The event will take place at the International Convention Centre in Hanoi on December 5 to review Vietnam’s economic development in 2020-2021, and policies adopted to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, it will give insight into the trend of economic restructuring and changes in production and business models due to pandemic impacts, along with policies that have been rolled out in the world to tackle COVID-19, thus withdrawing lessons for Vietnam in this regard.

The organisers launched the official website of the forum, at diendankinhte.quochoi.vn, in Vietnamese and English languages.

Reference exchange rate stays stable on Dec. 3

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,117 VND/USD on December 3, unchanged 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. Meanwhile, the opening-hour rates at commercial banks surged.

Vietjet to launch direct flights to Russia next year

Vietjet Air will launch direct services between three Vietnamese cities and the Russian capital city of Moscow from mid-2022, its first-ever direct flights to Europe.

The flights will connect Moscow with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang, using Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

There will be two flights per week between Hanoi and Moscow every Wednesday and Sunday, starting from July 3. Meanwhile, passengers on the HCM City-Moscow flights will transit in Hanoi.

The Nha Trang-Moscow flights are set to be conducted every Monday and Friday as from July 10.

Hung Yen cooperates with Korean firm in smart city development

Hung Yen province on December 2 signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in smart city development with Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) from South Korea. Currently, LH and TDH Ecoland JSC based in Hung Yen are partnering in building a clean industrial park covering 140ha in the province.

HCM City aims at 6-6.5% GRDP growth in 2022

HCMC is aiming for a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of 6-6.5% next year, according to the HCMC Party Committee 10th conference, which closed on December 2.

Besides, the city set out other important goals, including maintaining the percentage of the service sector in GRDP at over 60%, the total investment accounting for around 35% and creating jobs for 140,000 workers.

Vietnam earns US$43.5 billion from agricultural exports in 11 months

Vietnam raked in US$43.5 billion from exporting agricultural products during the past 11 months of the year, representing a rise of 14.2% on-year and fulfilling the export target for the whole year.

Specifically, forestry, seafood, and livestock exports surged by 20.9%, 3.5%, and 4% to US$14.3 billion, US$7.9 billion, and US$393 million, respectively, while the group of production inputs fetched over US$1.5 billion in revenue, a rise of 25.9% against the same period from last year.

The United States, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea remain the four largest consumers of Vietnamese agricultural exports.

The country spent approximately US$39.2 billion on importing agro-forestry-fishery products in the opening 11 months of the year, a boost of 39% compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Vietnamese firm exports processed bamboo shoots to Netherlands

Kim Boi Joint Stock Company from the northern province of Hoa Binh has exported its first batch of processed bamboo shoots weighing 28 tonnes, along with 11 other products, to the Dutch market.

These products have all been manufactured through stringent procedures from preliminary processing, boiling, and sterilisation. They have been packaged in line with export standards set by Herman Company of the Netherlands, the foreign importer.

Exhibition on handicrafts and OCOP products opens in Hanoi

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade hosted an exhibition on December 1 aimed at showcasing a range of fine art products relating to the ceramic industry and “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) products. On display throughout the event were over 200 contemporary ceramic works, several OCOP products, along with other typical products by 20 artisans, skilled workers, and designers from various production facilities in the capital.

Kien Giang calls for investment in border economic zone

The authorities of Kien Giang are soliciting investment in several projects in its Ha Tien Border Gate Economic Zone, including a trading centre, financial centre, international trade fair and exhibition centre, tourism area, resort, amusement park, hospital, school, sports facility, cultural centre, and cinema.

The projects are mostly in healthcare, commerce, tourism, services, education, culture, and sports but also include infrastructure works such as the Bai No Seaport, a tourist quay and a wastewater treatment plant. The province is offering investors many incentives related to taxation and land lease.

It has also approved a general plan for Ha Tien City and the Ha Tien Border Gate Economic Zone until 2040.

Vietnam's PMI improved in November

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased to 52.2 in November from 52.1 in October.

In a report released on Wednesday, IHS Markit said overall business conditions in the Vietnamese manufacturing sector improved for the second month running in November, but renewed worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and associated labour shortages limited growth momentum. 

According to the report, new orders increased for the second month running as the easing of pandemic restrictions in recent months helped raise demand in the sector. Moreover, the rate of expansion was solid and the sharpest since April. New export orders also increased again, but only modestly as COVID-19 continued to constrain international trade.

Hanoi Stock Exchange to develop commodity derivative market

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) will research and implement the commodity derivative market, focusing on agricultural products which are Vietnamese key products like coffee, pepper, cashew nuts and raw materials including gas, natural gas and oil.

The exchange is trying to diversify products that depend not only on indices but also on single stocks, and is looking for solutions to promote diversification of the investor base and develop the institutional investor system.

The appearance of the derivatives market contributes to the completion of the HNX's market structure and the completion of the Vietnamese stock market operational structure according to international practices.

Vietnam's Online Shopping Day kicks off

The event, dubbed ‘Online Friday 2021’, began at 00:00 hours on December 3, marking the start of the largest online shopping event in the country lasting 60 hours. It will run until 12:00 noon on December 5.

Consumers can obtain vouchers at https://onlinefriday.vn, mobile apps and websites of the programme’s partners. More than 300,000 products are on discount, and over 50,000 vouchers have been offered.

Vietnamese-Russian firms cooperate to develop LNG projects

The PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) has signed a cooperation agreement with gas industry company Novatek of Russia, on the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and energy projects in Vietnam.

PV Power is focusing on the development of LNG projects for its ‘green’ and sustainable growth, and seeking foreign partners with enormous potential and experience in the field so as to realise its strategy.

In late 2020, a consortium comprising PV Power, COLAVI, Tokyo Gas and Marubeni reached a memorandum of understanding on LNG project development. The construction of the LNG Quang Ninh power plant, part of the cooperation, started this October.

11,900 enterprises established in November

According to the General Statistics Office, the country saw 11,900 newly established enterprises with total registered capital of nearly 150 trillion VND (6.6 billion USD) in November, up 38 percent month-on-month. The number of registered employees stood at 76,600, an increase of 30.2 percent

Despite a significant improvement compared to October, the average registered capital of a new enterprise in the month was only 12.6 billion VND, down 4.5 percent over the previous month and a decline of 42.1 percent year-on-year

As many 4,958 enterprises resumed their operations in November, an increase of 15.2 percent compared to the previous month.

Compiled by Mai Lan

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS DECEMBER 2

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