A customer shops online. — VNS Photo Doan Tung

 
 
 
About 30,000 e-commerce stores were taken down in the first nine months of this year due to trade fraud, counterfeit and contraband goods, and the scale of the problem is looking daunting.

Le Duc Anh, director of the Centre for Information and Digital Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that consumers had changed their traditional shopping habits and switched to online more over the past five years, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the fact that stores were selling counterfeit and contraband goods had caused consumer confidence to fall on e-commerce platforms.

This is clearly shown by the numbers of cases authorities have detected and punished. Specifically, e-commerce inspectors, together with market management forces, had checked over 2,400 cases and handled over 2,200 e-commerce violations, while issuing fines of nearly VND17 billion (US$730,500).

The Viet Nam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency co-operated with the Viet Nam Competition and Consumer Protection Authority and the Department of Cyber Security and High-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security to investigate suspected violators and fined them VND173 million in the first nine months of this year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it had asked e-commerce platforms to review and remove nearly 223,600 online stores and more than one million products this year, handling over 30,000 stores with nearly 48,000 product violations.

In addition, the Viet Nam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency has sent warnings to users about online fraud.

Counterfeit goods are threatening people's livelihoods, as well as affecting the reputation of genuine businesses.

Experts said they had received hundreds of complaints from consumers about commercial fraud on e-commerce platforms. They mainly involved people paying for their goods but not receiving them, poor quality products and services, and stolen personal information.

Information theft, financial fraud and disturbing advertisements were the sad reality of e-commerce in Viet Nam today, said experts.

Economist Vo Tri Thanh said that handling violations was very difficult as inspecting and tracking "virtual enterprises” was not so simple.

Meanwhile, sanctioning stopped at administrative punishments, but the profits some firms were making were very high, so violations remained rampant.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in order to handle the problem of counterfeit goods, tighten trading on e-commerce platforms and enhance consumer trust, it had been studying and preparing a draft amendment for Decree 52. The draft would introduce stricter regulations for mandatory information for companies that operated on e-commerce platforms, increased responsibility for shop owners, and regulations for social networks on which e-commerce transactions took place, along with stiffer penalties.

For consumers to truly trust online channels, experts said stores needed to restore confidence and improve the quality of goods and accompanying services such as delivery and dispute resolution.

Agriculture ministry working on project to develop agricultural processing

A programme to improve vegetable and fruit processing is set to be submitted to the Government for approval, focusing on both growing zones and processing facilities.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development revealed this at a conference it held in HCM City yesterday to discuss it with experts and businesses.

Ngo Quang Tu, head of the agriculture processing and market development department’s agriculture products processing and preservation division, said the country had over 157 industrial-size facilities for processing fruits and vegetables and thousands of smaller ones as of last year.

But while the installed capacity is 1.1 million tonnes of produce a year, in reality it is only around 700,000 tonnes.

Processed produce accounted for 15.2 per cent of produce exports last year.

The industry’s contribution to increasing added value is small, and it only processes 10 per cent of the annual vegetable and fruit output.

Investment in processing is modest, with too many small facilities using outdated technologies, and the result is that the volume of products with high added value is low.

Ung The Lam, chairman of Lam Nong 007 Transparent Co-operative, said: “Businesses need access to high-quality, certified growing zones. The State should help regions register their farming zones and qualifications, which would help businesses identify zones that suit their business requirements.”

Project to develop fruit, vegetable processing

The project aims to increase exports of fruits and vegetables to $10 billion by 2030, with processed items accounting for 30 per cent.

One of its solutions is to encourage regions to form concentrated growing zones to meet processors’ raw material needs and adopt advanced agricultural technologies and farming practices.

The processing facilities will be linked up with the growing zones. Investment in the facilities will be facilitated with favourable policies.

Businesses will be encouraged to process regional specialties and key produce such as dragon fruit and lychee that are currently processed at low rates and to produce a wide variety of products.

The project will also foster research, technology transfer and the use of advanced processing and preservation technologies.

By 2030 all concentrated growing zones, farming co-operatives and purchasing businesses are expected to have at least one light processing, packaging and cold storage facility to optimally preserve produce.

Greater attention will be paid to quality, food safety and traceability, and businesses will be kept abreast of these requirements.

Efforts will be put into developing logistics and supporting industries (especially cold supply chain), domestic and export markets and a skilled workforce.

The Ministry of Agriculture will work with other ministries and local authorities to implement the project.

