Market power of Chinese companies Beijing takes on tech companies

Status: 23.06.2021 12:18 p.m.

Numerous large and valuable tech companies have emerged in China in recent years. The government did its best to promote the rise. In the meantime, however, the feel-good phase is over.

By Steffen Wurzel, ARD-Studio Shanghai A small coffee shop in Shanghai’s Jing’an business district. The shop is popular, a take-away coffee costs the equivalent of two euros, a bargain for this location. The fact that shopkeeper Wu Jialing is still worth it is because he can sell a lot of coffee within a short period of time. Customers pay by smartphone. You simply scan the QR code that is hanging next to the coffee machine. “Paying by app is incredibly fast,” says the shop owner. Serving the cash register, looking for change, washing your hands after contacting the cash register and cash – all of this is eliminated. Correspondingly more sales are possible.

Revolutionized dealing with money

The payment apps Alipay and WeChat-Pay have revolutionized the way money is handled in China within a few years. Instead of struggling with the mostly old-fashioned, complicated and sluggish state banks, most Chinese people now fully rely on the smartphone apps of the domestic fintech companies Ant and Tencent to handle their everyday financial transactions.

It is no longer just about cashless payments. The Alipay app can now also be used to take care of investments, insurance and old-age provision. That too weakens the role of the state banks. “In the area of ​​finance, China has developed from a very backward place to a global pioneer in terms of fintech,” explains Martin Chorzempa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Not only in the financial technology sector have new, powerful large corporations emerged in the country in recent years. There was also a start-up boom in other tech areas, financed partly by state and partly private venture capital.

Government rethinking corporate relationships

Whether online shopping, social media or delivery services: For years, companies such as Alibaba, Bytedance and Meituan have been able to rely on political and sometimes financial support from the government. But in the past few months the climate has changed, says Duncan Clark, head of the management consultancy BDA in the Chinese capital Beijing. “It seems that the government in China is rethinking its relationship with the big tech companies.”

Obviously, some of the big tech companies have grown too big too quickly for the communist leadership – and above all too powerful. The fact that cartel and supervisory authorities are taking action against the market power of large corporations such as Google, Amazon or Facebook is also true in Europe and the USA. But: “What makes the matter special in China are the outstanding position of the Communist Party and the tensions that exist again and again in China: Tensions between the large state corporations supervised by the CP on the one hand and the private sector on the other.” explains Clark.

Ant IPO stopped

These tensions became apparent in China over the past year. In several cases, the state and party leadership slowed down the emerging private companies. Ant, the parent company of the payment and financial services app Alipay, wanted to go public last November, for example. It would have been the largest IPO in world economic history. With him, the Chinese fintech company Ant would have collected around 30 billion euros. But two days before the equity debut in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the government surprisingly stopped the IPO. Ant does not meet certain regulations, it was announced. Further details: none. But in the following weeks it became clear that the cancellation of the Ant IPO probably came from the very top. China’s state and party leadership was apparently bothered by statements by Ant boss Ma Yun, alias Jack Ma, who said in a speech in Shanghai shortly before the planned IPO: “As far as the financial sector is concerned, we are still beginners in China. We do have Big banks – they are like big rivers. But what we mainly need are small lakes, ponds, streams and smaller rivers. ”

Open criticism crosses a red line

China’s financial system, previously dominated by large state banks, harbors risks, Ma criticized. That is unhealthy. A statement that many experts would endorse, but from the point of view of the communist leadership, the previously ubiquitous model manager had crossed a red line with his open criticism of the state banks.

The IPO of his fintech company Ant burst. Ma himself had to withdraw to a large extent from the public.

Several company directors resigned

“At first it was thought that this was all about Jack Ma because he was so open about himself, and about his company Ant,” says management consultant Clark, who has also written a book about the rise of Jack Ma. “But since then we have seen much more extensive crackdown by the authorities against large tech companies in China.”

Other prominent startup founders and tech billionaires resigned. For example, Zhang Yiming, the head of the TikTok parent company Bytedance, and Huang Zheng, who ran the emerging Chinese online shopping group Pinduoduo. The reasons for the resignations are unclear, but most industry observers believe government pressure played a role. “The Communist Party is profiting enormously from the consumption boom that all these tech companies have triggered in China,” Clark analyzes. “But this is not a one-way street. We see a certain double dependency between the CP and the tech companies: Both somehow need each other, but in the end the party says: ‘You need us more.'” It is becoming increasingly clear that China’s leadership is no longer allowing private tech companies to get away with as much as it has before. They too must submit to the Communist Party’s claim to leadership. Criticism will not be tolerated, however subtle it may be.

