Phu Le “Sac bua” (Tet greeting) singing in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre has been officially recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The ministry has also announced a list of other newly-recognized national intangible cultural heritages, including “Han Khuong” singing of the Thai ethnic group in Yen Bai Province, the worshipping festival dedicated to Au Co – the legendary mother of Vietnam in Phu Tho Province; the festival of Tich dien (ploughing), Tran temple, and wrestling of Ha Nam Province; Bo Da pagoda festival of Bac Giang Province; Keo pagoda festival of Thai Binh Province; Duom temple festival of Thai Nguyen Province; the festival of Ha, Thuong, Y La of Tuyen Quang Province; Buong leaves of the Khmer ethnic people in An Giang Province.

To date, the country has 202 recognized national intangible cultural heritages.

New western coach station should connect with metro, monorail routes : city People’s Committee

The construction of new Mien Tay (western) coach station in Binh Chanh district must ensure synchronous connectivity with public transport system including metro line Ben Thanh-Tan Kien, monorail route no.2, bus rapid transit (BRT) and other bus routes in the future.

That is part of requirement by the HCMC People’s Committee to Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco), investor of the project.

The monorail no.2 starts from Highway 50 in District 8, runs through Nguyen Van Linh street to connect with Tran Nao and Xuan Thuy streets in District 2 and Binh Quoi-Thanh Da new urban area in Binh Thanh.

According to requirement, the new coach station must meet the travel demand of 50,000 passengers with 2,500 bus trips departing from the station a day.

The station will be organized under Transit Oriented Development model attaching to multifunctional works and complexes such as hotels, commerce and service centers, office buildings and shopping malls.

A representative from Samco said that the company and agencies had built a 1:500 scale plan of the coach station in An Phu Tay commune, Binh Chanh. So far, they have collected citizens’ opinions about the project and it is expected to complete in April.

Besides, the company has prepared VND726 billion (US$32.03 million) for site clearance. Binh Chanh district’s People’s Committee said that the compensation would complete by the third quarter this year.

The area to be cleared for the station construction will total 24.33 hectares, including 17 hectares for building the station, 4.33 hectares for road limit in National Highway 1A. The remaining area will be for a maintenance and repair depot of BRT buses. 

Đồng Nai builds flyover at highway intersection

Construction of a flyover at the intersection of National Highways 1A and 20 in Dầu Giây in Đồng Nai Province’s Thống Nhất District began on Sunday.

It is being built as part of an upgrade to National Highway 20, including widening of a 1.5km section at the intersection.

The flyover will be 346m long and 16m wide and have four lanes.

The 1.5km section will be widened to 20.5m wide with four lanes for motor vehicles and two for non-motorised ones, drainage and urban lighting.

The work, to cost nearly VNĐ300 billion (US$13.4 million), is being carried out by the BT20-Cửu Long JSC.  

Dầu Giây is a key intersection from where National Highway 20 goes to Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) provinces and National Highway 1A and Provincial Road 769 to the Southern Key Economic Zone.

The construction would promote urban development in Thống Nhất District and reduce congestion and accidents in the area, Trần Văn Vĩnh, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said.

HCM City theatres provide new shows for Valentine’s Day

HCM City theatres promise a variety of new and interesting shows this Valentine’s Day season to suit audiences of varying musical and dramatic tastes. 

For music fans, the Women Cultural House in District 3 will offer a special music and song programme Xuân Yêu Thương (The Spring of Love) tonight.  

Young singers Miu Lê and Tiên Tiên and pop band The Monster, among other performers, will appear at the show, accompanied by special sound and light effects.  

The Youth & Culture House’s music shows are well known among local students and workers.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the house will stage two free programmes, Vũ Điệu Tình Yêu (Dance of Love) and Vòng Tay Yêu Thương (Embracing Arms), at its theatre on Phạm Ngọc Thạch St. in District 1. 

Both shows provide songs, dances, circuses and comedies. Vũ Điệu Tình Yêu will begin at 8pm tonight, while Vòng Tay Yêu Thương will take place on two nights this weekend.  

Many nightclubs and bars around the city also plan to introduce different entertainment programmes.

Fans of romantic tunes should head to the We Lounge in District 1 and to Vân’s in District 3. Audiences will enjoy love songs by famous composers, such as Ngọc Châu, Phó Đức Phương and Phạm Duy, every night from tonight to Sunday.  

For more quiet selections, there are popular stages of 5B Theatre in Võ Văn Tần Street and Thế Giới Trẻ Theatre in Cống Quỳnh St.

5B Theatre is staging two new shows, Yêu (Love) and Thử Guốc Thử Lòng (Trying on Shoes to Find True Love), directed by veteran artists Thanh Thủy and Quốc Thảo.

The musical Yêu tells of a group of young women and men who meet and share stories about love. The show’s young actors will dance and sing popular Vietnamese and foreign songs in praise of love.

The comedy Thử Guốc Thử Lòng highlights youth and love. "Through our shows, audiences can laugh, but can also gain useful lessons," said 5B Theatre art director Quốc Thảo.         

The show will begin tonight and take place every night through February.

Thế Giới Trẻ’s new play, Ma Nữ Si Tình (Ghost in Love), will feature a love story between a schoolgirl and a ghost. Young actors such as Hoàng Phi, Khả Như and Anh Tú, who study at HCM City University of Theatre & Cinematography, will appear in the show.  

Another option for laughs is the Trần Hữu Trang Theatre."Like other theatres, we decided to stage comedies on Valentines’ Day to bring happy smiles to young couples,” said comedian and cải lương (reformed opera) actress Thanh Hằng.  

Hằng said the theatre’s two-act comedies such as Thương Nhau Để Đó (Love in Mind) and Tía Tui (My Dad) were staged many times and still earn a good profit.

Man caught transporting heroin

The Sông Mã District Police in the northern mountainous province of Sơn La, in coordination with the Mường Cai Border Guards, on Sunday nabbed a man transporting heroin and ecstasy.

Lò Văn Ích, 33, from Laos’ Houaphanh Province, was caught transporting more than 34,000 tablets of ecstasy and nearly 350g of heroin.

Ích admitted to the police that he had bought the heroin from a man he did not know at the border area. He intended to take the heroin inland for sale.

The police are conducting a further investigation into the case.

Five detained for appropriating properties

The Hà Nội Police on Monday announced they had detained five people for appropriating properties near Thăng Long Bridge.

The five people are Đặng Đức Cư, 33; Nguyễn Thị Vui, 36; Đỗ Văn Tuấn, 43; Nguyễn Gia Sản, 36; and Nguyễn Thị Bằng, 53. All five are from Xuân Đỉnh Ward, Bắc Từ Liêm District.

Earlier, receiving information that some people were appropriating the properties of residents near Thăng Long Bridge, the city police, in co-ordination with the district police, began conducting an investigation into the case.

On February 9, the police nabbed four people -- Cư, Vui, Tuấn and Sản. All four did not have jobs and often wandered near Thăng Long Bridge.

The four admitted to the police that they waited on the bridge and if they saw any motorbike driver using the private lane meant for automobiles, they would stop the driver and order him/her to pay VNĐ100,000-500,000 (US$4-22) in fines. If the motorbike driver refused to pay the money, they threatened to take him/her to the police, who would fine the driver VNĐ2-2.5 million ($88-110).

The last member of the gang, Bằng, gave herself up to the police last Friday.

Creative Idea Contest 2017 launched

The Creative Idea Contest 2017 organized by Information Technology Park (ITP) of Vietnam National University-HCMC (VNU-HCM) will become the first startup competition in 2017.

The contest is aimed to promote the spirit of innovation and business startups among university students and lecturers as well as look for possible projects to be developed at ITP.

The contest is open to groups of students and alumni from universities under the National University of HCMC and other schools, and available for ideas and startup projects.

Each group is required to have three to six members, with about half of them coming from the VNU-HCM.

Candidates can register some fields including e-commerce, sharing economy, financial technology (fintech), educational technology (edutech), tourism, public projects, and projects for the disabled, and among others.

Four criteria for evaluation consist of innovation, possibility, projects’ influence, and teamwork performance.

