NA talks undeclared incomeVietNamNet Bridge – Lawmakers yesterday weighed in on the draft amendment to the corruption law, debating whether to apply a 45 per cent tax on extra personal income that public servants fail to declare. One solution was to view unreported income as untaxed income and to start collecting tax from it, with a proposed rate was 45 per cent. The NA Ombudsman Committee chairwoman Nguyen Thanh Hai questioned the basis to set such a rate, saying that the tax rate applied should follow the Law on Personal Income Tax. “It is a common principle to tax all extra personal income. Public servants who failed to fully declare their incomes also ignored their responsibility to be transparent about their money, he added, and an administrative penalty was therefore a must.

HCM City increases patrols after forest fire threatVietNamNet Bridge – Authorities, including local ones, need to increase patrolling and promote fire safety to ensure there are no major forest fires during the ongoing dry season, a meeting held to review forest protection and fire prevention heard in HCM City yesterday. “The city Forest Rangers Sub-department should step up patrolling.”The city has 35,600 hectares of forests, in districts 9, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, and Cu Chi. Quy said many activities like poaching and illegal logging could potentially spark off forest fires. Low awareness of forest fires is another threat.”Last year HCM City suffered two forest fires on an area of 1.8 hectares, but thanks to their immediate discovery they were controlled before they could cause major damage. Districts 9, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, and Hoc Mon should educate local communities about forest fire safety, he said.

Goalkeeper Kieu Trinh honoured with Labour Order, third classFemale goalkeeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh has been honoured with the Labour Order, third class, from the State for her significant contributions to Vietnam’s women’s football as a whole, and to the women’s national team in particular, over the past few years. Kieu Trinh is the reigning winner of the Vietnamese Golden Ball (for the best female player of the year). Kieu Trinh is the reigning winner of the Vietnamese Golden Ball (for the best female player of the year). Earlier, in late March, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Kieu Trinh as an ever-present figure at the Asian Cup, as she has participated in all Asian Cup competitions within the past decade. Kieu Trinh and her national teammates are currently competing in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan.

Hanoi to “raise bar” for grassroots policeVietNamNet Bridge – The police chief’s position in Hanoi’s communes will be assigned to professional police officers instead of semi-professional ones, Ha Noi People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said on Tuesday. A police officer talks to residents in a rural area in Hanoi. Chung said this would not be a drastic change but a step-by-step effort to improve social order in rural communes. “We will not replace all commune-level police positions with professional ones, only the chief and deputy chief positions, depending on different localities. All 386 communes in the city are expected to have professional chief police officers by 2020.

Mon Asian Food Festival to run in Hanoi, Quang NinhThe Mon Asian Food Festival (MAFF), sponsored by Vietnamese construction and real estate group HD Mon Holdings, is scheduled to take place in Hanoi and Ha Long City this April. The festival, to which entry is free, will open in Hanoi on April 20 in the Mon City My Dinh apartment complex at No 2 Le Duc Tho Street. Food presentation and art performances are set to run during its course starting 10 am. The show will introduce Asian culinary delights to Ha Long City at the 30/10 Square from April 27 – 29. It will also treat local food lovers to hot-air balloon trips and a charity run.

Vietnam wins four gold medals in Singapore Athletics OpenVietnam won four gold medals at the ongoing 80th Singapore Open Track and Field Championship. Pham Thi Hue (L) and Pham Thi Hong Le celebrate with the national flag after winning the women’s 5,000m event of the Singapore Open Track and Field Championship (Photo: zing.vn)Pham Thi Hue and Nguyen Van Lai won two gold medals in the women’s and men’s 5000m, respectively. The 5,000m race also had a silver medal winner in the women’s category in Pham Thi Hong Le, who finished after Hue with a time of 17:39.84. Earlier, Vietnam dominated the 3,000m steeplechase events on April 11. Two-time Southeast Asian Games winner Nguyen Thi Oanh topped the women’s pool with a time of 10:42.53.-VNA

How can Chinese capital be used in the most effective way? If counting $120 million worth of Chinese capital contribution into Vietnamese enterprises, the total newly registered capital from China was $338 million in the month. Some experts pointed out that though Chinese investment capital does not bring benefits in terms of the environment and technology, Vietnam cannot refuse the important capital source. The best way to deal with Chinese capital is to take full advantage of the capital for development and minimize the negative effects. Finland receives a large amount of capital from Russia, but it uses the capital selectively, focusing on technology and economic development.

World music with The TransplantedManzi Art Space will host a world music night featuring Di Thuc or The Transplanted – a fusion group bringing together six musicians from Morocco, Viet Nam, France and Australia. The Transplanted is a fusion/world music group bringing together six musicians from Morocco, Viet Nam, France and Australia. Working together in Morocco and in Viet Nam over the past year, the group has prepared a unique repertoire for several shows Viet Nam this April, drawing on traditional music from Morocco, France and Viet Nam, as well as original compositions combining these and other world music influences. Their performance at Manzi will start at 8pm Friday. Due to limited seating capacity, please email manzihanoi@gmail.com to reserve seats.

Vietnam Expo 2018 kicks off in HanoiAn international trade fair opened in Hanoi on April 11, drawing the participation of 450 businesses from 24 countries and territories. Vietnam Expo 2018 aims to enhance regional and global economic links. Russia attends the event as the guest of honour, with a hope that the expo will create an effective trade promotion chance for both sides. Many promotion activities will also take place on the sidelines of the four-day expo such as an export promotion forum, specialised workshops, and visits to industrial parks. First held in 1991, Vietnam Expo has become one of the biggest and most important trade promotion activities of the industry and trade sector.

Ministry to auction Vietnam Airlines’ share purchase rightsThe Ministry of Transport will auction 371.5 million share purchase rights, equivalent to 57.9 million additional shares, in Vietnam Airlines’ upcoming share issuance. Vietnam Airlines staff at the check-in counters in Noi Bai International Airport. The starting price for each Vietnam Airlines stock is VND6,026. Vietnam Airlines also announced the issuance of shares to the public with a registered 191,191,377 shares for existing shareholders, at VND10,000 per share. In January 2017, Vietnam Airlines started listing and trading on UPCoM with the stock code HVN.

Vietnam in top ten countries for visitors to SingaporeVietnam was first listed among the top ten countries with the highest number of visitors travelling to Singapore last year, after more than a decade of being placed in 13th position. Vietnamese tourists in Singapore. The numerous options for shopping are the main attraction for Vietnamese tourists in Singapore. China topped the list with 3 million visitors, followed by Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, Vietnam, and Thailand. Singapore welcomed 17.4 million international visitors last year, with an estimated turnover of US$20 billion.

Dialogue held to remove difficulties for scientistsDeputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chaired a dialogue meeting with scientists from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) in Hanoi, on April 11, with the aim of removing difficulties encountered in the process of registration, research, and acceptance of scientific research topics, projects, and programmes. Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam speaking at the dialogue. During the dialogue, the scientists frankly and openly discussed the difficulties faced in implementing scientific research topics, projects, and programmes. Prof. Dr. Bui Minh Tri from the VASS suggested that the State issues specific policies for remote and isolated areas in order to thoroughly handle hindrances for scientists. At the meeting, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh frankly answered the queries and problems that were raised by the scientists.

Japanese retailers rush to open more shops in VietnamVietNamNet Bridge - Japanese retailers are pursuing their business strategy to open more convenience stores, malls and mini-marts within the next few years. Japanese retailers rush to open more shops in VietnamThe groundbreaking ceremony for Aeon Mall Ha Dong shopping mall project was held several days ago. Japanese retailers are pursuing their business strategy to open more convenience stores, malls and mini-marts within the next few years. As of the end of 2017, Vietnam had 800 supermarkets, 150 shopping malls, 9,000 traditional markets and 2.2 million retail shops. 7-Eleven plans to open 100 shops in the next three years and 1,000 shops in 10 years.

Third Vietnam-Sri Lanka political consultation held in ColomboThe third Vietnam-Sri Lanka political consultation took place in Colombo on April 11, during which the two sides agreed to roll out measures to elevate the Vietnam-Sri Lanka partnership. Delegates at the eventDeputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy and his Sri Lankan counterpart Sumith Nakandala co-chaired the event. Vietnam and Sri Lanka agreed to continue working closely together and supporting each other at regional and international forums. Sri Lanka recognised Vietnam’s proposal to support Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure. The two sides will coordinate to organise a visit of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister to Vietnam in the near future.

Banks fulfill 25-30 percent of profit goalMany banks were estimated to meet 25-30 percent of their annual profit targets by the end of March, although the first quarter is usually the most sluggish for banks. According to Luu Trung Thai, General Director of Military Bank, the turnover of his bank in the first quarter is estimated at 3.5-3.6 trillion VND (154.2-158.6 million USD), while the minimum pre-tax profit is at some 1.6 trillion VND, up 44 percent year-on-year.With the rise, Thai believed that it is feasible for his bank to meet the 6.8 trillion VND profit target set for this year, up 47 percent against last year.VIB Chairman Dang Khac Vy said his bank’s cost-income ratio reached 52 percent and pre-tax profit exceeded 500 billion VND in the first quarter, three times higher than the same period last year.By the end of the first quarter, VIB met 25 percent of its total pre-tax profit target of 2 trillion VND set for 2018.With a monthly profit of some 350 billion VND, HDBank estimated its profit to reach nearly 1.05 trillion VND in the first quarter, three times higher than the same period in 2017. With a profit target of 3.9 trillion VND for 2018, the bank has already met 28 percent of the annual plan.Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank’s profit by the end of March also tripled that of the same period last year to reach more than 600 billion VND. The bank plans to earn a profit of 2 trillion VND this year.LienVietPostBank achieved 28 percent of the annual profit target as it posted a pre-tax profit of more than 500 billion VND by the end of the first quarter.Experts attributed the positive business performance of banks to the credit growth right at the beginning of the year. According to the National Financial Supervisory Commission, outstanding loans in the banking system, as of March-end, were estimated to have risen by 3.5 percent against December last year, of which loans in Vietnamese dong increased by 3.3 percent and accounted for 91.9 percent of total outstanding loans.Besides the high credit growth, another factor that has helped the banks prosper in the first quarter is the positive bad debt settlement as banks have not had to spend as much on risk provisioning as in previous years.Assessing the factors affecting the banking sector in 2018, analysts of Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) said credit would continue to be improved, in which the opportunity of consumer credit to prosper was highly valued.According to SSI, the average cost of capital in 2018 will be reduced because of the Government’s support policies and significant improvement in the balance of payments in 2017 and 2018.Specifically, the refinancing, rediscount, overnight and OMO (open market operations) interest rates were cut by 0.25 percentage points per year over the past year.The sale of stake in State-owned enterprises in 2018 will continue to attract a large amount of foreign capital, leading to the need to pump a large amount of local currency into the system, SSI said.Considering the above factors, SSI predicts that profits in 14 listed banks will surge at an average of 32.9 percent in 2018.-VNA