She also highlighted the close cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the IPU for nearly four decades, affirming that the partnership brought remarkable achievements. The event was organised by the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University - HCM City, and the HCM City Association of Historical Sciences. Aichi and Ho Chi Minh City should design cooperation programmes in manufacturing and production areas, including automobile, machinery and high-technology agriculture, Phong proposed. He affirmed that Ho Chi Minh City will create optimal conditions for enterprises in Japan and Aichi in particular to invest in the city. The same day, Phong and the Ho Chi Minh City delegation visited Aichi’s agriculture experiment station to seek cooperation opportunities in high-tech agriculture.

Tran Minh Thang wins gold medal at Asian youth chess champsTran Minh Thang won a gold medal in the rapid chess category at the ongoing Asian Youth Chess Championship in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chess player Tran Minh Thang (Photo: trungtamthethaotuoitre.com)Hanoian Thang competed in the boys’ U18 and was No 2 seed with Elo rating of 2,353. Thang had five wins and two draws to gain six points. This result helped him overcome No 1 seed Xu Zhihang of China (Elo 2,393) with 0.5 points to take gold. They are taking part in six divisions for boys and six for girls, ranging from U8 to U18 age groups.

PM’s summit attendance affirms VN’s commitment to MRC cooperationThe participation in the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is the affirmation of Vietnam’s care for and strong commitment to the cooperation within the MRC to the spirit of the 1995 Mekong Agreement towards enhancing the agency’s role and the solidarity and cooperation among member countries for mutual interests. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (1st, left) and other delegates at the third MRC Summit. The summit adopted the Siem Rep Declaration which affirms the importance of Mekong cooperation as well as the acceleration of the implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. In 1995, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signed an Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River and set up the Mekong River Commission (MRC), replacing the Mekong Committee. The first MRC summit was held in Hua Hin, Thailand in 2010 and the second one took place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2014.

HCM City to raise bus faresVietNamNet Bridge – HCM City Public Transport Management Centre has proposed raising the bus fares by VND1,000 (4 US cents) to recover the costs of purchasing new buses. Passengers get on a bus on Ham Nghi Street, HCM City. Students, however, will enjoy the universal discount fares of VND2,000 on all public buses. Public Transport Management Centre Director Tran Chi Trung said the fare increase was “a necessary move”. He also guaranteed that the fare rise would accompany an improvement in the service, saying the centre was planning to use an e-ticket system on HCM City’s buses.

HSBC: Firms favour ‘home’ as protectionism bitesAlthough rising protectionism is a concern to businesses worldwide, they are optimistic about international business prospects, a new report from HSBC called ‘Navigator: Now, next and how for business’ shows. HSBC's report found that 77 per cent of 6,000 firms surveyed globally are rather optimistic about their international business prospects and expect trade to increase over the next 12 months. An increase in protectionist sentiment has not hampered the optimism of firms globally, but is causing concerns about the cost of doing cross-border trade and international business. In Vietnam, three quarters (67 per cent) of businesses agree that governments are becoming more protective of their domestic businesses. Economic analysis supports the strength of business confidence, pointing to a 7 per cent growth in trade value in 2018 (goods and services combined).

Investors in public-private partnerships fear changing state policiesVietNamNet Bridge - Investors are reluctant to pour money into infrastructure projects under the PPP (private public partnership) mode because of fear of new policies which could lead to losses or bankruptcy. Investors are reluctant to pour money into infrastructure projects under the PPP (private public partnership) mode because of fear of new policies which could lead to losses or bankruptcy. Vu Quynh Le, deputy director of the Bidding Management Agency, said that investments in PPP projects remain below expectations because of difficulties during implementation. But the laws don’t attach much importance to the special characteristics of the PPP mode. This is the major reason that investors, especially foreigners, hesitate to undertake PPP projects, he said.

Property firm Vinhomes to list on HOSEVinhomes JSC, an arm of the real estate conglomerate Vingroup, has registered to list nearly 2.7 billion shares on the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE). HOSE announced receiving the listing registration documents for the shares of Vinhomes on April 2. Vinhomes operates in the high-end residential property segment, offering luxury serviced apartments and villas developed by Vingroup JSC. Vingroup is a multi-disciplinary business group, operating in the segments of real estate, retail, hotel and leisure services, education, healthcare and heavy industry. Vingroup shares, listed on HOSE under the code VIC, hit a new peak of VND127,500 on April 4.

