Ho Chi Minh City collects more for State budget in 2018

Ho Chi Minh City’s State budget collection topped 378.5 trillion VND (16.4 billion USD) as of December 31, 2018, or 100.47 percent of the estimate and marking a 8.65 percent increase year-on-year, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong told a local conference on January 3. 

Specifically, domestic revenue surpassed 244.7 billion VND, or 95.54 percent of the estimate, up 10.38 percent annually. Revenue from imports-exports reached more than 108.3 trillion VND, equivalent to 100.34 percent of the estimate; while that from crude oil rose by 44.12 percent to 24.3 trillion VND, or 193.36 percent of the estimate. 

The Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance assigned the city to collect over 399 trillion VND to the State budget in 2019, up 5.93 percent from the 2018 estimate. 

Phong asked the city’s financial sector to strengthen its expense control and improve the efficiency of budget use. 

In order to successfully launch a pilot resolution on a special mechanism and policy for the city’s development, financial agencies were asked to build a project towards adjusting minimum housing and land prices for income tax calculation, and a scheme on increasing special consumption tax on beer. 

Director of the municipal Department of Finance Phan Thi Thang said the sector will strive to ensure sufficient and proper budget collection this year, while refining inspection measures to prevent transfer pricing and reviewing administrative procedures to clear difficulties facing local firms. 

The customs sector will work with specialised management agencies to shorten times for customs clearance and develop full-package and professional customs services. 

On the occasion, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong presented certificates of merit to 24 districts and communes and 37 businesses in honour of their contributions to the local financial sector.

2,200 new agricultural firms formed in 2018

As many as 2,200 new agricultural enterprises were set up in 2018, up 12.3 percent compared to 2017 and pushing the total number of firms in the sector to 9,235, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The average registered capital for each firm is 17.8 billion VND (765,400 USD), higher than the national average at 10.2 billion VND (438,600 USD) per company. 

Notably, agro-forestry-fishery is one of the two sectors whose number of operational enterprises is higher than those with halted activities. 

Along with the booming of small- and medium-sized businesses, a number of large firms have increased investment in agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture, including Nafoods, TH, Dabaco Vietnam, Masan, Lavifood, and Doveco.

Under the encouragement of many policies supporting enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas, agricultural product processing and storage, as well as the support industry have also developed.

In 2018 alone, 16 modern factories for vegetable, pork, and poultry processing were built with a total investment of about 8.7 trillion VND (371.1 million USD), contributing to enhancing the quality and diversifying agro-forestry-fisheries products.

Throughout the year, the MARD continued to transform agricultural cooperatives in line with the Law on Cooperatives. After six years implementing the law, the number of new agricultural cooperatives has increased to 5,816, including 1,935 set up in 2018.

By the end of 2018, Vietnam has 39 federations of agricultural cooperatives, along with 13,400 cooperatives, a rise of 14.6 percent over 2017. Of the total, 55 percent operated profitably. The ratio of cooperatives involved in selling products for its members also rose to 20 percent, instead of the previous 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the country now has 35,500 farms, a rise of 1,500 farms against 2017.

So far, connectivity in agricultural production and selling in line with value chains has become more popular with 6,800 models covering about 1 million hectares, together with many animal breeding and fish farming facilities joining the chain.

Ministry tightens price control, market management

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has asked the sector to enhance price control and market management to prevent any sudden cost hikes before, during or after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday which lasts from February 2-10.

Under Directive No. 06/CT-BTC, close watch would be placed on the market’s supply and demand developments. Price fluctuations in the domestic market are common, especially on goods and services which are in demand around Tet. The finance ministry will monitor prices and introduce timely measures to keep them stable.

Management would be increased to prevent significant rises in transportation fees, the directive said, stressing that any firms or individuals taking advantage of the higher travelling demand around the holiday to push up fees to unreasonable levels would be strictly handled.

The directive will also increase measures against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after Tet.

The Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance has also asked provincial and municipal market watch departments to strengthen market control until February 22.

Focus will be placed on preventing the transportation of banned products like imported tobacco, liquor, confectionary products and firecrackers.

In addition, food hygiene and safety management will be increased, especially at wholesale markets, supermarkets, frozen warehouses and street food vendors.

