Mong Cai International Border Gate welcomes nearly 1,000 inbound visitors on the first day of the year
On February 10th (the first day of the Lunar New Year) in Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province, the first group of tourists arrived at the Mong Cai International Border Gate to enter the country.
This is the first time after the COVID-19 pandemic that Mong Cai City has organized the welcoming of tourists.
According to the statistics of Mong Cai City, on the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2024, nearly 1,000 tourists entered the country through the Mong Cai International Border Gate.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first Tet holiday in which Mong Cai City has welcomed tourists through the Mong Cai International Border Gate. From 8 a.m., tourists were present at the waiting area to go through the immigration process. All procedures were carried out by functional forces in accordance with the regulations, with specific instructions to facilitate the quick entry of tourists.
Feng shui expert predicts the economics of the Giap Thin year
According to the five-element theory, feng shui experts believe that there will still be many conflicts around the world this year. A feng shui expert in Singapore predicts that tensions in the Middle East could escalate in the Giap Thin year. However, the situation may calm down after the third quarter of 2024.
As the dragon symbolizes art, industries related to culture, beauty, and tourism will thrive. On the other hand, feng shui experts promise that the economy will recover in 2025.
The five-element theory shows that the “wood” element will bring prosperity to industries related to metals such as banks, high technology, cars, machinery, and cosmetics. The next are industries related to Wood, including media, fashion, environment, and herbal medicine.
Industries related to “fire,” such as restaurants, entertainment, finance, and energy, will remain vibrant, but not overly prosperous. On the other hand, industries related to Water, including transportation, will face difficulties. Earth-related industries such as real estate, mining, and insurance may face challenges.
Over 10,000 tons of rice provided for people in 17 provinces and cities for Tet
The General Department of State Reserves – Ministry of Finance has assigned state reserve offices in the region to provide over 10,400 tons of rice from the national reserve to support people in need in 17 provinces and cities for the Tet holiday.
The General Department of State Reserves provides 10,400 tons of rice for people in need.
The localities receiving rice support include Soc Trang, Kon Tum, Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Gia Lai, Binh Dinh, Cao Bang, Nghe An, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Bac Lieu, Ninh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Quang Ngai, Kien Giang, An Giang, and Tay Ninh.
The Department of Reserve Management – General Department of State Reserves stated that immediately after the Prime Minister signed the decision to support people for Tet, the General Department of State Reserves sent a letter requesting local people’s committees to promptly plan for receiving and distributing the rice.
No-stop toll collection on the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Highway to Sa Pa
Lao Cai – Sa Pa BOT Investment Joint Stock Company announced the collection of tolls for road usage at the Lao Cai – Sa Pa BOT toll booth, using non-stop electronic toll collection at the Lao Cai – Sa Pa BOT toll booth.
Non-stop toll collection starts at the Lao Cai – Sa Pa BOT toll booth.
According to the announcement, the road usage service charges at this toll booth (including 8% VAT) are as follows: The rate is 24,000 VND/ticket/turn for cars with less than 12 seats, trucks with a load of less than 2 tons, and public transport vehicles (buses); 4 groups of passenger and cargo transport vehicles with more seats, loads, and larger dimensions have ticket prices ranging from 34,000-117,000 VND/turn.
Previously, starting from 0 a.m. on January 16th, the Lao Cai – Sa Pa BOT toll booth at the Mong Sen Bridge (Trung Chai, Sa Pa) announced the collection of road usage service charges, but the operating unit later postponed it until February 7th.
A year of freefall in savings interest rates
The savings interest rates in 2023 featured a race to reduce deposit interest rates to the lowest level in 20 years, starting from the peak of 12% per year for a 12-month term at the beginning of 2023, the banks adjusted it to below 5% by the end of the year.
January and February: Private commercial banks raised deposit interest rates to 10% for a 12-month term. Moreover, ABBank and Saigonbank attracted customers with a rate of 12% per year…
June: The State Bank of Vietnam reduced the benchmark interest rate twice. Therefore, from March to April, the State Bank of Vietnam reduced the benchmark interest rate four times. This led to a rapid decrease in the savings interest rate market. Specifically, for a 12-month term, the highest deposit interest rate was at ABBank; CBBank remaining at 8.1% per year. The lowest among the Big 4 was at 6.8% per year…
September: The downward trend in interest rates continued as banks no longer attracted deposits at rates below 7% per year. NCB offered the highest rate of 6.75% per year for a 12-month term. The lowest rate among the Big 4 was 5.8% per year…
December: The highest deposit interest rate for a 12-month term was 5.7% at OceanBank. NCB followed suit with an interest rate of 5.55% per year for a 12-month term. The popular deposit interest rate for a 12-month term is currently around 5% per year.
Nearly 3,000 employees of Thế Giới Di động resign
On February 5th, Mobile World Investment Corporation (stock code: MWG) announced that it would repurchase over 154,200 treasury shares to recover shares issued under the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for employees who had resigned.
MWG closed nearly 200 Thế Giới Di động and Điện Máy Xanh stores in recent months.
This is the first time in 2024 that MWG repurchased treasury shares. In 2023, the company had three rounds of treasury share repurchases to recover ESOP shares of resigned employees, totaling over 978,300 shares, exceeding the amount of treasury shares repurchased in previous years.
Not all MWG employees were eligible for ESOP, but the significant reduction in personnel at Thế Giới Di động in the past period partly reflected the reason why this retail chain is tirelessly recovering the ESOP shares of resigned employees.
