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24/12/2020 09:00 (GMT+07:00)

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES DECEMBER 24

Vietnam needs to promote brand building for rice exports

Workers load bags of rice in Song Hau Food Company (under the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation).

While 2020 has been a successful year for Vietnamese rice exports, more must be done to accelerate the development of the national rice brand, experts have said.

Rice export prices in Vietnam jumped to their highest point since December 2011 last week, as a shortage of containers sent freight rates soaring and pushed Thai prices to a near four-month peak.

Prices for Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice hit 500 USD per tonne, from the previous week’s 470-490 USD, Reuters reported.

A shortage of containers has made it difficult for traders to ship rice to customers, a trader based in the Mekong province of An Giang said.

For instance, freight rates for a 20-feet container to Africa have risen to 5,000 USD from 1,500 USD a couple of months ago, the trader added.

Meanwhile, at the World Rice Trade Conference 2020 held by The Rice Trader (TRT) in earlier December, Vietnamese rice ST25 was named the second-best rice in the world. Last year, it was given first prize in Manila, the Philippines.

The TRT World Rice Conference is the largest annual gathering of commercial and professional rice industry participants in the world.

This is good news for Vietnamese rice and the rice exports are forecast to grow strongly in the future.

The prize is also an opportunity to create a brand for Vietnamese rice, according to the agricultural experts, because after more than 30 years of exporting, Vietnam's rice industry only has a national brand logo.

Thailand and Cambodia have branded their rice to improve promotion activities on the global market and create confidence in quality. Therefore, their rice products have higher selling prices, Pham Thai Binh, General Director of Cong Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, told Nhip cau dau tu (Investment Bridge) newspaper. Meanwhile, local traders could not gain high prices for high-quality rice without a national brand, he said.

Vietnam is among the world's top rice exporters with the value the second highest in the world. Therefore, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently approved a project to develop Vietnam's rice brand. Specifically, by 2030, Vietnam is hoped to have stable, efficient and sustainable regions producing rice for export to build the world's leading brand in food quality and safety for Vietnamese rice.

The project calls for Vietnam to restructure the rice production industry with investment in some varieties to increase the value of rice seeds. However, in the Mekong Delta, the largest rice production region in the country, the creation of a large field model has not achieved the expected efficiency.

Unprofessional production makes it difficult to build a brand, said Lam Dinh Quoc, former director of the Soc Trang Food Company.

Therefore, Loc Troi Group is building an ecosystem in rice production where the group and farmers produce rice under orders from large companies. Recently, the group has exported more than 126 tonnes of fragrant rice to the EU under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). This is the first shipment to enjoy the zero tax rate since the agreement came into effect.

“The EU is a huge rice importer from 2.3-2.5 million tonnes per year. So, with the EVFTA and control in rice quality, Vietnam’s rice exports to this market will increase in the future," said Le Quoc Doanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development./.

Ha Giang expects to welcome 1.4 million visitors in 2020

The northern province of Ha Giang is expected to welcome 1.4 million tourists and earn over VND2 trillion from tourist activities in 2020.

The results are anticipated by prompt directions of the provincial Party Committee and authorities to realise the dual task combining focus on both anti-epidemic and socio-economic development resumption activities.

Accordingly, many measures have been taken to stimulate local tourism since the beginning of this year, including the organisation of a welcome ceremony for first visitors to the province in 2020, the ‘Colour of the Northwest region’ programme, and the sixth Buckwheat Flower Festival, 2020.

The provincial hospitality sector has also actively participated in tourism programmes with localities nationwide to establish partnership, such as the Hanoi tourism promotion festival, the Green Cultural Heritage Week at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi, the Cuisine Festival and a photo exhibition on eight northwest localities.

In addition, the popularisation of Ha Giang’s people, culture and tourism potential through the use of social networks and media have been promoted to lure more visitors to the locality./.

MoIT reviews dumping measures on Chinese colour-coated steel

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) issued a decision to review the application of anti-dumping measures on some colour-coated steel products originating from China for the first time.

