Thomson Medical Group acquires FV Hospital in Vietnam


HCM City: Vietnam’s FV Hospital has officially become a member of Singapore-listed Thomson Medical Group Limited (TMG), manifesting Vietnam’s potential to develop high-quality medical services, thus attracting foreign investors.

Speaking at a ceremony to announce the acquisition, Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health said it is expected that after becoming a member of TMG, the hospital will receive stronger investment, better meeting people’s demand for medical examination and treatment in the future and attract a large number of foreign tourists to Vietnam for health care.

It will increase opportunities to connect between domestic medical organisations and facilities with international investors, he said.

The official urged FV Hospital to make further efforts to attract foreign patients, contributing to gradually turning Vietnam into a wellness tourism destination in the coming years.

Kho Ngee Seng Roy, Consul General of Singapore in Ho Chi Minh City, said Singapore has always been among leading coun
tries that invest in Vietnam.

He said that the acquisition of FV Hospital reflects Vietnam’s increasingly important role in the region as well as its ability to attract foreign direct investment and close trade relations between the two countries.

The cross-border cooperation and knowledge sharing toward the common goal of improving the healthcare system that both Thomson Medical Group and FV Hospital are pursuing are examples of the heights that the two countries can obtain through collaboration, he continued.

FV Hospital was founded by Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon in 2003 with a group of French physicians. It receives and treats nearly 250,000 patients each year, of whom 25% are foreigners living and working in Vietnam./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Two int’l sports channels broadcast exclusively on MyTV


Hanoi: MyTV platform of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) on January 16 launched two international exclusive sports channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2.

The channels will provide sports enthusiasts with exclusive access to various international tournaments, including the Grand Prix motorcycle racing (MotoGP), the US Open Tennis Championships (the US Open), the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the BWF World Tour and BWF Major Events, Golf Major The Open and The Masters, and the World Table Tennis Championships.

The exclusive television channels will also broadcast the Saudi Pro League in the 2024-2025 season which brings together many world-class stars. In addition to football, viewers can enjoy a variety of sports tournaments such as basketball, volleyball, figure skating, and athletics, among others.

MyTV is the top pay-TV service provider in Vietnam with nearly 200 channels and 70,000 hours of Video on Demand (VOD). MyTV offers a diverse content library, making it a prominent player in the nati
onal market.

According to Deputy General Director of VNPT-Media Nguyen Son Hai, the inauguration of SPOTV and SPOTV2 aligns with MyTV’s content strategy and marks a significant milestone as MyTV officially re-introduces international sports channels to its audience after a two-year absence from the Vietnamese market.

Owned by media conglomerate Eclat of the Republic of Korea (RoK), SPOTV and SPOTV2 are currently available in 10 countries and territories in Asia. They are accessible through 14 major PayTV infrastructures, including Astro and TM of Malaysia, True Visions of Thailand, Singtel and StarHub of Singapore, Sky Cable and Cignal of the Philippines, Univision of Mongolia, Macau Cable TV of Macau (China), PCCW of Hong Kong (China), as well as MNC Vision, K.Vision, First, and Useetv of Indonesia, with over 20 million subscribers./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam enters regional tennis championship finals


Bac Ninh: Vietnamese players Le Tien Anh and Vu Tuan Phong have qualified for the Asian tennis championship finals in India in April after winning the championship at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Asia 14 and Under Development Championship 2024 Regional qualifying – South, Southeast and East Asia.

During the qualifying event that took place from January 7-17 in the northern province of Bac Ninh, Anh won the championship in the boys’ singles event while female player Naba Sishan topped the girls’ singles event.

Anh and Phong won the boys’ double event, while in the girls’ doubles event, A.Diyunuge and S.Arachchi from Sri Lanka got the title.

The tournament featured 28 athletes from seven countries, namely Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Brunei, and Vietnam. Vietnam sent five players to the event./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Women’s volleyball, shooting teams win big at Victory Cup


Hanoi: With outstanding performance in 2023, the Vietnamese women’s volleyball and shooting teams scored triumphs at the Victory Cup Gala for the best players and coaches of the year, which was held by the Sports Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam Cable Television and Vietcontent in Hanoi on January 16.

Volleyball star Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy won the awards for Female Athlete of the Year and Most Favoured Athlete of the Year. 2023 was a resounding success for Thuy and her teammates as they became the champions of the Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship and the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup. Besides, they won berths to compete at the FIVB Challenger Cup and FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship. Thuy is also the backbone of the PFU Blue Cats in the Japanese League.

The volleyball team got the Team of the Year Award while its coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet received the Coach of the Year Award.

Shining at the 19th Asian Games (ASIAD 19) after defeating many strong opponents to take Viet
nam’s first gold at the sport event, marksman Pham Quang Huy secured the Male Athlete of the Year Award. Behind the success of Huy and the national shooting team was Park Chung Gun who was honoured as the Foreign Coach of 2023.

Meanwhile, the Teammates of the Year Award went to four women of the spak takraw team who won gold medals in the world championship, Asian Games and SEA Games. Player Tran Thi Ngoc Yen was honoured in the Young Player of the Year category.

The Athlete with Disabilities of the Year Award honoured weightlifter Le Van Cong for the third time.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former Director of the Sports Authority of Vietnam Le Buu, while the women’s football team received the Image of the Year Award.

