Unless you’re in solitary confinement, you know Tet is coming. Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year for giant sound systems, end of year parties, shopping madness and babies hanging off the front of motorbikes in the cutest brand new clothes mum could find. Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, begins on the 16th of February (Western calendar) 2018. It’s both one of my favorite times of the year and frequently the most stressful. The shops are jammed full of locals stocking up on food, gifts and offerings for the celebrations that occur over the four official days of Tet. Please note that stocks of little red envelopes for the lucky money run out pretty quick too. If you’re part of the non-75% complaining expat crowd, Tet is a fun time to be around. Lots of party invites, unless you’re Daniel Hauer and off the A-list. And with many Vietnamese out of town, it’s a rather quiet time. As I’ve mentioned recently in other articles, you need to plan for the biggest national holiday of the year. ATMs run out of money and are sometimes not re-stocked for a few days. Banks and plenty of expat and local businesses shut and half the population head back to their hometowns to spend time with relatives and take a break from the relentless pace of life in Vietnam. It’s surprising just how much goes on at this time of year. Flowers and fruit trees, cherry blossom branches and other deco items fly… [Read full story]
IAG ready for Vietnam market Insurance Australia Group (IAG), a leading non-life insurer in Australia and New Zealand, has laid the foundation in Vietnam market since it became a main investor at AAA Insurance Joint Stock Co. in 2013. Why did IAG choose Vietnam and what is its vision? Strengths of AAA Assurance Corporation Vietnam in general and the insurance industry in particular are well regarded as high growth potential. Therefore, many foreign insurance companies, including IAG, target the nation as an ideal investment venue in their business development strategies in Asia. In 2013, IAG became a major shareholder at…... [read more]
Vietnam’s health ministry has recommended that people think twice about having a favorite blood-based dish if they do not want to enjoy the upcoming Lunar New Year, or Tet holiday, on a sickbed. Raw blood soup is the biggest cause of streptococcus suis infection in humans, so people are advised to remove this dish from their Tet menu, the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the health ministry said in a recent announcement. Raw blood soup, or tiet canh in Vietnamese, is a dish made of the raw blood of ducks, geese, or pigs, with peanuts and herbs on top.…... [read more]
Sugi Ryotaro, Akikawa Masafumi, Rimi Nastukawa, Shimatani Hitomi and the band W-inds will perform with Thanh Lam, My Linh, My Tam, Ho Quynh Huong, Trong Tan and Tan Minh in the first-ever spectacular music show at the National Convention Centre. The show will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television and rebroadcast later on the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). Addressing a press briefing in Hanoi on May 23, Vietnam-Japan Special Friendship Ambassador Sugi Ryotaro, who is also Japan-Vietnam Goodwill Ambassador to Vietnam, affirmed that the gala provides a chance for the two countries to promote cultural exchange in line with their…... [read more]
The World Bank will provide US$100 million for a project to promote school readiness among five-year-olds in Vietnam from now until 2017, the international lender said Thursday in a press release. The project, to be implemented by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, aims to raise school readiness for five-year-old children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic minority groups. About half of Vietnam's five-year-old children are at risk of lacking at least one area of skills needed to start schooling, according to survey results released at the project launch. The areas include language and awareness skills, communication and…... [read more]
Vietnam has reached an agreement in principle with the US on the former's WTO membership. A correspondent from Buu Dien Vietnam Newspaper interviewed with Bui Quoc Viet, director of the Post Information Centre, about opportunities and challenges for the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) when Vietnam joins the WTO. * Vietnam has negotiated its entry into the WTO with the US. How do terms in the negotiation affect Vietnam's telecommunications? For the telecommunications market only, Vietnamese telecommunications enterprises have opportunities to assess advanced technology, learn experiences in business management and try their strengths in the international arena. This means…... [read more]
