Despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, enterprises in the Mekong Delta recently have promoted the processing of high-value seafood products to increase their exports to many markets around the world. Seafood exports are showing signs of recovery and opportunities for enterprises to accelerate to finish their plans in the last months of the year. 

The latest statistics of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau Province showed that shrimp export turnover in October this year reached nearly US$133 million, sending the shrimp exports in the first ten months of this year to over $783 million, an increase of 6 percent over the same period last year. Of which, exports to the European market increased by over 33 percent, Canada increased by 24 percent, and Japan increased by nearly 13 percent. At the same time, enterprises have signed some new contracts with partners in the EU to promote shrimp exports in the last months of the year.

In Bac Lieu Province, by the end of October this year, seafood (mainly shrimps) export turnover exceeded $600 million, equal to 75 percent of the annual plan and up 5 percent over the same period. With this momentum, along with many positive signs in the market demand, Bac Lieu is increasing exports to fulfill its target. However, the difficulty that enterprises are facing today is the shortage of raw material shrimps, making export promotion not as expected. Mr. Huynh Thanh Tan, Director of Ca Mau Seafood Processing and Service Joint Stock Company, said that due to impacts of the pandemic and low prices of raw material shrimps in a long time, farmers had reduced shrimp farming. Moreover, the recent prolonged rains and high tides have caused losses of shrimps, leading to a decrease in production. Currently, enterprises are vying each other to buy raw material shrimps, and the prices of shrimps increase because many households in the Mekong Delta have just raised them again. Therefore, it takes until early-2021 for the supply of shrimps to be available.

For pangasius fish, after dropping drastically to VND17,000-VND19,000 per kilogram, the prices of pangasius fish recently have rebounded. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Director of Chau Thanh Fisheries Production and Service Cooperative in Dong Thap Province, said that factories were buying pangasius fish for export at a price of about VND23,000 per kilogram. With this price level, households who raise fish that meet standards will earn profits. His family had just sold nearly 400 tons of pangasius fish. After deducting expenses, he earned a profit of about VND1,000 per kilogram. Along with price increase, the factory paid cash immediately after buying fish. This also made farmers delighted after previous losses.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, pangasius exports were sluggish at the beginning of the year, from the end of the third quarter of this year, the situation has improved. In the first nine months of this year, pangasius export turnover reached about $1 billion, down 28.6 percent compared to the same period last year. In September this year alone, pangasius exports hit $129 million, down 17.6 percent over the same period, so the losing momentum has been gradually slowed down. It is forecasted that from now to the end of this year, pangasius exports will be smoother because consumption demand increases on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.

Mr. Doan Toi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nam Viet Group in An Giang Province, said that on average, his company exports 320-350 containers of pangasius products monthly. In the last months of the year, exports have increased following the orders of partners around the world. Lately, Nam Viet Group announced a shipment of pangasius produced under high-tech processes to export to the EU, South America, the ASEAN, China, and the Middle East. With this diversity of products, Nam Viet is striving to reach the target with pangasius export turnover from $110 million to $120 million this year.

According to Ms. Truong Thi Le Khanh, Chairman of Vinh Hoan Corporation in Dong Thap Province, along with promoting export at the end of the year, the company is now actively investing in processing a lot of high-quality pangasius products, including crispy fish skin, fish skin salad, fish balls, dried pangasius, fish burger, breaded fish fillet, butterflied pangasius fish, seasoned sliced fish, and thick rice noodle fish soup, to serve the domestic market. It is essential to provide Vietnamese people with a variety of delicious and nutritious dishes prepared from pangasius fish raised in a safe and closed process. This is also a sustainable direction for the pangasius industry in the long term.

For shrimps, according to Mr. Nguyen Viet Trung, Head of Trade Management Division under the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau Province, since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect, it has created an obvious advantage for frozen black tiger shrimps and white-leg shrimp products to boosts export because import tariffs on black tiger shrimp are reduced to zero percent as soon as the EVFTA took effect. Meanwhile, import tariffs on frozen white-leg shrimp products will gradually decrease to zero percent after five years. This is an opportunity for enterprises to increase shrimp exports to the EU market. Currently, in Ca Mau Province, there are more than ten enterprises exporting shrimps to the EU. In the first nine months of this year, shrimp exports reached $61 million, an increase of more than 400 percent over the same period last year. It is forecasted that in the coming time, shrimp exporting enterprises in the province will continue to increase sending their products to the EU because this is a market with great potentials.

From now to the end of the year, provinces in the Mekong Delta will focus on supporting enterprises to diversify products, increase deep-processing content, create more added-value products to increase shrimp export turnover. They will support exporting enterprises to grasp and effectively implement free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed. Besides, provinces will also provide farming-technical support for farmers to quickly restore raw material areas, improve the quality of farmed shrimps, and reduce cost prices to increase competitiveness.

