HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock market concluded the last session of 2023 in a quiet atmosphere without a clear direction for 2024. On the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index increased by just one point, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 1,130 points. Thus, from the starting point of 1,007 points, the southern bourse’s index leapt 12.3 per cent. Meanwhile, HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange decreased slightly by 0.13 per cent to end at 231 points. Despite recording an impressive increase, for many investors, 2023 continues to be a difficult year, with many investors even suffering heavy losses.

"We're going to use the flowers and bonsai trees to decorate a flower street near the Binh Dong Wharf. In particular, the number of foreign visitors to Da Lat city this year increased sharply, of which Korean visitors accounted for 80%. With more than VNĐ12 trillion (US$493.8 million) allocated from the State budget, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has funded the operations of the National Foundation for Science and Technology and the National Technology Innovation Fund. Science and technology development funds at the local level also garnered more attention, nurturing an important resource for technology research and development among companies for their business and production activities. In 2023, the sector achieved breakthroughs in the development of transportation infrastructure with 26 projects initiated and 20 projects completed.

Poverty rate in impoverished districts went down by over 5.6 percentage points to approximately 33%, and that in ethnic minority areas dropped to nearly 18%, meeting targets set by the National Assembly and the Government. According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, 2024 is a crucial year in striving towards targets set by the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction, for the 2021-2025 period. It is also the time to propose medium-term public investment plans, and poverty standards and poverty reduction directions, for the 2026-2030 period. To further reduce the rate of poverty, the ministry asked the national office for poverty reduction to take concerted measures to mobilize resources for the work in the coming time./.

About 12.6 million international tourists have visited Vietnam this year, a 3.4-fold rise from 2022, surpassing the target of 8 million set earlier, the General Statistics Office ( GSO ) reported on December 29.The yearly figure, however, is equivalent to only 70% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, the agency said, adding that in December alone, it stood at nearly 1.4 million, up 11.2% month-on-month, and 93.9% year-on-year.Meanwhile, some 5 million Vietnamese travelled abroad in the year, two times that in 2022. During the final month of 2023, the number was estimated at 352,100, a rise of 23.2% from the same period last year. Vietnam has won the World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2023 title of the World Travel Awards. (Photo: VNA)Revenue from lodging and catering services this year reached 673.5 trillion VND (27.77 billion USD), accounting for 10.8% of the total value and expanding by 14.7% compared to the previous year.The agency attributed the hikes to efforts by localities in developing tourism products, and cultural and sport activities, with Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Can Tho among those reporting increases in tourism revenue.The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism said the 2023 National Tourism Year , hosted by the central coastal province of Binh Thuan under the theme of “Green convergence”, has wrapped up successfully, featuring more than 200 national and international events.Binh Thuan welcomed a record number of 8.5 million holidaymakers in the year, and raked in 23 trillion VND from the sector, doubling that in 2022. It has been among the nine localities nationwide posting the highest tourism revenue, contributing to boosting the country’s tourism recovery and promoting the land and people of Vietnam to international friends.The 2024 National Tourism Year will be hosted by the northern province of Dien Bien, marking the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory which played a decisive role in ending the resistance war against French colonialists.With nine UNESCO-recognised heritage sites, including five cultural, three natural, and one complex heritage, Vietnam has won the World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2023 title of the World Travel Awards.This is the 4th time that Vietnam has obtained the title, as it did in 2019, 2020, and 2022./.

Beaches in Con Dao see the largest number of sea turtles come to nest and lay eggs in Vietnam, accounting for about 80%. The eighth National Congress of the Vietnam Farmers' Union yesterday held a closing session and introduced the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union for the term 2023-2028 at the Hanoi-based National Convention Center. Vietnam was among the top 10 countries in terms of the number of new mobile application downloads for two consecutive years 2022 and 2023. Vietnam ranks 46th among 132 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index 2023 rankings, up two positions from last year. In 2016, Saigon Co.op proposed the acquisition of the Big C Vietnam chain, a project approved by the HCM City People's Committee.

HÀ NỘI — Conductor Yutaka Sado will lead young musicians from Japan Super Kids Orchestra (SKO) and Việt Nam Youth Orchestra (VYO) to perform at Hồ Gươm Opera on January 4. Under the baton of the conductor, the orchestras will play a repertoire of pieces by Vietnamese composer Trần Mạnh Hùng, Japanese composer Yasushi Akutagawa, and others. In 2011, he took his first turn conducting the Berlin Philharmonic with music from Takemitsu and Shostakovich. The concert is the first project in the VYO Exchange Programme with the desire to bring the world to Việt Nam and Việt Nam to the world. It will bring the opportunity for everyone in Việt Nam to experience the quintessential virtues of cultures around the world, according to the concert organisation.