Fruit and vegetable exports have been growing well, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said, adding that improvement of preservation and processing facilities would open up new markets.

Largest brewer sees revenue down, profit up in Q3

Viet Nam’s biggest brewer Sai Gon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage JSC (Sabeco) reported revenue down 17 per cent and post-tax profit up 1 per cent in the third quarter of this year.

They respectively reached VND8 trillion and VND1.47 trillion.

Gross profit margin increased from 24.6 per cent to 30.7 per cent.

Although revenue declined compared to last year, it was up from the previous quarter thanks to the recovery of the market after the COVID-19 pandemic. It attributed the growth in profit to better cost management.

In the first nine months of this year, Sabeco recorded revenue of VND20.1 trillion, after-tax profit reached VND3.4 trillion, down 29 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, compared to the first nine months of 2019.

Thus, after the first nine months, the company completed 84 per cent of the annual revenue plan and nearly 105 per cent of the profit plan.

Sabeco plans to achieve VND23.8 trillion in revenue, VND3.25 trillion in revenue and post-tax profit this year, down 37 per cent and 39 per cent compared to results achieved in 2019.

As of September 30 this year, Sabeco’s total assets increased by 2.7 per cent to VND27.7 trillion. Of which, cash and short-term financial investments reached VND17.5 trillion, accounting for 63.2 per cent of total assets.

Fixed assets reached VND4.8 trillion, accounting for 17.4 per cent of total assets. Long-term financial investment reached VND2.27 trillion, accounting for 8.2 per cent of total assets. Inventory totalled VND1.7 trillion, accounting for 6.2 per cent of total assets.

Thousands of firms resume operation after Covid-19

Over 7,100 firms have resumed operation in HCM City after temporarily closing due to Covid-19.

Le Thanh Liem, vice chairman of HCM City People's Committee, announced the economic development in the past 10 months of the year during the cabinet meeting held on October 30. 

The revenue of the retail sector and the export turnover increased by 9.9% and 5.5% respectively compared to the same period last year. Production value of high-tech products reached USD16.2bn, an increase of 19.8%. Nearly VND291trn (USD12.5bn) was contributed to the city's budget, a decrease of 12.83% compared to the same period last year.

An additional 33,499 firms have been set up in the past 10 months. Even though the total number decreased by 7.6% the total registered capital increased by 41.6% compared to the same period last year. Moreover, 7,100 firms resumed operation.

In the last two months of 2020, HCM City authorities will carry out preventive measures against Covid-19 while boosting the economy. One of the goals is to speed up disbursement of public investment and stimulate domestic consumption. The city will also focus on the tourism sector.

According to Le Thanh Liem, since HCM City is Vietnam's economic hub, they will do their best to contribute to the country's development.

"In the last two months, we'll carry out preventive measures against Covid-19, boost the economy and support the flood victims in the central region. We'll do our best to meet the socio-economic development goals for 2020 and create a momentum for better development during 2021-2025 period," he said.

Aviation business licence granted to Vietravel Airlines

Vietravel Airlines were granted an aviation business licence on October 29 after proving that they had enough capital.

Vietravel Airlines plan to use three aircraft such as the Airbus 320, Airbus 321 or the Boeing 730 in the first year. The airlines will launch its first flights in late December or early 2021. The airlines have submitted four operational plans for the 2020-2023 period including the impacts to the markets from Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Finance had said that Vietravel Airlines must submit an application dossier for the aviation business licence and documents from a credit institution that certifies the airline’s capital. The ministry didn't issue the business licence immediately to Vietravel Airlines since most of the capital come from commercial loans. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic would cause difficulties for the airline in repaying its debts.

The Ministry of Finance then asked the Ministry of Transport to review Vietravel Airline's financial capacity to make sure that they could repay the loans and the minimum capital of VND700bn (USD30m) would not be affected.

After receiving the request from the Ministry of finance, Vietravel Company pledged to provide more capital to Vietravel Airlines. According to Vietravel, tourism firms have unique financial operations. Vietravel earns about USD1m a day. It collects charges from customers 30-45 days in advance and pays partners 45-60 days later. That's why the firm always has USD35-40m available for operations.

Vietravel said their focus is on market share, the distribution system and service to ensure efficient financial management so the rate of return on capital would be over 45-60%. According to the plan, Vietravel Airlines would be equitised after one year. Thanks to the customer base of Vietravel Company, Vietravel Airlines will be able to earn about VND2trn (USD86m) in the first year.