Quang Tri attracts strategic investors to wind power projects

The central province of Quang Tri has been luring strategic investors who have potential in capital and technology to involve in large-scale wind power projects.

After putting the 30MW Huong Linh 2 wind power plant with a total investment of 1.5 trillion VND (64.3 million USD) into operation in 2017, the Tan Hoan Cau Corporation Joint Stock Company has continued to invest in the Huong Hiep 1 wind power plant in Huong Hiep commune of the mountainous district of Dakrong. The 30MW project is expected to generate 126.3 million kWh of electricity per year. Built at a cost of about 1.55 trillion VND, the plant is scheduled to be completed in late 2020.

By January 2019, Quang Tri had one wind power plant put into operation, four under construction and dozens of others under survey.

According to Nguyen Duc Chinh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, four wind power projects, each with a capacity of 30 MW, will become operational in the province in the time to come. 

Quang Tri boasts strength in attracting wind power investment. The locality has zoned off three wind power development areas on a total of over 6,700 hectares. The first area covers 2,789ha in Huong Son, Huong Lap and Huong Phung communes of Huong Hoa district, and the second spans 2,882ha in Huong Hoa district’s Huong Linh, Huong Lap and Huong Hiep communes.

Meanwhile, the third area covers 1,036ha in coastal areas of Gio Linh and Vinh Linh districts and Con Co island district. 

Chinh said that attracting investment in energy, including wind power, is one of the priorities of Quang Tri to turn the locality into an energy hub of the central region. To achieve this goal, the province has issued a number of policies to support businesses in terms of tax, insurance, contract and land.

Agricultural sector speeds up restructuring, growth model reform

The agricultural sector is focusing on stepping up restructuring associated with growth model reform and new-style rural area building in order to effectively carry out the Government’s resolution on major tasks and measures to implement the 2019 socio-economic development plan and State budget estimates.

To achieve all set targets, the sector will work to build a smart agriculture, intensify international integration, adapt to climate change, increase the added value and boost sustainable development in combination with the building of prosperous and civilised new-style rural areas.

It aims for 3 percent in GDP growth, 3.11 percent in agro-fishery-forestry production value increase, and over 43 billion USD in agro-fishery-forestry export turnover. The forest coverage is projected to reach 41.85 percent, while the rate of new-style rural communes is aimed at 50 percent, and at least 70 districts will be recognised new-style rural areas.

The sector will implement three strategic breakthroughs in a synchronous, drastic and effective manner, including reforming and improving institutions to develop the socialist-oriented market economy in agriculture; building agricultural and rural infrastructure facilities modernly and synchronously; and increasing the quality of human resources and stepping up vocational training for farmers.

Attention will be also paid to increasing the sector’s competitiveness so as to raise national competitiveness, using science and technology to serve agricultural development with the focus on major export staples, and taking advantage of opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to develop hi-tech and organic agriculture.

The sector will effectively implement a project to develop 15,000 cooperatives and alliances of cooperatives during 2017-2020 and develop a cooperative model applying high technology in agricultural production and business. It strives to have 11,250 agricultural cooperatives which operate effectively by the end of 2019.

Solar power system installed at Dinsen IP in Long An

Skylight, a joint venture between BCG Energy and Indefol Engineering Solutions, has put into operation a rooftop solar power system at Dinsen Industrial Park (IP) in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

It has a total capacity of 1MW and this is Skylight’s first system out of a proposed 6.4MW Skylight plans to install at Dinsen IPs in Vietnam and Cambodia this year.

It costs more than 7 million USD and includes a 100KW inverter. The power produced will be used in the IP and any surplus will be sold to the national grid.

This project is supported by German cooperation organization GIZ while HD Bank is the credit sponsor.

The system can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 25,000 tonnes during the project’s life cycle.

Besides, the installation of the solar panels reduces the heat absorption by the roof.

BCG Energy is a member of the BCG Group, which has interests in agricultural manufacturing and trading, infrastructure and real estate, renewable energy, and construction.

Indefol was founded by a group of alumni from the Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic University to research into alternatives to fossil energy.

South-eastern provinces enjoy high growth, trade surplus

Vietnam’s south-eastern provinces have reported not only high economic growth in 2018 but also a trade surplus.

According to figures released by the provincial Binh Duong People’s Committee, the province had a trade surplus of over 4.8 billion USD this year, 100 million USD higher than the number last year.

Twenty-seven industrial parks in the province contributed significantly to this achievement. They had total revenues of 28.5 billion USD and attracted foreign investment of nearly 1.4 billion USD and domestic investment of 5.2 trillion VND (224 million USD) this year.

Binh Duong’s major exports include wood and wooden products, footwear, rubber, and lacquerware.

Dien Quang Hiep, chairman of the Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA), said wood and furniture businesses in Binh Duong have benefited greatly from integration into the global community and the province’s skilled labour. They have also been supported by the policies issued by authorities, he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has set a target of over 10 billion USD for the country’s wood exports in 2019, he added.

This year, Ba Ria – Vung Tau province’s economy is expected to grow by 6.43 per cent to over 76.7 trillion VND (3.3 billion USD).

Provincial authorities have identified industry, ports, logistics, tourism, and agriculture as the spearheads of Ba Ria – Vung Tau’s economic development.

Their development is expected to help the economy become less dependent on the oil and gas sector.

Dong Nai province is estimated to achieve exports of 18.6 billion USD, an 11.7 percent increase over last year, and a trade surplus of over 2.6 billion USD in 2018.

During the year the province had licensed 106 foreign projects with a total registered capital of 980 million USD, taking the FDI to date to more than 1.8 billion USD.

According to local authorities, from having a trade deficit until 2013, the province turned its balance of trade into a surplus of 625 million USD in 2014.

Tran Van Vinh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said with sufficient supply of raw materials, Dong Nai’s exports and trade surplus would further increase in the coming years.

Dong Nai will continue to support and prioritise efforts to promote the use of local inputs and meet the criteria set by the free trade agreements, he added.

Workshop highlights role of private economy in globalization

The private economic sector has greatly contributed to promoting socio-economic development of the country, heard a workshop in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu on January 5. 

During the event, participants highlighted the importance of pushing the development of the private economic area in the context of globalization and the 4th industrial revolution.

They agreed that the private economic sector is one of the crucial factors helping boost the national development, increase establishment of new businesses, create more jobs and effectively tap social resources for the socio-economic development. 

Attendees stressed the need to renovate policies for private economic development, which is considered as an important motivation for the socialism-oriented market economy. 

Measures to foster private economic development in the Mekong Delta region were also discussed at the event.

According to Le Quoc from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the 4th industrial revolution will be the foundation for strong economic transformation from resource and low cost labour-based models to knowledge economy and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Long Van Nghia from the Manh Long One Member Co., Ltd in Bac Lieu city said the revolution helps improve the competitiveness of the private enterprises through improving labour productivity, output, quality, thus reducing production costs. 

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Chairman of the Central Theory Council and Director General of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, highlighted the significance of the workshop, saying that it aims to create theoretical and practical foundations to prepare for the 13th national Party Congress, which is scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2021.

Nearly 60 percent of construction firms expect stable, better business in Q1

As many as 59.6 percent of domestic construction enterprises expect stable or better business in the first quarter of 2019, while 37.5 percent of firms said that they are likely to meet more difficulties, according to a survey launched by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Brighter prospect is forecast for the non-State-owned sector as 35 percent said that their operation will be stable and 24 percent hopes smoother operation in the next few months. Meanwhile, the respective ratios of the State-owned sector are 32 percent and 24 percent and the foreign-invested sector are 38 percent and 20 percent.

In the first quarter of 2019, production cost of FDI firms is expected to drop, as 43 percent of the surveyed firms said that the cost will be stable and 17 percent said that it will reduce. The percentage in non-State-owned firms is 30 percent and 19 percent, and State-owned enterprises are 33 percent and 15 percent compared to Q4 of 2018.

According to the survey, which covers 5,300 businesses in the construction sector across the country, direct material cost will be more effective in all the three business sectors.

Specifically, 50 percent of State-owned companies asserted that the direct material prices will continue to be stable or lower, so did 49 percent of the non-State owned firms and 62 percent of FDI businesses.

In terms of labour cost in the first quarter of 2019, 56 percent of enterprises foresee stability or reduction, while 43 percent said that the cost will be higher compared to that in Q4 of 2018.

In order to improve production, GSO Director Nguyen Bich Lam said that the Government and localities should focus on reviewing and completing the institution, cutting down business conditions that are hindering businesses’ operations and private companies, and effectively apply the one-door model to create better business environment.

The Government should design effective policies to encourage household-based business facilities to transform into companies so they can operate in the long-term stably.

More than 1,000 safe agricultural models set up

Some 1,069 supply chains for clean and safe farm produce  were developed across all the 63 cities and province in 2018, up 350 from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The ministry said that it enhanced management of material quality and food safety and hygiene in agro-forestry-fishery processing facilities. Strict punishments were meted out to violation cases.

Easing biological pollution as well as anti-biotic residues in agricultural cultivation was brought to notice to fit food safety requirements for both domestic consumption and export. Meanwhile, the ministry applied several advanced quality management systems like GAP, GMP, HACCP and ISO 22000 into cultivation, and developed organic products and those that met VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.

In the year, localities across the nation engaged in the clean agricultural production programmes, and branched out the “one commune, one product” model. 

Furthermore, food safety chains were developed in tandem with product traceability, with local staples labeled with code stamps to trace their origins.

Thua Thien-Hue province targets higher export value

Businesses in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue are expected to earn over 1.05 trillion USD in 2019, up about 15 percent against the previous year. 

In its export development plan for 2019-2020, the province focuses on labour-intensive products like garment-textiles as many new projects will be put into operation in the time ahead. 

Besides, the locality will promote seafood export in order to bring into full play free trade agreements, including those between Vietnam and the EU and between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union. 

Seafood export is projected to reach 81 million USD by 2020, making up 6.5 percent of the province’s total export value. Meanwhile, wood and timber products are set to bring home 156 million USD and account for 12.5 percent of the total number. The province has also pinned high hope on rubber and farm produce export. 

To fulfil the targets, Thua Thien-Hue has deployed mechanisms and policies, and invested in infrastructure and services in support of exports. 

It has sped up the construction of the A Dot border gate economic zone and built a high-tech park and a logistics centre, second level, at the Chan May-Lang Co economic area. 

The province will firstly complete social infrastructure at economic and industrial parks such as housing for workers, kindergartens, schools and entertainment areas. 

Statistics show that in 2018, Thua Thien-Hue pocketed 920 million USD from exports, the highest ever so far. 

Of note, the Hue Textile and Garment JSC raked in over 92 million USD, up 4 percent against the previous year, and contributed 16 billion VND (668,000 USD)  to the State budget. 

The company has received orders till the end of June 2019. Apart from traditional partners like the US, the Republic of Korea and Europe, it has expanded the market to Japan and Australia, aiming to raise the export turnover to 96 million USD in 2019.

HCM City targets economic growth of 83.-8.5 pct in 2019

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City - the country’s southern largest economic hub – has unveiled several ambitious targets for 2019.

The targets included administrative reform, e-governance, improvement in public administration, creation of a healthy business environment, encouragement for innovation, start-up, and mitigating climate change, flooding, traffic congestion, and pollution.

The city aims to achieve 8.3-8.5 percent growth and have 46,200 new enterprises in 2019, Le Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, told  a meeting on January 4 to deploy socio-economic tasks this year.

Liem said 130,000 jobs would be created and poverty would be reduced by 0.7 percent. Of the city’s workforce, 83 percent would have been trained and the jobless rate will be under 3.8 percent, he added.

Around 8 million square metres of housing space would be added in 2019, and each resident would have an average of 20sq.m of space, he said.

The city will have 19 doctors and 42 beds for every 10,000 persons and 100 percent of the population will have healthcare insurance, Liem said.

All households would get clean water and groundwater use would be only 25 percent of the 2018 level, he said.

Liem told the meeting that hundred percent of household solid waste and industrial wastewater will be treated as will 98 percent of hospital wastewater. The city will try to enter the top 20 in the Public Administration Performance Index, top 10 in the Public Administration Reform Index and top five in the Provincial Competitiveness Index.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city collected 378.5 trillion VND (16.3 billion USD) for the state budget, 0.47 percent higher than the target. The figure is estimated to rise to 399.1 trillion VND (17.2 billion USD).

Business households need to receive due respect: VCCI chairman

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc has emphasised the need to attach due importance to the role of business households so as to fuel economic growth with greater strength.

He told Vietnam News Agency that the private sector has been mentioned with increasing frequency in many resolutions of the Party Central Committee. Recent statistics show that it contributes over 40 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP), even higher than contributions by state-owned and foreign-invested enterprises.

Most countries around the world divide economic sectors into private and public ones, and the private sector consists of both domestic- and foreign-invested companies. Accordingly, the private sector now makes up over 60 percent of Vietnam’s GDP.

Therefore, it’s time to redefine the private business sector, which should be recognised as the main growth engine instead of only one of the important driving forces of the economy like in previous perspectives, Loc said.

In the long run, the private sector looks likely to develop with even greater strength to record the fastest growth in the economy, hence it is quite reasonable to set the target that this sector will account for 50-60 percent of the GDP in the near future.

Meanwhile, of the over 40 percent contribution to the GDP by the private sector, only 8 percent is from officially-recognised businesses, while the remainder is from the 5.2 million business households, which is a matter worthy of consideration.

Loc said authorities have repeatedly called for business households to be transformed into businesses, but both business households and grassroots authorities seem not to be interested in this issue.

He pointed out that the current definition of business households is not in line with international practices as business households themselves are already enterprises, noting that if this definition is changed, Vietnam’s target of having 1 million firms operating effectively by 2020 is entirely achievable.

The VCCI chairman said authorities should have due respect for business households, while creating optimal conditions for them to upgrade into enterprises, which will help enhance the growth quality in Vietnam.

Quang Tri’s economic zones hold great investment-luring potential

Economic and industrial zones in the central province of Quang Tri boast huge potential for attracting domestic and foreign investors. The attraction of investment in these fields is one of the locality’s top priorities. 

The southeast coastal economic zone of the province has a total area of nearly 24,000ha, stretching through 17 coastal communes and towns of Hai Lang, Trieu Phong, and Gio Linh districts. 

The zone has been attracting many big projects, with the Quang Tri thermal power plant being the largest at a capacity of 1,320 MW, invested by an electricity firm from Thailand with the total funds of over 2.5 billion USD. 

Meanwhile, the zone’s My Thuy foreign-invested deep seaport project has a total investment of 630 million USD. 

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Quan Chinh, the locality plans to start the construction of the seaport and the power plant in June and September 2019, respectively. 

Quang Tri has also lured many great projects such as the Dong Ha export factory in the Nam Dong Ha industrial park (IP) and the MDF wood production plant in the Quan Ngang IP.

As many as 50 projects in the Lao Bao special economic zone have become operational. 

In 2018, local authorities granted investment licences to nine new projects worth over 1.34 trillion VND (nearly 57.7 million USD) in the province’s economic and industrial zones. Investment procedures for another 20 projects with the total registered capital of 78 trillion VND (nearly 3.36 billion USD) are currently being processed. 

Quang Tri’s economic and industrial zones are home to 170 projects valued over 186.77 trillion VND. The industrial production value in economic and industrial zones has reached 4.85 trillion VND. 

The provincial authorities have issued many policies to support investors, focusing on giving legal advices related to tax, insurance, contract, land, and the environment.

Hanoi sees industrial clusters as new driver for industrial production

Hanoi will focus on developing industrial clusters as a measure to stimulate industrial production, as most local industrial parks have been filled, resulting in a growth slowdown in the industrial sector, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan.

Speaking at a conference of the city’s industry and trade department on January 4, Toan said production households will be moved to industrial clusters where there are better infrastructure facilities for them. However, he requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade issue more specific guidance on the selection of investors to build such clusters.

Toan also emphasised the need to select capable investors for the construction of industrial clusters.

The Hanoi Industry and Trade Department reported that the city’s industrial production index grew by 7.5 percent, equivalent to over 119.7 trillion VND in 2018. Total revenues from retails and services reached 509 trillion VND, up 8.9 percent.

Earnings from exports last year rose by 21.6 percent to 14.2 billion USD. The city’s consumer price index increased by 4.22 percent last year, with increases mainly seen in transport, housing and construction materials, medicine and medical services, and food.

Among targets set for 2019, the city’s industrial production value is set to rose by 8.6-8.8 percent, export revenues by 7.5 – 8 percent, and retails and services by 9 – 10 percent.

SBV issues first dollar-buying rate hike since Feb 2018

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Operations Centre has decided to adjust the reference exchange rate of the VND against the USD for the first time since February 2018.

The centre has raised its buying rate of the USD against the VND for commercial banks by 500 VND to 23,200 VND per dollar starting on January 2. The SBV uses the rate as a reference to buy US dollars from commercial banks. It kept the selling rate unchanged at 23,463 VND per dollar.

This was the first adjustment since February 8, 2018, when the centre lowered its buying rate by 10 VND to 22,700 VND per dollar.

The new rate is designed to keep balance with the SBV’s daily reference exchange rate (commercial banks must use the SBV’s daily rate as reference to list their daily ceiling and floor selling and buying rates). By the end of 2018, the SBV’s daily rate had increased by some 1.8 percent over its January levels.

After keeping the daily reference exchange rate unchanged on the first day of 2019, the central bank raised the rate by 3 VND to 22,828 VND per dollar on January 3.

With the current trading band of /- 3 percent, commercial banks are allowed to set their ceiling rate for the day at 23,512 VND per dollar and their floor rate at 22,144 VND.

On January 3, rates at commercial banks reversed the falling trend from last week.

Vietcombank increased both rates by 5 VND, listing the buying rate at 23,160 VND per dollar and the selling rate at 23,250 VND.

The rates at BIDV went up by 15 VND to 23,165 VND for buying and 23,255 VND for selling.

At Techcombank, the buying rate rose by 25 VND to 23,145 VND per dollar while the selling rate stayed level at 23,245 VND.

Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) said pressure on the VND may come from continued global monetary tightening and the unpredictable Chinese renminbi, but the foreign currency supply remains ample in the domestic market thanks to foreign-involved share sales and positive FDI disbursement. VCBS forecast the daily reference exchange rate of the VND against the USD would weaken by no more than 3 percent in 2019.

Experts said thanks to the country’s favourable macro-economic performance and the SBV’s flexible foreign exchange management, the VND was one of the steadiest currencies in Asia last year. 

In 2018, the SBV’s USD/VND daily reference exchange rate rose by 1.87 percent against the beginning of the year while the rate listed at commercial banks rose by 2.19 percent.  

CEO of HSBC Vietnam Pham Hong Hai told Nguoi lao dong (Labourers) newspaper that compared to the VND, currencies of many other Asian countries devaluated at a faster pace – 5-7 percent on average. The Korean won lost 5.07 percent, the Filipino peso depreciated 4.99 percent, the Indian rupee devalued 9.58 percent and the Chinese renminbi dropped 6.43 percent.

Vietnam Airlines expands domestic network

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced that it will launch two new domestic routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Chu Lai, and Da Nang city and Can Tho city ahead of the Lunar New Year 2019 (Tet).

Accordingly, the HCM City-Chu Lai service will be rolled out on January 15, and the Da Nang-Can Tho route two weeks later.

The airline will operate seven flights per week on each route using Airbus A321 aircraft with four-star service for the passengers. The flights will take off from Ho Chi Minh City at 7:45, Chu Lai at 9:45, Da Nang at 18:30 and Can Tho at 7:15.

On the occasion, the airlines will run a promotional programme, with economy fare priced from 299,000 VND (12.97 USD) (excluding tax and fees). 

For HCM City-Chu Lai route, discount tickets are available for sale from January 5 to January 30 for flights between January 1 and March 31. Meanwhile, low-priced tickets for Da Nang-Can Tho flights departing between February 13 and March 31 will be on sale from January 9 to February 3.

The expansion of domestic routes will help promote connection between the central localities and Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta region while meeting increasing demand for travel and trade exchange.

Currently, there are three domestic airlines operating the HCM City-Chu Lai route, namely Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific. 

Earlier, Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific have announced that they will add more than 134,000 seats on domestic flights serving the peak Lunar New Year (Tet) season between January 20 and February 19.

Accordingly, Vietnam Airlines has planned to include more than 54,000 extra seats, while Jetstar Pacific will add over 80,000 seats.

The figures brought the two carriers’ total number of holiday seats to nearly 2.1 million.

2,200 new agricultural firms formed in 2018

As many as 2,200 new agricultural enterprises were set up in 2018, up 12.3 percent compared to 2017 and pushing the total number of firms in the sector to 9,235, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The average registered capital for each firm is 17.8 billion VND (765,400 USD), higher than the national average at 10.2 billion VND (438,600 USD) per company. 