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has affirmed the tangible results of digital transformation in 2023 that have a positive impact on overall socio-economic development at the seventh meeting of the National Committee for Digital Transformation on Thursday. The PM asked the committee along with steering committees for digital transformation of ministries, agencies and localities to urgently issue digital transformation plans for 2024, which should focus on developing the digital economy across four pillars, namely information technology industry, digitalisation of economic sectors, digital management and digital data. He requested the effective development of digital platforms, applications, and services, particularly artificial intelligence platforms, virtual assistants, the VNeID digital citizen application, digital payment applications, electronic invoices and contracts, and personal digital signatures. The national digital transformation index rose by 48 per cent after three years from a value of 0.48 in 2020 to 0.71 in 2022, and is forecast to reach 0.75 in 2023. The Ministry of Information and Communications proposed that digital transformation in 2024 should go in the direction of universalising digital infrastructure, creating digital applications to serve the development of the digital economy as a new driver for economic growth and productivity enhancement.

Wind turbines at the off-shore Dong Hai wind power plant in southern Tra Vinh province. For offshore wind projects, the implementation period is around 6-8 years from the survey phase. "Except for hydrogen, the current sectors related to the implementation of Power Plan VIII under PVN's responsibility are being implemented. "As for offshore wind power, due to similarities with offshore oil and gas activities globally, such as seabed surveys and investigations, Petrovietnam is fully capable. Therefore, MoIT , as the leading advisory agency for the Government, needs to propose to the National Assembly a comprehensive resolution on equal rights to deploy all sources of electricity, such as offshore wind power, gas power, and LNG power./.

Part of the government’s “Set Zero” campaign, the incineration will mark the largest-ever cache of narcotics destroyed in Thailand. (Photo: The Nation)- Thailand is set to conclude its year-long anti-drug campaign by destroying a record-breaking 340 tonnes of seized narcotics. The operation is part of the government’s “Set Zero” campaign against drug trafficking.The narcotics, transported from the Ministry of Public Health in Nonthaburi to the Bang Pu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan, include over 156 tonnes of methamphetamine pills, crystal meth, heroin, and other illegal drugs. The Thai government has allocated 9 million baht for this large-scale operation.In a move to prevent seized narcotics from re-entering the market or falling into the wrong hands, the government plans to conduct drug-burning ceremonies every month throughout 2024. The drugs are intended for both domestic consumption and international distribution, with experts noting that the seized quantities represent only a fraction of the overall illicit trade./.

Energy transition, replacing traditional fossil fuel sources to using cleaner and low-emission forms of energy and moving towards carbon neutrality is an important part of Vietnam’s future energy landscape. The country’s National Power Development Plan to 2045 also focuses on a greener orientation and development of electricity sources. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s energy demand has continued to grow strongly, in which, the primary energy demand in the 2010- 2019 period increased by 6% per year. In the next five years, the annual electricity demand is predicted to grow at about 8.5%. Therefore, using energy economically and effectively is a practical solution to help improve economic efficiency, conserve national energy resources, protect the environment, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions./.

This is the new bottom of deposit interest rates in the market. Among the four largest State-owned banks, including Agribank, Vietcombank, VietinBank and BIDV, Vietcombank currently applies the lowest deposit interest rate. Agribank follows with a deposit interest rate of 2.2 per cent per year for short-term deposits of 1-2 months. Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) said deposit interest rates have dropped deeply and there is little room for further reduction. However, in the period when the economy is recovering, the current low deposit interest rates need to be maintained to pull lending interest rates down further.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has recorded many encouraging results amid complex and unexpected developments in the world situation in 2023. Many experts and international organisations perceived that the country remains a bright spot in the global panorama. Việt Nam has continued to emerge as an attractive destination for foreign investors and supply chains. The stability and growth of Việt Nam’s economy have also provided an important basis for other countries to place their confidence in and bolster partnerships with Việt Nam. Despite the global economic contraction, Southeast Asia is considered a bright spot with Việt Nam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore posting fast growth.

The expansion of Highway 13 through Ho Chi Minh City encountered many difficulties due to many project adjustments. With the Resolution 98, Ho Chi Minh City will gradually remove traffic bottlenecks at the city's gateway. First of all, the trend of couples having one child is now becoming popular in Ho Chi Minh City. He was brevetted General of the Vietnam People's Army in 1959, the second General of the Vietnam People's Army after General Vo Nguyen Giap. Remarkably, the People’s Committee of District 5 will collaborate with Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) and the Unicorn-Lion-Dragon Federation of Ho Chi Minh City to organize this year’s tournament.

HÀ NỘI — Shares declined on the two national exchanges on Wednesday as large-cap stocks were hit by profit-taking after the market advanced for two consecutive sessions. Nearly 777 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ19.3 trillion (US$794 million). Investors’ profit-taking was blamed for the decline of the stock market as it strongly hit large-cap stocks. Wednesday witnessed a decline in shares on both national exchanges as profit-taking activities targeted large-cap stocks, following two consecutive sessions of market advancement. The profit-taking phenomenon occurs when investors decide to sell their shares to secure profits after a period of price appreciation.

Now, a number of Việt Nam's key export industries have set growth targets for 2024. Trương Văn Cẩm, vice chairman and general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said that with 2023 export turnover reaching $40.3 billion, the industry sets an export target of 2024 to reach $44 billion, an increase of 9.2 per cent. ​Trade promotion is one of the important activities to promote export growth. Green export is an inevitable trend, so Việt Nam is not out of this game. They also need to proactively apply green production, green consumption, and circular business models to improve efficiency in production and export.