo AI's Generative AI (Gen AI) technology. This allows clients to showcase their distinctive style and personal brand through customised credit card designs. Head of VIB’s Card Division, Tường Nguyễn, said: “With the Card Design On Demand, we are proud to offer an unlimited creative platform where customers can express their identity and personality through their credit card. From now until October 31, all existing and new VIB credit cardholders can experience the Card Design On Demand completely free of charge. With the launch of the Card Design On Demand, VIB customers can now not only customise the functionality of their credit cards but also personalise their appearance.