HCM City posts GRDP growth of 7.76 percent in year’s first half

Ho Chi Minh City posted 585 trillion VND (25.74 billion USD) in the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in the first half of 2018, a growth of 7.76 percent from the same period last year, as heard at a meeting on July 3.

The meeting was held by the municipal People’s Committee to review the local socio-economic development for the January-June period with Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong in attendance.

The city’s total revenue from retail sales of consumer goods and services rose by 12.5 percent year-on-year to 510.19 trillion VND (nearly 22 billion USD), while its earnings from exports reached 18.12 billion USD, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

Approximately 184 trillion VND (7.9 billion USD) was collected for the State budget during the period, making up about 48.7 percent of the yearly target.

Some 21,500 new enterprises were set up with the total registered capital of nearly 249 trillion VND (10.7 billion USD), while 483 FDI projects, worth a total of over 486.5 million USD, were granted investment licences. Most of the new FDI projects were seen in the sectors of manufacturing and processing, retail and wholesale, and real estate.

Despite such encouraging growth, the local economy showed weaknesses. The city’s four key industries only accounted for 10 percent of the GRDP: food processing (2.97 percent), mechanical manufacturing (2.54 percent), chemicals-pharmaceuticals-rubber (2.33 percent), and electronics (2.17 percent).

To address the issue, Phong requested relevant departments and agencies to hold dialogues with industrial producers with capital exceeding 100 billion VND to learn about their difficulties and come up with proper solutions to facilitate their production and boost the industry.

Ho Chi Minh City set to achieve a GRDP growth rate of 8.3-8.5 percent this year. It also aims to establish 46,000 new enterprises, cut the poverty rate by 1 percent, and generate jobs for 130,000 labourers. 

Vietnam’s export of aquatic products grows strongly in year’s first half

Vietnam’s export of aquatic products maintained a two-digit growth in the first half of 2018 and is forecast to continue growing strongly in the rest of the year despite plunging shrimp prices across the world. 

Seafood exports reached a value of nearly 4 billion USD during the period, up 12.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP). 

In June, basa fish brought home over 200 million USD, up nearly 33 percent annually, bringing the six-month figure to about 1 billion USD, up 21 percent. 

Apart from those to the EU, basa fish exports to other markets remain optimistic, particularly in China and the US. 

Thanks to close quality control by the US Department of Agriculture, US-based consumers and rivals have no reasons to boycott Vietnamese basa fish. Moreover, positive signs from other markets, such as in China, also raised basa fish prices considerably. 

VASEP statistics showed that shrimp exports went up 7.6 percent year-on-year to top 1.6 billion USD in the year’s first half. 

Despite the impact of the EU’s “yellow card” warning on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, tuna shipments exceeded 300 million USD during the period, up 13 percent year-on-year. Cuttlefish and octopus exports moved up 13 percent to roughly 300 million USD, while other seafood exports neared 653 million USD, marking a 14 percent increase. 

Firms predicted that seafood exports will keep growing over the last half of the year thanks to an increase in demand. A number of domestic processing enterprises have signed contracts to serve major holidays later this year. 

Seafood exports to the US, Vietnam’s largest importer, inched up 1.3 percent from last year, reaching 626 million USD, and was followed by exports to Japan, up 4.8 percent with a value of around 600 million USD. 

Following the IUU “yellow card” warning, seafood exports to the EU still grew, but only by around 2.7 percent, placing the EU fourth among Vietnam’s major export markets, behind the US, Japan, and China. 

With 586 million USD in revenue in the year’s first half, up 16.7 percent annually, China is now the third largest importer of Vietnamese aquatic products. 

VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said China is likely to become Vietnam’s largest seafood importer in the near future. Last year, China was ranked amongst the top billion USD seafood export markets in Vietnam for the first time, coming in fourth place with a value of 1.28 billion USD and accounting for 15 percent of the market share. 

Over the past five years, Vietnam’s basa fish exports to China have surged 21-31 percent annually. 

However, China’s mass purchase of Vietnam’s seafood materials is also harming the supply to domestic processing plants, making it hard for authorities to control the chemical content and quality of seafood materials for export, thus hurting the image and trademark of Vietnamese seafood in China and abroad. 

VASEP has recently suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issue and check quality certificates before goods are shipped to China by road, while inspecting seafood processing facilities to ensure quality.