Lost 25 billion euros in one post

This was recently also experienced at the delivery service group Meituan, against which the antitrust authorities are investigating. Meituan boss Wang Xing posted a historical satirical text that is more than 1000 years old in early May. This text is about criticism of a former Chinese emperor. Some understood the post of the company boss and multi-billionaire as a hidden criticism of today’s rulers. The Meituan boss deleted the posted text, but Meituan’s stock market price plummeted by almost 15 percent, and the company lost around 25 billion euros in value in one fell swoop. The fact that Xing then donated around ten percent of his personal fortune, around 1.8 billion euros, to a charity is understood as an attempt at penance. “Many company bosses in China are currently examining how they can get rid of outstanding titles or even parts of their assets,” reports management consultant Clark. “It’s about behaving as inconspicuously as possible, no longer being the tallest tree in the forest. Because it is the first to be felled.”

Wrong interest calculations BaFin is taking action

Status: 21.06.2021 5:08 p.m.

Premium savings contracts have long promised savers big money. However, in the low interest rate phase, many banks corrected the promised profit commitments downwards. BaFin is now intervening – in the interests of customers.

From Ursula Mayer, Mr

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin obliges banks and savings banks to inform holders of premium savings contracts with a variable interest rate about ineffective interest rate adjustment clauses. To this end, the authority has published a general order – which is considered a sharp sword in the financial sector. The financial institutions must also explain to savers whether they have received too little interest as a result of the ineffective clauses. In this case, either back payments beckon or the banks can offer customers modified contracts with an effective interest rate adjustment clause. The changes apply retrospectively and also compensate for insufficiently paid interest in the past. According to BaFin, at least 247 banks and savings banks are affected. The total amount is open.

So far, banks have stood across the board

In the period between 1990 and 2010 in particular, the financial institutions offered a large number of premium savings contracts. These long-term contracts contain clauses that allow financial institutions to unilaterally change the guaranteed interest rate. They often did that in the low interest rate phase and cut savings rates, in some cases massively – at the expense of their customers. The Federal Court of Justice has meanwhile classified the clauses as ineffective.

BaFin Executive Director Thorsten Pötzsch refers to this in the general decree. He speaks of a “grievance” for consumers, which BaFin wants to remedy in terms of collective consumer protection. “We ensure that affected customers are comprehensively informed and legally treated,” says Pötzsch. Because for more than a year the supervisors have been trying to find a solution with the financial institutions in the interests of the customers, even at a round table – so far without success. The general decree shows that BaFin’s patience has come to an end.

Hundreds of thousands of customers affected

“We are assuming that banks and, above all, savings banks have concluded hundreds of thousands of premium savings contracts nationwide,” says financial expert Andrea Heyer from the consumer center in Saxony. She and her team have specialized in recalculating such contracts. More than 7700 customers from all over Germany have already contacted us.

As the consumer advocates have calculated together with experts, the financial institutions have calculated the interest rates too low for years in almost all cases. As a rule, consumers were unable to understand how they set the variable interest rate. Often the financial houses have lowered interest rates too much, in too large interest rate steps downwards. “Depending on the case, those affected are entitled to additional payments of a few hundred to over 40,000 euros in individual cases,” says Heyer. In this respect, she welcomes the fact that BaFin is now intervening – that is an important signal.

Suddenly it was 15,000 euros less

Karina Rother from Frankfurt, for example, signed such a premium savings contract at Frankfurter Sparkasse in the 1990s and wanted to do something for her retirement with it. “The Sparkasse promised me that with a term of 25 years it would really be worth it for me,” says Rother. She promised the customer steadily rising interest rates and ever higher cash rewards.

Rother assumed that she would get around 77,000 euros in the end – as it was calculated in an advertising flyer. Suddenly it should be around 15,000 euros less. In the end, she agreed with the Sparkasse on an extra payment of around 4,000 euros – but, says Rother: “It annoys me that a public institute in particular causes such trouble, even though it is in the interests of the company ‘Joe Bloggs’ should have in view. “When asked, the Sparkasse did not want to comment on the case because of banking secrecy.

Savings banks oriented towards the common good have a duty

Julian Merzbacher, consumer protection expert of the citizens’ movement Finanzwende, also sees the savings banks in particular as having an obligation to finally act and to approach customers on their own initiative. “It is a cheek that the public welfare-oriented institutes have so far mainly relied on the time factor and statutes of limitations when it comes to saving premiums”.

