Photo: VOV

More than 169,000 Covid-19 cases added to national tally on March 11

A total of 169,114 people across 61 localities nationwide were confirmed to have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2-virus, an increase of 8,429 from the previous day, the Ministry of Health reported on March 11.

The majority of the latest cases were detected in Hanoi, with more than 31,890.

The three localities reporting the highest number of infections behind the capital include Nghe An with 11,054 cases, Phu Tho 6,352 cases, and Bac Ninh with 6,346 cases.

In the latest wave that hit the country in late April, more than 5.44 million cases have now been confirmed, with 2.98 million people having now recovered.

The same day saw the Ministry of Health also announce a total of 74,857 recoveries, thereby taking the total number of recovered cases up to 2,983,222.

As of March 10, a total of 199,277,592 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, according to VOV.

Meanwhile Do Van Dung, head of the Public Health Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said the country could face at least one more Covid-19 wave over the next six months before the virus finally becomes endemic.

A new wave is likely to appear, unless most people have already developed "strong" antibodies, he added.

According to health experts, the pandemic remains unpredictable as new strains could cause new waves and it is possible that existing vaccines are no longer effective.

If there are no more new strains in the future, or if there is a vaccine that is more effective against the new variants, or a specific treatment drug, then Covid-19 could become a common disease by this year's end.

Vietnam resolutely opposes and demands Taiwan to cancel illegal live-fire drill

Vietnam resolutely opposes and demands Taiwan to cancel its live-fire exercises in the waters around Ba Binh island belonging to Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and not to repeat similar actions in the future, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on March 11.

Answering reporters’ query on Vietnam’s response to the live-fire drill conducted by Taiwan, Hang said it seriously violates Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty over Truong Sa, threatens peace, stability, safety and security of navigation, induce tensions and complicate the situation in the Bien Dong Sea, cited VNA.

Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: VNA

“We have repeatedly given statements on this issue,” she said, stressing that Vietnam has full legal grounds and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagoes in accordance with international law.

Vietnam top investment destinations for industrial real estate: experts

Vietnam will remain one of the best investment destinations for industrial real estate in Southeast Asia for the next 10 years and beyond, experts said at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the sidelines of the “Industrial Real Estate: Filling in and Filling up” conference on March 9, Kenny Gaw, president and co-founder of Gaw Capital Partners, an equity fund management company, said, “Vietnam is expected to continue moving up the value chain thanks to its stable growth, export-oriented economy, a highly skilled workforce and strategic location.”

“With favorable incentives, competitive labour costs, a stable political environment, a positive economic outlook and free trade agreements, Vietnam has also become favored by foreign investors moving out of China.”

Furthermore, Vietnam is experiencing a golden population structure, with 60% of its population very young, productive and hardworking.

It also boasts a strategic geographical location in the heart of Southeast Asia, which is home to several large and vibrant economies, he said.

It is particularly involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, Gaw noted.

“Vietnam’s upcoming industrial property evolution will be the foundation for attracting additional foreign direct investments,” he added.

The nation’s economic growth, accompanied by the boom in modern retail trends like e-commerce and waves of foreign investment in manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, demand for high-quality industrial property will continue to rise, conference participants said.

The establishment of new industrial zones and key industrial projects beginning operations early this year augur well for the sector.

Bouncing back

Economists, meanwhile, have expressed confidence that the Vietnamese economy will bounce back this year.

Though the fourth wave of outbreak has profoundly impacted the manufacturing sector in HCM City, Vietnam’s commercial hub, the country remains a popular foreign investment destination.

FDI should pick up this year as countries reopen around the world and learn to adapt to new normal conditions, reported VOV.

Photo: VOV

“The increasing number of large-scale FDI projects expanding investment capital shows foreign firms are feeling settled with the overall economic recovery initiated since late last year,” Gaw said.

He noted, “Vietnam has excelled in reeling in the big fish in electronics, footwear, and clothing in recent decades. Productive labour costs, reliable infrastructure, and a smooth bureaucratic process have drawn the attention of major brands such as Samsung, Foxconn, Nike, Adidas, Gap, Levis, Luxshare, Pegatron.”

Mai Huu Tin, president of U&I Investment Corporation and a member of the Private Sector Development Committee, said the industrial real estate sector is considered a bright spot this year.

Those in the industrial park business benefit from increased demand and rentals, he said.

However, with the country facing a number of environmental challenges, industrial estate developers will have to focus on green growth, several experts said at the conference.

They said Vietnam needed to conduct a comprehensive review of available resources, particularly land, as well as energy capacity, to make the most of foreign investments.

It also needs to improve human resources, build supporting industries and give preference to FDI projects that use modern technology.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam received US$2.1 billion worth of new foreign investment and disbursed US$1.6 billion in public investment for respective increases of 6.8% and a 4.2% over the same period last year.

Vietnam’s Axie Infinity still dominates NFT market

Among Blockchain games, Axie Infinity is still the most searched NFT project for in the past month, with 3.86 million searches, according to Design Bundles report.

The search for Axie Infinity far exceeded the NFT projects behind, such as The Sandbox in the second position with 555,000 searches and NBA Prime in third place with 477,000 searches. Surprisingly, the famous and expensive NFT collection like CryptoPunks ranked 9th in terms of search.

The reason behind is that the GameFi model that Axie Infinity developed makes NFTs an important and indispensable resource for gamers.

Nguyen Thanh Trung - the founder of Sky Mavis, the developer of Axie Infinity. Photo: VNN

To participate in the world of Axie Infinity, players must own at least three Axies (game characters). These game characters are NFTs, contributing to the demand for NFT Axie Infinity in the market.

According to statistics of Axie Infinity Marketplace, in the last 24 days, up to 28,400 NFT Axies were successfully traded. The total volume of transactions in a single day also reached US$1.5 million, cited VNN.

In the past month, nearly 1.2 million NFT Axies were sold, with a trading volume of more than US$72 million.

A few days ago, Axie Infinity became the first NFT project to reach US$4 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, CryptoPunks project with extremely expensive NFT avatars has so far only reached US$2 billion in revenue.

After the initial fever, Axie Infinity has maintained strong sales of NFTs. However, due to fluctuations in the Bitcoin price, the price of the Axie Infinity (AXS) token has been severely affected.

Photo: The total transaction value of Axie Infinity NFTs has surpassed $4 billion, the highest among NFT projects in the world.

As of March 8, each AXS token was priced at US$46.4, just a third of what it was during its peak period (US$160). The total market capitalization of Axie Infinity is now estimated at US$2.8 billion, ranking 3rd in NFT segment and 44th in market capitalization compared to Blockchain projects globally.

Preparations made for flight from Romania bringing Vietnamese home

Vietnam's representative agencies and associations of Vietnamese in Romania are making efforts to prepare for a March 12 flight bringing citizens who had to flee from Ukraine home, the Embassy of Vietnam in the country has announced.

This will be the second repatriation flight bringing Vietnamese people home from Bucharest.

Vietnamese citizens fill in necessary forms at the embassy in Romania. Photo: VNA

The VN68 flight is to depart from Bucharest’s Henri Coandă international airport at 5:20pm on March 12 and land at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport at 4:40am on March 13 (local time). It is projected to carry 276 passengers, VNA reported.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Romania Dang Tran Phong said passengers include under-12 children accompanied by adults, elderly people, pregnant women, persons with illness, students, and people in disadvantaged circumstances.

In addition, the embassy and the Vietnamese community in Bucharest are assisting more than 600 compatriots with procedures and accommodations while waiting for upcoming flights to Vietnam.

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