N Korea official Kim Yong-chol 'heads to US for talks'One of Kim Jong-un's most senior officials is thought to be travelling to the US, as preparations for a possible historic summit gather pace. South Korean news agency Yonhap said Gen Kim Yong-chol was due to arrive in the US on Wednesday, via Beijing. If confirmed, the visit would be part of a flurry of activity ahead of the proposed meeting between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump. He would be the most high profile North Korean official to visit the US since 2000. Also on Tuesday, a "pre-advance" team from the US was due to meet North Korean officials in Singapore, said US officials.

Wooden furniture manufacturers fear material shortagesVietNamNet Bridge - Though exports have been growing well, concern still exists because wooden furniture industry is in need of materials. Wooden furniture manufacturers expect another prosperous year in 2018 as demand is predicted to continue to increase globally. A director of a wooden furniture company confirmed there are more clients from the two markets this year as European and American importers have shifted orders to Vietnamese enterprises instead of Chinese firms. However, to obtain such high export turnover, Vietnam would need a large amount of materials. RELATED NEWSChanges in target markets worry wooden furniture exportersWooden furniture manufacturers beg for supportMai Thanh

Despite dropping revenue in China, Honda remains strong in VietnamDespite a huge reduction in revenue in China due to engine errors affecting CR-V and Civic vehicles, Honda is still doing well in Vietnam based on its market shares in the motorbike and car segments, with a new record in car sales. However, despite taking up 70 per cent of the motorbike market, Honda Vietnam has to admit that its Honda Ending Authorised Dealers (HEAD) have been selling its motorbikes above the price set by Honda Vietnam for many years, an issue which is difficult to resolve. Honda only proposes prices, and has no right to influence HEADs,” said Toshio Kuwahara, general director of Honda Vietnam. Despite that, Honda Vietnam could not avoid the Chinese subsidiary’s troubles, which came after the February recall of 350,000 CR-V and Civic cars to check engine errors. The number of CR-V vehicles sold in March was 916, far lower than the 14,360 in the same period last year.

Deputy PM orders probe into official’s quick promotionVietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate the quick promotion of the youngest deputy chief of staff of the national anti-smuggling committee. Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has ordered investigation into the quick promotion of Vu Hung Son, the youngest deputy chief of staff of the national anti-smuggling committee. The investigation results should be reported to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc by June 15. He was also allowed by the incumbent industry and trade minister Tran Tuan Anh to work in the 389 Committee. The committee’s deputy head cum finance minister Dinh Tien Dung approved Son’s position in the committee this March.

Vietnam boosts defence partnership with UK, Israel, South AfricaDeputy Defence Minister Seninor Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh hosted a reception for UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever in Hanoi on May 28, during which he highlighted major strides in bilateral defence cooperation. He noted that defence relations between Vietnam and the UK have grown on par with their strategic partnership. He hoped bilateral defence cooperation will thrive further through high-level delegation exchanges and deputy ministerial defence policy dialogue. The same day, Deputy Defence Minister Vinh received Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Nadav Eshcar, who described defence relations as an important factor to enhance bilateral rapport. This will help reinforce the bilateral defence partnership in line with the sound relations between Vietnam and South Africa, he added.-VNA

Ministry of Public Security proposes measures to curb child sexual abuseThe Ministry of Public Security have proposed measures to deal with the sharply-rising child sexual abuse in Vietnam, including the launch of hotlines and email contact points, to provide legal consultation and assistance to victims. Child sexual abuse on the rise in Vietnam (Illustrative photo)According to the ministry, child sexual abuse has been on the rise across the country, with many cases remaining unreported. Meanwhile, most child sexual abuse offenders are relatives and acquaintances of victims’ families. The Ministry of Public Security has recommended the launch of hotlines and emails to receive the public’s report on child sexual abuse cases as well as provide legal consultation and assistance to victims. The Ministry of Public Security will tightly co-operate with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Vietnam Women’s Union and Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union to address child abuse cases.

Two whales stranded on Quang Ngai beachTwo whales have been stranded in separate incidents on a beach in the central province of Quang Ngai’s Binh Son District over the past five days. The 300-kilo whale stranded on Quang Ngai beach on May 27On May 27, fishermen in Le Thuy Village, Binh Tri Commune detected three whales near the beach. The 2.5-metre whale weighed more than 300 kilos. This was the second whale found on the beach in Binh Son District in the past five days. Earlier on May 23, fishermen in Binh Thuan Commune, Binh Son District discovered a three-metre long whale that weighed 350 kilos.

Exhibition marks 70 years of patriotic emulationVietNamNet Bridge – A photo exhibition opened yesterday on Hanoi’s Trang Tien Street to mark the 70th anniversary celebration of President Ho Chi Minh’s June 11, 1948 appeal for patriotic emulation. The event marks the 70th anniversary celebration of President Ho Chi Minh’s June 11, 1948 appeal for patriotic emulation. — VNA/VNS PhotosTran Thi Ha, head of the CCER, said that in the past 70 years, the movements of patriotic emulation have encouraged Vietnamese people to overcome challenges and fulfill their tasks towards socio-economic development. Nurturing the youth: President Ho Chi Minh with outstanding students from the Trung Vuong Primary School on May 19, 1958. To encourage the nation to contribute to the revolution, President Ho Chi Minh made an appeal for patriotic work emulation on June 11, 1948.