Considered as the Oscar award of Vietnamese sports, the Victory Cup honours top candidates in 11 different categories. A big bonus of about 750 million VND (30,600 USD) was awarded to the winners.

Organised since 2015 with two years cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Victory Cup has affirmed its prime position as a leading national sport award. It has received strong response from sportsmen and fans.

According to Director of the Sports Authority of Vietnam Dang Ha Viet, the gala not only honoured excellent coaches, athletes and teams but also encouraged the sport sector to make efforts to reap further achievements in the coming time.

In 2023, Vietnamese athletes took part in two key sport events, namely the 32nd SEA Games in May in Cambodia and the 19th Asian Games in October in China.

Weeks after these Games, disabled athletes also took part in the 12th Para Games in Cambodia and 4th Asian Para Games in China.

Many of them brought gold medals home, strengthening position of Vietnamese sport in the regional and continental maps./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Afternoon briefing on January 16


Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 16 morning (local time), starting a trip to attend the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

At the airport, the Government leader and his entourage were welcomed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai – head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam in Geneva, the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and Permanent Mission, and Vietnamese people in the European country. Read full story

– The People’s Court of Dak Lak on January 16 opened the first-instance trial for 100 defendants involved in the case of “terrorism aimed at opposing the people’s administration, terrorism, organising illegal exit or entry for others, and harbouring criminals’ which happened in Cu Kuin district in the Central Highlands province on June 11,
2023.

Of the defendants, 53 are accused of “terrorism aimed at opposing the people’s administration”, 39 charged with ‘terrorism”, one with ‘organising illegal exit or entry for others,’ and one with ‘harbouring criminals’ under Clause 1, Article 389 of the Criminal Code. Read full story

– Along with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Vietnamese garment and textile sector also needs a Vietnam-Canada free trade agreement or another bilateral deal to penetrate more deeply into the North American market, according to experts.

Currently, Vietnam is the third largest garment supplier to Canada with a market share of about 12%. Read full story

– Vietnam Airlines Group which comprises Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, and Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) has announced an addition of over 66,200 seats, equivalent to more than 310 flights, for the peak Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from January 25 to February 24, 2024.

These figures bring its total to about
2.64 million seats and 12,374 flights during the period. Read full story

– Despite lingering difficulties, businesses have recovered their confidence, the Private Economic Development Research Board (Board IV) under the Prime Minister’s Administrative Reform Advisory Council underlined in its latest report on business situation in 2023 and outlook for 2024.

In the report, the board said that compared to its previous survey conducted in April 2023, businesses have become more optimistic, as the proportion of businesses rating the current macro-economic situation as positive/very positive was 2.7 times higher than in the April survey. Read full story

– Since joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the ‘Design’ category in 2019, Hanoi has organised a multitude of activities relating to design and creativity.

The capital city has participated in the network with the aim of turning cultural resources and creations into the foundation for its sustainable urban development, said Director of the municipal D
epartment of Culture and Sports Do Dinh Hong. Read full story

– China was the biggest buyer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products in 2023, and it is expected to remain a promising market with numerous opportunities for Vietnamese farm produce to increase the market share and export value.

Fourteen agricultural products of Vietnam have been licensed to be exported via the official channel to China, namely bird’s nest and related products, sweet potato, dragon fruit, longan, rambutan, mango, jackfruit, watermelon, banana, mangosteen, black jelly, lychee, passion fruit, and durian. Read full story

– The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has ordered local firms to ensure sufficient supply of goods of affordable prices for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, as demand on this occasion is forecast to increase 10% from the same time last year.

Businesses have rushed to stockpile essential items, with the volume of inventory rising 10-25% year-on-year. They have committed to launching an array of
price stabilisation and promotion programmes in the runup to Tet. Read full story

– Vietnam’s European Plastics Joint Stock Company (EuP) has inaugurated a factory specialising in producing filler masterbatch in Sadat city, Menoufaya province of Egypt, marking the first factory of a Vietnamese enterprise in the Middle East country.

The EuP Egypt factory was built on an area of more than 34,000 sq.m with an investment of 30 million USD. It is designed to have 24 production lines with a total capacity of 300,000 tonnes a year, creating jobs for more than 300 local workers. Its products will serve the Egyptian market and exports to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America./. Read full story

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Minister commends Mozambican ambassador’s tenure


Hanoi: Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam has extended congratulations to Mozambican Ambassador to Vietnam Leonardo Rosario Manuel Pene, commending his outstanding performance during his tenure in Vietnam and acknowledging his significant role in advancing ties between the two nations.

During a reception held in Hanoi on January 16 for the outgoing ambassador, Lam highlighted the noteworthy progress in bilateral political and diplomatic relations over the past years, marked by high-level visits; the signing of various cooperation agreements encompassing diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, national defense-security, education-training, and healthcare; along with the establishment of important cooperation mechanisms.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) speaks highly of the ambassador’s contributions to consolidating and developing cooperative ties between Vietnam and Mozambique, as well as fostering collaboration between the MoPS and Mozambique’s law enforcement agencies in particular, h
e said.

The host wished that the diplomat would continue serving as a bridge to step up collaboration between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies.

In response, the ambassador assured that, in his new position, he would strive to propose initiatives to enhance all-around cooperation between the two nations.

He highlighted his commitment to further expanding the effective collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of Mozambique and the MoPS for the mutual benefit of the two countries’ people./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency