Agro-forestry-fishery export picks up 9.1 percent in 11 months 

The total export value of agro-forestry-fishery products from January-November expanded 9.1 percent year-on-year to reach 36.3 billion USD.

According to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, Vietnam was estimated to earn 18.1 billion USD from its main farming products, 8.6 billion USD from main forestry products and 8.1 billion USD from seafood.

In the period, some 5.7 million tonnes of rice were shipped abroad, bringing in 2.9 billion USD, increasing 5.6 percent in volume and 17.7 percent in value compared to the same period in 2017.

Although rice exports to China fell sharply (30 percent), the neighbouring country remained the largest rice importer of Vietnam as it mounted to 24.1 percent of the market share.

Rice exports are likely to hit 6.15 million tonnes for the whole year, stocked up by rising purchase demands in some countries.

The AgroTrade also said that Vietnam splashed out 28.8 billion USD importing agro-forestry-fishery products in the period, soaring 13.6 percent from the same period in 2017.

Vietcombank to open 15 new branches and transaction offices

Vietcombank has some 500 branches and transaction offices nationwide. 

The State Bank of Viet Nam has approved Vietcombank’s proposal to open 15 new branches and transaction offices nationwide.

Vietcombank’s five new branches will be set up in HCM City and provinces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh and Lam Dong while its ten new transaction offices will be located in provinces of Ben Tre, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Lang Son, Hung Yen and Thanh Hoa.

Though it is one of the country’s four largest banks in terms of total assets and outstanding loans, Vietcombank has only around 500 branches and transaction offices nationwide, ranking sixth in terms of network size behind Agribank, LienVietPostBank, Vietinbank, BIDV and Sacombank.

However, Vietcombank is the most profitable bank in the country with pre-tax profit of more than VND11.68 trillion (US$499 million) in the first three quarters of this year.

Many banks have recently also enlarged their network of branches and transaction offices in an effort to increase market share. It is estimated that 25 banks in the country have more than 10,700 branches and transaction offices nationwide, mainly in big cities and provinces.

According to experts, the massive transaction network has brought many advantages to some banks in enabling them to reach more customers and increase brand recognition. 

Vietnam’s food processing industry an appetizing option for investors

With huge untapped potential and steady growth, Vietnam’s food processing industry promises much for foreign investors, officials say.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's biggest city, the food processing industry grew by 8.7% and the beverage production sector grew by 4.6% in the first ten months of this year, according to the municipal trade department.

The industry’s products are sold at 2,280 convenience stores in the city, up 507 stores over 2017, it said.

In the past five years, Vietnam’s annual consumption of processed food and beverages has grown at an average of 9.68% and 6.66% respectively, says data compiled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In 2013-2017, the industrial production index grew by an average 6.8% per year for processed food and 9.7% for drinks, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

The country’s annual food consumption value is estimated to make up 15% of its gross domestic product, he said, adding that the figure is about to grow bigger thanks to higher annual incomes and the increasing trend of consuming ready-to-eat food, especially organic ones.

In the first nine months this year, the consumption index grew by 8% and 10.2% against the same period last year for processed food and drinks, respectively, according to the Vietnam Report Joint Stock Company, a Hanoi-based market research and business assessment firm.

The Business Monitor International (BMI) projected earlier this year that Vietnam's food industry will grow by 10.9% each year between 2015 and 2020.

Tran Kim Oanh, director of the Investment Promotion Center for Industry under the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said that in the 2010-2016 period, the number of companies operating in the sector made up two percent of the total, but their total revenue accounted for 7.3%, or US$54 billion.

With more than half of a population of 95 million of working age, Vietnam’s food processing industry has a lot of room to grow, said experts.

Food and beverages currently account for the highest proportion of monthly consumer spending in Vietnam, accounting for about 35% of the total, she said.

Food processing is one of the industries Vietnam is giving priority to in its growth plans until 2025 with vision until 2035.

Vu Van Chung, deputy head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that so far, foreign investment in the food processing industry of Vietnam was US$11.2 billion in 717 projects, excluding those formed through merger-acquisition deals.

Most foreign investment has flowed into processing agricultural produce, seafood and producing beverages.

The food processing industry in Vietnam is considered attractive thanks to tax preferential policies including an import tax exemption for technologies to upgrade the production chain in Vietnam.