From September 17 until now, Vietravel Company has provided VND250bn to Vietravel Airlines to hire and train flight crews and staff after the VND700bn capital was frozen for the aviation business licence application process.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said Vietravel Airlines has met all requirements.

Lach Huyen Port receives Japanese innovation technology award

Lach Huyen Port - Hai Phong international gateway portreceived the innovation technology award of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) during a ceremony at the Ministry of Transport, on October 30.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Okabe Daisuke of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam expressed his thanks to Vietnam for trust in assigning Japanese partners to construct Lach HuyenPort project. At the same time, he gave thanks for the efforts of all concerned agencies and units of Vietnam for their efforts and effective coordination during the project’s construction. 

JSCE President Yutaka Sunohara congratulated the Lach HuyenPort project in particular and the Vietnamese transportation industry in general. Notably, this is the first time the association's innovative technology award has been given to a project in Vietnam. 

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Vietnamese officials, civil servants, engineers and workers. Deputy Minister said that this is one of the most important infrastructure development projects funded by the Japanese Government in Vietnam. 

According to the Ministry of Transport, the Lach HuyenInternational Port Construction Project used ODA loans from the Japanese government and reciprocal capital of the Vietnamese government. 

The project helps meet the growing demand for cargo handling in Vietnam as well as enhancing the international competitiveness of the northern region. 

It is also the first ODA project implemented in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Vietnam and Japan.

HCM City’s job market starts to heat up

After several months of lull due to COVID-19, since September, job markets hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Employment Services have been "hotter" with thousands of recruitments registered, thereby helping employees find new jobs and assisting in the restoration of the labour market.
Various jobs for employees

At a job market held recently, many local businesses registered to recruit across a variety of professions, ranging from unskilled labour, employees in business operations to workers and employees in the fields of finance, real estate and insurance.

Being interviewed and recruited directly at the fair, Nguyen Ngoc Cat Tam, 23, said: “The position I applied for is as a restaurant supervisor. Trung Tuyen Company has a recruitment demand, so it chose me and the two sides agreed with the paid salary.”

Tam shared that after her graduation, she had to change jobs continuously as the COVID-19 epidemic had broken out and restaurants and hotels had almost no need to find employees. Finding a job at this time, Tam feels secure and hopes to find a stable and long-term job.

According to the Job Placement Office under the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Employment Services, after a long time with almost no job fairs due to COVID-19, in September the unit held three consecutive job markets that connected to the local districts’ unemployment insurance agencies. Through these, they created jobs for nearly 3,400 workers, most of them are graduates from local universities and vocational schools as well as unemployed workers.

Surveying the recruitment demand from local enterprises, recruitment is clearly diversified and plentiful while the demand has increased many times compared to the period during COVID-19’s prevalence. The positions advertised by enterprises and registered to the centre focus on various fields, such as mechanical engineering; accounting and auditing; business management; office administration; service industries; sales, guards, industrial protection and hygiene; footwear and garment, etc…

Last month, the centre helped created jobs for more than 27,000 workers, six times higher than during the peak time of the COVID-19 outbreak (with just over 4,000 jobs). 

According to the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Employment Services, Le Thi Kieu Phuong, since September, the COVID-19 epidemic has been brought under good control in the city, helping restore production and business activities. The centre has promoted the collection of supply sources, workers unemployed due to the influence of COVID-19, as well as graduates from universities and vocational schools in the city, to meet the needs for employment from local enterprises. On that basis, the centre has organised job fairs to connect labour supply and demand from both sides.

In October, the centre plans to host three other floors, which will be maintained in November and December with at least three fairs each month. Along with that, the centre also coordinates with local authorities in organising job fairs in localities with a large number of businesses and industrial parks to expand the labour market and recruitment needs.

Phuong also revealed that her centre will continue to provide counselling and job placement for workers who are entitled to unemployment benefits, while screening the list of unemployed workers who wish to find jobs to introduce and connect with businesses that are in need of recruitment through live job sessions and on the website of the centre. It will attend to the recruitment needs of businesses and invite them to sign up and join the labour markets at the centre.

The centre will participate in job fairs for students held at their schools to advise and recommend graduates, as well as introducing recruitment information and promoting the centre’s activities in schools.

In addition, job placement for demobilised soldiers and labourers from poor and near poor households is also a focus of the centre.

Employees, job seekers, enterprises and relevant units can refer to information about labour floors on the Ho Chi Minh City Job Portal at http://vieclamhcm.net.

According to the city’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the unit has developed various plans to help unemployed workers find suitable jobs soon, of which the optimal is to provide these workers vocational training to change their careers.

HCMC has ample opportunities to attract investments from members of the European Union (EU) as the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has taken effect, said ambassador of the European Union to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti at a meeting with HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong and ambassadors from EU countries on October 29.

At the meeting, Giorgio said the EVFTA would boost bilateral trade between the EU and Vietnam and help Vietnam attract more foreign investment and participate in more global value chains.

The Vietnamese Government and the HCMC authorities should improve the local investment environment to attract investments more effectively, he added, stressing that EU investors expected a stable investment environment with predictable policies.

HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said the presence of ambassadors and general consuls of EU countries in HCMC proved the interest of these countries in the local market and their confidence in the city’s development potential, especially after the EVFTA came into effect.

HCMC is calling on EU investors to invest in the hi-tech processing and manufacturing, renewable energy, transport and logistics, banking and finance sectors and high-quality services.

The city would improve its infrastructure, prepare clear land and high-skilled laborers and simplify administrative procedures to welcome investors, Phong said.

The city has many key products that offer a competitive edge in both quality and prices, such as farm produce, textiles and garments and leather shoes, Phong noted, adding that ambassadors are an important bridge for HCMC enterprises to approach the EU market.

At the meeting, the ambassadors of the EU countries in Vietnam expressed their interest in the local market and proposed the HCMC authorities set up favorable conditions so firms from their countries can seek investment opportunities in education, logistics infrastructure, waste-to-energy, agriculture, the circular economy and urban traffic sectors.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the EU-Vietnam relations.

HCMC has potential to attract high-quality EU investments: EU ambassador

HCMC has ample opportunities to attract investments from members of the European Union (EU) as the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has taken effect, said ambassador of the European Union to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti at a meeting with HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong and ambassadors from EU countries on October 29.

At the meeting, Giorgio said the EVFTA would boost bilateral trade between the EU and Vietnam and help Vietnam attract more foreign investment and participate in more global value chains.

The Vietnamese Government and the HCMC authorities should improve the local investment environment to attract investments more effectively, he added, stressing that EU investors expected a stable investment environment with predictable policies.

HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said the presence of ambassadors and general consuls of EU countries in HCMC proved the interest of these countries in the local market and their confidence in the city’s development potential, especially after the EVFTA came into effect.

HCMC is calling on EU investors to invest in the hi-tech processing and manufacturing, renewable energy, transport and logistics, banking and finance sectors and high-quality services.

The city would improve its infrastructure, prepare clear land and high-skilled laborers and simplify administrative procedures to welcome investors, Phong said.

The city has many key products that offer a competitive edge in both quality and prices, such as farm produce, textiles and garments and leather shoes, Phong noted, adding that ambassadors are an important bridge for HCMC enterprises to approach the EU market.

At the meeting, the ambassadors of the EU countries in Vietnam expressed their interest in the local market and proposed the HCMC authorities set up favorable conditions so firms from their countries can seek investment opportunities in education, logistics infrastructure, waste-to-energy, agriculture, the circular economy and urban traffic sectors.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the EU-Vietnam relations. 

Enterprises create resilience for Vietnamese goods

The production situation of the food, foodstuff, and beverage processing industry is estimated to have decreased by 2.2 percent since the beginning of the year. Facing that fact, many domestic enterprises have increased their market share in the domestic market to limit the losing momentum.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, the food, foodstuffs, and beverage processing industry have decreased by an estimated 2.2 percent since the beginning of the year. However, there is a difference in the increase or decrease in each product category. The manufacturing and processing industry of foodstuffs is estimated to increase by 3.4 percent, while it went down 3.1 percent in the same period last year. Beverage manufacturing is estimated to decrease 12 percent, while it advanced by 7.3 percent in the same period.

Explaining this fact, the representative of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City said that with the food and foodstuff processing industry, the export turnover of processed food products was only equal to 30-40 percent of that in the time before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in the domestic consumption market, enterprises have still maintained stable production due to specific characteristics of the supply of essential goods of the foodstuff processing industry. Food and foodstuff retail sales were estimated at VND103.88 trillion, up 11.9 percent over the same period, accounting for 11 percent of the total retail sales of goods.

In the opposite direction, the beverage manufacturing industry fell by 12 percent. The reason is that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to now, the purchasing power has decreased sharply. Purchasing power has just recovered from mid-August to now because enterprises have actively built plans to restore production and advertise products. More importantly, thanks to the back-to-school month of September, the consumption of beverage products increased sharply, recovering by about 85 percent. As for the export market, although there was a decline compared to before the pandemic, beverage companies still maintain their market share in markets, namely Japan, Myanmar, and Thailand.

In another perspective, Ms. Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association, said that in the context that the pandemic developed complicatedly, the supply chain of goods was interrupted, and export orders were delayed or canceled, a decrease of 2.2 percent over the same period last year is also very encouraging. This is partly thanks to the enterprises' efforts to actively diversify the market to increase orders and reduce export risks. On the other hand, enterprises have made use of the advantages of supplying goods and expanding market share in the domestic market. Not only export orders but also import orders were interrupted. This has created gaps in the domestic market that previously was dominated by foreign goods, at the same time, creating opportunities for domestic enterprises to increase production, fill gaps in consumption, expand market share, and dominate the domestic market.

It is recorded at many supermarkets in the city that many Vietnamese product categories have become more diversified and plentiful. Ms. Hoang Ho Yen Nhi, living in Ly Thuong Kiet Street in District 5, shared that only for chili sauce, consumers also find it very difficult to choose because there are dozens of products of the same type produced by many companies. Or like rice, consumers have to choose from hundreds of choices about types and brands of hundreds of domestic enterprises.

The representative of Saigon Co.op said that generally, products of domestic enterprises have changed much compared to before. Domestic enterprises not only focused on quality, but the packaging and labels were also improved to create more trust for consumers. On the other hand, in recent years, enterprises have constantly innovated their technology, production lines, and especially increase research to create several new products, attracting the attention and favor of consumers. For instance, for the same cooking oil product, consumers can choose to buy canola oil, Gac oil, vegetable oil, sunflower seed oil, or rice oil. Many enterprises even make use of the plentiful source of domestic agricultural and aquatic materials to process unique and high value-added food products, such as dragon fruit dumpling, watermelon vermicelli, and dragon fruit baguette.

According to enterprises, within the framework of the National Brand Program, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has collaborated with relevant ministries, provinces, associations, and enterprises to implement the brand building program for the food industry of Vietnam. The program was launched in 2014, but up to now, it still encounters many limitations. After being supported, enterprises still lack certain resources to develop their brands and increase consumer awareness across the country. Besides, the psychology of preferring foreign goods is still deeply rooted in people's cognition. Therefore, along with building brands for Vietnamese products, it is essential to increase trade promotion activities, support enterprises to develop and advertise product brands. In the long run, Vietnamese brands will take root in the consumption habits of people, creating a sustainable resilience for Vietnamese goods in the domestic market.

An Giang Province exports high-tech pangasius products to fastidious markets

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) cooperated with Nam Viet Group to organize a ceremony to announce the export of the batch of pangasius fish raised under high-tech farming process to the EU, South America, the ASEAN, China, and the Middle East markets, on October 30 in Long Xuyen City in An Giang Province. 

Accordingly, the batch of pangasius fish raised under high-tech farming process to the EU, South America, the ASEAN, China, and the Middle East markets has an important meaning in advertising pangasius products to the global market.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of the MARD, said that, over the past time, despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, enterprises have made efforts to maintain production. Business and export have basically achieved the target. Now, the pangasius industry has recorded a remarkable increase when promoting the export of high-tech pangasius products to many big markets. At the same time, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has created favorable conditions for key commodities of Vietnam, including pangasius, to export to the European market.

Nam Viet Group currently has a pangasius farming area of nearly 1,000 hectares, applying modern technology with GlobalGAP, ASC, and VietGAP certificates, ensuring environmental protection, and providing the source of pangasius fish with high quality and food safety.

The group has four high-standard processing factories, exporting from 320 to 350 containers of pangasius products of all kinds monthly.

Recently, it has developed some more value-added pangasius products, such as dill fishcakes, fish sausage, and special fishcakes, that are processed under high standards with the criteria of green, clean, and convenient for consumers.

It is expected that by 2020, pangasius exports of Nam Viet Group will reach about US$120 million.

Covid-19 deals heavy blow to Vietnam's inbound tourism in Jan-Oct  

The number of international arrivals to Vietnam in October was higher than the previous month.