Arboreal garageFor the last 25 years, Ho Minh Tam – a resident of Tuong Hiep Binh Ward, Thu Dau Mot City in southern province of Binh Duong – has kept his motorbike in a special garage: an aged tree in his garden. The tree roots have held the motorbike tighter and tighter ever since he leaned it against the tree years ago, when he started selling duck soup in his garden and wanted more space for his business. Tam said that at that time, the motorbike could run well but his family did not use it. He leaned it on the tree day after day and then, some small roots appeared and grasped the motorbike. Some people are willing to pay VNĐ80-90 million (US$3,500-3,900) for the tree and the motorbike but Tam refuses to sell it.

The ASEAN group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Viet Nam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) said through the report, Viet Nam gets an insight into ASEAN and the Northeast Asian countries - China, Japan and the RoK. "Bridging ASEAN" was hosted by Standard Chartered Bank in collaboration with the Malaysian Business Chamber Viet Nam and Singapore Business Group. The seminar attracted more than 100 business executives from Viet Nam and other countries. That’s the message from Ho Nghia Dung, chairman of Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) after the US Department of Commerce (DoC) decided to levy import tax on steel produced in Viet Nam using Chinese-origin substrate.

New committee to manage capital at 20 SOEsThe scale of State-owned enterprises controlled by the State Capital Management Committee is less than the initial plan, according to the latest draft of the decree on the functions, tasks and organisational structure of the committee. Under the draft, the committee would manage State-owned capital at 20 corporations, instead of 21 as initially proposed a few months ago. The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) - the agency that has directly compiled the draft of the decree - said this committee would be the State representative at 20 State-owned corporations. Those corporations have a total State-owned capital of VND821 trillion (US$36 billion) and a total value of assets at over VND1.5 quadrillion. Those figures are equal to 50 per cent of the State-owned capital and the total value of assets at the wholly State-owned enterprise sector.

Ride-hailing sector competition throwing sparksThe race for market share in the Vietnamese ride-hailing sector has just entered a new phase with the arrival of big players like Go-Jek, Aber, and MVL. Igniting a new raceAccording to newswire DealStreetAsia, Go-Jek will initially offer ride-hailing services in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, with plans to add additional services later. In Vietnam, Go-Jek selects Go-Viet as its partner to invest in technology and professional training. Once Go-Jek officially starts operations in Vietnam, it is expected to become a heavyweight in the ride-hailing market. According to the report of Temasek (Singapore), the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market will be valued at $20 billion in 2025, seven times higher than the existing value.

Painting by Vietnamese artist sold for record priceA silk painting by Vietnamese master artist Nguyen Phan Chanh (1892-1984), one of the leading painters of Vietnamese contemporary fine arts, was sold at over US$853,000 (HKD$6.7 million) at an auction by Christie’s Hong Kong on Sunday. Child with Bird, silk, 1931, by Nguyen Phan Chanh, has just been sold at over US$853,000. This is the highest price for a painting by any Vietnamese artist sold by the auction house and in the world. On May 26, another painting by the same artist, The Snail Seller, was sold for US$600,000 (HKD$4.66 million) at Christie’s Hong Kong. He tried his hand at silk painting with the encouragement of his college rector, Victor Tardieu (1870-1937).

HCMC police arrest suspect in theft of diplomat’s necklaceThe HCM City police announced Sunday evening that they have arrested a man suspected of snatching a necklace from a Russian diplomat three months ago. Vo Ngoc Phi was arrested on Sunday for allegedly snatching a necklace from a Russian diplomat in HCM City. - Photo courtesy of HCM City Policebrowser not support iframe. Long An Province resident Vo Ngoc Phi, 27, was taken into custody for allegedly snatching a necklace from Dmitrii Alekseev on January 17, 2018. The police released the clip to the public last Friday and arrested the suspect two days later.

Sugar producers seek help against corn syrup importsA group of sugar producers has asked for Government intervention as the industry struggles to compete with corn syrup imports. The Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA) asked the Government to intervene in adjusting tax incentive policies on imported High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), or liquid sugar extracted from corn, to create a fair playing ground with locally-produced sugarcane products.The association also asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider investigating the possibility of applying special safeguard methods on HFCS.The recommendations were released as sugarcane businesses face challenges in the level of consumption of local sugar products as well as pressure from competition posed by increasing imports of HFCS products into the country, which they say cause serious damage to the domestic sugar industry.According to a report from the Vietnam General Department of Customs, the volume of imported HFCS dramatically accelerated between 2015 and 2017, with imports in 2017 totalling 89,343 tonnes, up 31.7 percent from 2015.These were mainly imports from China and the Republic of Korea, representing more than 90 percent of total output and import value.HFCS is much cheaper than local sugar, and prices are expected to decline further due to improvements in production technology. In 2015, the price of white sugar was 630 USD per tonne compared to 496 USD per tonne of HFCS. In 2017, it was 702 USD and 398 USD per tonne of sugar and HFCS, respectively.The difference between the average selling price of HFCS and sugar has remained high through recent years, increasing by 21.26 percent in 2015, 36.63 percent in 2016 and 43.3 percent in 2017.VSSA Chairman Pham Quoc Doanh said given this difference in prices, HFCS poses a major challenge to the domestic sugarcane industry.Doanh said HFCS enjoyed a preferential import tax rate of zero percent and no quota impositions, while preferential tariffs on sugar under quota stood at 5 percent, and tariffs on non-quota white sugar and raw sugar were 85 percent and 80 percent, respectively.In addition to damaging sugar production in the country, he said the inconsistent application of tax policies between sugar and HFCS products has caused damage to the State budget.“If HFCS is seen as similar to sugar made from sugarcane, the import tax rate should be similar, not discriminatory,” Doanh said. “The level of incentive import duty imposed on HFCS must be at the level applied on sugar.”-VNA