The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has decided to cancel a VND35.2-trillion bidding package under the Long Thanh International Airport project, citing ineligible bidding documents.

Contract package 5.10 involves design, construction and equipment installation in the passenger terminal, which belongs to Component 3 on major works in the first phase of the big-ticket Long Thanh airport project.

The first phase, running from 2020 to 2025, would cost an estimated VND109 trillion (US$4.6 billion at the current exchange rate) and consist of a runway, a passenger terminal and other supporting facilities. This phase is designed to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo.

This is the biggest contract package in the first phase of the airport project. It would take 33 months to carry out the package, including weekends, holidays and Lunar New Year, as from the date of the contract coming into force.

ACV will re-open competitive international tenders for the package and this process might take 45 days, reported the local media.

In October this year, ACV held a pre-bidding conference with around 10 contractors from Germany, Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam taking part. But when the bidding time was closed on November 8, 2022, only one entity submitted its bidding documentation, leading to an extension of the bidding until the end of November.

However, all bidding files are not qualified under Article 17 of the Bidding Law, resulting in ACV cancelling the bidding.

US cybersecurity firm sets up 1st critical infrastructure protection lab in Asia
     
OPSWAT, a US-based provider of infrastructure protection cybersecurity solutions, announced on December 16 the opening of its first critical infrastructure protection lab in Asia in its new office in HCM City.

As Viet Nam ramps up its digital transformation efforts in line with the Government’s fourth industrial revolution plans, cybersecurity becomes increasingly important, especially for critical infrastructure such as financial services, energy and government services, Benny Czarny, founder and CEO of OPSWAT, said.

The company provides organisations with information on the latest network security trends and solutions, particularly through real-world use cases and attacks on information technologies, operational technologies and industrial control system environments.

By hosting demonstrations of cybersecurity attacks and defence simulations, the lab would enable Vietnamese cybersecurity professionals, engineers and students to gain practical experience in security and critical infrastructure protection technologies, La Manh Cuong, the company’s general manager for Viet Nam, said.

Rice exports to Northern Europe rise sharply

Vietnamese rice exports to the North European market surged 73% between 2017 and 2021 annually, backed by the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

In 2021, Northern European countries purchased around 5,646 tons of Vietnamese rice worth US$5.51 million, according to the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden (concurrently Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Latvia).

Since 2019, when the office started preparing for the EVFTA launch in August 2020, Swedish imports of Vietnamese grains have grown dramatically, from US$100,000 in 2019 to US$2.8 million in 2021.

Revenues from rice shipments to Norway rose from US$1.8 million in 2018 to US$2.3 million in 2021, while rice exports to Denmark increased to US$394,000 in 2021.

For Vietnamese exporters, Northern Europe and the rest of Europe remain promising but competition will be tough due to the high requirements for quality.

The EU has introduced guidelines that imported products satisfy the standards for Maximum Residue Levels from 2023 to 2025. Non-EU members Norway and Iceland also follow the regulation.

VITAS works out growth scenarios for textile industry in 2023

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) has forecast two scenarios for Vietnam’s textile and apparel next year.

VITAS said that exports of key industries, including textiles, would plunge in early 2023 due to runaway inflation and expectations of global recession, resulting in a sharp rise in inventories.

The textile industry is expected to see an average drop of 20-27% in the first quarter. The situation may linger until late June, bringing more unexpected developments into the market.

Besides fewer new orders, businesses will have to deal with increasing pressure from major importers such as the U.S. and the EU, as they require their products to be recyclable and durable and minimize emissions during production.

In the first scenario, in which global demand rebounds strongly in the third and fourth quarters, apparel exports may hit US$47-48 billion, equivalent to annual growth of 8%.

In the second scenario, wherein the situation has not improved much, exports should range from US$45 billion US$46 billion.

LienVietPostBank issues VND1.95 trillion of bonds at 10.2-10.5 percent per annum

Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank), on December 16, said that to supplement the medium and long-term mobilized capital to meet the borrowing needs of customers, it offered to sell VND1.95 trillion of bonds to the public.

Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank), on December 16, said that to supplement the medium and long-term mobilized capital to meet the borrowing needs of customers, the bank offered to sell VND1.95 trillion of bonds to the public in Phase 1 in 2022.

From now until December 30, LienVietPostBank offers 19.5 million bonds of 7-year and 10-year terms with a par value of VND100,000 per bond, equivalent to VND1.95 trillion. These bonds are non-convertible, unsecured, and not accompanied by warrants. They are secondary debts and satisfy the conditions to be included in the bank's Tier 2 capital.