About 3.8 million international guests entered Vietnam in the first ten months of 2020, down 73.8% from a year earlier, as the country keeps banning foreign entry to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They were mainly expats, diplomats, business executives and highly-skilled laborers. 

A latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that 14,800 foreigners have arrived in Vietnam in October, down 99.1% year-on-year, compared to 13,769 arrivals in September.

Between January and October, international arrivals by air dropped 73.4% year-on-year to around 3.06 million, while 593,935 came by road, down 78.5%, and those arriving by sea decreased by 32.2% to 144,603.

In the first ten months of this year, Asian visitors still accounted for lion's share of tourist inflows, with nearly 2.78 million, down 75.8% over the same period last year. 

Visitors from Europe fell 62% to 669,484 while arrivals from the Americas plunged 70.8% to nearly 235,597, mostly from the US. Around 102,624 visitors came from Oceania, down 72.1% while those from Africa numbered 12,301, down 68.3%.

Hanoi industrial production continues growing trend in October

Manufacturing and processing, which accounts for 96.5% of total production value in the industry sector, expanded 4.3% year-on-year between January and October.

Hanoi’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in October has grown 3.1% month-on-month and 5.4% year-on-year, marking continued positive growth since May, according to the municipal Statistics Office. 

Such growth has led to an expansion of 4.4% year-on-year of the IIP in the January – October period, said the municipal Statistics Office in its monthly report. 

Upon breaking down, the mining industry’s output decreased 11.3% year-on-year between January and October, but posed little impact to the overall growth due to its modest contribution to the economy. The manufacturing and processing industry, accounting for 96.5% of total production value in the industry sector, expanded 4.3%.

Production and distribution of electricity rose 5.8% year-on-year while water supply, sewage treatment and water collection went up 5.6%.

Subsectors that increased sharply due to growing demand during the ten-month period include medicine manufacture (up 28.8% year-on-year); computers and electronic products (19%); furniture production (17.6%); food processing (10.7%), among others.

Meanwhile, major industrial subsectors that saw their output down during the period were beverage (-15.1% year-on-year), transportation vehicles (-12.3%), production of leather and related products (-4.3%), clothes (-3.7%), and industrial textile (-3.5%).

According to the report, the employment rate at industrial companies decreased by 1.7% year-on-year during the ten-month period. The rate at the state-run sector was down by 4.8%; that of the private sector contracted 1.9%, and that of the foreign-invested sector dipped 0.6%.

In terms of economic sectors, the employment rate in manufacturing and processing sector declined by 1.4% year-on-year; followed by electricity production and distribution (-3.9%); water supply, sewage treatment and water collection (-1.2%); and mining (-21.1%).

Number of enterprises suspending operation surges 50%

In the January – October period, Hanoi’s exports slightly rose by 0.1% year-on-year to US$13.2 billion, and imports were down 9% to US$23.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$10.3 billion.

Export items that recorded strong growth in the first ten months were wood and wooden products with US$426 million, up 5.8% year-on-year; rice with US$343 million (23.3%); glass and products made from glass with US$294 million (1.9%), among others.

The city's state budget revenue dwindled 7% year-on-year to VND208 trillion (US$8.97 billion), or 74.6% of the year’s estimate, of which revenue from export – import activities was VND15 trillion (US$645 million), or 81.5% of the estimate and down 3.9%;  crude oil was VND1.99 trillion (US$85.7 million), or 94.8% of the estimate and down 23.6%, and domestic revenue totaled VND191.04 trillion (US$8.22 billion), or 78.7% of the estimate and down 1.1%.

Meanwhile, Hanoi spent VND54.7 trillion (US$2.35 billion) in the ten-month period, or 53% of the estimate and up 5% year-on-year, including VND22.84 trillion (US$985.22 million) on capital expenditure and VND31.7 trillion (US$1.36 billion) on recurrent spending.

Notably, foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments to Hanoi in the year to October 20 hit US$3.13 billion, ranking third nationwide and accounting for 13.3% of total. The investors registered to pour US$660 million into 450 fresh projects, and an additional US$1.25 billion into 130 existing projects. They have also injected US$1.21 billion to acquire stakes or contribute capital in local companies.

