Press digest – August 1

Cabinet convenes July regular meeting

 PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the first regular meeting of the 2016-2021 Government, which is for July, on August 1 in Ha Noi.

According to PM Phuc, all Cabinet members were approved by the 14th National Assembly with a majority of votes, which showed the lawmakers' high confidence in their accomplishment of the assigned tasks over the last three months.

Cabinet members receive appointment decisions

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented the State President’s decisions on appointing all members of the Government in the 14th tenure (2016-2021).

The warding ceremony took place on August 1 in Ha Noi at the Government’s regular meeting in July.

Gov’t prepares for second typhoon

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a telegram, asking ministries, localities, and agencies to proactively respond to Nida tropical storm, the second storm entering Viet Nam in 2016.

Nida already entered the East Sea and became the second typhoon in 2016 with a forecast maximum wind speeds of 149 kilometers per hour (level 13).

NA committee supervises environmental protection in Ha Tinh

A delegation of the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment inspected environmental protection activities of Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. Ltd on July 31 and August 1. 

At a working session with officials of the central province of Ha Tinh, Chairman of the committee Phan Xuan Dung said Formosa’s Son Duong steel and deep-water port complex in the province is a big project. The environmental incident it triggered has caused major consequences on the local economy and society. 

VN sets up tourism training association

A tourism training association of Viet Nam was set up at a congress in Ho Chi Minh City on August 1 with a view to fostering manpower development in the industry. 

The new association, founded by the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), gathers universities, colleges, vocational schools, research agencies, businesses, and organizations specializing in tourism. 

It aims to connect, cooperate with and assist its members to develop tourism training, attract travel companies’ participation in personnel training, and design tourism skill standards. 

Banks raise deposit interest rates

Many commercial banks have raised deposit interest rates over the past few weeks, generating concern about an imminent lending interest rate hike.

Maritime Bank is the latest bank to have raised its short-term Vietnamese dong deposit rates by 0.2% per year, to touch 4.9-5.2% as of July 26.

On June 20, Maritime Bank also increased its short-term deposit rates by 0.1 percent.

National Volunteer Award 2016 launched in Hanoi

The National Volunteer Award 2016 was launched in Hanoi on August 1 to honor organizations and individuals who actively engage in voluntary activities for the benefits of the community.

The award, initiated by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) and the United Nations Volunteer Program, will be granted to 10 outstanding organizations and individuals, said Secretary of the HCYU and President of the Vietnam Youth Association Nguyen Phi Long.

HCM City needs specific plans to maintain economic growth

Ho Chi Minh City needs to carry out specific plans to maintain its economic growth in the last four months of 2016, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a working session with local officials on August 1.

The city will focus on implementing the Government’s Resolution No.19 on improving business environment and increasing national competitiveness in 2016-2017 and with orientation towards 2020, and Resolution No.35 on supporting and developing businesses until 2020.

VN has over 14 million hectares of forest: ministry

Viet Nam had more than 14 million hectares of forest as of December 21, 2015, including over 10.1 million hectares of natural forest and nearly 3.9 million hectares of planted forest.

The national forest coverage reached 40.84 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The ministry has assigned the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to set up national forest resource data and guide localities and organizations to update forest development situation./.

(Source: VGP/VOV/VNA)