Seafood export turnover of the whole country in the first ten months of this year was about $6.87 billion, down 2.74 percent in value over the same period. In the last months of this year, exports have increased, seafood exports are expected to reach about $8.4 billion this year. Although seafood exports are lower than those of $8.6 billion in 2019, amid such difficult conditions, the above result is still a remarkable effort.

Joint efforts from businesses needed for regional economic recovery: PM

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for joint efforts from business communities in ASEAN member nations to build a resilient ASEAN with a spirit of cohesion and responsiveness towards effectively controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting post-pandemic economic recovery.

Addressing the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ASEAN BIS) 2020 held online on November 13, PM Phuc emphasised that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for people and economies worldwide.

It has already triggered an economic downturn, impeding global trade, collapsing supply chains, hindering the travel of people, and forcing a huge number of businesses to shut down, he said.

In its five decades, ASEAN has become a dynamic and innovative economic community with a population of more than 630 million people and total GDP of over 3.1 trillion USD, becoming the 5th largest economy in the world, he said.

The PM attributed the achievements to the contributions of business communities in the region, from large enterprises to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, young enterprises, start-ups, and women-owned enterprises.

Along with effective regional cooperation mechanisms such as the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) and the East Asia Business Council (EABC), businesses in the region have cooperated closely to make important and practical recommendations with innovative ideas to leaders of ASEAN and ASEAN 3.

As Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam has introduced many initiatives and worked closely with other members and partners to control COVID-19 and implement a master recovery plan that focuses on facilitating the movement of experts, managers, and investors, ensuring the operations of supply and distribution chains, promoting production recovery, creating jobs, and removing any difficulties facing businesses, the PM stressed.

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast released in October, Vietnam is in fair shape and likely to post growth of 2-3 percent for the year as a whole, he said, noting that the country is also working towards attracting more regional and global investors.

It commits to cooperating with other ASEAN member countries and the bloc’s partners to continue offering support programmes to businesses in the region, especially in the fields of digital transformation and the environment, society and corporate governance (ESG), and fully tap into new opportunities from the relocation of supply chains and global investment flows towards ASEAN, he affirmed.

Addressing the summit, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc suggested governments focus on measures to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises as well as young entrepreneurs, women-owned firms, and start-ups, which have been generating livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people in the region while being most-affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urgent attention should be paid to supporting fields with great development potential but experiencing temporary difficulties, such as aviation, tourism, hotels, and restaurants, which could see strong development post-pandemic, Loc said.

He expressed the wish of the business community that the entire ASEAN region work together to promote integration, strengthen ASEAN connectivity, and promote development dialogue, even in the context of a pandemic, so that the bloc can be at the heart of the regional economy.

VCCI and ASEAN BAC recently introduced an initiative to set up the ASEAN Entrepreneurship Network, to promote links in start-up communities in the region, Loc said, while expressing his hope that ASEAN leaders, business communities, and dialogue partners of the bloc will support and promote the move.

Kanni Widnaraja, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, spoke highly of Vietnam’s role as ASEAN Chair, adding that ASEAN BIS needs to introduce investment policies that allow each country to overcome the consequences of the pandemic and recover in its own way./.

Vietnam's 500 largest enterprises in 2020 announced

The Vietnam Report JSC and VietNamNet e-newspaper announced the 500 largest enterprises in Vietnam (VNR500) in 2020 at a ceremony in Hanoi on November 10.

It aims to honour the largest companies in Vietnam, which achieved remarkable successes in production and business activities. This is the 14th consecutive year the VNR500 ranking has been announced.

On the list are Samsung Electronics Thai Nguyen Co Ltd, Vietnam Electricity (EVN), Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel), and Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex).

Major firms such as Vingroup, Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Mobile World Investment Corporation are also included in the list.

Among those, firms operating in services and industry account for a lion’s share of 97.3 percent of revenue in 2019, while businesses in the agriculture sector make up only 2.7 percent of revenue.

Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) of VNR500 companies were 5.73 percent and 16.24 percent, remarkably up from 2.78 percent and 13.8 percent against the previous year.

In addition, return on sales (ROS) inched by 0.26 percent to hit 6.58 percent this year.

On this occasion, Vietnam Report published the 500 largest private enterprises of Vietnam 2020.

An awards ceremony is set to take place in Hanoi on January 8 next year./.

HCM City completes nearly 60 percent of public capital disbursement plan

Ho Chi Minh City had disbursed nearly 23 trillion VND (987.48 million USD) of public investment capital as of September 22, completing 54.2 percent of its yearly target, the Office of the city People’s Committee has reported.

According to the committee, the city has allocated more than 42 trillion VND of public capital for the year.

Despite impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has still enjoyed positive results in public investment disbursement, with the disbursement amount and rate higher than those in the same period last year by 2.35 times and 1.89 times, respectively.

However, the results have yet to meet the requirements of the Government due to difficulties in ground clearance.

In order to speed up the work, the city People’s Committee has asked for advice from the Department of Planning and Investment on the adjustments and supplementation of the city public capital disbursement plan for 2020, as well as the revision of the middle-term plan for the 2016-2020 period.

The department has also been directed to give consultations to the People’s Council on reclaiming capital from projects that cannot disburse all the assigned capital for those needing more investment.

The municipal People’s Committee also urged localities to continue applying measures to speed up disbursement by shortening time for the processing of investment procedures./.

Myanmar’s foreign trade tops 2 billion USD in October

The total trade between Myanmar and foreign countries exceeded 2 billion USD in the first month of the fiscal year 2020-2021 beginning in October, the country’s Commerce Ministry said on November 9.

As of October 30, Myanmar earned over 845.3 million USD from export while its import totaled over 1.16 billion USD.

This October saw a drop of over 876.6 million USD in Myanmar’s foreign trade from a year earlier.

The country’s main exports included agricultural products, animal products, marine products, minerals, and forest products. Meanwhile, major imports comprised of capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods./.

RCEP hoped to sign by year-end: Singaporean diplomat

Despite difficulties in organising meetings and gatherings due to COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN member countries have given a series of initiatives on the threshold of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Hanoi this week, Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Catherine Wong has said.

She noted that the key initiatives include the setting up a COVID-19 ASEAN response fund; an ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework to help the region recover from the pandemic; a regional reserve of medical supplies; and pushing along the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement involving 15 countries, including ASEAN states.

People are generally hopeful and optimistic that RCEP can be signed by the end of this year, said Wong.

The Singaporean diplomat said that if that pans out, it will send a strong signal that ASEAN remains open for business and trade, and this will boost investor confidence.

Established in 1967 by five countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore - ASEAN has since fostered a culture of cooperation and dealt with challenges collectively.

Today, the regional bloc has a population of nearly 640 million people and a combined gross domestic product of 2.57 trillion USD. Some suggest that it is poised to become the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.

Vietnam, this year's ASEAN chair, came up with the theme "Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN" before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. It has turned out to be remarkably apt in the present circumstances, she held.

Wong asserted that much of ASEAN's focus this year has been on how the region can respond effectively to the outbreak and its economic fallout, amid rising geopolitical tensions./.

HCM City exports continue to grow despite pandemic

HCM City’s exports in the first 10 months rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year to 36.7 billion USD, according to a report by its Department of Industry and Trade.

In terms of markets, Asia remained the biggest, buying nearly 20 billion USD worth of the city’s exports.

The US was second with some 5.5 billion USD, almost the same as last year, followed by the EU market with 4.1 billion USD and Japan with 2.5 billion USD.

Experts said Covid-19 has not had a major impact on Vietnam's trade, which continues to grow.

According to a recent survey by the city Statistics Office, half of all local enterprises affected by the pandemic thought the consumer market had shrunk, and 15.3 per cent said manufactured goods could not be sold domestically./.

Hanoi’s agriculture strives to achieve growth target

With a growth target of more than 4.1 percent this year, Hanoi's agricultural sector is focusing on developing production, implementing winter crop production, and preparing goods for the year-end market and Tet (Lunar New Year).

For this year's crop, Thuong Tin district’s rice yield is about 6 tonnes per hectare.

As soon as the harvest is completed, the district will focus on winter crop production, with key crops including potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin and cucumber.

In this winter crop, the district strives to grow 2,100ha or more, of which the area for maize is 100ha, soybeans 100ha, potatoes 130ha, sweet potatoes 30ha, vegetables of all kinds 1,585ha and flowers and ornamental plants about 155ha.

To bring high economic efficiency to farmers, Thuong Tin district give financial support to farmers to buy seeds, plants and to spend on production models.

In Me Linh district, the agricultural sector’s production value in the past nine months is nearly 1.8 trillion VND (77.6 million USD), reaching 96 percent of the plan, up 6.2 percent over the same period last year.

The production value of the crop production sector reached nearly 1.3 trillion VND (56.1 million USD), up 1.4 percent over the same period last year.

The crop structure has been shifted in the direction of gradually reducing ineffective rice and maize acreage to crops of high economic value such as flowers and green vegetables, with a total area of nearly 20ha, deployed to build 40 models of “one commune one product”.

The livestock sector in the district has also thrived, with the number of pigs increasing to nearly 34,000 and poultry nearly 1.6 million.

Chairman of Me Linh district People's Committee Hoang Anh Tuan said in the last months of the year, the district continued to clean and disinfect barns, as well as vaccinate animals against disease to promote the re-herding of pigs, striving to reach 35,000 pigs by the end of the year.

In addition, the district focuses on cultivating more than 3,320ha of winter crops and promoting product consumption, striving for agricultural production value increased by more than 10 percent.

Despite facing many difficulties, in the past nine months, the capital’s agriculture sector has grown by more than 3 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Director of the department Chu Phu My said that along with increasing field inspection, forecasting, detecting and early handling of diseases, the department would work with localities to adjust the structure and area of sowing and bring high-yield and high-quality varieties into production.

