A recent research by Standard Chartered has listed Vietnam among the 13 markets driving future trade growth, and with its enhanced integration into the global economy, the country is holding numerous advantages for bolstering export.

In its research, titled “Future of Trade 2030: Trend and markets to watch”, the bank forecast Vietnam will record an average annual exports growth rate of 7 percent to earn 535 billion USD in revenue in 2030.

Notably, up to 41 percent of the global firms surveyed by Standard Chartered are operating in Vietnam or planning to invest in the country in the next five to 10 years.

The US and China will remain the largest export markets of Vietnam, respectively accounting for 26 percent and 19 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s total exports by 2030. Meanwhile, shipments to India are also projected to grow fast, by 11 percent annually between 2020 and 2030.

With growing international trade, Vietnam is emerging as an important production base. The sectors with great contributions to exports from now to 2030 include machinery - electrical equipment, textile - garment, and agriculture - food, respectively making up 40 percent, 21 percent, and 15 percent of total exports.

Reference exchange rate down 15 VND on Dec. 2

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,117 VND/USD on December 2, down 15 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,812 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,425 VND/USD.

The opening-hour rate at commercial banks continued witnessing increases.

National promotion month launched

A national promotion month - Vietnam Grand Sale 2021 - was launched on December 1, with the aim of removing difficulties, seeking opportunities to expand markets, promoting domestic consumption, and recovering business in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period.

The event, which is organised by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), will last until January 1 next year.

Portal launched to support online sale of Vietnamese farm produce

The Ministry of Information and Communications on December 1 launched an electronic information portal at https://tmdt.mic.gov.vn. to support agricultural production households in introducing and selling farm produce on e-commerce platforms.

E-commerce platforms Postmart.vn and recently developed by Vietnam Post Corporation (VNPOST) and Voso.vn by Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) have been not only channels for goods consumption also solid bridges to bring farmers closer to consumers across the country, helping to raise prestige and build trademarks for domestic products.

Previously, on July 21, the Ministry of Information and Communications approved a plan to support agricultural production households in introducing and selling their products e-commerce platforms, and promote agricultural and rural digital economic development./.

Viettel officially launches mobile money services

Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) on December 1 launched its digital financial ecosystem called Viettel Money.

With up to 300 personalised functions, the most to date, Viettel Money serves diverse needs of customers in trading, money transfer, investment, insurance and bill payment.

Viettel's telecom network has now covered 99 percent of Vietnam's area, offering services in 11,000 wards and communes nationwide, including those located in remote, border and island areas.

As from December 1, customers can use their official phone accounts that have been used for at least three consecutive months to register for Viettel Money without bank accounts.

Hanoi to host Culture & Business Forum 2021 

The Culture & Business Forum (CBF) 2021 will begin in Hanoi at 1:30pm on December 5 under the theme “Acculturation - Foundation for sustainable recovery and development.”

Its first session will see academics discussing and telling stories about acculturation and values guiding economic recovery from the corporate culture perspective.

The second session will focus on “corporate culture vaccine at the time of COVID-19” which highlights the significance of corporate culture in the face of economic fallout from COVID-19. Speakers will include leaders of many major corporations in Vietnam.

Remittance to Vietnam forecast to grow

The World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) forecast that remittance to Vietnam is estimated at 18.1 billion USD in 2021.

As such, the country will be the eighth largest remittance recipient in the world and the third largest in the Asia-Pacific region this year.

In 2020, Vietnamese abroad sent 17.2 billion USD back home.

Vietnam among top 10 IT product exporters 

Vietnam is one of the world’s 10 leading exporters of electronic products, ranking second for smartphones and ninth for software outsourcing, according to Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam.

Vietnam currently boasts 58,000 ICT enterprises and is hopeful of bringing the figure up to 100,000 by 2025.

The domestic ICT sector earned US$124.6 billion in revenue last year, with its growth rate in the 2015 - 2020 period averaging out at 15.2% annually, making it one of the economic sectors with the fastest growth rate.

Most notably, information technology products, especially smartphones and computers, were among the top 10 largest Vietnamese export groups in 2020, contributing to the country’s hardware and electronics trade surplus of more than US$15 billion.

Plan to assign North-South Expressway project to provinces rejected

On November 15, the Government wrote to the National Assembly reporting on the pre-feasibility study for the North-South Expressway, which would be built in 2021-2025.

Accordingly, there would be 12 subprojects totaling 729 km and requiring VND147 trillion, which will be all funded by the State. The report said the 12 subprojects would be assigned to the cities and provinces where the road passes through.

However, Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue has refused to allow cities and provinces to take over the development of the North-South expressway project in the 2021-2025 period as the current relevant laws do not allow so. 

Vietnam’s exports to hit almost $535 billion by 2030: research

"Future of Trade 2030: Trends and markets to watch" – a new research by Standard Chartered – projects that Vietnam is a key driver of this global trade growth, with its exports projected to grow at an average annual rate of more 7 per cent to cross $535 billion by 2030.

Additionally, the research found that 41 per cent of global corporates currently do or plan to manufacture in Vietnam within the next five to 10 years. This is evidence that Vietnam will be a major driver of global trade growth over the next decade.

The USA and Mainland China will continue to be the largest export corridors for Vietnam, accounting for 26 per cent and 19 per cent of total exports in 2030, respectively.

India is a fast-growing export corridor for Vietnam with 11 per cent average growth per year from 2020 to 2030.

According to the study, Vietnam is an emerging manufacturing powerhouse with expanding international trading relationships.  

Kon Tum's hi-tech agricultural complex attracts US$65 million
 
Hung Nhon Group and Netherlands-based De Heus Group have signed a memorandum of understanding with Kon Tum Province on investment cooperation in a complex of hi-tech agricultural zones worth US$65 million.

The two groups will engage in developing a pig breeding farm that will cover 200ha. It will apply advanced technology to produce high-quality agricultural products following a closed chain meeting European standards, as well as organic cattle feed and fertiliser.

Once completed and put into operation, the project will create jobs for 250-300 local labourers, contributing to the economic development of the province.

Binh Dinh to welcome international guests in January 2022

The central province of Binh Dinh is preparing to become the sixth destination for international tourists before January 2022, together with Kien Giang, Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Da Nang and Quang Ninh.

The province planned to welcome guests on package tours because it was not safe to receive individual visitors. The province was considering criteria and conditions for tourists. Binh Dinh would set criteria for arrivals to the province to ensure safety.

Binh Dinh welcomes around 200,000 international visitors every year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021, the province only received 77,000 visitors.

In 2022, if the pandemic is under control, the province will continue to increase the number of tourists, trying to welcome 80,000 – 100,000 domestic visitors.

In the second half of 2022, the province wishes to welcome international guests. Accordingly, the province could welcome 400,000 domestic tourists and over 100,000 international visitors.

HCM City promotes local agricultural produce at affordable prices
 

 
Many traders in HCM City have been promoting local agricultural products at affordable prices to maintain market share.

Many local agricultural products have found quality outputs, while consumers have been able to buy domestic produce at preferential prices and at prices lower than imported goods.

The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has coordinated with the Management Board of Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks to pilot selling about 100 items of fresh food and processed food with affordable prices in the zone.

This month, HCM City witnessed the market entry of an integrated retail model “G Market”, which is the first digitised retail model in Viet Nam, providing more than 10,000 essential consumer items with a closed Farm/Factory - Hub - Door model.

Many consumers agreed that HCM City should create preferential policies to stimulate consumption of local agricultural products, while businesses and retail units should ensure outputs for these products. 

Competition launched for Vietnamese female entrepreneurs 
 
Creatella Impact and WISE Vietnam has launched 'SheDisrupts Vietnam 2021', a fully digital competition for female Vietnamese entrepreneurs.

In the current preparatory phase, online applications are accepted from November 15 to December 19, 2021. Applicants can enter at https://she-disrupts.org/. Thirty teams will be selected for the Mentoring session, the first of two parts of SheDisrupts Vietnam 2021, which is scheduled on January 10, 2022. 

The 15 most outstanding participants will then be invited to join an intense two-week pre-acceleration program starting on February 14, 2022. SheDisrupts Vietnam will conclude with a Demo Day on February 25, 2022.

The programme welcomes applications from early-stage startups (Pre-Seed to Pre-Series A), ideally with a clearly developed product idea and some traction, and with at least one woman among the founders or in a leadership role. The programme targets entrepreneurs who are developing solutions with a particular focus on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

HCM City pledges favourable conditions for Austrian investors

At a reception for Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Hans-Peter Glanze on November 30, HCM City Chairman Phan Van Mai named the city’s priority investment areas like clean energy, telecom infrastructure, digital economy and high-tech.

Austria currently ranks 31st among investors in HCM City with 16 projects worth over 41 million USD.

HCM City-Austria two-way trade reached 159.4 million USD in the first 10 months of this year, up 164 percent year-on-year.

Glanze said following the establishment of Austria’s industry and commerce office in HCM City in 2019, the city has been known as an important destination for Austrian investors.

Austria would increase the export of technology-intensive products to Vietnam, he said, adding that Austria will also continue with cooperation projects in HCM City, focusing on such spheres as smart cities, transport, environmental protection and pharmacy.

Vietnam eyes stronger e-commerce application in agriculture

Visa Inc. has cooperated with the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) to speed up digital transformation in agribusinesses, cooperatives and farmer households in Vietnam.

The two sides have signed a cooperation agreement to promote e-commerce applications and acceptance of digital payments in order to affirm the agriculture sector’s key position in Vietnam’s economic development.

Although agriculture is a key economic sector of Vietnam as it contributes 14 percent of the country's GDP but its growth prospects have not been fully exploited due to the lack of operational and financial management tools.

The cooperation programme is hoped to help agribusinesses, cooperatives, and farmer households address difficulties related to digital transformation.

Bac Ninh leads industrial property supply in northern Vietnam

Bac Ninh remains a bright spot in the industrial property market in the north, taking the lead in supply and demand for industrial activities, said experts from Savills Vietnam.

Despite COVID-19 pandemic, occupancy rate of industrial property in several provinces in northern key economic region remains stable, amounting to 87 percent of the total and 20,567ha up for lease, up 2.35 percent annually. Bac Ninh and Hanoi continue leading the region.

With 15 projects, Bac Ninh led the northern key economic region with 5,797ha of industrial parks (IPs) and average occupancy rate of 99 percent. It also recorded the largest number of approved projects in the first quarter this year with five IPs to be built.

Disbursement of public investment up 14.7% in November

Disbursement of investment capital sourced from State budget was estimated at 48.5 trillion VND (2.13 billion USD) in November, up 14.7 percent over the previous month.

However, the result represented a drop of 12.9 percent compared to the same period last year, the GSO reported, adding that in the first 11 months of 2021, 367.7 trillion VND (16.18 billion USD) of the capital was disbursed, fulfilling 73.8 percent of the yearly target, down 8.7 percent year on year. The total included 304.1 trillion VND of locally-managed capital.

In the January-November period, Hanoi led localities nationwide in disbursement work with 36.9 trillion VND. It was followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 17.7 trillion VND, Hai Phong 2.3 trillion VND and Quang Ninh 1.6 trillion VND.

Compiled by Chi Mai