The general decree of BaFin also explicitly refers to contracts that have already been terminated. But the extent to which claims from customers are already statute-barred – or maybe not – is not a matter for BaFin, it says there, but the courts would have to clarify in case of doubt.

Big incomprehension among the banks

However, the credit institutions now have four weeks to appeal against the general ruling. This is currently being checked, according to the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, the umbrella association for the banking industry. “It is astonishing that the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority is pre-empting the courts,” said a written statement.

Because there is still another judgment pending at the Federal Court of Justice, according to which specific criteria banks have to adjust interest rates in long-term savings contracts. When this decision will be announced is not yet known – consumer advocates are expecting the verdict in the fall. And of course the German banking industry wants to take this into account, according to its own statements.

Don’t just accept comparison offers

But just waiting until then is not an option, according to BaFin. After all, it is uncertain when a decision by the Federal Court of Justice can be expected, according to the general ruling. As a result, the situation is unnecessarily prolonged for the financial supervisors, and consumers should now be informed urgently.

With a view to the general ruling, consumers do not have to do anything at first. However, you should pay attention to whether you will soon receive mail from your house bank regarding premium savings contracts or not. If comparative offers are made, consumer advocate Heyer recommends having them checked so that no saver is taken advantage of

The sea boundary of Ha Long – Cam Pha has a length of 18.7km, started in September 2019 and passes through the wards of Hong Ha, Ha Tu, Ha Phong (Ha Long City) and Quang Hanh (Cam Pha City). The section through Cam Pha city with a length of nearly 10km has basically completed the construction of the foundation, asphalt carpeting, lighting, etc. The contractor is expanding the roadbed to adjust 6 lanes. The section through Ha Long City has been implemented since March 2020, but the road foundation has been basically completed. Bridge 2 over Lo Phong stream (Ha Phong ward, Ha Long city) with a length of 80m has completed the main items, the contractor is preparing to construct the bridge deck. In the mountain tunnel category, the contractor is conducting 4 consecutive excavations in both directions at the same time. Up to now, both tunnels have dug 135/470m, it is expected to open the tunnel until July 15. Tunnel door through the mountain side of Ha Long city. For 4km at sea, the contractor is actively constructing the roadbed, it is expected that in August 2021, the foundation will be completed to move to the finishing stage and asphalt pavement. Do Phuong

According to Lieutenant Colonel, Associate Professor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chu Van Men, Director of the Center for Clinical Trials and Bioequivalence, Military Medical Academy, phase 3 injected the Nano Covax vaccine to 13,000 people and administered only a single dose group injection. at least 25 mcg and the placebo injection group. Specifically, according to the protocol approved by the Ministry of Health, the first 1,000 trial injectors of the first phase of phase 3, the volunteers are injected with the ratio of “6 people vaccinated, 1 person injected placebo”. The remaining 12,000 people injected according to the ratio “2 people vaccinated, 1 person injected placebo”. It is expected that the first phase of phase 3 will be conducted by the Military Medical Academy and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City with 1,000 volunteers, each with 500 people. Vietnam’s first COVID-19 vaccine tested in phase 3 on humans. Regarding the reason for choosing the dose group of 25 mcg, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chu Van Men said that testing at 3 dose levels of 25-50-75 mcg showed that the vaccine was safe on volunteers, capable of generating immunity in 3 doses. There was no difference in dose groups. Therefore, the National Ethical Council in Biomedical Research, Ministry of Health decided to only inject 1 optimal dose of 25 mcg at this stage. Phase 3 is implemented in many centers in the country: The North is deployed by the Military Medical Academy as the focal point at Military Medical Hospital 103, in collaboration with the Preventive Medicine Center of Hung Yen province to deploy locally; In the South, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute is the focal point to deploy, in collaboration with the Preventive Medicine Centers of Long An and Tien Giang provinces to deploy locally. After the phase 1 and phase 2 trials, the Nano Covax vaccine is judged to be quite safe, so the criteria for recruiting volunteers will be relaxed more than the previous two phases. 13,000 volunteers participating in phase 3, aged 18-75 years old, only need to check their blood count and check for antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. People who have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus or already have antibodies will be excluded from the test population. As of June 11, more than 6,500 volunteers have registered to test the Nano Covax vaccine against COVID-19 phase 3. Senior Colonel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Anh Son, Deputy Director of the Military Medical and Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Military Medical Academy added: “It is expected that by mid-September 2021, after about 42 days of the second injection. In two of the first 1,000 experimental injections, we will summarize the results of the quality assessment to report. If it is favorable, we will submit the dossier and propose the Government, the Ministry of Health, and the National Ethical Council in the study. In parallel with that process, the unit will continue to test the Nano Covax vaccine on 12,000 volunteers to continue to control the experimental injection and evaluate the effectiveness. protective power of vaccines”. During the testing process and after the antibody sample is available, the Military Medical Academy will coordinate with the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company, the testing units to conduct the assessment of the ability to neutralize the SARS-CoV virus. -2 in the laboratory for existing virus strains to determine the development direction of vaccine research in the coming period. Through discussions with the expert group of Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company, in addition to recombinant protein technology, there are other technologies for research and production of vaccines. Nanogen as well as many Vietnamese scientists are very interested in mRNA technology – which has been of great interest to the world in recent years. This technology has the advantage of reacting very quickly to the disease, quickly getting a vaccine. According to available information, vaccines produced by this technology are very safe for human use. More information about the phase 3 trial, Lieutenant General, Prof. Dr. Do Quyet, Director of the Military Medical Academy, said that this trial phase is designed according to the adaptive design method, continuing to inject the experimental vaccine. trial and placebo group; health assessment at the time of the first injection, the second dose (done on the 28th day), the 35th day and the 42nd day after injection. The Director of the Military Medical Academy expressed confidence in the safety of the Nano Covax vaccine with the results achieved through the previous two testing phases. Specifically, the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 virus antibodies after the phase 2 trial injection showed that the antibody titre increased very high, from tens to hundreds of times. After the second injection, the volunteers had a physical examination (blood test, blood pressure measurement…) once a week to assess the amount of antibodies appearing in the body; then continue to be monitored for 6 months to get information, assess health as well as immunity ability. Up to now, 100% of volunteers who have been vaccinated with Nano Covax vaccine have produced antibodies in the blood. – Phase I (December 2020), the COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax was administered to 60 volunteers. – Phase II (February 2021) injected over 554 people. From phase 2, the trial was conducted both at the Military Medical Academy and the Medical Center of Ben Luc district – Long An province (by the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City).

