The five-day international event, themed "Innovating Futures: AI & Semiconductors Globally," is expected to provide local businesses with meaningful connections with global companies, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience in AI and semiconductors.

The database allows for identifying which tax collector supervises each taxpayer.

Welcome to this week's Words on the Street, where we explore the latest shifts shaping Vietnam's digital landscape, and look at Deepseek's quiet but intriguing entry into an AI market where ChatGPT reigns supreme.

A national conference for young science and technology talents and the ‘Golden Globe’ Youth Science and Technology Awards 2012 will be held in early November, announced the Secretariat of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee at a press conference in Hanoi.

The Ministry of Science and Technology MST is moving ahead with the plan to open technology product trading floors after 2015.

The Hanoitimes - Vietnamese telecoms companies are no longer reliant o­n foreign partners, resulting in the withdrawal of foreign-invested companies from the domestic telecoms market, said an official in a report published by Vietnam Investment Review.Le Nam Thang, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said Vietnamese telecommunications companies now have the necessary conditions to develop by themselves. These conditions include capital, experience and workforce. Many domestic telecom companies do not lack capital and it is easier for them now to access advanced technology, Thang said. In the past, foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises such as Comvik , SK Telecom, VimpelCom, and Hutchison Telecommunications penetrated deeply into the Vietnamese market. However, three of these four investors have already withdrawn quietly from the market, with Comvik International Vietnam AB (CIV), a Swedish Telecom operator belonging to the Kinnevik Group, being an example. In 1995, under the flagship of Millicom International Cellular SA, CIV, together with Vietnam Mobile Services (VMS), the company established the Mobifone network in Vietnam under a Business Cooperation Contract ( BCC ), with capital contribution of 200 million USD. Thanks to this partnership, Mobifone became o­ne of the major mobile telephony operators in Vietnam and provided GSM and GPRS services to close to 2.5 million customers, with turnover of 400 million USD in 2005. However, this cooperative relationship o­nly lasted until the end of 2005 when the BCC was terminated. The withdrawal of SK Telecom (a wireless telecommunications operator of the Republic of Korea controlled by the SK Group) and VimpelCom (a Russia-based international operator) was different from Comvik International Vietnam AB. These two companies decided to stop their operations in Vietnam due to ineffective business. After nine years of ineffective operations in Vietnam , SK Telecom in partnership with the Saigon Post and Telecommunications Services Corporation was forced to withdraw from the Vietnamese market. Similarly, VimpelCom also had to say good bye to the Vietnamese telecoms market after ending its GTel Mobile joint venture with partner Gtel Transmit and Infrastructure Service o­ne Member Co. Lt. In April this year, VimpelCom had to sell its 49 percent stake in the Beeline brand to Gtel, making the latter a wholly locally owned firm. Under the deal, Gtel Company paid around 45 million USD for the buyback after year-long negotiations. The mobile service provider will launch a new brand to replace Beeline. At present, the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited is the o­nly foreign-invested company operating in the telecommunications industry in Vietnam , Vietnam Investment Review said. "However, the company accounts for just an 8 percent market share, and is having difficulties developing infrastructure to provide 3G services," the paper added. Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Economic Management, however said that the withdrawal of foreign investors in the telecommunications area should prompt a review of the domestic market as well as competitive activities in order to make proper adjustments for better development. "The Vietnamese telecommunications market still has a lot of potential to exploit, and is still attractive to many foreign companies and corporations involved in the telecommunications area," Thanh said. Thanh's judgement was proved by the fact that British Telecommunications and Thailand's True Corporation recently expressed their interest in developing their businesses in Vietnam

A delegation from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) visited India from September 9-17 and met with representatives of several government departments to carry out the bilateral co-operation programme o­n technology.

Vietnam will co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international oganisations in all nuclear energy related issues for peaceful purposes, said Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan at the 56th annual IAEA General Assembly in Austria.Vietnam always attaches importance to co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international organisations in all nuclear energy related issues for peaceful purposes, Quan has said.

Nearly 200 businesses from 22 nations and territories are attending international trade show Elenex Vietnam 2012, which opened in HCM City o­n September 19.

Around 200 companies will take part in this year’s Elenex Vietnam exhibition in HCMC from September 19-21 under the arrangement of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Hanoitimes -  The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and its Chinese partner, the China Mobile Communications Corporation, have launched a trans-national optical cable network to connect with China.

The Hanoitimes -  Some telecom conglomerates have revealed their plans to jump into the pay-TV market. They might not anticipate the barriers they would meet when implementing the plan.

