Binh Duong expects big jump in 2019 economic development

The southern province of Binh Duong is expected to make a breakthrough progress in socio-economic development in 2019 thanks to its recent strong growth. 

Speaking at the meeting of the provincial People’s Council recently, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Hung Dung affirmed that the locality has continued to record positive changes in almost all fields in 2018. 

Binh Duong’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is estimated to increase 9.01 percent, compared to the target of 8.5 percent, while GRDP per capita reached 130.8 million VND per year. 

Export-import activities maintained a high growth, resulting in a trade surplus of over 4.7 billion USD. 

By November 15, Binh Duong attracted over 52.8 trillion VND (over 2.26 billion USD) of domestic investment, and 1.69 billion USD of foreign investment, representing respective increases of 25.3 percent and 20.9 percent compared to the plan set for the year. 

The province is now home to 3,478 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of 31.8 billion USD. 

Binh Duong is the first locality of Vietnam becoming a member of the world’s Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), contributing to improving its position, boosting economic cooperation and attracting investment. 

Dung said the hosting of international-level events in 2018 was good opportunities for Binh Duong to promote its image to domestic and foreign enterprises, and learn from international experience in developing technology 4.0 and smart city. 

The locality is working hard to seek development partners, attract investment and enhance cooperation in research, aiming to create a foundation for developing smart urban areas and making socio-economic breakthroughs, and building modern and hi-tech industries. 

Binh Duong plans to restructure the economy in the direction of increasing the proportion of services, while improving the investment and business environment and encouraging innovation in enterprises. 

It will also calling for investment in high-quality service sectors, logistics, industrial and urban development and sectors using environmentally friendly technologies. 

Attention will be paid to promoting administrative reform, innovation and creativity, start-up, business development and taking measures to support small and-medium-sized enterprises and remove difficulties in terms of public investment. 

Binh Duong will also work to improve the effectiveness of diplomatic work and international cooperation, contributing to fostering trade promotion and tourism.

Dankia Lake-Golden River tourism site approved

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently issued Decision 1771/QD-TTg on the master plan for Dankia Lake-Golden River tourism site in Lam Dong province by 2025 with a vision towards 2030.

The tourism site is located at Lac Duong town at Lac Duong district and Ward 7 (Da Lat city), Lam Dong province. The site has a total area of 4,000 hectares, the the Vietnamese Government Portal (VGP) reported.

By 2030, the tourism will become a tourism centre in the Central Highlands Region and the country with synchronised technical facilities; contribute to socio-economic development; work with Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourism Site in Da Lat city to become an important destination in the Central Highlands Region. 

By 2025, the site expects to welcome 3 million guests including 56,000 foreign ones. By 2030, the site will handle 5 million guests including 100,000 foreign guests. The site also plans to earn VND 1.2 trillion and VND 3.5 trillion of tourism revenue by 2025 and 2030, respectively.

The site will generate about 3,700 jobs by 2025 and 7,000 jobs by 2030.

It will develop cultural tourism products especially Central Highlands gongs culture and sports tourism products and tourist resorts. 

Tangerine variety in Hoa Binh granted collective trademark

A tangerine variety grown in Nam Son commune, Tan Lac district of the north-western province of Hoa Binh has been granted the collective trademark.

A ceremony to receive the title was held in the commune on December 24.

Tan Lac district has recorded positive economic growth over the years, with agriculture production accounting for 33.7 percent. The district has worked to bolster spearhead products by developing brands for local farm produce, including Tan Lac chayote, red pomelo and tangerine.

Nam Son commune is currently home to more than 80ha of tangerine trees, of which 20ha has been harvested.

Dinh Cong Su, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tan Lac, said the district will further promote the tangerine trademark in the locality and build display spaces to introduce the tangerine and other farm produce of the district, along with raising quality of Nam Son tangerine in particular and citrus in mountainous regions in general. 

Ground broken for Muong Muon hydropower plant in Dien Bien

The Dien Bien Song Hong Energy JSC (DSEJ) held a ground-breaking ceremony for the Muong Muon hydropower plant in Na Sang commune, Muong Cha district, the northwestern mountainous province of Dien Bien, on December 25. 

As part of Dien Bien’s energy planning scheme, the 22MW project has the biggest capacity among the more than 10 hydropower plants to be built in the locality by 2020. 

