Vietnam will be the first country in Southeast Asia where Korean Air will deploy its fuel-efficient next-generation Airbus A321neos.

Korean Air is set to put the A321neo into use for flights from Seoul to HCMC, a route the airline serves three times a day, from May 1, 2023.

Korean Air’s spacious A321neo cabin has 174 economy class seats and eight business class seats. It is equipped with a 44-centimeter personal monitor for audio and video-on-demand IFE, along with a wireless smartphone charger.

The airline is slated to receive a total of 30 A321neo aircraft by 2027 and will be deploying these aircraft on routes to Southeast Asia, Japan and China.

“Vietnam is a growing market for Korean Air and remains one of our most important markets. Many Korean and foreign companies have been investing in Vietnam, fuelling demand for business travel,” said Korean Air’s Ho Chi Minh sales director Kyeyong Kim.

The General Statistics Office of Vietnam said that Vietnam had 2.7 million international visitor arrivals in this year’s first quarter, 29.7 times higher than in 2022. Korea remains the largest source of international visitor arrivals to Vietnam, with 811,000 for the first three months.

VietBank to leave UPCoM for HOSE

Vietnam Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietBank) has announced it would stop trading its stock VBB on the Unlisted Public Company Market, or UPCoM, to move to the Hochiminh Stock Exchange for more favorable market conditions.

The above information was released at the lender’s annual general shareholder meeting held yesterday, April 26.

According to its statement, listing on the southern bourse will enable the bank to strengthen its transparency and competitiveness, paving the way for VietBank to realize its strategic goals in 2023-2025.

Besides, it plans to raise its charter capital by VND1 trillion to VND5.78 trillion by issuing new shares to existing shareholders.

This year, the lender looks to increase its total assets to VND125 trillion. The pre-tax profit target for 2023 is VND960 billion, up 46% compared to 2022, while the non-performing loan ratio is to be controlled below 3%.

40 Apax Leaders centers suspended

The HCMC Department of Education and Training has decided to cease the operation of 40 Apax Leaders English centers in the city.

Only one of the 41 Apax Leaders facilities in HCMC, which is situated on Phan Xich Long Street in Phu Nhuan District, is allowed to continue operations.

Its operations were previously halted due to land revocation and a shortage of essential employees such as managers and teachers.

Currently, 1,717 students’ parents want to reclaim tuition fees from the center. Some of them even reported the issue to the authorities.

According to the department, there must be an official inspection before resumption or relocation to ensure eligibility for these centers.

In response, the CEO of the center pledged to make refunds to parents who demand a clear plan via bank transfer or more consultation at its office in District 3, HCMC.

Businesses need to persevere with the digital transformation journey

Vietnamese businesses have made important strides in the digital transformation journey, but they also need to overcome challenges and difficulties in order to perfect and take advantage of opportunities from digital transformation.

Digital transformation has recently become a top keyword among businesses in Viet Nam.

Accordingly, the need for digital transformation becomes urgent for businesses to innovate models, gradually shift business activities on digital platforms, find more markets, cut costs and improve operational efficiency, competitiveness, and adaptability to new contexts.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the development of Industry 4.0 has created opportunities and spurred businesses to complete digital transformation and improve productivity and production efficiency, said Nguyen Tan Minh, deputy general director of GMO-Z.com Runsystem Joint Stock Company.

However, digital transformation in businesses in Viet Nam was still in the early stages, depending on the size and industry, and there had been many challenges that need to be solved, said Minh.

Most businesses were just at the start-up stage, and there were even businesses that are still outside the digital economy, he noted.

Only a few large enterprises and corporations had had made real progress and development in the digital transformation, said Minh.

The annual report on enterprise digital transformation 2022 showed that up to 48.8 per cent of businesses had worked towards digital transformation but were no longer using it because the solution was not suitable or was no longer suitable in the current context of the business.

Sharing with Tap chi Kinh te Viet Nam (VnEconomy - Vietnam Economic Times) about the current state of digital transformation of businesses, Tran Tuan Anh, business consulting director in the South of Base.vn, said that the actual number of businesses which did not succeed in digital transformation were up to 70 per cent, or even more.

The figure of more than 48 per cent did not seem positive but reflected reality, he said.

However, this number also showed that the situation of digital transformation in enterprises had been much better than before, he added.

Digital transformation was a long journey and most Vietnamese businesses were still in the early stages of digitisation, said Anh.

At this stage, new software technology helped business divisions and departments to interact and operate effectively remotely, he said.

During the pandemic, technology had played this role well. When the pandemic was over, businesses no longer needed to operate remotely. Enterprises tended to look back at the costs they have had spent to buy software and found it no longer appropriate, he added.

As they were just stopping at the digitisation step and had not yet realised the effects of dataisation and optimisation, said Anh. 

Vietravel Airlines to get three more planes in Q3

Vietravel Airlines is expecting to expand its fleet to six by adding three more aircraft in the third quarter following a plan set out from the early days of its establishment.

The move in associatation with a recruitment programme slated for May in Ho Chi Minh City aims to help the carrier be ready for its market expansion targets.

The airline, which made its debut in late 2020, is currently operating six domestic routes connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and major tourist destinations of Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Quy Nhon, along with two international ones connecting Hanoi, HCM City and Bangkok. It is also partnering with a company from the Republic of Korea to provide 11 charter flights on the Daegu-Cam Ranh route in the period from March 28 to May 7 with one flight every five days.

As of the first quarter of 2023, Vietravel Airlines had operated over 11,600 flights safely and carried close to 2.5 million passengers, with an average occupancy rate of 93.7%.

HCM City’s CPI down 0.11% in April

Ho Chi Minh City recorded a month-on-month decline of 0.11% in its April consumer price index (CPI), the municipal Statistics Office has reported.

Five of the 11 groups of main consumer goods and services witnessed price decreases, five others saw price increase, and one remained unchanged.

According to the office, the city’s CPI in the first four months of 2023 rose by 4.23%, with nine of the 11 groups of main consumer goods and services recording increased prices.

During the period, prices of education recorded the highest increase of 15.29%, followed by culture and entertainment services (5.69%), housing and construction materials (5.3%), beverage and tobacco (4.62%), and food and catering services (4.55%).

Meanwhile, decreases were seen in the services of post and telecommunications (0.22%) and transportation (1.87%).

Gold and USD prices in the last four months moved up 2.69% and 2.62%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Ministry urges raising alert against cyber attacks during holidays

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has urged all users to take measures to ensure cyber security, especially systems containing personal data and platforms in service of national digital transformation, during the National Reunification Day and May Day holidays from April 29 to May 3.

According to the ministry's e-newspaper Vietnamnet, IT experts said systems relating to finance and banking are the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks,as hackers would take advantage of security relaxations and reduced transactions during the holidays to carry out attacks on servers. 

Given this, the ministry has urged ministries, agencies, localities, press agencies, State-owned groups and corporations, telecoms service providers, financial institutions and banks to strengthen measures to protect information security.  

Supervision should be maintained round the clock, and checks conducted to find any loopholes and timely solutions taken, the MIC said.

Agencies, organisations and businesses should keep themselves updated on cyber security warnings and information, while stepping up communications work to raise public awareness of cyber security skills.

The ministry urged ICT service providers to increase personnel on duty during the holidays to timely handle emergencies, ensuring smooth operations of telecoms and Internet infrastructure systems.

Technical measures must be maximised to detect and avert cyber assaults as well as the spread of toxic information, the ministry requested.

For users, experts advised that they should conduct transactions on familiar websites and avoid downloading apps of unknown sources or opening attachments with strange file names.

Netherlands increases rubber imports from Vietnamese market

Local rubber exports to the Netherlands during the first quarter of the year reached 3,030 tonnes, worth US$4.38 million, representing a rise of 31.2% in volume and 11.3% in value on-year, according to figures given by the Import and Export Department.      

The average export price of rubber to this market dropped by 15.1% to US$1,447 per tonne against the same period from last year.

Vietnam's main rubber exports to the Netherlands were natural rubber, of which the SVR CV60 type recorded the most volume, duly accounting for 53.2% of the total amount of rubber throughout the reviewed period.

According to the statistics compiled by the International Trade Center (ITC), Belgium, Germany, France, China, and Japan represented the five largest markets supplying rubber to the Netherlands last year.

The nation also was the 10th largest rubber supplier to the Netherlands with 8,820 tonnes, worth US$16.13 million last year, up 53.7% in volume and 28.9% in value.

Furthermore, the country’s rubber market share accounted for 2.76% of the total rubber imports of the Netherlands, higher than the figure of 2.02% recorded back in 2021.

These figures indicate that the Vietnamese rubber market share in the Dutch market account for a small proportion of the country’s total import volume.

Furthermore, the Netherlands has moved to accelerate rubber imports from Thailand and China, with the rubber market share of these two markets being also higher compared to 2021.

The Vietnamese rubber industry has been facing numerous difficulties in the post-pandemic period due to internal factors, including fierce competition from rivals in terms of price, product quality, and the ability to meet increasingly stringent sustainability standards set by importers.

Moreover, Vietnamese natural rubber exports remain heavily dependent on China's consumption market and only partially meet the needs of other markets, thereby facing hurdles in penetrating other major countries such as the United States, Japan, and the EU.

Local businesses are therefore advised to diversify products to meet market demand as Vietnamese rubber has to compete with those from Thailand and Ivory Coast in the Netherlands market.

Thai Binh inaugurates 1,200-MW thermal power plant

The 1,200-MW Thai Binh II thermal power plant in the northern province of Thai Binh was inaugurated today, April 27, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attending the ceremony, according to the local media.

The power station covers a total area of over 131 hectares in My Loc Commune, Thai Thuy District, and is operated by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.

With a capacity of 1,200 MW, the plant is expected to supply about 7.2 billion kWh of electricity to the national grid annually and generate annual revenue of around VND18 trillion.

This facility is expected to contribute over VND400 billion annually to the State budget and create jobs for more than 400 local workers.

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the plant will help ensure energy security for the northern region and the whole country, especially during the hot season from May to July.

He asked the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group to continue accelerating the progress of other power projects, particularly the Long Phu I thermal power plant.

HCMC urges banks to restructure debt for individuals, businesses

HCMC Branch yesterday sent a dispatch to credit organizations and branches of foreign banks in the city as to extending debt payment deadline and maintaining debt groups in compliance with its Circular No.02/2023.

Accordingly, SBV urges credit organizations to develop a debt extension procedure, along with corresponding training for employees on consultation to eligible subjects.

Deputy Director Nguyen Duc Lenh of SBV – HCMC Branch commented that the mechanism to extend debt deadlines in accordance with Circular No.02/2023 can directly ease the debt payment burden of businesses when they encounter difficulties in cash flow (reduction in revenues).

Such an approval for individuals and businesses to extend the deadline to pay debts without changing their debt group helps them to easily access capital to overcome current obstacles in manufacturing activities, and thus having a better chance for recovery and development.

New resolution effectively addresses issues in real estate market

When Resolution No.33/NQ-CP about solutions to resolve difficulties and promote the safe, healthy, and sustainable development of the real estate market came into effect on March 11, 2023, several issues of real estate projects have been addressed.

On April 19, Novaland Group resumed its project of The Grand Manhattan (sited in District 1 of HCMC) via a contract with TPBank and Ricons. This is one of the first seven real estate projects that have their legal problems addressed by HCMC People’s Committee. If all go well, Novaland will hand over apartments in the fourth quarter of 2024.

A few days later, the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment had a meeting with Hung Thinh Group also to tackle legal issues related to investment procedures and certificate granting to customers of the Group’s 6 projects in the city. Two documents have been signed by the HCMC Natural Resources and Environment Department for the projects of Dat Phuong Nam ( Moonlight Avenue) in Thu Duc City and Vinh Tien (Moonlight Centre Point) in Binh Tan District.

Regarding the projects whose customers are waiting for certificates in this quarter, the above Department is able to issue certificates for over 2,000 apartments in the four projects of Moonlight Park View, Moonlight Boulevard, 9 View Apartment, 8X Dam Sen.

The HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment has just announced a list of 355 eligible accommodation projects for certificate (pink book) granting in the city. Accordingly, over 81,000 registration documents of apartments, private houses, shophouses, and officetels will have their pink books distributed. The other 26 projects with more than 8,000 apartments are in need of supplementing necessary documents to finish the financial steps for pink book granting.

In Binh Duong Province, the Astral City project – a complex of department stores and apartments in 8 40-floor buildings – has its construction work resumed. Deputy General Director Nguyen Quoc Cuong of Danh Khoi Holdings Investment JSC. (the project investor) said that the support of Binh Duong Province People’s Committee has greatly accelerated legal problem addressing (identifying land use price, signing purchase contract) so that customers can quickly receive their accommodation.

Vietnam attends International Crafts Fair 2023 in Italy

Vietnamese participants are among those from more than 50 countries and territories worldwide to attend MIDA 2023 in Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region, Italy.

 Vietnam’s handicraft products, traditional craft villages and products classified the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program attracted a large number of international visitors at the Florence International Crafts Fair (MIDA) 2023 held from April 25 to May 1, which gathered 840 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and territories.

The Vietnam Pavilion, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, showcases many high-quality embroidered and woven silk products from Nam Cao Tussore Co-operative, decorative sailboat models from Thien Huong Trading-Manufacturing Co, Ltd, wood products and horn art from Minh Giang CRAFT Vietnam, and horn items from Tu Duy Handicraft Co, Ltd.

The booth area also features ceramic products, tanning, and four-to-five-star OCOP products such as tea, coffee, maca, and cacao.

Visitors to the fair can experience weaving demonstrations of Vietnamese artisans and sophisticated handicraft products, and many of them are interested in horn and silk handicrafts.

On April 26, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a forum on "Connecting consumption of Vietnamese handicraft products to the European market" to introduce Vietnamese handicraft products and learn about the needs of the European handicraft market as well as the experience of leather handicraft production in Florence, Italy through field trips.

Through the forum, Vietnamese enterprises have the opportunity to learn and seek new customers and export contracts, develop distribution channels, and expand market share in the potential Northwest European market.

Hanoi Concentrated Promotion Program 2023 to kick off in May
  
Many trade promotion programs will be held in Hanoi in May, July, and November this year.

The opening ceremony of the Hanoi Concentrated Promotion Program 2023 will be held on May 18 at Thong Nhat Park in Hanoi to kick start a series of trade promotion programs to stimulate consumer demand and boost retail sales of goods and services in the city.

Hosted by the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, the annual Hanoi Concentrated Promotion Program is expected to attract many consumers from the city and surrounding areas.

Consumer Goods and Agricultural Products Promotion Day will be held from May 19 to 21 at Thong Nhat Park, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi.

Through "flash sale" programs, local consumers can shop at selected supermarkets, commercial centers, and large chain stores with 30% to 100% discounts.

From May 26 to 28, the Fashion and Beauty Promotion Day will be held at clothing and cosmetics chain stores, commercial centers, supermarkets, and public places.

Another activity, Electric & Technology Promotion Day, will be held on July 28-30 with the participation of many local retailers.

In July, a series of activities are expected to be held under the Cashless Day, including a kick-off ceremony of the event, and a seminar on solutions to promote cashless payment.

In November, the city's Department of Industry and Trade will organize the Hanoi Promotion Month program, which will involve local manufacturing, trade, and service enterprises to stimulate consumer demand.

The event will be held at about 800-1,000 retail points and 50 golden promotion points across the city, with discounts of up to 100%.

The Hanoi Midnight Sale 2023, which is expected to be held on November 24-25, will involve about 200   enterprises and ten supermarkets and trade centers, offering discounts from 5 pm to 10 pm (with 50% discount) and from 10 pm to 2 am (up to 100% discount).

In addition to the main events under the program, many demand stimulation and trade promotion activities will also be held to support trade links and promote brand promotion and product consumption solutions for Vietnamese businesses in all provinces and cities.

Rice exports bring in nearly US$1 billion

In the first quarter of 2023, the average export price of Vietnamese rice reached US$529/ton, an increase of nearly 9 percent against the same period last year.

Rice export turnover reached more than 1.85 million tons of rice with a value of US$981 million, up over 23 percent in volume and 34 percent in turnover over the same period in 2022.

Notably, at many times, export price of 5 percent broken rice ranked first in the world, higher than that of the same type in Thailand and India.

The first quarter of 2023 recorded good growth compared to the same period in 2022 in both traditional and potential markets. In particular, the value of rice exports to the EU recorded remarkable growth.

Currently, the demand for rice imports in Viet Nam's traditional markets, such as the Philippines, China, Indonesia and African countries, is increasing. Also, the need for food reserves in European countries has also increased due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Meanwhile, the supply of rice from the world's leading rice-exporting countries, such as India and Pakistan, continued to be limited, and the price of Thai rice increased due to the strengthening of the baht.

