Many Danish enterprises, especially small and medium-size ones, want to seek opportunities for cooperation with Vietnam and Asian countries, according to leaders of Asia House, a Danish organisation that connects Denmark and Asia.

At a working session on April 27 with Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi, Asia House’s Chairman of the Board Ove Ullerup and Executive Director Susanne Rumohr Hækkerup said Danish businesses have limited information about the investment and business environment, markets, and potential partners in Vietnam and the Asian region.

That is why cooperation between the sides has not matched potential and their expectations, they said.  

Ullerup underlined that as the Danish Government attaches special importance to SMEs, one of the top missions of Asia House in the time ahead will be expanding the cooperative links between Danish SMEs and their peers in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.

He added that Vietnam has a great appeal to Danish SMEs thanks to its increasingly favourable business environment and competitive edges that suit the enterprises’ need.

Ambassador Nghi hailed the Asia House as a special bridge connecting Denmark with Vietnam and Asia in general, and Danish organisations and individuals with the Embassy of Vietnam and embassies of Asian countries in Copenhagen in particular.

The diplomat pledged that the Vietnamese Embassy will cooperate closely with Asia House to expand partnerships across the field, contributing to deepening the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark.           

The two sides spent time to consider specific measures and plans for their joint work in the time ahead, including promoting the exchange of delegations at all levels, holding trade and investment promotion events, and providing information and connecting enterprises of the two countries.

They also agreed to work together to seek ideas and initiatives on new cooperative opportunities.

Vietnam’s economic recovery even stronger in Q2: Hong Kong news outlet

Though Vietnam suffered a brief setback in 2021 because of the highly-infectious Delta variant of COVID-19, its economy has begun to recover since the end of last year with exports achieving outstanding performance, Hong Kong (China)-based news outlet HK01 reported.

Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that Vietnam’s export volume in March hit 34.71 billion USD, up 14.8 percent year-on-year. China Business News reported that Vietnam’s shipments of mobile phones, electronics, computers and parts exceeded 27.3 billion USD, which was close to half of last year’s figure (57.54 billion USD).

Andrew Jeffries, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, reportedly stated that the global investment flows have declined amid the pandemic and global geopolitical volatility. Despite that, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Vietnam are likely to grow against the trend.

HK01 also touched on the Vietnam-China economic relations, noting that over the past 10 years, Vietnam’s development has not affected China’s employment and China’s exports and foreign trade are still growing rapidly. 

It quoted a Chinese economist as saying the restructuring of the industrial chain has promoted the development of trade relations between Vietnam and China. Vietnam imports a large amount of raw materials or components from China for assembly and exports.

According to Chinese customs’ statistics, the bilateral trade between Vietnam and China exceeded 200 billion USD for the first time in 2021, reaching 230.2 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 19.7 percent. China’s trade surplus with Vietnam stood at around 45 billion USD.

China remains Vietnam’s largest trade partner and second biggest importer; and Vietnam is also China’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. 

HK01 further noted that with an increase in vaccination rates and the “new normal” policy, Vietnam’s economy has stablised and recovered since the fourth quarter of last year. This year, exports will continue to be the main engine of the country’s economic growth. In addition to electronics, the labour-intensive textile and wood industries are also doing well.

Most economic experts have predicted that Vietnam’s economic recovery may be even stronger in the second quarter of 2022, it continued. It is worth noting that Vietnam announced to reopen its borders to international visitors on March 15, it said, adding that the move will enable the return of international technical managers and support Vietnam’s manufacturing industry.

New COVID-19 adaptation programme for social impact businesses

The Agency of Enterprise Development (AED) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on April 29 jointly launched the “COVID-19 Adaptation Programme” for social impact businesses (SIBs) to increase their capacity and refine business models to address the challenges they are facing.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam is decreasing but the adverse effects of COVID-19 on businesses, especially those led by vulnerable groups, are still prolonged and damaging.

A UNDP study in August last year showed that household businesses and micro, small and medium enterprises found their revenue declined sharply, forcing them to cut back operations and lay off workers.

Enterprises in tourism, restaurants, hotels and passenger transportation were those hardest hit. This impact is exacerbated among female-headed households.

“This support package will contribute to helping SIBs remove the above bottlenecks and difficulties through concrete actions, such as sending experts and intermediary organisations to accompany SIBs for six months to solve specific problems in management, business, and product development,” said Le Manh Hung, Director of the MPI’s Agency for Enterprise Development.

Especially, the COVID-19 Adaptation Programme also provided seed funding of 100 million VND (nearly 4,350 USD) for each enterprise to build and test new business models. This was a very valuable resource for SIBs amid difficult access to financial resources, he added.

UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen commended Vietnam for its rapid and equitable roll-out of the vaccination programme, bringing the country back to normal life. However, she is concerned about the adverse effects of COVID-19 on businesses.

“Our baseline assessment showed that nearly 47 percent of interviewed social impact businesses had their revenue reduced due to COVID-19. Businesses with the highest percentage of revenue reduction belonged to the groups employing people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and cooperatives,” said Wiesen.

We hoped that the programme would provide the necessary technical and financial support for the SIBs to realise their innovative ideas to solve their own challenges, thus benefiting vulnerable groups, she added.

As the flagship support for SIBs in the “Leveraging Vietnam’s Social Impact Business Ecosystem in Response to COVID-19”- ISEE-COVID project, the Covid-19 Adaptation Programme is expected to help SIBs to identify critical challenges due to COVID-19; design new business models or develop new products and services to adapt to COVID-19; and build and test prototypes of products and services with the seed funds.

The programme will support 30 SIBs in the agriculture and tourism industries this year, focusing on the SIBs led by women and vulnerable groups. Each selected SIB will receive a six-month coaching service and funding of 100 million VND to identify, build and test the prototypes or new business models.

The AED, GAC, and UNDP encourage eligible social impacted businesses to submit expressions of interest to participate in the programme.

All social enterprises, impact start-ups, co-operatives, and small and medium enterprises that work with or work for the vulnerable groups, in the agricultural and tourism sectors, are welcome to apply for the programme.

There is no restriction on population group, occupation, or geographical location as long as the businesses support vulnerable groups and the proposed business models, and new products and services are innovative, sustainable, scalable, and relevant to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19.

Bamboo Airways becomes first Vietnamese airline to operate Melbourne-Hanoi route

Bamboo Airways on April 28 launched the Melbourne-Hanoi air route, becoming the first Vietnamese airline to operate the route, contributing to promoting the partnership between Vietnam and Australia.

The opening of the route marked a new success in the airline’s efforts to connect Vietnamese and Australian localities after the launching of the routes between Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne in February and between Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney in March this year.

According to the carrier, the Melbourne-Hanoi route has shortened travelling time between the two cities to nine hours. The airline is offering many promotion programmes to celebrate the new route.

Addressing the launching ceremony, Bamboo Airways Deputy General Director Truong Phuong Thanh said that the Melbourne-Hanoi route comes into operation with a promise of convenience, time-saving, and a hassle-free travel experience.

He expressed hope that with the route, Bamboo Airways will further strengthen its role as an aviation bridge and make a substantial contribution to Vietnamese and Australian relations in all aspects, including trade and tourism.

For his part, representative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia Tran Le Phuong hailed the efforts by Bamboo Airways in strengthening connections between Vietnam and Australia.

Phuong noted that despite COVID-19 impacts, last year, trade between the two countries surged 50 percent to 17 billion AUD (12.11 billion USD). Vietnam and Australia are working to become each other’s top 10 largest trade partner, he said, adding that Australia is hosting about 300,000 Vietnamese people, including 27,000 students. Before the pandemic broke out, about 400,000 Australian tourists visit Vietnam each year.

This year, Bamboo Airways plans to expand its coverage to 40 international destinations, many of which are in Australia.

Hanoi bolsters value of farm produce for export

In recent years, Hanoi has invested heavily in the development of agricultural commodities areas, creating safe farm produce to meet export standards. This is a solid solution to work towards the official export of the city's key farm produce.

To enhance productivity and quality and develop banana production for export, Hanoi has promoted the issuance of growing area codes, inspection, supervision and increasing management.

According to Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (HDARD) Chu Phu My creating codes for safe agricultural production areas has played an important role in exporting the country's key farm produce.

HDARD has also conducted surveys, assessments of growing areas, survey maps for growing areas and collected information. The department has also verified records and made data entries on the OTAs system, electronic records, code plates and issued stamps for growing area codes.

Last year, the Hanoi Agricultural Development Center supported granting three planting area codes in line with OTAS standards (Organic Standards) for domestic consumption and export. Specifically, Van Khe commune in Me Linh district has a 15-ha riverside banana-growing area and Hong Ha commune in Dan Phuong district has over 30 ha for growing bananas in two riverside areas.

The issuance of growing area codes helped Hanoi’s banana products to reach many markets. Once the pilot project is applied, it will expand the code-granted growing areas, helping increase the value of bananas.

Banana is one of four main fruit trees of Hanoi, along with grapefruit, longan and orange. Some banana-growing areas have been formed in the districts of Gia Lam, Thuong Tin, Me Linh, Dan Phuong, Ba Vi and Phuc Tho.

My said: “Thanks to the effective implementation of growing area code in 2022, Hanoi's agricultural sector will continue to assist in newly planting 25ha by applying synchronous technology for export standards and supporting product development together with product consumption towards export.”

Provinces switched prime ranks in the PCI's top ten of last year

While cities and provinces like Haiphong, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Thua Thien-Hue, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau climbed into the top ten of the Provincial Competitiveness Index 2021 (PCI) thanks to many improvements, Long An, Vinh Long, and Ben Tre have been kicked off the list.

On April 27, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) launched the 2021 Provincial Competitiveness Index Report in a hybrid launch ceremony. The PCI, the result of a long-standing collaborative effort between VCCI and the US Agency for International Development, is designed to assess provincial economic governance, the ease of doing business, and administrative reform efforts by provincial governments in Vietnam in order to boost private sector development.

In the PCI 2021 rankings, Quang Ninh, Haiphong, Dong Thap, Danang, and Vinh Phuc secured the top five positions. These provinces achieved very positive results in economic development and COVID-19 response policies, as perceived by firms, followed by Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Thua Thien-Hue, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Hanoi.

Compared to 2020, Long An, Vinh Long, and Ben Tre lost their ranks in the top ten, replaced by Vinh Phuc, Thua Thien-Hue, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Meanwhile, Quang Ninh remained at the leading position for the fifth consecutive year with 73.02 points.

The 2021 PCI report was developed from responses by 11,312 businesses, including 10,127 domestic private ones operating in 63 cities and provinces and 1,185 foreign-invested enterprises operating in 22 cities and provinces in Vietnam.

The 2021 PCI domestic survey showed that provincial governments maintained improvements. Administrative procedure reforms attained positive results, with increased effect of enforcement across provinces. Anti-corruption efforts are paying off, as firms reported a reduced burden of informal charges.

However, provincial governments are urged to focus more on accelerating digitalised processing of administrative procedures and reducing constraints in the tax, land, social insurance, environmental, fire safety, and market regulation procedures.

Registration of conditional business lines is another area of policy concern, as the compliance burden remains substantial. At the same time, provincial authorities should make further efforts to effectively implement business support programmes as well as programmes supporting domestic firms in international economic integration.

“The PCI 2021 report, its seventeenth iteration since 2005, is an indication of 17 years of continuous efforts to convey objective and candid assessments to promote actions to enhance the business environment at the provincial level,” stated Pham Tan Cong, chairman of the VCCI.