Covering a total area of 75ha in Ma Thi Ho and Na Sang communes, the 800 billion VND (34.4 million USD) plant is expected to generate nearly 79 million KWh each year. Its construction is scheduled to last until 2022. 

DSEJ General Director Nguyen Van Quan said the project aims to help ease the power shortage facing the region and the country as well, spur economic growth and transport infrastructure development, and further tap natural resources in Muong Cha district in particular and Dien Bien province in general. 

The company has committed to ensuring the quality, efficiency and progress of the project and abiding by environmental and social regulations. 

In his remarks at the ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mua A Son asked departments, agencies and the Muong Cha district People’s Committee to provide consultations for the provincial People’s Committee in order to remove difficulties hindering the implementation of the project.

Work starts to connect solarpower plants to national grid

A project to build power transmission lines and a 220kV power transformer for connecting local solar energy projects to the national grid started in Loc Ninh border district of the southern province of Binh Phuoc on December 25. 

Invested by the Loc Ninh Energy JSC with a total cost of 1.2 trillion VND (over 51.5 million USD), the project covers an area of about 100 ha and has a total length of 30km.

It is scheduled to complete in June 2019, with a goal of ensuring the transmission of a maximum of 1,200MWp from solar power plants to the national grid when it officially becomes operational. 

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Anh Minh said the development of renewable energy sources, including solar energy, is a new orientation in Vietnam and in Binh Phuoc in particular. 

Local authorities have paid special attention to the new field, he said, adding that Binh Phuoc plans to use 5,965 ha of depleted land for solar power plants. 

The 220kV transformer LocNinh - Binh Long 2 project it is hoped to attract more investment into solar power projects in Binh Phuoc, Minh added.

Binh Phuoc holds good solar energy potential with an average of 2,400-2,500 hours of the sun per year. It is one of the top three provinces for high thermal complexity in the country. 

Recently, the Government has approved an additional six solar power projects with a combined capacity of 850 MWp in Binh Phuoc, raising the total solar energy capacity of the southern province to the highest in the country.

Vietnam, Thailand to bolster science-technology cooperation

The Vietnamese government has approved a cooperation agreement in science, technology and innovation with Thailand under Resolution No.155/NQ-CP.

The government has assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to coordinate with relevant agencies of the two countries to implement the document.

In 2017, the two nations’ Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of this agreement between the Vietnamese and Thai ministries of science and technology.

The agreement has created a legal foundation to carry out sci-tech cooperation programmes, focusing on biotechnology, electronics and computer, materials science and nanotechnology, food – water and energy security, agriculture, and environment.

It also aims to support start-up businesses and develop technologies in the light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as promote relations between Vietnamese and Thai sci-tech organisations on the basic of equality and mutual benefits to enhance the bilateral strategic partnership.

Husbandry sector to focus on developing production chains

The Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will focus on developing production chains in 2019 towards phasing out small-scale animal husbandry by households, said Acting Director of the Department Nguyen Xuan Duong.

Addressing a year-end conference of the department on December 25, Duong said that next year, the department will monitor the market and supply of animal husbandry products to timely inform farmers and consumers, intensify epidemic control work and promote the export of livestock products.

Tong Xuan Chinh, Vice Director of the department said that the animal husbandry sector has maintained a growth of 5-6 percent in recent years, contributing to keeping the growth of the whole agricultural sector.

In 2018, total live-weight pork output hits over 3.81 million tonnes, up 2.2 percent year on year with major production hubs including Dong Nai, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Ha Nam.

Meanwhile, poultry output is estimated at nearly 1.1 million tonnes, a rise of 6.1 percent compared to 2017, and that of milk is expected to reach 960,000 tonnes, up 9 percent.

The sector’s export revenue is likely to reach 550 million USD in 2018.

Notably, the department has coordinated with localities to develop production chains connecting animal raising, slaughtering, processing and selling. One of the models is the pork processing complex of Masan Group in Ha Nam province with an annual capacity of 140,000 tonnes of meat bearing the trademark of Meat Deli. The facility became operational on December 23.

Earlier, another facility for pig slaughtering and pork processing with an annual capacity of 350,000 pigs was launched in November 2018 in Nam Dinh province.

