Among the conditions, staff and customers must be recovered Covid-19 patients or those who are fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. The facilities must ensure a minimum density of 4m2 per person and a distance of at least 1m between two people.

Southern police seize 50kg of drugs transported from Cambodia

The Southern Border Guard task force in collaboration with the police forces of Ho Chi Minh City and Long An province and the Anti-Smuggling and Drug Control Team of the General Department of Customs have detected a drug trafficking case, seizing 50kg of narcotics.

According to the police, the drugs were smuggled from Cambodia to Vietnam. The drugs were packaged as tea bags, hidden at the bottom of iron barrels and covered by live eels. The drugs were seized when traffickers were about to hand it over at Binh Dien market in HCM City.

State Bank to propose policies on national digital currency

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued a plan on development of non-cash payment in Vietnam in the 2021-2025 period. One of the important contents is that the State Bank will submit to the Government a Decree on a pilot implementation of financial technology (FinTech) activities in the banking sector.

The SBV will also study and propose policies on national digital currencies and non-cash payment service fees to enable users to access non-cash payment services at a reasonable cost.

MoMo gets $200 million, raises its value to $2 billion

MoMo has completed the 5th round of capital raising (Series E). The company has received $200 million from global investors including Mizuho, Ward Ferry, Goodwater Capital and Kora Management. This funding round is led by Mizuho - Global Bank of Japan.

With the new investment, MoMo's value now reaches $2 billion and is listed as one of the few unicorns (those with value of more than $1 billion) in Vietnam.

Ministry of Science and Technology deletes information on website about Vietnam's test kits

Information posted on the website of the Ministry of Science and Technology about the World Health Organization’s recognition of the test kit produced by a local firm - Viet A Company - has been removed. The same thing happened with information about the British Ministry of Health’s grant of a European standard certificate for this company's Covid-19 test kit. It is not clear why the Ministry of Science and Technology removed this information from its website.

HCMC records 34 Covid cases after return to school

A week after 9th and 12th graders in HCM City returned to school, the authorities discovered 34 Covid cases, including four teachers, three staff members and 27 students.

"The increase in the number of infections is within the school's expectations and is safely handled by educational institutions according to the scenario,” said Trinh Duy Trong from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. He said that teaching in classes with such cases is proceeding normally.

PV

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES DECEMBER 21

VN martial artist wins gold medal at 2021 Asian Karate Championships