"Despite preferential policies for investors, Vietnam’s food processing industry has not been able to attract investments from markets that strong in this field, like Japan, the U.S., Australia and the EU," Chung said.

The biggest obstacle for the sector right now is that domestic material supply is unable to meet production chain demands.

For example, domestic materials supply can only meet 25% of inputs for the dairy sector, and up to 90% of materials to make cooking oil is imported, he said.

But deputy minister Hai was hopeful that things would improve when the free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed come into effect, opening a broader consumption market for investors in Vietnam in general and investors in the food processing industry in particular.

Enterprises’ observance of import-export laws to be evaluated

A workshop took place in Hanoi on December 4 to collect feedback from enterprises on a draft circular to evaluate the level of law observance in imports and exports and transit of goods.

The event was held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The circular is expected to have huge impacts on Vietnamese exporters and importers as it outlines a set of criteria for the classification of importers and exporters based on the level of law observance and on that basis, these businesses would be subject to different customs inspections and clearance regimes. 

Vietnam’s increasingly open economy has facilitated foreign trade, with turnover doubling the country’s gross domestic products (GDP), said VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong. 

The expansion of import-export industries is posing plenty of challenges to customs authorities and the greatest among these are the rapid increases in the volume and diversity of imported and exported goods, meanwhile the number of qualified customs staff has not been able to keep up, Phong said.

The risk management method based on assessment of businesses’ law observance will be an appropriate approach to deal with the issue, he noted. It would improve the effectiveness of state management and raise awareness of the importance of law compliance among enterprises.

Once the goods are classified based on various degrees of risks associated with them in terms of smuggling, trade fraud or tax evasion, it would enable faster customs clearance for low-risk items, while law-abiding firms would benefit from saved costs and priority placement at customs, the VCCI official added.

Hoang Viet Cuong, deputy head of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, said the customs authority is adopting risk management measures which are widely used in developed countries to reduce burdens for its staff and optimise customs control. 

The law observance-based risk management enables customs authorities to shift from pre- to post-customs clearance inspection with only a minimum quantity of goods checked.

Currently, goods are divided into green, yellow, and red flows for customs clearance, Cuong noted. The green flow applies to commodities entitled to exemption of customs declaration and actual inspection, with 60% of shipments going through this flow. The yellow flow applies to goods with low tax rates, common taxes, or goods imported for export processing (35% of shipments). Meanwhile, the red flow is applicable to commodities requiring permits and subject to higher tax rates (5% of shipments).

Under the draft circular, importers and exporters will be subject to a new system of classification which labels them according to four levels of law observation; Level 1 (High), Level 2 (Medium), Level 3 (Low), and Level 4 (Failure to observe laws).

Based on the classification, the customs authority will decide whether they are entitled to customs incentives, take proper actions to control import-export activities, and prevent smuggling and trade frauds.

A representative from C&A Tax Consultancy Co., Ltd. said the new classification would motivate firms to abide customs regulations more strictly, but noted that there should not be so many criteria that it would be difficult for firms to identify which criteria they violate and that the criteria should be simple and easy to comprehend.

VN spends $260 m to import cars in November     

About 13,000 cars worth US$260 million were imported to the Vietnamese market in November, up 2,000 units and $27 million compared with previous month, according to the most recent General Statistics Office (GSO) report.

 After import stood still in the first nine months of this year, the volume in the last two months sharply increased.

The report showed the increase came mainly from the purchasing demand during the year-end period. The market of auto import is expected to boom in the coming time, after the auto importers’ difficulties with import regulations were resolved.

Thailand and Indonesia were still the leaders in exporting automobiles to Viet Nam in November. In the last week of the month, more than 3,730 units valued $79.8 million were imported to Viet Nam, of which nearly 2,700 came from Thailand and 765 came from Indonesia.

They were followed by Mexico, China and the UK with 127 units, 107 units and 14 units, respectively.

In total, Viet Nam imported 65,770 units in the January-November period, reaching a value of $1.45 billion, decreasing by 21.6 per cent and 23.5 per cent in volume and value, respectively. 

Central bank’s exchange rate hits highest level in months     

The central bank’s daily reference exchange rate of the US dollar against the Vietnamese dong has been adjusted up slightly in recent sessions, pushing it to the highest level since early this year.

On Monday, the central bank appreciated the value of the dollar against the dong by VND5 over last Friday to VND22,755 per dollar, the highest rate since January 2018.

