Dusit will this month open the Dusit Princess Moonrise Beach Resort on Vietnam’s largest island, Phu Quoc.
Located in the South of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc is a fast-growing tourist destination known for its long, sweeping beaches, rich coral reefs, fresh seafood, pearl farms, and dense, tropical rainforest. The AsiaTravelTips reports
Operating under Dusit’s upper midscale Dusit Princess brand, the new four-star resort is centrally located on the island’s west coast overlooking the stunning Bai Truong beach, a 20-plus kilometre stretch of sand also known as Long Beach. Phu Quoc (PQC) International Airport and Duong To town centre are only a short drive away.
The family-friendly resort comprises 108 guest rooms, ranging from 32 sqm Deluxe Rooms to 90 sqm Suites, most of which offer ocean views.
The resort’s dining options include an all-day-dining restaurant, a lobby lounge, a swim-up pool bar serving Thai, Vietnamese and Western cuisines, and Soi 14, a stylish beachfront bar and lounge where Thai Chef Somnuck Attaworn uses premium ingredients to put a contemporary spin on Thai street food favourites.
The centerpiece of the resort is a large infinity pool with ocean view, set within a lush tropical garden. Other facilities include a fully-equipped gym, a kids club, a large ballroom accommodating up to 190 people, and a spa.
During their stay, guests can easily arrange to visit popular local attractions such as Phu Quoc National Park, part of the UNESCO designated Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve; the sweeping and secluded ‘Bai Sao’ beach; the quirky Dinh Cau night market; and various traditional temples.
“Perfectly equipped to meet the needs of business and leisure travellers alike, this is a stunning property in a beautiful location with gorgeous sunsets almost every day,” said Markus Lohenstein, General Manager, Dusit Princess Moonrise Beach Resort. “It’s a real honour to be tasked with debuting Dusit’s unique brand of gracious hospitality in Vietnam. I look forward to working with my team to make this resort a huge success, as we delight our guests with our distinctive service, and showcase the best the island has to offer.”
The Ministry of Tourism aims to attract at least 500,000 foreign tourists to Phu Quoc Island this year through strategic promotions and the development of attractive tourism products.
To meet international demand, PQC International Airport has opened new direct routes to destinations such as Thailand, China, Korea, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany and the UK. Regular domestic flights to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and Hanoi are also available. A visa exempt rule grants international visitors 30 days access to the island upon arrival.
More than 45 percent of Vietnamese males smoke tobacco, as heard at an anti-smoking conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 19.
The Ministry of Information and Communications in collaboration with Health Ministry’s fund for tobacco harm prevention and control co-organised the event.
At the conference, Pham Thi Hoang Anh, Country Director for Vietnam at the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, said the number of local smokers saw a significant amount of poor people, adding that needy families spend up to 5.3 percent of their incomes on tobacco.
Vietnamese often begin smoking at young ages, she said, citing a 2015 statistic that showed about 56 percent of Vietnamese smoked before 20 years old.
According to the doctor, tobacco smoke consists of 7,000 harmful substances, including 69 causing cancer. It is estimated that 40,000 Vietnamese die every year due to smoking, and the number could increase to 70,000 in the future.
However, in Vietnam, in 2005-2016, when income per capita grew by 4.7 times, tobacco prices increased by only 2.2 times.
Nguyen Tuan Lam, from the World Health Organisation in Vietnam, said the low prices were a result of the country’s low tax on tobacco. The tax per retail price in Vietnam is about 35.6 percent, compared to the world average rate of 56 percent. The Vietnamese rate is also way below that of Thailand (73 percent), Singapore (66 percent), and the Philippines (63 percent).
As calculated, if tobacco tax goes up by 10 percent, tobacco consumption will go down by 4 percent in developed countries and 5 percent in developing ones, noted Lam.
Phan Thi Hai, deputy head of the fund for tobacco harm prevention and control, suggested reducing the rate of tobacco consumption in 2020, the Government need to increase the tax to at least 2,000 VND per tobacco pack in January 1 2020.
The Government should also adjust the tax based on consumer price indexes of following years to ensure tobacco prices are not well below income increases, Hai said.
Vietnam’s aviation authorities have fined a Chinese passenger and are considering to ban her from flying after she caused a bomb scare at an airport in Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong.
Fen Chengyu, 25, was overheard claiming she had a bomb while preparing to board a VietJet Air flight at Cat Bi International Airport on Thursday morning, according to VNExpress International report.
Following the incident, the airport’s authorities immediately evacuated all passengers, blocked Fen and her companions from boarding their flight and searched their belongings but were unable to find any explosive device.
The flight took off on schedule, without Fen and her two co-travelers.
Under questioning, Fen said she had been arguing with her two companions and told them she had a bomb because she did not want to board the flight, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.
The Northern Airport Authority fined Fen VND4 million ($175) for the false bomb threat and recommended imposing a flight ban on her, Thanh Nien newspaper said.
Vietnam imposes flight bans of up to a year for travelers who disrupt order on flights or in airports, make bomb threats or use fake papers to travel. Repeat offenses are subject to an indefinite ban.
The country imposed a record 40 flight bans last year as the country’s air travel industry reached new heights.
Most passengers were punished for smoking, fighting or stealing on flights.
Vietnam served more than 94 million air passengers in 2017, up 16 percent from a year ago, including 13 million foreigners.
India will soon have another smartphone brand, and this time it will, strangely, be from Vietnam. But Mobistar, a brand which has been selling smartphones since 2009, is not coming in without a plan. Mobistar Group CEO Carl Ngo is looking at India because is has the size that everyone wants to be in. “Despite […]
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN 2018 will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from Sept 11-13, the event’s organising committee said on Thursday. Xinhua news agency reported. WEF on ASEAN 2018 will feature entrepreneurship and the fourth industrial revolution, with the expected participation of ASEAN’s political, business, academic and civil society leaders, as well as […]
At least 76 people have died and scores more were injured in fierce dust storms that hit the northern Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The storms on Wednesday disrupted electricity, uprooted trees, destroyed houses and killed livestock. Many of the dead were sleeping when their houses collapsed after being struck by intense bursts […]
MANILA – Half of the ASEAN+3 economies are projected to grow at a slower pace in the next two years, reducing the region’s overall growth rate, reports the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). ASEAN+3 includes 10 ASEAN economies and three other large economies—China, Japan and South Korea. Seven of the 13 economies that are predicted to […]
Lazada is closing offices across Southeast Asia and Hanoi has not managed to dodge the axe. Lazada Vietnam has confirmed closing its Hanoi office and move all operations to Ho Chi Minh City. The reason provided is not clear as the firm only cites ambitions to unify management and make training easier. A report by […]
Three companies have opened up the foreign ownership limit to 100%, the State Securities Commission announced. They include Vietnam-Italy Steel JSC (VIS), Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals Corp (DPM) and confectionery Kido Group (KDC). This decision was approved in the three companies’ annual shareholders meetings this year. These companies are among the leading ones in their […]
Ethnic-minority students have long been the subject of harrowing tales recounting school commutes laden with dangerous mountain climbs and river crossings in Vietnam. For one group of ethnic-minority students in the northwestern region, the distressing commute comes in the form of a six-hour-long jungle trek, over streams and along cliffs, to make it between school […]
Mui Ne is losing its beautiful beaches to serious erosion which is damaging seaside resorts while local authorities have yet to find a solution. The beach resort town in the southern province of Binh Thuan is now deserted as many tourists have decided to leave or not to come after seeing the situation. A Mui […]
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Granted Long Sought License for Business Operations in Vietnam; Prepares for Grand Opening Issuance of License seen as the most significant commercial event in the biotechnology Company’s development of spider silk based materials Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“Company”), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, is very happy to […]
Vietnam targets building at least three smart cities in 2017-2020. But to reach that goal, it needs to have better infrastructure, more money and a more qualified workforce. According to the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), the biggest problem is that technical infrastructure cannot catch up with rapid urban development, causing traffic jams, lack […]
India will soon have another smartphone brand, and this time it will, strangely, be from Vietnam. But Mobistar, a brand which has been selling smartphones since 2009, is not coming in without a plan.
Mobistar Group CEO Carl Ngo is looking at India because is has the size that everyone wants to be in. “Despite being the biggest feature phone and second largest smartphone market, it is still growing,” he adds. “India offers size, growth and potential.”
