Vietnam defends SEA Games men's football championship title after beating Thailand

Sunday, 22/05/2022 16:23
The U-23 men’s football team of Vietnam beat its Thai archrival 1-0 in the final of the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) held on its home soil to keep back the crown in a tense match on May 22, reported Vietnam News Agency.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam wins over Thailand to take gold in women’s football

Nham Manh Dung (17) scores the only goal of the match, securing Vietnam's win against Thailand. (Photo: VNA)

After the whistle, the two teams started Hanoi meet with several chances for Vietnam, and the Vietnamese young men failed to turn them into goals in the first minutes. Thailand then regained the balance in the ball control, and the two teams had a tit-for-tat first half.

In the second half, Vietnam’s head coach Park Hang-seo sent in forward Nham Manh Dung (17), and the substitution proved effective.

Photo: VnExpress

In the 82nd minute, Tuan Tai (12) created a good pass from the left, and Dung rose high to make an unstoppable header to the far high corner of the net of Thailand to score the only goal of the match, much to the excitement of the nearly 30,000 spectators who packed the My Dinh National Stadium to its full capacity.

Before the match, Vietnam were the reigning champions of U-23 men’s football in Southeast Asia after the SEA Games 30 held in 2019 in the Philippines.

Vietnam’s new COVID-19 caseload stands at 1,319 on May 22

A total of 1,319 new COVID-19 cases, all community infections, were confirmed over the past 24 hours to 4pm May 22, reported Vietnam News Agency according to statistics from the Ministry of Health.

A man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Quang Tri. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi remained the largest coronavirus hotspot with 347 cases, followed by Bac Ninh (138) and Vinh Phuc (90).

The national tally now reached 10,708,887.

Over 8,940 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on the day, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 9,402,046. 

A total of 211 patients are currently given breathing support. No deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, keeping the fatalities at 43,075.

By May 21, the country had injected 219,084,118 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 3,406,264 first doses and 24,272 second doses for children from five to under 12 years old.

Vietjet reopens flights between Seoul and Vietnam’s beach destinations

Celebrating a vibrant summer and welcoming life back to Vietnam's famous paradise beaches, budget carrier Vietjet has officially reopened flights connecting Seoul and Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Hai Phong, reported Vietnam News Agency.

Passengers on the first Vietjet Air flight from Seoul to Nha Trang. (Photo: vietjetair.com)

The first flight back to Nha Trang from Seoul on May 20 was greeted with a water cannon salute, flowers and gifts, showing Vietnam’s warm hospitality to visitors.

Vietjet plans to relaunch services from Seoul to Phu Quoc and Hai Phong and vice versa this May, raising the total routes linking Vietnam and the Republic of Korea to six, given that the two countries are expecting a new wave of tourists from both sides, after the RoK announced the resumption of short-term tourist visas for foreigners from June 1.

There are currently three Nha Trang - Seoul (Incheon) round-trip flights weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Starting from May 21, Vietjet operates five round-trip flights between Phu Quoc and Seoul (Incheon) on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The Hai Phong - Seoul services will resume on May 26, with three round-trip flights per week.

Since the beginning of 2022, Vietjet has pioneered to reopen routes connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with the RoK, along with routes to destinations in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, facilitating travel of not only tourists but also businessmen and investors, contributing to the country’s economic development.

AMRO highlights Vietnam’s strong economic recovery

The Vietnamese economy picked up strongly in early 2022, thanks to a strong vaccination drive, robust global demand for its manufacturing products, momentum in domestic demand and resilient foreign direct investment (FDI) flows.

The Vietnamese economy is expected to grow at 6.3% in 2022 and 6.5% in 2023, with inflation projected to remain contained,  according to the AMRO Group Head and Lead Economist.

This preliminary assessment was made by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) after its annual consultation visit to Vietnam from May 3-18, 2022, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

According to AMRO Group Head and Lead Economist, Sanjay Kalra, the Vietnamese economy is expected to grow at 6.3% in 2022 and 6.5% in 2023. Inflation is projected to remain contained.

“This positive outlook rides on strong external demand, a recovery in domestic consumption and healthy investments inflows, bolstered by an appropriate macroeconomic policy stance,” he went on to say.

The domestic outbreak of the Omicron variant receded sharply in April 2022, and border restrictions and domestic containment measures were eased. The aggregate output gap is expected to narrow significantly by the end of this year. The recovery is, nevertheless, uneven across sectors. While both the manufacturing and service sector outputs have surpassed their 2019 levels, the service sector still has pockets of distress, especially in the tourism, hospitality and logistics sectors.

Consumer price inflation is projected to remain below 3.5% in 2022, as authorities plan to utilise their oil price stabilisation fund and administer prices to offset pressures emanating from global developments in energy prices.

Given the economy’s cyclical position, AMRO recommended Vietnam to adopt a mildly supportive fiscal policy stance in 2022. With the availability of fiscal space and the uneven recovery across economic and social sectors, policy should provide targeted support to those that continue to be dislocated by the pandemic, especially micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and low-income households.

Furthermore, monetary conditions should be normalized to contain inflationary pressures and reduce financial imbalances that emerged in the environment of low interest rates. However, it is essential to ensure that financing needs of vulnerable MSMEs and households are met, and that sufficient funding is available to productive sectors. The State Bank of Vietnam should continue to allow greater exchange rate flexibility, as it balances growth, inflation and financial sector stability objectives, according to AMRO.

On the financial stability front, efforts are needed to increase provisioning and capital buffers to prepare for an increase in impaired assets, in view of the impending expiry of the forbearance policy. A macroprudential policy framework needs to be put in place, including to address imbalances in the real estate market.

As Vietnam progresses beyond the lower middle income country status, it will need to implement reforms across a broad range of issues and sectors to mobilise financing for growth and development and to consolidate investor confidence, AMRO said./.

Compiled by BTA

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