In this offering, the bond interest rates range from 10.2 percent to 10.5 percent per annum. Specifically, the interest rate applied to bonds is a floating interest rate, calculated by the reference interest rate, which is the average interest rate for 12-month term personal savings deposits in Vietnamese dong with interest payment at maturity of four banks, including BIDV, Vietinbank, Agribank, and Vietcombank, at the interest rate determination date, plus a margin. Of which, the 7-year term interest rate is the reference interest rate plus a margin of 2.8 percent per annum, and the 10-year term one is the reference interest rate plus a margin of 3.1 percent per annum.

Venture summit spotlights shifting global capital flows

The Vietnam Venture Summit 2022 took place in Hanoi on December 19 under the theme “Shifting Global Capital Flows”.

In his opening remarks, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said global investment trends are changing profoundly as a result of geopolitical uncertainties and a risk of recession in many big economies. The shift of capital flows has been taking place strongly among regions and countries, in which there are fewer investment opportunities for both startups and investors.

Vinnie Lauria, founder and managing partner of Golden Gate Ventures, said in the first decade of the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia, Singapore and Indonesia were the leading growth drivers, with Singapore holding financial and human resources and Indonesia a giant domestic market.

In 2022, Vietnam has become the third pillar of this triangle, bringing about a perfect combination of leading technological talent, the entrepreneurial culture of Vietnam, and a fast-growing domestic market, he noted.

He added Vietnam is currently assessed as the latest gemstone of Southeast Asia, and its emergence comes as a result of its market’s attractiveness to investors and the Government’s support for the startup ecosystem.

Vietnamese startups raised a record of 1.4 billion USD with 165 transactions in 2021, up 1.6 times from the 894 million USD and 126 transactions in 2019. This indicated that transactions in the market have regained momentum after a pandemic-triggered decline. The upward trend is forecast to continue in 2023, according to the National Innovation Centre (NIC).

Some factors turning Vietnam into a bright spot of investment attraction include political stability, a young and educated workforce, developed infrastructure, digital skills, and innovation capacity. Besides, the country is considered a promised land for high-quality FDI and large international enterprises that are seeking investment opportunities to diversify supply chains and reduce the dependence on the Chinese market.

Vietnam has become a leading candidate for the shift of capital flows, the NIC said, adding that the country is now at an important turning point of its economic development process. Its stature in the region, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the strong growth of investment funds have created a favourable context for Vietnam to hold an outstanding position.

Vietnam, RoK cooperate to develop smart farming

Vietnam was the first country selected by the Republic of Korea (RoK) to implement its strategy of supporting countries that are improving their agricultural production.

With an area of over 1.2 hectares, the Korea-Vietnam smart farm is located at the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture. Despite the sweltering summer heat, the plants can still grow normally thanks to the application of smart technology from the RoK.

All irrigation comes from drilled wells, with filtration, automated irrigation, and drone sprayers, to ensure that RoK quality standards are met.

Modern technology has saved on human resources, while crop productivity has been enhanced.

The construction of the Korea-Vietnam smart farm commenced in December 2021, and all equipment and machinery were transported from the RoK.

The application of new cutting-edge technology is expected to improve the competitiveness of Vietnam’s agriculture sector, contributing to the country’s sustainable development.

Fair on trade and industry underway in Nam Dinh
     
Over 200 businesses from the North are participating in a trade and industrial fair which opened late last week in Nam Dinh Province as part of the National Trade Promotion Programme in 2022.

These firms are showcasing mechanical engineering, agricultural machinery, office equipment, electronics, refrigeration handicrafts, household goods, fashion, and agricultural goods and products under the national "One Commune-One Product" Programme (OCOP) in 350 booths.

The fair runs until Saturday. 

Viet Nam - ROK relations to blossom in the next century
     
Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have made remarkable progress in cooperation in various fields over the past 30 years, according to Nguyen Duc Hai, vice chairman of the National Assembly.

He said RoK remained Viet Nam's largest partner in foreign direct investment (FDI), the second in official development assistance, and the third in trade. Meanwhile, Viet Nam has positioned itself as the largest economic partner of RoK among ASEAN countries.

By late October, RoK has initiated over 9,400 projects in the country, equivalent to more than US$81 billion of registered capital.

Tran Duy Dong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, underlined RoK investment as a driving force behind economic restructuring in Viet Nam. Over the past three decades, the destination of investment has shifted from labour-intensive industries to high-tech and high-value-added industries.

The deputy minister called on RoK enterprises to give investment priority to certain fields, including digital transformation, biology technology, and clean energy, to help Viet Nam move one step closer to its development goals in the short term.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam - Korea Friendship Association (VIKOFA), said RoK enterprises have made a great contribution to Viet Nam's economic growth by creating jobs and promoting 'made in Vietnam' products globally.

Jeong Man-ki, vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, revealed that the minimum wage in Viet Nam is ranked 5th in the ASEAN region and is rising rapidly.

He anticipated that in the future, Viet Nam would face stiffer competition from other countries in this regard. One of the major competitors is Indonesia, which saw its FDI in 2022 grow by 40 per cent year-on-year. The vice chairman urged Viet Nam to improve its investment environment by introducing favourable policies for companies willing to relocate their factories to the country and by avoiding double taxation.

Bui Quang Tuan, director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, remarked that bilateral trade is growing steadily, yet skewed in favour of the RoK. Remarkably, Viet Nam was facing an accumulated trade deficit of $32.8 billion with RoK in 2021.

Member of the National Assembly of South Korea Hong Sung Kook was concerned that in Viet Nam the proportion of the digital sector to the economy is outweighed by that of the realty sector. He urged Vietnamese enterprises to embrace green growth to be able to improve their involvement in global supply chains, which have been moving toward sustainable development.

Choi Joo Ho, CEO of Samsung Vietnam, revealed that Samsung Vietnam had drawn up a plan to support local component suppliers in the medium- and long-term. From 2015 to 2021, the corporation dispatched specialists to 400 suppliers to help them improve their competitive advantages and output capacity. Between 2018 and 2021, the corporation proceeded to help them enhance their human resources. From 2022 onwards, the corporation will support them in building smart factories and improving their positions in Samsung's supply chains.

Ko Sang Goo, deputy chairman of VIKOFA, asserted that the influence of the two countries will go beyond Asian borders to become global in the next 30 years. He said the Roman Empire opened a golden age of Pax Romana in ancient times; the US Pax Americana in the previous century. He believed that the next era would come a period of Pax Asiana, of which Viet Nam and RoK would take the centre stage.

Tax revenue grows 8.5 per cent year-on-year
     
The total budget revenue managed by the tax authorities is estimated at VND1.46 quadrillion (US$61.6 billion), equal to 124.3 per cent of the ordinance's estimate, an increase of 8.5 per cent over the same period last year.

In which, domestic revenue is estimated at VND1.39 quadrillion, equaling 121 per cent of the ordinance estimate, a year-on-year increase 6.6 per cent.

Domestic tax and fee collection is estimated at VND1.06 quadrillion, equal to 116.4 per cent of the ordinance's estimate, a growth of 5.3 per cent compared to the implementation last year.

The Minister asked tax agencies to continue paying attention to the issue of value-added tax refunds.

When finalising the Tax Laws and guiding documents, it was necessary to pay special attention to this issue and clearly define the responsibilities of the units in implementing VAT refund, he said.

Regarding digital transformation in the tax field, the Minister said that the General Department of Taxation had done very well and continued to promote and build a tax data centre for risk management and effective tax management.

VN working hard to meet its ambitious net zero pledge
     
Viet Nam has made multi-dimensional efforts to achieve its net zero greenhouse gas emission targets by 2050 as committed at COP26, an official from the Ministry of Construction told a training workshop in HCM City on Friday.

Speaking at Net Zero Buildings – International Experience and Recommendations for Viet Nam, Nguyen Cong Thinh, deputy director general of the ministry’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said the Government has announced the National Action Plan on Green Growth for 2021-30, National Climate Change Strategy to 2050 and others to fulfil its commitment.

The Minister of Construction has also approved the construction sector’s action plan to help implement the COP26 commitments, he said.

Sam Wood, deputy consul general at the British Consulate General in HCM City, said buildings and the built environment account globally for one third of total energy usage and 19 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. There has been a 45 per cent increase in building related emissions since 1990 and on present trajectories this is set to worsen.

In big cities in Viet Nam such as HCM City and Ha Noi, buildings are also a considerable source of carbon emissions and so it is very encouraging to see a more sustainable approach in the plan, he said.

He also highlighted that to meet the country’s net zero pledge, more needs to be done, including building a comprehensive policy framework and ensuring consistent enforcement, and incentivising strong commitments from corporate stakeholders.

Phan Thu Hang, chairwoman of the Vietnam Green Building Council, said to shift buildings and construction towards full decarbonisation, it is necessary to approach “carbon emissions” from the perspective of the whole life cycle of a building, which is the sum of initial and future costs associated with the construction and operation of a building over a period of time.

She called on the sector to focus on emission reduction initiatives such as improving energy efficiency in operations including efficient design and systems, increasing access to renewable energy, and reducing the impact of the construction process by increasing circularity of materials and reducing embodied carbon in materials.

British experts presented ways to decarbonise the sector, including their country’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework and Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard.

VN-Russia see great potential in industrial cooperation: forum
     
Vietnamese and Russian businesses need to further boost cooperation in the field of renewable energy, circular economy, green development, digital transformation and supporting industry.

The comment was made at a two-day business dialogue between Viet Nam and Russia which opened in Ha Noi on Thursday. The event was held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation to promote business and investment cooperation between Vietnamese and Russian enterprises in the industrial sector.

Nearly 70 Russian businesses participated in the event, mostly in the field of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, mining, oil and gas, machinery and transport equipment, shipbuilding and ship repair, technology and electrical equipment, and information technology.

Data reported by the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that as of November 2022, the Russian Federation has 164 investment projects in Viet Nam worth US$965.8 million and ranked 27th out of 141 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. Meanwhile, Viet Nam has invested in 16 projects in the Russian Federation with a registered capital of more than $1.6 billion.

Russian Ambassador to Viet Nam Bezdetko Gennady Stepanovich said Viet Nam and Russia had a longstanding and traditional relationship. And the Russian Federation was also a strategic economic partner of Viet Nam for many years.

Affirming the great relations in trade and economics, Ambassador Bezdetko hoped that this dialogue would create great momentum for the cooperation between the two countries’ businesses.

Nosov Sergey Sergeyevich, director of the department of the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, told participants that this forum has shown the interests of the two governments in promoting bilateral relations. This move would generate great impetus for the cooperation relationship between businesses of the two sides.

He hoped that through panel discussions, the two sides would find more solutions to assist businesses in connecting and working effectively and further promote the bilateral relationship and take advantage of the existing potentials so as to bring the two countries’ relations to a new high.

Shares forecast to move higher this week on supportive information
     
Shares are expected to move positively this week thanks to supporting macro information with the VN-Index heading to the resistance area around 1,070 points.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 0.27 per cent, to close Friday at 1,052.48 points. The index had gained 0.06 per cent last week.

An average of 822.6 million shares worth VND14.2 trillion (US$601.6 million) were traded during each session on the southern exchange last week.

Forecasting the next trading week, Dinh Quang Hinh, Head of Macroeconomics and Market Strategy Department, VNDirect Securities Company, said that market movements can improve thanks to supportive macro information, such as the State Bank's expansion of credit growth room, the Ministry of Finance submitting to the Government a draft amendment to Decree 65 on corporate bonds.

Hinh forecast that VN-Index might head to the resistance area around 1,070 points next week. If it surpasses this zone, VN-Index will move towards the next resistance, around 1,100 points.

The analysis team of Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) has a more cautious forecast.

Vu Thi Chan Phuong, Vice Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission, said that despite many difficulties, opportunities still exist for the Vietnamese stock market.

According to Phuong, Viet Nam's stock market in 2022 has experienced many fluctuations. The downtrend of the market started in April, but the recovery spans still appeared in May and August and at the end of November.

As of November 30, the VN-Index reached 1,048.42 points, down 30 per cent compared to the end of 2021. Market liquidity also tended to decrease continuously during this period, with the average trading value decreasing from VND26.3 trillion per session in April to VND13,017 billion per session in November.

In the first 11 months of this year, the average trading value reached VND20.6 trillion per session, down 22.7 per cent compared to the average in 2021.

The leaders of the Securities Commission said that the fluctuations in the stock market mainly stem from the cautious sentiment of investors in the face of uncertainties and a less positive outlook on the world economy and politics.

The Securities Commission also pointed to a series of positive factors that may affect the market in 2023.

Large room for exports to UK remains

Made-in-Vietnam products, including Vietnam’s agro-aqua products, have become more popular in the UK market during the last two years, backed by the efforts of Vietnamese exporters and the United Kingdom Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) with official validity as of May 1, 2021.

Under the UKVFTA’s commitments, six years after the validity of the agreement, the UK will remove import duties for 99.2% of tariff lines, equivalent to 99.7% of Vietnam’s export values.

In 2021, bilateral trade between Vietnam and the UK reached nearly US$6.6 billion, in which Vietnam’s exports to the UK gained US$5.8 billion, an increase of 16.4% year-on-year.

The first 10 months of this year also witnessed an increase of 9% in Vietnam’s exports to the UK over the same period last year, at US$5.2 billion.

According to the director of the WTO center under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the positive business result was attributed to the enterprises’ efforts in getting to know the UKVFTA and exploiting its advantages to boost exports.

Some 18% of enterprises participating in the VCCI’s survey said they had known the agreement’s commitments relating to their business activities in the Vietnam-UK trade relation.

Highway 51 toll collection yet to be discontinued

Due to prolonged negotiations over financial matters, toll collection on National Highway 51 will not be suspended from December 17 as earlier proposed by the Department for Roads of Vietnam.

After 17 rounds of negotiations, the department and the project’s investor, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau Expressway Development Joint Stock Company (BVEC), have yet to agree on the duration of toll collection for the National Highway 51 expansion project.

The investor and its lender banks have yet to recoup the initial investment, according to Dinh Hong Ha, general director of BVEC.

Meanwhile, the project’s costs would need a further review as some figures in the financial reports are inconsistent.

The Ministry of Transport has directed the Department for Roads of Vietnam to continue negotiating with the investor to determine the toll collection termination date.

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