Previously, the ministry issued Decision No 3198/QD-BCT of the Minister of Industry and Trade on the imposition of anti-dumping duty on colour-coated steel products originating from China and the Republic of Korea on October 24 last year.

The ministry received the first review of the case on August 20 this year. On the basis of the content of the application for review received, it issued Decision No 3372/QD-BCT last week on the first review of the application of anti-dumping measures on colour-coated steel products originating from China.

Accordingly, the companies reviewed for anti-dumping tax rates in the case include Shandong Yehui Coated Steel Co., Ltd and Shandong Boxing Yin Xiang International Trade Co., Ltd; Yieh Phui Technomaterial Co., Ltd; and Zhejiang Huada New Material Co., Ltd.

To ensure the benefits of organisations and individuals, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommended organisations and individuals register as a related party in the review case to access public information, send comments, information and evidence related to the reviewed content and co-operate with investigation agencies in the process of investigation and review.

In addition, organisations and individuals in the process of signing contracts for import, distribution, trading and use of goods subject to anti-dumping tax should pay attention to the fact that anti-dumping tax could be replaced following the results of the review, it said./.

More actions needed to improve FDI efficiency in Nghe An

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed significantly to the economic development of Nghe An province but more actions are needed to improve its efficiency and increase FDI enterprises' contribution to the State budget.

Located in the heart of the North Central Region, the province has attracted 249 projects with a total registered capital of almost 62 trillion VND (2.7 billion USD), 48 of which are FDI projects with total investment of 825.3 million USD.

Some large-scale FDI projects in the Southeast Nghe An Economic Zone include 140 million USD Luxshare-ICT project invested by Hong Kong-based Luxshare ICT (Nghe An) Co Ltd; Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) invested by Singapore’s VSIP Nghe An Co Ltd with a total investment of 76.4 million USD; and Thai WHA Group’s WHA Nghe An Industrial Zone – the first phase worth 92.2 million USD.

FDI projects in the province focus on labour-intensive sectors such as garment and textile, electronic components manufacturing, agricultural and forestry products processing and consumer goods production. These projects employ a large amount of labour, especially unskilled workers in the province, while at the same time developing services attached to operations of industrial parks such as accommodation, catering and trades.

According to the Southeast Economic Zone Management Board, FDI projects have contributed to improving the investment environment in the locality, helping train local workers and strengthen governance skills of managers. Many foreign-invested enterprises have also paid attention to giving back to the community through social responsibility activities.

However, FDI projects invested in the province are mostly small-scale and their contribution to the State budget is insignificant and much lower compared to the domestic enterprises.

In 2019, payment to the State budget of FDI enterprises accounted for less than 12 percent of total contribution of all enterprises in the Southeast Economic Zone.

The board highlighted more measures are needed to put into place to improve the FDI efficiency and quality of operations of FDI enterprises in the province.

The first and most important thing is to enhance mechanisms and support policies to attract FDI, including more incentives, administrative reform and improvement of the business and investment environment of the province.

The province needs to review and adjust the master plan on construction of the Southeast Economic Zone, reshaping functional zones and industrial parks to meet the requirements of high-quality FDI in the next five-year period.

Infrastructure is a key issue that needs the highest priority. The province needs to build a comprehensive system of infrastructure, transportation, seaports, urban areas and hospitality services to facilitate operation of FDI investors.

The FDI attraction approach should also be changed to be proactive when seeking investment with priority given to big and multinational corporations with advanced technology, technology transfer commitment and environmentally friendly projects.

In the long term, the province needs to attract projects with high value-added chains such as automobile and motorcycle manufacture and assembly; manufacturing and assembling electronic components, computers; key mechanical industries and high-tech processing and manufacturing.

To attract high-quality FDI, the tasks of training and developing local human resources and improving qualification of government officials also need more attention.

Currently, the Southeastern Economic Zone Management Board is supporting investment procedures for a number of large-scale projects such as Juteng Group's 200 million USD computer manufacturing and assembly project, USA Everwin Group's 200 million USD electronic equipment and component manufacturing project and Foxconn’s 300 million USD electronic component manufacturing project./.

Collective economy must be developed in line with market economy rules: PM

The development of the collective economy must originate from people’s demand and be in line with the actual conditions and market economy rules, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on December 22.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 6th congress of the Vietnam Cooperatives Alliance (VCA), the PM stressed that the alliance should promote the important role of the collective economy and cooperatives in maintaining socio-political stability and ensuring social equality, as identified by the Party.

Vietnam will have to fully carry out regional and international commitments under free trade deals in the years to come, he said, adding that local firms, particularly household enterprises, will face fierce competition.

He ordered the VCA to work closely with relevant ministries, sectors, organisations, and localities to capitalise on the advantages of the cooperative model and promote the development of the cooperative economy through effectively carrying out programmes, projects, and missions entrusted by the Government.

The alliance was urged to remove bottlenecks for cooperatives and support the replication of effective cooperative models, while working to complete relevant legal frameworks and policies with a view to facilitating the development of the cooperative economy.

Ministries, sectors, party committees, and local authorities must see the development of the collective economy and cooperatives as an inexorable trend and a mission of the entire political system, he said, highlighting that Party committees and authorities at all levels should create the conditions necessary to expand the collective economy, especially the development of agricultural cooperatives, to push sector restructuring and build new style rural areas.

On the occasion, the PM presented the second-class Independence Order to the VCA.

According to a political report delivered at the congress, Vietnam is home to more than 26,000 cooperatives, 100 cooperative alliances, and 119,000 cooperative groups, with some 8.1 million members as of the end of 2020.

A wide range of cooperatives have operated effectively and brought benefits to members, such as the high-tech forestry cooperative in the central province of Phu Yen, the Phuoc Tin agricultural cooperative in central Quang Ngai province, and the Tan Thong Hoi milch cow cooperative in HCM City.

The VCA targets increasing the income of cooperative members by at least an average of 6 percent per year, and eyes at least 60 percent of rural household enterprises becoming members of cooperatives and cooperative groups in the 2020-2025 period.

It also envisages building 300-500 high-tech cooperative models each year.

On December 21, a 27-member standing board of the VCA was elected at the first conference of the 6th VCA’s executive committee. Nguyen Ngoc Bao, secretary of the Party delegation to the alliance, was re-elected President of the VCA for the 2020-2025 tenure./.

Cooperative audit on water management in Mekong River basin kicks off

The State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) on December 22 organised a kick-off meeting for a cooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021.

The meeting took place under the chair of SAV Auditor General and Chairman of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Ho Duc Phoc.

In his opening remarks, Phoc said the Hanoi Declaration on “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Development” was approved at the 14th ASOSAI Assembly in 2018.

The document defines two major strategic goals for ASOSAI in the subsequent period: bolstering environmental auditing, and promoting issues relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

As Chair of ASOSAI for the 2018-2021 term and the initiator of the Hanoi Declaration, the SAV has exerted every effort in the implementation of activities and initiatives to realise the document, including the organisation of a cooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021 in several Southeast Asian nations, the official added.

In the face of the emergency regarding water security in countries in the Mekong River’s lower reaches, it is time for the SAV to join hands with Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in Southeast Asia in holding the audit, he affirmed.

During the kick-off meeting, three SAIs from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar signed a statement of commitments and terms of reference for the cooperative audit, agreeing on an action plan for its organisation.

Accordingly, they will focus on identifying the responsibilities of related countries in the implementation of the SGDs, and assess their contributions to commitments on water resources management, use, and protection in the Mekong River basin./.

Forum on energy security for sustainable development held

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) held a forum on December 22 in Hanoi on energy security for sustainable development.

Speaking at the event, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Duc Hien said ensuring energy security is a consistent goal of the national energy development strategy, adding that the Politburo’s Resolution No 55-NQ/TW dated February 11, 2020 set the target of ensuring national energy security, providing stable and high-quality energy at reasonable cost for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, ensuring national defence-security, and contributing to protecting the environment.

Ensuring national energy security is an important premise for the country's socio-economic development, he stressed.

Nguyen Van Vy from the Vietnam Energy Association said total electricity capacity now exceeds 60,000MW, which could meet demand for additional charge with the largest capacity of more than 41,000MW.

Power shortages are likely, however, due to a lack of rainfall and coal exploitation facing difficulties.

Vietnam has been an energy importer since 2015 and this is forecast to continue in the long term, according to the MoIT.

Deputy head of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority Nguyen Tuan Anh highlighted the need to amend the Electricity Law to attract more social investment capital and develop the power market, as well as to outline the Law on Renewable Energy to create a solid legal corridor for investment and management in the field.

Vy also suggested linking national grids with regional countries and developing a large-scale energy storage system./.

Viettel Cyber Security Company joins global anti-phishing organisation

The Viettel Cyber Security Company (VSC), a subsidiary of the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel), has become a member of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).

The membership is a new step for the company in connecting and sharing network security knowledge and early warnings, to help prevent the threat of cyber-attacks on a global scale. As a member, the VSC now has access to international-level information and cyber security risks to promptly develop suitable action plans.

The VSC’s Make-in-Vietnam Threat Intelligence technology, meanwhile, has become the first Vietnamese product selected to be part of the APWG’s network.

Launched in October, the platform is a modern network security solution focusing on gathering and analysing information on current cyber-attacks and potential threats to organisations’ and businesses’ assets, reputation, and safety. Equipped with data from internal studies conducted by leading Viettel experts, it is being applied in the services of Viettel and a number of banks in Vietnam.

Established in 2003, the APWG is an industry association focused on unifying the global response to cyber crimes. There are more than 2,000 enterprises worldwide participating in the group./.

Vietnam, Russia promote economic-trade ties

There is plenty of room for strengthening economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in 2021 and the coming years.

Both Vietnam and Russia still have potential for cooperation in agriculture, dairy farming, aquaculture, high technology, among others, agree delegates attending a seminar in Moscow on Dec. 22.

The agreement was reached during a seminar on Vietnam-Russia economic and trade cooperation held in Moscow on Dec. 22.

According to ambassador Ngo Duc Manh, economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia has constantly flourished in 2020 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two-way trade hit US$4.05 billion during Jan. - Oct., representing an increase of 7% compared to the same period last year.

“It has constituted a bright spot in bilateral cooperative ties,” said Manh, adding both sides need to make the most of the growing trend to bring about greater benefits to the two countries, contributing to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.

He pointed out some areas with great potential for bilateral cooperation in the coming time, including agriculture, dairy farming, dairy product processing, aquaculture, high technology, and communication and information.

Dr. Irina Korgun, head of the Centre for Russia and Eurasia, spoke of benefits Russia can enjoy after Vietnam joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

She said Russia should take advantage of Vietnam’s RCEP membership to export its commodities to the Asian market through the establishment of joint ventures in manufacturing and services, as well as to increase its presence in Asia.

Vitaly Mankevich, president of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, noted that economic and trade cooperation is one of the most important areas of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam.

He said Vietnam’s signing a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union has offered a window of opportunity for stronger cooperation between Russia and Vietnam, helping raise bilateral trade to US$6.1 billion in 2018.

The Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs is ready to support cooperation and connect links between Russian and Vietnamese businesses, especially in the fields of agriculture and information technology solutions, he affirmed.

Regarding the prospects of cooperation with Vietnam, Igor Tsybin, managing director of the Russia-Vietnam Business Council, noted Vietnam becomes an attractive investment destination for Russian businesses, thanks to the country’s political stability, large market, low labour costs, stable inflation rate of less than 4%, and high level of economic openness.

Vietnam enjoys trade surplus of US$3 billion with Mexico, Chile, and Peru

One year on from the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam's two-way trade turnover with Mexico, Chile, and Peru has reached US$5.12 billion, with the country recording a trade surplus of US$3 billion.

These figures were released during a recent workshop hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to promote trade and investment co-operation with the three countries as a means of taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by the CPTPP.

Vo Hong Anh, deputy director of the European and American Market Department, stated that last year, Vietnamese exports to these markets reached a sum of US$4.11 billion, representing an increase of 26.76% compared to the same period from 2018.

Despite suffering from the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, exports to these CPTPP member countries during the 10 months of the year hit US$3.74 billion, marking an annual rise of 4.6%.

Luu Van Khang, the country’s trade counselor in Mexico, said that the Central American nation represents a potential market for Vietnamese seafood products such as pangasius, basa, and tuna, especially relating to products that are entitled to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 0% three years on from the trade deal being implemented.

Local businesses should therefore seize upon the various opportunities presented by the CPTPP as a means of boosting the export of key Vietnamese export items, such as textiles and footwear products to Peru moving forward. This policy should be pursued as the tax rates on these products are set to be slashed significantly in line with the roadmap, according to insiders.

Furthermore, there remains plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese goods to be exported to Chile, a small market in South America, which has committed to reducing 95.1% of total tariff lines following the enforcement of the CPTPP.

Kiên Giang fishing, aquaculture output rises sharply

The fishing and aquaculture output of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang has topped 836,200 tonnes this year, 10.8 per cent higher than the target, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Fishing accounted for more than 572,000 tonnes.

Quảng Trọng Thao, deputy director of the department, said the province has restructured the sector to reduce near-shore fishing and expand off-shore fishing.

The province has strengthened advocacy to enhance fishermen’s awareness of protecting fishery resources and penalises people who violate fishery exploiting and protecting regulations, he said.

The province is entering the natural ark clam and yellow clam harvest season and is stepping up measures to protect the species from overexploitation.

The harvest will be done from now until May next year.

Only fishing boats of less than 12 metres in length have been granted licences to catch the clams, and they have to be equipped with sufficient tools to comply with catching regulations. The department has instructed relevant agencies and localities to tighten inspection over the activity and penalise violators.

In Kiên Giang, ark clams and yellow clams are found mostly off the coasts of Kiên Lương District and Hà Tiên City.

Thao said the province catches hundreds of tonnes a year for both domestic consumption and export.

The province has zoned areas for farming aquatic species, especially shrimp and other high-value ones, Thao said.

It has strengthened fishery extension activities and taught farmers advanced farming techniques, especially for shrimp.

The shrimp yield with advanced methods is 30 - 50 tonnes per hectare per crop compared to 10 -12 tonnes under traditional farming methods, according to the department.

The province has developed industrial shrimp breeding models using semi-biofloc and biofloc technology, and a model of breeding in two stages to increase yield.

Under the latter, juvenile shrimp are first bred in a small pond for a few weeks before being transferred to the main pond for intensive breeding in the second stage.

In 2016-19 the department set up 44 sites for farmers to visit and learn.

The model offers an average income of VNĐ280 million ($12,000) per hectare per year.

The province has developed industrial shrimp breeding in the Long Xuyên Quadrangle and turned low-yield rice fields into rice-shrimp farming fields in which farmers cultivate the grain during the rainy season and breed shrimp the rest of the time.

The province, the delta’s largest rice producer and one of the largest shrimp producers, has 100,000ha under rice-shrimp fields this year, 28 per cent higher than in 2015.

Danh Mẫn, who has a 3ha field in An Biên District’s Đông Yên Commune, said he earned VNĐ180 million ($7,700) this year from it.

“After switching to rice-shrimp farming, my family’s income has been steady,” he said.

Nguyễn Văn Hồng of Gò Quao District’s Vĩnh Thắng Commune said when he grew only rice on his 1ha field, his income could not cover his family’s living costs but now, after switching to rice-shrimp, he earns VNĐ70 – 80 million ($3,000 – 3,400) a year and has escaped poverty.

The model is adapted to climate change and sustainable since farmers use few chemicals.

The rice and shrimp produced are clean and preferred by consumers.

Gò Quao District has turned more than 2,700ha of rice fields into rice-shrimp fields, pineapple farms, pepper fields, and fruit orchards in the last five years.

Lê Hữu Toàn, its People’s Committee deputy chairman, said the district has created concentrated aquaculture areas with the application of advanced farming techniques and diverse models for breeding various species such as black tiger shrimp, white-legged shrimp and giant river shrimp together in a single pond.

The value of the district’s aquaculture production has increased from VNĐ418 billion ($18 million) in 2015 to VNĐ636 billion ($27.4 million) this year.

Vietnam, Russia seek to foster economic- trade ties

A workshop to promote economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia at the Hanoi – Moscow trade centre on December 22.

Ambassador Ngo Duc Manh, in his opening remarks, highlighted the positive results of the Vietnam – Russia economic and trade cooperation in 2020.

Despite severe impacts posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade ties became a bright spot in the bilateral relations as two-way trade hitting 4.05 billion USD in the first ten months of 2020, up 7.02 percent year-on-year, he said.

The diplomat emphasized the importance for the two sides to continue maintaining and creating more motivation for further fostering bilateral trade, as well as incorporate their strengths to create greater benefits, thus contributing to strengthening the Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

He also pointed out some areas with great potential for cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, including agriculture, dairy farming, and dairy product processing, and forming new value chains in fishery cooperation, hi-technology and information.

Dr. Irina Korgun from the Centre for Russian Strategy under the Institute of Economics in the Russian Academy of Sciences said Vietnam’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is an opportunity that Russia can take advantage of to promote supply of goods to Asian markets through establishing joint ventures in manufacturing and services, as well as increase its presence in Asia.

Meanwhile, Regina Budarina from the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Association's business centre stressed the need for the Russian side to develop its logistics infrastructure in Vietnam, including transit ports and cold storages, in order to improve competitiveness of Russian businesses in the Southeast Asian nation.

According to Igor Tsybin, Managing Director of the Russian-Vietnamese Business Council, by moving up 14 places to rank 69th among 190 economies in the World Bank's Doing Business 2018 and among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of foreign direct investment efficiency index in 2020, Vietnam became an attractive destination for Russian investors, with its advantages such as political stability, large market, low electricity price and labour costs, stable inflation rate, and open economy.

The event offered a venue for representatives from the two sides to understand each other's needs and strengths, clearly identify opportunities and challenges that may affect the two countries' economic and trade cooperation in the coming time.

Participants proposed solutions and recommendations on models and areas for future cooperation towards promoting the economic and trade cooperation between the two nations./.

Vietnam Business Forum offers solutions for firms in post-COVID-19 landscape

The Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) themed "Challenges and Opportunities in the new normal" 2020 kicked off on December 22 in Hanoi with proposals being put forward regarding various solutions and initiatives for local businesses to recover and develop faster in the period following the (COVID-19) pandemic.

In his opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh highlighted the position and importance of the annual VBF as an ongoing policy dialogue between the Government and the domestic and foreign business communities. It shows Vietnam’s commitment to improving the legal system and offering favourable business conditions to facilitate the development of private enterprises and contribute to the country’s sustainable economic growth.

With great determination, the Vietnamese Government has stepped up greater efforts to maintain its economic achievements and fulfil this year’s dual goals of bringing the coronavirus under control and sustaining positive GDP growth, which is projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reach 2.4%, he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that 2020 marks the final year in the socio-economic development plan for the 2016 to 2020 period, with the country overcoming plenty of challenges to obtain major achievements across multiple fields and achieving a high growth rate of 6.8% per year.

Minister Dung explained that the nation’s six fundamental achievements over the past year include success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, stable macroeconomic growth, whilst inflation has been curbed at a low level,.

Furthermore, the infrastructure system has been improved with major large-scale projects being completed during the 2016 to 2019 period, while economic restructuring has been implemented along with a shift of the growth model.

Moreover, the country has made radical administrative reforms, with the domestic business environment being greatly improved along side strengthened external affairs activities and international integration.

Minister Dung therefore attributed these achievements to great contributions made by the local business community, in addition to both domestic and foreign investors who have offered a fresh impetus to major management decisions made by the Vietnamese government to meet the set goals in an effective manner.

With regard to the socio-economic development strategy ahead for the 2021 to 2030 period, he stated that the country aims to focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic whilst boosting economic recovery and development. This will be done whilst accelerating the digital transformation in an effort to build a digital society and develop high-quality human resources in association with the development of science, technology, and innovation.

Moving forward, the nation is anticipated to simplify administrative procedures, create a favourable investment environment, further promote external relations as well as international integration.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that the business community expects that the Government will take a range of concrete measures aimed at immediately removing bottlenecks faced by businesses. This will be done in order to maximise opportunities from various free trade agreement (FTAs), specifically the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA), as a means of recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

In terms of enhancing the competitiveness of local products, the business community hopes that the Government can assist firms in promoting various trade promotion activities. In addition, technical centres for groups of major agricultural export products can be established to meet technical standards in food hygiene and safety, Loc noted.

The VCCI leader proposed that the Government continues to improve the business environment, enhance national competitiveness, reduce costs for enterprises, and carry out an array of effective support schemes, with a specific focus on micro, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Cargo via Viet Nam’s seaports up 4 per cent in 2020

Viet Nam’s seaports handled more than 689 million tonnes of cargo this year, up 4 per cent annually, reported the Viet Nam Maritime Administration.

During the year, the country’s fleet of cargo ships were estimated to transport nearly 160 million tonnes of cargo, an annual increase of 3 per cent, including 2.6 million TEUs of containers, up 8 per cent year-on-year.

Viet Nam now has 1,516 seagoing vessels, 1,049 of them cargo ships with a combined tonnage of around 9.3 million tonnes. The country ranks fourth in ASEAN and 30th globally in terms of the number of vessels.

The average age of Vietnamese vessels is 15.5 years, or 5.8 years less than the world’s average.

So far this year, the Viet Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre has saved 60 vessels in distress with 765 people aboard, including 13 foreigners.

Dialogue helps iron out snags for Japanese firms

Japanese enterprises raised concerns over institutions and policies in Viet Nam during a dialogue on Monday, which were then cleared up by representatives from Vietnamese ministries and agencies.

The dialogue was jointly held by the Government Office, the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform, and the Japanese Embassy.

This was the fifth dialogue with domestic and foreign enterprises organised by the council so far this year, and the first with Japanese businesses.

Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, who is also president of the council, said that with synchronous, drastic, and effective measures against COVID-19, Viet Nam had embarked on the “new normal”, with rosy signs in production and business, especially industrial production and exports and imports.

The Government and the PM had promptly instructed ministries, agencies, and localities to adopt solutions in an effort to recover the national economy, promote the disbursement of public investment, and ensure social welfare and social safety and order, while revamping the operations of State administrative agencies, he added.

Dung told the dialogue that the Government has cut 239 business conditions so far this year, and issued a document on the implementation of administrative procedures online.

He cited a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment saying that Viet Nam’s economic growth is expected to reach 2.6-3 per cent this year. It is the only country in Southeast Asia and one of very few in Asia-Pacific to post growth.

Viet Nam is also one of 16 emerging markets most successful amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Yamada Takio also lauded Viet Nam’s efforts in the fights against the pandemic.

In the first 11 months of this year, Viet Nam’s import-export value was US$489 billion, up 3.5 per cent year-on-year, he said, stressing that the country was directly benefiting from the diversification of global supply chains.

The ambassador also commended the extensive strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Japan.

He said the key for Viet Nam’s rapid economic recovery was the resumption of commercial flights, the improvement of public investment disbursement, foreign investment attraction, and administrative reform.

The organisation of the dialogue demonstrated Viet Nam’s efforts to push ahead with administrative reform, improve the local business climate, and attract foreign investment.

According to the diplomat, of the 81 Japanese firms receiving Government support, 37 have decided to select Viet Nam as their investment destination. Fifty-five Japanese businesses will establish their headquarters in the country.

Japan would continue to support its enterprises to operate in Viet Nam, he affirmed.