HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam welcomed more than 6.6 million international visitors in the first seven months of 2023, hitting 83 per cent of the year’s target, according to the latest report from the General Statistics Office. Among the 6.6 million tourists, 87.6 per cent came to Việt Nam by air (5.8 million), 11.6 per cent by road (765,300), 0.8 per cent by sea (55,100). South Korea remained the largest source market of Việt Nam tourism in the first seven months of this year with 1.9 million visitors, accounting for one-third of total international visitors to Việt Nam. Among the top ten source markets of Việt Nam tourism, four are in Northeast Asia – South Korea, China, Taiwan (China), and Japan, and three in Southeast Asia – Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. During the first seven months, the industry also served 76.5 million domestic tourists – including 12.5 million in July (peak summertime holiday).

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) will bring Giselle - one of the greatest romantic ballets to audiences in Hà Nội downtown on August 2 & 3. "We as the national ballet theatre have performed popular ballets like Swan Lake and La Sylphide," said Phan Mạnh Đức, VNOB's director and the ballet's art director. "Giselle is a romantic ballet loved by all dancers and ballet lovers. "The role requires both excellent dance skills and a deep understanding of Giselle's complicated soul. She won the best dancer at National Dance, Sing and Music Festival in 2021.

HÀ NỘI — The Civil Aviation Administration of Việt Nam (CAAV) has just submitted a report detailing challenges arising during the trial of using the e-identification app VNeID for domestic air travel. The pilot programme allows users with eID accounts at level-2, which means their information has been verified by authorities, to use the app for security checks for domestic flights. However, the CAAV reported that several airports in mountainous areas or on islands have unstable connections, which is an obstacle to using VNeID. According to a report by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Vân Đồn International Airport, on average, 0.64 per cent of air passengers use VNeID for domestic flights. A passenger using traditional papers usually passes through direct security checks in around six seconds.

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese stock market posted a positive week last week, with the VN-Index officially surpassing the key psychological level of 1,200 points. Experts expect that the market may struggle this week but gradually head toward new highs. The Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) ended last week at 1,207.67 points, hitting a ten-month high, while the HNX-Index on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) was at 237.54 points. Both benchmark indices set another weekly gain, of which the VN-Index climbed 1.1 per cent, gaining for the fourth consecutive week. Liquidity increased strongly with the average trading value of the market up 15.5 per cent over the previous week to more than VNĐ23.5 trillion (US$992.1 million).

Thailand warns of escalating cybercrime (Photo:thethaiger.com)Bangkok (VNA) – The Research Department of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has provided a stark warning about the escalating threat from cybercriminals. It has emphasised the necessity to address this pressing issue as global damage from cybercrime threats continues to balloon. Predicted to top 8 trillion USD by 2023, the urgent necessity to curtail cyber threats is globally acknowledged. The country recorded 218,210 complaints relating to cybercrime threats within just one year. A report by Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) reveals that 551 cyber threat incidents occurred from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with 100 outstanding voluntary blood donors nationwide on Saturday, who are in Hà Nội for a special programme honouring their good deeds. The Party and State always created favourable conditions for blood donation, he said, citing Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s blood donation appeal in April 2020 when COVID-19 was developing. Since the establishment of the National Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation in 2008, more than 16 million blood units have been collected, 99 per cent of which have come from voluntary donors. All cities, provinces and districts have set up their own steering committees for voluntary blood donation. Up to 1,500 blood donors have been commended over the past years.

It said during high-level talks, Italy has always affirmed its determination to promote comprehensive relations with Vietnam, considering Vietnam a priority for developing relations in Southeast Asia. Vietnam continues to be one of the ten emerging countries that Italy prioritises to develop trade and investment cooperation by 2030. Nguyen Thanh Tri, former member of the Lai Chau provincial Party Committee, member of the provincial Party Committee's Inspection Commission and chief inspector of Lai Chau was also in the list. The event was jointly held by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the NA Office on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of the Vietnam Trade Union. Nguyễn Văn Phong, secretary of the Thới Sơn Party Committee, said the commune has 585 cages.

At the scene of the incident (Photo: Khmer Times)Hanoi (VNA) – A clash occurred in Phnom Penh on July 29, resulting in the death of a 35-year-old Vietnamese citizen, reported the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia. Cambodian authorities are conducting an investigation to clarify the incident and are seeking the suspect. Upon learning of the news, the embassy promptly took citizen protection measures to identify the victim as directed by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry. It also asked the Cambodian side to investigate and arrest the perpetrator, and work with relevant domestic agencies to inform the victim's family and provide them with guidance on necessary procedures following the incident./.

HCM CITY - Designer brands have joined HCM City’s promotion programme “Shopping Season”, taking place between August 25 and 27. Recently, the People's Committee of HCM City approved to run “Shopping Season” until September 15, instead of July 15 as was the initial plan. According to deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, sales events of designer brands are usually organised in department stores or supermarkets, without the necessary links to bring impactful shopping results. Tours that introduce the new shopping experiences have been prepared by the city Department of Tourism, with the participation of five tourism agencies. The first phase of the city’s “Shopping Season”, joined by over 3,000 businesses with about 7,200 promotions, successfully ended on July 15.

Located just 44 km from downtown Hanoi, the village is an open-air museum housing interesting cultural values, landscapes, and architecture that are typical of rural areas in the Red River Delta. To boost interest in art and introduce a new tourism product from his hometown, lacquer artisan Nguyen Tan Phat opened a free traditional art class, where children and visitors to Đường Lâm can try creating artwork with their own hands. The experience of making woodblock and lacquer prints presents a unique opportunity for tourists to discover local cultural values through the lens of traditional art. Along with a fixed schedule every Sunday morning, Phat is also available to hold classes during the week, depending on whether groups of students and visitors register to attend. Those attending the class will be guided in the necessary techniques and skills to create their artworks, which they can take home with them as souvenirs of Đuong Lam.

Muay ThaiThanh HàVietnamese fighters have set new milestones after winning two belts in the first-ever professional World Boxing Council (WBC) International Muay Thai event recently organised in Việt Nam. And at the same time, it brings opportunities to lift Vietnamese Muay Thai globally, nearly six years since Nguyễn Kế Nhơn’s WBC world title in 2018. She is a two-time International Professional Combat Council World Champion and the 2023 WBC Minimum-weight Muay Thai World Champion. The WBC Muay Thai has arrived in the country and has picked promoter Jenny Đỗ as WBC Muay Thai committee chairwoman for Việt Nam. We have had to ask for training supervision and assistance from the WBC Muay Thai.

Introducing policies to come up with the global minimum tax was essential for Việt Nam to ensure tax revenue but remain attractive to foreign investors as many countries are adopting the initiative. The global minimum tax of 15 per cent is part of a two-pillar initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Countries receiving foreign investment, including Việt Nam, are studying policies to complement the global minimum tax. If Việt Nam does not apply the global minimum tax, it still has to accept that other countries will apply it and have the right to collect top-up taxes on MNEs paying a lower tax rate than the global minimum tax for their investments in Việt Nam. The tax authority estimated that about 112 MNEs in Việt Nam would be affected by the global minimum tax if it was applied from 2024.

Illustrative photo (Photo: Courtesy of Freepik)– Average household debt in Thailand has reached a 15-year high due to a slower-than-expected economic recovery and high living costs, amid uncertainty over the formation of a new government, a survey showed.Average debt stood at 559,409 THB (about 16,000 USD) in 2023, up 11.5% from the previous year, according to the survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).The recovery of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has lagged behind others in the region as the vital tourism sector just started to recover last year from the pandemic, while soft global demand continues to stall exports.Survey respondents thought they would continue to borrow more for at least six months, the university's president Thanavath Phonvichai said at a briefing.The debt levels should peak in 2024, he said, adding that despite the election, the economic recovery remains unclear, meaning people continue to face economic problems with high living costs and low incomes until early next year.The Thai parliament on July 27 postponed a vote for the next prime minister, delaying the formation of a government and policies to boost the economy.The economy is expected to grow between 3.0% and 3.5% this year, Thanavath said, noting that the delayed government formation would have more impact on growth next year.The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 90.6% at the end of March. Policymakers have expressed concerns about the high debt, particularly among low-income earners./.

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam welcomed nearly 6.6 million international visitors in the first seven months of this year, accounting for 83% of the yearly target, according to Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT). The RoK remained the largest source market of Vietnam tourism in the first seven months of this year with 1.9 million arrivals, accounting for one-third of total international visitors to Vietnam. Among the top ten source markets of Vietnam tourism, four are in Northeast Asia - the RoK, China, Taiwan (China), and Japan, and three in Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The deputy minister expected Lt Col Tuan will continue upholding the tradition of Vietnamese soldiers and “blue-beret” soldiers to complete assigned tasks, while promoting the image of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army in the multilateral external environment. Secretary of Can Tho City Party’s Committee Nguyen Van Hieu stressed that the West Ring Road is a critical project of the city.

Việt Nam was hailed for its prompt, urgent and highly effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months, making it a model for other ASEAN countries to learn from. He added that Việt Nam has also been actively acting to protect ASEAN's central role. In its own way, Việt Nam has demonstrated its responsibility as an ASEAN member through its foreign policies. With a well-balanced foreign policy, Việt Nam has successfully found solutions without getting entangled in any conflicts. Việt Nam has strongly advocated the peaceful settlement of disputes and is now an important pillar of the bloc.