Vietnam has imported up to 308,325 pigs from Thailand since June, helping to ease the high pork prices in the domestic market.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Health Department, so far this year 130 Vietnamese enterprises imported 212,000 tonnes of pork, up 216.41% on-year. Pork was mostly imported from Russia, Poland, Brazil, Germany, the US, Spain and Thailand. 

Since June, Vietnam has started importing pigs from Thailand to meet local demand. Until now, 28 companies in Vietnam have imported 308,325 pigs from Thailand, providing the Vietnamese market with 23,124 tonnes.

Around 41,600 pigs from Thailand have also been imported into Vietnam to be raised.

In May, Vietnam’s pork prices reached a record high of VND100,000 (USD4.34) per kilo. The imported pork has helped prices to drop to roughly VND75,000 (USD3.26) per kilo at present.

Under Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s instruction, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to have measures to avoid pork price hikes in the run-up to the Tet Holiday.

Phu Yen fishermen earn big money from baby lobsters

Trawling expeditions in the month of lunar November can bring good money to the fishermen in Phu Yen Province, especially bountiful catches of baby lobsters that are often used for breeding.

After an eight-hour trip, hundreds of fishermen in Xuan Dai Ward gathered together to count their catches. They often go on such trips during the lunar November and return home before the Tet Holiday. According to the fishermen, the stronger the winds from the northeast are, the more bountiful catches they can have.

Nguyen Van Dung said he caught 10 baby lobsters which will be sold for VND30,000 (USD1.30) to VND90,000. Dung earns VND400,000 to VND900,000 each night. They only need to invest VND100,000 to VND150,000 into the tools including a net and a basket boat.

Nguyen Van Hoa, another fisherman said, "It's really hard work, so there are mostly men who go to the sea. But the income is promising. I know a fisherman who caught 600 lobsters one night and earned VND20m (USD861). Thanks to such trips we can prepare for Tet and buy new items for our wives and kids."

Trader Tran Thi Canh said the prices had dropped a bit this year from VND130,000 (USD5.60) per baby lobster to VND90,000.

"We'll sell those lobsters to the farms in Song Cau Town or raise them ourselves. I feel like those lobsters are more lively and the meat tastes better than other imported baby lobsters," she said.

Thailand dominates Vietnam's car imports

Thailand has continued to hold a large share of Vietnam's car imports according to initial statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. 

Thailand and Indonesia have continued to hold a large share of Vietnam's car imports according to initial statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Photo for illustration.

In November, 2020, Vietnam imported 5,927 cars from Thailand with a total value of over USD125 million. In October, the country imported 7,599 cars from Thailand, valued at over USD150 million, the department reported on December 25.

In the first 11 months of this year, the number of cars imported from Thailand reached 44,697 units with a value of USD913 million, accounting for half of the imports, the report said. Car imports from Indonesia make up 36% with 32,691 units valued at over USD410 million.

According to the report, the number of imported cars in the first 11 months of 2020 reached 92,261, down 30.5% from the same period last year.

The decrease is attributed to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

Another cause was the Government’s latest reduction of registration fees for domestically-assembled and manufactured automobiles, which encouraged customers to buy locally-made cars.

Shrimp exports enjoy robust growth during 2020

Vietnam's shrimp exports are expected to record a dramatic increase of 12.4% to 3.78 billion USD in comparison with other export items this year despite suffering from the adverse impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Vietnamese shrimp exports recorded an annual surge of 11.3% to 3.4 billion USD during the 11-month period.

The US remains the world's leading consumer of Vietnamese shrimp, with turnover rising by 34% to over 806 million USD in comparison with last year's corresponding period.

Furthermore, the EU makes up the nation’s fourth largest shrimp importer, behind the US, Japan, and China, accounting for 13.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Indeed, local shrimp exports to the EU have recorded strong growth since the beginning of the third quarter of the year due to the enforcement of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

After witnessing two-digit growth in September and October, the nation’s shrimp exports to China in November endured a decrease of 21% to over 42.8 million USD.

PM requests banking sector to ensure capital for production, business

Credit loans must be always available for production and business enterprises, especially those operating in such areas as agriculture, export and high-tech, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on December 26.

Speaking at a year-end conference of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in Hanoi, the Government leader said apart from providing loans, the banking sector should help businesses with effective, sustainable operation plans while keeping risks under strict control.