The total value for the contest is VND700 million (some US$30,894). Prizes up for grabs include first prize worth VND30 million, two second prizes worth VND20 million each, three third prizes worth VND10 million each, and five consolation prizes worth VND5 million each.

Besides cash money award, some iStartX courses will also be offered.

In addition, five scholarships to visit Harvard University within two weeks will be granted to five best candidates in the contest, with each worth US$5,000. 

Deadline for registration is February 26 for individuals and March 10 for groups.

The semi-final round is scheduled to take place on March 20, the final round on March 23 and the award ceremony on March 27.

Those interested should contact Nguyen Ngoc Van Thanh via phone 0934 082 303, or email: cic2017@vnu-itp.edu.vn.

HCM City party chief asks private investors in water pipes from Dau Tieng reservoir

Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Dinh La Thang on February 12th asked authorized agencies to call on private partners in building a pipe system taking water directly from Dau Tieng reservoir to city water plants.

He was speaking while leading a city delegation to survey Dau Tieng, the country’s largest fresh water reservoir in the neighboring province of Tay Ninh, seeking solutions for the sustainable development of water supply source for HCMC.

Taking to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, an expert in the delegation said that last year HCMC water plants had to stop taking water many times or met with difficulties in water treatment because of high salinity in the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers.

Salt intrusion would continue causing bad impacts to the city’s water supply. At present, HCMC is under the big pressure of fresh water supply for tens of million of citizens, he added.

According to the expert, Dau Tieng reservoir has to discharge millions of cubic meters to push back salt penetration in the Saigon river for Tan Hiep water plant in HCMC to take sufficient water and operate at the capacity of 300,000 cubic meters a day.

The water release is an unthrifty solution wasting natural water source, he affirms. One of sustainable solutions is the installation of a pipe system directly supplying water from the reservoir for HCMC water plants, which will no longer take water from the Saigon river.

Director of Dau Tieng Company Le Van Dung proposed HCMC to call on investors to build the pipe system to ensure the sustainability of water supply source, water quality as well as save and increase state budget revenue.

In addition, he proposed the city to continue financial assistance for the company’s natural disaster prevention and search and rescue annually and repair of downgraded items in the reservoir.

Dong (East) canal is the main water supply canal for agricultural and industrial production and households in Tay Ninh, Long An provinces and HCMC. Water supply must be ensured 24/7 raising difficulties for the canal’s maintenance and repair as well as ensuring water quality and environment.

If industrial and agricultural water supply is not separated from the source for HCMC households, it will not ensure water quality and cause huge loss, he says.

Mr. Dinh La Thang appreciated Tay Ninh province for rightly performing its tasked function by the Government to promote the importance of Dau Tieng reservoir, uphold water supply security and prevent flooding in the lowlands.

He hoped that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Dau Tieng Company to suitably and effectively change operation regulations of the reservoir basing on socioeconomic development plans of provinces in the lower reaches of the Saigon river.

The Government has listed Dau Tieng reservoir as an important work relating to national security, therefore its operation should make sure national security, defense and regional socioeconomic development, Mr. Thang suggested.

The company should pay attention to environmental management for the reservoir with specific and effective measures and improve the qualification of staff and officials operating the reservoir. One of important solutions is to invest in modern observation stations to exactly forecast water level and function the work safely and efficiently, he added.
 
HCMC pledges to assist the company as much as possible for the absolutely safe operation of the reservoir which will not only ensure water source security and citizens’ safety, Mr. Thang affirmed.

Besides having plans to give the company annual financial assistances, the HCMC People’s Committee should choose fish species with high economic value and ecological balance ability to release into the reservoir, contributing in social welfare for locals, he required.

He also requested the committee to consider financial assistances for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue as per the proposal by Dau Tieng Company.

Hanoi court to trial large corruption case at Oceanbank soon

The Hanoi People’s Court will open the court of first instance, expected to last about a month, to rule on 48 offenders in a big corruption case drawing public attention at Oceanbank on February 27th.

The 48 offenders will be on trial for breaking loan regulations in activities of credit institutions, abusing their positions and power while being on duty and deliberately breaking state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

Of them are 45 year old former chairman of the bank Ha Van Tham from the northern province of Bac Giang, 55 year old former director general Nguyen Xuan Son who is representative of capital contribution by Vietnam Oil and Gas Group at Oceanbank.

Ha Van Tham and accomplices who are his inferiors at Ocenbank have been charged with many violations in credit activities damaging the bank nearly VND2 trillion (US$88.23 million) and seriously affecting the state’s monetary policy.

The Oceanbank case is one of big cases which the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption has required to soon come up for trial.

New Mien Dong Coach Station breaks ground in District 9

Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco) officially started work on new Mien Dong (eastern) Coach Station in the eastern gateway to HCMC February 10th.

This package comprises the station’s foundation, main terminal and infrastructures for the entire station area.

The new station will be built over 16 hectares comprising 12.3 hectares in District 9 and 3.7 hectares in the neighboring province of Binh Duong’s Di An district.

Once being built, the station will have the total capacity of 7 million passengers a year or 50,000 a day; serve 200 interprovincial transport routes to reach 47 provinces and cities, 15 city bus routes and two international routes to Cambodia.

New Mien Dong Coach Station will connect with Suoi Tien station of the city metro route.

The first bid package is scheduled to complete by the end of this year to remove the existing Mien Dong station from Binh Thanh district.

Container houses for ethnic minority students in Quang Ngai

Located in the mountainous region of Quang Ngai, schools for ethnic minority students are often far away from residential areas, students therefore walk all day and through slippery roads to schools; sometimes, they must stay in school in meagerly built bamboo camps.

Seeing the condition, an enterprise has sponsored to build 20 shelters from containers for students as container houses. Students of Primary and Secondary School Tra Lanh in the mountainous district Tay Tra in Quang Ngai Province are exhilarated to live in such special houses. 20 container houses become shelters for nearly 200 primary and secondary students.

These containers are beautifully designed with different tidy section for learning and sleeping. They are provided with mosquito nets, mattress, fans and tables for learning. 8-10 students live in one container houses.

Headmaster Le Van Tu said that the school is the only one in the mountainous district to have container houses. After five months, students are elated because they no longer live rough shelter from old pieces of wood set up by their parents which can not resist rain and cold wind.

HCMC chooses excelent students for World Mathematical Olympiad

In a bid to enhance teaching and learning connecting with life among students, the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City in coordination with EMG Education- an official representative group of World Mathematical Olympiad (WMO) in Vietnam to organize the second Mathematic contest.

Through the contest, good students will be selected to partake in the World Mathematical Olympiad  which will take place in August, 2017 in China.

This year, the contest will be open to fifth and sixth graders for the group A and seventh, eighth students will sit for the contest in the group B.

Candidates can register from February 13 to March 3, 2017. Primary schools and junior high schools managers should send its lists of good students to departments of education and training in districts and the names of them will be on the Department of Education and Training’s website.

Candidates will sit for two tests; one in Vietnamese and one in English each lasting from 60-90 minutes. Students will be tested mathematical logic abilities and in practice. Winners will be presented certificates of merit and awards.

Winners who voluntarily take part in the World Mathematics Olympiad will be trained and take tests again while others will be selected as substitutes

The World Mathematics Olympiad for students from 8 – 13 years old was first held in 2010. Annually, it attracts thousands of students from Korea, China, Thailand, Canada and the US.

Last year, Vietnam took part in the contest and  won two bronze medals and both winners are students of Tran Dai Nghia School for the gifted students.
 
Spring Cinema launched in HCMC

The Goethe Institute in Ho Chi Minh City has just announced to launch the Spring cinema program. As planned, each Wednesday at 7pm, the institute will show one of the most popular German movies from the past years.
 
The program will be launched for 10 weeks starting on February 15 to April 26, 2017 at the 1st floor, 19B Pham Ngoc Thach, District 3, HCMC.

The spring cinema will feature 10 movies.

A representative from the institute said last year, its Facebook followers voted for the best movies featured at the German film festival in Vietnam 2016, hence, as promised, the instiute will show them again within this film series". The three most popular ones were “Fortune Favors the Brave” – a story about an unusual friendship between three girls -, “Head Full of Honey” – the final adventure of Tilda and her grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s – and “Offline – Are You Ready for the Next Level” – an adventure movie in which reality and computer games mix up.
 
The program will start on February 15 with the film named "Who am I-No system is safe"; February 22: Head fullof honey; March 1: Hell; March 15: Macho man; March 22: For no eyes only; March 29: Single by contract; April 5: Fack ju Gohte; April 12: Victoria; April 19: Fortune Favors the brave; April 26: Offline-Are you ready for the next level.

Can Gio expects to receive 1.25 million visitors this year

HCMC’s outskirt district Can Gio was expected to receive 1.25 million visitors with total revenue of VND500 billion (US$22.03 million) in 2017, said district People’s Committee chairman Le Minh Dung on February 10th.

At a meeting with city People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong, Mr. Dung reported that last year, visitors to the district topped one million, up 54 percent over 2015 bringing the revenue of VND380 billion (US$17 million).

He proposed the city to instruct Saigon Water Corporation to speed up water supply pipe projects to solve the water shortage in some areas of the district and seek the Prime Minister’s recognition of Thanh An island commune.

In addition, he suggested staff rotation in short and long term to supply sufficient doctors for Can Gio General Hospital once being built and coming into operation.

Making a statement at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong prompted the district to build the modern general hospital quickly to meet local citizens’ demand.

With the advantage of over 10 kilometers of coast and 34 square kilometers of beaches and mangrove forest system, Can Gio should determine and pursue the target of developing into a coastal urban area with tourist and amusement services.

The district should conduct surveys on the life of salt makers as well as their production condition and product consumption to assist them to continue making salt or change job if they want to because of low income and difficult life, he said.

Dak Nong focuses preserving culture of ethnic minority groups

Deputy Chairwoman of People’s Committee in the highlands province of Dak Nong Ton Nu Ngoc Hanh talked about preservation and development of culture and festivals of ethnic minority groups in the province as well as promotion for tourism on the occasion of Lieng Nung festival 2017.

The festival is a time for people of all ethnic minority groups to meet and increase mutual understanding and strengthen solidarity amongst groups in the province; accordingly the festival has activities suiting with all groups’ culture and tradition, especially performance of healthy rituals of Ma group.

The festival taking  place in February 11 and 12 in Dak Nia Commune in Gia Nghia Town include festive activities and rituals. Jun Jong and healthy rituals  of Ma groups were performed and displays of photos, specialties and special textile of ethnic minority group to promote tourism; street festival, street music, weaving, gui knitting and traditional musical competitions,  folk games.

The province has 40 ethnic minority groups with quintessential cultural forms. Therefore, authority has set up project to keep the traditionally cultures of these groups including organizing 68 classes to teach how to play cong-chieng- musical instruments of ethnic groups and six other fresher courses as well as restore 50 rituals and folk songs, weaving techniques.

People’s Committee submitted the project to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourisms for the period 2015 – 2020 focusing preserving and developing cultural heritage in order to attract tourists to the province and honoring old artisans. In 2015, 22 artisans were awarded the title good artisans

Notably, the province has magnificent waterfalls like Dray Sap, Gia Long, Trinh Nu in Cu Jut District, Luu Ly, Len Gun  in Dak Song District, Lieng Nung, Ba Tang, Co Tien in Gia Nghia Town, Dak G'lun, Dak Buk So in Tuy Duc District. Especially, authority is finishing document for UNESCO –recognized geographic park for the cave network in the province’s Krong No District.

Moreover, the province has historical sites including Dak Mil prison, revolutionary base B4 and other sites in the French war which are recognized as the national sites. The province poured investment in Nam Nung ecological-cultural-historical tourist site, LIeng Nung entertainment park, Ta Dung Cultural Site and tourism site along Serepok River. 

The province also promoted cooperation with neighboring provinces for tourism growth. From 2011 to 2015, around 843,000 visitors arrived in the province earning  more than VND113 billion.

The province will call for more investment and sources into beautiful sites for tourism development.

Ministry facilitates overseas Vietnamese participation in solving country’s issues

Deputy minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung affirmed that the ministry would facilitate overseas Vietnamese’s participation in scientific research, technology development and renovation to solve the country’s specific problems in 2017 and following years  in HCMC yesterday.

He was speaking at an early spring meeting themed “Connection and Renovation Vietnam -2017” attracting many overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and those who used to study abroad. The event was hosted by the ministry in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations and the Association for liaison overseas Vietnamese.

Mr. Tung emphasized the role of overseas Vietnamese experts and intellectuals considering them to be one of key science and technology human resources of the country.

In 2017 and following years, the ministry will work with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other relevant agencies to well implement polices attracting and connecting overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and experts in solving the country’s issues, affirmed him.

Last year, the ministry connected with 540 good foreign experts comprising 250 overseas Vietnamese who are working at and cooperating with institutions, universities and businesses across the country under World Bank financed project Fostering Innovation through Research, Science and Technology (FIRST).

In addition, the ministry has approved a project building a Vietnamese experts network in the world to lure and efficiently use brainpower for the country’s development.

Overseas Vietnamese intellectuals informed of their initial encouraging results in startup in Vietnam last year at the meeting. Among them is Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhan from France, director of FABLAD Saigon and Da Nang systems. A Fablab is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication. It is a creative and social place to empower a local community to test and innovate.

Oversea Vietnamese in the US Nguyen Vinh has implemented VietExd project under MOOC, a massive open online course, to train high quality human resource and Phuc Huynh has set up Teach for Vietnam, a not for profit organization teaching English at universities in Vietnam. Former abroad student Truong Bao Tran introduced sustainable development projects for the community.

Dr. Le Duc Hung from HCMC Science University has worked on low power IC design and technology and application project. Dr . Nguyen Ngoc Trung from Hanoi Technology University introduced a FIRST financed project to develop semiconductor device fabrication process, applied for high power and high frequency electronic devices.

Second tranche of compensation cash disbursed for fish death-hit fishermen

The Ministry of Finance last month transferred VND1.68 trillion to four central coast provinces to pay compensation for fishermen affected by last April’s fish kill triggered by harmful industrial wastewater from the Formosa Ha Tinh steel complex.

Ha Tinh Province got VND560 billion, Quang Binh Province VND760 billion, Quang Tri Province VND160 billion and Thua Thien-Hue Province VND200 billion.

The amount is sourced from the compensation which the Vietnam unit of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group agreed to pay for economic damage after it admitted responsibility for the environmental pollution which killed tons of fish.

In the third quarter of last year, the ministry transferred VND3 trillion in compensation money for fishermen to the four provinces. 

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Huu Chi told a media briefing last October that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment transferred US$150 million out of Formosa’s US$500 million compensation to the State Treasury on October 6, 2016 for compensation payment.

Of the first tranche of VND3 trillion, Quang Binh received VND1.1 trillion, Ha Tinh VND1 trillion, Quang Tri VND500 billion and Thua Thien-Hue VND400 billion.

According to the Government’s Decision 1880/QD-TTg, beneficiaries are individuals, households and businesses that were active in fishing, fish farming, salt production, coastal fish trading, fishing logistics, tourism and seafood storage.

In another development, the Ministry of Finance said, State budget collections stood at VND97.4 trillion in January, representing 8% of the 2017 estimate. Of the amount, budget revenues from domestic sources accounted for VND87.9 trillion, including VND2.2 trillion from lottery sales, VND2.3 trillion from crude oil exports and VND19.2 trillion from import-export tariffs.      

Meanwhile, budget expenditures totaled VND87.25 trillion last month, 6.3% of the estimate. Of which, 86.2% went to investment development, national security and defense, State governance, disaster relief aid and social welfare, and 10.9% was used to service debts.

Pork prices soar in Vietnam and China

The pork price in China has begun showing signs of picking up after a sharp plunge in November last year. Meanwhile, the price in Vietnam has also eased off a record low seen last December.

Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of Dong Nai Province’s Husbandry Association, said local pork demand in the pre-Tet period was rising but the price of the meat was falling, forcing farmers to sell pigs at prices below production costs to have money for Tet celebration.

However, after the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), supply has been dipping, driving up the pig price. The live-pig price in Dong Nai, the biggest pig farming province in Vietnam, has been hovering around VND37,000 per kilo, up VND3,000-4,000 over three previous weeks.

The higher price, however, has yet to help farmers offset their losses.

Meanwhile, the China pig price has grown steadily, with pigs selling at around VND57,000 per kilo and pork at VND60,000 per kilo on average. Pork rose to a record high of VND70,000 per kilo in May and June last year.

The pork price in Vietnam had sharply increased since March last year. It hit VND55,000 per kilo in May due to strong demand in China.

Many farmers scaled up their pig farming as they believed pork consumption in the northern neighbor would remain strong and that domestic demand would grow during the Tet shopping spree.

However, the pork price in China steadily dropped after the surge of demand. By November, it stood at around VND53,000 per kilo, the lowest last year, affecting Vietnam's pig exports to the northern country.

Farmers had no choice but to sell their pigs on the domestic market, resulting in an oversupply.

The association said the province had 1.8 million pigs before Tet compared to 1.5 million or fewer in previous years.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requested provinces and cities nationwide to review their pig farming plans. Local authorities were told to improve market forecasts and encourage farmers to embrace both small and large-scale farming methods to avoid risks.

HCMC determined to polish business environment

Leaders of HCMC have shown their resolve to make the business environment of the city better and give more support to investors so as to meet the target of having an additional 50,000 businesses this year.

Speaking at a conference on 2017 tasks of the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment on February 8, city chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong ordered relevant agencies to work harder to improve the business environment to facilitate production and business activities.

The 50,000 startups targeted by the city should be active in sectors that could fuel the city’s economic growth, he said. He urged 260,000 family-run businesses in the city be converted into firms.

The city is looking to have a total of 500,000 firms by 2020. At present, there are nearly 300,000 businesses here, so around 50,000 new companies should be set up each year to reach that goal by 2020.

The HCMC Department of Planning and Investment was told to support multinational companies in the city, connect them with domestic producers and develop supporting industries. In addition, the city should back strong private business groups using modern technology and small and medium-sized enterprises, and help the corporate sector boost its competitiveness.

Phong also asked the department to find ways to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) into essential sectors. However, it should carefully look into any potential impact on the environment.

The department was tasked with helping speed up administrative procedures. In 2016, HCMC ranked fifth in the country for FDI attraction. The ranking should have been higher if administrative hindrances had been lifted, he said.

Last year, the city saw 36,500 startups coming into being and attracted around US$3.45 billion in fresh FDI approvals.

PM calls for shift to innovation-based industry

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the industry and trade sector to proceed with a shift to innovation-based industry, with science and technology serving as a driving force, and a platform for improving competitiveness and attaining sustainable development.

To do this, there must be a strategy to reduce the nation’s heavy dependence on unsustainable competitive advantages that are based on natural resources, said the Prime Minister at an online conference which reviewed the sector’s 2016 performance and discussed plans for 2017.

In the immediate future, industry will still rely on natural resources while adding more value to its products and increasing scientific and technological application, the Government said on its news website.

The Prime Minister underlined the need to further encourage the private sector to get involved in the industrialization and modernization process. Private firms should be helped to grow business.

He basically agreed with the tasks and solutions set out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In 2017, the ministry and the business groups under its management will shore up divestment, equitization and restructuring of State-owned enterprises. The ministry must focus on dealing with the loss-making and inefficient projects which it is in charge of, according to the Government leader.

Action programs should be deployed in accordance with Resolution 19-2016/NQ-CP dated April 28, 2016, Resolution 35/NQ-CP dated May 16, 2016 and Resolution 01/NQ-CP dated January 1, 2017 on the main tasks and solutions to carry out the socioeconomic plan and budget estimates for 2017.

Major balances in the medium and long terms in sectors like electricity, coal, petroleum, fertilizer and chemicals must be ensured to stabilize the macro economy. This should be seen as the political task of the Ministry of Trade and Trade.

Industrial development should be accelerated, coupled with environmental protection in the implementation of key projects.

The industry and trade authority should strive to achieve or even beat the export target set by the National Assembly for 2017. An appropriate mechanism should be developed for rearranging border trade, and creating a breakthrough in e-commerce.

A focus should be given to the solutions to enhance the rational management and control of technical barriers and trade defense. Proper policies should be drawn up to support the development of the spearhead industries, such as automotive, electronics and mechanical engineering.

Research institutes and schools should form a powerful link with manufacturers to increase intellectual, scientific and technological content of made-in-Vietnam products.

Hoang Sa, Truong Sa exhibition comes to Thai Nguyen

Some 150 maps, documents and objects on Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos are being displayed at an exhibition opened in Dong Hy district in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on February 13.

Exhibited materials are in Chinese, Nom (old Vietnamese writing using Chinese characters), modern Vietnamese and French issued from the 17th to the 20th century by the Vietnamese feudal states and the French government in Indochina (on behalf of the then Vietnamese state).

Notably, on display is a collection of 21 imperial records between the Minh Mang reign (1791-1841) and Bao Dai reign (1925 - 1945). They reflect a process in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), during which Vietnam continuously exercised and defended its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

The five-day event aims to firmly affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos and reject allegations distorting history and groundless claims for the islands and other marine areas.

Young people called to join in planting trees

Youngsters should actively participate in planting and caring trees in their localities, contributing to protecting the environment and preventing land erosion, saltwater intrusion and dust storms.

The call was made by Le Quoc Phong, First Secretary of the Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, at a tree-planting festival held in Giao Thuy district, the northern province of Nam Dinh on February 12.

Phong also encouraged the young people’s active engagement in raising public awareness of the need to protect forests, stop deforestation and clean up the environment towards sustainable development.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh joined about 1,500 youngsters and locals in the event, planting nearly 3,500 trees along the coast of Giao Long commune.

On the occasion, the Deputy PM and provincial leaders and heads of the Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee visited and presented gifts to two Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and five families living on fishing, as well as needy people in Giao Thuy district.

Jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the People’s Committee of Nam Dinh, the tree-planting festival was also part of activities to welcome the upcoming 11th National Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Da Nang’s training programmes satisfy regional quality standards

The University of Science and Technology under the University of Da Nang received the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) certifications for its two training programmes on February 13.

The certified are the advanced programme in electronic and communication engineering and the advanced programme in embedded systems, which were respectively opened here in 2006 and 2008.

They met 18 standards of training quality, earning the highest scores among the 65 programmes that have undergone AUN-QA examination in Vietnam.

By having its programmes tested under AUN-QA standards, the university, based in the central city of Da Nang, wants to renew its commitment to ensuring training quality.

Speaking at the granting ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga highly valued the university’s achievements, stressing that personnel training is critical to national development. 

Quality verification is compulsory for all universities to standardise their training and research activities. It is also important to publicising their training quality so that those who want to pursue higher education can choose a suitable university for them, he added.

The Da Nang University of Science and Technology plans to register for AUN-QA verification of seven other training programmes in 2018.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre debuts in Poland

The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre is taking a theatrical journey to appear for the first-time ever at Materia Prima (February 18-25) in Cracow, Poland, report the organizers.

For the fourth time, the Groteska Theatre will host an extraordinary event that brings the best spectacles from all corners of the globe including Vietnam, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the US.

The show presents fascinating and surprising performances in which theatre is intertwined with new circus and dance, and dance is juxtaposed with multimedia and forms of puppet, mask and shadow theatre.

The event, say the organizers, will be a veritable theatre of miracles.

At this year’s show, the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre brings Traditional Water Puppets to Poland for the first time.

The distinctive Vietnamese folk theatre form, dating back a millennium, is unusual in that the stage for the colourful puppets animated by unseen actors is water – pond, river, swimming pool.

We will see, they say, fairy-tale and genre scenes whose protagonists are ordinary people and ancient mythical figures— all this accompanied by traditional Vietnamese folk music.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE