Art lovers make lacquerware in HanoiHoang Nga from Hanoi loves lacquer artworks. At an ongoing lacquer exhibition in Hanoi, she was also able to be part of the lacquer painting process for the first time. Lacquer is the most ancient art form in VietnamThe exhibition is organised by Hanoia House – a traditional art exhibition space in Hanoi. Lacquer pots are inspired by bird-cage designsLacquer art was introduced to Vietnam several thousand years ago. Dang Tran Quan is introducing lacquer art to visitors at the exhibitionThe exhibits feature lacquer pots, which are inspired by bird cage designs.

Ly Hoang Nam beats two rivals in ATP ChallengerViet Nam’s top male tennis player Ly Hoang Nam secured two wins in the qualifying round of the ongoing ATP Challenger in Segovia, Spain on Sunday. Vietnamese top tennis player Ly Hoang Nam. — Photo banhni.vnNam, world No 568, defeated Pablo Vivero Gonzalez of Spain, world No 403, 6-4, 6-3 after 67 minutes. Nam then bested Federico Zeballos of Bolivia, world No 585, 6-0 and 7-5 after 72 minutes. During his time in Spain, Nam, 21, will compete in several tournaments to hone his skills and gain points.

Vietnam uncovers 400 human trafficking cases each yearVietnam has seen an average of 400 human trafficking cases each year, involving around 1,000 victims and 600 traffickers, said an official. Dinh Van Trinh, deputy head of the anti-human trafficking office under the Ministry of Public Security, announced the figures at a conference in Hanoi on July 30. He said concerted efforts among public agencies, social organisations, and grassroots communities are needed to improve the effectiveness of anti-human trafficking work. At the function, Pham Mai Hien, a representative from the Ministry of Public Security, introduced the programme on the prevention and control o human trafficking for the 2016-2020 period (Programme 130/CP). She said it includes five sub-projects on campaigns to raise public awareness, fight human trafficking crimes, support victims, completr legal framework, monitor the enforcement of related law and regulations, and maintain international cooperation.

Tourism booming but stock market takes little noticeVietNamNet Bridge – At the close on July 20 the share price of Tay Ninh Cable Car Tour Joint Stock Company (TCT) stood at VND67,000, slightly up for the year but with a gain of 40 per cent from a year ago. But the big picture is that despite good performances across the board, few tourism companies are listed. The major firms include FDT (Fiditour), OCH (Ocean Tourist and Hotel Joint Stock Company), VNG (Thanh Thanh Cong Tourist Joint Stock Company), DAH (Dong A Hotel Group Joint Stock Company) but a few of them are listed including TCT and HOH. Actually there are many large tourism companies such as Vietravel, Saigontourist, Sun Group, and Tuan Chau, but they have not listed either due to certain reasons. The US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and the escalating US-China trade war have caused the dollar to strengthen.

MoU on Vietnam-Singapore cooperation centre to be signedDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh is set to represent the Vietnamese Government in signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the operation principles of the Vietnam-Singapore cooperation centre. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the draft document and assigned Deputy PM Minh to sign the MoU with a representative of the Singaporean Government. Minh is on an official visit to Singapore from July 30 to 31, which is expected to deepen the cooperative and strategic partnership between the two countries. The countries founded diplomatic ties on August 1, 1973 and set up a strategic partnership in September 2013 during Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Vietnam. They have actively worked to realise the strategic partnership and obtained substantive outcomes in all fields, from politics, security and defence, and economy, to education and training, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

VN-Index rises, but liquidity remains lowThe VN-Index rose by 14.21 points to reach 949.73 points on July 30, with the majority of codes enjoying increases. On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), upturn was seen in the prices of 172 stock codes, while the prices of 52 shares remained unchanged and those of 114 others dropped.Meanwhile, on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also increased 1.05 points to hit 106.76 points. The prices of 91 codes rose, while downturn was seen in 69 shares.Despite the increase in both the VN-Index and HNX-Index, the market’s liquidity was still not improved as only 229 million shares were sold with a total value of 4.2 trillion VND.In the VN30 group, which measures the performance of 30 stocks with the highest market capitalisation and liquidity on the HoSE, the prices of 23 codes rose with only four stocks dropping. The highest rise was seen in the prices of VJC with 7,000 VND per share, PNJ with 3,400 VND per share, and GAS and CTD with 2,100 VND and 2,600 VND per share, respectively. The price of HAG expanded to 7,580 VND per share.On the day, foreign investors bought 411,527 shares with 2.68 billion VND on the HNX and 359,310 shares worth 41.7 billion VND on the HoSE.

20-year prison term proposed for ex-Chairman of the VNCBA 20-year prison term has been proposed for Pham Cong Danh, ex-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), for his involvement in the case of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences” at VNCB. In this phase, they are accused of causing economic losses of more than 6.1 trillion VND (263.73 million USD) to VNCB. The first phase involved losses of 9 trillion VND (389 million USD). Following that, he deposited VNCB money in these three banks as guarantees for the 29 companies’ loans, causing over 6.1 trillion VND in losses to VNCB. Given his 30-year prison term announced in the first phase of the case, Danh will have to serve 30 years in prison (the highest level for a fixed prison sentence) if the court accepts the proposal.

Phan Van Anh Vu sentenced to nine years in jailThe Hanoi People’s Court on July 30 sentenced Phan Van Anh Vu nine years in prison for “deliberately disclosing state secrets” under Article 337 of the 2015 Penal Code. Phan Van Anh Vu at the courtThe defendant, also known as Vu nhom, is a 43-year-old resident in Hai Chau district, the central city of Da Nang. Phan Van Anh Vu was prosecuted on the charge of “deliberately disclosing state secrets” in December 2017. The Ministry of Public Security’s Security Investigation Agency received and arrested fugitive Phan Van Anh Vu on January 4 after he was deported from Singapore. Earlier the same day, President Tran Dai Quang signed a decision to strip Phan Huu Tuan of the title “People’s Public Security Officer”.

Ho Chi Minh City records first death to dengue fever in 2018Ho Chi Minh City reported a year-on-year decrease of 36 percent in the number of dengue fever cases in the first seven months of 2018, however recently recording its first death caused by the disease this year. He cited the centre’s statistics as saying that between 350 and 450 people are hospitalised due to dengue fever each week. The city has to date controlled and eliminated a lot of high-risk areas containing larvae. Locals should be aware of killing larvae in their home, including in aquariums, flower vases, and other water containers. Last year, dengue fever hospitalised over 20,000 locals, killing six.

Industrial production maintains high growth of nearly 11% in 7 monthsViet Nam’s index of industrial production (IIP) scored a growth of 10.9 per cent in the first seven months of this year, up 7.1 per cent against the same period last year, the General Statistics Office announced. The country’s industrial production has maintained high growth since the start of the year, with a rise of 11.6 per cent in the first quarter and 10.5 per cent in the first half. — Photo pvoil.com.vnThe country’s industrial production has maintained high growth since the start of the year, with a rise of 11.6 per cent in the first quarter and 10.5 per cent in the first half. Electricity manufacturing and production increased 10.7 per cent. Two big oil refineries started operation in the first six months, including Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC in Quang Ngai Province (completed maintenance) and Nghi Son Refining and Petrochemical LLC in Thanh Hoa Province (finished construction and began operation), which helped raise the production value.

94,500 operational firms recorded in January-JulySome 94,500 enterprises have been newly established or have resumed operations so far this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). As many as 2,970 companies have also opened their doors again after suspension, while nearly 8,000 others have suspended their operations. Between January and July, the country has had roughly 75,800 new companies with registered capital of VND771.1 trillion (US$33.1 billion), rising by 3.9% and 11.6%, respectively, from a year earlier. Operational companies have so far registered an additional VND1,460 trillion (US$62.8 billion) to fund their expansion plans, bringing the total freshly pledged capital to over VND2,231 trillion (US$96 billion), in the period. New companies have registered to employ 623,500 people, down 13.5% compared with the same period last year.

Vietnam embarks on developing online tourismWith a growing number of Internet users in the country, Vietnam has begun to apply information technology (IT) to develop online tourism, which is also a current global trend. The new tourism promotion website, www.vietnam.travel, was recently launched by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. However, the Vietnam E-commerce Association said that strong international brand names are dominating Vietnam’s online tourism market with a market share of about 80 percent. Tourism insiders said that in order to turn tourism into a key industry, many solutions must be carried out simultaneously, including developing online tourism. In July, VNAT officially opened a new tourism promotion website (www.vietnam.travel) with a view to enhancing e-marketing and Vietnam’s tourism promotion capacity.

Dinh Ngoc He, born 1971, was former Senior Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Director General of the Thai Son Corporation under the Defence MinistryBefore being charged, Dinh Ngoc He, born 1971, was Senior Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Director General of the Thai Son Corporation. Born in 1965, Tham was Colonel and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Thai Son Corporation before being charged. The new company – named the Thai Son Development and Investment JSC was licensed by the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Planning and Investment. The Thai Son Corporation held a 51 percent stake in the Thai Son JSC. After the Thai Son Corporation withdrew its 31 percent of stake, the Thai Son JSC still did business in the name of a military company.

Customs warns of increasing drug smugglingVietNamNet Bridge – Customs officials in HCM City discovered 40 shipments of various drugs in the first six months of 2018 and seized 54.5kg. Huynh Nam, chief of the bureau’s drug enforcement team, told Nguoi Lao Dong (the Labourer) newspaper that foreign and local drug lords have collaborated to set up drug gangs and transnational crime organisations that are operating in a sophisticated manner. False personal papers have been used to complete customs formalities for such shipments to evade the law if the drugs are discovered by authorities. Last Tuesday (24 July 2018) customs officers at the Tan Cang Cai Mep-Thi Vai Port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau found a shipment of 17 containers suspicious and decided to inspect it. The Ba Ria-Vung Tau police said this was the largest ever drug haul in the province.

Five short films projects fundedFive excellent short film projects will receive funding of VND200m (USD8,000) each from the CJ Cultural Foundation Korea and CJ CGV Vietnam during the first CJ Short Film Project which is being held from June 15 to November 16 in Vietnam. Interviewing a contestantOver 250 projects with various themes from young filmmakers were sent to the organisers, with 11 making the presentation round. Three other winning directors are Pham Thien An, Nguyen Le Trung Hai and Duong Dieu Linh. Five winning directors will be mentored by the members of the judging panel to successfully make their films. The five winning projects will be made and released by CGV Vietnam on the final nights.