The RoK purchased US$67.7 million worth of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables in the reviewed period, representing a year on year rise of 59.3%. Meanwhile, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports to Thailand shot up by 112% to hit US$47.6 million.

According to Vinafruit, Vietnam earned US$470 million from exporting fruit and vegetables in March, up 44.3% against February, and up 12.4% compared to the same period in 2023.

The March figure raised the country’s three-month export turnover of fruit and vegetables to US$1.3 billion, up 30% year on year. This was the first time that the fruit and vegetable export value has exceeded US$1 billion right in the first quarter, signaling strong growth for the sector in the future.

China was the largest consumer of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables, spending US$759.4 million on imports, up 32.4% year on year.

Strong growth was also seen in many other markets, including the United States with US$67.7 million, up 33.9% year on year.

Government should have policies to make use of remittance inflows

For Vietnam, the remittance inflows have strongly increased in recent years, the state should have policies to exploit this resource for the country’s development and for the benefit of remittance keepers.

Remittances have become increasingly important to the economic development of Vietnam in offsetting trade deficits and contributing to the national foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, in January 2023, the municipal People's Committee assigned the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City to embark on the project ‘Policy to attract and promote effective effectiveness of remittance resources in the city’.

Since then, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese has repeatedly sought the opinions of relevant departments, agencies, diplomatic agencies in countries with similar conditions and the Vietnamese community abroad on the project.

Recently, Head Vu Thi Huynh Mai of the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City said that this agency is currently coordinating with the State Bank of Ho Chi Minh City to receive direction from the Standing Committee of the city Party Committee. As per schedule, the project will be submitted at the beginning of the second quarter of 2024.

Ms. Mai expected that after the project is approved, along with the implementation of Resolution 98 with many open mechanisms to attract investment, remittance resources will be poured into investment projects, especially social security projects, and infrastructure development, creating a positive impact on the city’s overall development.

It is noteworthy that in the draft project, Ho Chi Minh City is considered to be a remittance transfer hub. Therefore, remittances only contribute to Ho Chi Minh City's economy by promoting consumer demand and use of services. The southern metropolis neither reached specific goals of attracting remittance resources nor had a specialized policy mechanism to attract capital from overseas Vietnamese to put into production and business to boost the economy. Additionally, the city has not had policies for the formation and development of financial products suitable for different income levels.

With this project, Ho Chi Minh City aims to create a corridor of policy mechanisms and infrastructure to help remittances pour into two official channels including commercial banks and remittance companies. In particular, remittance resources should be oriented toward socio-economic development through investment and business development in Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, city administrations should encourage overseas Vietnamese to contribute to social, cultural, educational, healthcare and environmental development projects in the city.

Having lived and worked for many years in the United States plus more than 20 years of teaching at universities in Vietnam, Professor Ha Ton Vinh said that while working for the World Bank and international organizations in more than 90 countries, wherever he has lived, he met Vietnamese people who always hope to settle in their hometown or invest in their fatherland. Many overseas Vietnamese also hope to invest in Vietnam so that they and their children can later return to live, work or retire in their home country.

The Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Overseas Vietnamese should set up a specialized advisory group which will give consultation to Vietnamese in overseas countries to help overseas Vietnamese understand more about the country’s investment opportunities and resolve problems. Ho Chi Minh City should also organize a tour to help overseas Vietnamese know what projects Ho Chi Minh City wants to attract investment.

Transferring money to Vietnam for investment or savings funds is always their choice. Because they can stay in Vietnam for a short time with little understanding and experience in investment, they have very little information about projects that suit their needs, financial capabilities, or locality; as a result, they don’t pour money on any project, said Professor Ha Ton Vinh. Therefore, the city should establish a consulting organization to help them more.

Meanwhile, experts from the Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts Global (AVSE Global) said that migrants are facing high transaction costs, so they tend to remit less. Thus, experts propose that Ho Chi Minh City implement policies to reduce transaction costs; issue remittance bonds; and improve the investment environment.

Many experts proposed the issuance of long-term bonds and bills. For instance, lecturer Vo Hong Duc of Ho Chi Minh City Open University said that to encourage investment from overseas Vietnamese, issuing overseas bonds is very important.

Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City can issue urban bonds (also known as overseas bonds), to provide capital for large construction projects. With a transparent mechanism, the starting point is to encourage overseas Vietnamese to buy bonds to invest in projects, they will enjoy stable interest rates, and tax exemption on interest and are guaranteed to bring back money abroad after projects are complete.

Aqua-product exporters concerned about Japan’s new antibiotic residue rules

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has written to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development expressing concerns over a new limit on doxycycline antibiotics in aqua-product exports to Japan.

According to shrimp exporters, they are having a hard time exporting shrimp to Japan due to the recently-issued regulations on the limitation of doxycycline antibiotics.

VASEP said that many countries neither ban using doxycycline in fishery farming nor inspect residues of these antibiotics in imported aqua-products.

Some markets, including the European Union (EU), China and New Zealand allow a maximum residue limit of 100 ppb on aqua-product imports. This limit is appropriate for aqua-products under the current tight control over fishery farming, said VASEP.

According to Japan’s current regulations, the maximum acceptable threshold for chemical residues and antibiotics without established maximum residue limit (MRL) levels in imported seafood is more than 10 times more stringent than those adopted by other countries, just equal to one tenth of the maximum acceptable threshold of many other markets.

To remove challenges for aqua-product exporters, VASEP would like the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to forward their concerns to Japanese authorities, requesting to adjust the MRL for doxycycline to match those limits regulated by the EU, China and New Zealand.

Real estate businesses concerned about bond maturity

Real estate companies are coming under pressure as an estimated VND213,521 billion worth of bonds, 37% of them belonging to the real estate sector, will fall due in the rest of this year, according to the Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA).

Most of the real estate bonds will fall due in the second and third quarters of this year.

In the year to date, businesses have issued VND10,715 billion worth of bonds, a year-on-year decrease of 61.5%. Some VND6,400 billion of this amount comes from the real estate sector.

Given weak cash flows, big debt and limited resources for repaying maturing debt, pressures are mounting on bond issuing real estate businesses. However, the amount of bonds falling due this year is still much lower than the VND147 trillion of bonds with delayed payments of principal and interest last year.

Currently, many real estate firms have proactively bought back bonds before maturity. However, the total value of bond buybacks has reached only VND18,278 billion, down by 38.4% versus the previous year.

The real estate sector still leads the way, with 45.1% of the total value of bonds repurchased before maturity, making up VND8,250 billion.

Experts said the corporate bond market in the first quarter of this year remains subdued due to the continuation of the trend from 2023 and incidents caused by large corporations greatly eroding investor confidence in the market.

VND32 trillion of public investment unallocated in Q1

Some VND32 trillion of public investment capital had not been allocated for projects in the year to end-March, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

This year, the Government plans to disburse a total of VND657.35 trillion for publicly funded projects.

Delays in public investment capital allocation primarily stem from time-consuming procedures.

Projects requiring approval from the prime minister for a funding extension, or those within the scope of national target programs, face implementation challenges.

The allocation of funds from foreign sources has also been stagnant due to incomplete procedures, pending approvals, and complications in equipment valuation and procurement processes.

Infrastructure projects, particularly in regions such as the Mekong Delta and the south of the country, lagged behind schedules due to a sand shortage for road foundation filling, leading to construction delays.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said accelerating capital disbursement would be the key to driving economic growth this year.

Despite a positive trend in disbursement in the first quarter, substantial disparities persist among agencies and localities in meeting disbursement targets, warranting immediate attention, he added.

In the first quarter of this year, public investment disbursement reached nearly VND89.9 trillion, representing 13.67% of the Government’s full-year plan.

While four central agencies and 23 localities achieved high disbursement rates of over 20%, there are still 38 central agencies and 26 localities with disbursement rates below the national average, with 15 of them having yet to disburse any funds.

F&B expo to be held in HCMC next month

A large food and beverage exposition will be held in HCMC in the middle of May this year, with the expected participation of some 40 domestic and international enterprises and organizations.

The Investment and Trade Promotion Center of HCMC (ITPC) said at a news briefing yesterday, April 16, that it will organize the HCMC International Exhibition of Food and Beverages (HCMC FOODEX 2024) to boost the city’s food industry and revitalize production activities.

The expo, themed “Connecting values for mutual development”, is scheduled to continue from May 15 to 18 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, District 7.

With some 500 booths, the expo is expected to contribute to showcasing the overall development of the city’s food processing industry, promoting high-quality products and reputable businesses, fostering business cooperation opportunities, and attracting effective investment resources.

HCMC FOODEX will have a broad range of trade promotion activities, including seminars discussing sustainable growth strategies and maintaining product quality, among others.

A cooking competition, with the theme “Vietnamese Soul in Contemporary Cuisine,” is the highlight of the event. The competition will be co-organized by the HCMC FOODEX 2024 organizing committee and the HCMC Professional Chefs Association.

HCMC FOODEX 2024 anticipates drawing 18,000 participants and solidifying its position as a world-class international trade expo within Vietnam’s food processing sector.

Vietjet adds more flights to Dien Bien

To meet the rising demands to visit Dien Bien of people and tourists during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, Vietjet increased the frequencies of flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the northwestern province to 28 per week.

Accordingly, there will be 14 flights on the Hanoi - Dien Bien route during the week from May 3 to May 11. Besides, the airline also operates 14 flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Dien Bien on the occasion of the anniversary of the globe-shaking victory which “resounded throughout the five continents".

Vietjet also focuses its resources to increase flights, reduce turnaround times, ensure good services at airports and bring passengers promotions with the best price.

During the week of the holiday of April 30 and May 1, Vietjet will also add 86,000 seats, equivalent to over 450 flights on tourist routes and increase the frequency of flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, and Nha Trang, among others./.

VN's exports $25.77 billion to the US in Q1

Việt Nam exported US$25.77 billion to the US during the first three months, accounting for 27.7 per cent of the Southeast Asian economy's total export turnover and an increase of 24.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Of the big-ticket items, six exceeded $1 billion, eight exceeded $500 million and 19 exceeded $100 million. The $1 billion club included computers and electronic products, machinery, textiles, wood products and footwear.

Compared to the same period in 2023, 31 out of 36 export items to the US increased in turnover, including nine items with significant increases of over $100 million and one item with a very high increase (computers, electronic products and components) increased by over $1 billion.

Việt Nam's trade surplus with the US in the first quarter of 2024 reached $22.38 billion.

While Việt Nam ranks among the largest exporters to the US, the Southeast Asian economy accounts for about 3 per cent of the imports to the world's largest economy, leaving a lot of untapped growth potential especially after the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last year.

The Vietnamese community living in the US, with over 2.5 million people, has served as a bridge between Việt Nam and the US in various fields such as investment, trade, tourism, and remittances, according to economists.

In addition, Việt Nam's exports to the US have benefited from the weaker Vietnamese đồng. 

Based on the data collected in the first quarter of this year, Việt Nam's exports, imports, and trade surplus activities with the US are forecasted to reach as high as $103 billion, with a trade surplus of over $90 billion in 2024.

Japan's Takashimaya eyes new shopping hub in Vietnam by 2026

Takashimaya, the Japanese operator of upscale department stores, plans to open a shopping centre in Hanoi as soon as 2026, according to Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia.

This will be the company's first new location abroad in eight years, reported the newswire.

Nikkey Asia quoted Yoshio Murata, president of Takashimaya, saying subsidiary Toshin Development has started work on a mixed-use complex in Hanoi, that along with a department store will include space for housing, offices, and commercial lease.

Takashimaya is expected to invest an estimated US$12.9 million in opening the department store, with project set to be the first Japanese department store chain to establish a physical presence in Hanoi.

The new complex will feature a department store boasting about 10,000 square metres of sales space, along with a range of specialty stores. Takashimaya is also considering bringing in Japanese tenants to sell items such as food, cosmetics, and children's clothing.

Hanoi will be the second Vietnamese city to host a Takashimaya retail centre. The complex that opened in Ho Chi Minh City in 2016 has roughly 150 specialty shops along with a department store.

It is also Takashimaya's first overseas location since its Bangkok store opened in 2018, and its fifth department store in Southeast Asia and China combined. The firm also intends to expand the Ho Chi Minh City location in the future.

At present, Vietnam is viewed as Takashimaya's biggest growth market due to the country’s rapidly expanding middle and upper classes, although it faces heavy competition there.

In addition to local players, Lotte Group of the Republic of Korea has opened a mall and a department store in Hanoi, whilst Japan's Aeon Mall also has a presence in the Vietnamese capital.

At present, Takashimaya has invested in the construction and operation of a school in co-operation with a Vietnamese partner, whilst it is looking to invest more capital in joint real estate development projects in the country.

The Japanese company aims for Vietnamese operations to double the sum of operating profit and dividend income to US$28.5 million by the fiscal year ending February, 2027.

Southern tourism on right track

Impressive results in the tourist number and revenue in many southern localities in the first quarter of this year showed that the growth of sector of the region has remained stable, signaling a good summer season in the second quarter.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism reported that the southern hub welcomed 1.38 million international tourists and 8 million domestic ones in the period, representing year-on-year increases of 32% and 6.6%, respectively. Total revenue from tourism activities reached 44.7 trillion VND (nearly 1.79 billion USD), surging by nearly 24% from the same period last year.

In the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, travel firms have offered many tours to ecological areas, beaches, and islands, which are popular choices for many tourists. The locality served over 2.7 million holiday-makers in the period, up over 22% year-on-year.

Its neighbour Dong Thap province, known for tourism products associated with agricultural production experience, craft village, ecotourism, and culture, attracted 1.15 million tourists in the last quarter, earning 480 billion VND in revenue.

According to Vice Director of the HCM City Department of Tourism Le Truong Hien Hoa, the 20th Tourism Festival of HCM City from April 4 – 7 was eagerly awaited by many tourists looking to purchase packages with many incentives.

At the event, accommodation, travel agencies, and culinary businesses introduced 400 tour programmes, accommodation and culinary services, and health care services combined with tourism.

The Saigontourist Travel Service Company said it offered many domestic and international tour packages with well-connected itineraries and diverse experiences, including those to domestic attractive destinations such as Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Phu Yen, Con Dao, Vung Tau, and the Mekong Delta region, with flexible transportation options.

Similarly, the Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transports Joint Stock Company (Vietravel) offered various experiential tour packages with discounts, aiming to stimulate the demand in the summer tourism season.

To attract more visitors, Kien Giang’s tourism industry will continue to develop new products and focus on promoting and connecting more international flight routes to make it more convenient for the visitors, and providing products associated with environmental protection and community-based tourism towards ensuring a sustainable development for the sector./.

Central bank begins currency intervention to address market volatility

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has begun selling US dollars to intervene in the currency market for banks that have a negative foreign currency balance and those that want to buy, said Pham Chi Quang, an official of the central bank, at a press briefing held on April 19.

The currency intervention move comes as the spot exchange rate between the local currency VND and the US$ has moved close to the 5% mark since the beginning of the year.

This strong intervention measure is expected to relieve market psychology, clear supply, and ensure smooth foreign currency liquidity, said Quang, who is director of the Monetary Policy Department of the central bank.

The State Bank is currently selling US$1 for VND25,450, equal to the selling exchange rate listed at the State Bank Exchange in Hanoi.

The US$/VND exchange rate has been on an upward trajectory over recent days. Indeed, Vietcombank on April 19 bought US$1 for VND25,133 and sold US$1 for VND25,473, equal to the prescribed ceiling rate. The latest exchange rate has increased by more than 5% compared to the beginning of the year.

Quang attributed the heating up of the local foreign currency market to both external factors and local rising demand. According to information given by the official, the US Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates due to high inflation, a move that is contrary to investors’ expectations. Meanwhile, local businesses are in dire need of foreign currencies as they seek to import materials for production.

At the press briefing, Dao Minh Tu, deputy governor of the SBV, pointed out that throughout the first three months of the year the central bank had closely monitored market fluctuations and managed the central exchange rate flexibly, thereby creating conditions for import and export activities.

However, he stated that sharp market fluctuations occurring globally had caused the domestic currencies of many countries to depreciate strongly, ranging from over 3% to nearly 9%. Vietnam is no exception, with its exchange rate devalued by 4.9% compared to the beginning of the year.

The central bank stands ready to intervene in the market in the event that the exchange rate continues to have adverse impacts, affirmed Tu, adding that foreign exchange reserves over the years have still been guaranteed when the operator has decided to intervene in the market.

Basically, currency intervention is needed to ensure market liquidity is smooth, and legal foreign currency needs are fully met, he stressed.

Quang Ninh attracts additional 115 million USD from Japan investors

The Quang Ninh Economic Zone Authority (QEZA) presented investment certificates to two Japanese projects worth 115 million USD in total at a conference held at Song Khoai Industrial Park (IP) on April 19.

One of the two projects is a plastics molding plant invested by Tenma Vietnam Co., Ltd. at a total cost of 56 million USD. It will become operational in the second quarter of 2025.

The other is an electro-mechanical system project invested by Yaskawa Electric Vietnam Co. Ltd., which has total registered capital of nearly 59 million USD, and will be put into operation in April 2026.

Quang Ninh province wants to lure at least 3 billion USD in FDI capital into local IPs and 55 trillion VND (2.16 billion USD) in domestic capital, while targeting wastewater treatment and monitoring systems installed at all of the IPs.

The province urged FDI firms to work towards the target of 3 billion USD in revenue and 850 billion VND in state budget contribution, and job generation for more than 3,000 workers.

The conference also helped the QEZA to gain a better insight into their difficulties, and better grasp the opportunity to ride the FDI capital wave.

At the event, participants discussed and responded to inquiries from investors, including the value added tax refund, support mechanism for enterprises to install solar panels, job demands of local people, and fire prevention and control procedures./.

Vietnam emerges as Singapore’s largest rice export partner

Vietnam was Singapore’s largest rice export partner during the first quarter of the year, accounting for 32.03% of the island state’s overall market share, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Singapore.

Elsewhere, India and Thailand ranked second and third with their market shares in Singapore standing at 6.96% and 8.28% respectively.

Statistics compiled by Singaporean agencies also indicate that Vietnamese rice exports to the this market throughout the reviewed period grew well, with turnover reaching over US$26.5 million, up 80.46% compared to the same period last year.

Most notably, apart from advantageous Vietnamese products such as white rice, other product categories such as sticky rice and milled fragrant rice have also risen to dominate the majority of the market share of 80.08% and 73.33% in the Singaporean market, respectively.

As a result, Vietnam outperformed other exporters such as Thailand and India to become Singapore’s largest rice supplier.

India recently prohibited export of non-basmati white rice starting from July 20, which has further opened up opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to increase its export to Singapore.

Industry insiders point out that Vietnamese businesses are required to continue to improve their competitiveness whilst ensuring the quality of rice products to make further inroads into the market.

The signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for rice cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore is anticipated to become an effective tool for maintaining the leading position of Vietnamese rice products in the Singapore market, they say.

Proposal to abolish quotas on Vietnamese shrimp imported into South Korea

The Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) has just sent Official Dispatch 47/CV-VASEP to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the abolition of quotas for Vietnamese shrimp imported into South Korea.

This year is the 10th year of implementing the Việt Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA). According to the roadmap, most seafood products have a tax rate of 0 per cent.

However, according to quota commitments, there are still a group of seven seafood product lines from Việt Nam to South Korea that only enjoy preferential tariffs based on a quota, currently at 15,000 tonnes per year.

Specifically, for this group, South Korea only exempts Việt Nam from import tax under VKFTA for 15,000 tonnes per year.

The volume of imported products exceeding the quota will be subject to a base tax rate of 20 per cent.

Thus, for key shrimp products alone, 34-48 per cent of Vietnamese shrimp output imported into South Korea is subject to an out-of-quota tax of 20 per cent in the 2016-2023 period.

This disincentivises importers to increase purchases of Vietnamese shrimp to serve the growing demand in South Korea, according to Vasep.

They are considering buying more shrimp from other countries such as Peru that also have free trade agreements with them, but the import tax rate has returned to 0 per cent with a five-to-seven-year roadmap under the FTA with South Korea.

This eliminated all tariff advantages from VKFTA for Vietnamese frozen shrimp products in the South Korean market, said Vasep.

Facing this situation, requesting South Korea to remove the tariff mechanism for Vietnamese frozen shrimp under VKFTA was very urgent to protect the market share and long-term benefits of Vietnamese shrimp in the market, it said.

Listed firms see positive signals in Q1

Following a year of hardships in 2023, the transition to 2024 has witnessed a remarkable surge in the activities of businesses. With a strong start in the first quarter, numerous enterprises expect to experience a more prosperous year ahead.

A recent report from the General Statistics Office showed that Việt Nam’s exports reached an estimated US$93.06 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 17% increase year-on-year, while imports amounted to $84.96 billion. 

During the period, the country posted a trade surplus of over $8 billion. Key contributors were businesses involved in exporting mobile phones and components, textiles and garments, aquaculture, wood and wooden products, footwear and leather goods.

Thành Công Textile Garment Investment Trading reported a 6 per cent revenue increase in the first quarter, reaching an estimated $39 million. Its projected profit for the same period is $2.5 million, up 9 per cent from last year. 

The company expects to fulfil its annual targets for 2024, with 85 per cent of the second quarter orders confirmed and 80 per cent for the third quarter, said Trần Như Tùng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thành Công Textile. 

At its recent annual general meeting, shareholders approved the 2024 business plan, targeting a revenue of over VNĐ3.7 trillion ($145.8 million) and a profit after tax of over VNĐ161.2 billion. 

These ambitious goals represent growth rates of 12 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, over last year. The company has already attained 26 per cent of its revenue target and 38.4 per cent of its profit target in the first three months.

Garment 10 Corporation, another textile company, also witnessed positive financial results for the first quarter. Its total revenue reached over VNĐ1.1 trillion, a 24.2 per cent increase from the same period last year. Particularly, export revenue saw significant growth to VNĐ1.02 trillion, up nearly 29 per cent. 

PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) experienced improved business performance last quarter, thanks to a more favourable economic outlook and positive developments in the petroleum industry. 

PVOIL's petroleum trading volume reached nearly 1.4 million cubic metres/tonne, a 22 per cent increase. The company’s consolidated revenue rose 41 per cent to VNĐ29.4 trillion, while consolidated profit before tax reached VNĐ300 billion, up 5 per cent. 

It expanded with 33 new gas stations during the quarter, bringing the total to 789.

PVOIL has set ambitious targets for 2024, aiming for a revenue of VNĐ83 trillion and a profit before tax of VNĐ740 billion. They have already achieved 41 per cent of their annual profit target in just three months.

Some banks have reported optimistic financial results for Q1. SeABank recorded a profit before tax of over VNĐ1.5 trillion, up 41 per cent year-on-year. Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) announced a profit before tax of VNĐ2.6 trillion, matching the previous year.

Mobile World Investment Corporation showed positive performance in the early months of 2024, with a gain of 14 per cent on-year in revenue to VNĐ21.6 trillion.

The enterprise continued to review and improve the profitability of their Mobile World and Điện Máy Xanh retail chains. After five months of restructuring, positive changes in operational efficiency are seen.

Saigon General Service Corporation (Savico) has set ambitious business targets for 2024. It aims to achieve a sales volume of 36,595 vehicles, revenue of VNĐ24.23 trillion, a 16 per cent growth from 2023, and a profit after tax of VNĐ124.9 billion, a significant 181 per cent increase from 2023. 

The company also plans to distribute 5 per cent dividends.

Savico's leadership predicts 5-7 per cent growth in the automotive market for 2024, focusing on improving pricing, reducing inventory and optimising operations to enhance profitability.

Positive factors for the automotive market include the continued 2 per cent VAT reduction, low interest rates and the development of the North-South expressway infrastructure project. 

Moreover, Việt Nam’s low vehicle ownership rate compared to neighbouring countries presents a significant long-term opportunity.

In the short term, Savico needs a stringent policy to ensure business effectiveness and drive value-added growth. For a long-term prospect, it aims to capitalise on market opportunities and continue collaborating with partners to expand their showroom presence, with a target of 120 showrooms nationwide by 2026.

In the textile and garment sector, businesses acknowledge the challenging landscape of high competition, tight deadlines and a potential decrease in prices for orders in the second half of 2024.

Despite the challenging business conditions, Thành Công Textile has devised plans for strong growth in the current and future years. They have invested in the SY Vina dyeing plant, which offers a cost-effective solution for obtaining dyeing permits and exporting products to the US market. 

It is also actively seeking project transfer partners in Vĩnh Long Province and Trảng Bàng Town, with potential profit recognition this year.

Meanwhile, Garment 10 Corporation highlights the proactive measures undertaken by enterprises to foster growth this year. 

These measures include market exploration and expansion, both domestically and internationally, as well as diversifying products and customer bases. The company is investing resources in production, research, product innovation and exploring new designs, determining to seize every opportunity to expand its market presence. 

Takashimaya Group to open first shopping center in Hà Nội by 2026

Takashimaya Group, renowned for operating high-end Japanese shopping centres, has announced its intention to open a shopping center in Hà Nội by 2026, as reported by Nikkei.

Yoshio Murata, Chairman of the Takashimaya Group, stated that their subsidiary, Toshin Development, has commenced construction of a complex in Việt Nam's capital city, Hà Nội. In addition to a sizable supermarket, the facility will feature residential, office and commercial rental spaces.

Takashimaya is projected to invest approximately two billion yen (equivalent to US$12.9 million) into this shopping center. The new complex will house a shopping centre spanning around 10,000 square metres, hosting a range of signature stores. Takashimaya is considering employing Japanese staff to sell products like food, cosmetics and children's clothing.

Commercial banks raise deposit rates

VPBank, Bắc Á Bank and GPBank raised deposit interest rates this morning for deposits with terms within 1-5 months, marking the commercial banks' first deposit rates increase since the end of March.

VPBank raised the rates by 0.3 percentage points whileBắc Á Bank raised the rates by 0.15-0.40 percentage points across the board. Of note, deposits for 24-36 month terms enjoyed the most significant increase of 0.4 percentage points to 5.5 per cent per year, the highest rate offered by commercial banks for saving accounts under VNĐ1 billion (US$40,000).

Meanwhile, GPBank offers depositors an increase of 0.2 percentage points across the board.

GPBank's rates were posted this morning at 2.5 per cent per year for 1-month, 3 per cent for 2-month, 3.02 per cent for 3-month, 3.04 per cent for 4-month and 3.05 per cent for 5-month deposits.

The deposit interest rates for the 6-month term were posted as 4.15 per cent per year, 7-month term at 4.25 per cent, 8-month term at 4.3 per cent, 9-month term at 4.4 per cent, and 4.85 per cent for 12-month.

The deposit interest rates for the 13-36 month terms have been listed at 4.95 per cent after the increase, the highest rates offered by GPBank at this time.

Since the beginning of April, deposit rates have been picking up after a period of funds being channelled from saving accounts into other assets, seeking higher returns.

As of this morning, ABBank offered the highest savings deposit interest rate at 9.65 per year for the 13-month term, applicable to savings deposits of VNĐ1.5 trillion or more. The runner-up was PVComBank with an interest rate of 9.5 per cent for the 12-13 month term, with a minimum deposit of VNĐ2 trillion.

HDBank offered 8.1 per cent for the 13-month term and 7.7 per cent for the 12-month term, with a minimum balance requirement of VNĐ500 billion.

According to the latest data released by the General Statistics Office, as of March 25, the capital mobilisation of credit institutions decreased by 0.76 per cent compared to the end of 2023, while at the same time last year, it increased by nearly 1.2 per cent. Meanwhile, credit into the economy has increased again by the end of the first quarter after two months of negative growth. 

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes