A seminar aimed at channeling overseas remittances into infrastructure took place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 23, given that remittances to the city reached 9.46 billion USD in 2023, nearly three times higher than foreign direct investment (FDI), according to official statistics. 

In the first quarter of 2024 alone, the figure set a new record, reaching nearly 2.9 billion USD, up 35.4% annually, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong at the event held by the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.  

With a population exceeding 10 million, the megacity faces a constant demand for infrastructure development, spanning transportation networks, schools, hospitals, housing and green spaces, he said.

According to him, the city is actively improving the business environment to create the most favourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese and their relatives to invest.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, Director of the Institute of Research and Development of Global Financial and Real Estate Markets, said Ho Chi Minh City needs to channel remittances into infrastructure through bond issuance.

Regarding local bond issuance to attract remittances, Dr. Tran Du Lich pointed out two mobilisation channels, namely project bonds and infrastructure bonds. Additionally, the Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment State Owned Company (HFIC), as a State financial investment company, can establish an investment fund for each major project with various sources of funding, including remittances.

Stressing the importance of channeling remittances through established institutions to ensure safety and transparency, he advocated for a leading role by the State and advised the municipal Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to propose pilot institutions, with HFIC acting as a pioneer./.

Vietnam attends Asia’s biggest food, hospitality expo in Singapore

Five Vietnamese enterprises operating in the fields of food and hospitality are attending the Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) 2024 which is taking place in Singapore from April 23-26.

This year’s event attracts over 1,500 businesses from more than 50 nations and territories and expects to welcome 60,000 visitors.

Vietnamese booths draw the attention of many visitors with their wide variety of products such as confectionary, beverage, frozen foods, pepper and other spice products, and canned and dried fruit.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Singaporean Minister of Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said that FHA-F&B is an equal playground for enterprises to seek collaboration in today's free trade agreement networks. It also aims at internationalisation, continuous innovation and sustainable development in the field of food and hospitality.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung emphasised that the participation of Vietnamese enterprises has shown their enormous efforts in studying food and hospitality development trends in the world. He affirmed that the event also helps to promote more Vietnamese product to foreign markets.

Through the event, Vietnamese enterprises anticipate opportunities to meet potential partners, bringing more Vietnamese agricultural brands to international market.

Michael Duck, Executive Vice President of Informa Markets stressed that Vietnam is a supplier of many important food items and the event is an occasion to expand the market further./.

HCM City seeks to draw remittances in infrastructure

A seminar aimed at channeling overseas remittances into infrastructure took place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 23, given that remittances to the city reached 9.46 billion USD in 2023, nearly three times higher than foreign direct investment (FDI), according to official statistics. 

In the first quarter of 2024 alone, the figure set a new record, reaching nearly 2.9 billion USD, up 35.4% annually, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong at the event held by the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.  

With a population exceeding 10 million, the megacity faces a constant demand for infrastructure development, spanning transportation networks, schools, hospitals, housing and green spaces, he said.

According to him, the city is actively improving the business environment to create the most favourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese and their relatives to invest.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, Director of the Institute of Research and Development of Global Financial and Real Estate Markets, said Ho Chi Minh City needs to channel remittances into infrastructure through bond issuance.

Regarding local bond issuance to attract remittances, Dr. Tran Du Lich pointed out two mobilisation channels, namely project bonds and infrastructure bonds. Additionally, the Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment State Owned Company (HFIC), as a State financial investment company, can establish an investment fund for each major project with various sources of funding, including remittances.

Stressing the importance of channeling remittances through established institutions to ensure safety and transparency, he advocated for a leading role by the State and advised the municipal Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to propose pilot institutions, with HFIC acting as a pioneer./.

Pepper prices continue increase trend

Pepper prices are forecast to soon exceed 100,000 VND per kilo on the domestic market.

Recently, pepper prices have skyrocketed. Experts said this price increase is related to the strong increase in coffee prices in the past months.

Specifically, in the Central Highlands, Vietnam's large pepper production region, the pepper price on April 23 is at 98,000 VND per kilo in Dak Lak province, and 97,000 VND in Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces.

In the southeast region, the pepper price is at 96,500 VND per kilo in Dong Nai province, and 98,000 VND in Binh Phuoc and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

The domestic pepper price has increased continuously in the last week after steadily decreasing in the previous week. Last week, the pepper prices rose by 7,500-9,000 VND per kilo, Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) Newspaper reported.

Rising world demand helped Vietnamese pepper prices recover strongly last week.

Meanwhile, Brazil and Indonesia will have no more supply until August. The pepper prices of Brazil and Indonesia are now higher than Vietnamese pepper, so the price increase potential of Vietnamese pepper is still very high.

According to the General Department of Customs, pepper exports in the first half of April 2024 reached 13,467 tonnes, worth nearly 58.47 million USD, up 15.4% in volume and 16.1% in value compared to the same period last month. The exports decreased 1.6% in volume year on year, but increased sharply by 40.1% in value.

In the first four months of 2024, the country’s pepper exports reached 70,248 tonnes, worth more than 294 million USD, down 21.8% in volume, but up 7% in value compared to the same period in 2023.

The average export price of pepper in the first half of April stood at 4,342 USD per tonne, up 0.8% compared to that in March.

So far in 2024, the average export price of pepper reached 4,189 USD per tonne, an increase of 36.8% over the same period in 2023.

The Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA) said that the recent increase in pepper prices is due to low supply, high price of the US dollar, and conflicts in the world making transportation difficult. In addition, speculation is another reason for the increase.

The experts said that coffee and pepper are often grown in alternating areas. Due to recent dry and hot weather in key growing areas, many pepper plants died. The harsh weather also affects coffee trees, causing lower supply, so coffee and pepper prices both increase.

The association said Vietnam is still the largest producer and exporter of pepper in the world. However, the area and output of Vietnamese pepper are decreasing due to high competition and market fluctuations that create favourable conditions for development of other crops such as coffee and durian. That makes the pepper supply decrease, while pepper demand increases, so the pepper prices are up./.

FPT, NVIDIA ink MoU to build 200 million USD AI factory

Vietnam’s tech giant FPT plans to build a 200 million USD artificial intelligence (AI) factory using NVIDIA's graphics chips and software, as announced on April 23 in a comprehensive strategic partnership with NVIDIA.

The partnership aims to offer a one-stop shop for AI & Cloud consisting of AI products, GPU infrastructure, tech experts and domain expertise for clients in Vietnam and all FPT’s presence areas.

This will be attained by establishing AI factories for AI research and development in the region, expanding advanced AI and cloud capabilities on a global scale, and fostering a future-ready workforce in technology.

The AI factory will serve as a sovereign cloud and will feature NVIDIA’s latest technologies, including NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and frameworks and NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs.

This initiative is a critical part of FPT’s strategy in reinforcing AI research and development, creating AI applications and solutions with a focus on generative AI, autonomous driving, and green transformation for sustainability. This empowers FPT to realise the vision of transforming Vieetnam into an AI nation and accelerating the adoption of AI applications in Asia, specifically Vietnam, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

AI Factory will provide cloud GPU services to accompany FPT's corporate customers globally to access the most core resources to improve research capacity, accelerate the speed of AI application, especially Generative AI, achieving breakthroughs in improving productivity and customer experience.

At the same time, it helps FPT accelerate the construction and development of AI platforms and applications with higher value for customers in all industries.

As part of the collaboration, FPT has joined the NVIDIA Partner Network as a Service Delivery Partner and aims to become a Global Systems Integrator, leveraging the full potential of NVIDIA's cutting-edge products and technologies to develop bespoke cloud services, hardware, software and, most importantly, generative AI solutions.

Prioritising three key verticals, including automotive, manufacturing, banking, financial services and insurance, FPT will offer end-to-end generative AI services, empowering businesses to unlock the next level of productivity and automation. The integrations will enhance FPT’s AI labs while introducing new software frameworks.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Truong Gia Binh, FPT Corporation Chairman and Founder, affirmed that  “FPT is committed to Digital transformation, AI, Cloud, and Education. FPT strives to enhance our R&D competence and establish a comprehensive platform for state-of-the-art products and services built on AI and Cloud that exceeds global demands, working to achieve its vision to turn Vietnam into an AI hub of the world through collaboration with NVIDIA in technology, business development, and training.”

Also at the signing ceremony,  Keith Strier, NVIDIA Vice President of Worldwide AI Initiative, said: “By accelerating innovation in healthcare, agriculture, climate, manufacturing, and more, AI has the potential to improve lives and strengthen the economies of every nation. FPT is working with NVIDIA to empower organizations across Vietnam to drive transformation, helping the country become an AI nation.”/.

Lao Cai province calls for more Japanese investments

The advantages and potential of Vietnam’s northern border province of Lao Cai were introduced to Japanese firms at an investment and tourism promotion conference in Tokyo on April 23.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu stressed that Japan’s investments in Vietnam have been on the rise over the past years, with over 74.4 billion USD poured into 5,304 projects as of March 2024, ranking third among the 143 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

The diplomat expressed his belief that the conference will provide a panorama picture on Lao Cai, helping the locality attract more Japanese investments.   

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Trinh Xuan Truong briefed the participants on Lao Cai’s incentives to investors and cleared up questions raised by the Japanese enterprises.

Tsukada Manabu, Senior Director for Global Strategy (Southeast Asia) at the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), highlighted Lao Cai’s high growth rate as compared with others in the northern mountainous region, saying apart from agriculture and tourism, the locality boasts potential for biomass power generation and border trade with China.  
                   
The conference featured the handover of memoranda of understanding between Lao Cai and Japanese firms, as well as between Vietnamese and Japanese businesses./.

Tra fish export to UAE jumps 67% in Q1

Vietnam’s tra fish export to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached more than 7 million USD in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 67% against the same period last year, statistics of the General Department of Customs showed.

Tra fish export to the UAE increased impressively in January by 2.5 times to reach 4 million USD before a slowdown of 31% in February.

In March, Vietnam exported tra fish to this market worth more than 2 million USD.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said the UAE mainly exported frozen fillets from Vietnam, accounting for around 93% of the country’s tra fish export to this market.

The UAE is a net importer of seafood products and around 90% of all food consumed in the UAE is imported.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the UAE consumes around 220,000 tonnes of seafood products each year with a per capita consumption volume of 28.6 kilos, higher than the global average.

The association said that there is significant room to expand tra fish export to the UAE, given this market’s rising income and rapid urbanisation. The UAE Central Bank has lifted its forecast for the UAE economic growth rate to 5.7% from 4.3%.

Each year, Vietnam exports about 22,000-24,000 tonnes of seafood products to the UAE, worth around 50-70 million USD.

Frozen tra fish fillet is the most popular export product of Vietnam to the UAE.

Vietnam’s tra fish export was estimated at 1.8 billion USD in 2023 and expected to reach 2 billion USD this year./.

Corporate bond maturity in 2024 remains high: MoF

The volume of corporate bonds maturing in 2024, though lower than that in 2023, is till at a high level, mostly in industries with payment risks such as real estate and renewable energy, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The ministry said as of the end of 2023, the outstanding corporate bond debt stood at about 1 quadrillion VND (39.27 billion USD), issued by 432 businesses. Among them, the total value of bonds maturing in 2024 is 240.1 trillion VND (9.43 billion USD), lower than the 261.6 trillion VND recorded last year.

Credit institutions had the largest outstanding bond debt by the end of 2023 with 357.2 trillion VND. The figure for real estate businesses was 351.4 trillion VND.

The volume of real estate corporate bonds due in 2024 is 99.6 trillion VND, issued by 92 organisations. The MoF forecast that there will be difficulties for a number of businesses in paying corporate bond debt worth about 35.8 trillion VND, accounting for 35.9% of the volume of mature bonds of real estate businesses, and recommended real estate businesses continue to closely monitor their ability to repay bond debt.

For the remaining group of businesses, the combined outstanding bond debt is about 300 trillion VND, accounting for 29.8% of the total outstanding debt, for bonds issued by 222 businesses. Their maturity volume in 2024 is 87.3 trillion VND for bonds issued by 102 organisations.

According to the MoF, if interest rates will be maintained at the current low level, the capital mobilisation costs will be reduced, encouraging businesses to invest in business expansion, and improving their debt repayment ability. However, the ability of restoring production and ensuring debt repayment obligations depends on particular industry and economic situation at home and abroad, it said./.

Government’s action programme cracks down on illegal fishing

A raft of measures to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is included in the Government’s freshly issued action programme as the country is striving to clamp down on illegal fishing, or else it will be hit by the European Commission (EC)’s warning card.

Among the short-term measures carried out until May 2024 are improving public awareness of IUU fishing prevention through effective communications and training, and harmoniously and drastically implementing the fisheries law to manage fishing fleet. Besides, it is a must to comply with both Vietnamese and international laws on seafood traceability, while investigating, identifying and handling all acts related to illegal fishing.

Regarding long-term measures, the Government resolves to complete policies and regulations on the fisheries, especially those to thrust on modernisation of the sector, improve fishermen’s livelihoods and direct management of the fishery workers in accordance with both domestic and international labour regulations.

Furthermore, it will encourage public-private cooperation to develop technical fishery infrastructure, improve the capacity and responsibility of the fisheries surveillance force and competent agencies, and push ahead with state-of-the-art technology application and digital transformation in aquaculture to set up a sustainable production chain and a comprehensive ecosystem towards the circular economy and green economy, deep integration into the global supply chain and response to climate change.

Other highlights of the programme include enhanced international cooperation in the domain, negotiations on delimitation of the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves between Vietnam and foreign countries and settlement of sea disputes, and implementation of the international commitments and treaties on protection of the ocean resources and marine ecosystem.

Right after receiving the EC’s yellow card in 2017, Vietnam promptly enacted the Fisheries Law and established fishing vessel data covering registration and the issuance of fishing licences from central to local levels.

Relevant ministries, agencies, and coastal provinces and cities of the country have ramped up IUU fishing prevention tasks and solutions in line with directives of the permanent members of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, the Prime Minister, and the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention./.

Fruit and vegetable export turnover hit $1.8 billion in 4 months

Fruit and vegetable export turnover reached over US$1.8 billion in the first four months this year, up 32.9 per cent from the same period last year.

A preliminary report from General Department of Customs showed that fruit and vegetable exports are estimated to reach about $539.8 million this month, an increase of nearly 14.9 per cent over last month and a year-on-year increase of 37.8 per cent.

The largest import markets of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the four-month period remain China, South Korea, the US and Thailand.

In addition, fruit and vegetable imports reached nearly $150 million this month, down nearly 4 per cent compared to the previous month but up 6.4 per cent over the same period last year.

In the first four months of the year, fruit and vegetable imports reached $642 million, rising by 12.6 per year-on-year.

The Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said it expected the export of fruits and vegetables, including durian, to grow even more this year because more codes of growing areas and packaging facilities could be certified, creating favourable conditions for export.

It is expected that four more products will officially be exported to China, including medicinal herbs, coconuts, frozen fruits and watermelons.

In addition, with positive signals from the market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecasts that the fruit and vegetable industry will continue to set new records this year with an estimated export turnover of $6 - 6.5 billion, growing at 15 - 20 per cent compared to last year.

China will continue to be a potential market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products because of its geographical advantages and similarities in culinary culture. 

HCM City could issue bonds for overseas Vietnamese to fund infrastructure: conference

HCM City could issue bonds for overseas Vietnamese to buy to fund the city’s infrastructure projects, a conference on channeling remittance into infrastructure heard on Tuesday.

During the conference held by Sài Gòn Giải Phóng Newspaper, Tăng Hữu Phong, editor-in-chief of the paper, said that HCM City aims to become an economic, financial and service hub of Asia, but its infrastructure bottlenecks are hindering the city’s development.

The city has been making an effort to alleviate issues such as traffic jams, overloaded hospitals and old apartments, but the lack of funds and policies to mobilise funds for infrastructure investment remain big challenges.

Bùi Xuân Cường, Deputy Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, said that the city’s fund allocation from the central government and its own budget are not enough for the city’s planned infrastructure projects.

Representatives from the city’s departments and authorities highlighted their respective difficulties with funding for projects such as social housing, canal renovation and urban railway construction.

HCM City sees remittance as a bountiful and consistent source of funds, Cường said.

Remittance into the city is higher than foreign direct investment, such as in 2023 when remittance reached US$9.46 billion, three times higher than FDI.

If the city can channel remittance into traffic infrastructure, education, healthcare and other areas, it will be a big boost for the city’s socio-economic development, he said.

Dr. Nguyễn Trí Hiếu, an economic expert, said that remittance into Việt Nam is mostly used for spending and investing into real estate, industry and agriculture.

There are around 5.5 million overseas Vietnamese around the world, with an average income of $20,000 a year.

In 2023, remittance to Việt Nam reached around $16 billion, he said, adding that there is potential for more remittance into the country.

He said that in the past, overseas Vietnamese would deposit dollars at banks in Việt Nam to get interest, but over the last couple of years, paid interest rates for dollar deposits have been at zero per cent, so most of them have not been doing that.

HCM City) should explore the possibility of issuing bonds targeted at overseas Vietnamese residing in countries with significant populations of high-income Vietnamese. These funds could be used to sponsor important projects and contribute into the city’s development.

This requires the city to be transparent, especially on which projects are directly supported by which bonds, how debts are repaid, and possible risks.

In the first quarter of 2024, remittance into HCM City reached nearly $2.9 billion, a 35.4 per cent rise year-on-year, the highest amount seen in the first quarter over the last three years.

HCM City also vows to improve its investment climate and implement more investment channels for overseas Vietnamese to safely invest in. 

VN's economy forecast to grow by 5.5 per cent in 2024

Việt Nam's economy can grow by as much as 5.5 per cent in 2024 and increase to 6 per cent in 2025, according to a report from the World Bank (WB) released yesterday. 

After experiencing downturns in 2023, Việt Nam's economy has been showing signs of recovery during the first quarter of 2024.

According to the report, the Southeast Asian economy has enjoyed stronger exports as domestic consumption and private investment increased gradually during the period with export prices expected to rise by as much as 3.5 per cent this year and in 2025 as global demand recovers. Meanwhile, the country's property sector has been forecast to make a comeback in the remainder of the year, alongside confidence among investors and consumers, leading to a potential 5.5 per cent increase in private investment and 5 per cent in consumption in 2024. 

The report emphasised the importance of continuing to support the economy through fiscal policies, aimed at strengthening economic recovery, by accelerating the implementation of infrastructure investment projects funded by public resources, for example. The report said such projects can further stimulate the economy, with the potential for GDP growth of 0.1 percentage points for each percentage point increase in public investment as a share of GDP. Regarding monetary policy, WB said additional interest rate cuts were limited due to the interest rate differences between the domestic and international markets.

With strong public spending, budget deficits were projected to increase to 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2024 before decreasing to 1.1 per cent in 2025, in line with the government's fiscal strategy for the 2021-30 period. As ensuring financial stability remains a top priority, the country should focus on managing the increasing risks associated with rising non-performing loans including those stemming from declining property values in the real estate market. With the capital buffers of commercial banks remaining relatively thin, further declines in the property market could further reduce their capital.

Sebastian Eckardt, World Bank Practice Manager for Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment in the East Asia and Pacific Region said investing in public infrastructure projects often creates long-term benefits alongside immediate economic stimulation.

"Strengthening public investment management will also address critical infrastructure bottlenecks in energy, transportation and logistics, which are the foundation for Việt Nam's long-term economic growth," he said. 

The report highlighted the need for a more favourable environment for business operations as structural barriers persist in various sectors, including legal barriers, increasing skills gaps, low technology absorption rates and challenges in accessing financial resources in the early stages.

In order to nurture an innovation culture, experts from the WB made several key recommendations for the country. WB advised Việt Nam to invest additional resources in improving support mechanisms and creating domestic funds to build an ecosystem to help innovative businesses.

In addition, administrative and legal reforms should be sped up to address startups' barriers in accessing funds and facilitating investment activities. Academia and public researchers should be encouraged to contribute to startups through incubators, idea development support, and innovative startup training centres, under a public-private cooperation model.

They said public researchers can greatly contribute to the modernisation of intellectual property frameworks and technology transfer while providing incentives for researchers in the form of potential for commercialisation.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes