Increasing the regional minimum wage has raised concerns over a potential trade-off with social allowances that would block the new wages from increasing employees' real income.  Hugaco  expressed concerns that the minimum wage increase might actually decrease employees' real income Cutting allowances to increase wages At the final meeting organised on August 7 to discuss regional minimum wages increases in 2018, relevant authorities reached a compromise of 6.5 per cent to submit to the prime minister for approval. If approved, the increase will come into effect on January 1, 2018, however, questions were still raised whether employees will actually benefit from the increased regional minimum wage. According to Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs cum chairman of the National Salary … [Read more...]

NDO/VNA – Officials of the APEC Health Working Group gathered in Ho Chi Minh City on August 21, aiming to address a range of issues in order to build a healthy Asia-Pacific region. In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Le Quang Cuong highlighted health as a critical component of the economic and trade development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Investment in health is the key to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, he said, adding that better health leads to greater wealth, which will be an essential driver for long-term economic development growth. Cuong reviewed Vietnam’s hosting of the first Health Working Group Meeting in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province, from February 23-24, with the theme of “Health system strengthening, towards sustainable development” and focusing on five priorities. The priorities include; ensuring progress on universal health coverage in APEC economies towards a healthy … [Read more...]

NDO - Hanoi will organise a series of activities to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day with the aim of fostering patriotism amongst the people. On the National Day (September 2), various arts and sports performances will take place at the August Revolution Square, Ly Thai To Flower Garden, My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi's outskirts town of Son Tay, and Hanoi's outskirts district of Dong Anh. Arts performances will also be held for the public at industrial zones in Soc Son and Noi Bai on September 2. In addition, a Hanoi open bicycle race will take place around the Hoan Kiem Lake on August 27 morning to celebrate the August Revolution and National Day. A bicycle race for the VTV Cup will also take place around the Hoan Kiem Lake on the National Day. In addition the national concert named “Dieu Con Mai” (Things Everlasting) will once again be brought to the stage at the Hanoi Opera House on September 2. The concert … [Read more...]

A Vietnamese scientist has invented and successfully tested a firefighting liquid that can douse fire in one-tenth of a second, which will be a great help in controlling widespread blazes. Testing new firefighting liquid. - Photo courtesy of Dr Doãn Hà Thắng The liquid will make it much easier and faster to stamp out a large fire compared to traditional methods of firefighting that use materials such as water, carbon dioxide and foam. Dr Doãn Hà Thắng, one of the first Vietnamese scientists being trained in plasma physics in Japan, has invented the material based on global research on extinguishing fire using space technology. Thắng is chief of Việt Nam Space Committee’s Office and the “founding father” of Việt Nam’s first English-teaching … [Read more...]

The location of the Cai Lậy Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll station on National Highway No 1 was appropriate, according to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Ngọc Đông. The location of the Cai Lậy Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll station on National Highway No 1 was appropriate, according to Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyễn Ngọc Đông.- Photo zing.vn The official made the declaration at a feisty meeting on Thursday, which featured pointed questions from local media on the toll station in Tiền Giang Province. The toll station was temporarily suspended from operation on Tuesday due to strong opposition from drivers on August 13 and 14, only two weeks after it opened on August 1 with fees set at VNĐ35,000 ($1.5) to VNĐ180,000 ($7.8), depending on the … [Read more...]

The installation of exercising equipment in parks and other public areas has been an unqualified success in the capital city. Residents do morning exercises with outdoor sports equipment at the Thống Nhất Park in Hà Nội. - Photo hanoimoi.com.vn The free outdoor gyms that began springing up three years ago have proved very popular with residents, prompting more people to exercise regularly. Đinh Văn Luyến, Head of Public Sports Division under the city’s Department of Culture and Sports, said that between 2014 and 2016, exercise equipment was installed in the seven districts of Long Biên, Ba Đình, Tây Hồ, Hà Đông, Thanh Xuân, Hai Bà Trưng and Cầu Giấy. “The free outdoor gyms have been welcomed and … [Read more...]

NDO - The Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association received a decision from the People's Committee of Kien Giang province on August 18 in recognition of Phu Quoc fish sauce as a traditional craft. In addition, the fish sauce making village on Phu Quoc Island has been recognised as a traditional craft village. Huynh Quang Hung, Vice Chairman of Phu Quoc district People's Committee, said that Phu Quoc fish sauce is the first product of Vietnam to receive the EU Certificate of Protected Designation of Origin of Phu Quoc (PDO "Phu Quoc"), demonstrating the great attention of the authorised agencies and Kien Giang province to the craft of making Phu Quoc fish sauce. Hung noted that the People's Committee of Phu Quoc district will consider the planning of a construction site for concentrated fish sauce production facilities to ensure the sustainability of the traditional craft, as well as helping to improve and preserve the quality of Phu Quoc fish sauce. Furthermore, the Phu Quoc … [Read more...]

MIAMI: The first total solar eclipse to sweep North America in nearly a century will march across the continent on Monday (Aug 21), casting a shadow over millions of people from coast to coast. On August 21, 2017, the Earth will cross the shadow of the moon, creating the first US coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in nearly 100 years. (Photo: AFP/Handout) The event, coined the "Great American Eclipse," is inspiring a surge in tourism in the United States, along with sky-high prices for travel to key viewing spots and a rise in scams such as counterfeit solar eclipse glasses. Celebrations are planned nationwide, including weddings timed to coincide with the eclipse and a live Caribbean cruise ship performance of the 1983 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by the singer herself, Bonnie Tyler. In a nation that is … [Read more...]

At least six people were killed and several others injured on Friday morning in an explosion in Khanh Son District, central coastal Khanh Hoa Province, authority officials said. An explosion occurs on Friday in To Hap Township, central coastal Khanh Hoa Province, killing six and injuring several others. - Google map Photo According to Dinh Ngoc Son, chairman of the district’s Peoples Committee, the explosion occurred at about 9am in To Hap Town, killing three adults and three children. Among those injured, one is in very serious condition and was taken to a general hospital near Cam Ranh area, Son said. Soon after receiving news about the explosion, district authority representatives together with emergency rescue forces and investigators arrived at the accident site in an attempt to deal with its … [Read more...]

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will arrange a new task for Ho Thi Kim Thoa after she was dismissed from the position of Deputy Minister. Sabeco officially dismisses Vu Quang Hai Ho Thi Kim Thoa, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade On August 16, 2017, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed the Decision No.1203/QD-TTg to dismiss Ho Thi Kim Thoa from her position of Deputy Minister of MoIT. She will be reassigned to another task, but no specifics have been released yet. On July 28, Ho Thi Kim Thoa submitted her resignation for personal reasons. On August 1, she handed in her leave of absence letter and since then she had not appeared at the ministry. During her off-work period, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai has taken over her regular … [Read more...]

He is also one of the 10 persons receiving the ASEAN Biodiversity Heroes Award on the occasion of ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary. Huynh, 88, has spent more than six decades studying biology, greatly contributing to biodiversity conservation in Vietnam and other countries in the region. He is able to inspire the community to biodiversity conservation and development and was recognized as one of the leading scientists of Vietnam. Prof., Dr. Dang Huy Huynh has become the first Vietnamese to be honored as an ASEAN Biodiversity Hero. He has had a number of valuable scientific works, including 154 studies published on prestigious Vietnamese and foreign science magazines and 14 books on animals, ecology, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. The scientist also played a significant role in launching an annual workshop to share experience in biodiversity conservation in Truong Son mountain range, … [Read more...]

NDO - The North South Highway and Tan Son Nhat airport expansion have been added to the list of major projects in the transport sector. The supplement to the list was made following a request from Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at a working session with the National Steering Committee on Major Transport Projects, held on August 17. Deputy PM Dung, who is also head of the National Steering Committee on Major Transport Projects, asked the Ministry of Transport to accelerate the progress of major projects through reviewing project records and accelerating land clearance. He also directed the Transport Ministry to quickly define the investment costs of each km of the North South Highway and complete the investment plan on the highway in order to submit it to the National Assembly at the upcoming meeting. The Ministry of Transport reported that Vietnam currently has 37 major transport projects with a total investment of over VND1,000 … [Read more...]

Construction on some roads in HCM City will be suspended during the third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) from August 18-30 and the APEC Ministerial Meeting from September 9-15. Road construction will be suspended during the third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) from August 18-30 and APEC Ministerial Meeting from September 9-15. - VNA/VNS Photo Suspension of construction will occur on the following streets: Võ Thị Sáu – Cách Mạng Tháng 8 – Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai – Cống Quỳnh – Nguyễn Cư Trinh – Nguyễn Thái Học – Ông Lãnh Bridge – Vĩnh Phước – Hoàng Diệu – Nguyễn Tất Thành … [Read more...]

NDO/VNA – The capital city of Hanoi has been taking efforts to stamp out the dengue fever outbreak which has plagued the city in recent months, with nearly 15,400 cases reported in 12 districts so far this year. >>> Hanoi implements large-scale environmental sanitation to prevent dengue fever By August 15, 18 large-scale mosquito spraying machines had been handed over to the city’s Preventive Medicine Centre. Three other machines are being repaired and will be brought to the city. From now until the end of this month, Hanoi plans to conduct a large-scale mosquito spraying campaign, focusing on crowded areas such as markets, schools, construction sites, abandoned land and houses. Residents will be informed before the spraying occurs. In areas where cars and trucks can approach, large spraying machines will be used at night while small sprayers will be used at households during daytime. Hanoi has been supplied with more 30 small spraying machines … [Read more...]

NDO – Winners of the fourth writing contest depicting the silent contributions provided by Vietnamese medical staff towards the care of people’s heath were honoured at an awards ceremony in Hanoi on August 16. The ceremony was attended by Politburo member, Secretary of Party Central Committee (PCC) and Head of PCC Commission for Communication and Education, Vo Van Thuong; PCC member and Deputy Prime Minister, Vu Duc Dam; and Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien. The first prize of this year’s contest was presented to Ha Van Dao, a journalist from Lao Dong & Xa Hoi (Labour and Society) Newspaper, for his article portraying doctor Vo Thanh Dung, head of the medical station in Yang Reh commune, K’Rong Bong district, Dak Lak province. Doctor Vo Thanh Dung has made every effort to win the trust of local residents, encouraging them to receive treatment from modern pharmacies rather than appealing for help from the gods. Nha Bao va Cong Luan … [Read more...]

Hà Nội has been taking efforts to stamp out the dengue fever outbreak which has plagued the city in recent months, with nearly 15,400 cases reported in 12 districts so far this year. Overloads at Bạch Mai Hospital due to the dengue fever outbreak.VNA/VNS Photo Dương Ngọc By Tuesday, 18 large-scale mosquito spraying machines had been handed over to the city’s Preventive Medicine Centre. Three other machines are being repaired and will be brought to the city. From now until the end of this month, Hà Nội plans to conduct a large-scale mosquito spraying campaign, focusing on crowded areas such as markets, schools, construction sites, abandoned land and houses. Residents will be informed before the spraying occurs. In areas where cars and trucks can approach, large … [Read more...]

Vietnam has been reported as leading the region and beating the world average in the representation of women in its business sector. While the figures are promising, there remains ample space for improvement. Vietnamese women entrepreneurs are better represented than almost anywhere in the Asia-Pacific According to newswire TechCrunch, Vietnamese women entrepreneurs are doing exceedingly well, even in the global context—the country is hands down in the Top 2 in the Asia-Pacific, following Australia, in terms of the representation of women in business, be it small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) or the boards of directors of the country’s leading corporations. A Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) study shows that Vietnam’s enterprising women own 25 per cent of the country’s SMEs—a far cry from … [Read more...]

Representatives of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies discussed investment in dynamic and healthy aging for sustainable growth at a multilateral forum opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 15. The 250 participants were parliamentarians, government officials, experts, researchers and businesspersons from the APEC economies and international organisations. The forum took place on the sidelines of the third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting and related meetings. Chairing the event’s opening session, Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said population change is currently one of the biggest demographic changes in the world with the rapid growth rate of old people, generating major opportunities and challenges and impacting all economic and social aspects of each country, community and … [Read more...]

NDO – The Prime Minister has approved a strategy for the development of the bond market for the 2017-2020 period with a vision to 2030. The strategy aims to develop a stable bond market, a complete and synchronous structure on supply-demand factors; expand the investor’s foundation, increase the scale and quality of operations, diversify products, ensure an efficient market; actively integrate into the international market, and a step by step approach with international practices. According to the strategy, outstanding debt in Vietnam’s bond market is targeted at 45 percent of total GDP in 2020 and about 65 percent of GDP in 2030. The outstanding debt of the Government bond, Government-guaranteed bond and municipal bond market is aimed at about 38 percent of total GDP in 2020 and 45 percent in 2030. The corporate bond market’s outstanding debt is hoped to reach some 7 percent of GDP in 2020. In addition, the average maturity of government bond … [Read more...]

NDO/VNA – Representatives of the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies discussed investment in dynamic and healthy aging for sustainable growth at a multilateral forum opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 15. The 250 participants were parliamentarians, government officials, experts, researchers and businesspersons from the APEC economies and international organisations. The forum took place on the sidelines of the third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting and in other related meetings. Chairing the event’s opening session, Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien stated that population change is currently one of the biggest demographic changes in the world with the rapid growth rate of old people, generating major opportunities and challenges impacting all economic and social aspects of each country, community and family. The forum allowed policy makers, management officials, scientists and relevant … [Read more...]