Illustration. At the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on the afternoon of June 11, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan informed that the Ministry of Health had officially approved the phase 3 clinical trial of the vaccine. Vietnam’s first COVID-19 room named Nano Covax. According to Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan, the Ministry of Health has just approved the phase 3 clinical trial of Nano Covax vaccine of Nanogen Company. According to Lieutenant Colonel, Assoc. Dr. Chu Van Men – Director of the Center for Clinical Trials and Bioequivalence, Military Medical Academy, Ministry of National Defense, phase 3 injected the Nano Covax vaccine to 13,000 people and injected only a single dose group. 25 mcg and placebo injection group (with a ratio of “6 people vaccinated to 1 person injecting placebo” according to the design approved by the Ministry of Health). As for the reason for choosing the 25 mcg dose group, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chu Van Men said that when the phase 2 trial showed that, the 3 dose levels of 25-50-75 mcg had equivalent safety and immunogenicity. undifferentiated. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety and increase the effectiveness of the number of doses of vaccine production, the National Ethical Council in Biomedical Research, the Ministry of Health decided to inject only 1 optimal dose of 25 mcg at the initial stage. this. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang asked and encouraged volunteers to test the vaccine against COVID-19 Nano Covax. Photo: PV. On June 11, the Military Medical Academy said that this unit has started to deploy the phase 3 trial injection of the COVID-19 Nano Covax vaccine for the first 19 volunteers. On the day of injection for 200 people, divided into 2 groups. Accordingly, one group injected the Nano Covax vaccine with a dose of 25mcg, the other group injected a placebo with aluminum excipients. Military medical students will inject 1,000 volunteers in the first time. According to the research outline, phase 3 will test on about 13,000 volunteers in many provinces such as Hanoi, Hung Yen, Long An, Tien Giang… At the Military Medical Academy, there are currently more than 7,000 volunteers registered to participate in the trial, of which more than 600 people have been screened and are eligible to participate. Besides, IVAC’s Covivac vaccine is also preparing to complete phase 1 trial and enter phase 2 in July 2021. Regarding the subjects of vaccination, according to Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan, in addition to the priority subjects for COVID-19 vaccination under Resolution 21, the Ministry of Health has added workers in industrial zones and will propose more subjects working in establishments dealing in essential goods.

Thanh Nhan Hospital deploys AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for medical staff. Accordingly, this number of vaccines is distributed by the Hanoi Department of Health to districts, towns. Districts, towns and cities have prepared to deploy the third phase of Covid-19 vaccination according to the plan of the Ministry of Health and the guidance of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. It is expected that the vaccination against Covid-19 in this batch will end in July 2021. The Covid-19 vaccine in the 3rd and 4th waves will focus on giving the first dose to priority subjects in the spirit of Resolution 21/NQ-CP of the Government, that is, people working in medical facilities. health (medical staff working at domestic and non-public health facilities have not been vaccinated); participants in epidemic prevention and control; staff directly participating in service at concentrated isolation areas; members of the City’s Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control, the Health Sector Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control, the Steering Committees at all levels and branches; Community Covid-19 Team members have not been vaccinated… In addition, those who have received the 1st dose will be given the 2nd dose after being given the next round of vaccines (batches 5 and 6). Priority subjects received 1 dose of vaccine and the interval between 2 injections was at least 8 weeks. Tran Thi Nhi Ha, Director of the Hanoi Department of Health, said that Hanoi puts vaccination safety first. Districts, towns need to proactively arrange safe vaccination points and strengthen inspection and supervision of vaccination points, ensuring full compliance with the vaccination process as prescribed by the Ministry of Health. Previously, Hanoi deployed the first phase of Covid-19 vaccination for more than 8,400 people and the second phase for more than 53,000 people. Step 1: Visit https://www.bluezone.gov.vn or download directly at App Store or CH Play. Step 2: Once downloaded, the application will ask for permission to use Bluetooth to record contact with other Bluezone installed users. If Bluetooth is not open, drag the status bar and turn on Bluetooth; or go to Settings, select Bluetooth and turn it on. Step 3: Once the installation is done, click Scan Around. If someone near you less than 2m has used Bluezone, the application will automatically identify these users and put them in the contact list.

The aura has passed, the little Strawberry girl is now more mature and in a more sexy, sexy style. Strongly overcoming the broken love of 8 years with Ngo Kien Huy, Khong Tu Quynh is now really different. There is no longer the shadow of the old princess and cake of the bride, Khong Tu Quynh is now very trendy, trendy and extremely disruptive. Her recent outfit style has been inspired by the breath of the 90s – a trend that is “storming” young people who are addicted to clothes now. Recently, she has just released a set of fashion photos taken in the sunset, which received a lot of attention from the online community. Remember that day, when Vietnamese stars were eager to show off the sparkling Saigon sky, the singer also chose for herself the angle to show off both her figure and landscape. However, the interesting highlight is still the red leather set that is cut and cut. Khong Tu Quynh is almost 30 this year, but still maintains a very cool dressing style. If the leather pants are designed with a flared tube that enhances the wearer’s long legs, the shirt is sewn very stylishly, the disproportionate cuts fit the female singer’s personality and are very sexy and attractive. droopy. The outfit is not too revealing and too bold, but it is also a new breakthrough in the style of the “Strawberry girl” in any year. Below the beauty’s instagram post, there are countless compliments for this stylish transformation of Khong Tu Quynh. However, it is the color of the image that is adjusted to look like a movie photo with such a sexy look that makes many people suddenly remember a female singer Ha Thanh has worn before and has created explosive effects throughout social networks. No one else, it is the voice of “The bow is broken in two”. Former hotgirl Ha Thanh once wore this leather suit in the concept of taking pictures with daring paper pants without underwear in early February. Owning an instagram page with 5.4 million followers, every post of Chi Pu is of great value. With every photo, she makes people feverish with her unique fashion gout. This red leather outfit is coordinated by 9X beauties with 12cm high raw sole sandals. As a beauty with a perfect body, it is not difficult for Chi Pu to shine with this tight skin design. From the above encounter, it can be seen that, in terms of body, perhaps Khong Tu Quynh and Chi Pu do not have too much difference because everyone has a hot curve. The senior used the outfit for the street concept and took the background as the sunset scene, while the younger sister was more careful when shooting in the context of a ghostly Japanese scene. Set of leather clothes with cut out lines, so both chose a safe way to omit all accompanying accessories. The makeup is also streamlined, but only emphasizes the seductive and sexy red lipstick. But perhaps, Chi Pu’s pose is still more attractive when she shows people clearly every corner of the outfit as well as revealing fancy shoes with rough soles. I don’t know what kind of shoes Khong Tu Quynh chose, but if it’s pointed toe heels or square toe sandals, the overall outfit is also worth a high score.

Even more sad is that those endless tragedies still have no end. These stories will appear more and more, as the Covid-19 pandemic begins to spread from big cities to rural India, where the health system is much worse than the urban areas. The picture is full of contrasts The Indian capital New Delhi recorded nearly 12,500 new Covid-19 cases on May 12 – just half of the number recorded here on April 30. Another somewhat positive sign is that the positive rate of tests has dropped to 19%, from a peak of 36% a few weeks earlier. A farmers market in Mumbai on May 11. Photo: Reuters. A similar positive situation is recorded in Mumbai – India’s most populous city. The positive rate of the test here dropped to 7%, below the 10% recommended by WHO. That partly shows that the two largest cities of India are gradually controlling the epidemic. However, if looking at the whole picture, the picture of the Covid-19 pandemic does not seem to have too many bright spots. Dark spots are appearing more and more, especially in rural India. This leads to a conundrum: If New Delhi, which has good health infrastructure and many good hospitals, struggles to contain the pandemic, how can rural areas where the system much weaker health care – can withstand the wave of epidemics. And the answer came pretty quickly. When the source of oxygen is exhausted On May 11, Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Hospital in Andhra Pradesh state ran out of oxygen supply, while more than 60 patients were in critical condition. 11 patients later died. In anger, relatives of these people stormed into the intensive care unit, knocking over tables and chairs and smashing equipment. Television images showed several people clutching their heads in grief, while doctors and nurses fled for fear of assault. A Covid-19 patient is being cared for at a public hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Photo: Reuters. Andhra Pradesh, like many other southern states, is facing severe oxygen shortages. Statistics of an Indian newspaper show that oxygen depletion has taken place in 20 hospitals, leading to the deaths of more than 200 patients. In the past, the southern states of India have agreed to share oxygen with each other. Now, some states want to end the cooperation. The southern state of Tamil Nadu refused to share oxygen with the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, where the tragedy took place that left 11 people dead. The state of Kerala also refused to share oxygen because of the state’s high demand for oxygen, as the test positive rate in the state increased to 27% from 8% in early April. “Many people have died without treatment,” commented Rijo M. John, a health economist in Kerala. Behind the bodies in the river People in Bihar, a northern Indian state, could not help but be shocked when they discovered dozens of bodies, suspected of being Covid-19 victims, washed up on the banks of the Ganges River on May 10. “I have never seen so many corpses,” said Arun Kumar Srivastava, a local doctor. He also said that “there will certainly be more deaths”, as many people carry bodies on their shoulders. A family member of a Covid-19 patient is grieving after hearing the news of a loved one’s death. Photo: Reuters. Officials said the bodies were dropped by ambulance drivers from a bridge, and denied that the bodies were floated by relatives due to lack of burial conditions. Krishna Dutt Mishra, an ambulance driver in Bihar, said that many people had to drop the bodies of loved ones in the river because the cremation price was too high. According to him, during the second Covid-19 wave, the price of cremation has increased from 2,000 rupees (about 27 USD) to 15,000 rupees (200 USD). This is a huge sum of money for many Indian families, and as a result, cremating a loved one becomes an impossibility for them. “I drove all the way from Buxar to Chausa. I’ve never seen dead bodies in the river, let alone seen dozens, or hundreds of bodies,” Mr. Mishra said. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

The most recent beauty wearing this design was Miss Luong Thuy Linh at the beauty festival event at Ton Duc Thang University on April 23. The queen wearing a crown, sharp makeup, extremely splendid appearance made the audience constantly admire “the beauty of the legendary goddess is here”. Miss Do Thi Ha also wore this design in a photo shoot in late March. Although she did not have a beautiful full body photo like Luong Thuy Linh, but with a standard hairstyle. beauty queen , with big earrings, Miss Do Thi Ha was also commended equally splendid. Supermodel Vo Hoang Yen is considered to be the muse of designer Nguyen Minh Tuan, who designed this dress, also used to wear a dress in the fashion show. show upcoming performance by Nguyen Minh Tuan. Vo Hoang Yen gives the feeling of a true supermodel, with charisma high-fashion extremely eye-catching. However, the earliest person who wore this design was singer Ho Ngoc Ha. She wears this design since late last year, in a series of promotional photos for her cosmetics company. With a high bun hairstyle, Ho Ngoc Ha brings the charisma of a noble and noble lady, different from the style of other beauties. It is known that this is a design in BST The Glory , will be released by designer Nguyen Minh Tuan show fashion on May 12 here.

Internet photo

Losing money for many years

Vietnam Industrial Construction Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaincon, VVN code – UPCoM transaction) was established in 1998, with charter capital of 550 billion VND, and 82.75% of state capital represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The company specializes in construction and installation, basic construction.

The audited financial statements of the parent company 2020 have just been announced by VVN, showing that the total assets of the company is 987 billion VND. Revenue from goods sold and service provision in 2020 will reach 313 billion VND but COGS is 314 billion VND, so gross profit is negative 724 million VND.

Revenue from financial activities is 48.4 billion VND. The cost of business management is 30 billion. Net profit reached 9.3 billion. Thereby, after-tax profit reached 13.2 billion.

According to the note, the revenue from financial activities mainly comes from deposit interest, interest of 18.4 billion dong, and dividend of 29.9 billion dong.

It is known that VVN invests in many subsidiaries and associates. These companies are mostly profitable, the highest profit is from Thu Duc Centrifugal Concrete JSC (13 billion VND) and An Giang Centrifugal Joint Stock Company (6.1 billion VND).

Up to this point, VVN has not yet released its 2020 consolidated financial statements. In early April 2021, VVN also submitted a request to extend the time to hold the 2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the reason that results were summarized. The Corporation’s production and business have not been completed yet because the work-in-progress valuation and debt comparison with the investors are difficult and prolonged.

According to the annual report of 2019, although the total revenue and other income in 2019 increased by 126.7% compared to 2018, reaching more than 4,443 billion VND, but the cost of goods sold was high. In addition, the investment from Quang Son Cement Company Limited lost a loss (minus 126 billion VND), making the company’s profit in 2018 and 2019 all negative numbers.

In 2020, the company has a decision to dismiss Mr. Hoang Chi Cuong – General Director, instead appointing Mr. Do Chi Nguyen.

Please clarify the role of Vinaincon

From April 12, Hanoi City People’s Court brought to trial with 19 defendants who are leaders of Vietnam Steel Corporation – VNS, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Company – TISCO on wrongdoing in this project with behavior like Adjusting the investment structure, signing the contract appendix, separating part c from the EPC contract, signing subcontracting contract with Vinaincon according to unit price, leading to breaking the EPC contract principles …

Vinaincon is a subcontractor involved in Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Phase 2 project. In 2009, the EPC contract between Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Company – TISCO and Chinese contractor MCC had problems due to consecutive MCC. contract breaking.

On April 29, 2009, Vinaincon sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam Steel Corporation – VNS (granting investment decision) and TISCO to register as a subcontractor.

On May 14, 2009, on the basis of the request of Vinaincon, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sent a document 4320 to VNS, TISCO with the content that the Ministry of Industry and Trade commented, “Vinaincon is a capable and experienced unit in the field. construction and installation of industrial construction works. Request VNS, TISCO to consider and approve Vinaincon to be the subcontractor to perform Part C ”.

On June 26, 2009, Mr. Mai Van Tinh – former Chairman of the Board of Directors of VNS signed a written agreement to allow Vinaincon to be a subcontractor. After that, TISCO, Vinaincon and MCC signed the contract.

However, in 2010, Vinaincon returned his job to TISCO due to insufficient capacity. TISCO had to subcontract with 13 other companies, but the project was still incomplete, capitalized and caused a loss of more than VND 830 billion to the state.

Some defendants admitted that they accepted Vinaincon because of the above document from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Defending defendant Tran Trong Mung (former General Director of TISCO), lawyer Truong Anh Tu said that in the conclusion of the project, the Government Inspector has determined that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has introduced and proposed VNS, TISCO to accept It is not the right authority for Vinaincon to be a subcontractor.

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Minh Yen, defending defendant Dong Quang Duong (former deputy director of TISCO), stated that: TISCO’s approval of Vinainco as a subcontractor for MCC must first mention the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the issue of introducing Vinainco and confirming Vinainco’s capacity to lead to a tripartite contract between TISCO – MCC and Vinaincon. Next, the fact that Vinainco voluntarily stopped implementing part c was due to the subjectivity of Vinaincon.

Therefore, the lawyer proposed to return the file to investigate and review the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; Collect documents and evidence of Vinaincon’s performance of the contract, clarify how Vinaincon appoints 13 subcontractors? …

New Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party’s Civil Affairs Committee, the new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung clearly affirms the goals and solutions for Vietnam’s smokeless economy to soon surpass. “Storm COVID-19.”

The Minister said that the domestic market is an important “battlefield” that the whole industry needs to focus on exploiting in the period of “new normal.”

What resources support businesses?

– Minister, Vietnam tourism has determined to focus on Internal Market next time. So in your opinion, what is an overall strategy to create a common strength in exploiting this potential market?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: The Vietnam tourism development strategy issued by the Government in 2020 has clearly affirmed the strategy of domestic tourism development. In which, priority must be given to organizing well tours and routes to areas of historical and cultural landmarks of Vietnam.

In order to implement the above policy, over the past time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented the program Vietnamese people travel to Vietnam. In particular, after the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, the tourism business community has calculated to redirect and exploit potential customers in the new context and is currently implementing this content under the direction of the set.

Vietnamese tourists visit historic sites in Ninh Binh. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

There are a number of approaches, firstly, travel businesses, accommodation establishments and tourism service providers are restructuring their operations, moving from welcoming large groups of tourists, making tours / services. route to small, safe family groups.

The second is to build tourism products based on historical relics, landscapes and indigenous cultures of regions and strengthen propaganda and advertising to bring tourism products closer to citizen.

In the short term, the tourism industry should focus in these two directions. However, even though it is small-scale tourism, it is not subjective to disease prevention, minimizing the risk of infection in the community that can happen again, affecting the overall economy of the country. society.

– Tourism businesses are currently extremely difficult after the continuous “blows” of COVID-19, so the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed solutions to the Government to have policies Supporting businesses to have more health “overcoming storms” and entering a new phase of the tourism industry is to focus on exploiting the domestic market, Minister?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is working with the Tourism Association to research and consider and submit to the Government policies to support businesses. However, it will only focus on the issue of mechanism, but in fact the State’s resources are also very difficult to immediately support the activities of tourism businesses. Therefore, the Government is studying a plan to support in the direction of exemption and reduction of land use tax and electricity bill exemption and reduction.

A corner of Bai Dinh pagoda seen from above. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

As for long-term policies, the ministry needs to listen from the business community and the State appraisal agencies to submit to the Government a basic and balanced policy among other economic sectors.

Central solution in the context of “new normal”

– In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented many domestic stimulus campaigns such as Vietnamese traveling to Vietnam, safe and attractive Vietnam tourism … So in the context of “new normal. “In 2021, according to the Minister of the tourism industry, should such campaigns continue? How do you evaluate the effectiveness of those stimulus programs?

These campaigns have shown to initially meet the needs of people, contributing to domestic tourism growth. I think that these campaign models have been working and are being promoted, they need to continue to be strengthened and multiplied, because the reality is only piloted in a few localities.

To restore and develop tourism, we have to travel on both feet, focusing on welcoming international visitors and giving priority to developing domestic tourism. Only when standing with this “two legs” will tourism develop stably.

Recently, due to the “hot” development, we are paying attention to exploiting the number of international tourists but not paying much attention to domestic tourism. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire industry and business community to re-look at this open market, to see that domestic tourism is a radical direction and a pillar for sustainable tourism development. firm.

Therefore, the ministry has suggested businesses to restructure, change their approach, instead of focusing on international visitors, now focus on building plans to welcome domestic guests; shifting from serving foreign guests to serving domestic customers. As such, Vietnamese customers will inherit and experience high-value products that are intended for international customers.

Tourists come to Tam Chuc Pagoda. (Photo: Xuan Mai / Vietnam +)

As the data we know, on this 30/4 holiday, airlines have sold out tickets to many destinations across the country … Thereby to see that the domestic tourism demand of the people is quite high. The problem is that we need to create a unique product, pay attention to marketing and learn from the stimulus package first to achieve high efficiency and sustainability.

– So to build strong Vietnam tourism in a new context, according to the Minister, what solutions should the Minister focus on?

Minister Nguyen Van Hung: It can be said that the tourism industry is facing many difficulties. If tourism previously contributed 10% of the country’s GDP to the budget, from 2020 to Q1 / 2021, revenue from the whole industry decreased deeply; Last quarter 1, domestic tourists only reached nearly 18 million, down up to 50% over the same period last year …

From there, the tourism industry is facing difficulties because COVID-19 is still complicated. In particular, Vietnam has not yet been able to open its international market due to the lack of safety measures against epidemics.

We believe that the State management task is to develop a tourism development plan for the period 2021-2026 under new normal conditions and with the solution groups that we are focusing on building.

First, the tourism businesses, especially Travelers it is necessary to restructure soon, have solutions to manage human resources and resources; The second is to research the domestic market, restructure the tourist market to regulate the market, build products to meet the needs and the strategy must be long-term calculated for the development of the domestic tourism market. geography.

Third, tourism linkage must be based on special, distinctive and attractive tourism products and promote promotion and promotion. Branding products, connecting the values ​​and spreading the values ​​of the product to stimulate tourism demand of visitors; The fourth is to associate tourism, tourism products with cultural factors.

– Yes, thank you very much for your sharing!