On Tuesday, the central bank kept the rate unchanged. With the current trading band of +/- 3 per cent, the ceiling rate applied by commercial banks for Tuesday is VND23,437 per dollar and the floor rate is VND22,073 per dollar.

At commercial banks, the price of the dollar saw decreases on Tuesday. Vietcombank posted VND23,260-23,350 per dollar for its buying and selling rates, down by VND15 from Monday.

At BIDV, the buying and selling rates were VND23,255-23,345 per dollar, down by VND45.

Techcombank cut the buying rate from the previous day by VND10 and the selling rate by VND15 to VND23,240 and 23,390 per dollar, respectively.

Compared with January 2018, the central bank’s daily reference exchange rate of the US dollar against the dong increased by 1.56 per cent, or VND350.

According to experts, the central bank has decided to raise the reference exchange rate gradually to prepare for the fourth interest rate hike of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) this year, which is expected in December.

The adjustment aims to make the dollar appreciate gradually against the dong instead of surging strongly and suddenly when the Fed increases the rate, minimising adverse impacts on the local foreign exchange market, experts said.

To better manage the country’s foreign exchange market ahead of the Fed’s interest rate hike, the State Bank of Viet Nam has also recently introduced forward sales of US dollars to commercials banks for the first time this year.

The SBV held forward exchange sales on November 23 and 26 to banks with dollar demands. The forward rate of the sales, which have a due date of January 31 next year, is VND23,462 per dollar. 

National IIP rises 10% in 11 months     

Viet Nam’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) expanded 10.1 per cent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2018, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

This was a steady increase from the beginning of the second half of the year, with 10.5 per cent in the first six months, 10.9 per cent in the first seven months, 11.5 per cent in the first eight months, 10.6 per cent in the first nine months and 10.4 per cent in the first 10 months.

In November alone, the IIP increased 9.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

GSO’s industrial economics experts have said reforms in corporate governance policies have facilitated more favourable conditions and reduced inconvenience for manufacturing and business operations in the private sector. That contributed to promoting production of industrial enterprises.

The processing and manufacturing sector, holding a large part in the domestic industrial production, reported high growth in IIP at 12.2 per cent while IIP of the electricity production and distribution, and the water supply and waste-sewage treatment sectors reached 9.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.

The country’s IIP growth rate in the first 11 months may be even higher if the mining industry’s IIP did not reduce 2 per cent year-on-year, according to the experts.

Some key industrial products achieved very high production growth in 11 months such as gasoline and oil (51.8 per cent), raw iron and steel (40.9 per cent), television (23.9 per cent), liquefied gas (22.4 per cent), synthetic fabric (21.3 per cent), fish feed (17.5 per cent), sugar (14.3 per cent) and telephone parts (12.4 per cent).

Many sectors gained IIP growth rates at between 11 per cent and 22.3 per cent, such as coke fuel production, petroleum refining, metal production, chemicals and pharmaceuticals production, motor vehicle, paper, textile and electronics-computers.

However, some others had slight growth or even down in IIP due to difficulties in production and raw material inputs or difficulties in consumption. They included motorbikes (up 4.2 per cent), urea and NPK fertilisers (up 3 per cent), fresh milk (up 1.8 per cent), animal feed (up 1 per cent) and mobile phones (down 3.3 per cent). Especially, crude oil fell 11.9 per cent in production year-on-year.

The IIP in the groups of private and foreign-invested enterprises increased 4.1 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile the State-owned sector reported a decrease of 0.9 per cent.

The central coastal province of Ha Tinh led the nation with IIP growth of 93.2 per cent in the January-November period. The result was mainly thanks to the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company.

Meanwhile, Nghi Son oil refinery helped the central province of Thanh Hoa hold the second position, with its IIP rising by 33.6 per cent.

The capital city of Ha Noi and HCM City reported IIP rises of 7.4 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. 

An Phat Plastic Green Environment JSC wins US$60 million contract     

An Phat Plastic & Green Environment JSC, a member of An Phat Holdings, has signed a contract to supply thin film packaging worth VND1.4 trillion (US$60 million) to a Japanese partner.

The company has been producing and exporting t-shirt packaging to Japan since 2015, accounting for 30 per cent of its total export volume.

The new contract was expected to be a breakthrough for the company’s growth in 2019.

An Phat Holdings introduced its thin film packaging, fully biodegradable plastic bag (AnEco), plastic resin, floor tiles, wall tiles and other products at an international exhibition in Tokyo last month.

In addition to heading to export markets, the company is looking to conquer the local market.

Its AnEco fully biodegradable plastic bags are sold at the Vinmart supermarket chain, meeting clean and green criteria.

The AnEco bag is made from corn starch and bio-plastics imported from Europe which are safe and environmentally friendly.

The bags decompose in just one year into compost for plants. 

Seafood export earnings surge 6.8 percent in 11 months     

Viet Nam’s seafood export turnover in November reached US$852 million, raising the total value for the first 11 months to $8.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 per cent.

Main contributors to the increase were tra fish ($2 billion), tuna and cuttlefish ($600 million) and octopus ($609 million).

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were the four largest importers of Vietnamese seafood.

Meanwhile, markets with strong growth included Thailand (17.1 per cent), the UK (14.5 per cent), the Republic of Korea (12.2 per cent) and Australia (11 per cent).

From January-November, the country spent US$1.58 billion purchasing seafood from overseas, up 21.3 per cent from the same time in 2017.

AgroTrade gave a positive outlook for shrimp shipments in December and at the outset of 2019 as supply from large importers has dwindled dramatically. 

Durian prices in HCM City remain high despite oversupply     

For the last few days, the price of off-season durian in the Mekong (Cuu Long) Delta has declined sharply as traders have stopped purchasing the fruit to export to the Chinese market, according to reports in local newspapers.

The price of type 1 (best quality) durian on Thanh Binh Islet in Vinh Long Province’s Vung Liem District, for example, fell by nearly half to VND40,000 (US$1.7). Ripe durians are stacked up at growers’ houses, but few traders are coming to make purchases.

Le Van Huu, owner of a durian garden in the district, told Nguoi lao dong (The Labourer) newspaper that he has more than 15 tonnes of the fruit that needs to be harvested soon.

“If I sell the fruit at the price of VND30,000-40,000 per kilogramme, I will suffer losses for sure because off-season durian needs more care,” he said. “I can’t sell much at retail prices (directly to consumers) because it can’t be preserved for long and can easily go bad quickly.”

To cope with the oversupply crisis, several durian growers are selling the fruit online or along streets.

Tam in Long An Province told online news site Vnexpress.net that he had sold the fruit for VND10,000-35,000 per kilogramme at his garden.

The lowest price is for type-3 durian, which is small and does not have a good-looking shape.

Tam said that many traders had visited his garden to check out the fruit before the harvest season, but only a few have stopped by recently, and they have bought only a small quantity.

The traders explained that they were only serving domestic consumers and were not exporting the fruit as they had done before.

Vnexpress.net quoted a director of a fruit export-import company in Tien Giang as saying that the price of off-season durian fell because China had stopped the import of Vietnamese durian at border gates. This caused many traders to stop purchasing the fruit as well.

The company’s executive said the firm in recent years had exported 30-40 containers of 18 tonnes each of durian per month to China.

But this year the company sent only one shipment to China, and now has to wait until export of the fruit resumes.

TVC, a director of a company which exports fruit to China, said his company had not bought a large amount since fruit exports to China were not accepted through official channels.

“My business colleagues who usually export to China via unofficial channels are now suffering big losses as they cannot sell the fruit like before,” he said. “In addition, fresh goods lose their value very fast, and they’ve already paid money to farmers.”

TVC said that government agencies should work out a way for firms to export to China via official channels and inform farmers about market information so they can choose what to produce.

Despite the oversupply in the delta, consumers in HCM City are still paying high prices for durian at wet markets and supermarkets.

Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported that durian was being sold at VND90,000-120,000 per kilogramme at fruit shops on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street in District 10 and at An Dong Market in District 5.

At Co.op Mart supermarket, the price was VND80,000 per kilogramme, while at Lotte Mart it was VND89,000 per kilogramme.

Sellers said the prices were high because the fruit was off-season and its quality was guaranteed. Transport and delivery fees have also added to the price.

Dr Bui Chi Buu, former director of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Viet Nam, said the agricultural sector must restructure its production and distribution to solve the problem of farmers struggling to sell products while consumers have to pay high prices for farm produce.