The major task set for the sector in the time ahead is to further restructure credit institutions and handle bad debts, he requested.

Vietnam now counts 49 commercial banks, 51 branches of foreign banks and 1,182 people’s credit funds, with credit balance totalling 9 quadrillion VND (389 billion USD), he said, adding that such huge amount needs strict supervision and inspection. 

The government leader also reminded the sector of the need for personnel training to meet the requirements of the new situation.

He lauded the central bank’s move to cut policy rates three times so far this year, by 1.5-2 percent per annum, the sharpest reduction recorded in the region.

The SBV needs to continue proactively and flexibly operating monetary policy tools, combining them with fiscal policies and others in order to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy and spur socio-economic development, PM Phuc suggested.  

It was reported at the meeting that as of December 18, the total means of payment increased by 12.83 percent from the end of 2019 and 14.62 percent over the same period last year. The liquidity of the credit institution system is smooth.

As of November, annual lending interest rates in Vietnam decreased by an average of 1 percent compared to the end of 2019 and the maximum interest rate for short-term loans in Vietnam dong for some priority sectors and industries was at 4.5 percent per year.

Credit institutions have adjusted debt payment terms for about 270,000 clients affected by COVID-19, with accumulative debts of nearly 355 trillion VND, and exempted and cut interest rates for nearly 590,000 other, with loans amounting to over 1 quadrillion VND.

Petrol prices continue to rise in latest adjustment

Retail petrol prices rose from 3pm on December 26 following the latest review by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

The price of E5 RON92 biofuel increased by 389 VND to a maximum of 15,518 VND (0.68 USD) per litre and RON95-III by 472 VND to no more than 16,479 VND per litre.

Diesel 0.05S and kerosene, meanwhile, now sell at no more than 12,376 VND and 11,188 VND per litre, up 484 VND and 411 VND per litre, respectively.

The price of Mazut 180CST 3.5S is now no more than 12,272 VND per kg, an increase of 330 VND.

According to the two ministries, the prices of petrol and oil in the global market have been increasing strongly for 15 days, hence the upward adjustment.

They review fuel prices every 15 days to ensure domestic prices are in keeping with the global market./.

Laos bans imports of Thai seafood due to COVID-19 outbreak

Laos has temporarily banned the import of seafood from Thailand after a new outbreak of COVID-19 hit the kingdom, Vientiane Times reported.

Lao health authorities are concerned that seafood could be contaminated with the virus, so imports have been halted with immediate effect.

The ban was implemented on December 24 after Thailand’s Samut Sakhon district became the epicentre of a new COVID-19 outbreak, with over 1,000 people testing positive after a shrimp wholesaler contracted the virus last week.

Lao seafood importers said they were hit by the ban. Before the pandemic struck, the seafood business was recording strong growth due to the increasing popularity of seafood among Lao people.

According to Vientiane Times, the Lao authorities are monitoring seafood importers in Vientiane and the provinces, including Champassak, and checking containers for potential source of COVID-19.

Under the ministry’s order, authorities have called on all officials and local residents to comply with the measure by not buying seafood from Thailand and not eating such products.

Provincial authorities are working with district officials to monitor Lao-Thai border crossings to prevent seafood products entering Laos.

This is a temporary measure and will remain in place until officials from Laos and Thailand take steps to ensure the safety of seafood imported from Thailand.

From January to December 23, a total of 82,824 people were tested in Laos for COVID-19 and 41 were found to be carrying the virus.

Solar power plant inaugurated in Khanh Hoa

A 2.4 trillion VND (104.5 million USD) solar power plant was inaugurated in Van Ninh district, the central province of Khanh Hoa, on December 26.

The plant was invested by the KN Van Ninh Solar Development and Investment Company. It officially generated electricity to the national grid on December 11 this year, with an output of nearly 162,000 MWh a year.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa People’s Committee Dinh Van Thieu said the plant helps raise the national electricity generation capacity and creates jobs for local labourers.

The development of renewable energy, including solar energy, is in line with the Government’s strategy for sustainable growth, contributing to national energy security, realizing commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and pushing economic restructuring, he said.

The official affirmed that the provincial administration will continue to support and create favourable conditions for enterprises to invest in the locality./.

GSO leader hails 2020 as year of success in inflation control

Director General of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong has stressed that 2020 is considered a year of success in inflation control.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the GSO under the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Hanoi on December 27 to announce the country's socio-economic results in Q4 and the whole year, Huong said the consumer price index (CPI) in December went up 0.1 percent month-on-month and 0.19 percent year-on-year. The 2020 CPI rose by 3.23 percent from 2019 while basic inflation climbed by 2.31 percent annually.

Explaining the price hike this year, Director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Do Thi Ngoc said due to high shopping demand during the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival from January-February, food prices increased by 4.51 percent annually, bringing up the CPI by 0.17 percent. Pork prices also moved up the CPI by 1.94 percent due to unstable supply.

Rainfall and floods in the central region during October-November also hiked prices of fresh, dried and processed vegetables.

Other increases were also seen in the prices of medical supplies and education services.

Meanwhile, falling prices in oil and gas, flight tickets and electricity due to the COVID-19 pandemic curbed the CPI rise.

According to the GSO, basic inflation dropped from 3.25 percent in January to 0.99 percent in December, which proved the efficiency of the State Bank’s monetary policy this year./.

Thailand’s exports expected to grow 4 percent in 2021

The Thai Commerce Ministry forecasts the country's exports will grow 4 percent to over 238 billion USD in 2021.

Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office said next year's growth would be driven largely by food, products related to working from home, home appliances, healthcare, the recovering global economy and the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Despite a second wave of infections reported by many trading partners, their lockdown measures are not as tight as during the first wave of the outbreak to curb the impact on overall economies," said Pimchanok. "A successful vaccine would build up confidence in the world's economic prospects from the second quarter."

Earlier, the Commerce Ministry reported the country's customs-cleared exports fetched 18.9 billion USD in November, down 3.65 percent from the same month of last year, with imports shrinking 0.99 percent to 18.9 billion USD, resulting in a trade surplus of 52.6 million USD.

For the first 11 months of 2020, Thai exports contracted 6.92 percent to 211 billion USD while imports dropped 13.7 percent to 188 billion USD, resulting in a trade surplus of 23.5 billion USD.

The ministry forecast Thai exports for the entire year of 2020 are set to shrink by 7 percent to 238 billion USD./.

Handbook helps Vietnamese firms tap business opportunities in Benin

The Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria has introduced a 65-page handbook on doing business with Benin in a bid to equip Vietnamese enterprises with information on the market and tips for successful transactions.

It was compiled by Vietnamese Trade Counsellor Hoang Duc Nhuan, who is in charge of Algeria, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Gambia, and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

According to the handbook, Benin, owning the Port of Cotonou, one of the largest in West Africa, and a modern transport infrastructure connected to big cities in the region, is a gateway for Vietnamese products to enter a market of over 390 million people. Benin and West Africa are both having great demand for food and consumer products which are strengths of Vietnam.

Nhuan said Vietnam and Benin supplement each other in trade. Vietnam boasts strengths in producing and exporting goods like rice, electronic devices, steel, apparel and footwear, which are in demand in Benin. On the other hand, Benin’s strengths of cotton, cashew and timber match Vietnam’s import demand serving domestic industrial production.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, trade between the two nations reached 121 million USD in 2019, up 8.2 percent on-year. Vietnam exported 21.9 million USD worth of rice, textiles, and motorcycle accessories and others to this market while importing 99 million USD of cashew and cotton, among others.

The diplomat highlighted that apart from trade, the Benin Government wants to boost investment cooperation with Vietnam in agricultural mechanisation, farm produce processing, health and technological transfer. To seize the opportunities, Vietnamese firms need to make more efforts to study the local market and demand, and seek trustworthy partnerships, he added./.

Cambodia drafts three-stage recovery plan for tourism

The Cambodian Ministry of Tourism on December 26 convened a meeting among technical working groups to prepare for the implementation of a 2020-2025 roadmap on the restoration and enhancement of the sector during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

The draft of the roadmap is divided into three stages including crisis management in the New Normal and tourism resilience and restart for 2020-2021, post-pandemic recovery for 2022-2023, and preparation for tourism rebound for 2024-2025.

The draft has been endorsed by the country’s National Committee on Tourism Development, and has been supported by concerned ministries and institutions.

According to the ministry, between January and October this year, the number of international arrivals to Cambodia decreased unprecedentedly by 76.1 percent compared to the same period last year, from over five million to just above 1 million./.

Mechanical engineering industry needs support

Vietnam needs to increase policies to promote the development of the domestic mechanical engineering industry and enable local manufacturers to compete with foreign competitors.

According to the Vietnam Mechanical Association, despite being considered as a spearhead industry, mechanical engineering enterprises have for many years struggled to find ways to develop and compete even in the domestic market.

Nguyen Duong Hieu, chairman of Lidovit Trading and Industrial Joint Stock Company, said current policies for the mechanics market remained unclear, adding that there were no mandatory requirements on the local procurement rates in works or projects which pushed domestic manufacturers into difficulty when competing even in the home market.

Hieu said that his company could not be a direct contractor but must go through a Japanese enterprise to supply screws for the metro project in HCM City.

Vu Van Dao, director of the Southern Petroleum Construction Joint Stock Company, said although his company produced and exported around 90 percent of mechanical equipment in the petroleum sector to more than 30 countries worldwide, it failed to access the domestic market.

Dao said his company must go through two foreign enterprises to become contractor of some local petroleum projects.
The shortage of policies and capital was a major difficulty hit for mechanical engineering enterprises, Dao Phan Long, president of the Vietnam Mechanical Association, said.

Long said that to develop key mechanical products, enterprises needed support in term of policies, especially domestic market protection policies.

It was also necessary to provide support policies for project owners who used domestically-produced mechanical products, he added.

Specifically, a stable loan interest rate of five percent could be put into consideration.

In order to promote the development of the domestic mechanical engineering industry, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had proposed a number of policies. One was to encourage large projects, especially State-funded, to use domestically-produced mechanical products.

The ministry said that it was necessary to have land incentive policies for projects which produce key mechanical products, which was similar to policies to encourage investment in agriculture and rural development.

The ministry proposed projects which produce key mechanical products be provided with exemptions of land lease fees in the first 11 years of operation and reduction by 50 percent for a further five years.

Policies to attract foreign investments and promote the development of the supporting industries for the mechanical engineering industry were also needed, the ministry said./.

Vietnam’s sixth airline launched

The Vietnam Travel Aviation Company Limited (Vietravel Airlines), the sixth airline in Vietnam, made its debut on December 26 after meeting all requirements and completing necessary procedures for operating commercial flights.

At the launching ceremony, General Director of Vietravel Airlines Vu Duc Bien said the airline will officially sell tickets from January 1 to 5, 2021.

Regarding the fleet, the carrier has already received one aircraft and will get two more from now until before the Lunar New Year.

Bien said that the airline will focus on routes linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Hue and tourist destinations in the central region. After the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled in the world, it will open other routes nationwide and those from Vietnam to ASEAN countries and other regions.

Vietravel Airlines, headquartered at the Phu Bai International Airport, aims to serve 1 million passengers in its first year of operations.
It is the latest air carrier in the country, joining Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, and Bamboo Airways. The carrier has a total investment of 700 billion VND (30.2 million USD) and a lifespan of 50 years and is set to provide both domestic and international air transport services./.

Construction sector urged to pay heed to residents' housing demand

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the construction sector to pay more attention to housing demand of residents.

The Government leader made the request while attending a conference of the Construction Ministry to review its performance in 2020 and launch tasks for next year on December 26.

At the event, he hailed the construction sector for fulfilling 2020 tasks, contributing to the country’s common achievements and accomplishing goals set in the Resolution adopted by the 12th National Party Congress.

He expressed his delight at a facelift in rural and urban areas via the new rural development programme and 90 percent of urban dwellers have been given access to clean water via the concentrated water supply system.

The PM said over the past five years, the sector has seen progress in various fields, ranging from design to construction and production of construction materials for domestic consumption and export. Its growth hits about 8.7 percent each year.

The Construction Ministry built and submitted a project on construction pricing system and another on technical standards for construction, thereby making breakthrough in improving the efficiency of construction investment and contributing to fighting corruption and negative behaviours in the field.  

The sector was also lauded for its real estate management, improved capacity of technical managers and strong development of enterprises capable of designing large-scale civil and industrial works.

