According to the latest data from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), deposits increased by 1.38 percent to nearly 11.1 quadrillion VND in the first two months of 2022.

Among the total, deposits of individual customers reached more than 5.46 quadrillion VND, up more than 56 trillion VND against January 2022 and 159.6 trillion VND against December 2021. Deposits of corporate customers were more than 5.63 quadrillion VND, down 8.8 trillion VND against December 2021.

Most recently, VPBank announced the new savings interest rate list for individual customers from April 15. Specifically, the highest savings interest rate at the bank was raised from 6.7 percent per annum to 6.9 percent per annum, applicable to online savings of more than 50 billion VND on the term of 36 months. For smaller deposits, the new interest rate level at VPBank ranges from 6.1 percent to 6.7 percent per annum, up 0.4-0.6 percentage points against previously.

At MBBank, new savings interest rates have been applied since April with an increase of 0.2 percentage points on short terms from one to three months and the long term of 36 months. The highest rate at the bank is currently 6.6 percent per annum, against 6.4 percent per annum as in March.

Many other banks have also raised the savings interest rates for individual customers such as Techcombank, NamABank, OCB, SCB, LienVietPostBank, HDBank and ACB.

Experts said the move to increase deposit interest rates at banks during this period is understandable when credit demand is rising significantly. Credit increased by 5.04 percent by the end of March 2022, 2.3 times higher than the same period last year. This figure reflects the rapidly increasing demand for capital to serve production and business after a long period of stagnation due to the pandemic.

Long An gets approval for 200-million-USD infrastructure development in industrial park

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a decision approving the building of infrastructure at Prodezi Industrial Park in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

The industrial park will cover 400 hectares in Luong Hoa and Tan Hoa communes in Ben Luc district and need more than 4.6 trillion VND (nearly 200 million USD) for infrastructure development. Long An Prodezi JSC is the investor of the project.

The lifespan of the project will be 50 years, starting April 23, while the construction must be completed within 60 months after the land is handed over.

Quang Nam's seaports expected to make breakthroughs in near future

Seaports in the central province of Quang Nam have recorded a surge in the volume of handled cargo in recent years, and are expected to make new breakthroughs. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the throughput at local seaports still met the target of over 2.5 million tonnes in 2021.

The figure topped 702,820 tonnes in the first three months of 2022, including 144,050 tonnes of exports, 86,847 tonnes of imports, and 471,923 tonnes of domestic cargo, according to Director of the Quang Nam Maritime Port Authority Truong Hoan Lac.

He said with the production and throughput growth, especially the soaring volume of exports and imports via seaports in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, the cargo handled at seaports in the province is predicted to surpass 4 million tonnes this year and reach 13 - 16 million tonnes by 2030.

A representative of the Vietnam Maritime Administration said with an over-100km-long coast, Quang Nam was identified by the Ministry of Transport as an important seaport centre in the central region. Established in 2011, the Quang Nam Maritime Port Authority has been continually making reforms, improving efficiency and effectiveness of its governance, and creating optimal conditions for seaport activities to become a key part of the service sector.

In the planning scheme on the development of Vietnam’s seaport system by 2020 with a vision to 2030, Chu Lai Port in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone is one of 15 of its kind nationwide to be developed from a second-tier seaport (which means a local integrated seaport) into a first-tier one (a national port that serves as a regional gateway).

Air ticket prices on domestic routes plunge ahead of national holiday

Airlines have moved to lower their prices on domestic flights for the upcoming Reunification Day on April 30 and International Labor Day on May 1 as a way of increasing more flights to popular destinations in a bid to meet growing travel demand on special occasions.

Accordingly, a return ticket from Vietjet Air for flights from Hanoi to Thua Thien-Hue departing on April 30 are now priced at VND3.8 million, including taxes and fees, instead of the VND7.3 million seen two weeks ago.

Furthermore, on the same air route, the lowest economy-class ticket of Bamboo Airways costs VND3.9 million, whilst a Vietnam Airlines’ ticket costs VND4.2 million.

On Vietnam Airlines’ flights from Hanoi to Phu Quoc during the national holidays, the cheapest fare costs VND6.4 million, while Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air will offer an attractive price of VND3.5 million and VND4.4 million, respectively.

Budget carrier Vietjet Air announced that the ticket price for its flights on the Hanoi-Nha Trang route costs VND4.3 million. In addition, VND5.2 million and VND5.8 million are the prices being applied on the route put on by Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines, respectively.

A Vietjet Air representative said the airline is currently offering 509,000 seats on around 2,300 flights to and from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Danang, Phu Quoc, and Can Tho, among other localities.

The total number of seats on its domestic flights from April 27 to May 3 is estimated to soar by over 24% from the same period in 2019.

Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, and Vasco, also revealed that they will continue to increase flights on major destinations in the near future, while Bamboo Airways is also posed to add more late flights both to and from popular destinations to meet the surge in travel demand as soon as the pandemic is brought under control.

Ngoc Linh ginseng, precious medicinal herb introduced at local fair

The Ngoc Linh Ginseng Fair opened on April 24 at Tu Mo Rong district’s square in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum with a view to promoting local tourism development and unique products, particularly Ngoc Linh ginseng.

The opening ceremony draw the participation of numerous provincial leaders and representatives from different departments and agencies based in Kon Tum.

As part of the event running until April 26, a wide range of activities were also launched, including a forum on Ngoc Linh gingseng and local typical products associated with tourism, a caravan farmtrip, art performances, sports games, a food fair, a gong festival, and a jobs fair.

The Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis, or Vietnamese ginseng), is a rare medical root containing 52 saponin compounds which are helpful to health. This item was first found on Ngoc Linh mountain on the boundary between Kon Tum and the central province of Quang Nam in the late 1960s.

In June, 2017, Ngoc Linh ginseng was included in the list of national products by the Prime Minister.

Customs clearance via Bac Luan 2 bridge border gate to be restored from April 26

Customs clearance activities are set to be resumed at the border gate of Bac Luan Bridge No 2 as of April 26, according to details given by the Mong Cai City People's Committee.

As a result of the move, priority will be given to handling vehicles, inventory, spare parts, and machinery for production activities of Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises, while the clearance customs procedures for frozen goods has yet to resolved.

The resumption of customs clearance activities came at a recent online conference held to discuss measures aimed at promoting the clearance of goods between the People's Committee of Mong Cai in Vietnam and China’s Dongxing city’s administration.

As a means of improving the overall efficiency of customs clearance procedures and ensuring pandemic prevention measures, both sides will continue to regularly exchange information on customs clearance activities through border gates while simultaneously co-ordinating to remove obstacles to facilitate import-export activities in the near future.

In recent times, Mong Cai has co-operated with relevant units as it aims to take drastic anti-pandemic measures along with flexible adaptation to the pandemic situation, while simultaneously maintaining a safe green zone, especially in the border gate area.

Vietnamese exporters to offer advice on tea and coffee exports to Indian market

Providing competent advice and dealing with business concerns relating to tea and coffee exports to the Indian market will be touched upon at a consulting session which will be held on April 27 by the Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

During the consulting session, Bui Trung Thuong, counselor at the Vietnam Trade Office in India (concurrently Nepal, Bhutan) will give an overview of tea and coffee products in India, issues relating to market access, and the application of regulations, standards and conditions for exporting tea and coffee products to the market. In addition, representatives of agencies, businesses, and importers in India will share some things to know when conducting business in the Indian market.

Bilateral trade turnover between the nation and India has increased rapidly from US$200 million in 2000 to reach more than US$13 billion in 2021. Indeed, just five years on from becoming a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016, the two countries' trade turnover has doubled, with both sides striving to reach the bilateral trade target of US$15 billion this year.

In 2021, for the first time bilateral trade between the nation and India surpassed the US$13 billion mark, equal to US$13.2 billion, up 36.5% compared to the figure of US$9.6 billion recorded in 2020, of which Vietnamese exports to India hit US$6.25 billion, a rise of 20% on-year.

As one of the world's largest tea producers and consumers, India is also a major tea import market globally, with tea imports from India not only being for consumption in the domestic market, but also used for re-export purposes.

In relation to coffee, India is the sixth largest coffee producer globally, with the South Asian nation mainly importing coffee from Vietnam, Indonesia, Uganda, and Kenya for processing and re-export. As a result, Vietnamese instant coffee products are highly popular within the Indian market.

EU Green Deal to support Viet Nam's sustainable growth target

As Viet Nam has committed to fighting climate change while still maintaining its economic growth, the European Green Deal is expected to be a good model for the country to learn and build its own sustainable development strategy.

On April 21-22, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) held a two-day conference on “Can the European Green Deal build Momentum for Viet Nam’s Green Growth Strategy?” in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, attended by the EU Ambassador to Viet Nam Giorgio Aliberti and experts.

The EU Green Deal is a set of policies that includes new measures and efforts to transform the EU’s economy for a sustainable future.

These measures will not limit the bloc to increase its climate ambition for 2030 and 2050; supply clean, affordable and secure energy; mobilise industry for a clean and circular economy; build and renovate in an energy and resource-efficient way; accelerate the shift to sustainable and smart mobility; design a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system; preserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity; aim at a zero pollution for a toxic-free environment; pursuing green finance and investment and ensuring a just transition; etc.

At the COP26 Conference in Glasgow last November, Viet Nam set a target to gradually reduce its use of coal power by the 2040s, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The country’s energy development strategy is witnessing a significant shift, with the aim of increasing the proportion of renewable energy such as solar power and wind power. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, heating electrification and transportation are the key factors of the energy transition.

The national strategy on green growth for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050, promulgated by the Government, demonstrates Viet Nam's strong commitment to sustainable development through practical and concrete actions.

Techcombank achieves US$1 billion pre-tax profit
     
Techcombank became the first non-State-owned commercial bank to join Viet Nam’s “billion-dollar profit” club in 2021, with a before-tax profit of VND23.2 trillion, posting 47.1 per cent year-on-year increase.

The information was released at its 2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in Ha Noi on Saturday.

With this fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth, the compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of Techcombank’s profits over the 2016-21 period reached a record level of 50 per cent.

During 2021, Techcombank grew its total assets by 29.4 per cent, to VND568.7 trillion, while delivering an industry-leading return on assets (ROA) of 3.7 per cent. The current account and savings account (CASA) ratio reached 50.5 per cent at the end of 2021, setting another record for Viet Nam’s banking sector. Techcombank also reported a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 15 per cent, a non-performing loans ratio (NPL) of 0.7 per cent, and a loan loss coverage ratio (LLC) of 162.9 per cent, reflecting the bank’s prudent approach to risk-management.

Techcombank’s investments in data and digital technology, coupled with its commitment to delivering the best service possible to customers, enabled Techcombank to achieve another year of robust financial performance in 2021, despite the challenging conditions. In 2021, the bank generated VND37.1 trillion in total operating income (TOI), up 35.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY), driven by strong growth in both interest income (NII) and service fee income (NFI).

Shareholders approved the retention of all earnings to fund the investments in digital, data, and talent and support the bank’s growth trajectory, as set out in the 2021-25 strategy. The 2022 performance targets confirmed that the bank is well-positioned to capitalise on economic recovery as Viet Nam emerges from the pandemic.

Top 10 Sao Khue awards winners post US$696 million in revenue
     
The total revenue of the 174 products, services and solutions from 113 companies receiving Sao Khue Awards this year reached VND16 trillion (US$696 million). The information was announced at the award ceremony organised by the Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) held in Ha Noi on Saturday.

This year's revenue is higher than the total revenue of the entire country's software industry in 2008. Around 80 per cent of the awarded products and solutions used new and advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain and robotic process automation (RPA). Of which, products and solutions are bringing high economic efficiency to users.

The Sao Khue Awards in the past two years have set the mission of "Promoting the digital solution platform - Pioneering the development of digital ecosystems".

The award this year received 314 nominations and selected 174 typical digital platforms, services and solutions. In which, 10 services and solutions were honoured with Top 10 Sao Khue and 19 services and solutions were rated 5 stars.

Since launching in 2003, the Sao Khue Awards, sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Communications, has become the most prestigious IT field in the country. It has delivered awards to 1,343 best domestic products and services, contributing to guiding the IT market and customers and being an effective channel to link businesses.

Lam Dong launches tourism golden week

The 2022 Lam Dong Tourism Golden Week officially opened at a ceremony held in Da Lat city in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong on April 24.

The 2022 Lam Dong will feature three spaces highlighting culture, tourism and cuisine as well as various response programmes such as the promotion of Lam Dong’s tourism products and destinations, the introduction of delicious dishes of Da Lat and the activities featuring the ethnic groups’ culture within the province.

In addition, the agencies and businesses will host many programmes to promote the new tourism products and several promotional programmes during the week.

On this occasion, visitors will have the chance to enjoy the discounts for various services and entrance tickets to destinations around Lam Dong province.

Thai Nguyen launches tourism programme for 2022

The Thai Nguyen provincial People’s Committee held a ceremony on April 24 to launch its tourism programme for 2022 under the theme ‘Exploring the legendary land’.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Xuan Truong said that thanks to its tourism potential and advantages, Thai Nguyen has been established as an attractive destination for visitors at home and abroad as they can engage in various types of tourism including spiritual, ecological, and historical.

He stressed that the provincial authorities have identified tourism as an important economic sector, and the province targets to welcome 3.2 million visitors by 2025 with annual tourism revenues of 3 trillion VND.

Danang restarts sea tourism

After a long halt on tourism induced by the Covid pandemic, Danang City is resuming sea tourism with the rollout of numerous programs and activities to bring tourists back to the central beach city.

The “Starting the sea travel season” program will take place from April 28 to May 3 at the East Sea Park, the Son Tra Peninsula and such beaches as My An, My Khe and Nguyen Tat Thanh.

The program will feature a bikini flashmob performance, a sea-related exhibition, an art kite-flying festival, a boat race and a water sports festival.

A series of marine environmental protection activities will be launched to attract visitors, including the Environment Day Program, the “Clean up Son Tra – For a green Son Tra” program and the “Son Tra Moments” photo exhibition.

In addition, the city will open the An Thuong travel street to the public on April 28 and launch a street dance program with the participation of 50 dancers in Caraval dresses.

On April 30, the city will pilot night entertainment activities at the My An Beach and provide pop-up food and drink handcart services, massage therapy, screening and outdoor art performances.

The Danang Department of Tourism had earlier joined hands with the Danang Tourism Association and other travel firms to organize the 2022 tourism promotion program themed “Enjoy Danang.”

Nguyen Thi Hoai An, director of the Danang Tourism Promotion Center, said that the tourism promotion program would be conducted in two phases from April 7 to August 15, with eight major product packages.

To attract many travelers, Danang is offering free entrance tickets to visit some tourist sites such as Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains), the Museum of Cham Sculpture, the Danang Museum and the Danang Fine Arts Museum.

Thu Thiem land auction winners promise to pay VND100 billion by April 30

The Ho Chi Minh Tax Department has just informed that the two winners of Thu Thiem land use right auction, namely Dream Republic JSC. and Sheen Mega JSC., have promised to pay VND100 billion (US$4.35 million) before the end of this April to show their willingness to fulfill their responsibility.

Before this, the two businesses submitted a formal document asking for a payment extension of land use fee and related fees, including the lateness fine. They will finish fee payment in September 2022.

However, this request was refused, based on the contract between them and HCMC People’s Committee, saying that the two enterprises will lose their deposit if they do not complete this task on July 6 at the latest. Deputy Director of the HCMC Tax Department also stated that these businesses have to pay a lateness fine of 0.03 percent per day, equivalent to over VND1 billion ($43,513) a day based on their debt of almost VND8,000 billion each ($348 million).

Dream Republic JSC. won the auction of land lot No.3-5 with an area of 6,446m2 and had to pay VND3.82 trillion ($166.2 million) of land-use fee plus VND500 million ($21,700) of the registration fee for the commercial and service areas. Sheen Mega JSC. won the auction of land lot No.3-8, covering an area of 8,568.1m2 and had to pay VND4 trillion ($174 million) of land-use fee, but was exempted from paying the registration fee according to the instructions on the registration fee for residential land.

Taxation system reform strategy up to 2030 approved

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai signed Decision No. 508/QD-TTg dated April 23, 2022 approving the strategy for taxation system reform through 2030.

The strategy targets to build tax policies in line with the global good practices, with particular focus on the following categories of tax: value-added tax, excise tax, import-export tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, natural resource tax, agricultural land use tax, environmental tax.

Tax governance will be comprehensively modernized in accordance with international practices and Viet Nam's laws.

By 2025, the Government expects to raise the rate of tax payers' satisfaction with the tax authorities to at least 90 percent while at least 70 percent of tax payers will be assisted in conduct online tax payment.

The rates of tax declaration, tax payment, tax refund, tax exemption online by businesses and organizations will be increased to at least 90 percent.

Vietnam forcast to achieve GDP growth of 6% this year: IMF
 
The country's inflation is expected to remain below the Government's 4% target.

A strategic shift towards living-with-Covid prompted by policy support and an impressive vaccination rollout will help Vietnam achieve GDP growth of 6% in 2022 and then accelerate to 7.2% in 2023.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the forecast following discussions for the 2022 Article IV consultation with Vietnam during April 4-20.

During the consultation, the IMF’s team, led by its Division Chief in the Asia and Pacific Department Era Dabla-Norris has exchanged views with senior officials of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Central Economic Commission (CEC), the National Assembly, and other government agencies. It also met with representatives from the private sector, think tanks, academics, and other stakeholders.

According to Dabla-Norris, the conflict in Ukraine is expected to have a moderate impact on the pace of recovery and inflation. Despite rising commodity prices, inflation has been contained and is expected to remain below the government’s 4% target, partly reflecting the remaining economic slack.

This year, IMF predicted Vietnam’s inflation to edge up to 3.9%. Meanwhile, IMF’s report noted the recovery has been so far uneven, with the service sector still lagging, while financial risks and inequality have likely risen.

“The outlook is subject to significant risks. Growth risks are tilted to the downside while inflation risks are tilted to the upside. The most immediate risks include the intensification of geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in China. Other risks include a tightening of global financial conditions and developments in the domestic real estate and corporate bond markets,” noted Dabla-Norris.

Standard Chartered in its outlook report on Vietnam’s economy also pointed out rising concern over the disruption of global supply chains and geopolitical risks that may further result in higher inflationary pressure in Vietnam.

The bank opted for a more cautious view with estimated GDP growth of 4% for Vietnam in 2022, and 5.5% in 2023.

Upgrade of Hanoi airport's runway and taxiways completed

The upgraded runway 1B and three taxiways at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi were put into operation on April 23, according to the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

With a total investment of VND2.03 trillion (US$88 million) from the state budget, a large-scale project was launched last July to renovate the capital city’s airport, comprising work to upgrade two runways, 1A and 1B.

The runway 1A was reopened in January after being shut last October for repair, and the upgrade of the runway 1B has now been finished after one month.

The project also includes the construction of three new taxiways, upgrades of existing ones, installation of new indicator lighting along with a drainage system, and other flight management facilities. All workload has been completed.

Such works, inaugurated ahead of the upcoming holidays of National Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1), are expected to boost the airport's capacity in anticipation of the soaring travel demand. This time in 2021, the airport handled about 420 flights and nearly 64,000 passengers per day on average during the peak week.

Besides, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has allowed Noi Bai to increase its flight frequency to 40 flights per hour in the daytime and 30 flights per hour at night between April 23 and 30 compared to just 23 flights per hour as usual.

Noi Bai is one of the two biggest airports in Vietnam which play an important role in boosting national socio-economic development and ensuring defense security.

Runway 1B had been seriously damaged after 16 years of operation while runway 1A is of better quality thanks to an upgrade six years ago.  

Tan Son Nhat Airport’s domestic terminal offers shuttle service
 
The shuttle service between the domestic terminal of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)'s Tan Son Nhat Airport and parts of the city was launched this week.

Accordingly, vehicles of bus lines 152 and 72-1 to Tan Son Nhat Airport will be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers at the domestic terminal, instead of only at the international terminal as before.

Passengers can hop on and hop off buses along lane B of the domestic passenger terminal.

The move is intended to improve the airport transfers after numerous complaints from passengers about taxi scams and harassment, the municipal Department of Transport said.

The subsidized bus line No.152 connects the Trung Son Residential Area in Binh Chanh District and the airport while the non-subsidized line No.72-1 links the airport and the Vung Tau Coach Station in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The department blamed insufficient taxi service, the high taxi fare, and poor cooperation in regulating vehicles for the chaos at the airport’s passenger pickup and drop-off area.

Many passengers had to wait for hours for transfers, both by taxi and rideshare services, the department added.

On the upcoming Reunification Day and International Labor Day, the airport’s daily throughput is expected to rise to about 42,000 or even more passengers. As 15% of them may use taxi services, the airport has asked taxi firms to prepare more than 1,700 cabs.

According to the airport authorities, if the volume rises to more than 60,000 passengers per day, there would be a shortage of 1,100 cars, either of taxi or rideshare services. Therefore, the launch of the shuttle in the domestic passenger terminal will be another choice for transfer for passengers.

Tan Son Nhat, the country's largest airport, was designed to have an annual capacity of 25 million passengers by 2020, but by 2017 the number had exceeded 40 million. 

Besides the shuttle buses, the HCMC Department of Transport asked the airport to reserve a part of lane C for taxicabs to pick up passengers.

The transport department also urged the airport to build footbridges and tunnels on the premises, as well as two additional elevators at its multi-story parking lot as soon as possible.

Deputy Director of the HCMC Transport Department Bui Hoa An called for joint responsibility between the department, police, and traffic inspectors to prevent traffic jams on the roads around the airport.

Tan Son Nhat Airport will also reopen its 25R/07L runway today [April 25] after two months of renovation work. The three kilometers long, 46 meters wide 25R/07L runway had been temporarily closed from February 21 for the upgrade work.

The number of passengers passing through the airport has steadily increased as Vietnam eased all Covid-19 restrictions for air travel.

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