41 people off updated professor listForty-one people have been removed from the list of newly-appointed professors and associate professors that was announced in early February. Viet Nam now has 1,184 people who are certified professors and associate professors, compared with 703 of 2016. The updated list of all professors and associate professors, announced by the State Council for Professor Titles of Viet Nam, now has 1,184 people, compared with 703 in 2016. Under the list, 1,226 people were appointed as professors and associate professors in 2017, including 85 professors and 1,141 associate professors. During the review, many professors and associate professors candidates handed in letters of withdrawal from the process to be recognised with the title of professor or associate professor, he said.

Direct flights from Switzerland to Vietnam reopened in NovemberThere will be two direct flights weekly from Switzerland to Viet Nam starting November, Federal Councilor of Switzerland Doris Leuthard said on Tuesday when she met Transport Minister Nguyen Van The. Transport Minister Nguyen Van The and Federal Councilor of Switzerland Doris Leuthard sign the agreement on scheduled air services Tuesday afternoon. The new agreement that facilitated direct flights between the two countries would help boost their tourism and business, Leuthard said. “Every time we come to Viet Nam, we see more people, more vehicles and more mobility,” she said. The said that Viet Nam welcomed investors with financial experience to join in the projects under Public- Private Partnership contracts.

Health Ministry's smart healthcare system uses AI, Big DataA smart healthcare system that exploits Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI) has been set up by the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of health examinations and medical treatment. — Photo benhvienthuduc.vnEach locality in the country is expected to develop a smart healthcare system based on their own conditions, according to the ministry. The ministry has issued a set of criteria for IT applications toward smart health, according to Trần Quý Tường, head of Electronic Health Administration of Viet Nam. Patients’ health records will be digitalised under the smart healthcare system. The Ministry of Health has a three-pronged approach: electronic health, building IT infrastructure and a new national health data centre.

Vietnam plans technical barriers on imported carsVietNamNet Bridge - The ministries of Transport (MOT) and Science & Technology (MST) plan to set up technical barriers to tighten the control of imported cars. They said the regulations were not in accordance with international standards and that it almost stopped cars from being imported into Vietnam. The news about technical barriers has worried car importers, includingToyota and Honda. Toyota Vietnam’s Pham Anh Tuan said technical barriers for imported cars have existed for several years, but the new requirements may be supplements to barriers created by Decree 116. Tuan said the manufacturer still cannot imagine what the new technical barriers will be.

Government News 4/4Vietnam attends NAM senior official meetingThe Vietnamese delegation joined other member countries at a meeting of Senior Officials of the Non-Aligned Movement, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 3. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives German AmbassadorPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian BergerVietnam treasures ties with Germany and wishes for the further development of bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told German Ambassador to Vietnam Christian Berger. Ambassador Berger, for his part, thanked Vietnamese ministries and sectors for their cooperation to promote the two countries’ relations. Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said Vietnam attached importance to the ASEAN – US strategic partnership. A free trade agreement between Vietnam and four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – will be signed soon.

PAPI 2017 report releasedThe 2017 Vietnam Provincial Government and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI 2017) report was released in April 4 in Hanoi. 2017 Vietnam Provincial Government and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI report released by UNDP, Cecodes, and VFF on April 4The PAPI 2017 report shows a significant turnaround in citizen’s perceptions and experiences with corruption in the public sector, more women adding their names to land use titles, and rising pessimism among the poorest citizens about their future economic prospects. Overall, citizens reported improvements in five of the six areas of governance and public administration that make up the index. Citizens report improvements in both their perceptions and personal experiences. However, the PAPI scores are still below the levels found in 2012, so although the direction of change is positive, much work remains to be done to fight corruption and ensure that the findings of the 2017 PAPI report do not represent a temporary aberration but signal the start of a systemic and fundamental reversal of what has been a worrying longer-term trend on corruption.”The PAPI 2017 was conducted from July 12 to October 31, 2017.

Vietnam wins 6 golds at Southeast Asia Junior Athletics ChampionshipsYoung Vietnamese athletes had a successful competition day on April 3, the first day of the Southeast Asian Junior Athletics Championships which is taking place at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. On that day, Vietnamese athletes bagged six gold, seven silver and three bronze medals. Six gold medals went to Le Tien Long in the 3000m run event, Duong Thi Hoa in the 100m run event, Ngo Thi Khanh Ny in the 800m run event, Bui Thi Nguyen in the 100 m hurdles, Hoang Thi Giang in the long jump event and Doan Thu Hang in the 3000m run event. Many athletes born in 2001, 2002 and 2003 from 10 Southeast Asian countries are competing at 19 men’s events and 19 women’s events. Vietnam sent 32 athletes to compete in running, high jump, long jump, shot-put and javelin throwing.

Vietnam’s coffee exports rake in $1 billion in Q1Vietnam exported up to 520,000 tonnes of coffee worth 1 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 15.1 percent in volume but a decrease of 1.7 percent in value compared to the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Germany, the US, Indonesia, Italy and Japan were among the country’s key export markets. Germany accounted for more than 14 percent of exports though its purchases fell by 18 percent year-on-year. In the last quarter of 2017, 400,000 tonnes of coffee had been exported, meaning only another 600,000 tonnes have to be exported to meet the target. The country’s coffee industry has carried out a restructuring programme to improve its competitiveness by improving productivity, quality and value.

HNX to host six share auctions in AprilThe Hanoi Stock Exchange said that it will organise six auctions in April to offload shares of Kim Lien Tourism JSC, Song Hong Energy JSC, Lung Lo 3 Co., Ltd, Vietnam Television Cable Corporation one member Co., Ltd, Van Tuong Investment Structure one member Co., Ltd and Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Over 85 million shares were put up for sale in the month, doubling the amount in February. Investors registered to buy around 114.75 million shares, 1.35 times higher than the volume of shares offered. They particularly showed their interests in Hapro shares and Thong Nhat Electromechanical JSC shares when the amount of ordered stocks was much higher than the quantity offered. The IPO of Hapro saw 100 percent of the shares sold out, earning the state over 980 billion VND (43.12 million USD).-VNA

State ownership in Vietnam Airlines to reduce to 51 pct in 2019The Ministry of Transport has asked the representative of State stake in Vietnam Airlines to draft plans to reduce State ownership to 51 percent of the national flag carrier’s charter capital in 2019. Vietnam Airlines aircraftThe ministry said these plans should be based on the corporation’s business and development investment strategies as well as the stock market situation and capital demands. The plans must contain implementation methods and progress, and assessments of interests of the State and the enterprise. Earlier, in late November 2017, the representative of State-owned capital at Vietnam Airlines submitted a State capital divestment plan for 2017-2020 to the transport ministry . Vietnam Airlines has charter capital of nearly 12.28 trillion VND, of which the State holds 1.057 billion shares, equivalent to 86 percent of the charter capital.

Quang Ninh licences Thai-invested $1.6 billion projectAmata VN Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of Thailand-based Amata Corporation PCL, has been licenced to develop the first phase of a 1.6 billion-USD industrial and urban project in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh. Amata has been in Vietnam for more than 23 years, with its first industrial city project, Amata City Bien Hoa, spread over an area of 700ha in the south-eastern province of Dong Nai. Amata City Bien Hoa houses 165 companies from 21 countries and territories, who have invested a total of more than 2.7 billion USD and created 49,000 jobs. A 1,270ha industrial city is under construction in Dong Nai’s Long Thanh district. Long Thanh Industrial City will earmark 33 percent of its space for a hi-tech industrial park with the rest being an urban development.-VNA

Legal threat to landlords who fail fire safetyInvestors of apartment buildings in Hanoi who fail or defer to follow regulations on fire prevention would face legal proceedings, a municipal People’s Committee meeting heard yesterday. Investors of apartment buildings in Hanoi who fail or defer to follow regulations on fire prevention would face legal proceedings, a municipal People’s Committee meeting heard yesterday. — Photo plo.vnDeputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Nguyen Van Suu said 14 out of 29 apartment buildings which failed tests and control requirements must solve the problems by the end of the month. And if they don’t, he warned that the People’s Committee would consider legal proceedings to prosecute investors. Some 526 cases, or 64 per cent of the total fires in Hanoi last year were caused by electrical faults, while negligence triggered another 176 cases.

Moody’s: Vietnam’s real GDP growth to reach 6.7 percent in 2018Moody’s Investors Service said that Vietnam’s real GDP growth will remain robust, averaging 6.7 percent in 2018, in its annual credit analysis released on April 3. Moody's predicts Vietnam’s real GDP growth to reach 6.7 percent in 2018According to Moody’s, the country’s (B1 positive) credit profile reflects the economy’s robust growth trends, which are spurred in turn by its increasing competitiveness and a rapid economic transition away from traditional sectors such as agriculture into manufacturing, and further up the value-added scale within these sectors. Moody's credit analysis, titled "Government of Vietnam -- B1 positive", rated Vietnam’s economic strength as "high (-)", institutional strength "low ( )"; fiscal strength "moderate (-)"; and susceptibility to event risk "high (-)". It said Vietnam’s 2018 growth, nearly twice as high as the average for B-rated sovereigns of 3.6 percent, is supported by domestic consumption and by strong investment growth on the back of public sector infrastructure development spending. It points out that while rapid credit growth presents risks to the banking system, it could also represent a degree of financial deepening.

AVG makes partial MobiFone payment after ending agreementAudio Visual Global (AVG) has paid VND2.5 trillion (US$109.5 million) to MobiFone, a State-owned business under management of the Ministry of Information and Communications, after the two sides cancelled the mutual share transfer agreement on March 12. The MobiFone’s acquisition of AVG ended after it was found irresponsible and broke regulations in the acquisition. — Photo VnEconomyThis amount is part of the total VND8.89 trillion MobiFone paid to acquire AVG. The meeting agreed in principle that AVG shareholders and MobiFone had terminated the contract, MobiFone would return the entire AVG stake to the group of shareholders and shareholders would refund the full amount MobiFone had paid, in addition to interest and related expenses. The agreement was reached after the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat asked the Government to quickly release the inspection results of the acquisition by communications giant MobiFone.

Vietnam keen on bolstering all-round partnership with Switzerland: PMPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed that Vietnam is keen on fostering the friendship with Switzerland and hopes the two countries will continue bolstering cooperation in all fields, especially trade and investment. She said that many Swiss firms are accompanying her in this visit to seek investment and business opportunities, especially in pharmaceuticals, a strong sector of Switzerland. She also had working sessions with the Vietnamese side on environment, climate change, and biodiversity to explore cooperation potential. Along with a direct air route between Vietnam and Switzerland this year, the deal will bring about big chances to promote investment, trade and tourism partnership between the two sides, he stressed. The Government leader proposed that Switzerland should share experience with Vietnam and support the country in building a high-quality education system and combining science-technology research-training.