The department also focuses on directing and guiding localities to promote re-herding, increase the total number of pigs in the direction of biosafety associated with disease prevention and control, to develop aquaculture of high economic value and promote the development of production chains and product consumption, ensuring the supply of quality agricultural products to the capital in the last months of the year.

The agricultural sector will make efforts to successfully implement the winter crop, and achieve the growth target of 2020, he said./.

State budget collection tumbles in 10 months

Total State budget collection in the first ten months of this year was estimated at 1.13 quadrillion VND (48.7 billion USD), or 75.2 percent of the annual estimate and down 10.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Of the total, 959.2 trillion VND was domestic collection, accounting for 75.9 percent of the estimate and falling 6.8 percent against the same period last year. Meanwhile, 29.65 trillion VND came from crude oil, or 84.2 percent of the estimate and down 37.2 percent year-on-year.

Expenditure in the first ten months stood at more than 1.26 quadrillion VND, equivalent to 72.1 percent of the estimate and up 9.7 percent from the same period last year.

As of October 26, some 17.77 trillion VND had been set aside for the prevention of COVID-19 and support for people hit hard by the outbreak.

Some 3.17 trillion VND was spent on recovering from the consequences of natural disasters and the African swine fever outbreak, while 500 billion VND was used to support five flood-hit provinces in the central region.

The ministry said State budget collection faced difficulties this year due to the pandemic and climate change./.

Corporate culture crucial to growth of businesses: Deputy PM

Developing corporate culture is a core issue and crucial to the growth of businesses, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh told a forum on economic reconstruction in the “new normal” situation from the perspective of corporate culture which took place in Hanoi recently.

The forum was held by the organising committee of the campaign on building corporate culture in Vietnam (Organising Committee 248) to honour outstanding enterprises in building corporate culture in Vietnam and to mark Vietnam Corporate Culture Day (November 10).

In his remarks, Binh spoke highly of the event as it was organised at a time when the government and the entire business community are making all-out efforts to fulfill the dual goals of fighting COVID-19 and boosting economic recovery.

Over the last two decades, Vietnamese enterprises have contributed to mobilising resources for the country’s socio-economic development, maintaining its economic growth and stability, boosting exports and increasing State budget revenues.

To become prosperous, Vietnam must have a strong and sustainably developed business community, he said, adding that enterprises are the economic driver which contribute the most to the size and the growth rate of the national economy.

The COVID-19 is posing unprecedented impacts on all of the country’s social and economic aspects. From the perspective of corporate culture, the pandemic has affected consumer culture and businesses’ ethics, behaviour and social responsibility among others, Binh said.

To mitigate the pandemic’s impacts, the government has adopted various solutions and policies to support affected firms and individuals while many enterprises and organisations have backed the government’s efforts to revive the economy in the “new normal” situation. But there were no specific solutions related to corporate culture, Binh said.

He went on to say that proposals and recommendations presented at the forum will be submitted to the Prime Minister so they can be translated into reality in the near future./.

Standards - impetus for improving business competitiveness in int’l integration

Careful consideration must be given to developing appropriate standards for enterprises to improve their product quality competitiveness in the context of rapid and intensive international integration, experts have said.

Standards should not be considered barriers to export but the inspiration to push enterprises forward in innovating and growing, especially after the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect.

Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute of Branding and Competition Strategy, said standards were gaining increasing attention in Vietnam because of the importance to sustainable development and safety to human health.

For producers who wanted to expand in international markets, their products must meet standards and requirements set by not only international organisations, free trade agreements (FTAs) but also import markets, he said.

It was critical for enterprises to meet these standards and requirements to participate in the global value chains, he stressed.

For Vietnam which in the past lagged behind other countries in developing standards, he said it would take time for enterprises to improve their capacity.

A plan for developing standards must be developed clearly, Thanh said, adding that that outdated, infeasible and harmful-to-human health standards must be eliminated immediately while standards which related to technology renovation and for participation into the global value chains would take more time to meet.

In addition, he said penalties must be raised to prevent the abuse of standards, he said.

From the perspective of enterprises, To Hoai Nam, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, said there was reverse side of standardisation in economic activities.

In the domestic market, if the standards of a producer were selected to be the general standards for the industry or the national standard, it could become a barrier to other producers in the industry, he pointed out.

On the international scale, standard was also the biggest issue in bilateral and multilateral trade agreement negotiations. Standards were often used as barriers to prevent the flooding of import products which might affect domestic production.

Nam said that building standards required a comprehensive evaluation of the whole industry.

For export products, international standards must be taken into consideration when developing for Vietnam.

Standards must be developed for long term, Nam stressed, adding that changing practice would cause a lot of problems for firms because they must develop production plans and invest in science and technology to raise their game.

Caution was needed because inappropriate standards would hinder the development of enterprises while the good ones would promote quality and competitiveness, he said.

According to Nguyen Hoang Linh, Deputy Director of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, firms should pay more attention to developing and applying standards in production and operation.

There were nearly 13,000 Vietnamese standards, around 60 percent of which are harmonised with regional and international ones.

Linh said that the focus would be placed on developing standards with environmental friendliness which would create an advantage for Vietnamese products to meet foreign markets’ demanding requirements.

Specifically, standards for new environmentally-friendly materials and energy would be developed together with standards for climate change response./.

Quang Ninh prioritises development of manufacturing, processing

The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh has given top priority to develop the manufacturing and processing industry, making it one of the three key pillars in the industry sector.

The industry is envisioned to account for 15 percent of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) by 2025, and 20 percent by 2030.

According to statistics from competent authorities, Quang Ninh province housed 291 manufacturing and processing firms in 2010, and the figure rises to 841 in 2020, accounting for 81.8 percent of the locality’s total industrial enterprises.

Nearly 69 trillion VND (2.98 billion USD at current exchange rate) was injected into the industry during 2010-2020, or 13.29 percent of the province’s total investment.

Manufacturing and processing firms generate more than 54,000 jobs every year.

Having well-developed infrastructure like ports, industrial parks, roads and international border gates with China, together with excellent logistics services, Quang Ninh province has huge advantages to develop a strong manufacturing and processing industry, economists have said.

The provincial Department of Industry and Trade said investment in the industry increases by an average 6.9 trillion VND each year during 2010-2020. It is truly a bright spot in the local economy in the context of the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strong growth of the manufacturing and processing industry has served as a driver for the industrial sector in the past time.

The first meeting of the 15th provincial Party Committee in the 2020-2025 tenure focused on socio-economic tasks and solutions in the tenure, with one of the focuses being a draft resolution on making manufacturing and processing one of the three key pillars in its industrial sector, along with mining and power and gas production and distribution.

According to the Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee, Nguyen Xuan Ky, in the 2020-2025 period Quang Ninh targets making three breakthrough steps in the expansion of the processing-manufacturing sector, including in investment attraction and growth in added value, as well as breakthroughs in the proportion of processing-manufacturing in the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and its budget collections, and another breakthrough in the attraction of high-quality human resources.

To this end, Quang Ninh will focus on four major solutions in the period: the planning of production areas; the development of synchronised social infrastructure networks; the expansion of human resources; and the reform of administrative procedures and the improvement of the business and investment environment, as well as the building of a safe, civilised, and friendly living environment.

The leader said that Quang Ninh aims for rapid and sustainable growth in the processing-manufacturing sector on the basis of promoting the potential and advantages of the province and its localities, economic zones, and industrial parks, and especially by introducing preferential policies at economic zones, to develop processing-manufacturing projects.

He said the province will prioritise high-technology projects that use high-quality human resources, are friendly on the environment, have high added value, and save natural resources.

Quang Ninh will closely coordinate the rapid and sustainable development of processing-manufacturing with the attraction of high-quality and skilled human resources, he said.

Expansion of the sector will be conducted in parallel with the development of industry-urban-service areas with synchronised technical and social infrastructure networks, providing a modern, safe, and civilised living and working environment to residents.

Ky said that Quang Ninh is designing mechanisms and policies that are sufficiently strong to attract better human resources to meet demand for the expansion of processing-manufacturing, in line with improvements through the development of the Ha Long University and the Vietnam-Korea Vocational College, as well as other high-quality vocational facilities.

The province will also pay more attention to the fields of automobiles, electronics, information technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the fashion industry, and wood and fisheries processing, he said./.

HCM City promotes development of collective economy

Although the collective economy in Ho Chi Minh City has gained positive results, limitations still exist, district officials and cooperative leaders have said.

According to the HCM City Cooperative Alliance, the number of cooperatives has increased considerably and their quality has improved over the past five years. The number of cooperatives rose from 69 in 2015 to 112 this year, with a total of 2,551 members.

Cooperatives, particularly agricultural ones, focus on supporting household economies by providing services or jobs for members.

Cu Chi district has the highest number of agricultural cooperatives, with 38 out of a total 50 operating in the district.

In the first half of the year, despite COVID-19, agricultural cooperatives’ revenue was estimated at 80 billion VND (3.45 million USD), and the average monthly income was more than 5 million VND (216 USD) per person.

Le Dinh Duc, Vice Chairman of the Cu Chi District People's Committee, said these achievements were thanks to agricultural cooperatives enhancing linkages with commercial cooperatives and supermarket chains to ensure stable outlets for products produced by members. Many products have also been exported, he said.

For instance, the Saigon Aquarium Cooperative is a major provider of baby ornamental fish and breeding techniques. It buys all ornamental fish from breeders to sell in the domestic market or for export, creating jobs for about 200 households.

To exploit the potential of the island district of Can Gio, Truong Tien Trien, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Gio district, said a district-based shrimp cooperative and the Centre for Hi-tech Agricultural Research and Development have implemented an experimental super-intensive shrimp farming model to produce safe and high-nutritional shrimp products.

This has helped to satisfy strict quality standards set by fastidious markets such as the US, EU, and Japan, he said.

Despite positive results, the development of cooperatives has not met their potential, Duc said.

Most cooperatives are small with limited funds, lack business strategies, have poor management compared with other economic sectors, and are disadvantaged in an integrated economy.

The capacity and skills of management staff in the cooperatives are limited, making it difficult to meet demand in the market economy.

To boost the development of the collective economy, the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has set up a preferential credit policy to encourage cooperatives to invest in cultivating or breeding high-value plants or animals.

The average loan for a qualified project increased from 269 million VND in the 2011-2015 period to 533 million VND in the 2016-2020 period.

“Lack of investment capital for production and business activities is a major barrier to the development of cooperatives,” Duc said. "With their small scale, they find it hard to get loans from credit institutions since they don’t have assets to mortgage."

He suggested that the Government promote administrative reform, shorten the time needed to implement procedures related to licensing and tax policy, and simplify procedures for supporting cooperatives in borrowing capital, among others.

A representative of Binh Chanh district said the HCM City Cooperative Alliance should continue to help cooperatives train personnel and regularly hold professional training courses on economic management, finance and accounting, market research, and project management.

In addition, leaders of districts suggested that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development use database management software to facilitate management and investigation of cooperatives in the agricultural sector.

To improve the efficiency of the collective economic model, in the 2021-2030 period the city will focus on developing a new-style cooperative model. It also targets setting up 300 cooperatives and five unions of cooperatives, according to the city People's Committee said.

The sector is expected to achieve annual growth of 7 percent, accounting for 0.6 percent of the city’s economy, and create 30,000 jobs each year.

The city also seeks to raise the ratio of cooperative leaders with college and university degrees to 60 percent.

To achieve these targets, the city will implement a number of measures such as increasing the capital of the City Cooperative Member Support Fund to 2 trillion VND (86.4 million USD) by 2030.

It will also continue to connect credit organisations and cooperatives, provide training to cooperative managers, and promote their products and improve their technologies./.

Vinh Phuc assists enterprises in optimising EVFTA opportunities

The authorities of the northern province of Vinh Phuc are implementing a series of measures to help local enterprises fully tap the opportunities brought about by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect in August 1.

Vinh Phuc is home to about 200 companies that involve in international trade. This year, the province’s import and export values are estimated to hit 3.14 and 2.9 billion USD, respectively. The EVFTA, which removes 84 percent of tariff lines, is likely to further bolster the growth of local firms.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the EU is a demanding market which sets high standards for imported goods and services. As such, local exporters ought to have human resources training plans to improve their staff’s language and professional capacity in order to effectively study demand from the market.

Currently, the department is working with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency to support the training of e-commerce skills; design programmes to help exporters enhance their competitiveness; and facilitate firms’ participation in supply chains.

The provincial People’s Committee has paid attention to educational activities to raise awareness on the EVFTA for farmers, management agencies, cooperatives, and businesses, particularly those who are likely to be impacted by the deal.

Meanwhile, other provincial departments and sectors as well as district-level authorities have been tasked to examine locally issued legal documents during the implementation of the agreement with a view to making prompt changes to make them compatible to the pact./.

Firms urged to focus on corporate culture

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has urged businesses to focus on improving corporate culture to promote operational efficiency and contribute to economic reconstruction.

Binh was speaking at a forum held by the Viet Nam Association of Business Culture Development on Sunday and said that corporate culture contributed up to 30 per cent of companies’ operational efficiency.

Stressing the importance of the business community for the country’s socio-economic development, Binh said it was necessary to identify core values of companies, encourage the creation of human-focused values, build an open working environment and promote the application of technology to adapt to all circumstances.

During the past two decades, Viet Nam’s business community had seen breakthrough developments and made a significant contribution to the country’s socio-economic development, Binh said.

There were more than 800,000 firms operating in the country, most small and medium-sized. Non-State businesses contributed 42 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product and created more than 50 per cent of the country’s total jobs.

Binh also stressed that the private sector was an important driver of the Vietnamese economy.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impacts on socio-economic development, firms should focus on improving corporate culture which would help accelerate economic recovery, Binh said.

The pandemic was also affecting factors related to corporate culture such as business philosophy and ethics, behavioural culture, consumer culture, corporate social responsibility, social innovation and entrepreneurship spirit towards more sustainable development.

He said building corporate culture was among core values for sustainable development of business, besides clearly identifying business strategies and targets, developing modern corporate governance system, building brand, enhancing competitiveness, improving productivity and promoting innovation.

Binh also said the Government would create the legal framework and policies to support businesses’ development and promote their contribution to the country’s development.

According to Ho Anh Tuan, head of the organisation board of the business culture development campaign, the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly changing State and corporate management which raised the pressing need for digital transformation, developing digital economy, e-Government and innovations in business governance.

Tuan said this created not only challenges but also opportunities for businesses to renovate and make breakthrough development, adding that corporate culture would be the factor for sustainable development and the impetus for these renovations.

Than Duc Viet, general director of Garment 10 Corporation, said corporate culture helped the company cope with the impacts of the pandemic.

Tran Uyen Phuong, deputy director of Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group, said that innovation together with corporate culture would help firms to grow and create uniqueness.

LienVietPostBank listed on HoSE

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Monday officially opened the first trading session for nearly 977 million shares of LienVietPostBank, listed with code LPB.

HoSE approved the listing of LPB stocks with a total value of nearly VND9.7 trillion (US$417.7 million).

With the reference price on the first trading day set at VND11,800 per share, the capitalisation value was estimated at VND11.5 trillion. The price was clarified according to the LPB’s average reference price in the last 20 trading sessions on UpCoM.

“LPB stock trading on HoSE is one of the important milestones for LienVietPostBank. From the very first days of its establishment, founding shareholders have been looking forward to listing its share on the highest standard stock exchange in Viet Nam,” said Pham Doan Son, vice chairman and general director of the bank.

Son said the LPB share price is still lower than its real value, not accurately reflecting the bank’s business results and development potential. Therefore, the move to list on HoSE will contribute to bringing the stock price back to its true value.

LienVietPostBank now has nearly three million customers and 2.5 million users on its newly-launched LienViet24h digital banking app. By the end of October, its total assets reached VND214 trillion and capital mobilisation of VND184 trillion. Its lending in the period was VND163 trillion and before-tax profit of VND2.1 trillion, surpassing the whole year’s set targets. With the positive results, the bank expected its profit this year would be at a record level for the past 13 years of operation.

The State Bank of Viet Nam approved the bank to increase its charter capital from the current VND9.7 trillion to VND10.7 trillion by issuing shares for dividend payment. Accordingly, the bank would issue shares to pay a dividend at a rate of 10 per cent in the fourth quarter.

LienVietPostBank would continue to develop its retail sector with strengths of a wide network to access to customers in even remote areas.

“We will continue to maintain the growth rate in the first 10 months of the year and surpass the whole year’s set targets. This would create a firm pre-condition for the following years,” he added. 

Mobile Testing Platform Kobiton acquires Mobile Labs

Mobile Testing Platform Kobiton said it has acquired US mobile testing company Mobile Labs.

The combined platform would allow developers and QA teams to deliver apps faster and with higher quality by leveraging artificial intelligence across real-devices spanning cloud and on-premises deployments, it said in a release.

To finance the acquisition, Kobiton raised a US$14 million extension from its existing investor, BIP Capital, and a new investor, Fulcrum Equity Partners.

Kevin Lee, its CEO, said, “Mobile Labs perfectly helps Kobiton deliver on our vision of what a mobile experience platform should be.

“Leveraging our flexible deployment model along with our leading AI testing technology and Mobile Labs’ industry-leading on-premises device deployment leads to the most comprehensive mobile testing solution in the market today.”

Dan McFall, CEO of Mobile Labs, said, “We saw a huge opportunity to improve the testing experience for our customers even further, especially with the maturity of AI and machine learning.

“The combined Mobile Labs and Kobiton platform will deliver on that vision on-premises, in the cloud or as a hybrid solution for the most demanding organisations in the world.”

Hà Ngọc Vĩnh Du, managing director of Kobiton in Việt Nam, said: “The acquisition of Mobile Labs is a positive signal for the Vietnamese technology market, the mobile testing market in particular. Leveraging AI technology to develop a powerful mobile testing platform is giving Kobiton a huge position.

“This is an opportunity and also an affirmation of Vietnamese engineers’ talent in the global technology community.”

Kobiton was incubated and developed by KMS Technology with a team of 50 engineers and specialists currently based in Việt Nam.

Used by over 60,000 developers and testers world-wide, it is transforming the way companies deliver mobile apps through innovative applications of artificial intelligence, real-device testing and the industry’s first and only mobile scriptless automation solution. 

TPBank given approval to increase charter capital

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has approved the charter capital increase of TPBank from the current VND8.5 trillion (US$366.5 million) to VND10.7 trillion as well as expanding their network with four new branches and two transaction offices in 2021.

The charter capital increase was also approved at its shareholder meeting last month.

By the end of September, TPBank’s capital adequacy ratio reached 11.4 per cent according to BASEL II standards, much higher than the 8 per cent figure required by the central bank.

The bank reported a before-tax profit of VND3 trillion in the first nine months of the year, meeting 74 per cent of the year’s target. Its total assets increased by 26 per cent from the same period last year to VND193 trillion. Its bad debt was at a low level of 1.77 per cent.

Its growth rate of before-tax profit from retail banking sector was 2.5 times higher from 2018. Its number of individual customers also hiked from 60,000 in 2012 to 3.7 million in 2020. 

Gov’t and people work together to achieve growth target

Vietnam very much focused on achieving the twin targets of fighting COVID-19 and maintaining economic growth in the first nine months of 2020. Its efforts paid off, with nine-month GDP growth standing at 2.12%. Though the lowest rate Vietnam has posted for a decade, it nonetheless compares favourably to the economic woes the pandemic has inflicted upon many countries worldwide.
 