Hanoi’s Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park is warming up with the Baxco-Potomac Biotechnology Vietnam for its three projects in the park.Baxco-Potomac Biotechnology Vietnam is a joint venture between China’s Potomax Biotechnology and the US’ Baxco Pharmaceutical. The firm showed their interest in building three projects in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park after visiting there late last month.The park’s Investment Department director Tran Dac Trung said the joint venture had just signed a memorandum of understanding o­n implementation of these projects. However, the total investment capital and the size of these projects were under wraps.The projects comprise a biochip manufacturing for the medical sector, an organic insecticide manufacturing project and a flower and finger flower production project.In addition to genetic applications, the biochip is being used in toxicological, protein, and biochemical research. Biochips can also be used to rapidly detect chemical agents used in biological warfare so that defensive measures can be taken.Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Van Lang said that biochip technology appeared in Vietnam about 10 years ago and was used in some hospitals.He confirmed Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park would have strong health sector support as Vietnam wanted to boost biochip technology to meet domestic demand and export overseas.The Vietnamese government has been cooperating with the Japanese government to build Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park’s infrastructure.“At present, Japanese party is still consulting technical planning and expect to finish by the end of 2012. In March this year, the Vietnamese government signed an agreement to receive official development assistance (ODA) funds from the Japanese government worth 30 billion Japanese Yen ($371 million) for developing the park’s infrastructure to be expected to complete in 2015,” said Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park vice management board Pham Dai Duong.Hoa Lac High-Tech Park located in Hanoi’s Thach That district was founded in 1999, covering 1,600ha.The park targets to develop information technology, especially software development, bio-technology, mechanical-electronic engineering, micro-electronics, new materials, nano technology and environmental friendly technologies.

The Hanoitimes -  The Prime Minister has asked relevant agencies to investigate several websites that distort the situation in Vietnam, speak ill of the Party’s leadership, and incite social disturbances against the administration.

Europe’s NAO will be in Ho Chi Minh City from October 4-6. The world’s most intelligent robot will perform some of its interesting functions like moving, holding objects, introducing itself in Vietnamese and dancing to the local music at three major industrial exhibitions.

Fining telecommunication and internet services providers that violate copyright laws is proving difficult in Vietnam even though the necessary legal system is in place.

Vietnam wants to see meaningful development, the country needs to shift away from extensive reliance o­n human labour and natural resources and use more advanced technology.

Vietnam has studied France’s experiences in managing telecom activities, restructuring telecoms businesses and organising communications, broadcasting and television networks, as well as e-publications during a France visit by the Minister of Information and Communications.

The Hanoitimes -  The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)  in Hanoi released Vietnam’s 2012 White Book on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

E-commerce offers a wealth of potential development opportunities for both service providers and companies using o­nline business services.

This species of plant appears in forests in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. It is a genus of epiphytic myrmecophytes (ant plants) native to Southeast Asia, the Pacific region and also extending into Queensland in northern Australia. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek hydnon "tuber," and phyton "plant," after their appearance with their swollen succulent stems. The species grows in tree branches and o­n trunks. Like the related genus Myrmecodia, they are known as “antplants” or ant-house plants. They form a symbiotic relationship with ants. Ant plants provide habitats for ant colonies high up into the forest canopy, protecting them from the elements and also predators because of the spines. Hollow, smooth-walled tunnels form within the caudex with external entrance holes, providing an above-ground home for ant colonies. Ants likewise provide defense for the plant and prevent tissue damage, swarming to defend their home if disturbed. Ant colonies also provide nutrients to the plants by leaving wastes within the tunnels inside the caudex. Special glands lining the tunnels then absorb nutriment for the plant. This symbiosis allows the plants to effectively gather nutrients (via the ants) from a much larger area than the roots ever could cover. These plants can be grown in cultivation without the ant species being present.

The Hanoitimes -  The fourth Elenex Vietnam exhibition will return to Sai Gon Exhibition&Convention Center o­n September 19 – 21 with the participation of 260 international and local exhibitors.

The Hanoitimes -  Jobstreet.com, one of Southeast Asia's leading employment websites, has launched a mobile application Jobstreet.com Mobile App to help jobseekers in Vietnam.The Jobstreet.com Mobile App, the first of its kind in Vietnam, offers a unique way for iPhone users to search for jobs on the website, apply for them and share information with friends.Jobstreet.com is a recruitment website available in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. It has more than 200,000 business users and over 10 million applicants.