Notably, agro-forestry-fishery is one of the two sectors whose number of operational enterprises is higher than those with halted activities. 

Along with the booming of small- and medium-sized businesses, a number of large firms have increased investment in agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture, including Nafoods, TH, Dabaco Vietnam, Masan, Lavifood, and Doveco.

Under the encouragement of many policies supporting enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas, agricultural product processing and storage, as well as the support industry have also developed.

In 2018 alone, 16 modern factories for vegetable, pork, and poultry processing were built with a total investment of about 8.7 trillion VND (371.1 million USD), contributing to enhancing the quality and diversifying agro-forestry-fisheries products.

Throughout the year, the MARD continued to transform agricultural cooperatives in line with the Law on Cooperatives. After six years implementing the law, the number of new agricultural cooperatives has increased to 5,816, including 1,935 set up in 2018.

By the end of 2018, Vietnam has 39 federations of agricultural cooperatives, along with 13,400 cooperatives, a rise of 14.6 percent over 2017. Of the total, 55 percent operated profitably. The ratio of cooperatives involved in selling products for its members also rose to 20 percent, instead of the previous 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the country now has 35,500 farms, a rise of 1,500 farms against 2017.

So far, connectivity in agricultural production and selling in line with value chains has become more popular with 6,800 models covering about 1 million hectares, together with many animal breeding and fish farming facilities joining the chain.

Agricultural sector’s 2019 GDP hoped to grow 3 percent

The GDP and production value of the agricultural sector is hoped to expand over 3 percent and over 3.11 percent respectively in 2019, heard a teleconference on January 3, which was held to review the sector’s achievements during 2018. 

The sector’s export turnover is set to reach over 43 billion USD, while at least 50 percent of communes and 70 district-level units are expected to be recognised as new-style rural areas in the year ahead. The forest coverage is projected to reach 41.85 percent.

At the event, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to accelerate the sector’s restructuring in connection with growth model reform, rural economic development, and new-style rural building. 

He called for more efforts in developing markets, supply-demand forecast work, and building branding for Vietnamese agro-forestry-aquaculture products. 

The new-style rural area building should focus on improving the incomes and material conditions of local people, he stressed. 

The agro-forestry-aquaculture GDP in 2018 reported growth of 3.76 percent –a record figure for the last seven years. Its production value increased 3.86 percent. The rate of forest coverage was 41.65 percent. The sector’s export turnover was estimated to reach 40.02 billion USD. 

A total of 3,787 communes nationwide or 42.4 percent were recognised as new-style rural areas, representing a year-on-year rise of 8.02 percent. 

In 2018, the agriculture and rural development sector actively responded to complicated developments of weather, while being flexible in adapting to changes in the agricultural market and ensuring safe production. 

It gradually overcame internal weaknesses of small-scale production in response to the requirement of large-scale commodity production.

Therefore, the industry achieved high results, creating a substantive change in the three strategic breakthroughs – restructuring the agricultural sector in association with the renovation of the growth model and new rural building.

The production structure continued to be adjusted appropriately,more effectively, and in line with the market demand. Value chain-based production was expanded, helping improve the output of many types of high value-added agricultural products, meeting domestic and export demands.

A highlight of the sector in 2018 was that localities have organised measures to timely support the consumption of agricultural products through conferences, festivals, and forums to promote the popularity of farm products. 

As many as 2,200 agricultural enterprises were newly established in 2018, up 12.3 percent year-on-year, lifting the total of those nationwide to 9,235. 

However, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong pointed out limitations, weaknesses, and many challenges that must be overcome in the time ahead. 

He underlined the need to speed up the restructuring of the agriculture sector across localities, and swiftly remove the EC’s“yellow card” warning on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

In order to successfully implement the goals and tasks set for it, the agricultural sector aims to build a smart agriculture in the direction of promoting international integration and climate change adaptation, as well as increasing the added value of products and sustainable development in connection with building prosperous and civilized new style-rural areas.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the sector needs to boost production, improve product quality, open markets, and take advantage of the tariff preferences brought about by free trade agreements.

Building brand names based on the quality of products must be considered a leading factor, he stressed, adding that high-tech agricultural development and the reorganisation of production must aim to improve the competitiveness of products.