Viet Nam has the advantage of early supply from the winter-spring rice crop, the output and quality of rice are stable, so it is forecasted that in the short term, Viet Nam's rice price will still be at a reasonable level.

Reinventing Vietnam's real estate cash flow

In addition to finding a means to recover the real estate market, Vietnam's current concern is preventing hazards to the banking and financial systems.

Mid-April saw the simultaneous introduction of home loan programmes with a variety of interest rate incentives ranging from 4.99 to 13.5 per cent per annum. Compared to a year ago, this is considered a very low interest rate in Vietnam.

With the passage of Resolution No.33/NQ-CP this year, many businesses anticipate a further expansion of credit capital for real estate in the near future.

In the present economic climate, according to Nghia, the lower the cost of borrowing, the better it is for businesses. According to him, the actual demand in large cities such as Hanoi is high, but purchasers' decisions to purchase a property are "heavily swayed" by the swift rise in real estate prices along with fixed interest rates after the support period, which exceed the majority of people's affordability.

As the Vietnamese government seeks to revitalise the real estate sector, the aforementioned data demonstrates the authorities' efforts to loosen restrictions on home loan activities. According to a report released by Savills on April 11, the average selling price of primary apartments was $2,214 per square metre, which was stable on-quarter while rising 22 per cent on-year. This announcement by Savills coincides with the commitment of numerous banks to provide strong assistance for first-time homebuyers by reducing loan interest rates and down payment requirements.

Also in April, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) asked for commercial banks to implement the $5 billion credit programme, which includes loans for social housing, worker housing, renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings, with preferential interest rates 1.5-2 per cent lower than average medium and long-term lending rates of state-owned commercial banks; including Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, Vietinbank, and non-state commercial banks that are eligible should be eligible to participate in particular credit programmes occasionally.

According to analysts, none of these measures have been successful. Currently, credit institutions continue to extend credit to the real estate industry, despite its rapid expansion and substantial loan balances. At the end of 2022, real estate credit outstanding reached approximately $110 billion, an increase of approximately 24.27 per cent compared to the end of 2021. It became one of the most rapidly expanding industries and accounted for a significant portion of 21.2 per cent of total outstanding loans to the economy, the highest in the past five years.

Outstanding loans for real estate businesses increased by 11.5 per cent, accounting for 31.28 per cent, and outstanding loans for housing needs accounted for 62.1 per cent, according to data released by SBV at the end of February.

Since the beginning of 2022, when Vietnam's real estate market slid gradually into recession, a number of businesses, from large private firms like Novaland to government-backed companies like Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUD), are experiencing cash flow and debt repayment difficulties. HUD's total assets were $427.5 million as of December 31, according to the company's financial report released on April 10; however, inventory accounted for $237 million, coming from a variety of projects.

The situation has become more dire at the end of the first quarter of this year. Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council, stated last Wednesday that the real estate market will have a direct impact on the quality of bank assets. Currently, investors borrow money from banks to purchase homes, but with mortgage rates at such low levels, Nghia questions their ability to repay bank loans.

High demand for Vietnamese real estate

Vietnam remains one of Asia’s top property markets, as shown by the variety of awards that judges give to developers and designs every year.

The reputation of the developer, construction credentials, space design, and sales policy are the top elements consumers take into account when seeking property, according to a Batdongsan.com.vn Consumer Sentiment Survey from early 2023. Green space, in particular, is a key trend in the desire for homeownership at present and in the future.

The survey also revealed that 68 per cent of survey respondents stated that they planned to buy property in the next year. The more properties they hold, the more inclined they are to acquire more.

The proportion of consumers planning to buy property in the near future is 46 per cent for those who do not own a home, 66 per cent for those who already own a property, and up to 87 per cent for those who own three properties.

Newly developed properties in the price range of $108,000-217,000 are hunted most by many buyers.

Even though the current market is experiencing some challenges, Dinh Minh Tuan, branch director of Batdongsan.com.vn in the south, forecasted that the reversal signal will come approximately in Q4 or early in 2024, depending on certain conditions.

The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards series is a prestigious real estate industry awards programme that has been running since 2005. It has since established itself as a well-known competition for many real estate developers. Typical names that have won high titles in previous editions of the Awards include Keppel Land, CapitaLand, Gamuda Land, SonKim Land, and more.

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