The department is supporting local firms in selling pork products to Myanmar, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore, and chicken meat to Japan. A safe chicken production zone will also be developed in central Thanh Hoa province.

Hanoi continues to be most attractive FDI destination

Hanoi continues to lead the country in drawing foreign direct investment (FDI) with more than 7.5 billion USD poured into the capital since the beginning of 2018, a 2.18-fold increase against the previous year.

Deputy director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Tran Ngoc Nam revealed the information at a regular press meeting of the Hanoi Party Committee on December 25.

In 2018, the city has granted licences to 616 new FDI projects with total registered capital of 5.03 billion USD, he said.

According to Nam, the capital has deployed a number of measures to improve the investment environment and increase support for investors and businesses from business registration to implementation of projects.

Particularly, the city has approved the simplification of 61 administrative procedures and pressed ahead with online business registration, ensuring that relevant administrative procedures are completed within three days.

Japan is the leading foreign investor in Hanoi with about 10.6 billion USD, followed by Singapore, 6.9 billion USD, and the Republic of Korea, 5.5 billion USD, Nam said.

The field most attractive to foreign investors are real estate, which absorbed 34.8 percent of total FDI, followed by processing and manufacturing 24.4 percent, information and communications 8.72 percent, and construction 6.29 percent, he added.

Mangrove forests used to breed aquatic species

Farmers in Tra Vinh province’s coastal areas expanded the breeding of shrimp and other aquatic species to an additional 1,700ha of mangrove forests this year, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The breeding in mangrove forests, which now totals 5,780ha, is sustainable and protects the environment against the effects of climate change, said the department.

Farmers only need to buy shrimp and fries for breeding since the aquatic species eat wild food in the forests.

Farmers normally breed shrimp with a density of 15-20 shrimp per sq.m in mangrove forests.

Duyen Hai district has about 5,100ha of mangrove forests used for breeding aquatic species, the province’s largest area, according to the district’s Division of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ngo Oanh Ruong, who has a one-ha mangrove forest in Duyen Hai district’s Dong Hai commune, breeds about 20,000 black-tiger shrimp and 3,000 mud crabs in his forest every year.

Last year, he harvested 500 kilogramme of black-tiger shrimp and earned a profit of 150 million VND (6,450 USD) from the shrimp. The model yields high profits and protects the environment, he said.

Lam Thanh Nam, who has implemented the model on 4ha in Duyen Hai town’s Hiep Thanh commune for nearly 10 years, said he had planted mangrove species like black mangrove, grey mangrove and spotted mangrove to provide shade for shrimp and other aquatic species.

He breeds shrimp and mud crabs in the forest and earns a high income from the model every year.

Pham Minh Truyen, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that breeding shrimp under an industrial farming model provides high profits but requires high investment costs.

Farmers who do not have enough capital to invest in industrial shrimp farming can more easily become involved in the mangrove-forest model, he said.

Shrimp bred under the model are considered organic. Besides shrimp, other aquatic species like mud clams, blood cockles, eels and frogs are commonly bred in mangrove forests.

The department is promoting organic shrimp supply chains to help farmers increase income and maintain the mangrove forests for breeding of aquatic species.

Local authorities have encouraged farmers to grow mangrove forests and breed shrimp and other aquatic species because of it lessens disease outbreaks and is environmentally friendly.

With a coast of 65km, the Mekong Delta province has great potential to develop the mangrove shrimp breeding model.

The province has about 9,000ha of forests, mostly in Chau Thanh, Cau Ngang and Duyen Hai districts and Duyen Hai town, according to the department.

FDI disbursement surpasses 19 billion USD in 2018

Disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam in 2018 hit 19.1 billion USD, an increase of 9.1 percent over the previous year.

In the recent three years, the disbursed FDI reached over 50 billion USD, according to a report by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

By December 20, total foreign investment in Vietnam, including newly-registered and added capital and that for share purchase, was 35.46 billion USD, or 98.8 percent of last year’s figure.

FDI commitment for 3,046 newly-licensed projects reached nearly 18 billion USD, equivalent to 84.5 percent of the same period last year.

After a yearly decline of nearly 10 percent in FDI added to operating projects totaled at 7.59 billion USD, the capital pledged for stake acquisitions rose by 60 percent year on year to 9.89 billion USD, the report said.

As per the data, foreign-invested enterprises gained a trade surplus of 32.8 billion USD this year as they exported 175.5 billion USD worth of goods, up 13 percent while their imports hit 142.7 billion USD, up 12 percent. 

The manufacturing and processing sector garnered the most interest from foreign investors in the period, accounting for 16.58 billion USD, or 47 percent of the registered capital.

The real estate sector ranked second with 6.6 billion USD, or 18.5 percent and the retail sector came third with 3.67 billion USD, or 10.3 percent.

Statistics showed that 112 countries and territories invested in Vietnam from January to December. Among them, Japan took the lead with 8.59 billion USD, making up 24 percent of the nation’s total FDI. The Republic of Korea and Singapore were the runner-ups with 7.2 billion USD and 5 billion USD, making up 24.2 percent and 14.2 percent of the nation’s total FDI, respectively.

Vietnam works to boost organic farming

Vietnam has been making efforts to foster organic farming, including a decree issued last August which should be implemented as soon as possible, experts told a forum in HCM City on December 25.

According to Le Thanh Hung of the Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute Vietnam is relatively unfamiliar with the organic farming standards of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and its market for organic agricultural products is underdeveloped.

The government issued Decree 109/2018/NĐ-CP on organic farming regulations, procedures such as certification, traceability and inspections and supporting policies.

Besides, the national standards for organic agriculture are being adjusted for more clarity and specific standards for certain products such as rice, tea, shrimp, and milk.

It is crucial national standards match international standards to help farmers and businesses make appropriate adjustments to their production to enable exports.

The area under organic agriculture in Vietnam was 118,000 hectares in 2016, according to the German-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.

According to Ha Phuc Minh, Chairman of the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association, cities and provinces need to execute the decree and actively develop organic farming.

Meanwhile, farmers need to identify their markets and the standards they have to comply with, and the Government should encourage farmers to adhere to them and carry out stringent inspections, he said.

"Distributors and consumers also need to carefully examine the goods they buy," he said. 

The forum was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.

Rubber latex processing plant inaugurated in Son La

The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) held a ceremony to inaugurate its rubber latex processing plant in Thuan Chau district in the northern mountainous province of Son La on December 26.

The construction of the plant started in early 2018 with total investment of nearly 110 billion VND (4.7 million USD).

Covering nearly 16 hectares in Thuan Chau’s Tong Lenh commune, the plant is designed to have a processing capacity of 9,000 tonnes of rubber latex per year.

The project was divided into two phases with the first one with annual capacity of 6,000 tonnes. The second phase is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2020 with capacity of 3,000 tonnes per annum.

According to Director of the Son La Rubber Joint Stock Company Ho Anh Duc, when the factory is put into operation, it will increase the value of rubber latex four times from about 10 million VND (429 USD) per tonne to 40 million VND (1,717 USD) per tonne.

It also helps generate jobs for over 200 workers, he added.

At present, Son La has over 6,000 hectares of rubber, including over 2,300 hectares for harvesting. In 2018, the province’s rubber latex output was estimated at over 5,000 tonnes. 

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Cam Ngoc Minh said the development of rubber trees will help increase the forest coverage, minimise flash floods, and reduce poverty.

He asked the Son La Rubber Joint Stock Company to quickly complete the waste treatment project and closely work with local authorities and farmers to ensure effective business and environmental protection.

The plant will be operated 10 months in a year. This is the first latex processing plant in the northwestern region after more than 10 years of developing rubber trees.

Master plan for Lao Cai border economic zone announced

Lao Cai authorities are aiming to turn the northern province’s border economic zone into a dynamic and sustainable development economic hub, according to insiders.

Under a development master plan for the zone to 2040, with a vision to 2050, recently announced by the provincial People’s Committee, the zone will have a total area of 15,929.8 ha. It is projected to have a population of 90,000 by 2040.

The zone will have a core area and two wings, namely western and eastern economic corridors.

Planned infrastructure works include a border gate management area at the Lao Cai international border gate, the Kim Thanh international border gate and high-rise financial, bank and service centres in Kim Thanh, Duyen Hai, Ban Qua and Ban Vuoc communes.

The service area at the border gate will cover more than 356 hectares of land and is planned to house areas for fairs and exhibitions, representative offices of enterprises and organisations, a trading centre and bonded warehouse, among other facilities.

The area designated for industrial activities in the zone comprises industrial parks, a 228-ha processing and packaging zone for import-export in Bat Xat district, and an area for services, logistics, warehouses and packaging.

The plan also envisions a complex for tourism, entertainment and sports covering more than 344 ha in Ban Qua commune of Bat Xat district.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Ngoc Hung said the Lao Cai border economic zone is hoped to become one of the important trading gateways, a tourism, service and trading centre and a large-scale cargo transfer gateway in the region.

He asked local authorities to pay attention to researching and proposing policies for career change to ensure a stable life for locals living in the project area, while developing plans for land clearance and resettlement and planting boundary markers.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau selective in attracting investment

The southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau is one of the top three localities in the country in luring investment, especially foreign direct investment (FDI), with total registered capital of 3.6 billion USD in 2018.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, the locality granted licenses to 34 FDI projects worth more than 3.6 billion USD, focusing on processing and manufacturing industry, solar power and tourism.

Director of the department Le Hoang Hai said the province is among the first localities in Vietnam to publicise priorities in calling for investment with the target of attracting large-scale projects using modern and environmentally friendly technologies. 

Besides building a set of criteria for investment attraction, the provincial Party Committee promulgated a resolution in July 2017 to improve the efficiency of attracting investment through 2020.

The province has built plans to access businesses in developed countries, focusing on Japan and the RoK, to call for investment.

Therefore, many economic and industrial groups, mainly from Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), have entered the province.

In the future, the province will continue inviting investors to study and implement projects in fields such as logistics, urban areas and tourism.

In 2017-2020, the province strives to lure 80 FDI projects with total registered capital of 4 billion USD and 90 domestic ones worth nearly 100 trillion VND (4.2 billion USD).

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Long, more than 20 out of the 34 licensed FDI projects in 2018 are from Korean businesses.

The RoK leads in foreign investment in the province with nearly 5 billion USD, he noted.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said selective investment will help the province develop its five economic pillars namely industry, seaports, port logistics services, tourism and high-tech agriculture.

Forestry exports rise by 16 percent in 2018

Vietnam earns more than 9.3 billion USD from the export of forestry products in 2018, up 15.9 percent from last year, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST).

The revenue accounts for over 23 percent of the total agricultural exports this year, the VNFOREST said at a meeting on December 24, adding that the five biggest markets of the US, Japan, the EU, China and the Republic of Korea are the destinations of 87.33 percent of the country’s forestry shipments.

Noting the fulfilment of all the set targets, the VNFOREST said the forestry sector recorded a 6.12-percent increase in its production value.

More than 231,520ha of concentrated forests were planted, 18.7 percent higher than this year’s target. That has helped expand the forest coverage nationwide by 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 41.65 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of forest law violation cases was brought down by nearly 3,580 or 22 percent from last year. The area of damaged forests was also reduced by 515ha or 35 percent.

VNFOREST Deputy Director General Pham Van Dien said for 2019, the sector targets a growth rate of 5.5-6 percent in the forestry production value, and over 10.5 billion USD in wood and forestry product exports.

It vows to protect and sustainably develop all the existing forests to raise the nationwide coverage to 41.85 percent. Meanwhile, it will prevent and handle violations of forest regulations in a timely manner so as to reduce the number of violation cases and the deforested area by at least 10 percent and 20 percent from 2018, respectively.

At the meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the forestry sector needs to concertedly and drastically implement the Law on Forestry and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA), which Vietnam recently signed with the EU.

He said the FLEGT-VPA will be a turning point of the sector, stressing that the enforcement of this agreement and the Forestry Law will create a foundation for developing a sustainable forestry economy.

Dong Thap’s rice output reaches over 3.3 million tonnes

Despite a reduction of more than 17,000 hectares in cultivating land, rice production in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap in 2018 rose 120,000 tonnes compared to the previous year to 3.32 million tonnes.

High-quality rice varieties like OM 4900 and OM 6976 were grown in a combined 520,379 hectares this year, 469 hectares of which followed VietGAP standards. Total rice production is valued at 15.37 trillion VND (661.3 million USD), an increase of 562 billion VND (24.1 million USD) against 2017.

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Cong attributed the good yield to advanced technology application in rice cultivation which helps reduce input costs and improve production efficiency.

Under the province’s agricultural restructuring project, organic rice farming is piloted in an area of 800 hectares while rice value chain has been set up to help increase local peasants’ profit by up to 4 million VND (172 USD) per hectare per crop.

Particularly, some 90 companies signed contracts with the province to buy more than 293,000 tonnes of rice.

Cong said that in 2019, the province will continue paying attention to improving rice quality and enhancing the use of machines in rice farming. Also, it will work to switch from agricultural production to agricultural economy.

Jetstar Pacific reports 390 million USD in revenue

Budget carrier Jetstar Pacific, an affiliate of Vietnam Airlines Corporation, announced its estimated total revenue was 9.1 trillion VND (390 million USD) this year, 21 percent higher than the target set early this year.

The airline said it recorded a profit after years of losses, but did not disclose the figure.

The carrier transported 6.2 million passengers this year, up 14.3 percent year on year.

In the third quarter of this year, Jetstar Pacific recorded an impressive 31.7 percent increase in domestic passengers and an 18.5 per cent increase in international passengers. It is expected that the number of passengers during the peak period of the 2019 Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday will increase by 12 percent.

According to the airline, the impressive results were achieved despite difficulties faced by the aviation industry such as fluctuations in exchange rates and rising fuel prices (up 30 per cent over the previous year).

Jetstar Pacific currently operates about 750 flights per week, covering most cities and popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, and runs international flights connected with Jetstar Group and Vietnam Airlines.

The airline’s two major shareholders are Vietnam Airlines and Qantas Airways.

Vietnam's shipment to Cambodia sets new record

Vietnam’s export turnover to Cambodia reached US$332 million in October, raising the total figure to US$3.06 billion in the first ten months, or up US$814 million against the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The value also set a record over the last ten years (2011-2018) with over US$3 billion. 

In the January-October period, Vietnam's key exports included steel (US$713 million), petrol (US$403 million), garments and textiles (US$398 million), leather and footwear (US$195 million).

Meanwhile, Vietnam mainly imported cashew (US$280 million), rubber (US$90 million), wood and woodwork products (US$88 million).

Vietnam has run a trade surplus with Cambodia over the past years. In 2011, total import revenue between Vietnam and Cambodia stood at US$2.84 billion including US$2.41 billion of export and US$430 million of import.  

In 2013, trade surplus hit a record high of US$2.4 billion. However, the trade surplus declined to US$1.5 billion in 2016. 

In the first ten months of 2018, the trade surplus valued at US$2.25 billion, accounting for 72% of Vietnam’s total export revenue to Cambodia. 

In spite of neighbouring relations, goods circulation between Vietnam and Cambodia occupied a small proportion of Vietnam’s total export, only 1%. Last year, Cambodia was the 19th largest export market of Vietnam.
Long An tops Mekong Delta region in 2018 budget collection

Long An province led localities in the Mekong Delta region in budget collection in 2018, which hit over VND13.8 trillion (over US$595 million), VND3.8 trillion higher than the target set for the year.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, the province’s domestic collection reached VND11.9 trillion while import-export activities contributed VND1.95 trillion to the budget. 

However, many sectors’ collection failed to reach their estimates, even lower than those of the previous year. 

Collection from State-owned and foreign-invested enterprises was VND365 billion and VND1.55 trillion, equivalent to 88% and 67.4% of the estimates, respectively. 

Long An sets to collect over VND13.74 trillion for the State budget in 2019, up VND60 billion compared to the target assigned by the Government. 

To fulfill the goal, the provincial People’s Committee asked departments, sectors and localities to focus on implementing synchronous and effective solutions for budget collection, while intensifying collection management; stepping up tax inspection to combat tax losses, transfer pricing, tax evasion; and resolutely handling tax arrears.

Attention will be paid to fostering investment promotion activities, facilitating investment and business of enterprises through removing barriers and unreasonable business and investment conditions that obstruct firms’ operation. 

Besides, the locality will also accelerate the rearrangement of organisation and management apparatuses and improve the quality and effectiveness of public agencies, speed up the State capital divestment, as well as promptly and strictly handle violations related to financial accounting and reporting.