News
Mekong dwellers struggle to adapt to tides of change
Since its founding, the inhabitants of Can Tho city have sold their wares atop the water, which has become a tourist spectacle. This has been the way of life for as long as any resident here can remember, but things are changing. In recent years, local communities ...
Vietnam signs bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
Tourism officials from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar discussed solutions for luring tourists to their region and integrate their tourist industry as they met in Ho Chi Minh City on 9 September. The five countries are member of a political, economic, and cultural bloc known ...
Agreement signed to sustain fisheries
In the first such initiative, Vietnam’s Directorate of Fisheries and six other members signed an agreement on 9 September on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the fisheries and aquaculture sector with the aim to support sustainable development in this sphere. Keep reading ...
New rule allows Vietnam coast guards to chase invading boats with weapons
The Vietnamese government has introduced a new rule allowing coast guard forces to use weapons to chase away foreign vessels entering the country’s waters illegally. Keep reading ...
Environment experts discuss dam dangers
Thirty-five experts from environmental organisations in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam gathered on 8 September to discuss water management and the effects of hydropower dams. They participated in a one-day seminar held in Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta and discussed the impacts that dams ...
Mega Mekong travel expo opens 10 September
Vietnam and the Mekong region’s largest travel exhibition – the International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2015) – will be held from 10 to 12 September at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People’s Committee of Ho ...
Vietnam, Egypt step up bilateral trade ties
Representatives from about 70 Vietnamese and Egyptian enterprises shared information on business opportunities at a forum in Cairo on 7 September. Keep reading ...
Wrong cost estimates in state-funded projects lead to waste, corruption: experts
Experts have warned that construction costs estimated by the government are often much higher than market prices, creating opportunities for contractors and managers to work together and pocket the extra money. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's visa waiver policy fails to give tourism a strong boost: report
It has been two months since Vietnam started waiving visa for tourists from Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain. But Ung Phuong Dung, director of Indochina Services Travel Group, told Saigon Times Online that around half of her clients from these five European countries still ...
Vietnam plans to drop fines for some tax defaulters
The Ministry of Finance plans to forgo fines imposed on businesses which were behind their tax due date if their partners, including state agencies, had failed to pay them on time in accordance with contract terms. Keep reading ...