India will soon have another smartphone brand, and this time it will, strangely, be from Vietnam. Mobistar Group CEO Carl Ngo
Ngo has spotted some need gaps in the market and studied how the supply chain works. “I think we can offer something better,” says the man who worked for close to a decade with Sony Ericsson on Vietnam. He sees a clear opportunity in the $100 price range. “We can offer a better price to spec ratio and user experience in this range,” he says, showing a bunch of Android phones, all of which sport dual front cameras.
Ngo is convinced selfies can be a huge selling point for smartphones in India, and with his new devices he will offer an extra wide-angle lens to do this better. Ngo has not finalised a launch date for the Mobistar brand in India and just says it is a few weeks away. However, he is sure that the initial two models will be online only. “We will then go offline, after evaluating the market. We will go pan-India, but in phases,” he added.
Mobistar is in the process of getting on board a partner to manage after sales service and could cater to up to 750 locations initially. And Mobistar’s expansion is not limited to India. Ngo is eyeing the GEC for his next level of growth.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN 2018 will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam from Sept 11-13, the event’s organising committee said on Thursday.
Xinhua news agency reported. WEF on ASEAN 2018 will feature entrepreneurship and the fourth industrial revolution, with the expected participation of ASEAN’s political, business, academic and civil society leaders, as well as 100 start-ups which represent the very best of the region’s dynamism and entrepreneurship.
The meeting will address strategic issues of national and regional significance under three thematic pillars, namely entrepreneurship to craft new approaches to regional and global governance, entrepreneurship to drive economic and business dynamism, and entrepreneurship to shape social inclusion.
In ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the labour force is forecast to expand by 11,000 workers every day for the next 15 years. And yet, industrial robots now out-compete low-skilled manufacturing labour; artificial intelligence threatens ASEAN’s service jobs; and self-driving vehicles are already at work in Southeast Asia, according to the WEF.
Established in 1971 as a non-profit foundation and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WEF is committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
At least 76 people have died and scores more were injured in fierce dust storms that hit the northern Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The storms on Wednesday disrupted electricity, uprooted trees, destroyed houses and killed livestock.
Many of the dead were sleeping when their houses collapsed after being struck by intense bursts of lightning.
Dust storms are common in this part of India during summer but loss of life on this scale is unusual.
The storms largely affected three districts in Rajasthan – Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur – where at least 31 people were killed. Officials say Alwar is worst affected. Schools in the district are closed.
“I’ve been in office for 20 years and this is the worst I’ve seen,” Hemant Gera, secretary for disaster management and relief in Rajasthan, told the BBC.
“We had a high intensity dust storm on 11 April – 19 people died then – but this time it struck during the night so many people sleeping and couldn’t get out of their houses when mud walls collapsed.”
He said teams were trying to restore electricity to homes after 200 to 300 electricity poles were felled in the storm.
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, said officials were heading to affected areas to start relief work.
The state government has also announced that families of the dead will receive 400,000 rupees (about $6,000; £4,400) as compensation.
n in Agra was one of many carried from the debris of their homes
Forty-five people died in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, 36 of them in Agra district which is home to the Taj Mahal monument. Officials believe the death toll could increase.
Falling trees and walls killed many people in the state.
The storm also hit the capital Delhi, more than 100km (62 miles) away, along with heavy rains late on Wednesday evening.
MANILA – Half of the ASEAN+3 economies are projected to grow at a slower pace in the next two years, reducing the region’s overall growth rate, reports the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
ASEAN+3 includes 10 ASEAN economies and three other large economies—China, Japan and South Korea.
Seven of the 13 economies that are predicted to grow more slowly in the next two years include the four East Asia economies besides Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia—the leading economies in the ASEAN region.
The GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates for these economies range from 1.3 per cent to 6.6 per cent in 2018 and from 0.7 per cent to 6.4 per cent in 2019. Among them, China is seen as the strongest growing economy while Japan is considered the weakest as AMRO slashes its growth forecast for Japan from 1.3 per cent in 2018 to 0.7 per cent in 2019.
AMRO predicts the GDP growth of the ASEAN+3 block to reach 5.4 per cent in 2018, down 0.2 percentage points from 2017.
Two economies that may be steady in the next two years are Việt Nam and Cambodia, whose GDP growth may remain stable at 6.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively.
Improving economies in the region include Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines. Among them, Brunei is projected to post the strongest GDP growth, which almost tripled from 0.6 per cent in 2017 to 1.6 per cent in 2018 and is expected to double to 3.4 per cent in 2019.
Therefore, the region’s overall GDP growth is projected at 5.4 per cent in 2018 and 5.2 per cent in 2019, “underpinned by resilient domestic demand and export growth with stable inflation”, AMRO said in its “ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AERO) 2018” report, released on Thursday in Manila, the Philippines.
The overall inflation rate for the entire region is estimated at 2.1 per cent for 2018 and two per cent for 2019, up from 1.8 per cent in 2017. The overall inflation rate among ASEAN+3 economies has been steady at an average of 1.7 per cent in the past three years after falling sharply from 2.6 per cent in 2013-14.
“Most regional economies are in their mid-business cycle, where growth is picking up with a small output gap close to zero and stable inflation,” AMRO said as credit has started slowing down in some of the regional economies after a period of “above-trend growth, partly reflecting the result of proactive policy action by authorities”.
According to AMRO, risks confronting the region are mainly external, with near-term ones being the escalation of global trade tensions, faster-than-expected tightening in global financial conditions, escalation of regional geopolitical risks and weaker growth in the third quarter, while medium-term risk is the sharper-than-expected slowdown in China’s growth and capital flight.
These risks can also have high impacts on the regional economic growth in future. In addition to this, the region can face perennial risks that lie in cyber-security attacks and climate change.
“If these risks materialise, there will be spillovers to the region through capital outflows, higher borrowing costs and lower trade and investment flows,” AMRO said.
To cope with the potential threats to the regional economic growth, AMRO suggeststhat policymakers in the region “should continue to build policy space, particularly in monetary policy, in anticipation of tighter global financial conditions ahead”.
“Fiscal policy may have to play a greater role in supporting growth while macroprudential policy can help safeguard financial stability,” the report says.
Meanwhile, regional governments should focus on strengthening their management policies to “raise productive capacity through building physical infrastructure and human capital and to promote economic diversification to improve resilience in the economy”, said AMRO’schief economist Hoe Ee Khor.
To address these challenges, the region “should improve connectivity through investment in infrastructure with trade facilitation policies, grow a vibrant services sector and develop a skilled labour force through labour upskilling, immigration and education”, Khor said. – VNS
Lazada is closing offices across Southeast Asia and Hanoi has not managed to dodge the axe.
Lazada Vietnam has confirmed closing its Hanoi office and move all operations to Ho Chi Minh City. The reason provided is not clear as the firm only cites ambitions to unify management and make training easier. A report by Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) mentioned.
“Most of the employees at the Hanoi office will retain their position or the position they would like in compliance with the company’s policy. They will also be supported when moving to Lazada in Ho Chi Minh City,” the representative of Lazada Vietnam told Zing.vn.
However, while some employees are indeed moving to Ho Chi Minh City, the majority of the Hanoi staff have quit, according to the newswire.
The demand for online shopping in the northern area in general and Hanoi in particular is increasing. Thus, Lazada Vietnam is developing its logistics department in Hanoi, including warehouses, shippers, and other departments.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the company is developing human resources on trade and technology, so some office and business development staff have been transferred from Hanoi.
Lazada started operating in Ho Chi Minh City six years ago and it opened its Hanoi office in 2015 with around 100 employees. This aimed to facilitate connectivity with firms and salesmen as well as expand Lazada’s market share in Hanoi and the whole northern area.
The closing of the Hanoi office and others in the region and over the world is in line with the firm’s strategy of unifying and concentrating human resources for Alibaba’s ambition of dominating the e-commerce market.
Alibaba spent $2 billion acquiring Lazada in 2016-2017. And this giant has just poured in an additional $2 billion last month to double its investment in Lazada in Southeast Asia.
Lazada also closed its technical centres in Bangkok (Thailand) and Moscow (Russia), and moved some of its employees to technical centres in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, and Guangzhou (China).
Three companies have opened up the foreign ownership limit to 100%, the State Securities Commission announced.
They include Vietnam-Italy Steel JSC (VIS), Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals Corp (DPM) and confectionery Kido Group (KDC).
