Signs of cerebral palsy in newborn babies

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote and develop their engagement in the area of disaster management. The agreement was signed by Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi and Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters Yevgeny Zinichev. The MoU aims to enhance cooperation between the two sides in areas such as risk assessment, emergency response, and capacity building, since first engaging on this issue in 2012. This agreement also marks a significant milestone in ASEAN’s longstanding and multifaceted dialogue relations with Russia, which dates back to 1991. ASEAN countries are located in one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, ranging from earthquakes, floods, landslides and typhoons. The wide geographic stretch of incidences, and increasing frequency of disasters require ASEAN to enhance the … [Read more...] about MoU signed to enhance ASEAN-Russia cooperation in disaster management

In the last decade .their investments in Vietnam swelled by an average of 13 percent a year. By the end of last year their total investment was only around $13 billion, not enough to put Thailand in the top five list, but still managed to have large market shares in several sectors by concentrating their investment in a handful of sectors. In the retail sector, some leading supermarket chains are controlled by two Thai companies, Central Group and TCC Group. Central Group, Thailand’s leading retailer, which belongs to the Chirathivat family, started off in Vietnam as a fashion merchandiser in 2012, distributing products from brands such as SuperSports, Crocs and New Balance. In 2015, it acquired a 49 percent stake in electronics retailer Nguyen Kim through its subsidiary Power Buy. In the same year, it bought out supermarket chain Lan Chi, which operates mainly in northern rural areas. In 2016, it bought supermarket chain Big C Vietnam from France's Casino Group for over $1 … [Read more...] about Which sectors in Vietnam are dominated by Thai companies?

Shrimps processed for export (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City ’s Department of Industry and Trade has set the target to export 48.19 billion USD worth of products in 2021, a year-on-year surge of 10 percent. Under its development plan for 2021 recently submitted to the municipal People’s Committee, the sector said import revenue is estimated at 56.47 billion USD for the whole year, up 11 percent against the previous year. Besides, it eyed to reel in more than 835.68 trillion VND (36.29 billion USD) from retail sales and services revenues in the year, up 10 percent year-on-year. The department said it will carry out necessary measures in a comprehensive fashion to branch out industry and trade, contributing to promoting economic recovery of the southern hub. Earlier, HCM City set a goal of boosting the export of its key products this year and beyond via trade promotion activities and assistance to enterprises. Head of the statistics office Huynh Van … [Read more...] about HCM City eyes 10 percent growth in export in 2021

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

Statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs indicate that Vietnam exported 1.57 million tonnes of coffee worth US$2.74 billion last year, representing a decrease of 5.6% in volume and 4.2% in value, while the average export price saw a slight increase of 1.4% to US$1,751.2 per tonne compared to 2019. Germany remains the largest consumer of Vietnamese coffee, importing 223,581 tonnes worth US$350.41 million, marking a decline of over 4% in both volume and turnover. Meanwhile, the average export price in the market stood at US$1,567 per tonne, a rise of 0.4%. The Southeast Asian market ranked second in terms of turnover with US$328.36 million, a drop of 8.6% in turnover, followed by the United States’ market with US$254.89 million. The MARD anticipates that there are positive signs moving forward for coffee exports as Vietnam’s coffee export markets suffered huge losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to an increase in domestic demand for coffee. Despite … [Read more...] about Coffee sector to boost exports on EVFTA incentives