Tien Giang attracts over 310 million USD in investment

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang lured over 7 trillion VND (over 310 million USD) in 18 new investment projects in the first six months of 2018, up 9 projects and 4.47 times in capital compared to the same period last year. 

According to Le Van Nghia, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, the province granted investment licences to seven new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the period. 

Three existing projects also registered to increase capital by a total of over 212 billion VND (9.3 million USD), raising total newly-licensed and increased foreign investments to nearly 7.25 trillion VND (nearly 319.3 million USD), up 2.37 times compared to the same period last year. 

The provincial People’s Committee has assigned departments and sectors to build the list of investment projects, in line with the resources, strengths, and development targets of each area, thus rolling out plans to introduce and call for investment, especially for key projects with regional links.

It is hoped to contribute to generating more jobs for local residents, increasing exports, and promoting the locality’s socio-economic development in a rapid and sustainable manner. 

According to Nguyen Van Dao, Chairman of the provincial Association of Enterprises, the province boasts many advantages to attract investment as it is located in the southern key economic region with a convenient transport network, as well as being abundant in workforce and natural resources. 

Local officials said more attention will be paid to accelerating the administrative procedure reform, especially those related to investment, business, land, construction, the environment, and law.

Measures will be also devised to better the Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) and the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), towards attracting more investment into the locality.  

Ministry urges localities to continue fighting IUU fishing

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has requested coastal provinces and cities to employ multiple measures to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The request was the latest move by the MARD in an effort to have the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” lifted off Vietnamese seafood. 

On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing.

The MARD told provinces and cities to step up its campaign on raising awareness and updating local fishermen and seafood exporters on the “yellow card” and anti-IUU fishing regulations.

In the second half of 2018, coastal provinces and cities were recommended to mobilise resources and put forth suitable measures to monitor local fishing fleets. They were encouraged to apply strict punishments to fishermen arrested or detected on tracker systems for their illegal fishing on foreign waters. Those violators are subject to having their fishing licences revoked permanently. 

The ministry also asked local authorities to collect all Movimar satellite geo-positioning devices installed on fishing ships under 24m in length for reinstalling on ships whose lengths are 24m or longer. These ship owners and captains were required to turn on Movimar devices around the clock when going fishing offshore.

The MARD recommended provinces and cities upgrade the GPS-integrated VX-1700 satellite communication machines which have been installed on ships and port management units to ensure automatic reports on ship arrivals. 

A working delegation from the EC’s General Directorate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries visited Vietnam from May 16-24 to inspect the country’s implementation of the EC’s nine recommendations related to the fight against IUU fishing.

The nine recommendations included revisions to the legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules, applicable to the conservation and management of fisheries resources; ensuring the effective implementation and enforcement of the country’s revised laws; and strengthening the effective implementation of international rules and management measures.

The EC’s delegation said the Vietnamese localities’ efforts against the IUU fishing had shown little improvement and remained particularly weak in some specific areas. 

The EC inspectors will return to Vietnam in January 2019 to review the country’s progress in addressing its “yellow card” warning. 

Vietnamese rice exports to Malaysia soar over last five months

Vietnam shipped close to 122.4 million USD worth of rice products to Malaysia in the first five months of 2018, surging 177 percent from the same period last year.

The sharp growth pushed rice to fourth place among the top five Vietnamese exports to Malaysia between January and May. These exports, whose revenue all exceeded 100 million USD, included phones and their component parts; computers, electronic devices and components; steel and iron products; and glass products.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the morning of July 3, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Malaysia Pham Quoc Anh said the increase of Vietnamese rice exports is a result of the decrease in rice supply from other countries to Malaysia.

Vietnamese firms took the opportunity to boost shipments of aromatic and glutinous rice, in which Vietnam has a price advantage, he added.

He said improved rice trade promotion activities via exhibitions, trade fairs, and business networking events supported by commercial agencies were also a growth drive.

He highlighted the trademark building of Vietnamese rice in the Malaysian market, which is currently dominated by brands from domestic enterprises, as well as those from Thailand and Japan.

Quoc Anh said the Vietnamese Trade Office in Malaysia has supported the Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) in its partnership with the Malaysian-based ZNTEC company to build and promote Hapro-branded rice products for exclusive distribution in Sabab and Sarawak states.

The assistance also reached Loc Troi Group, which is making efforts to build trademark for its jasmine rice, he noted.

The trade counsellor said he believes Vietnamese rice will secure a strong foothold with well recognised brands in Malaysia.

Binh Phuoc attracts nearly 120 million USD in FDI in 6 months

The southern province of Binh Phuoc has lured 17 foreign-invested projects since the beginning of 2018, with total investment of over 119.5 million USD, according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

So far, the province has hosted 182 FDI projects worth over 1.6 billion USD, reported the department.

The majority of FDI in Binh Phuoc poured into small and medium-sized projects. However, in the first half of 2018, there were projects with high brainpower ratio and disbursement capacity.

Notably, five carbon fibre factories worth over 80 million USD funded by the Republic of Korea firms were launched in Chon Thanh district in March.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Huynh Anh Minh said that attracting investments in high-tech support industry such as carbon fibre production and factory chains with high brainpower ratio is a priority of the province.

Minh said that over the past years, FDI flows in the province have been improved in quality and scale, as well as technology and capital.

In late June, a delegation of Japanese businesses visited Binh Phuoc to seek investment opportunities, especially in golf course building, solar power, waste treatment, and health care.

Binh Phuoc leaders pledged to create best possible conditions for investors in land use, while giving them preferential policies.

Binh Phuoc also encouraged investors to focus on building waste treatment plants in industrial parks.

Quang Ninh develops competitive index

Taking ideas from the provincial competitiveness index (PCI), the northeastern province of Quang Ninh launched the Department and District Competitiveness Index (DDCI) in 2015.

The index measures the efficiency of economic management of the local government through eight criteria, including transparency, proactivity of leadership, time costs of regulatory compliance, informal charges, policy bias, legal institutions, business support and accountability of leaders.

The DDCI was officially implemented in 21 departments and 14 localities across the province in 2016, according to deputy head of the provincial department for investment promotion and support Vu Thi Kim Chi.

The programme helps the province identify shortcomings and improve the quality of economic governance of local authorities and departments, Chi said, adding that this creates competition on management quality and aids administrative reform.

Furthermore, the DDCI creates a widespread, transparent and reliable channel for businesses and investors to give feedback to local authorities and increases the role and responsibility of the business community in building a local management apparatus.

After two years of implementation, the programme has brought positive outcomes. Businesses are required to build annual action programmes on improving investment environment, the PCI and DDCI.

Quang Ninh, for the first time, became the most competitive locality in the country, topping the PCI 2017.

The province only attracted 3.39 billion USD in the 15 years from 1986 to 2011. However, foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into Quang Ninh in 2012-2017 exceeded 3 billion USD, raising total foreign investment to the locality to more than 6 billion USD, Chi said.

The presence of major investors at home and abroad such as the US, Japan, Singapore and Thailand has created strong momentum for the local economy, she added.

The province has taken measures to reform administrative procedures, reduce production costs for businesses and create an environment for them to enhance competitiveness.

Every three months, local authorities meet with enterprises to note their opinions and remove bottlenecks.

In 2017, the province piloted the implementation of social network analysis in 16 agencies, expanding interaction with the business community, according to Chi.

Speaking at a recent conference on evaluating the local Public Administrative Reform (PAR Index), Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS), and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) in 2017, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Doc said the province will further its efforts to hasten administrative reform in 2018.

”Quang Ninh will continuously work to maintain its position among the top performers of those indexes,” he said.

He instructed sectors and branches to press ahead with administrative procedure reforms, enhance the efficiency of public administrative centres, cut unnecessary administrative procedures, complete e-government apparatus and pay provide training for public servants.

In the PCI 2017 report launched by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the US Agency for International Development in March 2018, Quang Ninh gained the top score of 70.7 on a 100 point scale.

The report has been produced annually since 2005 to assess the ease of doing business, economic governance and administrative reform efforts by provinces and cities in Vietnam.

The 2017 PCI Report is the 13th iteration and is based on responses from 12,000 enterprises, including more than 10,200 domestic private enterprises from 63 cities and provinces and nearly 1,800 foreign invested enterprises in 21 provinces nationwide.

According to the report, Quang Ninh was followed closely by central Da Nang city (70.1 points). The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap ranked third with 68.8 points.

Binh Phuoc warns farmers over uncertified cashew

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Phuoc province has warned local farmers not to grow new cashew varieties that have not been certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure cashew quality is not affected.  

Farmers in the country’s largest cashew growing province have begun to replant old cashew trees since the start of the rainy season in summer.

They are planting varieties like AB29 and AB05-08 that have not been certified, saying they produce large nuts and more fruits than existing varieties when they begin to fruit after one year.

The seedlings of the two varieties are in great demand now.

But the department said the two varieties cannot match traditional ones for quality or flavour.

Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Deputy Director of the department, said the department is monitoring the growth and disease situation of the two varieties grown on a trial basis by the Institute of Agriculture Science for Southern Vietnam’s cashew research and development centre.

It is also evaluating their quality for flavour and fat, she said.

It has petitioned the ministry to instruct relevant authorities announce the research results soon, she said.   

The department encourages farmers to replace old cashew trees with certified varieties like PN1, MH54, DP41, and PN18, which are suitable for the province’s soil conditions.

The south-eastern province needs to replant about 2,486ha this year, according to the department.

Ethnic minority, poor, and near-poor farmers and those covered by the Government preferential policies, who are replacing their old cashew trees, are provided with subsidies for seedlings.

Bu Dang and Bu Gia Map districts lead the province in the number of old cashew trees that need to be replanted this year -- 241,000 and 197,190.

Cashew farmers have suffered from poor harvests in recent years because the weather has been inclement and their trees are too old.

Duong Van Phong, who has a 4ha orchard in Bu Gia Map district, said he suffered a loss of about 15 million VND (660 USD) this year after having a poor harvest.

Disease outbreaks had caused yields to decline for the last three years, he added.

The province plans to replant 25,000ha of cashew trees and plant more than 41,000ha anew under the intensive farming model by 2020.

The cost of replanting is around 20 million VND (880 USD) per hectare while new trees cost 10 million VND (440 USD) per hectare, according to the department.

Cashew is the province’s key industrial crop and has helped people in ethnic communities and rural, mountainous and border areas to escape poverty.

Binh Phuoc’s cashew has been given geographical indication (GI) certification by the National Office of Intellectual Property.  

The province has 134,170ha under cashew, or nearly 50 percent of the country’s total area under the nut, and produces 150,000 tonnes a year.

Ben Tre: Exports up 15.3 percent in year’s first half

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre earned more than 459.3 million USD in export turnover in the first half of 2018, an increase of 15.31 percent from the same period last year, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The figure included over 346.4 million USD generated by FDI firms, up 19.25 percent year-on-year and accounting for 75.4 percent of the total export. Domestic enterprises exported 112.8 million USD worth of commodities during the period, up 4.72 percent.

Industrial products and handicrafts continued accounting for 89.58 percent of the total export turnover, bringing to the province more than 411.4 million USD, up 17.07 percent.

Notably, the export of the province’s signature products saw significant growth, including desiccated coconut meat which posted increases of 35.85 percent in volume and 43.53 percent in value, and coconut milk which experienced surges of 5.54 percent in volume and 13.98 percent in value.

However, the department warned that export of other coconut products, like fiber, candy and jelly, are likely to face a bumpy ride in the time ahead due to their heavy dependence on the market in China.

The department plans to ramp up trade promotion to help local producers seek partners and expand their markets and assist farmers in selling their products at good prices.

Ben Tre aims to generate 500 million USD from exports in the last six months of this year to bring the total export earnings to 959 million USD.

Retail sales continue positive growth in H1     

Viet Nam’s total revenue from retail sales and services in the first half of this year had maintained high growth since the beginning of the year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)

Retail goods and services posted a revenue of nearly VND2.12 quadrillion (US$94 billion) in the first six months of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 10.7 per cent. If inflation was excluded, the increase would be 8.3 per cent, higher than the 7.9 per cent growth seen in the first five months of 2017, the GSO said.

An abundant supply of essential goods and stable prices had spurred local trade and lifted purchasing power during the period, Vu Manh Ha, a GSO statistician, said.

Retail sales of goods, which accounted for 75.3 per cent of the total revenue, reached an estimated VND1.59 quadrillion ($70.9 billion) with several products recording strong increases, including food and foodstuffs (12.4 per cent), garments (12.3 per cent), home appliances (12 per cent) and transport services (8.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, retail sales in accommodation, restaurants and catering services saw a yearly increase of 9.6 per cent to VND260.9 trillion ($11.5 billion), with the central coastal provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh and Da Nang, the central highlands city of Da Lat and the northern province of Quang Ninh leading the way.

From January to June, revenue from tourism services also recorded significant on-year growth of 19.5 per cent to VND19.6 trillion ($860 million) thanks to a rising numbers of local tourists and those traveling abroad.

Viet Nam’s visa exemption policy for several Western European countries and the country’s domestic and overseas tourism promotion campaigns had also prompted tourism service revenue to grow, the GSO said, outlining some provinces and cities that recorded encouraging growth, such as Ca Mau (29 per cent), HCM City (24.3 per cent), Quang Ninh (18 per cent) and Ha Noi (14 per cent).

Sales of other services during the six months hit VND243 trillion (over $11 billion), a jump of 7.3 per cent compared to a year ago.

Vietnam enjoys trade surplus of $42.71 billion in H1     

Viet Nam posted a trade surplus of US$2.71 billion in the first half of the year, compared with a deficit of $3.5 billion in the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Nguyen Bich Lam, GSO director general told the press last week that total export turnover was $113.9 billion, a 16 per cent year-on-year rise.

Exports of the domestic sector in the period reached $33 billion, increasing 20 per cent from the corresponding period last year while those of the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector were up 14.5 per cent to $80.8 billion.

The general director said key export products saw high growth. Notably, there were 20 items with export turnover of more than $1 billion, accounting for 85.6 per cent of the country’s total export turnover. Major products posting encouraging earnings included phones and spare parts ($22.5 billion, up 15.4 per cent), electronics and computers ($13.5 billion, up 15.7 per cent), garment and textile ($13.4 billion, up 13.8 per cent), machines and equipment ($7.8 billion, up 30.6 per cent) and shoes ($7.8 billion, up 10.6 per cent).

In terms of imports, the country spent $111.2 billion in the first six months of the year, up 10 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Imports were mainly commodities serving products for export, including machines and equipment with $45 billion, up 0.7 per cent and material and fuel $56.9 billion, up 19.4 per cent.

Viet Nam maintained its trade surplus with the US, EU and Japan with relatively high growth in two-way trade, Lam added.

Bilateral trade value between Viet Nam and the US in the January-June period reached $27.1 billion, a 10.6 per cent year-on-year increase. Of which, Viet Nam’s export turnover to the US was $21.5 billion, increasing 9.2 per cent from the same period last year while import turnover rose by 16.3 per cent to $5.6 billion.

Two-way trade between Viet Nam and the EU was $26.8 billion. Viet Nam’s export turnover to the market was $20.5 billion and import turnover was $6.4 billion.

The country’s export turnover to Japan hiked 12.5 per cent to $9 billion and import value from the market was $8.8 billion, bringing total bilateral trade value of $17.9 billion in the first half of the year.

Pham Quynh Loi, GSO deputy director of the Trade and Services Statistics Department, said the domestic economic sector saw trade deficit of $12.94 billion while the FDI sector posted a trade surplus of $15.65 billion in the first half of the year.

Viet Nam maintained a trade deficit with China in January-June, with import turnover of $14.5 billion, increasing 4 per cent from the same period last year. 

Vietnamese lychees welcomed in Malaysia     

The first container of the 2018 Vietnamese lychee crop arrived in Malaysia on Monday and was warmly welcomed by consumers.

The batch was imported by the Kuala Lumpur-based Billyan Global Resources from Viet Nam’s Ha Noi Trade Corporation (Hapro).

After seeing the high demand for the fruit, Billyan Global Resources has decided to increase Vietnamese lychee imports for sale in Kuala Lumpur and nearby states, such as Selangor.

In the near future, an additional 20 containers, each weighing nearly 10 tonnes, will be delivered to Malaysia.

Apart from Malaysia, Vietnamese lychees have also been imported to demanding markets such as the US, Australia, Japan and Europe.

The Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in Malaysia Pham Quoc Anh said the Vietnamese Trade Office had been working with authorities to bring Vietnamese lychees and various other local goods – such as fruits and vegetables, seafood and processed foods – to Malaysia.

He advised Vietnamese enterprises to improve their product design, quality and delivery standards to increase their market share in Malaysia. 

Tien Giang to press on with efforts to attract investors     

The Tien Giang People’s Committee has said it will continue with its efforts to make the province more attractive for investors and seek to attract more investments.

Le Van Nghia, its deputy chairman, said this year the province has attracted investments of VND7 trillion (US$307 million), 4.47 times higher than the amount last year, in 18 new projects.

Three existing investors brought in an additional VND212 billion ($9.3 million) this year.

The People’s Committee has instructed relevant authorities to study the strengths, resources and goals of each region in the province to identify suitable investment projects for them.

Promotional plans are then made to attract investors, creating jobs, increasing exports and ensuring economic development.

To become more investor-friendly, the province has said that it will continue administrative reforms, focusing on procedures related to investment, land ownership, construction and others.

It is also working on improving its ranking in the Provincial Competitiveness Index and the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index.

Nguyen Van Dao, chairman of the Tien Giang Business Association, said the province is part of the Southern Key Economic Region, and since it is located along the Tien River it has a large network of waterways linking it with other parts of the south.

These, together with the province’s abundant resources and labour, make Tien Giang attractive to investors, he said. 

Vietnam Business Forum to connect domestic, foreign enterprises

Connecting enterprises at home and abroad for common interests is the aim of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) held in Hanoi on July 4, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc and Vice Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EurcoCham) Tomaso Andreatta have affirmed.

At a press conference in Hanoi on July 3 ahead of the event, the officials said the VBF includes three main sessions focusing on building value chains, addressing technological challenges, and developing financial resources for sustainable growth.

The forum serves as a dialogue mechanism between the Government of Vietnam and the national and international business communities to improve business conditions necessary to foster the development of private enterprises, facilitate investment environment, and contribute to sustainable economic growth.

According to Tomaso, the connectivity between domestic businesses and foreign direct investment (FDI) ones requires business restructuring because most of the Vietnamese companies are operating at a small scale and they are short of experience in sales of high-quality products with reasonable prices. 

Companies at home need international-standard management capacity and assistance from training schools, service, banking, insurance and technology companies, something not easy due to legal barriers, he said. 

In fact, many foreign firms are concerned about issues relating to intellectual property rights and dispute solution. The Vietnamese Government could do a lot to ease these problems, he added. 

Loc suggested the country focus on economic institutional reform and business environment improvement in addition to prompting import-export activities and seizing new trade and investment opportunities. 

He noted that not all ministries, departments and localities nationwide take concrete actions to reform administrative procedures and improve business climate as directed by the Government. 

For example, after four years of the implementation the National Single Window (NSW) mechanism, the number of administrative procedures deployed remains at 47 out of the total 245. 

The number of items removed from the specialized inspection category accounts for less than 6 percent.  

Among the 164 lists of goods subject to specialized inspection, up to 63 items have yet been officially promulgated by ministries and relevant departments.  

The average time for specialized examination is 76 hours per procedure, three times that of ASEAN-4 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). 

Loc stressed that the Government has requested all ministries and relevant departments to reduce and simplify half of the business requirements, and suggested strengthening cooperation mechanism between the State management agencies and the businesses. 

Besides reforming administrative procedures, improving trade and customs procedures and specialized inspections, ministries and relevant departments should make the maximum use of opportunities from commitments and execution of new-generation trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). 

This will help create breakthroughs in reforming the legal system and economic institutions comprehensively as well as bring about numerous opportunities and bright prospects for the country’s economic development, Loc affirmed.

Brazilian businesses encouraged to land investment in Vietnam

Brazilian businesses can invest in Vietnam’s manufacturing facilities to make it easier for them to penetrate its market and other ASEAN member states, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue at a meeting with influential Brazilian business leaders during his visit to the Latin American country over July 2-3.

On July 3, the Deputy PM attended a Vietnam-Brazil Trade and Investment Forum in Sao Paulo and met with leaders of some prominent Brazilian businesses such as the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP), the Brazilian Association for the Fisheries Promotion (ABRAPES), the Brazilian Association for Fishing Industries (ABIPESCA), aerospace conglomerate EMBRAER, Avibrás Aerospace Industry and Eurofarma Group.

He informed the hosts about important agreements reached during his visit, with a focus on the political determinations of leaders to step up bilateral ties, Brazil’s positive response to recognising Vietnam’s market economy status in 2018 and the building of a legal framework, which lays the foundations to facilitate trade exchange.

The two economies greatly supplement each other, however, trade exchange and investment are still below their full potential, he said while encouraging enterprises to utilize the favourable conditions offered by both governments to fully realise businesses opportunities.

The Brazilian side appreciated the outcomes of the Deputy PM’s visit to their country and showed their keen interest in Vietnam’s market with a desire to seek cooperation opportunities such as importing new seafood products like shrimp and tuna, exporting soybeans and beef, and partnering with importers of sub-150-seat aeroplanes. 

Brazilian businesses affirmed their willingness to share experience in ethanol fuel production and distribution, to collaborate in export or production of some defence products and to consider expanding cooperation in new fields such as hi-tech industries, finance and banking, education and pharmaceuticals.

Deputy PM Hue praised Brazilian businesses’ considerations and directed relevant Vietnamese ministries and sectors to help them connect with domestic partners in order to take advantage of these cooperation opportunities.

Brazilian businesses can engage in the process of restructuring Vietnamese state-owned enterprises (SoEs), and invest in manufacturing facilities to access its market and other ASEAN countries or export products to their markets. In return, the Vietnamese Government will also encourage its businesses to seek their Brazilian production and investment partners to penetrate their vast market and the South American trade bloc (MERCOSUR), he said.

On the occasion, the Deputy PM welcomed Brazilian association and business representatives for dispatching their delegations to Vietnam in order to research on the Vietnamese market and attend the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN), set to take place in Hanoi in September.

No big changes in market prices in H2: price management agency

There will be no big changes in market prices in the remaining months of this year, price management officials said at a conference on market price developments in the first half and forecasts for the whole year in Hanoi on July 3.

The Department of Price Management under the Finance Ministry said that ministries, sectors and localities are actively taking measures to stabilise the market, especially during festivals or when there are abnormal developments in the market.

According to the department, all factors behind price increases in recent months originated from the market and none came from the Government’s pricing policy.

Statistics of the General Statistics Office show that the consumer price index (CPI) in the first half of this year posted an average monthly growth of 0.37%. Year-on-year inflation rate in the period rose to 4.67%, compared to 2.65% recorded at the beginning of the year.

Nguyen Duc Do, deputy head of the Institute of Economics-Finance, said that the increase was foreseen in late 2017. He explained that pork price saw a dramatic fall in the first six months of 2017, but rose towards the year’s end into 2018. In addition, increases in petrol prices and adjustment of health service prices in the first quarter of 2018 also contributed to pushing the CPI up.

Regarding whether inflation will continue to rise and the goal of curbing inflation below 4% this year can be met or not, Do said that inflation is likely to peak in July and then decrease gradually to below 4%, even to under 3%, in the last months of 2018.

He explained that the Government has already adjusted prices of health services in late 2017, so if health service prices are kept unchanged in the second half of this year, the inflation rate will not rise much.

Not as optimistic as Do, economist Ngo Tri Long said that high inflation in the first half of 2018 and the price adjustment of various commodities managed by the State will put pressure on efforts to keep average CPI below 4 percent this year.

The pressure will even increase in the second half of this year as the prices of crude oil and goods on the world market and the foreign exchange rate are on a rising trend, Long added.

Nguyen Loc An, deputy head of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stressed the need to keep a close watch on market developments of necessities and quickly respond to any abnormal changes in the market.

It is essential to boost consumption of garment and textile products and home appliances through more promotional programmes, An stated.

Meanwhile, Long emphasised the importance to balance supply and demand of major products such as petrol, food, and pork, and use the price stabilisation fund in an appropriate manner for such commodities.

​Vietnam’s exports to Laos up 9.8 percent in first five months

Vietnam’s export turnover to Laos rose by 9.87 percent to 244.6 million USD in the first five months of 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

From January to May, Vietnam shipped 58,000 tonnes of iron and steel to Laos for 42.9 million USD, making the products again the biggest hard currency earner in the Lao market which accounted for 17.5 percent of the total exports.

They were followed by, of which Laos imported 63,200 tonnes for 42 million USD from Vietnam; vehicles, parts and accessories; products made of iron and steel; and machinery and equipment.

Growth was seen in most of exported items with the highest recorded in non-wood furniture, at 44.47 percent, which brought home 417,600 USD.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade between Vietnam and Laos amounted to 892.9 million USD in 2017, up 8.5 percent from the previous year and with a trade surplus of 156.1 million USD enjoyed by Vietnam.

Last year, Vietnam’s exports to Laos reached 524.5 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 9.7 percent while Vietnam imported 368.4 million USD worth of commodities from Laos, up 6.8 percent year-on-year. Laos’ main export products to Vietnam included fertilizers, ores and minerals, and wood.