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, manufacturing and processing remains the driving force behind Vietnam’s economy, rebounding in October and growing 8.3% year-on-year.

The sector’s growth in particular and the country’s economic growth in general can be largely attributed to the successful containment of the second outbreak of COVID-19 in July.

In order to achieve the highest possible economic growth this year, experts have suggested concrete policies be devised to drive growth in the three economic pillars of investment, exports, and consumption.

The feasibility of this year’s growth target of 2 to 3% will largely be determined by external factors, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has said. However, with positive signs being seen in recent times, Vietnam has proved that it is capable of overcoming pressing challenges, with determination and effort from both the Government and the people./.

Forum promotes Vietnam - Germany economic, trade cooperation

A forum for the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Germany was held in Hanoi on November 12.

The forum was jointly organised by the University of Economics under the Vietnam National University - Hanoi (VNU), Germany’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) in Vietnam, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

It took place in the context of many opportunities and challenges facing the two countries, with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) having been approved.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung, since the two countries officially established diplomatic ties 45 years ago, Vietnam and Germany have signed a host of bilateral agreements to comprehensively promote economic, political, and cultural relations.

Vietnam-Germany trade and investment cooperation have developed rapidly over recent years but remain modest compared to potential and the desire for cooperation on both sides.
Businesses from the two countries should actively tap into opportunities and advantages to further promote economic cooperation, Dung said.

The EVFTA presents an opportunity for EU and German businesses to expand their business and investment activities in Vietnam, he noted.

German Ambassador to Vietnam Guido Hildner said the fields of environmental protection, sustainable development, and energy supply have been the foundation of bilateral cooperation for many years, affirming that his country will continue to maximise its support for Vietnam in developing these fields as well as education and vocational training.

Germany has remained a major trading partner of Vietnam in Europe over the last 45 years, accounting for about 20 percent of Vietnam’s exports to Europe. It’s also an important transit point for Vietnamese goods entering other European markets.

It is now the fourth-largest European investor in Vietnam, with registered capital totalling over 2 billion USD as of May 2020. Projects focus on mechanics, machinery, chemicals, renewable energy, and smart infrastructure. The country is also Vietnam’s largest partner in vocational training and education./

RCEP in spotlight at 37th ASEAN Summit: The Strait Times

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be in the spotlight at the 37th ASEAN Summit which is virtually hosted by Vietnam from November 12 – 15, according to Singapore’s The Strait Times.

The conclusion of the region-wide trade deal has been a key goal of the grouping this year, the newspaper said. If everything falls into place, the RCEP will be the world's largest trade pact, even without the inclusion of India which pulled out last year.

The deal involves 15 countries, including ASEAN's 10 member states, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Australia, and New Zealand. Together, they contribute about one-third of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).

ASEAN alone has a population of nearly 640 million people and a combined GDP of 2.57 trillion USD. The bloc is forecast to become the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.

Senior Indonesian trade official Iman Pambagyo, who chairs the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee, told The Straits Times that participating countries hope the agreement will drive economic recovery in the next two years in the region, where a regional supply chain has been built, thanks to existing free trade deals between ASEAN and its trading partners.

Against the backdrop of low confidence in the multilateral trading system, ongoing trade tensions amongst a number of countries, rising protectionism and the impact of COVID-19, the signing of the RCEP is a signal to the world and businesses that countries in this region remain optimistic and have a forward-looking orientation in terms of deepening and expanding regional economic integration to play a bolder role in the global value chain, Iman said.

On November 12, ASEAN leaders will have their annual summits with China, India, Japan and the RoK. The ASEAN-Japan Summit will see the launch of the new ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED). The inaugural ASEAN Women Leaders' Summit will also take place later the same day.

On November 14, ASEAN leaders will have summits with the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and the RoK. The East Asia Summit (EAS) will cap that day's meetings./.

RCEP expected to be signed at upcoming leaders’ meeting: Chinese official

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to be signed at the 4th RCEP leaders' online meeting on November 15, with all of its texts and legal review work completed, Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang told a press conference on November 11.

Once signed, the agreement will be one of the most vital achievements in the integration of Asia-Pacific economies over the past two decades, helping the region to realise high-level market opening-up and forming a relatively unified economic and trade system, Li said.

Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2012, the RCEP is the largest free trade agreement worldwide, with 15 members covering 47.4 percent of the world's population, about one-third of global GDP, 29.1 percent of world trade, and 32.5 percent of global investment.

The signing of the RCEP will give a boost to regional economic growth, as the pact is expected to be a driver of the post-COVID-19 recovery of member economies and of Asia-Pacific cooperation, said Su Ge, chairman of the Beijing-based China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers alone under the partnership would increase the Asia-Pacific region's GDP by 2.1 percent and world GDP by 1.4 percent, according to estimates./.

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