This decision was approved in the three companies’ annual shareholders meetings this year.
These companies are among the leading ones in their production industry.
Foreign ownership in Vietnam-Italy Steel JSC is almost 25% by February 21, 2018, of which Kyoei Steel Co is the largest foreign shareholder with a 20% stake.
Foreign possession in Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals Corp was 24.5% and in Kido Group 19.62% by the end of last year.
Last year, the stock market witnessed a wave of listed companies lifting their foreign ownership restraint, including big companies in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries such as Hau Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG), Domesco Medical Import Export JSC (DMC), Bao Minh Insurance Corp (BMI) and PVI Holdings (PVI).
Ethnic-minority students have long been the subject of harrowing tales recounting school commutes laden with dangerous mountain climbs and river crossings in Vietnam.
For one group of ethnic-minority students in the northwestern region, the distressing commute comes in the form of a six-hour-long jungle trek, over streams and along cliffs, to make it between school and their isolated village.
Every weekend, the students of Hang Dong Middle School, a boarding school for underprivileged children in Bac Yen District, Son La Province, begin the treacherous journey back to the misty, remote village of Lang Sang.
The risk these students take for their education is high – 30 kilometers of jungle paths laden with venomous snakes and blinding fog along a path situated just inches away from steep cliffs, all without the aid of drinking water.
“Students can bring some food, but no water because it would be a burden during the uphill climb,” said Thao A Vu, a 33-year-old teacher at the school.
“I’m really sympathetic to them. Many adults baulk at entering the village through the jungle, but the children are forced to do it regularly.”
Students walk along a dirt road in the mountains of Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Students walk along a dirt road in the mountains of Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
The first half of a recent journey consisted of the children walking along the trail and crossing several shallow streams. Then, the students reached the jungle separating them from their village.
Temperatures in the forest quickly dropped from the already frigid seven degrees Celsius measured at the foot of the mountain.
As freezing winds rustled showers of biting precipitation from treetops, Vu hurried the students through the cold, all the while keeping an eye out for venomous snakes and centipedes along the path.
The school does its best to prepare the students with survival skills that may help them prevent and mitigate the dangers of any animal attacks and flash flooding that might occur during the journey, such as using leaves from nearby trees to stop the spread of venom after a victim is bit.
Children study in groups while resting during their school commute in Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Children study while resting during their school commute in Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Most ethnic minority families in Son La Province live well below the poverty line – a situation which forces many parents to keep their children from attending school.
Teachers from Hang Dong, therefore, often visit their students’ homes to persuade parents to continue allowing their students to attend classes.
“Many students are forced to quit after middle school because their parents have passed away or their families are extremely poor. I feel sorry about their situation but don’t know how to help them,” Vu said.
“People in Lang Sang are so poor that they don’t have enough food to eat. They are also isolated from modern life, so they are slow in developing awareness,” said Dang Ngoc Phuc, the vice-principal at Hang Dong.
“The students are different though. They learn just as quickly as their urban peers.”
Students hide from the cold in blankets at a boarding school in Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Students work the land in Son La Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Mui Ne is losing its beautiful beaches to serious erosion which is damaging seaside resorts while local authorities have yet to find a solution.
The beach resort town in the southern province of Binh Thuan is now deserted as many tourists have decided to leave or not to come after seeing the situation.
A Mui Ne beach has no tourists on Labour Day holiday on May 1
According to several resorts in the area, over one kilometre of beaches in Ham Tien Ward have eroded up to 100 metres. Some resorts have had to spend lots of money to fix the problems.
A long beach has eroded
Manager of a resort in the area, Tran Van Minh, said his resort had spent VND400 million (USD17,629) to build an embankment to cope with the erosion but with little result.
“Waves have eaten nearly 100 metres of the beach at our resort,” Minh said.” We have lost 10 coconut trees, a beach-side spa facility and our restaurant is now being threatened. We have called for support from local authorities but have not received any response.”
Seaside restaurants are being damaged by the erosion
Director of Aria Mui Ne Resort, Mai Van Son, also said they are losing not only assets but also reputation when receiving many complaints about the beach from guests during the last month.
“They posted negative comments on websites and this has affected our rankings,” Son said. “Some foreign tourists even asked us to refund their bookings and leave right after arriving at our resort.”
Nguyen Hong Ngoc, owner of Suoi Tien Mui Ne Resort, said that she had never seen such serious erosion here before.
“I’ve run this resort for 18 years but we had never faced this problem before,” Ngoc said. “We’ve just lost the beautiful beach here in just a month. We’ve managed to create ways to the beach using sandbags but guests are still leaving us.”
Tourists face difficult finding a way to the beach
Ngoc said that she has had to pay over VND100 million in compensation to guests who did not agree to stay at her facility in that situation.
“Erosion is destroying our swimming pool and bungalows,” Ngoc said. “We’re losing them soon.”
Talking about the cause of the problems, head of Binh Thuan Provincial Irrigation Department, Vo Duc Anh, blamed the rampant construction of embankments by local resorts.
“The building of embankments to protect the beach should be carefully planned depending on the location,” Anh said. “These kinds of embankments cannot protect the beaches but will destroy them.”
The official also said that the embankment construction needed co-operation from different agencies including Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Department of Construction.
Meanwhile, former head of the Vietnam Institute for Sea and Island Research, Vu Thanh Ca, said that the shortage of sand was the main cause of erosion.
“We need to supply sand to the beaches,” Ca said. “But we need to carefully study the sand current in order to supply more sand to appropriate locations.”
Ca also warned not to build anything on the beach without carefully studying tides and the beaches to prevent erosion.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Granted Long Sought License for Business Operations in Vietnam; Prepares for Grand Opening
Issuance of License seen as the most significant commercial event in the biotechnology Company’s development of spider silk based materials
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) (“Company”), the leading developer of spider silk based fibers, is very happy to announce today the positive result of its five years of working with the Vietnamese government at both the central and provincial levels: The Company has been issued its long awaited Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) required to begin its operations in Vietnam.
“These licenses to operate in a traditional silk producing region are the most substantial milestones for Kraig Labs commercial development since the creation of our first spider silk transgenics,” said Kraig Labs Founder and CEO, Kim Thompson. “Our teams in the U.S.A. and in Vietnam have been working closely with officials in Quang Nam province and with central government ministries to bring this long standing vision to reality.”
Kraig Labs receiving award at 2017 investment conference in Quang Nam, Vietnam.
The Company’s advanced silk production platform was designed specifically to fit within and utilize existing silk industry infrastructure. The Company’s systems were designed that way in order to provide what the Company believes to be a significant and nearly insurmountable competitive advantage. “Our work to obtain these approvals has been driven by our goal of producing recombinant spider silk on a large scale, which can only be achieved by harnessing the opportunities presented by existing large scale silk production infrastructure,” stated Thompson.
The Company has already proven through its contract with the U.S. Army that its spider silk technology can be scaled quickly and efficiently, moving from the laboratories of the University of Notre Dame and into its own research and production facilities. We are now on a path to scale our product to much greater levels, by harnessing existing silk production infrastructure with the capacity to match the demand for our spider silk materials.
“Today’s announcement is more than just a major milestone for the Company, it’s a revolutionary step in the commercialization of spider silk,” said Jon Rice, Kraig Labs’ COO. “More than five years of hard work, meetings, and extensive legal and regulatory paperwork, have gone into securing these approvals and licenses. We now stand ready to change an entire industry.”
“This is a historic moment for Kraig Labs and for all of our shareholders who have taken part in this journey with us. Our shareholders know how much time, effort and resources have been expended to reach this goal and for the Company to walk through this exciting threshold,” Thompson concluded.
Today’s announcement follows closely on the heels of last week’s announcement of the formation of the Company’s Vietnamese subsidiary Prodigy Textiles Co., Ltd., and the receipt of that subsidiary’s Investment Registration Certificate (IRC). Having been issued both its IRC and with today’s announcement, its Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC), Prodigy Textiles Co., Ltd. is preparing to begin operation. The issuance of these critical licenses mark a major milestone for Kraig Biocraft Laboratories and the commercialization of spider silk.
Kraig considers its new wholly owned subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles Co., Ltd., to be its spider silk production arm. Vietnam has been the focus of the Company’s efforts to launch commercial scale production of recombinant spider silk, due to the country’s existing silk production infrastructure. Kraig estimates that it can produce its recombinant spider silk at prices similar to mundane silk, giving the Company a tremendous competitive advantage.
