Posts

Posted on

HCM City business union proposes measures to speed up green growth


HCM City: The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Business Associations (HUBA) has proposed a number of measures to help businesses overcome challenges and foster green growth and digital transformation this year.

Speaking at a meeting held on January 17 to review the association’s performance last year and set tasks for 2024, its vice chairman Nguyen Phuoc Hung called on the city’s administration to provide financial, legal and technological support to firms registering for green transformation.

He exhorted the central government to start a programme for reducing greenhouse emissions with a specific road map, build a green index, establish a carbon credit market and develop rooftop solar power, helping businsses improve their competitiveness and participate in the global supply chain.

He urged the city to have solutions to attract new FDI inflows and reform long-standing industrial parks and export processing zones, speed up public investment, and enable businesses to bid for public projects and borrow from the cit
y’s stimulus programme.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan praised HUBA’s contributions, saying it has played an important role in connecting the municipal administration and businesses, helped the city administration improve the investment environment and promoted administrative reform.

Considering the challenges this year, it is again expected to make a significant contribution to the economy and business sector, he said.

Hoan noted that the city has set two important tasks for the business community this year: adopting green growth and fostering digital transformation so that they could expand their international market share.

‘Green growth is an inevitable development trend, and businesses must embrace it to meet requirements, especially in fastidious markets.’

He said the city would focus on three pillars this year: policies to help adopt green transformation, criteria to measure emissions by businesses and industries so that they could find ways to reduce them and creatin
g a good role model for green growth.

It also plans to establish a centre for supporting digital transformation, he said.

The city is welcoming a wave of foreign investment in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and it is also an opportunity for businesses, he said.

They need to take advantage of this wave and participate in the supply chains of leading corporations, he said.

The city has sufficient resources in all aspects like land, industrial parks and high-quality human resources to meet the needs of these high-tech industries, he assured.

HUBA Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa said last year it took a number of measures to help business overcome difficulties.

It passed on to authorities various recommendations made by businesses to remove hurdles they faced in many areas such as real estate and corporate bonds, and this helped eliminate many long-standing bottlenecks, he said.

This year it would organise programmes such as the HCM City Economic Forum, HCM City’s ‘Exemplary Products and Services’ an
d Green Business Awards, ‘Business Café’, trade promotions at home and abroad, and trade fairs to showcase Vietnamese goods, he said.

Also at the event, the association launched the new interface of its website, huba.vn./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Rooms to be added to hotel real estate market: Savills Vietnam


HCM City: The hotel real estate market in Vietnam, particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is predicted to see a big supply thanks to new projects in the 2024-2026 period, according to Savills Vietnam.

Cao Thi Thanh Huong, Senior Manager, of Savills Ho Chi Minh City’s Research Department, said that HCM City’s tourism targets to attract 6 million international visitors and 38 million domestic visitors in 2024 and earn 190 trillion VND (7.74 billion USD). The tourism industry continues to recover thanks to the return of Asian visitors and domestic tourism demand, hotel market performance mostly resumes to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Currently, the total supply in the southern metropolis is 15,991 rooms from 114 hotels, an increase of 3% year on year. Two international four-star hotels – Ramada Encore Saigon By Wyndham with 70 rooms and Sotetsu Grand Fresa Saigon with 125 rooms joined the market last year.

By 2026, forecasts reveal that four other hotels with 800 rooms will open, while many projects are in the p
lanning stages and have yet to have a specific opening date. Notably, the 5-star Hilton Saigon hotel will open in the first quarter of 2024.

Meanwhile, in Hanoi, in the 2024-2026 period, 13 projects with 2,746 rooms are expected to come into operation including three projects that will start operation in 2024, namely Dusit Hanoi – Tu Hoa Palace with 207 rooms, Fusion Suites with 238 rooms, and My Dinh Pearl Phase 2 with 500 rooms.

Domestic hotel operators are expected to account for 70% of future supply, with 1,919 rooms from seven new projects, 74% of which will be concentrated mainly in the inner city area.

International operators will also open six new projects equivalent to 827 rooms, accounting for 30% of future supply; about 62% of total international supply is in the inner city area.

Troy Griffiths, Deputy Managing Director of Savills Vietnam, said that Hanoi tourism shows good signs of recovery, and is no longer dependent on Chinese tourists.

There are many new projects coming into operation in t
he medium term that will bring remarkable properties into the market.

According to statistics from Savills Vietnam, in 2023, Vietnam welcomed 120.6 million domestic and foreign visitors to hotel stays, an increase of 19% compared to 2022.

The number of international visitors to Vietnam in 2023 reached 12.6 million visitors, three times higher than that of 2022 but just about 70% of that in 2019. The numbers show that Vietnam’s tourism has many avenues to stage a full recovery./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Vietnam determined to win against Indonesia: defender


Hanoi: Defender Pham Xuan Manh has said the Vietnamese national team is determined to secure all three points against Indonesia when the two sides meet on January 19 in Group D of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals.

The Vietnamese team has resumed training with a full squad of 26 players, and Manh, who plays for Hanoi FC, shared his thoughts on their next opponent.

He said: “It’s crucial for us to defeat Indonesia in order to have a chance of advancing to the next round. Personally, my goal is to contribute by playing on the field.

“I aspire to make as much of an impact as possible. As one of the more experienced players on the team, I am ready to guide and mentor my teammates when the time is right.”

This is the third time he has been called up to the national team under the guidance of French coach Philippe Troussier. Manh considers himself fortunate and has put in significant effort to learn new tactics.

“I meticulously study the tactics in every training session, whether with or without the ball. I always
need to be prepared for my teammates to pass to me,” Manh said.

“On January 15, the entire team watched the match between Indonesia and Iraq together, in which Indonesia lost 1-3 to Iraq. I noticed that Indonesia played with high spirit, unity, and determination.

“The strength of the Indonesian players lies in their spirit; they are not afraid of challenges. However, I personally believe that there is a lot of space behind their midfield.”

The player from Nghe An province acknowledged that the match against Indonesia will be very challenging and the Vietnamese team must swiftly put aside their 2-4 loss to Japan and focus on this match.

Both Vietnam and Indonesia currently sit at the bottom of Group D following their respective defeats to Japan and Iraq. The match against Indonesia holds significant importance for the Vietnamese team. If they wish to progress further, Vietnam must secure a victory and obtain a favourable result in their final match against Iraq.

In recent years, the Vietnamese team has fr
equently emerged victorious when facing Indonesia. In their last six encounters, Vietnam remained undefeated against this opponent, winning three matches and drawing three. In their most recent meeting at the AFF Cup 2022, the Vietnamese team won 2-0.

However, what makes the match on January 19 even more special is that this will be the first meeting of two Southeast Asian teams at the Asian Cup in 52 years, since the third-place match between Thailand and Cambodia at the 1972 Asian Cup./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

BI prevents 3 alien fugitives from leaving PH

MANILA: Immigration authorities have prevented three foreigners wanted for several offenses from leaving the country at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

In a statement Thursday, Commissioner Norman Tansingco, citing the report of the border control intelligence unit said the three – a Chinese, a Japanese, and a Taiwanese were arrested in separate incidents this week.

Chinese national Liu Shengtao, 44, was apprehended at the NAIA Terminal 3 on Jan. 14 as he attempted to board a Singapore-bound flight.

Liu, who is wanted by Chinese authorities for covering and concealing criminal proceeds, has been in the Philippines and has a working visa issued in 2022.

The BI received information about Liu’s crimes in China in September 2023, triggering an investigation to locate and arrest him.

Meanwhile, 36-year-old Japanese national Aoi Ikeda was intercepted on Jan. 15 also while attempting to depart via an Emirates flight to Dubai.

According to records, several complaints have
been filed with the National Bureau of Investigation against Ikeda for his involvement in a company that allegedly operates scams.

He is said to be the president of a Philippine-based business process outsourcing company based in Makati.

Ikeda entered the country in August 2023 under a working visa and is now facing deportation for undesirability.

On Jan. 16, Taiwanese national Chai Kaw-Sing, 48, was arrested as he attempted to board a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong.

Chai last entered the country with an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card, which is given to individuals and government officials engaged in APEC business.

He, however, was found to be the subject of an Interpol Red Notice for fraudulent fundraising.

All three foreign nationals will be detained in the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig pending the issuance of their summary deportation.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Posted on

Rozhen’s new robotic telescope allows astronomers to observe remotely

Bulgaria: At the beginning of February, the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory (NAO) will start a scientific observation programme using its new robotic telescope, NAO Director Nikola Petrov told BTA here on Tuesday.

Astronomers from Hungary, Germany, France, Poland, Serbia, Italy, India, Japan, Russia and the United States have collaborated with their Bulgarian colleagues at Rozhen before, but now the new 1.5 m aperture telescope will allow them to carry out observations remotely.

The NAO astronomers are finishing trial observations with the new telescope, which was inaugurated in July 2023.

The tests show that the device performs no worse than the 2 m aperture telescope at Rozhen, Petrov said.

The AZ 1500 telescope was supplied under a project financed through the National Research Infrastructure Roadmap 2020-2027, coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science.

It was manufactured by Austrian company ASA Astrosysteme GmbH.

With its latest-generation technology, the device has enabled the
observatory in the Rhodope Mountains (Southern Bulgaria) to retain its status as a leading astronomical complex of Southeastern Europe, Petrov said.

The new telescope will be used mainly for photometric observations.

It will capture objects in the visible light spectrum. After additional instruments are installed, it will be used for spectral observations as well.

AZ 1500 has significantly expanded the observation activities of Bulgaria’s main astronomical observatory while at the same time relaxing the operating agenda of Rozhen’s largest, 2 m aperture telescope.

With the new device at their disposal, the Rozhen astronomers will continue to observe both Solar System objects (asteroids, comets etc.) and galaxy-level objects.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Posted on

DOLE: Service caravans to honor household workers’ role in PH progress

MANILA: The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will hold service caravans across the country in celebration of the Araw ng mga Kasambahay (Day of Household Workers) in recognition of their valuable contribution to nation-building.

The agency, through the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), led the national celebration at the Occupational Safety and Health Center in Quezon City on Thursday.

Under the slogan #SerbisyoParaKayK, various services were offered by DOLE and its partner agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Social Security System, PhilHealth, PagIBIG Fund, and the Philippine National Police. Skills trainings were also offered under the slogan #ParaSaFutureNiK to equip the kasambahay with skills towards alternative employment opportunities.

In a statement, the DOLE said that these activities aim to bring various government services closer to the kasambahay and at the same time, educate them and their employers about their rights and responsibilities u
nder the Batas Kasambahay.

It also underscored that ensuring kasambahay’s safety in their place of work is core to its mandate and will be its lasting contribution sa isang matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay sa Bagong Pilipinas.

It noted that all services and skills training sessions were offered free of charge to participating kasambahay.

Unique to this year’s celebration is the conduct of Araw ng mga Kasambahay Serbisyo Caravan across the 16 regional offices of the labor department, including its different field, provincial, and satellite offices.

Under the slogan #ParaKayKSaBarangay, the DOLE and its partner agencies will provide the same services to kasambahay at the local and barangay levels, and will engage various local government units in the country.

The DOLE regional offices are expected to hold the service caravans from Jan. 18 to 31.

The Araw ng mga Kasambahay is held annually every Jan. 18 – the date of the signing of Republic Act 10361 or the Domestic Workers Act, popularly referred t
o as ‘Batas Kasambahay’.

It is a landmark legislation that acknowledged domestic work as similar to those in the formal sector and recognized the invaluable contribution of kasambahay to the economy.

The law likewise strengthened safety nets and protocols to protect the kasambahay in their place of employment.

Source: Philippines News Agency