Vietnam News Highlights for August 25, 2023

Noi Bai Airport to handle 410,000 passengers during national holiday

Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi. Photo: VNA

The number of passengers passing through Noi Bai International Airport during the upcoming holiday [on September 1-4] is expected to increase by 37% compared to last year and by 5% against regular days. The average figures on the peak day are over 106,000 passengers (including 31,000 international passengers) and 637 flights (including 230 international flights).

Mostly administrative procedures in Hanoi will be carried out online from August 24

The Hanoi People's Committee on August 24 decided that the city will fully or partially conduct administrative procedures in the electronic environment. Among them, there are 264 procedures at the city level, 41 at the district level, and 13 at the commune level.

Foreign language certificates for university entrance exam reviewed

The Ministry of Education and Training will review the use of foreign language certificates as criteria for university admission, according to Huynh Van Chuong, Director of the ministry's Quality Management Department. The move comes after many localities failed to comply with regulations on administering exams and issuing international language certificates, which affected candidates applying to universities.

OTT services to be included in the amended Telecommunications Law 

Over-the-top (OTT) services will be covered in the amended Telecommunications Law proposed by Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung at the working session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on August 24. Once approved, the law will define OTT, data centers, and cloud computing to promote development and ensure a level playing field among service providers. The bill will be passed by the National Assembly in October 2023.

Ship arrivals surge in July: Vietnam Marine Administration

Dinh Vu Seaport in the northern city of Haiphong. Photo: Cong Hung/The Hanoi Times

Ship throughput at Vietnamese ports in July rose by a fifth year-on-year to nearly 10,800, according to the Vietnam Marine Administration. The figure includes a 20% increase in both international and domestic vessels.

However, the January-July figure fell 3% year-on-year to around 59,300. Of the total, the number of ships calling at Vietnamese ports fell 5% year-on-year to nearly 27,000.

Vietnam's trade surplus rises to US$16.3 billion in 7.5 months

The General Department of Vietnam Customs has reported that the country posted a trade surplus of US$224 million in the first half of August, bringing the year-to-date trade surplus to $16.3 billion.

As of August 15, the country recorded a total trade value of US$402.6 billion, down 16.2% year-on-year. Of this, exports by foreign direct investment enterprises fell 16.2% year-on-year to nearly US$278 billion.

Vietnamese golfer crowns junior cup at regional championship

Vietnamese golfer Nguyen Duc Son won a gold medal in the 13th Lion City Cup for male juniors at the 2023 Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship. This is the first individual championship for Vietnam since its participation in the 2019 championship.

In the 60th Putra Cup for men, the Vietnamese golf team finished second behind Indonesia. The championship for amateur golfers was held at the Mines Golf Resort in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 20-24.

EVN tasked with developing new pricing system

The government has asked the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to develop a new electricity pricing scheme for the coming period with limited impact on socio-economic development.

On May 4, the average retail electricity price increased by 3% to VND1,920 (US$0.080) per kWh, the first rise in four years. EVN reported that the cost of electricity production in 2022 increased by 9.3% to VND2,032 (US$0.085). In 2022, EVN recorded a loss of VND26 trillion (US$1.08 billion) due to the hikes in input costs (coal, oil and gas).