He said farmers should work together in co-operatives and apply safe farm produce standards so they can easily find markets and sell products in large quantities to distributors.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T Import Export Service Trading Co Ltd (Vina T&T Group), said producers should pay closer attention to market information, especially the Chinese market on which many agricultural exporters heavily rely.

To help vary their markets, he said farmers should produce quality products first.

In the first half of the year, China was the largest export market of Vietnamese vegetables and fruit, consuming 74 per cent of the total national vegetable and fruit exports.

However, China has now tightened its control of agricultural imports, which means Viet Nam’s agricultural and aquatic exports to the country will face higher quality requirements and strict rules on product traceability and labeling. 

CIMB Bank launches mobile banking app     

Malaysia’s CIMB Bank on Tuesday launched a mobile banking app, OCTO, its first in any market.

It could be used to fulfill a range of banking needs from registration, verification to card activation and making transactions on the phone, avoiding the need to queue at branches or struggle to find a convenient time, the bank said.

“Viet Nam is one of the most inspirational success stories in Asia, with strong economic growth and tremendous potential for development,” Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, Group CEO of CIMB Group, said.

At the same time digital banking is an inevitable trend with the advancement of technology, he said.

“It will help banks reduce their cost-to-income ratio from 50 per cent to 20 per cent or 30 per cent. Developing digital banking is a key strategy for CIMB in Southeast Asia and Viet Nam is our first pilot market.”

The bank said in the next five years it would focus on improving the app by enhancing users’ experience and connecting with Vietnamese partners to enhance the eco-system of financial services for Vietnamese consumers.

Also on Tuesday CIMB opened a branch on Hai Ba Trung Street in HCM City’s District 3.

On the occasion of launching the app and opening the branch, the bank is offering many promotion programmes. 

Foreign-invested firms interested in cyber security, IP rights

Legal frameworks, policies on intellectual property rights and cyber security were topics of interest for enterprises, especially foreign-invested companies, at the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2018.

The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the VBF Consortium’s Management Board in Hanoi on December 4.

Participants heard that all nations, including Vietnam, are facing the pressing need for a balance between national security and social order and security; privacy of data and personal information; and socio-economic development through digital platforms. 

The digital-based socio-economic development is driven by cross-border data transmission ability and widespread availability of the Internet.

In fact, many foreign businesses operating in Vietnam are utilizing the most advanced information technology in business and cross-border trade. Many companies are using cloud computing, social networking, online payment, and smart technologies to run their business activities.

As these technologies are provided by foreign suppliers, most of which have no establishments or branches in Vietnam, so these businesses need to be able to transmit data across countries.

According to economic experts and representatives from foreign business associations, the Law on Cyber Security, promulgated in June 2018, has certain impacts on Vietnam’s future attractiveness and competitiveness in attracting foreign investment towards high technology and innovation. 

Co-Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam Denis Brunetti highlighted the important role of information technology and technological innovation in Vietnam's socio-economic development over the last 25 years, saying that access to mobile services and the Internet via mobile broadband nationwide has contributed to the country’s comprehensive growth.

According to EuroCham, online copyright violations should be addressed rigorously by amending the Law on Intellectual Property and increasing administrative fines in order to turn Vietnam into a more attractive investment and business environment. 

The Government of Vietnam should make wider assessments of the impacts of the Law on Cyber Security on foreign direct investment and the national economy, said Nicolas Audier who is also Co-chairman of Eurocham. 

Michael Kelly, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Vietnam, expressed his wish to work with the Vietnamese Government in developing effective preventive policies and enhance cyber security, towards creating an open, innovative, and secure online environment, which can promote trade.

Vietnam goes ahead with international economic integration

Vietnam has actively promoted the international economic integration process, which will lay the foundations for a wider and more comprehensive integration, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue at the Vietnam International Economic Integration Forum held in Hanoi on December 4.

The forum was held amidst the backdrop of Vietnam having achieved significant progress in preparing for the implementation of the new-generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Trade agreements include the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which was signed back in March and given approval by the Vietnam National Assembly on November 12, 2018. CPTPP will come into effect on January 14, 2019.

The Deputy PM said Vietnam has achieved certain results in its international economic integration, contributing to the country's wider socio-economic development.

The total import-export turnover of 2018 is expected to reach US$475 billion, including US$239 billion from export turnover, up 11.2 per cent compared to 2017.

Vietnam has fully tapped into traditional markets and has sought ways at making inroads into new markets. In particular, exports of Vietnamese goods to FTA markets have seen high growth compared to figures from last year.

The rate of optimizing advantages in the markets since signing FTAs with Vietnam reached about 40%, a sharp rise against the figure of 35% from the previous years. Such figures prove that Vietnamese businesses have attached importance to the opportunities presented by FTAs.

Despite progress, some localities remain confused by the implementation of international economic integration due to a lack of capability, connectivity, and support between FDI and domestic sectors, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular being affected. In addition, there remains limitations in disseminating information on the integration process, the capacity to resolve trade disputes and international investment.

The global economy has recently shown signs of change with the rising trend of trade protectionism, which has seriously threatened the trade liberalization and global economic integration process.

Deputy PM Hue said current events in the world have affected the global economy as a whole, as well as a number of countries’ policies, including Vietnam. Therefore, the Vietnamese government needs to put forth analyses, forecasts and policies that aim to reduce the negative impact from the global trend of protectionism in order to devise proper solutions that can be implemented.

During the forum, speakers focused on analyzing and forecasting future trends of the world’s economy, with particular focus going to trade protectionism and the developments in trading relations among the world’s major economies, which have had impacts on both the domestic and global economy.

Participants also assessed the potential effect of new-generation FTAs such as CPTPP and EVFTA and issues relating to institutional reform and market approach. A strong assessment of FTAs will aid in devising solutions for removing hurdles in the implementation of commitments set by international integration.

They also exchanged ideas on core issues in the implementation of policies such as action plans focused on international economic integration.

Cashless services explode in Vietnam

Vietnam’s central bank says the value of cashless transactions more than doubled over the first three quarters of 2018.

The Department of Payments at the State Bank of Vietnam reported a strong rise in payments over electronic channels between January and September, compared to the same period last year.

Accordingly, the value of online payments rose by 18.3%, while transactions over mobile apps and e-wallets rose by 126% and 161% respectively.

The number of transactions over Internet, mobile and e-wallet channels also rose 33%, 30% and 28% respectively.

"Mobile payment is becoming a new trend with the rise of technologies such as QR codes, contact and contactless payments, and the tokenization of card information," said Nghiem Thanh Son, deputy director of the department.

The first months of 2018 saw the number of users and the value of transactions through electronic channels such as online, mobile and e-wallets rocket at many banks.

At Sacombank, statistics show that as of October, the number of registrations for online banking reached over 1.3 million accounts and for mobile banking 1.1 million accounts. The total value of transactions per month through both channels exceeded VND108 trillion (US$4.63 billion).

For VietinBank, the country’s second largest lender by assets, the number of internet banking users in the first half of this year surged 114% over the same period last year to a total of 1.5 million accounts and VND44.26 trillion (US$1.90 billion) in total transaction value.

Its mobile banking users also reached 1.5 million, engaging in transactions totalling VND64.35 trillion (US$2.76 billion) between January and June.

Over 7 million people are using digital services provided by MBBank. The average transaction value per month reached VND27.4 trillion (US$1.17 billion), with digital transactions making up approximately 2.6 million out of 3 million total monthly transactions seen at this bank.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank’s Ho Chi Minh branch, noted that the number of online banking customers has seen average annual increase of 20% in recent years.

Minh said that in order to continue developing non-cash payment channels, credit institutions should pay attention to linking their cashless systems with the public sector, specifically in areas like health, education, payroll and utilities.

Cashless services should also expand to include online payment options for public services like buses, trains and other smart urban solutions, he said.

Vietjet Air set to launch new routes from Van Don International Airport

Vietjet Air, the national low-cost carrier, has plans in the works to open air routes to and from Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh starting from mid-January 2019.

Luu Duc Khanh, Vietjet Air CEO, unveiled the information during a working session with Quang Ninh province’s People’s Committee on December 4.

Mr Khanh said the airline is expected to launch air routes to and from Van Don International Airport between January 15 and 20, 2019.An official announcement will be made after the airline arranges their fleet of aircraft and completes all other related formalities.

The province of Quang Ninh will provide support to the airline in terms of communication, advertisement and locations in which to open ticket agents within the locality. In addition, it will also offer travel services from Van Don to Ha Long and free sightseeing tours to a number of tourist attractions for passengers who use the airline.

Previously, Vietnam’s national carrier flag Vietnam Airlines had opened an air route from Tan Son Nhat to Van Don. However, the route only had one flight per day using an Airbus A321. The flight from Tan Son Nhat airport takes off at 14:00 and lands at Van Don airport at 16:05, whilst on the return journey it departs from Van Don at 16:45 and lands at Tan Son Nhat at 18:50.

An economy class one-way ticket is priced at VND800,000, excluding taxes and fees. All tickets for the first flight from Tan Son Nhat airport on December 30 have been sold.

Van Don International Airport is a private airport with a total investment capital of more than VND7,400 billion and operates under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. The airport has the capability to welcome 7,000 passengers each day and aims to welcome 2.5 million passengers by 2020.

Vietnam, RoK strengthen trade, investment cooperation

Considerable developments in politics, economy, labour and socio-culture have been recorded in the Vietnam-the Republic of Korea (RoK) relations thanks to joint efforts made by the two countries since they set up diplomatic ties in 1992.

They have deepened the strategic cooperative partnership based on similarities in culture and history, as well as complementary economies since 2009, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The RoK is currently the third largest trade partner of Vietnam (just following China and the EU), the fourth largest importer and the second exporter of the Southeast Asian country. Two-way trade has rocketed right after the Vietnam-RoK free trade agreement takes effect from the end of 2015.

To be more specific, trade turnover surged 123 times, from 0.5 billion USD in 1992 to 61.5 billion USD in 2017. In the first 10 months of this year, two-way trade hit 54.2 billion USD, up 7.6 percent year on year. Of which, Vietnam exported 15.2 billion USD worth of products to the RoK, and splashed out 39.2 billion USD on imports from the later, rising 25.3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Vietnam has exported more processed products with high added value to the East Asian country, including engineering, electronic and telecommunication products, and processed food. 

Made-in-Vietnam goods have gained foothold in the Korean market, including garment and textiles. Vietnam is now the second largest supplier of clothing for the RoK, accounting for 32.67 percent of the market share, behind China (34.46 percent). However, experts said that Vietnam will surpass China to become the leading provider soon.

According to Tran Hong Quang, Director of the National Centre for Socio-economic Information and Forecast, last year, the RoK ranked second among 115 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with total registered capital of 8.49 billion USD, behind Japan who registered 9.11 billion USD. 

As of August 2018, it became the largest investor in Vietnam by landing 61.08 billion USD in the country while Japan fell to the second place with total investment worth 55.84 billion USD.

Meanwhile, Professor Park Bun-soon from Sejong University said that Vietnam is a favourite destination of Korean FDI. A number of RoK firms have poured their capital into garment and footwear sectors to take advantage of the abundant supply of human resources there. In recent years, Korean giants like Sam Sung, LG, Hyosung, Lotte and CJ have expanded their operation in Vietnam. Particularly, Samsung’s exports accounted for 20 percent of Vietnam’s total shipments.

As for the RoK Government, Vietnam is an important partner in ASEAN in its New Southern Policy, he stressed, saying that trade value with Vietnam makes up more than 40 percent of the total trade with other countries in the bloc.

Kien Giang enjoys strong growth in exports

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang earned nearly 580 million USD from exports in the first 11 months of 2018, exceeding its yearly target by 11.3 percent, and representing a surge of 35 percent from the same period last year.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the province’s export revenue for the whole year is estimated at 640 million USD, up more than 35 percent year on year and surpassing its target by 23 percent.

It earned 218 million USD from exporting rice, 213 million USD from aquatic products and 170 million USD from footwear.

Kien Giang’s products have been sold in 35 markets around the world, including some new ones like Israel.

The department attributed the surge in exports to an increase in rice demand of some markets including Malaysia, China and the Philippines, along with the development of new markets, as well as higher rice prices.

Meanwhile, recovery was also seen in demand of aquatic products of traditional markets.

However, the aquaculture sector of Kien Giang has suffered sharp drop in many markets due to the EU’s yellow card for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and a shortage in materials for export.

In 2019, Kien Giang aims to earn 680 million USD in exports. Chairman of the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Pham Vu Hong has said the province will focus on developing safe and sustainable aquaculture and agricultural production, while supporting local firms in applying high technology in production.

Kien Giang will set up a Customs Sub-Department of Rach Gia city to serve exporters, he added.