No COVID-19 related deaths were reported in Vietnam nearly a year since the fourth wave of Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the country. Tuesday’s caseload was 2,709 infections, 413 fewer than that of Monday and reported in 53 cities and provinces nationwide. The capital city of Hanoi had the highest daily new infections with 711 reported. The remaining transmissions were detected in Phu Tho (242), Yen Bai (147), Quang Ninh (141), Tuyen Quang (119), Vinh Phuc (115), Nghe An (113), Bac Kan (90), Lao Cai (89), Thai Binh (80), Danang (59), Lam Dong (52), Cao Bang (51), Thai Nguyen (49), Ha Tinh…
Author: Asia News Network
The concept of “micro-tourism” or “micro-vacation”, which comes from the tourism industry, may not be new, but micro-tourism seems to have become a trend in recent years. Micro-tourism is characterised by short-distance travel – two-to-three hours of driving－and two- to-three days’ stay at some place, usually on weekends or during short holidays. In contrast to a proper vacation, which usually involves elaborate planning, much longer travel time, higher expenses, and extends over a week or more, micro-vacation needs little planning and time, and is less expensive. Also, a micro-tourism travel group is relatively small, usually a family seeking quality time…
With the aviation and tourism industries bouncing back strongly, Vietjet Aviation JSC (HoSE: VJC) kicked off 2022 with a positive performance, according to its financial statements for the first quarter (Q1) of this year. The company reported a significant increase of 113 per cent year-on-year in pre-tax profit, owing to the rapid recovery of passenger transport and the ever-growing cargo business, which grew by 76 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively. In Q1, Vietjet’s consolidated revenue surpassed 4.52 trillion dong ($197 million) while after-tax profit was 244 billion dong ($10.6 million), up 12 per cent and 98 per cent…
More than half of e-finance users (67 per cent) in Southeast Asia believe that small and medium businesses (SMB) should begin using digital payments for financial transactions, a study by cybersecurity company Kaspersky has found. Consumers in Malaysia (72 per cent) strongly favoured SMB adoption of digital payment systems, followed by Singapore (68 per cent) and the Philippines (68 per cent). The demand for contactless payment systems is unprecedented. It reflects the projected trajectory of rising e-commerce spending by 162 per cent or $179.8 billion by 2025, with digital payments accounting for 91 per cent of transactions, according to research…
South Korea’s trade-related officials are striving to overcome the worsening trade balance in the wake of declining exports to major destinations, including China and Russia, from a variety of incidents. Trade minister Yeo Han-koo on May 2 presided over a meeting to map out countermeasures against external negative factors which involve China’s possible lockdown of more major cities aside from Shanghai against variants of Covid-19 and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. South Korea’s outbound shipments to China fell by 3.4 per cent year-on-year in April in the wake of the lockdown in Shanghai, one of China’s largest logistics hubs,…
Experts and entrepreneurs got together in Seoul on May 2 to discuss the ways industries in South Korea and the US are enthusiastically embracing emerging technologies required for the metaverse, and the legal framework that is adapting to the new ecosystem in Korea. Taglined “The Rise of Metaverse and What It Holds for the Future”, the Metaverse Forum 2022, co-hosted by The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English-language newspaper, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AmCham Korea), showed that metaverse technologies are boosting connection between people regardless of whatever physical barriers there may be. Rather, the need to…
Four top automakers, namely Toyota, Nissan, Honda and the AutoAlliance, which assembles Ford and Mazda vehicles, have announced that they will start manufacturing electric vehicles (EV) in Thailand. A Thai delegation, led by energy minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, travelled to Japan last month to woo investors from targeted industries namely automotive, electronics and medical. Supattanapong said most of the investors have confidence in Thailand and consider it a “good location” to build a regional base. He added that many companies showed great interest in investing in Thailand, especially in the automotive and electronic sectors. The minister said these companies also aim…
Construction of an international airport in Tonpheung district, of Laos’ Bokeo province, is now 75 per cent complete, with the facility expected to open for domestic use by the end of this year and for international travel soon afterwards. The new airport is being built to handle an anticipated surge in the number of tourists to the area, especially people visiting the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, which contains a number of recreational facilities and attracts visitors from China. The new airport is located close to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone and covers 300ha. It will be the second…
Thai Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan is tipped to succeed General Prayut Chan-o-cha as interim PM should the Constitutional Court rule that Prayut must demit office after holding the post for eight years, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Monday. Prayut will finish eight years in office in August as he had taken the reins of PM on August 24, 2014 following a military coup staged by him that led to the installation of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)-backed government. Section 158 of the charter bars any individual from holding the post of PM for more…
Thailand and Japan reaffirmed diplomatic ties on various fronts including defence and economic cooperation, as the countries’ leaders urged the end to the war in Ukraine and the political unrest in Myanmar. At a joint press conference on May 2, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha marked 135 years of diplomatic relations by witnessing the signing of three agreements touching on financial cooperation, the exchange of defence technology and cooperation for Covid-19 support between the countries. This is Kishida’s first official visit to Thailand and both leaders exchanged views on regional and international issues, including…