AstraZeneca agrees US$50 million reforestation deal in Vietnam

AstraZeneca will plant 22.5 million trees in Vietnam worth US$50 million. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca will provide Vietnam with about US$50 million to plant 22.5 million trees. This is one of a series of projects that AstraZeneca will implement to support Vietnam's sustainable development.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, AstraZeneca is a trustworthy potential partner in disease prevention, climate change, and green growth. The project to plant 22.5 million trees aligns with Vietnam's sustainability strategy and goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The global company has committed US$400 million to numerous local reforestation projects and expects to have planted one billion trees by the end of 2026.

PV Gas tops 15 largest cash holding companies

Fifty listed companies own at least VND10 trillion (US$426.48 million) worth of cash each at the end of the first quarter of 2023. They are estimated to hold VND323 trillion (US$13.78 billion) in cash, a slight increase of VND1.4 trillion (US$59.7 million) from the end of 2022.

PetroVietnam Gas is the largest cash holder, with its assets increasing by VND2.6 trillion (US$110.9 million) in three months to nearly VND36.9 trillion (US$1.57 billion) as of March 31. In second place is steel producer Hoa Phat, whose cash rose by VND700 billion (nearly US$30 million) to VND35.3 trillion (US$1.50 billion). Mobile World Group saw the strongest growth as its cash rose by VND5.6 trillion (US$238.8 million) to VND19.8 trillion (US$844.4 million) at the end of March.

Court trial for stock manipulation set for May 8

The trial of Do Thanh Nhan, the former chairman of Louis Holdings, and seven other defendants, including Pham Thanh Tung and Do Duc Nam, chairman, and general director of Tri Viet Securities JSC, may be held on May 8. The defendants are charged with manipulating the stock market and using illegal methods to inflate stock prices up to 42 times from January to October 2021.

With the approval of Tung and Nam, Nhan received a financial package from Tri Viet Securities to buy 20 million shares of companies to be delisted in early 2021 at about VND1,000 ($0.043) per share and managed to inflate the prices to VND74,800 ($3.19) per share, making an illegal profit of about VND152 billion ($6.48 million).

Vietnamese travelers top spenders in South Korea

South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reported on May 6 that Vietnamese tourists were the country's biggest spenders in 2022, with W197,000 (US$149.47) per capita card transactions. The figure surpassed the spending of travelers from Japan, China, Taiwan (China), and the US, which ranged from W109,000 (US$82.70) to W188,000 (US$142.65).

According to local news media, Vietnam sent the largest influx of tourists to South Korea after the Covid-19 pandemic, larger than any other Asian country where restrictions remained longer. Duty-free shops, department stores, hospital visits, health food, and cosmetics were among the top shopping destinations for Vietnamese tourists.

District government empowered to set land prices

The Government has decided to empower district-level authorities to set local land prices to calculate compensation for people whose land is confiscated. District governments will also be able to collect land rentals and fees and set land values to conduct auctions.

The empowerment of district-level authorities is subject to the practical conditions of the local areas. Both provincial and district-level authorities must take measures and avoid corruption in their duties. The decision will be valid until the legislature approves the amended Land Law to replace the Land Law of 2013.

Haiphong inaugurates US$98 million convention center

The northern city of Haiphong on May 6 kick-started the construction of a convention and performance center worth VND2.3 trillion (US$98 million) at the Bac Song Cam Urban Area. 

The center is a multi-purpose facility capable of hosting major events, national and international conferences, and art shows. It is expected to boost the development of the northern city and make Haiphong a leading city in the nation and the northern region.

The center is designed with a capacity of 1,500 seats, with three floors and a basement, covering a total area of more than 49,000m2. The center is located in Tan Duong Commune, Thuy Nguyen District.