Author: Kevin Le

  During Tết holiday, tangerine prices risk a sharp fall besides green-skin pomelo. VNA/VNS Photo MEKONG DELTA – Demand for fruits in the Mekong Delta is falling even as Tết (Lunar New Year) approaches, and with large volumes of fruits entering the market, farmers are anxious. The prices of a number of fruits such as green-skin pomelo, Năm Roi pomelo and well-known varieties of mango and star apple have declined sharply as a result instead of increasing as usual. Nguyễn Văn Ngàn, a farmer in Tiền Giang Province usually earns a big income from selling…

  Workers at a footwear factory in southern Việt Nam. The sector is hoping that 2021 will see a surge in both orders and revenue thanks to advantages held post-pandemic. — VNA Photo HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s footwear sector is now beginning to see positive signs after export revenue for footwear and handbags fell 11 per cent year-on-year to US$19.5 billion in 2020, making it one of the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19. Vietnamese companies have proved their capacity in research and development (R&D) and design, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) Nguyễn Đức Thuận.…

  A project under construction in Hà Nội. The real estate inventories of listed companies increased significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020 over a year ago. VNS Photo Mai Hương  HÀ NỘI — The real estate inventories of listed companies increased significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020 over a year ago because many projects were stagnant due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, legal bottlenecks and limited financial capacity of the developers. The financial report of Đất Xanh Group (DXG) showed that the company earned revenue of VNĐ2.89 trillion in 2020, equivalent to just half of 2019 and reported…

  Headquarters of Hải Phòng Thermal Power JSC (HND) in the northern province of Hải Phòng. Photo vietstock.vn  HÀ NỘI — Multiple thermal power companies reported profit in 2020 despite an economic downturn amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hải Phòng Thermal Power JSC (HND) earned the largest amount of profit in the year, among six thermal power companies listed on the stock market. The company achieved post-tax profit of VNĐ1.45 trillion (US$63 million) in 2020, up nearly 24 per cent compared to the profit achieved in 2019, of which the post-tax profit reported in Q4 was more…

  Customers shop for Tết confectionery products at a Big C supermarket in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Anh HÀ NỘI — The consumer price index (CPI) inched up 0.06 per cent in January against December last year, and down 0.97 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). Head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Đỗ Thị Ngọc said the core inflation (CPI excluding food items, energy products and commodities under the State management like medical and educational services) in January rose by 0.49 per cent year-on-year. This was the lowest increase in January in the past five years, she stressed. The GSO said among nine groups of products and services witnessing higher…

According to a report by the Ministry of Information and Communications, last year the online gaming industry doubled its revenues from 2015 to VNĐ12 trillion. — Photo kinhtedothi.vn  Compiled by Thiên Lý The online game market has become red hot due to a phenomenon that many domestic mobile game publishers have launched their A games at the same time. Some of them are among the top 10 in Southeast Asia in terms of revenues. The new games include Tuyết Ưng-VNG from VNG, Ngạo Kiếm Thanh Vân from Shoha Game and Thần Vương Nhất Thế and…

  The event launching the new support programme. —Photo ictvietnam.vn HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) officially rolled out a programme supporting the digital transformation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), called SMEdx, in Hà Nội late last week. It is part of a series of projects to support SMEs via “Make in Việt Nam” platforms, carried out by MIC in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and the Việt Nam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Vinasme) this year. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Deputy Minister of Information…

HCM City plans to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs). By focusing on improving infrastructure and administrative procedures, HCM city hopes that they could boost the FDI in IPs and EPZs. Hua Quoc Hung head of the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza), said Vietnam has done a good job in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, and it helps the nation attract global investors to the city’s IPs and EPZs. But city authorities need to resolve the lack of lands for rent available in IPs and EPZs, he said. There…

Welcome to another week’s recap. The biggest story of the fourth week of 2021 was the unveiling of the Oppo A55 5G in China. Based on Dimensity 700 chipset, 6.5 inch HD + IPS LCD display and 5000mAh battery. It costs CNY 1,599 (around $ 245 / € 200) in China and we expect it to launch worldwide soon. Xiaomi closed the week with something really amazing. Mi Air Charge technology promises to be able to wirelessly charge a phone from a distance of “several meters”. Provide up to 5W to multiple devices while you are using them, walking around,…

Motorola hasn’t exactly led the pack in delivering timely updates lately. In fact, some users are still waiting for versions of Android 10. However, things could get better, at least for Moto G Pro owners. There is already an official update to Android 11 for units in the UK. In fact, according to the official update portal that the company put together in a fairly recent effort to try to help with faster and more seamless delivery, the particular package has been available since January 21! It is only now coming to our attention, because no one has really fussed…