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A cafe owner and 21 people have been fined a total of VND36m (USD1,500) for illegal opening and not wearing face masks in Hanoi. Cafe owner fined for violating Covid-19 preventive regulations Hoan Kiem District Police Department announced on February 24 that the police in Hang Trong Ward had visited the cafe after receiving reports from the public on February 20. The owner was fined VND15m (USD650) for opening the cafe even though the city authorities have ordered a temporary closure as a virus prevention measure. The cafe also didn't follow safe distancing regulations. 21 customers at the cafe were fined VND2m (USD86) each for not wearing face masks. On February 23, the police in Hang Bac Ward also detected a coffee shop on Ta Hien violating preventive measures. Hoan Kiem authorities said they would strictly punish the violators. … [Read more...] about Cafe owner and customers fined for violating Covid-19 preventive regulations

The HCMC Department of Transport shared that the city aims at possessing a multi-means public transport system, including 8 metro lines, 3 tram lines, 6 bus rapid transit lines (BRT), and 200 regular bus lines, in order to meet the traveling demands of the community. Due to the dense population in HCMC, leading to the large number of private vehicles, urban traffic at the moment has to shoulder a heavy burden, and the average velocity of vehicles in the downtown is just 20-25km per hour. To tackle this problem, the municipal authorities have adjusted the planning of the urban transport system to implement the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) model. This model maximizes the link between residential, business, manufacturing areas and the existing public transport system. HCMC is going to apply this model along Metro Line No.1 (from Ben Thanh in the downtown to Suoi Tien in Thu Duc City), Metro Line No.2 (the first phase: Ben Thanh – Tham Luong in District 12; the second phase: … [Read more...] about HCMC to pilot bus priority lane

The groups include health professionals, the pandemic prevention and fight task force (members of steering committees, people working in quarantining areas, reporters and others), diplomats, and customs and immigration staffs, military personnel, police force, teachers, and the elderly aged over 65. Others include those working to maintain the supply of essential services such as aviation, transportation, tourism, electricity and water supply, as well as people with chronic diseases,people going abroad on a mission, to work, or study, and those in pandemic-hit areas. The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced the plan on the reception, preservation, distribution, and use of COVID-19 vaccines during 2021-2022 with the support of the COVAX Facility – the global procurement mechanism of COVAX. Vietnam aims to have 80 per cent of its population get vaccinated against COVID-19. However, due to the limited supply, the rate can hit 20 per cent in 2021-2022. COVAX is co-led by the … [Read more...] about 11 priority groups eligible to first COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam

BIDV MetLife representatives received an AmCham CSR Recognition Award 2020 In the social distancing period of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, BIDV MetLife received a number of claims for insurance benefits under the circumstances of limited travel and difficulties in the verification process. However, with responsibility and the spirit of always putting clients’ interest first, BIDV MetLife overcame such limitations, quickly collected documents, made claim decisions, and paid for the clients’ families as soon as the paperwork had been completed. One particular client had an accident and died in May, leaving behind their life partner and two school-aged children. BIDV MetLife had its staff quickly verify the information. After collating the results, the company decided to pay accidental death benefit as in the contract terms with the aim to promptly help the family stablilise after the unexpected event, and ensure future education for the children. Another client suddenly … [Read more...] about Dedicated efforts justify BIDV MetLife successes

Since Vietnam joined the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the coffee industry has experienced three crises, with the first occurring in 1991 when the ICO removed the quota system, causing the price of Arabica coffee to drop from US$4,000 per tonne to US$3,000 per tonne. The second happened in 2000 when the price of Robusta coffee dropped to US$400 per tonne, and the third took place last year when the price fell by between US$1,300 and US$1,400. Addressing this thorny issue, almost all coffee businesses have participated in e-commerce trading platforms, marketing the products in London and New York. Private firms have also moved to swiftly set up websites in order to sell their coffee products online, with on-demand home delivery services witnessing rapid growth. Aside from serving customers at coffee shops, take-away services have also been added to allow customers to increase the efficiency of doing business whilst simultaneously ensuring COVID-19 preventive measures … [Read more...] about Coffee industry seeks to weather COVID-19 crisis