The Company is now preparing for the grand opening of its subsidiary operations in Quang Nam province, Vietnam. Management is preparing to hire staff for the new facilities and is prepping the first allotment of transgenic silkworms to ship from its U.S. research headquarters.
To view the most recent edition of Kraig’s Spider Sense quarterly newsletter and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to http://www.KraigLabs.com/newsletter.
About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (www.KraigLabs.com), a reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk based fiber technologies.
The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
Statements in this press release about the Company’s future and expectations other than historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These statements are made on the basis of management’s current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “estimated,” “hopes,” “if,” “develops,” “researching,” “research,” “pilot,” “potential,” “could” or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward looking statements include descriptions of the Company’s business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
Contacts
for Kraig Biocraft Laboratories
Hansel Capital, LLC
Ben Hansel, 720-288-8495
ir@KraigLabs.com
To get your Enterprise Registration Certificate in Vietnam, contacts Global Business Service (GBS) Co., Ltd
Email: info@gbs.com.vn iMessage | SMS | Whatsapp | Viber | Call: +84903189033
Vietnam targets building at least three smart cities in 2017-2020. But to reach that goal, it needs to have better infrastructure, more money and a more qualified workforce.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), the biggest problem is that technical infrastructure cannot catch up with rapid urban development, causing traffic jams, lack of running water, flooding and pollution.
Smart cities will also require huge IT (information technology) human resources, which Vietnam is short of. VietnamWorks estimates that with the current 8 percent workforce growth rate, the country will lack 78,000 IT staff a year and 500,000 by 2020.
The ISO set of standards for smart city has 18 indicators in six areas: intelligent people, intelligent economy, smart living environment, intelligent digital government, smart life and smart communication.
However, Vietnam still has not set up national standards for smart cities that fit specific cultural, social and economic characteristics.
In Vietnam, a smart city is generally understood only as “the use of IT at a high level to improve the quality of people’s life”.
The difficulties were mentioned at an international conference on smart cities held in 2017. The participants warned that huge money will be needed to build smart cities.
Sharing economy
Though Vietnam is still struggling to build smart cities, experts believe the development of new economic models taking full advantage of technology from abroad will help Vietnam overcome difficulties.
The sharing economy is one of the models. In Vietnam, Uber and Grab are the most typical example of the sharing economy. The ride-sharing service has created a ‘revolution’ in Vietnamese travel.
With a phone app capable of handling thousands or millions of information at once, Uber helps connect idle means of transport with people with travel needs, and reduces traffic on the road, thus easing pressure on infrastructure.
Dang Thanh Hung, head of VNPT’s Smart City Research Division, said ‘sharing’ is the key word that creates smart cities.
“People talk a lot about ‘sharing city’ and ‘sharing economy’. Smart urban areas also have open data that needs to be ‘shared’ with people and businesses,” he said.
“Sharing information and connecting data will be effective solutions to help build smart cities,” he said.
A survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) commissioned by Uber found that HCM City’s urban infrastructure is overloaded with 8.2 million vehicles. However, if sharing vehicles become popular, the number of cars in circulation would decrease by 27 percent.
CV9 community football academy, found by the former captain of the Vietnam national football team Le Cong Vinh, made its debut in Ho Chi Minh City on May 2.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Vinh said that the academy is a dream he has nurtured for a long time.
He revealed that he and Media Pool company, together with other partners, will coordinate in developing a healthy sport environment for trainees from 6-15 years old.
“I wish to develop community football to improve children’s physical health as well as their spirit of solidarity and mutual support in sport, while nurturing their love for football,” said Vinh.
He said that the academy will select talented players who want to become professional players and give them special training.
The CV9 academy has invited Australian player Marshall Soper, former member of the Australia’s national team, to work as technical advisor who will design training programmes for trainees.
The facility will also employ prestigious Vietnamese and foreign coaches, including Nguyen Thi Kim Hong, a player of Vietnam’s national female football team.
Along with football training, the trainees will also receive other caring services, including health care service.
As scheduled, the first courses of the academy will open in three locations at Districts 2 and 7 with a tuition fee of 2.2 million VND for eight classes per month.