“The US government is proud to have partnered with VCCI for the last 17 years to support the PCI’s emergence as a premier tool for those seeking to invest in Vietnam. This tool has spurred improvements in local economic governance that have unlocked private sector-driven growth,” said US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper.

Speculators hunt district land plots

A plan to upgrade two districts in Ho Chi Minh City has caused yet more land price speculation, with nearly $17 billion in funding committed and around $500 million already licensed.

The commitments were made at an investment promotion conference on April 12, in which a range of property projects was submitted for land plots in the districts of Hoc Mon and Cu Chi. Among those involved are CMIA Capital Partners, CK Asset Holdings, Hyundai E&C, and other domestic groups such as Sovico, Hung Thinh, and Dat Xanh.

Proposals have also been made to establish a northwest city that includes Cu Chi and Hoc Mon, in parallel with upgrading the two districts as well as those of Binh Chanh, Nha Be, and Can Gio.

In recent weeks, Nguyen Van Long, a resident in Thu Duc city, and his friends have been constantly visiting Hoc Mon and Cu Chi to buy land after learning that Ho Chi Minh City authorities are preparing to develop towards the north of the city, which has been dormant in terms of such development for years.

Last week, Long found a landlord who wanted to sell an agricultural land plot located in Phu Hoa Dong commune of Cu Chi at the price of $26,000 per 1,000 square metres. Long decided to mobilise capital from friends, but after only three days the price skyrocketed to over $56,000. Long decided to pass on this investment in the concern that he would not gain any profit with such a high price.

Another agricultural land plot of the same size in An Nhon Tay of Cu Chi district is even being quoted at $143,500, double compared to this time last year.

Nguyen Thi Sen, a resident in Tan Hiep commune of Hoc Mon district, said that many people have visited in the last three weeks to buy land, even though much of it is only agricultural. “All of those speculators just try to buy so they can sell for profit, or they plan that when the incoming investors appear, they will be compensated with the much higher fees,” Sen said.

Nguyen Hoang, director of the Hoang Minh real estate trading floor, said that recent real estate prices in suburban districts of Ho Chi Minh City such as Nha Be, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, and Hoc Mon are relatively low compared to those in Lam Dong, Dak Nong, and Dak Lak, which have increased 200-400 per cent compared to the same period last year.

“With positive information released recently on public and private investment into those districts, the interest in these districts is understandable,” Hoang said.

However, experts also warn that the uncontrollable hike in prices will lead to a real estate bubble. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, said that many speculators are using pieces of information from investment promotion meetings, but general infrastructure improvements also naturally lend a hand to higher prices.

“Improved transport infrastructure or the promotion of development in any area will lead to land price hikes. However, buyers must think twice about the master plan of that area and the potential of transferring from agriculture to residential land,” Chau said. “We have warned many people, but some remain obsessed with high-risk investment. Those who intend to buy agricultural land in these areas should be more careful or they will lose money.”

According to statistics from Cho Tot website, Cu Chi district has had the highest number of searches for land information in Ho Chi Minh City since February, which is twice as high as that of Thu Duc city.

Meanwhile, VNDirect expects that land prices in the vicinity of Ho Chi Minh City will continue to increase impressively in 2022 thanks to the expansion of highways to the west and coastal areas, with ongoing infrastructure projects such as Ben Luc-Long Thanh Highway, Dau Giay-Phan Thiet Highway, and Long Thanh International Airport.

Hanoi's retail and office real estate flourishes while apartments see gloomier times

In the first three months, Hanoi’s real estate activity recorded different trends in each segment. While the retail, office, and especially villa/townhouse markets showed signs of improvement, the market for apartment resales was bleak.

According to Savills Vietnam’s Q1/2022 Market Report, the retail market is slowly recovering. Supply in the first quarter increased by 1 per cent on-quarter. The figure reflects the slow growth of retail real estate over the past three years as new supply remains limited.

Ground floor gross rent increased 5 per cent on-quarter and 4 per cent on-year with stable occupancy. The strongest growth was recorded in the central and eastern areas of Hanoi, with an average increase of 5 per cent per year since 2018.

As the economy is recovering, GRDP and retail sales are increasing. Retailers' business expansion plans are forecasted to make this market segment more active.

According to Hoang Nguyet Minh, senior director at the Commercial Leasing Division of Savills Hanoi, luxury retailers are actively searching for space in Hoan Kiem district, causing ground floor rents in Hoan Kiem to increase significantly.

“However, mid-range retail brands are still very cautious in finding new premises. The growth of e-commerce will also affect the number of shoppers in malls,” Minh said.

Office supply in Hanoi in the first quarter also witnessed a slight growth, led by Grade B projects. Inner urban districts are supplying the market with a large volume of products, followed by the western region of Hanoi, especially Cau Giay district.

The occupancy rate, although increasing quarterly, decreased on-year. Grade C offices had the highest occupancy rate, especially in the west of Hanoi with businesses in the ICT and manufacturing sectors.

Office leasing is forecasted to continue its stable trend in 2022, as the ICT industry – along with banking, finance, insurance and real estate – experienced a large number of transactions in Q1. Green offices are expected to bring many competitive advantages, contributing to protecting the environment as well as increasing work productivity, attracting and retaining talents.

“Tenants will benefit from a selection of new and high-quality Grade A offices starting from the end of this year, mainly in Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, and Tay Ho. New projects will compete with existing buildings in terms of quality, service, and price,” Minh added.

As for the apartment market, there were no new projects in the first quarter of 2022, as new supply came from the next phase of six existing projects. The number of transactions decreased while the selling price increased.

The urbanisation rate, natural population growth, and the rise of the middle class will be the main drivers to help boost the demand for apartments in the coming time.

Rents have continued to increase since Q1/2019. Grade B projects led the way in terms of primary price growth, followed by Grade C and Grade A. This drives the market into a shortage of supply of low-priced apartments.

With the large availability of land, the five upcoming districts Hoai Duc, Dong Anh, Thanh Tri, Gia Lam and Dan Phuong will become hot spots for residential real estate development, accounting for 24 per cent of the future supply.

Do Thu Hang, senior director at the Research and Consulting Division of Savills Hanoi said, “After a quiet quarter, Hanoi's apartment market is expected to recover quickly. Improved off-centre infrastructure will help promote real estate development.”

Meanwhile, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, the villa and townhouse market recorded a certain growth in new supply, evenly distributed throughout Hanoi. Since the third quarter of 2021, the primary selling price has continuously recorded the highest price ever in all segments. Transaction volume increased on-quarter, though lower than the same period last year.

In the rest of the year, the market is expected to welcome more than 1,600 units from ten projects, in which the western region has the largest future supply. With limited product availability in the Hanoi market, investors will continue to look for new opportunities in neighbouring localities such as Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hung Yen, and Hoa Binh.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi said, “Price pressure and high inflation rate while credit is tight will likely slow down the real estate market in the short term.”

Credit tightening going some way to avert real estate bubble

The tightening of credit poured into the real estate sector in 2022 will contribute to preventing speculation and real estate bubbles, but it may not cut off the fever of the market immediately.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), tightening real estate credit has restricted speculation and helped the market become more transparent.

The SBV underlined that the move only aims to restrict segments with a high risk of speculation in major projects, instead of impeding investment flow in real estate.

In its latest strategy for the banking industry, the SBV said credit must be channelled into production and business industries to create positive impacts on socioeconomic development. It also urged banks to refrain from providing credit to businesses operating in risky areas, such as real estate, securities, corporate bonds, or build-operate-transfer and build-transfer transport projects.

Tran Khanh Quang, general director of Viet An Hoa Real estate Investment JSC. said that inflation combined with banks tightening credit to real estate, in addition to some instances of bond issuance fraud, are factors that have a great influence on the market.

According to Quang, real estate businesses will have to restructure their portfolios to bring to the market more suitable products. Buyers, meanwhile, will also have to be more cautious about the developers’ capacity. “I think in the next 2-3 months, the real estate price hike will halt and gradually go down,” said Quang.

Large real estate developers are facing difficulties to access loans from banks and issuing bonds to the market, Quang added, while developers try to find solutions to split properties and reduce total values.

“I expect that house prices on the market will go down in late 2022. Moreover, when buyers have a wait-and-see attitude, prices of real estate will surely go down,” Quang said.

According to Nguyen Quoc Anh, general director of batdongsan.com, residential, industrial property, and landed houses are fields that will thrive in the coming period.

Housing real estate’s recovery is being driven by supply and demand factors, lower interest rates, and a more complete legislation framework. Especially, the government’s national housing development strategy for 2021-2030 has pointed out that developing affordable housing products for low- and middle-income people is a key strategy.

The industrial property segment, meanwhile, could be the most positive and stable bright spot in the real estate market in 2022. There is currently an increasing demand for production and business premises, including real estate serving logistics activities to meet the ambitions of international and domestic manufacturers. Meanwhile, green and eco-industrial zones will be developed in 2022 and beyond, and will be of special interest to investors. At the same time, there will be an increasing demand for cold storage to serve temperature-sensitive products such as vaccines, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and much more.

“The landed house segment will also continue to improve, especially in projects which were zoned and located where infrastructure development is accelerated,” Quang explained.

Real estate credit currently accounts for about 18-20 per cent of the total outstanding loans of the economy. Lending growth in this sector has also gradually cooled down, from over 26 per cent in 2018 to 12 per cent last year.

Danang to receive 400 flights during upcoming holiday

Around 400 international and domestic flights are expected to arrive in Danang during the upcoming holiday — Reunification Day (30 April) and International Labor Day (1 May).

These flights will carry approximately 58,720 passengers to this central beach city, according to the municipal tourism authority, reported Lao Dong newspaper.

Among them, some 376 domestic flights will bring some 56,800 passengers to this popular destination.

As shared by local low-cost carrier Vietjet Air, its first flight from South Korea’s Incheon to Danang on 29 April is fully booked.

Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO, three carriers under the Vietnam Airlines Group, recently announced their next flight frequency increases, with a focus on busy routes such as the HCMC/Hanoi-Danang route.

Hau Giang seeks to add 12 renewable power projects to national plan

Hau Giang Province has proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade add 12 wind and solar power projects to the national energy development plan, said Huynh Thanh Phong, director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

After reviewing the potential for renewable power development, it has been found that the province can generate 900 megawatts (MW) of solar power and 350 MW of wind power.

The proposal is aimed at making the most of the potential in renewable power to boost the province’s socio-economic growth, the local media reported.

If approved, eight solar power plants and four wind power farms in Long My, Phung Hiep and Vi Thuy District and Vi Thanh City will be developed in 2021-2025.

In March last year, a 29-MW solar power facility in Hoa An Commune in Phung Hiep District was commissioned, contributing to effectively exploiting its potential in renewable power in the Mekong Delta province.

The solar power plant has been providing electricity for Long My Town and Long My District.

SSC orders Tan Hoang Minh affiliates to refund bondholders

The State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) has told Tan Hoang Minh Group-affiliated companies to work with the Investigative Police Agency to complete procedures to refund bondholders after SSC had cancelled their nine bond issues worth more than VND10 trillion in early April.

The order came after several bondholders came to the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in Hanoi City asking for guidelines and assistance to take back their money on April 25.

SSC also advises holders of bonds issued between July 2021 and March 2022 by the three affiliates of Tan Hoang Minh Group – Viet Star Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd, Winter Palace JSC and Soleil Investment and Hotel Services JSC – to contact the agency, or call 0793688688 or 0559933333 for help.

Tan Hoang Minh Group had earlier said it would start to refund customers after receiving guidelines from SSC.

Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Ha, Chairman of SBLAW, said that companies will have to refund bondholders at the earliest for the bonds nearing maturity in line with prevailing regulations.

As for bonds still far from maturity, these firms should work with State agencies and banks to refund bondholders in line with their guidelines. Firms must recall the cancelled bonds and refund bondholders within 15 days since the date of the bonds being cancelled.

If the firms delay these steps, they must compensate for damage incurred by bondholders.

Individual bondholders have the right to take back money and asking the three bond issuers to compensate for losses in line with Government Decree 128, said Lawyer Tran Minh Hai, Director of Basico.

Vietnam has 93.5 million mobile cellular subscriptions

According to statistics from the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications, by the end of 2021, Vietnam had 91.3 million mobile cellular subscriptions, bringing the total number of mobile subscriptions using smartphones in the whole country to 93.5 million ones and it is calculated that the rate of adult using the smartphone would reach around 73 percent.

The localities having a low rate of adult using the smartphone are the Northern mountainous provinces of Son La, Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Dien Bien with 58.3 percent, 56.1 percent, 56.6 percent and 57.6 percent respectively. Meanwhile, 78.4 percent of adults in Ha Phong City are using smartphone, the highest rate in the country, followed by Da Nang City with 77.8 percent.

In addition, the statistics showed that people in some provinces only used feature phones, including Long An with 12.6 percent, Tien Giang with 13.5 percent, Ben Tre with 15 percent, Nam Dinh with 12.8 percent and Thanh Hoa with 12.4 percent.

In order to reach the set target of 85 percent of adult using smartphone, it is essential to develop 8.6 million mobile cellular subscriptions from 10 current users of feature phones and give more and more promotion and priority programs for smartphone users.

Vietnam faces challenges to realize growth target

As Vietnam is forecast to face some risks affecting economic growth in 2022, economic experts gave relevant policy recommendations about inflation pressure as well as support packages for local businesses in the context of Vietnam's economic recovery.

At the workshop, entitled Assessment of Vietnam's Economic Recovery and Policy Implication in the "New Normal", held on April 27, Dr. Tran Toan Thang from the National Center for socio-economic information and forecast presented the research team’s report, emphasizing some risks including a resurgence of Covid-19, inflationary pressure, and farm exports affecting economic growth.

The risk of a resurgence of Covid-19 with new strains still exists and may threaten the recovery process of the economy.

Besides, inflationary pressure is increasing strongly. Some important indicators such as the Producer Price Index (PPI) and raw material price index signal an increasing trend in producer prices for the industrial sector.

Exports, especially farm exports, are affected by factors of international competition, as well as uncertainty from traditional markets, Thang added.

The research team revealed that the increase in the price of assets such as gold and real estate shows that the cash flow has not been channeled to production activities.

In the near future, importing input is expected to be more difficult, as prices and trade costs continue to rise. Therefore, Thang recommended the Government should support local enterprises to ensure the source of imported materials, logistics-related obstacles should be removed and congestion at the border due to pandemic prevention measures of neighboring countries needs to be properly dealt with.

According to the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), Vietnam needs to pay special attention to the risk of imported inflation. The current low inflation in the country is partly due to low consumer demand.

The research team suggested the Government should assess the issue of cost-push inflation, especially the possibility of inflation in the next quarters in 2022, as well as take measures to help limit its negative impacts on domestic consumers.

In particular, it is necessary to weigh up cutting excise tax to deal with rising global gasoline prices, as well as postpone tax and fee increases to stabilize the prices of other commodities.

“Inflationary pressure in the coming time will mainly come from a supply shortage, the disruption of the supply chain will lead to rising input costs, while demand will increase sharply along with the recovery of the economy,” Thang gave his prediction.

Consultation workshop on environment criteria for green credit projects

A consultation workshop was co-held by the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Vietnam to discuss environmental criteria for projects granted with green credit or issuing green bonds.

Addressing the event, ISPONRE Director Nguyen Dinh Tho said his institute, GIZ Vietnam and experts both at home and overseas have debated and developed objectives for the green development and the growth of a circular economy in Vietnam as the country is taking actions to realise its commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) last year to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The ISPONRE has engaged in finalising regulations on green credit and green bonds in the 2020 Law on Environment Protection, notably among which are rules on the roadmap and incentives for the provision of green credit, Tho noted. It has also helped develop a guideline for the issuance of green bonds as stipulated in Decree No.08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022. 

He further said that a draft on environmental standards and how to provide certification for projects receiving green credit or issuing green bonds has been completed. It is expected to be an useful tool for state agencies, financial and banking institutions to decide which projects are eco-friendly and categorise them by sectors and environmental benefits, he remarked.

During the event, experts and representatives from ministries, agencies, enterprises and domestic and international organisations put forward various initiatives, particularly in building a green list.

Outcomes of the event will lay a basis for the ISPONRE to form the Prime Minister’s draft decision on issuance of regulations on environmental criteria for green credit and green bond projects.

Vietnam holds leading role in ASEAN for Canadian businesses

Professor Julie Dai Trang Nguyen (Julie Nguyen), director of the Canada-Vietnam Society (CVS), highlighted the importance of Vietnam to Canadian businesses during talks at the Standing Committee on International Trade under the House of Commons of Canada on April 27.

Since 2015, Vietnam has maintained its position as Canada's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, she said.

Trade turnover between Canada and Vietnam exceeded 6 billion USD last year, up 19 percent compared to 2020.

According to Professor Nguyen, trade diversification is important for the Canadian economy and drives the need for Ottawa to build strong relationships with Asian countries.

ASEAN - a trading bloc with a total population of 700 million and GDP of up to 5 trillion CAD - is currently Canada's sixth largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade between Canada and ASEAN reached 26.7 billion CAD in 2020, while services trade amounted to 5.8 billion CAD, she said, adding that these figures are expected to grow in the context that Canada has permanent diplomatic missions in all 10 ASEAN member countries.

Nguyen affirmed that Vietnam will be an important security partner in Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy, as both countries are committed to multilateralism, global security and combating climate change. She suggested that Canada could consider joining Vietnam's network of free trade agreements, which currently cover 60 economies representing 90 percent of the world's GDP.

During the hearing on trade opportunities for Canadian businesses in the Indo-Pacific, she also reiterated the fundamental factors of the long-standing relationship between Canada and Vietnam. Both countries are members of the Francophonie Community and participating in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), she said.

The Comprehensive Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and Canada was signed in 2017, and Vietnam has become one of the five top countries sending students to Canada since 2019.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Ottawa, Nguyen - who is also Director of the Canada - Vietnam Trade Council, said she believes that cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop in all fields, especially trade, when Canada realises the growing importance of Vietnam and the Indo-Pacific region to the supply chain, and the long-term economic growth of Canada.

In the coming time, more events will be organised by the council aiming to provide information and facilitate trade and investment exchanges between the two countries, she said.

Some non-resident digital traders, service providers yet to fulfil tax obligations in Vietnam

There are still non-resident traders and service providers who are yet to register, file and pay taxes for doing business on digital platforms in Vietnam, according to the General Department of Taxation (GDT)’s Large Taxpayers Department.

The statement was made after the GDT sent a notice to remind them of the deadline for tax registration, filing and payment on April 28.

The department said it issued tax codes for a number of the non-resident digital businesses who had then fulfilled tax obligations via an electronic portal  (https://etaxvn.gdt.gov.vn) designated for them, while some failed to do the same. 

The due date for completing tax registration, filing and payment for the first quarter of this year is April 30, the department noted.

Those missing the deadline will have their names publicised on the GDT’s official website and media outlets. 

Under Vietnam’s regulations, non-resident trade and service providers operating on digital platforms are obliged to directly register, file and pay taxes in Vietnam. They can also authorise an agent to do so on their behalf.

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