He also pointed out that there remains a shortage of housing for workers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, low-quality planning and development of small urban areas.

About orientations during the 2021-2025 period, he asked the sector to improve its capacity of designing and building modern and complex works, and expand markets abroad.

The leader highlighted a need to continue refining relevant mechanisms as a crucial and breakthrough task, ensure the safety of housing for residents as Vietnam is hard-hit by climate change.

He directed the Construction Ministry to work closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to build smart urban areas in the country to prevent wastefulness, develop eco-friendly construction materials and minimise the use of non-renewable resources like cement.

The PM called for building a contingent of talented architects and outstanding architecture works of high value, as well as the national housing development strategy till 2030, and training managers in urban construction.

According to the ministry, five targets of its 2016-2020 plan have been met, including an annual growth of 8.5-8.7 percent and an urbanisation rate of around 40 percent by late 2020. The country is now home to 862 urban areas compared to 787 in 2015, contributing to about 70 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

For the first time in six consecutive years, there has been not “bubble” in real estate market. Capital in the market has approximated 4.5 quadrillion VND (195.6 billion USD) while foreign direct investment hit around 17.63 billion USD, contributing some 0.4 percentage point to economic growth. Total revenue from construction and real estate accounted for 11 percent of the GDP./.

Online sales boom as Tet approaches

With people afraid to visit public places like supermarkets because of COVID-19, e-commerce floors have become a convenient and safe shopping place for Tet items.

With Vietnam boasting a large internet community and a young, digital-savvy population, the e-commerce market is buzzing with activity ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, which falls on February 12.

Many consumers say that the hectic year-end schedule keeps them busy and they cannot go shopping, but the dizzying growth in e-commerce and e-payment is lending a hand. Now, without leaving office or home, they can place orders online and wait for the goods to be delivered home.

Many large e-supermarkets and social networking sites claim to have carefully prepared to ship a large volume of goods to serve a huge, growing demand, and launched a number of promotions.

Big C supermarket has worked with suppliers to ensure there is enough food to meet the Tet demand, and said it would stock 20 percent more pork and 25 percent more poultry meat than last year.

A spokesperson said the pandemic would prevent many people from travelling home, but the demand for Tet would remain huge.

The supermarket offers online shopping and free delivery within a 10km radius within two hours, he said.

Nguyen Anh Duc, general director of Saigon Co.opmart, said the supermarkets would increase delivery staff by 25 percent and deliver anywhere in the country wherever one orders from.

Tran Ngoc Tran, who works in HCM City’s District 5, said she had a lot of year-end work to finish and little time to shop even for the most traditional, must-have food items for Tet, which is by far the most important festival of the year.

Online shopping is a solution for her: She has ordered some traditional central region dishes like pickled scallion, salted figs and papaya shrimp sauce and asked the supermarket to ship them to her home in Binh Dinh province.

A spokesperson for an e-commerce business said with much lower overheads than brick and mortar stores, online shopping centres are able to offer promotions and discounts.

Some popular sites like sendo, lazada, chodientu, hotdeal, tiki, and zalora are offering discounts of up to 50 percent on all types of products, especially fashion and beauty like shoes, handbags, watches, and sunglasses.
Foodstuffs are most in demand for the festival, and are advertised widely on the internet with many discount programmes.

Though the discounts are not as high as on other consumer goods, people can still buy confectionary, soft drinks, noodles, and other items at discounts of up to 39 percent.

Vietnam becomes fastest growing national brand in the world

The national brand of Vietnam has been valued at 319 billion USD for this year by UK’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, a sharp increase of 29% in comparison to the previous year, thereby becoming the fastest growing national brand in the world.

This year’s report of the world’s 100 most valuable brands indicates that Vietnam has climbed nine places from last year’s rankings to 33rd in the world.

The UK consultancy firm details how the country has recorded staggeringly low numbers of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths, a factor which has allowed it to emerge as one of the leading locations in Southeast Asia in terms of manufacturing. Indeed, Vietnam has become an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investors, particularly from the US who are keen to relocate their production lines from China in the wake of the ongoing US-China trade war.

Furthermore, the recent free trade agreement signed with the EU looks set to support the country’s growth moving forward, making Vietnam become the fastest-growing national brand in this year’s rankings./.

Hydropower firm to raise capital

Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower Plant JSC (HoSE: VSH) on January 8 will wrap up the list of shareholders to sell 30 million shares for VND10,000 (US$0.43) apiece.

The share issuance rate is 55:8, meaning every shareholder will receive one buying right for each share and eight new shares for each 55 buying rights they have.

The share issuance will help raise the firm’s charter capital to VND2.36 trillion ($102 million) from current VND2.06 trillion.

The income worth VND300 billion will be spent raising the firm’s counter capital at Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant project.

The total investment capital for the new project is VND8.77 trillion, including VND6.14 trillion worth of loans and the firm’s own capital of VND457.8 billion.

Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower Plant JSC estimates it would receive at least VND270 billion from the share sale.

The company’s shares are listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange with code VSH.

Its shares gained 2.5 per cent to trade at VND18,650 apiece on Friday.

In the January-September period, the company earned VND26.4 billion worth of post-tax profit, down 75 per cent on-year.

Over US$519.3 million mobilised through G-bond auction

More than VND12 trillion (US$519.3 million) was mobilised for the State Treasury through a Government bond auction at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) earlier this week.

As much as VND9 trillion worth of bonds were offered, including 10-year, 15-year, 20-year and 30-year bonds.

The Treasury raised VND3 trillion worth of 10-year bonds with an annual yield rate of 2.28 per cent, down 0.04 per cent from the previous session on December 16.

Those with a 15-year term attracted VND4 trillion at an annual interest rate of 2.5 per cent, falling 0.04 per cent from the previous auction on December 16.

Meanwhile, bonds with a maturity of 20 years were purchased for a total value of VND1 trillion, and an interest rate of 2.89 per cent per year, a fall of 0.04 per cent compared to the auction on December 16.

Bonds with 30-year terms were sold for VND613.5 billion, and an annual yield rate of 3.14 per cent, declining 0.01 per cent from the previous session.

Some VND3.5 trillion was mobilised from 10-year and 15-year bonds at the sub-session auction.

According to the HNX, the Treasury has mobilised over VND323.9 trillion from G-bond auction at the bourse from the outset of the year. 

Foreign investors net-sell local stocks but remain optimistic in VN's market

Despite the positive outlook of the Vietnamese economy in 2020 and years to come, foreign investors have remained net sellers for most of the time this year.

As of December 17, foreign investors had sold a total net value of VND13.3 trillion (US$575 million) on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange after net-buying local assets for three consecutive years.

If put-through transactions were excluded, which were mostly net-buying deals, the total net foreign selling would increase to VND36.2 trillion.

According to Tran Van Dung, Chairman of the State Securities Commission, large-sized foreign investors had to divest from emerging markets, including Viet Nam, on worries about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy CEO and investment director of PVI Asset Management Nguyen Duc Hung Linh said that the global economy had been dragged down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign investors had no other choice but cutting the proportion of risky assets in their portfolios, he told reporters at a meeting this week.

In more developed markets where the pandemic has been well-contained such as China and South Korea, the foreign capital had returned, he said.

But the situation in Viet Nam was different because Viet Nam had not been moved up to the emerging markets status and it was considered riskier for investors, Linh said.

The creation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the main indices such as VN30 and VN Diamond had drawn attention of foreign investors, he said.

“Foreign investors are interested in buying ETF certificates because they are able to hold the stakes in the local firms that have run out of room for foreign investment,” he said.

“Foreign investors also want to seek opportunities to become the major shareholders in local firms,” he said. “The long-term problem with the Vietnamese market is whether it provides high-quality commodities and stocks to satisfy the investors.”

The amended laws on the securities market, enterprises and investment may help resolve problems related to foreign investments, Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange’s chairman Le Hai Tra said.

SSC chairman Dung said some solutions had been discussed to resolve foreign investment-related issues such as the non-voting depository right (NVDR), but it would take time for those solutions to be realised. 

ABBANK profit exceeds 2020 profit target in 11 months

An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBANK) achieved a pre-tax profit of VND1.37 trillion (US$59.3 million) in the first 11 months of the year, equivalent to 101 per cent of the target for the full year.

It gains positive growth in main business activities over the same period last year.

