With only a few days off before Tet to make preparations for the country’s biggest holiday of the year, busy office workers in Vietnam have opted for online shopping to avoid the crowds while still being able to choose from a wide range of options. Tet, or Lunar New Year, falls on February 16 this year, but preparations for the public holiday typically start at least a week earlier. Similar to Christmas in some Western countries, Tet is a peak selling season for retailers in countries that observe the Lunar New Year, including Vietnam. Among the most popular items during this shopping season are flowers, clothes, and most importantly food to get one through the week-long public holiday, during which most stores and markets in the country are closed. This year, online stores have taken the initiative to offer homemade, ready-to-eat food that can be delivered to customers’ doorsteps, sparing them the need to busy themselves preparing food for the long break. Traditional dishes that are popular on Vietnamese tables during Tet such as boiled chicken, sticky rice cakes and pickled vegetables are best-sellers on online kitchens advertising themselves to be selling only homemade, toxin-free food. Thuong, owner of an online store offering specialties from northern Vietnam, said she had only set out to sell cooking ingredients when she first opened her store. “But then some of my customers began to ask me for cooking recipes and whether I could help process the food, so I decided that I would… [Read full story]
First direct Vietnam-U.S. undersea cable line goes online By Mong Binh - The Saigon Times Daily VUNG TAU - Vietnam Telecom International (VTI) has pressed the switch-on button for a new international high-bandwidth optical fiber submarine cable system to link Vietnam with other Southeast Asian nations and the United States. Khanh said with the new system VTI did not have to lease lines in regional countries to hook Vietnam's cable systems to those links with the U.S. as it did for the two previous cables including the TVH that connects Vietnam with Thailand and Hong Kong. VTI is a subsidiary…... [read more]
Info Bytes (09-08-2008) Ha Noi's quake map goes online Ha Noi — The Ha Noi Department of Construction on Thursday launched a website that maps out earthquake-prone areas in the capital. Located at http://www.soxaydung.hanoi.gov.vn, the site features a 1:25,000-scale map to is aimed at offering information on seismic activity for the design of projects in the capital city. According to the Geophysics Institute of the Viet Nam Science Academy, Ha Noi has the potential to be hit by earthquakes measured at up to 6.1-6.5 degrees on the Richter scale at a depth of 15-20 km due to the motion of…... [read more]
Buddhist newspaper goes online (05-05-2008) HCM CITY — Giac Ngo (Enlightenment), HCM City's most popular Buddhist newspaper, launched its on-line counterpart at www.giacngo.vn last Friday. This is the first website of Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha that provides official and comprehensive information about the organisation's policy and activities. It demonstrates the Buddhist ethos through its doctrines and teachings as well as Viet Nam's Buddhist culture and history to foreign and domestic readers. The website also features stories about daily life in Viet Nam, and is a forum for Buddhist followers at home and overseas. Information on the upcoming United Nations Vesak,…... [read more]
In Briefs (09-09-2008) Standard Chartered goes online, royally HA NOI — Standard Chartered Bank yesterday launched an on-line service in Viet Nam attended by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who is visiting Viet Nam as Britain's special representative for international trade and investment. The new service will make banking and managing finances much more convenient. It will also help protect the environment by reducing the use of paper. Techcombank boosts charter capital again HA NOI — Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) has completed procedures to increase its charter capital to VND3.16 trillion (US$191.82 million) from…... [read more]
Japan's leading retailer Aeon has announced plans to build its third commercial center in Vietnam. It said the new center will be built over 96,000 square meters in Long Bien District, Hanoi. Construction of the Aeon Mall LongBien is expected to start this summer and finish in 2015, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon Online said Tuesday. The retailer has two other shopping centers under construction, a $100 million project in Ho Chi Minh City and a $95 million one in neighboring Binh Duong Province. Both centers are expected to open next year. Aeon has plans to build around 20 shopping…... [read more]