Meanwhile, nearly 22,500 enterprises were established during the ten-month period with registered capital of VND288.7 trillion (US$12.42 billion), down 4% in the number of enterprises and 13% in capital year-on-year. The number of enterprises suspending operations during the period surged 50% year-on-year to 9,972, while 5,690 resumed operations, up 17%.

The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, declined 0.12% month-on-month in October and 0.1% versus last December, but up 1.88% year-on-year. This resulted in an average expansion of 3.15% year-on-year in the first ten months of this year.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in Hanoi in the ten-month period are estimated at VND474.6 trillion (US$20.47 billion), up 2.2% year-on-year.

In October, the number of foreign tourists coming to Hanoi surged 20% against the previous month to 20,000, but down 94.9% year-on-year. Of the total, tourists from South Korea stood at 6,800, up 21.9% month-on-month, followed by Japan with 2,500, up 9.8%, and China with 2,400, up 30.6%. The majority of foreign arrivals to Hanoi are experts and investors.

Overall, the total number of foreign tourists to Hanoi in the ten-month period was 764,000, down 79% year-on-year, while the domestic ones reached 1.83 million, down 81.9%.

Hanoi strengthens cooperation in urban planning and development

Urban planning and development plays an important role in the socio-economic development as well as in the construction of Hanoi.

Hanoi needs to strengthen cooperation in urban planning and development, Kinh te & Do thi quoted Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue as saying at a recent working session with representatives of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association and the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute.

Mr. Hue said that urban planning and development plays an important role in the socio-economic development as well as the construction of the capital city, not only in the immediate future, but also in the long run. Therefore, Hanoi leaders always attach importance to the planning work and planning management.

Despite receiving active support from the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association and the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute, Hanoi's urban planning still has many limitations, the municipal Party chief added.

Hanoi has identified one of the major orientations and key tasks as "Innovate and improve the quality of planning and management" and one of the three breakthroughs is "Exploiting and making the fullest use of brainpower and intellectual resources of experts, scientists, intelligentsia and artists in the city.”

Therefore, in order to realize major orientations, breakthroughs and important urban planning tasks in the time ahead, it is necessary to have closer and more effective coordination between Hanoi’s agencies and the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, as well as the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute, Mr. Hue noted.

Vietnam renewables hold great potential in ASEAN: VCCI Chair

Vietnam has become one of the most vibrant and attractive renewable energy markets in Southeast Asia.

Renewable energy in Vietnam is forecast to become one of the sectors that will thrive the most among the ASEAN countries, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) told a recent forum on solutions to develop renewable energy in the country.

At the forum held in Hanoi on October 28, participants agreed that Vietnam’s fast-growing economy requires high consumption of energy, causing great challenges to the depleting fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

Statistics from local agencies showed Vietnam would face power shortages in the 2021 - 2025 period, and from 2023 onwards, the country may fall short of up to 13 billion kWh, while the country’s total capacity of oil-fired power plants would be nearly 11 billion kWh. By the end of 2023, the power shortage would be up to 12,690MW. 

The power shortage will be fixed by 2024 and 2025 thanks to some thermal power plants becoming operational, but still the shortage would be about 7,250MW.

Solutions to power shortage 

To mend the power shortage, Mr. Loc said that the Politburo issued Resolution No.55-NQ/TW dated February 11, 2020 on Vietnam's national energy orientations to 2030, with a vision to 2045. Resolution No.55 sets the development orientation for the renewable energy sector in Vietnam based on the development trend and the energy demand in the region. 

If the plan is properly implemented, Vietnam would lure a large number of renewables investors, making the sector the driving force for Vietnam's economic development, Mr. Loc emphasized.

In response to the Vietnamese government's incentives for the development of renewable energy sources, many renewable energy power projects are in the pipeline. As of the end of August 2020, the total capacity of renewables added to the mastet plan reached nearly 23,000MW, including 11,200MW of solar power and 11,800MW of wind power.

According to the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, over the past two years, Vietnam has drawn in a considerable number and renewable energy projects. Up to now, the country has put into operation 102 solar power projects with a total capacity of 5,245MW.

With a record of new solar PV capacity put into operation, Vietnam has become one of the most vibrant and attractive renewable energy markets in Southeast Asia, Mr. Loc said. However, such the development process is also posing new challenges to the development of the grid system, land use, feed-in-tariff mechanisms, technology, manpower and financial resources.

So far, there are still many bottlenecks, causing the delay of projects, even the risk of cancelation, which need close coordination between ministries, branches and localities to address them. 

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