Hanoi: Vietnam’s ethnic day returns to show cultural diversityAbout 30 ethnic minority groups from across Vietnam will show off their distinctive culture at Vietnam’s Ethnic Culture Day which is slated for April 19-22 in Hanoi, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A ritual at the Xang Khan festival of the Thai ethnic minority people. Some 270 people from the ethnic minority groups will stage traditional festivals and worship rituals at the Culture and Tourism Villages of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Son Tay district, 45km west of Hanoi’s centre. On the cultural day of ethnic minority people from the northwest, the Thai ethnic group in Nghe An will recreate their Xang Khan festival that aims to remind people to do good things for themselves, their families and the community. Vietnam’s Ethnic Culture Day 2018 will be the 10th edition, so workshops and exhibitions will be held to celebrate the anniversary.-VNA

Quang Ninh temporarily stops licensing karaoke servicesVietNamNet Bridge – The northern province of Quang Ninh will temporarily suspend the licensing of karaoke and discotheque services throughout the province to complete planning for these activities. A fire fighting drill is conducted at Karaoke Phantom in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province. Accordingly, local departments of culture and sports and people’s committees of districts, towns and cities are required to not grant licences for karaoke and discotheque activities. Chairpersons of the People’s Committees should direct the review of all businesses providing karaoke and discotheque services in the province. Chairpersons of the people’s committees shall be held responsible for any fires and social evils occurring at karaoke and discotheque shops located in their areas.

Derivatives market in first quarter a successVietnam’s derivatives market enjoyed robust and sustainable growth with 59 trading sessions in the first quarter of the year, according to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). Vietnam’s derivatives market enjoys robust and sustainable growth with 59 trading sessions in the first quarter of the yearMore than 1.35 million contracts were traded for more than 146.1 trillion VND (6.42 billion USD) in the period. The average trading volume of the market reached 22,884 contracts per session, up 63 percent from the previous quarter and double the average amount in 2017. Foreign investors became more interested in the Vietnamese derivatives market when trading volumes reached 4,981 contracts, accounting for 0.18 percent of the market’s total number. The HNX said the derivatives market has proved itself as an effective risk-management instrument, helping stabilise the investors’ sentiment and anticipate market trends.

Former police major jailed for forest destructionVietNamNet Bridge – Dak Glong District People’s Court in Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on Thursday sentenced a former police major to nine months in prison for the crime of forest destruction. Former Major Pham Xuan Sang at the court in Dak Nong Province. – Photo dantri.com.vnPham Xuan Sang, 44, was also head of the anti-terrorism unit of the provincial Police Department. Defendant Tran Van Tuan, 44, a resident of Gia Nghia Township was also sentenced to 13 months in prison for forest destruction and fraudulent misappropriation of property. On March 2017, local authorities determined that Tuan and Sang destroyed more than 8,400sq.m of forest land.

Garment-textile sector earns $8 billion from exports in Q1Garment-textile export turnover reached nearly 8 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 13.3 percent. Garment-textile export turnover reached nearly 8 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 13.3 percent. This is considered a good start for the industry to realise its export target of 35 billion USD by the end of this year. Garment-textile exports in 2018 are anticipated to be better than in 2017 with the maintenance of two-digit growth. Free trade agreements not only help the garment-textile sector diversify export markets but also reduce imports of material, he said, adding that currently Vietnam exports more than 3 billion USD worth of yarn,nearly one billion USD worth of fabric and 400 million USD worth of garment accessories each year.

Minh lose to Takeshita at Osaka International ChallengerVietNamNet Bridge – One of Vietnam’s top badminton players, Vu Thi Trang, No 5 seed at the Osaka International Challenger 2018, defeated Yuki Suzuki of Japan yesterday in their women’s singles match to enter the next round of competition. Nguyen Tien Minh (left) and Pham Cao Cuong (right). At present, the HCM City-born player Minh is world No 51, while Takeshita is world No 134. Minh was also defeated by Takeshita at the New Zealand Open 2016. No 4 seed Koki Watanabe of Japan beat Vietnamese Le Duc Phat 21-14, 21-18 after 37 minutes.

Ngo Dinh Nai retains championship at Asian carom billiards eventVietnam’s Ngo Dinh Nai won the one-cushion carom category at the ongoing Asian Carom Billiards Championship 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City on April 5. Cueist Ngo Dinh Nai (Source: 24h.com.vn)Nai beat his teammate Ma Minh Cam 100-83 in the final to take the title for the second time. In 2012, he overcame countryman Tran Phi Hung to triumph in the Asian championship. Following this victory, Nai will continue to play in the three-cushion carom. The championship will be a chance for the Vietnamese team to assess their players’ performance before they attend the World Cup event in Antalya, Turkey in late April and another World Cup event in HCM City in May.-VNA

Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata dies at 82Japanese anime director Isao Takahata, co-founder of the famed Studio Ghibli, has died at the age of 82. Mr Takahata was nominated for an Oscar in 2014 for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya but is best known for his film Grave of the Fireflies. He founded Studio Ghibli with iconic director Hayao Miyazaki in 1985. Mr Takahata started his career in animation in 1959 at Japan's Toei studio, where he met Mr Miyazaki, who is usually seen as the face of Studio Ghibli. The duo went on to co-found Studio Ghibli, and were described by local media as friends and rivals at the same time.