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| An overview of Nghinh Phong Tower Square in Phu Yen Province (Photo: VOV) |
The square was inaugurated in 2021, covering nearly 7,200 sq.m at the intersection of Nguyen Huu Tho and Doc Lap in Tuy Hoa City.
The tower’s design was inspired by the Ghenh Da Dia (The Cliff of Stone Plates), considered a symbol of the locality, and the legend of the “one hundred eggs and one hundred children” of Father Lac Long Quan and Mother Au Co.
It features two tall stone columns, one with a height of 35m representing Lac Long Quan and another 30 metres tall representing Au Co. Fifty stone blocks are stacked on top of each other at the bottom of each tower.
The space between the two high stone columns is just enough for two people to stand. Visitors can hear nature’s special and unique music composed by the wind blowing through the gaps.
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| Nghinh Phong Tower (Photo: NDO) |
The Asian Townscape Awards was initiated by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in cooperation with Fukuoka Urban Research Centre, Asian Habitat Society and Asia Townscape Design Society, in 2010.
It aims to highlight and honour significant efforts by cities, regions, organisations and projects that have achieved excellent results in creating a comfortable living environment for people in Asia.
Winning works and projects are evaluated based on five criteria, including harmonious coexistence with the regional environment; safety, convenience and sustainability; respect for regional culture and history; high artistic quality; contributions to local development and capabilities of becoming models for other cities.
Opportunity for Vietnam's coconut exports to US, China
Vietnamese coconut growers and businesses are excited to expand production to meet the domestic and foreign demand which is expected to increase in the coming time, said the Vietnam News Agency.
Bui Duong Thuat, Director of the Mekong Fruit Export Ltd.Co in Chau Thanh district, the southern province of Ben Tre, said that the US market is the second-biggest coconut importer in the world, just after China as it imports approximately 2,000 containers of fresh coconut yearly.
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| Opportunity for Vietnam's coconut exports to US, China (Photo: congthuong.vn) |
Meanwhile, Vietnamese companies export between 110 and 120 containers of fresh coconuts to the US a year. Therefore, there remains room for Vietnamese coconut in the market.
Moreover, the General Administration of Customs of China is inspecting cultivation areas to endorse a protocol authorizing the official import of Vietnamese fresh coconut to the market of over 1 billion people, Thuat said, hoping that Vietnam's fresh coconut will be exported to China soon.
To seize the opportunity, he said his company planned to cooperate with coconut farmers in Ben Tre province to develop a 100-ha organic material area.
Vo Van Hai, the Chairman of the Luong Hoa commune Farmers' Association in Ben Tre province's Giong Trom district, said that the commune is one of the most productive coconut-growing areas in Vietnam. Currently, there are more than 716 ha of coconut farming in the commune, with 300 ha grown to get coconut water.
On average, a tree yields between 140 and 150 coconuts per year, and coconut farmers can earn up to 100 million VND (4,200 USD) per hectare per year.
Ben Tre is known as Vietnam's coconut capital with a coconut growing area accounting for about 40% of the country’s total and 46% of the total in the Mekong Delta region.
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| Coconuts processed for export (Photo: nongnghiep.vn) |
Huynh Quang Duc, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Ben Tre has over 78,000 ha under coconut farming and produces over 800 million coconuts a year.
Regarding coconuts grown to get coconut water, the province cultivates nearly 16,000 ha with a yearly output of about 390 million coconuts. About half of the coconuts meet export requirements.
Ben Tre has five enterprises that export fresh coconuts to markets, including Japan, Singapore, Taiwan (China), Australia, and Canada. About 20 companies have registered to get packaging facility codes and planting area codes that enable them to export coconut to the Chinese market.
Besides, geographical indications have been granted to the province's coconut products. Therefore, the effective exploitation of the geographical indications adds an advantage for Ben Tre coconut to expand its markets.
Vietnam’s ultra-rich individuals to hit 1,300 by 2027: Knight Frank
An annual Wealth Report released recently by Knight Frank shows that the number of ultra-high net worth individuals with assets of more than US$30 million each in Vietnam is projected to increase considerably in the next five years, according to Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
Vietnam had 1,059 ultra-high net worth individuals in 2022, ranking second in Southeast Asia, just behind Singapore, Knight Frank said in its report.
The number of ultra-rich individuals in the country is expected to reach 1,300 by 2027, a 22% increase from 2022 and a 122% increase over the past decade, according to Knight Frank’s forecast.
The report shows that the number of dollar millionaires in Vietnam has also increased by 70% over the past five years, from 40,971 in 2017 to 69,994 in 2022, ranking fourth in ASEAN, behind Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and ahead of Indonesia and the Philippines.
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| Vietnam’s ultra-rich individuals to hit 1,300 by 2027- Photo for illustration (Photo: Vietnam Finance) |
It predicts that Vietnam will have more than 112,200 millionaires by 2027, a more than 60% increase from 2022 and a 173% increase from 2017.
To meet the needs of the ultra-rich group, the Vietnamese financial market has also made great strides in providing specialized products and services.
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Elmond de Rothschild Group of Switzerland to deploy Private Banking services for high-end customers who own large assets.
Ariane De Rothschild, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Group, says Vietnam is recording outstanding growth in personal assets and there is still room for the asset management market in Vietnam to develop on the back of rapid economic growth.
Elmond de Rothschild Group is helping BIDV improve the capacity to deploy services of international standards specifically for clients with large assets, she said.
The sharp increase in the number of dollar millionaires in Vietnam is anticipated to open up great opportunities for financial institutions to fully tap into this potential market segment./.