Domestic investment in the southern province of Binh Duong topped 62.3 trillion VND (3 billion USD) as of August 15, up 2.1% annually, surpassing the foreign direct investment (over 2.5 billion USD) for the first time, reported the provincial People’s Committee at a press conference on August 30.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Ha said so far this year, the province’s total retail sale of goods and services topped 177.8 trillion VND, marking an 18.7% rise year-on-year.

Its exports also hiked 7.8% annually to over 24 billion USD while imports dropped by 5.1% to 17 billion USD, contributing to a trade surplus of 7 billion USD.

Lam Dong aims to grow 26,000 hectares of macadamia 

The Central Highlands Province of Lâm Đồng aims to have 26,000 hectares of land under macadamia and achieve an output of 34,000 tonnes a year by 2030. 

It will include 9,400 ha of forest lands.

Intercropping will be done on a large portion of the land. 

The province’s goal for 2030 is to sustainably develop macadamia farming while also increasing the forest cover.

Macadamia will be grown in Đà Lạt and Bảo Lộc towns and the nine districts of Lạc Dương, Đam Rông, Lâm Hà, Đức Trọng, Đơn Dương, Di Linh, Bảo Lâm, Đạ Tẻh, and Cát Tiên.

To make sure the targets are met and ensure quality, authorities will draw up macadamia planting guidelines for farmers.

They will seek investment and technology in macadamia production to meet Vietnamese and international quality standards from companies and other sources.

Lâm Đồng also plans to set up 14 new facilities to expand its processing capacity to 20,000 tons a year. 

Shoppertainment' to be the next $1 trillion opportunity for Asia Pacific
     
Shoppertainment could uncover US$1 trillion in market value for brands in the Asia Pacific (APAC) by 2025, according to the latest study published by TikTok and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Titled “Shoppertainment: APAC’s Trillion-Dollar Opportunity,” the report surveyed markets across APAC, including Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, and found that the immense choices afforded by technology have shaped consumers’ appetite for discovery, authenticity and community-driven recommendations, giving rise to the next era of online commerce, Shoppertainment.

Shoppertainment is content-driven commerce that seeks to entertain and educate first while integrating content and community to create highly immersive shopping experiences.

Analysis conducted by BCG also predicted that Shoppertainment is expected to grow at a 63 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for markets included in the report, with Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Viet Nam driving significant value opportunities in this area.

While consumer sentiment varies from market to market, Shoppertainment will grow more rapidly to represent larger shares of the total e-commerce market.

In the context that the Vietnamese are preparing for upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year), the highest shopping season of the year, TikTok predicts that Shoppertainment is still expected to be a prominent trend.

It found that consumer sentiment wants to seek Shoppertainment experiences to stay optimistic after more than two years of the pandemic, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Thanks to the creative combination of image and sound, short-form video is an outstanding form of advertising that helps brands capture customers' attention, effectively conveying messages and influencing shopping behaviour.

Nielsen research showed that 83 per cent of users prefer to watch ads in video format over GIFs or text, while 70 per cent of users will not skip an ad if the content is highly entertaining.

A survey by TikTok revealed that up to 85 per cent of users agree that they prefer to watch ads with entertaining content. More than 50 per cent of users purchased after seeing an advertisement on TikTok during the super shopping season.

Heavy users also pay more and even make purchases outside their plan.

Newly established firms jump by recond in first eight months
     
The number of newly-established enterprises and those resuming operations in the first eight months of this year surpassed 149,450, up 31 per cent year-on-year and marking the highest level for the period.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Business Registration Management Department, Viet Nam had 11,918 newly-established enterprises with registered capital of over VND130 trillion (US$5,5 billion) in August, up 107 per cent in the number of enterprises and 91.6 per cent in registered capital on year.

The significant increases were attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Many localities implemented social distancing measures, resulting in interrupted production and business activities, the department said in its latest report.

In total, 101,325 new firms were established with a total registered capital of over VND1.13 quadrillion in the first months of this year, surging 24.4 per cent in the number of enterprises and 0.3 per cent in registered capital on year.

Fifteen out of 17 sectors saw an increase in the number of new firms, led by accommodation and catering service at 51.7 per cent, followed by other service activities (50.8 per cent); employment services and tourism (44 per cent) and entertainment (up 37 per cent).

Meanwhile, the number of businesses returning to operation was 48,126 in the period, a yearly rise of 48.3 per cent on year. This number was also higher than that recorded in whole year of 2021, the department noted.

Several sectors that have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years have recorded strong growth in the number of firms re-entering the market such as other service activities with 1,400 enterprises, up 223 per cent; production and distribution of electricity, water and gas (748 enterprises, up 192 per cent); education and training (1,201 enterprises, up 69 per cent); real estate (1,684 enterprises, up 61 per cent).

Others sectors with strong growth were wholesale, retail and repairing of cars and motorbikes (18,063 businesses, up 58 per cent) and accommodation and catering services (2,765 businesses, up 51 per cent).

The department said total capital added to the economy in the eight-month period also rose 36.1 per cent year-on-year to VND3.63 quadrillion, including VND2.5 quadrillion poured into operating businesses, up 63 per cent year-on-year.

Corporate bond issuance declines in the first six months
     
Corporate bond issuances took a dive in the first half of 2022 amid lower bond interest rates.

According to MB Securities, over VND183.5 trillion (US$7.8 billion) of corporate bonds were issued in the first six months of the year, down 10 per cent year-on-year. Of which, just VND5.3 trillion went to investors through public offerings.

The second quarter saw VND112.8 trillion of corporate bonds offered to the financial market, also 10 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Six-month weighted average maturity (WAM) was 3.2 years, roughly 0.69 years less than the figure in 2021. Average bond interest rates stayed at 6.4 per cent, around 1.7 percentage points short of last year's number.

Among the largest issuers, the banking sector took the lead with a total six-month issue of VND90.1 trillion and a WAM of 3.76 years. Of which, banks offered VND80.7 trillion worth of bonds in Q2 alone.

The realty sector came next with about VND10.8 trillion in Q2. The figure paled in comparison with its total issues in early 2022, which hit VND44.5 trillion and had a WAM of 2.45 years.

Other sectors made up VND48.8 trillion of the total corporate bond on sale in the first half of 2022. Notably, construction firms offered VND17 trillion with a WAM of 2.27 years.

FinnPro's data showed that about VND2.8 trillion of corporate bonds were issued in the first half of August and the banking sector remained the largest issuer.

Vietcombank took the biggest share of the pie with VND1.5 trillion, followed by Agribank with VND600 billion and ACB with VND300 billion.

VietinBank and VietCapital Bank also got in on the act with VND50 billion and VND60 billion, respectively.

HCM City’s economy continued with noted recovery

Ho Chi Minh City’s economy has maintained its recovery pace, as seen in the increasing numbers of both new businesses and those that have restored their operations, as well as the rise in foreign investments, the city officials reported at a press conference on August 30.

Nguyen Khac Hoang, head of the municipal Statistics Office, viewed FDI attraction as a bright spot of the local economy in the month, which is the highest over the past five years.

The southern economic hub attracted 479 new FDI projects worth around 309.4 million USD, up 24.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, 96 projects increased their investment capital by 1.47 billion USD, up 127.3%.

Capital contribution and share purchase by up to 1,632 foreign investors were valued at 925.68 million USD.

The city also counted 29,224 newly-established domestic enterprises in August with combined registered investments of 346.88 trillion VND (14.8 billion USD), up 33.41% in number but down 5.42 percent in capital. 

Notably, 10,895 firms have resumed their operations, an increase of 18.9% year-on-year.

According to Le Thi Huynh Mai, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, the total revenue from retail sales of goods and services in August reached some 98.84 trillion VND (4.22 billion USD), down 1.1% month-on-month but up 149.8% year-on-year.
 
The value in the first eight months of this year was estimated at 746.57 trillion VND, a rise of 23.2% against the same period last year.

The accumulative export turnover of businesses in HCM City through border gates reached 31.75 billion USD, up 9.02% year-on-year, while import was some 43.2 billion USD, up 7.51%.

The city’s index of industrial production (IIP) in August grew about 0.5% from the previous month and 104% from the corresponding time in 2021, with mining up 7.5%, and processing and manufacturing up 111.7%. 

State budget collection reaches 85.6% of yearly target

The total State budget collection in the first eight months of this year has been estimated at 1.2 quadrillion VND (51.3 billion USD),  equivalent to 85.6% of the annual target, according to the Ministry of Finance. 

In the reviewed period, domestic collection reached 954.6 trillion VND, up 15.9% year-on-year, accounting for 81.1% of the yearly estimates.

The ministry said  60 out of 63 provinces and cities have met over 68% of their targets, and 49 localities have collected higher tax revenues than the same period last year. 

The country’s state budget expenditure in the January – August period reached 956.4 trillion VND, equivalent to 53.6% of the year's estimate and up 4.2% year-on-year. Of the sum, investment for development was 212.2 trillion VND.

Up to 2.4 trillion VND from the central budget’s reserves in 2022 has been spent on pandemic prevention and control and to assist people who are facing difficulties due to the pandemic, as well as plant varieties and livestock support to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters and epidemics.

About 27,600 tonnes of rice were allocated from the national reserve to the needy affected by natural disasters, epidemics and between-crop food shortage.

Given rising inflation and interest rates that might affect budget revenue, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc suggested that it is necessary to continue to operate a flexible and effective fiscal policy. He highlighted the need to strengthen tax revenue from e-commerce and digital platforms, along with VAT refunds.

Trial run sets off on Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line

The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) in Ho Chi Minh City launched a trial run of Metro Line No.1 on Long Binh Depot’s railway W1 in Thu Duc City on August 30.

The train was operated at a maximum speed of 20km per hour. The trial ran without any hitches, MAUR said.

Metro Line No.1 connects Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park. Over 91% of the metro line project has been completed.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, MAUR has closely coordinated with contractors in the construction of the railway and overhead power systems, as well as importing 17 trains to Vietnam.

Hitachi, the main contractor carrying out Contract Package 3 for the project, will continue to complete the remaining items such as signals, telecommunications and optical camera communications equipment to perform a test run for the whole route.

HCM City tops nation in FDI attraction in first eight months

Ho Chi Minh City topped the country in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in the first eight months of 2022, accounting for 16.1% of the national figure, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

It lured some 2.71 billion USD worth of FDI in January-August, an increase of 24.4% against the same period last year.

About 309.4 million USD were channeled into 479 newly-registered FDI projects, up 17.6% and 24.1% year-on-year, respectively, during the period. Ninety-six existing projects received extra investment worth 1.47 billion USD, up 127.3% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, capital contributions and share purchases were down 19.7% to 925.68 million USD.

The largest sum of FDI, or 39.91% of the total, was poured into information and communications. It was followed by wholesale-retail, auto and motor maintenance and repair (30.59%), science and technology (9.85%), and finance, banking and insurance (7.14%).

Singapore remained HCM City’s biggest investor, making up 37.68% of the total capital, followed by Japan (17.19%) and the Republic of Korea (13.45%).

Disbursement of public investment in 8 months reaches 51% of yearly plan

A total of 285.4 trillion VND (12.18 billion USD) sourced from the State budget was disbursed in the first eight months of 2022, equal to 51% of the yearly plan and up 16.9% year-on-year.

Of the total, the capital managed by the government is estimated at 50.4 trillion VND, equivalent to 47.7% of the yearly plan, and up 18.1% y-o-y, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

In August alone, the amount of disbursed public investment reached 48.3 trillion VND, up 51.4% y-o-y, of which 8.9 trillion VND was managed by the government, representing an increase of 36.8% against the same period last year, and the remainder was managed by localities.

To accelerate the disbursement, the Prime Minister has assigned six working groups to continue inspections, helping to remove difficulties and obstacles, and speeding up the disbursement of 2022 public investment allocated to 41 ministries and centrally-run agencies and 18 localities that have the results below the national average (34.47%).

Specifically, on August 29, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is head of a working group, worked with leading officials of the central provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri on this work.

During January- August, Quang Binh and Quang Tri reported the disbursement rates of 30% and 34%, respectively.

Reasons for the slow disbursement were attributed to complicated procedures, obstacles in project site clearance, and weaknesses of several investors, consultants and contractors.

Vietjet sales tickets to celebrate National Day

Vietjet offers customers opportunities to fly across Vietnam with a 92% discount promotion to celebrate the National Day (September 2).

As many as 922,222 promotional tickets with up to 92% off are available for sales from 0:00 August 30, 2022 to 24:00 September 02, 2022. Passengers will enjoy a discount when booking Vietjet’s Eco tickets and applying promo code VIETJET29 at website www.vietjetair.com, Vietjet Air mobile app.

Promotional tickets are applied to all domestic routes across Vietnam with a flexible flight period from September 12, 2022 to March 26, 2023, excluding Tet and national holidays. In addition, customers can enjoy free payment fees when booking and paying via Vietjet SkyClub or register online for the "Fly now - Pay later" programme within only 3 minutes to enjoy flying without worrying about financial problems.

Quang Ninh selectively attracts investment to industrial development

The northern province of Quang Ninh has affirmed the viewpoint of selective investment attraction in industrial development, including prioritising environmentally friendly projects.

At a recent meeting, standing members of the provincial Party Committee demanded that special-use forests, mangrove forests and sea encroachment areas not be used for industrial development.

They affirmed Quang Ninh does not encourage the projects using low technology or the ones that are labour intensive or may cause insecurity or disorder.

The officials also underlined that new industrial projects must not cover more than 500 hectares while drastic measures must be taken to deal with sluggish or ineffective projects so as to fully capitalise on land potential to boost development.

Land reserves of existing industrial parks (IPs) need to be reviewed to zone land for building housing and public facilities for workers, they noted.

The province is currently home to five economic zones (EZs) and 16 IPs covering a total area of over 378,180 hectares.

Three of the five EZs have had their general construction planning approved, and one had its detailed planning at a scale of 1:2,000 given the green light. While six IPs have recorded secondary projects becoming operational, procedures are now underway to build the remaining IPs.

Vietnamese airlines make world-beating recovery

The high demand for travel has helped Vietnam’s airline revenues grow impressively and exceed the set forecasts.

According to flight statistics from flightradar24 and Airbus, in the first half of 2022, Vietnam’s domestic aviation market recovered faster than any other market with a growth rate of 123% over the same period in 2019. The number of passengers transported increased by 56% on-year to just over 20 million people, while the cargo volume also increased by 30%, reaching 765,000 tonnes.

Aviation data analysis site OAG also rated Vietnam as one of the top 10 countries with the strongest recovering domestic aviation market, next to the likes of China, Japan, Brazil, and North America.

Vietnam also currently boasts the busiest domestic flight routes in the region. First place belongs to Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi, followed by Danang to both cities and Phu Quoc Island to both cities. The route between the capital and Ho Chi Minh City was also the second-busiest domestic flight worldwide in June.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, among 954,500 international visitors to Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, there were more than 831,000 arrivals by air. In the domestic market, Vietnam’s airlines transported 20.78 million passengers, up 60% over the same period in 2021. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam noted that, by the end of June, VASCO, Vietjet, Bamboo, Pacific Airlines, and Vietravel Airlines are operating nearly 60 domestic routes connecting the country’s three biggest cities with 19 local airports.

Flight routes to tourist destinations such as Quy Nhon, Phu Quoc, and Nha Trang are prioritised for high-frequency operation, in which the frequency to and from Phu Quoc currently reaches 100 domestic flights per day, an increase of nearly 30 trips compared to 2019. The seat occupancy rate on domestic routes in June also hit 85%-87% depending on the airline.

For the international aviation market, Vietnamese airlines have operated 68 international routes to 16 countries and territories, and are planning to increase the operating frequency and open a number of new routes.

Ha Noi supports trade promotion for agricultural products
     
Ha Noi’s agriculture sector has promoted trade promotion programmes and organised fairs to help cooperatives and enterprises sell agricultural products in the capital city

Head of Ha Noi Sub-Department for Quality Management of Agro, Forestry and Fisheries Products Nguyen Thi Thu Hang said: “The city has 25 trade centres and 141 supermarkets, mainly concentrated in the inner city; 454 markets, including two wholesale markets for agricultural products, more than 1,000 convenience stores, 786 safe fruit stores, and more than 128 business chains of agricultural products and food.”

Every year the city organises dozens of fairs to help cooperatives and businesses participate in promoting and introducing safe agricultural products to customers.

Trade promotion efforts have recorded certain achievements, but there are still many difficulties because many good, high-value agricultural products have not been distributed by enterprises. Trade promotion activities often focus on maintaining, searching and expanding markets to sell the goods, and are not yet associated with product development activities so that they can sell products the market requires.

To promote the consumption of agricultural products, Director of Huong Ngai Agricultural Cooperative, in Thach That District, Nguyen Do Ban suggested, in addition to improving product quality, the sector should support cooperatives in connecting supply - demand through seminars, fairs, and signing contracts with enterprises.

According to Director of the Ha Noi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chu Phu My, the agriculture sector cooperates with other departments and branches to build a market information and forecast system in order to improve consumption of processed agricultural products in Ha Noi. It helps promote Ha Noi's links with provinces and cities across the country; and promotes the supply of input materials for processing and consumption of processed products.

Jan-Aug State budget revenue nears full-year target

State budget revenue totaled over VND1,200 trillion between January and August, meeting over 85% of the full-year target and growing by 19.4% year-on-year, according to a recent report issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Of the total, domestic revenue accounted for VND954 trillion, reaching 81.1% of this year’s target and rising by 16% year-on-year, the local media reported.

Revenue from crude oil amounted to VND51.1 trillion during the eight-month period, nearly double the year-ago figure. Meanwhile, revenue from export and import operations reached VND197.6 trillion, meeting 99.3% of the full-year target and rising 21.5% year-on-year.

State budget revenue was mainly sourced from tax on crude oil, land land fee, personal and corporate income taxes, value-added tax and excise tax.

During the January-August period, the total State budget spending was estimated at VND956.5 trillion, meeting 53.6% of this year’s target, resulting in a surplus of over VND251.7 trillion.

In August alone, State budget revenue amounted to VND106 trillion, of which domestic revenue represented VND78.4 trillion and revenue from crude oil was estimated at VND6.2 trillion.

The tax and customs agencies continued adopting multiple support policies for firms and residents in August, such as extending tax payment deadlines and lowering taxes and fees.

Inspection teams set up to check petroleum businesses

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien yesterday directed to set up three inspection teams to check petroleum businesses across the country following information that many petrol filling stations stop selling for the hoard of goods.

Several gas fillling stations in Binh  Thuan Province refuse to sell petroleum; thereby, inspection teams set up to check petroleum businesses

Each inspection team will be led by a deputy minister who will focus on inspecting whether business establishments including companies, agents, and petrol retailers comply with regulations, especially establishments that refused to sell the commodity contrary to the regulations in the government’s Decree No. 95/2021 and Decree No. 83/2014 on petroleum business.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien asked the delegations to go to each gas filling station to clarify a shortage of gasoline or not.

The Minister of Industry and Trade asked inspection teams not to make things difficult for enterprises during the process of inspection, especially those that operate normally and comply with the law.

Inspectors will focus on their duties on establishments that do not work properly, show signs of violations, and abdicate duties and obligations to supply petrol and oil. The monitoring phase will help trace the root of the problem, thereby having appropriate and timely solutions. The General Department of Market Surveillance in coordination with the working groups, will strictly handle violations.

According to the schedule, September 1 is the period to adjust the retail price of gasoline in the domestic market. But, because it coincides with the National Day holiday on September 2, the adjustment may be postponed to September 5. Several key petroleum businesses, traders and distributors said that prices of gasoline in the world have lately increased sharply.

In the next operating period, the domestic retail gasoline price needs to increase to ensure it follows the world market price movements. With the current trend, petrol price is forecast to increase by about VND1,500-VND2,000 a liter.

However, the Vietnam Petroleum Association has just sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, proposing to regulate gasoline prices right on September 1, the retail price of petrol will not reflect the increasing trend of world prices. This makes it difficult for petroleum traders to secure sources, especially creating a hoarding mentality; thereby, it results in market instability.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the inter-ministries of Industry and Trade - Finance have been discussing and considering this proposal. If petrol prices are adjusted on September 1, businesses can benefit but consumers will spend more money on petroleum. If operating on September 5, on the contrary, consumers will benefit, while petrol and oil retail businesses will suffer losses.

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