Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a decision approving a development programme for unbaked construction materials in Vietnam to 2030.

The programme aims to promote the production and use of unbaked building materials to replace fired clay bricks, effectively use agricultural land resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution, and make use of waste from industries.

Under the programme, attention will be paid to stepping up the production and use of unbaked building materials to replace about 35-40 percent of the total baked clay bricks by 2025, and 40-45 percent by 2030; ensuring the regulated rate of using unburned construction materials in construction works.

It also aims to reduce CO2 emissions by over 2.5 million tonnes per year by 2025 and by over 3 million tonnes per year by 2030.

Accordingly, attention will be paid to applying modern production technologies in production, and producing large-sized unbaked building materials products and light products based on the availability of raw material supplies and market demands.

The programme will also promote quality control of unburnt building material products to meet standards and regulations, and the inspection of the implementation of relevant regulations and legal documents in order to foster the production and use of unburnt building materials./.

Ho Chi Minh City launches tourism week

Ho Chi Minh City launched the first tourism week named “Ho Chi Minh City – The city I love” on December 24, aiming to spread pride and love of the city among people, and encourage both domestic and international tourists to visit the city.

The event, which will remain open till December 31, is also expected to contribute to the city’s post-pandemic tourism recovery and assist the business community in carrying out a variety of year-end tourism stimulus programmes in the context of safe adaptation to COVID-19.

Within the framework of the tourism week, the organisers create a space at the central post office introducing images and detail information about prominent destinations of Thu Duc city and districts and holding street shows. An online photo contest themed “The city I love through the windows” is being held, attracting the participation of both Vietnamese and foreigners.

A wide range of activities are expected to take place on this occasion as well.

Kien Giang to attract investment in border gate economic zones

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang will step up promotion to attract investment in industrial zones, border gate economic zones, while improving its business investment environment, and facilitating the development of all economic sectors.

Nguyen Thong Nhat, director of Kien Giang province’s Department of Planning and Investment (DPI), said in 2022, the province will prioritise resources on infrastructure, and continue calling for investment in Thanh Loc industrial park phase 1, Vinh Hoa Hung Nam industrial cluster phase 1, Ha Tien and Giang Thanh border gate economic zones.

This year, the province has approved in principle investment for 17 projects with total register capital of more than 2.5 trillion VND (113 million USD), a decrease of 32 projects and a reduction of 22.2 trillion VND compared to last year.

According to the DPI, the province has 823 valid projects with total register capital of over 544 trillion VND by the end of this year. Of these, 375 projects have been put into operation with nearly 67 trillion VND, accounting for 12.3 percent of the total capital.

Plenty of room for UK exports after Brexit, pandemic

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the disruption of the global supply chain, Viet Nam-UK trade saw positive developments with two-way trade turnover reaching US$6.02 billion in the first 11 months of 2021, up 17 per cent year-on-year, according to the European-American Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Exports from Viet Nam to the UK hit US$5.2 billion, up 15.6 per cent year-on-year. Export items that recorded high growth included iron and steel, rubber, agricultural produce, vehicles and spare parts, and machinery. Viet Nam imported about US$778.2 million worth of goods from the UK, a yearly rise of 27.3 per cent.

Currently, the UK is one of Viet Nam's leading trading partners in Europe, while the Southeast Asian nation is the UK's top trading partner in ASEAN, ranking 26th among the European nation's export partners globally.

As of November 2021, the UK had 447 projects in Viet Nam with a total registered investment capital of nearly US$4 billion, accounting for 1.3 per cent of the total number of foreign-invested projects in the country and 1 per cent of the national total FDI.

Daily reference exchange rate unchanged on December 24

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,193 VND/USD on December 24, unchanged from the previous day.

With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,888 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,497 VND/USD.

FLC opens large hotel, convention centre complex in Vinh Phuc

A major hotel and convention centre complex invested by the FLC Group was inaugurated in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on December 23, with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue present at the ceremony.

The complex, located in Vinh Thinh commune of Vinh Tuong district, is part of the FLC Vinh Phuc Convention & Luxury Resort. As one of the largest of its kind in the northern region, it features a five-star hotel with nearly 200 rooms and a convention centre able to handle more than 2,000 guests.

Portal launched to support business community

A business information portal was launched on December 23 with a view to helping address difficulties faced by enterprises, assisting policymaking, and proposing support measures for the development of businesses.

The portal, at https://business.gov.vn, was launched by the Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The portal will also link Vietnamese businesses with foreign partners, show the country’s activeness in operating ASEAN ACCESS - a portal connecting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in ASEAN, and help domestic firms stretch their reach to other regions around the globe.

Construction of 3.8 trillion VND logistics centre kicks off in Vinh Phuc

The construction of the Vinh Phuc ICD Logistics Center, the first super-port project of the ASEAN Smart Logistics Network (ASLN) which cost 3.8 trillion VND (165.56 million USD), began on December 23 in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

Spanning 83ha in Huong Canh township and Son Loi commune in Binh Xuyen district, the centre has a designed customs clearance capacity of some 530,000 TEUs per year. The investor of the project is the T&Y Superport Vinh Phuc joint stock company, a consortium of the T&T Group and its Singaporean partners – the YCH Group and YCH Holdings Company.

This will be one of the largest logistics hubs in northern Vietnam, linking industrial zones by road and rail as well as connecting to Hanoi, the Hai Phong International Airport, and China’s Yunnan province.

The centre is expected to pave the way for a breakthrough in Vietnam's logistics, towards the goal of cutting logistics cost to about 16 – 20 percent of the GDP and raising the ratio of the sector's contribution to the GDP to 5 – 6 percent by 2025.

Quang Ninh to reopen to int’l tourists in first week of next year

The northern province of Quang Ninh plans to reopen to international tourists from the first week of next year.

As scheduled, the first delegation from the Republic of Korea will arrive at Van Don international airport on January 7, 2022.

The province has chosen pilot tourism models to serve foreigners, including cruise tour on Ha Long Bay, Tuan Chau international tourism resort in Ha Long, Yen Tu relic site in Uong Bi city, and Mong Cai – Tra Co tourist site in Mong Cai city.

It also named qualified hospitality providers in the first stage, including FLC Grand Ha Long hotel, Tinh Nghia tourism, trade and transportation JSC, and Viet Way company.

Investment in real estate market still the choice of investors next year: expert

With an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6-7 percent, Vietnam is being evaluated as an ideal destination for investment, compared to other countries in the region, particularly in the field of the real estate market.

According to experts from property consultant Savills Vietnam, there are many investment opportunities for individual investors when participating in this market in 2022.

A survey conducted by Savills Vietnam revealed that real estate value has increased by 30-40 percent in most residential real estate segments this year. In Vietnam, residential real estate still tends to increase in many areas, especially big cities and provinces despite the complicated pandemic situation.

Virtual exhibitions introduce Vietnamese products to Australians

The Vietnamese Trade Office in Australia is running a series of virtual exhibitions displaying key products of Vietnam between December 10 and 31 in a bid to boost exports next year.

The sourcing expos feature 350 stalls showcasing a range of goods classified into different sectors such as garment-textile, footwear, farm produce, seafood, and woodwork products.

The event will continue in January next year on the website www.vietnamsourcingexpo.com.

Vietnam has 320 food product codes licensed for export to China

Vietnamese businesses had 320 codes of agricultural and food products licensed to be exported to China as of 11am on December 24, according to the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam).

SPS Vietnam said the Chinese General Administration of Customs is still updating the list of the licensed codes and businesses on https://ciferquery.singlewindow.cn/, so enterprises can check information on this website.

It added the food exporters that haven’t applied for licenses can submit applications to competent agencies of China or via the websites http://cifer.singlewindow.vn/ and http://singlewindow.cn/.

Bamboo Airways to gradually increase frequency of regular int’l flights from 2022

Bamboo Airways plans to gradually increase the frequency of regular international flights from the beginning of 2022, after receiving the permission from the Government.

In the first stage, the carrier will conduct one round-trip flight per week each on the Hanoi – Narita (Japan), Hanoi - Taipei (China’s Taiwan) and Hanoi – Seoul (the Republic of Korea).

In the second stage, when conditions allow, Bamboo Airways will operate a direct route to Hong Kong (China) with an expected frequency of seven round trips per week, and Hanoi/ Ho Chi Minh City - Hong Kong routes. In addition, flights to Germany will be also resumed, with an expected frequency of two round-trip flights per week on the Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City – Frankfurt routes, and one on Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh – Munich routes.

Viet Nam has great opportunities in export to Eurasia

The Eurasian market is now considered a potential export market for Viet Nam's goods, according to an expert from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Europe-America Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade organised a trade cooperation forum with Eurasian partners in 2021 on Wednesday in Ha Noi to support the Vietnamese business community to overcome difficulties, increase exports of goods, and expand export markets in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the forum, several speakers shared information about the Asia-Europe international railway route. Goods are transported by rail from Viet Nam connecting to the Eurasian Railway via China to Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan), Russia and European countries. 

Viet Nam, RoK promote cooperation in trade, industry, energy

South Korean businesses should pour more capital to fully tap Viet Nam’s 100-million-strong market and gradually access the ASEAN market of 600 million as well as other markets which have signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with Viet Nam, said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at the Viet Nam-RoK business seminar.

At the event, RoK enterprises proposed the Vietnamese Government and Ministry of Industry and Trade help untie difficulties in entry and ground clearance, and create more favourable conditions for them, especially in the fields of energy, chemicals and textile and dyeing.

They expressed their confidence in Viet Nam’s potential and development, hoping to expand their investment in the future.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms showed their hope to strengthen cooperation with Korean partners in clean energy, recycling materials and chemicals, and get engaged in their production chains in the field of support industries.

Cross-border e-commerce: Bringing Vietnamese goods to international consumers

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border e-commerce channel is opening a 'green stream' to bring Vietnamese goods to the world, unlocking the potential of a new sales channel in international trade and contributing to development of the Vietnamese digital economy.

The Government issued Decision No 645/QD-TTg dated May 15 last year, approving the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for 2021-2025.

One of its key components is promoting an e-commerce application to support key export industries and expand consumption of domestic goods and promote e-commerce development in numerous localities.

Smartphone sales on the rise

The number of smartphones sold in Viet Nam in October soared to about 400,000, according to market research firm GfK.

The number of sales was five times higher than in August. This achievement marked the growth of the market after a prolonged period of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in many localities across the country.

Samsung continued to be the leading brand in the domestic phone market, with more than 40 per cent market share.

In the list of the 10 best-selling devices of the month, there were six from the South Korean manufacturer. Second place belonged to Oppo with more than 18 per cent of sales.

Launched in the last week of October, more than 10,000 iPhone 13 Pro Max phones were sold. This number helped Apple maintain third position in the smartphone market with more than 13 per cent. Other brands in the list included Vivo, Realme and Redmi (a Xiaomi sub-brand).

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

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS DECEMBER 23

China suspends goods import via border gates in Mong Cai