Day: April 13, 2023

Alaska Milk Corp. (AMC) aims to grow its revenue in the Philippines by 20 percent this year despite the challenging business environment, according to its corporate affairs director, lawyer Maria Angela Esquivel. In an interview Thursday, Esquivel said that aside from growing its sales, AMC also sees a recovery in profit this year. She said the past years have been challenging for the company due to the pandemic, citing the supply chain issues of raw materials like sugar and maintaining their prices as the trade department had put on hold the issuance of suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin. Milk products are included in the SRP bulletin of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as these are part of basic goods, which prices are being monitored. Esquivel said driving the growth of the company will be the strong start of Friesland Campina Professional, the parent company of AMC, which exceeded its targets for the first quarter of 2023. She added the continuous recovery of its cream category and increasing demand of its core products such as evaporated, condensed milk and powdered milk will also support the company’s growth this year. Alaska is leading the market in evaporated and condensed milk categories, but Esquivel said the competition becomes more challenging as new and cheaper products enter the market. On the other hand, Alaska ranks third in the powdered milk category. ‘We have launched new products in 2022 to aid in our objective of driving distribution focusing on penetration [of] stock keeping units,’ Esquivel said, citing the launch of Frutti Yo and Sakto pack condensed milk which have helped drive its distribution. In 2022, AMC posted a 6-percent growth in sales driven by its culinary, ready-to-drink and coffee creamer categories. ‘With the continuous challenge on cost like rising cost of sugar, we are driving our focus on profitability via strengthening our earnings model,’ she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Immigration authorities arrested an overstaying British national in Palawan on Thursday. Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) intelligence division and fugitive search unit apprehended Paul Stuart Leggot, 61, in a bar along Governor’s Drive in Dongapan, Coron town. Apart from overstaying, he was allegedly found to have been engaging in gainful employment without the necessary work permit. Records show that he has been in the country since 2014, without securing appropriate visas for his business. He was reported to own a popular resort in Coron, despite not being properly documented. The foreign national is set to be flown to Manila for booking and inquest, before being transferred to the BI’s facility in Bicutan, Taguig City. Tansingco lauded the team and warned erring foreigners not to abuse the hospitality of the country. ‘Foreign nationals may only work or have business in the country if they secure the appropriate visas and other permits,’ he said in a statement. ‘Aliens who refuse to comply with our laws take away opportunities from Filipinos, and do not submit appropriate taxes to the government,’ the BI chief added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang hosted a reception for UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pauline Tamesis in Hanoi on April 13.

During the meeting, Quang spoke highly of the central role of the UN in keeping peace and promoting sustainable development in the world, stressing that the role played by the UN becomes even more important in the current international and regional situation.

He thanked the UN for the valuable support and assistance it has provided for Vietnam during the past 45 years, especially the provision of vaccines, equipment and medical supplies for Vietnam during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic through the COVAX mechanism.

For cooperation in implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs), the host said the Vietnamese Government will assign specialised agencies to research and sketch out a unified mechanism and specific policies to effectively promote cooperation with the UN, especially projects on sustainable development to 2030.

He called for more support from the UN to help Vietnam respond to climate change, especially in realising the country’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

For her part, Tamesis highly valued Vietnam’s active and effective contributions to the UN’s activities; as well as the commitments of the Vietnamese Government at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Tamesis proposed measures to strengthen collaboration between the UN and Vietnam, especially in promoting the realisation of SDGs in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnamese ministries and sectors should work closely with UN agencies in order to make more comprehensive assessment of all sustainable development target programmes that are being implemented in Vietnam, thus speeding up progress and facilitating the addition of resources to these programmes, she said.

Tamesis affirmed that the UN will continue to accompany Vietnam so that the country can seize new opportunities, respond to challenges, and mobilise international resources, contributing to implementing its socio-economic development goals./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A wide range of activities and promotions are being offered by Vietravel Airlines within the framework of the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) which opened on April 13 in Hanoi.

They include workshops that introduce on-board menus for the summer of 2023, which are carefully created, and unique drinks made by the airline’s flight attendants.

Lovely souvenirs are also available at the airline’s pavilion with a 10% discount for all items during the four-day event.

To create fresh interest in the airline and stimulate buyers, Vietravel also offers tickets priced from only 9,900 VND (0.42 USD) or 0.5 USD on April 13 and 14 and from 9:09 am to 9:09 pm every Saturday and Sunday until the end of October 28 this year.

Vu Duc Bien, General Director of the carrier, said that by joining the fair, it hopes to meet potential partners and exchange experiences. The airline also wants to capture the air travel demand to optimise its potential, contributing to the recovery of the country’s tourism sector in the post-pandemic period.

Themed “Cultural tourism”, the fair will last until April 16 at the Cultural Friendship Palace in Hanoi, featuring 450 pavilions from 51 provinces and cities nationwide and 15 foreign countries and territories.

The event, the leading international tourism fair in Vietnam, is expected to attract over 60,000 visitors and representatives from 3,000 businesses that are interested in seeking cooperation opportunities and partners./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh led a delegation to visit the Embassy of Laos in Canberra on April 13 on the occasion of Laos’s traditional New Year festival (Bunpimay).

The Vietnamese diplomat wished Lao Ambassador to Australia Sinchai Manivanh and the Lao Embassy’s staff a new year full of health and success.

He highlighted the friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, stressing that the close collaboration between the two embassies has contributed to strengthening the bilateral relations.

Ambassdor Thanh said he hopes the two countries and the two embassies will continue to maintain exchange activities in 2023, and support each other for mutual development.

For his part, the Lao diplomat thanked the Vietnamese Embassy delegation for the meaningful wishes on the occasion of Laos’s traditional new year festival, and spotlighted the fruitful development of the Laos-Vietnam special relationship.

He expressed the belief that the two countries’ relations will grow stronger after the official visit of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong to Laos.

The two ambassadors agreed to closely coordinate in activities of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra (ACC) as well as other relevant mechanisms; and enhance exchange and experience sharing between the two embassies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training on April 13 had a meeting with the Irish Embassy in Vietnam and the Global Management Organisation of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL), the world’s leading computer skills certification, to seek measures to improve computer skills for students in the capital city.

The cooperation is expected to contribute to the development of informatics teaching skills and professional knowledge for experts and teachers in the city.

Tran The Cuong, Director of the Department of Education and Training, highly appreciated achievements the organisation has obtained in training and supervising digital technology capabilities in many countries in general and in Vietnam in particular.

He also hoped the ICDL will share experience in managing and implementing international programmes and projects in countries around the world, thereby helping to improve the quality of professional capacity for the city’s managers, experts and teachers of informatics.

ICDL Director Damien O’Sullivan said the organisation is ready to accompany, support and advise the city’s education sector to build skilled and capable human resources for the fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as organisation and management models for informatics teaching in accordance with the requirements of the digital era.

He expected to bring the ICDL Digital Student programme to students in the city. The programme is designed specifically for elementary, secondary and high school students with a selective knowledge system, focusing on three areas: information and communication technology, computer science, digital competency.

The students will have the opportunity to take the ICDL Digital Student International Certificate of Informatics. This certificate is valid for life, and it is recognised and widely used in many countries around the world such as the US, the UK, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Singapore and Thailand.

On this occasion, the ICDL presented 100 scholarships to the department with the aim of improving local students’ computer using skills./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency