Russia’s demand for farm products would increase in the time ahead as the Russia-Ukraine war has led to a supply crunch.

The prices of Vietnamese exports and imports, especially aquatic products and fertilizers, have headed towards highs due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Russia is a promising market of Vietnamese agricultural products in terms of both export and import.

The armed conflict will significantly affect Vietnam’s export of farm products to Russia as well as its import from the country in the short run, he stressed.

In addition, the US, the European Commission, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy have announced the removal of a number of Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, which would hinder transactions in the time ahead.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong pointed out difficulties in payment as a result of the conflict. However, Russia’s demand for farm products would increase in the time ahead as the Russia-Ukraine war has led to a supply crunch, which is a good opportunity for Vietnam, he said.

Vietnam may export agricultural products to Russia at high prices if the Southeast Asian nation changes the payment methods flexibly, the economist suggested.

Phong also thought that Vietnamese agricultural products can still access the Russian market, and Vietnamese firms can even open production establishments in the country which has high demand for farm produce, especially in the winter.

Some domestic exporters said they are also affected by the suspension of flights to Russia.

Domestic gold prices climb to all-time high of over VND67 mln/tael

Gold bar prices in Vietnam skyrocketed to more than VND67 million per tael, the highest recorded figure in history on March 2 after nosediving to VND66 million per tael the previous day.

At 9:25 a.m. on March 2, the Saigon Gold and Jewelry Company quoted its SJC gold price at VND66.55 million per tael for buying and VND67.35 million per tael for selling in Ho Chi Minh City, and VND66.55 million per tael for buying and VND67.37 million per tael for selling in Hanoi.

These latest price changes represent rises of VND1 million in terms of both buying and selling compared to March 1 transactions.

Simultaneously, Phu Nhuan PNJ Company listed each tael of SJC gold at between VND65.65 million and VND66.4 million for buying and selling respectively.

In the global market, the March 2 trading session witnessed gold prices hover at roughly US$1,945.8 per ounce, an increase of US$37 per ounce from the previous day.

Vietnam welcomes some new policies in March

New rules on real estate business, registration fees for battery-driven electric cars, and the management of product traceability are among the new policies of the government to take effect from March.
Vietnam welcomes some new policies in March

Decree No.02/2022/ND-CP dated January 6 is guiding the implementation of some regulations in the Law on Property Trading.

The regulation includes conditions for businesses and individual property traders; types of contract models for real estate businesses; transfer of house rental and buying contracts; and others.

Also from March 1, the registration fees for battery-driven electric cars are to be zero per cent within the next three years following Decree No.10/2022/ND-CP issued on January 15.

In the following two years, for the first time of payment of the registration fee, the rate will be 50 per cent of that applied for petrol-fueled cars with the same number of seats.

Meanwhile, starting from March 15, Decree No.13/2022/ND-CP dated January 21 will amend some regulations in previous decrees guiding the Law on Product and Goods Quality and the Law on Measurement.

Accordingly, Decree 13 adds the regulation on the management of product traceability. The Ministry of Science and Technology will take responsibility for this issue.

Establishment of steering committee for international financial center in HCMC proposed

The HCMC government has proposed the prime minister establish a national steering committee to develop an international financial center in the city led by a deputy prime minister.

HCMC Chairman Phan Van Mai on March 1 sent a document on the progress of the center’s development to the prime minister and the Ministry of Finance, Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Accordingly, the national steering committee should include leaders of the Ministries of Planning-Investment, Finance, Justice, Natural Resources-Environment and Construction, the State Bank of Vietnam, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam and the HCMC government.

The city has completed the draft plan on the center’s development, clarifying the international financial center model in HCMC, action plans and proposals on policies.

In addition, the city held a seminar to consult with experts and representatives of financial and economic organizations and universities over the draft plan. The city will continue improving the draft plan and work with the relevant ministries and agencies.

The HCMC government expected to submit the plan to the prime minister in April.

Dat Xanh invests VND12.5 trillion in property project in Dong Nai

Dat Xanh Group (DXG) has announced that its subsidiary Ha An Real Estate Investment and Trading JSC would conduct a project which will require an investment of VND12.5 trillion and cover 152 hectares of land in Dong Nai Province.

The director board of Dat Xanh has assigned the general director of Ha An to negotiate and sign contracts relating to the execution of the project.

Earlier, DXG had approved the issuance of a maximum of VND4 trillion worth of bonds this year.

The group had later passed a resolution to contribute an additional VND4 trillion to Ha An Real Estate Investment and Trading JSC, raising its ownership at the subsidiary to nearly VND12.8 trillion, or 99.99%.

In addition, DXG has transferred 99.99% of its shares, valued at nearly VND2.5 trillion, in Hoi An Invest and its entire capital, which is higher than VND255 billion, at Xuan Dinh Company to Ha An.

Over 1,650 Vietnamese firms receive codes to export farm produce to China

As of March 1, 1,656 Vietnamese firms had received codes granted by China, enabling them to export farm produce and food products to the Chinese market.

According to the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), as of March 1, 1,656 Vietnamese exporters with 1,776 products had received codes in line with the new regulations on farming region supervision and origin tracking of farm produce under Orders 248 and 249 of China.

Of the total firms, 779 are exporters of aquatic products, 187 are recommended to the Chinese side by the MARD's Plant Protection Department, and 11 are milk producers.

According to the SPS Vietnam, the current biggest difficulty is the slow approval process of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) without any regulation on the duration for approving the issuance of codes for businesses.

Crude oil, real estate drive HCM City’s budget collection

Surging crude oil prices and earnings from real estate have pushed up Ho Chi Minh City’s state budget collection by nearly 15 percent in the first two months of 2022, as compared with the corresponding time last year.

The municipal Statistics Office reported that the southern economic hub collected some 88.04 trillion VND (3.85 billion USD) in January and February, completing 22.8 percent of the estimate for the whole year.

The city’s domestic collection reached 66.32 trillion VND, meeting 25.6 percent of the estimate and up 17.2 percent year-on-year.

Notably, the city earned 3.21 trillion VND from crude oil in the months, a year-on-year rise of 77.7 percent; and exports and imports amounted to 18.5 trillion VND, up 1.4 percent.

Local budget revenue stood at 27.28 trillion VND, 16.2 percent of the estimate and up 79.2 percent from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, HCM City’s budget spending decreased 39.6 percent to 5.78 trillion VND, or 5.8 percent of the estimate.

Reference exchange rate down 4 VND on March 2

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange for the US dollar at 23,133 VND/USD on March 2, down 4 VND from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,827 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,439 VND/USD.

The opening-hour rates at commercial banks fluctuated in different directions.

At 8:30am, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,645 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,955 VND/USD, both up 5 VND from March 1.

Meanwhile, BIDV raised the buying rate by 10 VND to 22,675 VND/USD and reduced the selling rate by 25 VND to 22,955 VND/USD.

U.S. becomes largest importer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products

The United States surpassed China to become the largest buyer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products with a total value of US$2.3 billion in the first two months of the year, making up 28.2%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In a report on the import-export of agro-forestry-fishery products in February issued on March 1, Vietnam’s total import-export revenue from agro-forestry-fishery products reached nearly US$14.2 billion in the two months, up 15.8% year-on-year, including US$8 billion from exports and US$6.2 billion from imports.

China was the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products with nearly US$1.3 billion, followed by Japan with US$586 million and South Korea with US$376 million.

Over the past many years, China has always been the largest export market of Vietnam.

Ample room to boost Vietnamese coffee presence in Algeria

There remains plenty of room to boost Vietnamese coffee exports to Algeria, as coffee is the leading export item to this market, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria.

Algeria is a country that is unable to grow its own coffee, meaning it has to import the product to fully meet domestic demand. Every year sees the North African country import approximately 130,000 tonnes of coffee beans of all kinds with a value of US$300 million.

Apart from green coffee, Vietnamese enterprises can promote the export of processed and instant coffee with a higher added value.

Last year witnessed Vietnamese coffee exports to Algeria surge by 6.3% to reach US$99.68 million, making up 65% of the country’s total export value, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria.

Shrimp exports enjoy positive growth in most major markets

The opening months of the year saw positive growth in terms of Vietnamese shrimp exports, with many local businesses boosting production and fulfilling orders signed in late 2021.

According to statistics compiled by Vietnam Customs, shrimp export turnover in January reached over US$313 million, marking a rise of 43% over the same period from last year. Of the figure, the export value in most major markets enjoyed positive growth.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in January the export value of white-leg shrimp hit nearly US$238 million, thereby marking a year-on-year rise of 39%, while that of black tiger shrimp reached approximately US$43 million, up 92%. Among exported shrimp products, the export value of processed black tiger shrimp witnessed the highest increase of 157%.

According to local shrimp processing enterprises, the nation’s flexible adaptation to COVID-19 indicates optimistic signs for Vietnamese shrimp export activities in the coming year. However, a lack of raw materials at the beginning of the year, coupled with high sea freight rates and production costs, continue to represent great challenges for local businesses.

Vietnamese honey risks losing US market due to high anti-dumping tariff

The local beekeeping sector is at risks of being negatively impacted in the event that the United States imposes an anti-dumping tariff of up to 400%, according to industry insiders.

This comes amid the US Department of Commerce planning to apply its highest ever tariff rate of over 412% on raw honey imported from the nation, which exports more than 85% of its honey to the US market.

The final conclusion on the application of the tax rates is set to be issued by the US Department of Commerce in April.

Currently, there are roughly 35 Vietnamese companies exporting honey, with an annual turnover reaching between US$70 million and US$100 million.

NA chairman orders supervision of Nghi Son Refinery’s finance

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has asked agencies under the NA to supervise the finance of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC and the domestic fuel supply.

Specifically, the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee was assigned to supervise the operation and financial capacity of Nghi Son, the local media reported.

The NA Chairman also asked NA’s agencies to supervise the deployment of the NA’s Resolution 42/2021 which allows the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group to use the after-tax profit to subsidize Nghi Son’s products. The Government must report the subsidy to the NA annually.

The NA’s Finance-Budget and Economic Committees were also asked to keep a close watch on the production and import of fuels to ensure the fuel supply and stabilize the local fuel market.

Tra fish prices hit three-year high

Tra fish prices soared to VND30,000-VND32,000 per kilogram, the highest level since 2019, resulting in tra fish farmers earning profits of VND5,000-VND7,000 for each kilogram sold.

Many local farmers attributed the price hike to a scarcity in tra fish supply, as many tra fish farming households suspended operations after they suffered consecutive losses.

Duong Nghia Quoc, chairman of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, advised localities to control tra fish farming areas, avoid raising the fish en masse and closely cooperating with local exporters to prevent the oversupply of fish and the sharp drop in price.

In 2022, the local tra fish sector looks to produce over 1.6 million tons of tra fish products and achieve over US$1.7 billion in export revenue.

Disbursed public investment capital close to 9% in two-month period

Disbursed investment capital from the State budget during the initial two months of the year stood at an estimated VND46.3 trillion, equal to 8.8% of the year plan and growing by 10.4% over the same period from 2021, according to data provided by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Disbursed investment capital from the State budget in February was estimated to be at VND20,500 billion, an increase of 9.9% over the same period from last year.

Most notably, disbursed investment capital managed by the Government reached VND6,400 billion, equal to 6.4% of the yearly plan, an increase of 10.1% over the same period last year.

Disbursed investment capital managed by localities hit a figure of VND39,900 billion, equivalent to 9.3% of the year plan, up by 10.4% on-year.

These banks have the most extensive networks in Vietnam

As of December 31, state-owned commercial banks continued to hold the top spot when it comes to their branch network.

In terms of the number of branches, Agribank has maintained its position as the biggest bank in the country with 939 locations (171 first-grade branches, 768 second-grade branches).

Meanwhile, BIDV has 189 branches, VietinBank has 155 branches, and Vietcombank has 89 branches.

After the deal of MHB and BIDV in 2015, BIDV extended its nationwide network.

Regarding private commercial banks, Sacombank, boasting 109 branches, holds the top spot in the group.

MB (99 branches), LienVietPostBank (76 branches), HDBank (72 branches), VPBank (66 branches), and MSB (62 branches) are the next most popular banks in Vietnam. This is partially due to the former deals between local banks, such as Sacombank and Southern Bank or HDBank and Dai A Bank.

DongA Bank has maintained its nationwide network effectively despite being under special supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam since 2015.

Divestment plans at State-owned enterprises attract little attention

Many State-owned enterprises have announced their auction schedule for capital divestment plans, but not all of them are attracting customers.

Among the 122 million shares of Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank or LPB) brought to auction by the Vietnam Post on HNX recently, only 800 shares were registered for purchase by a few individual investors.

The recent auction of 35 million shares of Binh Duong Trade And Development JSC (TDC) with a starting price of VND27,900 per share was also regarded as a failure as only 50,000 shares were sold to four individual investors.

The auction of the capital portion of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) at Chau Duc Urban Development and Construction Joint Stock Company was also recently cancelled due to no investors participating.

NTP stock of Tien Phong Plastic JSC has reached a price of approximately VND70,000 per share at the end of January 2021 after SCIC announced a plan to divest capital in February, but the divestment has not yet been confirmed and NTP shares have dropped 10 per cent from its market price.

Similarly, BMI shares of Bao Minh Corporation also touched VND45,800 per share, but now are trading around VND38,000 per share.

At the end of last week, some investors registered to buy shares of HUD1 Investment and Construction JSC (HUD1) without carefully considering the health of this business. Interested investors must register to buy the whole lot with a starting price of VND75 billion, equivalent to the market price of HUD1 being traded on the floor.

The long-term capital contribution investment with Dai Thien Loc Company of VND13 billion to implement the Lien Bao-Bac Ninh project which has lasted since 2011 also faces potential risks in terms of investment.

Viet Nam's tuna exports up strongly in January

Viet Nam's tuna export turnover in January reached US$88 million, up 108 per cent over the same period in 2021, according to the General Department of Customs.

The tuna exports grew very strongly to most of Viet Nam's major tuna export markets.

Frozen tuna fillets were still the main products in Viet Nam's tuna exports, accounting for more than 66 per cent of total exports in January.

Of which, Viet Nam saw a strong increase in exported frozen tuna fillets and other processed tuna (mainly frozen tuna loin) at 172 per cent and 278 per cent, respectively, over the same period.

The large export markets for Vietnamese tuna products have had a strong recovery in consumption demand when those opened after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. They included the US, Europe, Israel, Italy, Canada, Japan, CPTPP, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The US was still Viet Nam's largest tuna export market in January with an export value of $44 million, up

Low interest rates put pressure on non-life insurers

Though the economic recovery can give non-life insurers opportunities to improve revenue, it will be still difficult for them to increase profits as the majority of their investment portfolios are bank savings and government bonds, whose interest rates are forecast to remain at low levels this year.

According to the current legal regulations, non-life insurers have to use at least 70 per cent of their capital to deposit at banks or buy government bonds to ensure the insurers’ capital safety. Therefore, the current low interest rates of the two channels are a disadvantage for insurers to increase their profits.

Besides, the insurers are not also allowed to invest much in real estate and stock markets, which are forecast to have positive growth in 2022, due to the control of the ratio in their investment portfolios. According to Law on Insurance Business, non-life insurers are allowed to spend a maximum of 35 per cent of their idle capital from insurance reserves to invest in securities, corporate bonds, fund certificates, capital contribution to other businesses; and a maximum of 10 per cent of their idle capital in real estate. The two channels therefore will be unlikely to account for a high proportion of the insurers’ total profits.

Industry insiders said the key solution to maintain stable profits for non-life insurers this year is still to strictly control the compensation rate and increase effectiveness from investment activities.

CPI rises as food and fuel spike

Viet Nam's CPI has increased by 1 per cent in February and 1.42 per cent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam.

The office said the increased CPI was a result of rising global petrol prices and the after effect of the Tet holiday, which typically raises prices due to a spike in demand.

In the first two months of 2022, CPI climbed by 1.68 per cent over the same period last year, and core inflation by 0.67 per cent.

In February, among the 11 commodity and service baskets, 10 reported increases, with the highest seen in transport. Meanwhile, prices of post and telecommunications declined by 0.04 per cent.

The GSO pointed out that core inflation in February rose by 0.49 per cent over the previous month, and by 0.68 per cent over the same period last year. In the first two months, core inflation increased by 0.67 per cent year-on-year, lower than the general average CPI, which reflects the fluctuation of consumer prices mainly due to rising prices of food and fuel. 

Energy projects to be inspected

The Government Inspectorate will conduct a comprehensive examination of renewable power plants.

According to a decision from the government’s Deputy Inspector General Le Sy Bay, any projects under the Power Development Plan (PDP) built between 2011 and 2021 will need to be looked at.

The inspection will take 85 days, focusing on the planning, management, and implementation of the schemes.

This decision has been sent to the people's committees of several provinces that have recently developed renewable energy programmes.

These facilities, especially solar projects, have overloaded the power transmission system, limiting output, reducing development potential, and damaging investors.

New steering committee suggested to resolve issues for supporting industries

The government should establish a national steering committee, headed by a deputy prime minister, to promptly resolve problems and challenges facing supporting industries, according to Nguyen Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries (VASI).

Local content by Vietnamese firms in supporting industries remains low, according to Hoang, around 1 – 2 percent in hi-tech industry, 5 – 20 percent in automobile, 15 – 20 percent in mechanical engineering, 5 – 10 percent in electronics, and 30 percent in footwear and garment-textile.

As a result, Vietnam had to import billions of USD worth of components for production annually, he stressed.

The official further noted that just 0.2 percent of the nearly 1 million Vietnamese enterprises operate in supporting industries, far below that of regional peers.

Hoang recommended the government to provide exclusive incentives in terms of funding for enterprises in supporting industries and connect domestic producers with major international corporations doing business in Vietnam to help them engage more deeply in supply chains. 

Poor-performing State firms – focus of restructuring: PM

The restructuring of State-owned enterprises should focus on poor-performing and loss-making firms, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested.

A notice dated February 28 issued by the Government’s Office regarding the PM’s conclusions at a Cabinet meeting on the project on restructuring State businesses for 2021-2025 further said that at the meeting, the leader stressed the need to consolidate institutions, mechanisms and policies to ensure that State enterprises play a key role in the national economy.

The restructuring does not mean the equitisation of businesses, the PM said, adding that more efforts are needed to reform administrative procedures in order to accelerate the process, divestment and restructuring of enterprises.

He also ordered improving business administration, taking solutions to effectively allocate State resources, utilising such resources as capital, land and brands at businesses, closely managing capital and assets of the State and enterprises in line with legal regulations.

Vietnam to import additional petroleum and adjust tax

Increasing petroleum imports and raising related taxes is deemed an effective solution to offset the shortfall in domestic output. By doing so, the retail selling price of gasoline is hoped to be reduced.

According to the latest decision issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), 10 petroleum retailers and distributors will import an additional 2.4 million cubic metres of petroleum in the second quarter of 2022. Of which, the volume of imported gasoline amounts to 840,000 cu.m and oil to about 1.56 million cu.m.

Importing distributors and retailers include Petrolimex, PVOil, Hai Ha Waterway Transport Co., Ltd., and Hai Linh Co., Ltd., among others.

According to the MoIT, it is expected that Nghi Son Oil Refinery will operate at 85 per cent of its capacity from March 15 and at full capacity from April. However, the increase in imports in the coming time is to ensure supply for the domestic market as global oil prices are forecast to increase.

Goertek commits additional $306 million to its multimedia equipment project in Bac Ninh

Goertek, one of three major suppliers for Apple in Vietnam, has poured additional funds into its project in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

China-backed Goertek, the world’s renowned supplier of acoustic components, has expanded its investment capital by $306 million for its factory for electronic and multimedia equipment located in Bac Ninh's Que Vo Industrial Park.

This is the second biggest project the company has undertaken since the start of 2022. 

Vietnam aims to complete five crucial transport projects this term

The government on March 1 held an online meeting with cities and provinces about the pre-feasibility studies of five key national transport projects.

The projects are the Beltway 4-Hanoi, the Beltway 3-Ho Chi Minh City, Chau Doc-Can Tho-Soc Trang Expressway, Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot Expressway; and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Expressway. Altogether, they have a total length of over 500km.

Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said infrastructure development, including transport infrastructure, is one of the country’s three strategic pillars. The government targets to have 2,000km of expressways in this term.

Vietnam sets up steering committee for 6G development

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has signed a decision on establishing a steering committee for studying and developing 6G.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung is the leader of the steering committee; Deputy Minister of MIC Pham Duc Long is its deputy head. The committee's members include leaders of MIC departments and agencies, as well as its state corporations like Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone.

The steering committee is to study and submit to authorised agencies the orientation, strategy, and policies to create a legal environment for developing 6G standards and applications, as well as information security, production, and commercialisation of 6G devices in Vietnam.

The committee will also collect studies and development standards from international organisations and nations worldwide. From there, the committee can work on forecasts about local and international telecoms market development, and then build a roadmap for study, production, and commercialisation of 6G devices, a 6G pilot, and supporting policies for Vietnamese firms.

MPI recognises UOB for supporting companies to invest nearly $3.7 billion

The award was presented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to UOB on February 26 in recognition of the bank’s continued efforts in facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Vietnam and supporting companies in the country. UOB is the first Singaporean bank to receive the award.

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO at UOB, receives a certificate of merit from Do Nhat Hoang, director general at the MPI 's Foreign Investment Agency in the presence of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

UOB has helped more than 200 companies from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and China to invest in Vietnam since signing an MoU with Vietnam’s Foreign Investment Agency in 2015.

These companies have projected to invest more than $3.39 billion and create more than 20,000 jobs in Vietnam.

The bank is also set to facilitate a pipeline of $2.43 billion potential investments from companies in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and consumer goods in the next three years. These investments are expected to create another 13,000 jobs in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s manufacturing maintains growth momentum in Feb

The Vietnamese manufacturing sector remained in recovery mode in February, seeing growth accelerate further and confidence maintained, according to the latest report of IHS Markit.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 54.3 in February, up from 53.7 in January and signaling a pick-up in growth for the fourth month running.

Business conditions improved in each of the past five months following the disruption caused by the Delta wave of the Covid pandemic in 2021.

The improving growth momentum overall was again supported by stronger customer demand. New orders increased sharply and the rate of expansion quickened to a 10-month high. Improving international demand was also reported in February, leading to another marked rise in exports.

Vietnam posts US$2.3-billion trade deficit in Feb as imports soar

Vietnam incurred a trade deficit of US$2.3 billion in February as imports grew faster than exports, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Data of the GSO showed that in February, exports rose 13.2% against the same period last year to US$22.95 billion, while imports surged 21.9% to US$25.28 billion. For the first two months of the year, exports reached US$53.7 billion, a 10% year-on-year rise.

The domestic sector got US$14.2 billion from exports, soaring 24 % year-on-year and accounting for 26.6% of the total. The foreign-invested sector, including crude oil, fetched US$39.5 billion, rising 6% and accounting for 73.4%.

On the other hand, Vietnam spent US$54.7 billion on imports, increasing 16% year-on-year.

Imports of the domestic sector reached US$18.2 billion, rising 17% year-on-year and making up 33% of the total, while the foreign-invested sector imported goods worth US$36.4 billion, increasing 15%.

The United States was Vietnam’s biggest export market, spending some US$18.3 billion on Vietnamese goods. Meanwhile, China was Vietnam’s largest supplier, exporting goods worth US$20.8 billion to Vietnam.

Source: VNA/SGT/VOV/VNS/VIR/VGP/SGGP

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 1

Cabinet meeting looks into major transport projects