Speaker of Australian House of Representatives begins Vietnam visit

 Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia Tony Smith began an official three-day visit to Vietnam on July 23.

Policies encourage renewable energy development

 A government decision on solar power projects in Vietnam, for example, calls for electricity buyers to purchase all the electricity generated from grid-connected projects at the price of 2,086 VND/kWh (excluding VAT).

Da Nang improves hotel competitiveness

 The tourism sector in the central coastal city of Da Nang is making efforts in improving hotel competitiveness. It is providing local staff with knowledge about hotel operation and management.

Military photojournalist spreads love for Hanoi

 A photo gallery in Lai Xa village in Hanoi’s outlying district of Hoai Duc is dedicated to featuring the beauty of Hanoi. It is owned by photographer Nguyen Anh Tuan.

Thu Thiem residents stuck in temporary shelters

 VietNamNet Bridge – Twenty years since the launch of the Thu Thiem new urban area project in District 2, many people amongst the 15,000 having to relocate, are still living in temporary shelters.

Kien Giang Police to investigate the missing of red book certificates

Authorities in Kien Giang Province have been tasked to coordinate with the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to retrieve 1,029 original land use rights certificates reportedly missing 

First malaria drug in 60 years given approval

 A drug to treat malaria - the first such pill to get approval in 60 years - has been given the green light by authorities in the United States.

Hanoi tops Hello Magazine’s 7 best destinations in Asia for backpackers

 Hello, a UK weekly magazine has announced its annual list of Asia’s best destinations for backpackers.

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 23/7

Can Tho City seeks investment for 54 projects worth $5.4 billion, Listed pharmaceutical firms told to withdraw drugs containing Valsartan, HSBC launches app to track transactions, China consumes 98% of Vietnamese longan output    

Big investment fund keeps pouring money into Vietnamese companies

VietNamNet Bridge - The most powerful investment fund in the country continues to pour money into Vietnam's leading companies despite capital withdrawal from emerging and frontier markets. 

Vietnam enters global smarthome industry

The difference between made-in-Vietnam and foreign-made smarthome solutions is that the former can be controlled by demands in Vietnamese, regardless of whether the house owners speak with northern, central or southern accents.

Vietnam appeals to foreign hotel giants

Many international hotel brand names have made their presence in Vietnam in the wake of the robust development of the country’s tourism sector and infrastructure.

Bitcoin traders reaping fewer profits

VietNamNet Bridge - Though current income is just equal to one-tenth of a year ago for bitcoin investors, the income is better than an office job with a monthly income of $1,000.

Tua Chua: Dien Bien’s unpolished natural gem

 VietNamNet Bridge – It seems that nowhere else in the northern province of Dien Bien is quite like Tua Chua District. Most of the district, located 1,400m above sea level, is covered with rugged rocky mountains. 

Will 5 million jobs in Vietnam be lost in the 4.0 industrial revolution?

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of the HCMC Center for Human Resources Forecasting and Labor Market Information, said that the risk of losing jobs has increased in the 4.0 industrial revolution era. 

Vietnam named among world’s beautiful biking destinations

 Self, a US magazine for women, has announced its annual list of top 12 beautiful biking destinations in the world, which you’ll want to add to your bucket list.

Social News 22/7

Summer Camp inspires young expats’ pride of being Vietnamese, HCM City aims for per capita housing area of 19.8 sq.m by 2020, Border residents join smuggling foreign currency and goods

Maison Chance opens centre for quadriplegic people in Dak Nong

Maison Chance is a non-governmental organisation that provides housing, healthcare and vocational training for orphans, street children, and the disadvantaged and physically handicapped in Vietnam. 

Snail noodle soup: A dish brings the breath of Hanoi

 Like the French, the Vietnamese eat snails too, but not the same kind of snails. They eat oc (Vietnamese freshwater snails), which are smaller and chewier than their land-based cousins.

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 22/7

Military Bank’s six-month profit exceeds 2017 annual result, Domestic steel production growth to reach 20 per cent this year, Delayed Da Nang projects lose licences, Taisho offers to purchase DHG shares

VN businesses prepare for digital transformation

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese want to modernize their factories to prepare for the 4.0 industry revolution, but they don’t know where to start.

Foreign investors keep flocking to Vietnam's real estate market

The growth in Vietnam`s capital markets to US$200 billion in value from some US$35 billion five years ago, was a big draw for global investors, Jeffrey Perlman, Southeast Asia chief of Warburg Pincus told Reuters.

Tattoo: From taboo to popular art form

 When Truong Thanh Dinh came home with a tattoo on his chest, his mother yelled at him, saying that only gangsters get tattoos on their body.

Free English classes offered at pagoda: Hanoi

 Dozens of local children and adolescents were eagerly learning and practicing English activities with their foreign and Vietnamese teachers in an English class on Sunday morning in Phap Van pagoda in Hanoi.

Businesses willing to pay more for mobile ads

 Although the mobile advertisement market in Vietnam is still modest as compared to regional countries, businesses are said to splash out 200 million USD on advertisement on mobile platform in 2020.