Norway is a long-standing shipping country and leading the greening trend in the global maritime sector. What are the opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in this field?

Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken

The Norwegian maritime cluster is considered one of the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing relevant stakeholders such as shipping lines, brokerage companies, insurance and financial services, shipyards, marine equipment manufacturers, non-governmental organisations, and lots more.

The country is also internationally renowned for its expertise and sustainable maritime solutions, and the entire maritime cluster system is working hard to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Vietnam and Norway are both members of the International Maritime Organization, and green maritime will soon open up opportunities for both countries and companies to work together and thus create jobs for local communities along our coasts.

We’ve seen so far very strong cooperation between Norway in the renewable energy sector, in solar and wind, and hopefully offshore wind in the future. We also see a lot of cooperation in relating to the circular economy. For example, about one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions come from the cement industry, but recycling tech and equipment are being put in place, with alternatives to coal as a fuel being utilised. We also see a lot of cooperation in sustainable agriculture and, in the past year, we’ve seen increasing interest from drug companies.

There is also strong cooperation in renewable energy, including solar and wind, and in sustainable agriculture. Norway is leading in marine spatial planning to balance environmental and industrial needs.

With all this, a collaborative approach involving government, industry, and research communities is emphasised for effective policymaking and action. Predictable regulatory frameworks are crucial for investment in renewable energy and grid integration, with a focus on domestic and international collaboration.

What can Vietnam learn from Norway about clean energy development models, especially offshore wind power and shipbuilding technology?

There’s a lot to gain from sharing experiences on specific technical solutions, for example, permanent models for how work can be carried out. Norway has been sharing experiences about supporting the development of marine spatial planning frameworks.

The bigger picture is pushing our green development, which takes a whole-of-government approach. So all ministries will be working together on strategies on how to take this forward.

Seeing different sectors work together, and adding to that very close collaboration between government, industry itself, and research communities, means you have a chance to continually upgrade knowledge for government to set the right policies for industries.

How should Vietnam reform its investment environment to engage and retain investors from Norway?

Vietnam’s remarkable success in development began with the economic reforms of the 1980s. Opening up to international trade and foreign investment, and encouraging the movement of capital and expertise from abroad, has brought many positive results.

The country has been very proactive in learning and researching global best practices to effectively apply domestically. Perhaps, the formula for upcoming reforms will be a new version of those iconic reforms, to continue to promote the factors that have created success so far. Investors want a favourable investment environment with a clear legal framework, which can help them make the necessary predictions.

In the energy sector, for example, we see that Vietnam’s legal framework has gradually improved. However, investors are still looking forward to more feasible regulations, such as mechanisms for connecting renewable energy to the national grid, or pricing mechanisms. We hope that these regulations will be issued soon. In addition, measures to ensure investment safety and legal protection for foreign investors are also significant.

Along with that is the need to simplify administrative procedures in establishing and operating businesses. Last but not least, the level and skills of the workforce are important. These are important contents that determine the attractiveness of the investment environment.

The K-Home New City social housing project, jointly funded by Singaporean partner Surbana Jurong Group and Vietnam’s Kim Oanh Group, was started on March 9 in Thu Dau Mot city of the southern province of Binh Duong.

K-Home New City boasts over 3,300 apartments. Located adjacent to large industrial parks (IPs) such as Vietnam-Singapore IP 2 and Dong An 2, it is expected to bring housing opportunities to many workers.

Hoa Phat Yen My, a subsidiary of Hoa Phat Group, will build 9,000 social houses in the northern province of Hung Yen with an investment of nearly $200 million.

Expected to be put into use by the end of 2028, the complex will have a population of about 11,500 people serving workers in Yen My II IP located nearby, as well as other parks in the province.

Hoa Phat’s Yen My II is currently expanding its second phase. Phase I, covering over 97 hectares, is 100 per cent filled with the presence of 35 enterprises.

Industrial real estate giant Becamex has also built over 45,000 apartments that are both workers’ housing and social housing in Binh Duong. Each apartment has an area of 30 square metres including a mezzanine, and a selling price of VND100-300 million ($4,000-12,000).

In 2025, Becamex plans to set up around 10,000 social housing units in Binh Duong.

Meanwhile, Tran Duc Vinh, chairman of Tran Anh Group, is promoting the approval of designs and preparing legal procedures for the development plan of Phuc An City, a social housing project in Duc Hoa district of the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

With a starting selling price of VND200 million ($8,000) per unit, buyers only need to pay 30 per cent of the apartment value in advance, while the remainder can be paid in instalments without interest in five years.

According to Vinh, the government’s plan to build at least one million social housing apartments for low-income people and IP workers by 2030 has offered a direction to real estate businesses. Nevertheless, Long An is currently seriously lacking in housing for local workers.

“Businesses have a lot of land but have difficulty in proceeding with legal procedures to carry out commercial housing,” Vinh said. “Therefore, building social houses is an alternative solution for them. Developing social housing will offer more work for employers, utilise abandoned land, and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the province.”

Talking with VIR, Trang Le, country head of JLL Vietnam, said that the government is promoting social housing, so there will be incentives for investors and developers to build social housing in cities and provinces.

“However, we still have to consider the commercial feasibility because investors can only put money in when there is profit,” Trang said. “In particular, social housing is now built with advanced designs and modern materials. Even though they are typically just a small apartment, enough for a young couple, they must have full basic amenities and a better living environment.”

As of July 2024, Vietnam had established around 430 IPs with about eight million workers.

TOKYO, March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CyberAgent, Inc. today has unveiled a new key visual and the character visuals for the television anime of up-and-coming award winning author Mokumokuren’s “The Summer Hikaru Died” (published by KADOKAWA, produced by CygamesPictures ).

New Key Visual

“The Summer Hikaru Died” is a hit horror manga series about an ordinary high school boy, Yoshiki, who experiences various mysterious incidents in his life with Hikaru, a mysterious being who imitates his best friend Hikaru Indou. The story of “whatever it is” and the boy’s madness has garnered significant attention, making it a must-see anime film.

Following the announcement of the anime adaptation in May 2024, there is considerable anticipation among fans in Japan and worldwide.

The animation will be directed by Ryohei Takeshita known as the director of “Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night” and CygamesPictures will be handling the animation production for the series.

The newly revealed key visual features the main characters, Yoshiki and Hikaru standing under an exceptionally clear blue sky in the setting of their hometown “Kubitachi Village”. An ominous figure known as “DORODORO” and Hikaru’s face is appearing on the back of Yoshiki. Additionally, the character visuals of Yoshiki and Hikaru has each been unveiled.

Starting the day after tomorrow on March 22nd, AnimeJapan 2025, one of the largest anime events in Japan, will be held at Tokyo Big Sight. “The Summer Hikaru Died” will appear at a special booth of KADOKAWA where visitors can experience the world of “The Summer Hikaru Died”. “The Summer Hikaru Died” will also appear on GREEN STAGE at March 22nd, and casts from the anime, Chiaki Kobayashi (Voice of Yoshiki Tsujinaka) and Shuichiro Umeda (Voice of Hikaru) will be speaking on stage. Please check the official AnimeJapan 2025 website for more details.（https://www.anime-japan.jp/en/）More information is also announced on the anime’s official X account.(https://x.com/hikaru_anime_en)

The Anime “The Summer Hikaru Died” will be available on Netflix worldwide in 2025. We will continue to provide additional details.