It had deposits of VND72.01 trillion ($3.1 billion) and total outstanding loans of VND65.05 trillion ($2.8 billion). Earnings from services were worth VND185 billion ($7.96 million).

Non-performing loans were worth 2.32 per cent.

The return on equity and return on assets rates were steady at 18.28 per cent and 1.6 per cent, and the lender’s capital adequacy ratio was 10.64 per cent as against a minimum of 8 per cent set by the State Bank of Viet Nam.

ABBANK said it focused on products and services that would foster digitisation, simplified loan procedures and upgraded its AB Ditizen app with the issuance of non-physical payment cards.

It has launched a package for super-small enterprises.

Le Hai, its CEO, said ABBANK was confident it would far exceed the business targets for the year.

HDBank issues convertible bonds to foreign financial institutions

The Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank - HoSE: HDB) has signed agreements to issue convertible bonds and enter into strategic tie-ups with foreign investors to fulfil its plan to supplement tier 2 capital by US$160 million.

Two major reputed Asian financial institutions have registered to buy all 1,300 international bonds for a total of $130 million that the bank plans to issue in 2020.

It earlier signed an agreement to issue convertible bonds and enter into a strategic tie-up with DEG, a development finance institution owned by German state-owned development bank KWF.

According to information received from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, DEG has invested $30 million in the convertible bonds.

Thus, HDBank has mobilised $160 million from the international market to supplement its tier 2 capital in accordance with the resolution approved by the general meeting of shareholders and the board of directors, and get ready for high growth plans in line with its strategy.

Besides these investment agreements, international investors and HDBank have also signed a strategic agreement to foster Vietnamese financial and banking industry, especially HDBank.

HDBank's strategic cooperation with major and reputed investors around the world attest to the trust international investors have in Viet Nam's banking industry outlook and HDBank’s growth potential and operation quality.

HDBank recently completed a second hike in charter capital to more than VND16.088 trillion ($693.7 million) by paying dividends in shares.

After two dividend payments and a bonus issue, existing shareholders got a total of 65 per cent.

Amid the world economy's tribulations due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, HDBank achieved positive business results, while bad debts and other safety indicators are at excellent levels.

International credit rating agency Moody's recently announced it is maintaining the B1 credit rating for HDBank, with an assessment that the lender has made positive progress in improving asset quality and capitalisation, and achieved high profitability and sustainability.

The bank believes that it will fulfil its 2020 plan and is ready to achieve breakthroughs. 

Policies to develop domestic mechanical engineering needed

Viet Nam needs to increase policies to promote the development of the domestic mechanical engineering industry and enable local manufacturers to compete with foreign competitors.

According to the Viet Nam Mechanical Association, despite being considered as a spearhead industry, mechanical engineering enterprises have for many years struggled to find ways to develop and compete even in the domestic market,

Nguyen Duong Hieu, chairman of Lidovit Trading and Industrial Joint Stock Company, said current policies for the mechanics market remained unclear, adding that there were no mandatory requirements on the local procurement rates in works or projects which pushed domestic manufacturers into difficulty when competing even in the home market.

Hieu said that his company could not be a direct contractor but must go through a Japanese enterprise to supply screws for the metro project in HCM City.

Vu Van Dao, director of the Southern Petroleum Construction Joint Stock Company, said although his company produced and exported around 90 per cent of mechanical equipment in the petroleum sector to more than 30 countries worldwide, it failed to access the domestic market.

Dao said his company must go through two foreign enterprises to become contractor of some local petroleum projects.

The shortage of policies and capital was a major difficulty hit for mechanical engineering enterprises, Dao Phan Long, president of the Viet Nam’s Mechanical Association, said.

Long said that to develop key mechanical products, enterprises needed support in term of policies, especially domestic market protection policies.

It was also necessary to provide support policies for project owners who used domestically-produced mechanical products, he added. Specifically, a stable loan interest rate of five per cent could be put into consideration.

In order to promote the development of the domestic mechanical engineering industry, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had proposed a number of policies. One was to encourage large projects, especially State-funded, to use domestically-produced mechanical products.

The ministry said that it was necessary to have land incentive policies for projects which produce key mechanical products, which was similar to policies to encourage investment in agriculture and rural development.

The ministry proposed projects which produce key mechanical products be provided with exemptions of land lease fees in the first 11 years of operation and reduction by 50 per cent for a further five years.

Policies to attract foreign investments and promote the development of the supporting industries for the mechanical engineering industry were also needed, the ministry said.

Customs sector targets US$13.6b for State budget next year

A finance ministry official on December 24 asked the customs sector to exert every effort to surpass the target of VND315 trillion (US$13.6 billion) in State budget collection in 2021.

Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai told a teleconference reviewing the sector’s performance in 2020 and launching tasks for next year that customs agencies need to have good management, boost post-customs clearance inspections and examinations to prevent losses, and step up tax arrears recovery in line with legal regulations.

They also need to press ahead with administrative reforms, customs modernisation, and trade facilitation to cut down the time and cost for customs clearance, as requested by the Government, she said, and must perform better in combating smuggling and trade fraud.

In particular, Mai added, the sector has to take stronger action regarding high-risk commodities like gasoline, minerals, goods subject to high tariffs, polluting products, imported alcohol and cigarettes, and goods temporarily imported for re-export.

The customs sector has faced an array of challenges in efforts to reach the targets set for this year. Measures to contain COVID-19 around the world, such as border shutdowns, the suspension of commercial flights, quarantining, and lockdowns, have negatively affected trade and disrupted global supply chains, posing considerable challenges to many countries, including Viet Nam.

Facing that fact, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs has reportedly introduced solutions to further facilitate trade and prevent losses in budget collection.

General Director of the authority Nguyen Van Can said that as of December 15, his agency had handled procedures for exports and imports totalling $515.27 billion, up 4.5 per cent year-on-year. This includes $267.22 billion in exports and $248.04 billion in imports, up 6.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

Despite the difficulties and challenges, the sector had collected over VND304.33 trillion for the State budget as of December 21, and the full-year figure is estimated at VND315 trillion, or 93.2 per cent of the target.

A challenging year ahead for fisheries sector in 2021

The fisheries sector is anticipated to face numerous challenges in 2021 due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, whilst working relentlessly to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) in line with the European Council's (EC) recommendations to boost exports, according to insiders.

Seafood exports to key Vietnamese markets such as the EU, the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, suffered from the negative impact of the epidemic during the first and second quarters of 2020, declining 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to the same periods from last year. Only the US and Chinese markets maintained positive growth, rising 13% and 5%, respectively.

The Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said seafood exports began to witness a recovery during the closing months of the year, achieving a growth rate of between 10% and 13%. Statistics show seafood exports during the past 11 months reached US$7.8 billion, and the figure for the entire year is expected to hit US$8.58 billion, matching last year’s figure.

Shrimp exports for instance saw robust growth, with 11-month exports increasing by 14% to approximately US$3.5 billion against the same period from last year. Shrimp processors expected to rake in over US$3.85 billion from exports this year, a rise of 15% compared to 2019.

However, the VASEP believes that the fisheries sector will continue to encounter an array of difficulties moving into next year due to consumption trends in COVID-19 affected markets expected to see changes. In line with this, there will be a reduction in consumption at restaurants and hotels despite an increase in consumption at supermarkets and retail outlets.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted global supply chains, making it difficult for the seafood sector to ship its key products such as shrimp and pangasius abroad, leading to high inventories at cold storage systems.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic brought under control, it has adversely affected the domestic labour market as workers at seafood processing factories were laid off, coupled with rising costs in the production chain and freight costs. Additionally, a number of businesses either faced financial shortages or slipped into bank debts.

Meanwhile, technical barriers such as anti-dumping tax on shrimp and pangasius in the US market are projected to show no signs of being removed over the course of the following five years.

In line with this, import markets tend to pay close attention to food safety and hygiene requirements, origin traceability, sustainable production procedures, as well as standards of labour and social security.

Tran Dinh Luan, director general of the Directorate of Fisheries, said local authorities and Vietnamese fishermen and businesses have made great strides in combating acts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) based on the European Council's (EC) recommendations. This has served to pave the way to make the most out of opportunities brought about by the enforcement of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Luan revealed that future moves by the Government will largely focus on restructuring the local fisheries sector, with the aim of grossing an export value of between US$18 and US$20 billion by 2030. Indeed, these efforts will generate jobs for 3.5 million workers and contribute 30% of GDP to the agriculture-forestry-fishery sector.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR