News highlights for April 6, 2023

Six Vietnamese billionaires listed among the wealthiest persons

The global magazine Forbes has announced the list of the richest people in 2023, which includes six Vietnamese billionaires. Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of conglomerate Vingroup, still holds the highest position among the six Vietnamese billionaires with US$4.6 billion worth of assets. He is followed by Nguyen Phuong Thao, CEO of low-cost carrier Vietjet Air, Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the largest steel producer Hoa Phat, and Tran Ba Duong, chairman of the automobile manufacturer THACO.

In 2022, there were seven Vietnamese billionaires on the list. Bui Thanh Nhon, chairman of Nova Group, was the one that got delisted from Forbes’ table. The year 2022 proved to be a rough time for all billionaires on the list. According to Forbes, the 25 richest men on the list saw their net asset value fall by US$200 billion to $2.1 trillion in 2023.

Vietnam gains big win at the Olympic female football qualification

Vietnamese female footballers celebrate their goals in the match against Nepal on April 5. Photo: AFC

The Vietnamese women's national football team on April 5 beat home team Nepal by 5-1 at the first-leg match of the first-round Asia qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The five goals of Vietnam were scored by the golden ball holder Huynh Nhu, Hai Yen, Hoang Thi Loan, Thanh Nha, and an own goal by the Nepalese player Amrita Jaishi. The consolation goal for the Nepal team was scored by Sabitra Bhandari in the 79^th minute.

After the latest win, Vietnam has a big chance to qualify for the second-round qualification. The second leg between Vietnam and Nepal will take place on April 8. Vietnam and Nepal are in Group C with Afghanistan and Palestine, but the two others have withdrawn from the competition for unspecified reasons.

Registration centers to decide their operations

The Vietnam Register is drafting a restructuring plan that empowers vehicle registration centers to run independently. The registration agency of the Ministry of Transport now has 37 subordinate registration centers responsible for checking technical standards for road and water vehicles and marine facilities. If approved, the registration centers will have full autonomy regarding organization, finance, and personnel.

The empowerment of the registration centers is expected to improve service quality, save time and expenses for enterprises, and assure transparency of the work. The Vietnam Register will submit the restructuring plan to the Ministry of Transport for review and approval in the year's second quarter.

Vietnam-based Facebook accounts blocked again

Facebook users and fanpage admins in Vietnam on April 5 had their accounts banned and disabled for having allegedly broken the community standards of the social media platform. The users were unable to perform major actions such as posting, commenting, and replying to messages. Only the main users and admins could access their pages while disappearing from other users’ networks.

Local users claimed that Facebook had no supportive solutions, which could hamper their online businesses. Consequently, page owners must seek assistance from external service providers at high costs without guaranteeing successful page restoration. In September 2022, Facebook made a similar ban on all Vietnamese advertising accounts, which stirred the local e-commerce market.

Slovakian artists crown the Vietnam International Choir Competition 2023

After three days of hard work, the Slovak troupe won the first prize at the seventh Vietnam International Choir Competition finale on April 5. The competition opened on April 2, featuring nearly 600 artists and performers and 18 troupes from seven countries and territories. The troupes competed in 13 categories with eight grades.

Co-hosted by the Hoi An People’s Committee and the German organization Interkultur, the competition allowed art lovers to gather and discuss their experiences in art performing, thus strengthening the relations between Vietnam and other nations. The competition has occurred every two years in the ancient town of Hoi An since 2011.

Vietnamese sweet potatoes to explore China

The General Administration of Customs China (GACC) has granted the exportation of sweet potatoes to the Chinese market for 13 local producers and 70 farms, the Department of Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on April 5. Vinh Long Province may be the first Vietnamese locality that ships sweet potatoes to the Chinese market, followed by others such as Quang Ninh, Dak Lak, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dong Thap.

The plant protection department is working with local authorities to prepare for the first shipment of sweet potatoes, which is expected to depart to China in a month, and urges local producers and farmers to strictly abide by the rules as agreed with the Chinese Government. Vietnam has some 100,000 hectares of farming areas for sweet potato planting, with a total output of 1.2-1.3 million tons each year.