Countries around the world are moving from living in zero COVID-19 to living safely with it and Vietnam is no exception, said Patrick Haverman, Deputy Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam.

Vietnam's economy has slowed down due to the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are still many optimistic forecasts about the country’s economic outlook in 2022, Dr Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said.

Private airlines have requested access to 0% interest loans, similar to the support Vietnam Airlines (VNA) - the country's flag carrier - is entitled to, heard a meeting among the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), commercial banks and the airlines.

Vietnam needs to shift from “Zero-COVID” strategy to vaccinations as the pandemic and the risk of new outbreaks are still lingering on, according to Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

Vietnam’s airline industry is facing its worst crisis yet amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an online conference on financial solutions to keep the industry afloat heard recently.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is proposing a 30% reduction in the corporate income tax which enterprises must pay in 2021 in a draft resolution on budget collection solutions which is to be submitted to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for approval.

Vietnam’s major telecom companies including Viettel, VNPT, Mobifone, CMC, FPT, Vietnamobile, and SCTV have announced a joint support package worth VND10 trillion (US$435 million) for consumers across the country.

More than 365,000 labourers, business households and traders in traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City have benefited from COVID-19 support packages.

The programme to assist businesses in digital transformation for the 2021-2025 period of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the USAID-funded Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project have announced a support package to help enterprises promote digital transformation.

The Government should have more long-term policies and packages supporting and aiding businesses to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has said.