☀️ Morning digest on May 5

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

- MB Cambodia and Viettel (Cambodia) Pte., Ltd (Metfone), two Vietnamese-invested firms, on May 4 signed a special credit package contract for 2022 to upgrade the telecoms network in Cambodia.

Under this contract, MB Cambodia, a branch of Vietnam’s Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, will provide a credit package with a limit of up to 100 million USD for Metfone, an affiliate of the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, to upgrade the telecom services network and expand operations in Cambodia. Read full story

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

- Foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into the southern province of Binh Duong neared 1.8 billion USD in the first four months of this year, four times higher than in 2021.

Local industrial parks attracted more than 9.2 trillion VND (400.55 million USD) in domestic investment, an annual increase of more than five times. Read full story

- Vietnam's rice exports to the European Union continued to grow in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to the EU -Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

In the first quarter, Vietnam's rice exports reached 1.48 million tonnes, earning 715 million USD, up 24 percent in volume and 10.5 percent in value on year. Read full story

- The Government has urged provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide to raise the health insurance coverage rate to 95.15 percent by 2025.

Specifically, according to Decision 546/QD-TTg which has just been signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, the health insurance coverage rate is expected to increase from 92.6 percent in 2022 to 93.2 percent in 2023, 94.1 percent in 2024, and 95.15 percent in 2025. Read full story

- Hosting the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) is viewed as a “golden opportunity” for Vietnam to popularise its nature and people and to promote its reputation internationally, according to Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu.

A view of Hoan Kiem Lake, an icon of Hanoi capital. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam will be the host of the region’s largest sports event after 19 years and it is also the first major event of the region after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read full story

- Total passengers passing through airports across Vietnam exceeded 1.1 million during the four-day National Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday, reported the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

The figure represented an annual decrease of 3.3 percent, however goods throughput hit 15,900 tonnes, up 7.5 percent on year. Read full story

The website is available in Vietnamese and English. (Photo: VNA)

- The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on May 4 launched a special website on the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) at http://seagames.vnanet.vn.

At the launch, VNA General Director Vu Viet Trang said VNA has started an information drive on the regional sporting event early./. Read full story