The industry and trade sector will ensure enough essential consumer goods to meet shopping needs and promote market surveillance to prevent goods smuggling ahead of the traditional lunar new year holiday.  

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said it plans to work with the industry and trade departments in all localities nationwide, associations, industries, and manufacturing and retail enterprises to follow supply, demand and prices of essential goods so it can promptly offer solutions to avoid goods shortages.

The ministry has asked departments and businesses to build market stabilisation programmes, especially in the period approaching Tet festival, and increase goods selling places in industrial zones and remote areas.

A representative of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade said until this end of the year, it will promote connections between banks and businesses to help firms to take soft loans to store essential goods due to higher demand around the festival.

In addition, it will organise trade promotion fairs to help businesses sign contracts to buy essential goods for reserves./.

Vietnamese chicken to be shipped to Singapore, Hong Kong

Chicken wings, thighs and breasts of Koyu & Unitek Co., Ltd. based in Long Binh industrial park in the southern province of Dong Nai will hit the shelves of supermarkets in Singapore and China’s Hong Kong in the coming time.

According to the company’s General Director Jame Hieu, the firm’s products have passed rigorous standards, including food safety, disease-free poultry range, and influenza vaccine-free chicken, as well as legal procedures in the two markets.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koyu & Unitek will sign contracts with its partners in November instead of in the middle of the year.

Some hundreds of tonnes of chicken products will be sold in the two markets for prices around 30 percent higher than those on the domestic market, he said, adding the company will look for new customers and expand shipments to other Asian countries and Europe.

In 2017, Koyu & Unitek was the first company in Vietnam to ship chicken to Japan. Around 350 tonnes of chicken are sold in the Japanese market each year.

Koyu & Unitek Co is a member of a supply chain that involves three other units that operate in the animal breeding and feed industry. Those companies are Bel Ga JSC, a joint venture of the Belgian Belgabroed Group and the Netherlands-based De Heus, Hung Nhon Group and De Heus.

The production chain has helped Vietnam produce clean poultry products that meet requirements from the Japanese market./.

October index of industrial production continues to rise

The index of industrial production (IIP) in October increased 3.6 percent from the previous month and 5.4 percent against the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry said that thanks to the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial production activities during the month maintained expansion, positively contributing to the country’s economic recovery.

However, in the first 10 months of 2020, the IIP rose 2.7 percent over the same period last year, much lower than the 9.5 percent increase in the same period in 2019.

Specifically, production of the manufacturing and processing industry increased by 4.2 percent, contributing 3.6 percentage points to the general growth, while that of electricity production and distribution rose by 3.2 percent, making up 0.3 percentage point.

Meanwhile, production of the mining industry fell by 8.1 percent, resulting in a decrease of 1.3 percentage points in the overall growth./.

Vietnamese chicken to be shipped to Singapore, Hong Kong

Chicken wings, thighs and breasts of Koyu & Unitek Co., Ltd. based in Long Binh industrial park in the southern province of Dong Nai will hit the shelves of supermarkets in Singapore and China’s Hong Kong in the coming time.

According to the company’s General Director Jame Hieu, the firm’s products have passed rigorous standards, including food safety, disease-free poultry range, and influenza vaccine-free chicken, as well as legal procedures in the two markets.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koyu & Unitek will sign contracts with its partners in November instead of in the middle of the year.

Some hundreds of tonnes of chicken products will be sold in the two markets for prices around 30 percent higher than those on the domestic market, he said, adding the company will look for new customers and expand shipments to other Asian countries and Europe.

In 2017, Koyu & Unitek was the first company in Vietnam to ship chicken to Japan. Around 350 tonnes of chicken are sold in the Japanese market each year.

Koyu & Unitek Co is a member of a supply chain that involves three other units that operate in the animal breeding and feed industry. Those companies are Bel Ga JSC, a joint venture of the Belgian Belgabroed Group and the Netherlands-based De Heus, Hung Nhon Group and De Heus.

The production chain has helped Vietnam produce clean poultry products that meet requirements from the Japanese market./.

Improving the quality of Vietnam’s workforce

Experts say the fourth industrial revolution will provide more development opportunities to businesses but will also require they have the human resources necessary to meet higher industry standards, according to experts.

Producing high precision mechanical parts is common in the supporting industry. With automation machinery becoming an integral part of the industry, it is evident still that the craftsmanship of workers is highly valued.

Manual tasks such as code inputs still require highly-skilled workers with analytical thinking and a keen eye for design.

Recruiting capable employees in the field, however, requires a great deal of effort.

In order to improve human resources quality and meet industry demand, it is high time that universities as well as colleges focus on the needs of the market./.

Bac Lieu province steps up measures to boost tourism

The southern province of Bac Lieu is intensifying efforts to boost tourism development with a focus on key service products to attract more visitors.

Amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province is implementing tourism stimulus plans, attracting the participation of tourism businesses and ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control.

The province aims to increase tourist demands with the launching of various tourism activities including a recent programme called “Vietnamese people prioritise travelling around Vietnam.

More than 20 enterprises and many large tourist destinations are joining the programme to boost domestic market travel demand.

The provincial Steering Committee for Tourism Development has also launched special promotion programmes including “peak months” to attract visitors to the province.

It plans to choose “peak months” such as those with big holidays in the third and fourth quarter of 2020 to hold cultural and tourism events, including by increasing the number of art performances at Cao Van Lau Theatre.

In addition, Bac Lieu is focusing on building tours associated with cultural activities, ecotourism and practical experiences such as those to the province’s wind power plant, Bac Lieu dandy's home, art memorial houses of don ca tai tu (southern folk music) and Cao Van Lau artist, Buddhism temples, Tac Say Cathedral, Dong Noc Nang relic, Hung Thien and Giac Hoa pagodas.

The province is developing a model of community tourism introducing visitors to traditional handicraft villages and their beautiful products.

Promotion of the advantages of agricultural tourism in rural areas has also been implemented to link key tourist zones in the province to create a unique product but not overlapping with those in other Mekong Delta provinces.

Bac Lieu has intensified inspection and supervision and strictly dealt with units which let social disorder occur in localities and affect the safety and rights of tourists.

At the same time, the province has requested tourism service businesses, travel agencies, destinations and transportation management units provide quality and attractive tourism products with preferential promotional plans to lure more visitors to Bac Lieu.

A project to develop tours for sightseeing, experiencing and shopping at the super-intensive and high-tech shrimp breeding areas under the co-operation investment of Vietnam and Australia will be implemented along with the development of a tourism model of practical experience in the process of producing, harvesting and purchasing salt-based tourism products and gifts.

The province also works for tourism development with Hanoi, HCM City, Mekong Delta localities and the southeast and south-central regions

This year, it plans to achieve tourism revenue of more than 3 trillion VND, up 18-30 percent compared to last year, of which revenue from restaurant and hotel services is expected to reach more than 1.2 trillion VND, up 18-30 percent compared to 2019.

It also hopes to welcome 3 million tourists, an increase of 10 percent over last year.

A target of receiving more than 7 million tourists and a total tourism revenue estimated at 10 trillion VND are also among targets that Bac Lieu has set for 2025, as well as to make a contribution of 7 percent to the province's GRDP.

However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry in Bac Lieu is facing many difficulties.

Many tourism firms have fallen into unstable and small operation.

In the first nine months of the year, the whole sector grossed total revenue of just 1.34 trillion VND compared to 3 trillion VND or 44.8 percent of the yearly target, down by 20.7 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

The province has only welcomed 1.58 million visitors while the target in 2020 is 3 million visitors, making up 52.6 percent of the plan and down 6.7 percent over the same period last year./.

Vietnam welcomes over 3.8 million foreign tourists in 10 months

Vietnam welcomed more than 3.8 million foreign travellers in the first 10 months of 2020, down 73.8 percent against the same period last year.

Tourist arrivals in October rose 7.6 percent against September but were down over 99.1 percent year-on-year.

The sector is rolling out promotions to help it recover post-pandemic, with the focus on safe and attractive domestic tourism.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has launched an app on safe travel in the country, aiming to facilitate the new tourism campaign over the remaining months of the year and provide information on safe destinations./.

Mekong Delta provinces build more wind power projects

Numerous wind power projects are being implemented in provinces in the Mekong Delta region.

Bac Lieu is one of the pioneering provinces developing coastal wind power. Almost the entire length of the province’s coastline is covered with wind and solar power projects.

Contractors are currently carrying out construction on many items at the Hoa Binh 1 power plant site in Dong Hai District. All 13 turbines are basically completed.

As one of the five pillars of Bac Lieu Province’s economic development is renewable energy, calls for investment in clean energy have been carried out, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Thanh Trung said that while the Bac Lieu wind power plant (phase No 1 and No 2) is under operation, Bac Lieu has been building another nine wind power projects. They are expected to be completed by November 2021.

Bac Lieu has recently approved investment for a Liquefied Natural Gas Thermal Power Plant (LNG), worth 4 billion USD, he added.

Meanwhile, authorities in Soc Trang have conducted research on the feasibility of installing wind power plants.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Thanh Thanh said the coastal area of Soc Trang has great potential for wind power development.

“The coastline is long and wide, with wind speed reaching 8.3m/second at an altitude of 120m. This creates favourable conditions for development of wind power on land and offshore, with the capacity of about 7,000MW," he said.

The Government has approved 20 wind power projects to be installed in Soc Trang Province. Eight of them are expected to be ready in October 2021, and the rest in 2022 and 2023.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has given approval to Ben Tre Province to develop wind power along the coastline and alluvial areas, covering a total of 39,320ha. Six wind power plant projects have been officially approved so far.

In Ca Mau Province, construction of the Tan Thuan wind power plant (phase No.1) in Dam Doi District kicked off in late 2019. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

Authorities in Ca Mau stressed the importance of this project and how it would boost provincial socio-economic development.

Recently, Soc Trang Province's Department of Industry and Trade has collaborated with related authorities to install 110kV lines while taking advantage of Vietnam Electricity (EVN)’s capital resources to build a quality electricity system that works in harmony with existing renewable energy projects.

For Bac Lieu Province to become one of the national centres for clean energy, local authorities have worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to include several power projects that transmit 500Kv and 220kV in the planning map. They have also encouraged private firms to invest in energy development.

In Ca Mau, investors have proposed over 20 wind power projects with a total capacity of 8,480MW. About seven of them have been approved for research, with a capacity of over 4,2000MW.

Ca Mau needs to build more 500kV lines and transformer stations that will be connected with existing wind power plants to release the full capacity of energy sources.

Development of wind power in the Mekong Delta is a positive sign, but experts are concerned that electricity systems are not yet synchronised, which may lead to a waste of resources.

The Provincial Bac Lieu People’s Committee has discussed with EVN about the construction of four electricity girds to release renewable energy in the area.

The province will help EVN in site clearance and related issues while seeking help from the latter to accelerate the synchronisation process in the area./.

HCM City maintains export growth in 10 months

Ho Chi Minh City exported 36.7 billion USD worth of goods during the first 10 months of 2020, up 5.5 percent year-on-year, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade has reported.

Excluding crude oil, the revenue stood at 35.2 billion USD in the period, a rise of 7.1 percent from the corresponding time last year.

The export value of agro-forestry-fishery products reached 3.86 billion USD, up 2.25 percent, making up 12.22 percent of the southern economic hub’s total export turnover.

The group of industrial products raked in 25.22 billion USD in revenue, and other goods earned 2.55 billion USD, the department said.

China remained HCM City’s biggest buyer with revenue of 6.23 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of around 31.9 percent, accounting for 20.4 percent of the city’s accumulative export value.

It was followed by the US (5.47 billion USD), the EU (4.1 billion USD) and Japan (2.5 billion USD).

Regionally, Asia was the city’s largest export market to which 19.3 billion USD worth of goods was shipped. Meanwhile, the Oceania and Africa joined the below- one-billion-USD club.

According to a recent survey by the city’s Statistics Office, half of the enterprises in HCM City affected by the pandemic thought the consumer market has shrunk, and 15.3 percent said manufactured goods could not be sold domestically.

More than half of State-owned enterprises and 48.45 percent of foreign-owned enterprises said they have been unable to export this year.

The Department of Industry and Trade is working with the Statistics Office and other agencies to monitor the production and demand situation to take measures to support businesses during the rest of the year./.

Cambodia’s rice exports up 17 percent in 10 months

Cambodia exported 536,305 tonnes of milled rice in the first 10 months of this year, a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year, despite serious floods over the past month.

Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries show that Cambodia shipped 174,391 tonnes of milled rice to European countries, up 32 percent, and 194,441 tonnes others to the Chinese market, up 36 percent.

Rice export to ASEAN countries rose by 13 percent to 71,882 tonnes and to other markets 95,581 tonnes, the report read.

Cambodia also exported 1.4 million tonnes of paddy rice to neighbouring countries - Vietnam and Thailand.

Last year, the Southeast Asian country shipped 620,106 tonnes to foreign markets./.

CPI in October creeps up 0.09 percent

The consumer price index (CPI) inched up 0.09 percent in October against the previous month, and 2.47 percent year-on-year, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam has announced.

The rise in October’s CPI was fueled by a surge in tuition fee for the 2020-2021 academic year in nine centrally-run cities and provinces, high prices of vegetables due to impacts of the sixth and seventh storms, and increase in gas prices to keep up with swings in the global market.

The country’s CPI went up 3.71 percent during January-October, with CPI in urban areas surging 3.29 percent, and that in rural localities increasing over 4.1 percent against the same time last year./.

IFC, An Phat Holdings to build compostable material manufacturing plant

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced its cooperation with An Phat Holdings (APH) and an expected investment of 20 million USD to fund APH’s first compostable material manufacturing plant in Vietnam and the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

IFC plans to invest 20 million USD in APH to support the implementation of the plant in the form of a seven-year loan that can be converted into APH shares.

Earlier, on June 22, APH carried out an IPO and announced its plan to list 132.6 million shares to call for investment to build the plant. With this project, APH will take the initiative in raw materials, cut production costs, create a competitive advantage, and make environmentally friendly products popular in both domestic and international markets.

According to IFC, before investing, the organisation carried out a thorough analysis of APH’s financial capacity, potential and development prospects, and its projects.

One of the most important reasons for the investment in APH’s compostable material manufacturing plant was its high possibility of success. APH is the first manufacturer of compostable products in Vietnam. IFC believed in APH’s business goal to promote sustainability of the enterprise and appreciated its responsibility for the environment, society and corporate governance (ESG).

The group has years of experience in operating facilities with an annual capacity of 96,000 tonnes of thin monolayer film. The products are present in nearly 70 countries around the world. Currently, APH is the largest thin monolayer film manufacturer in Southeast Asia with 20 percent of the market share of Vietnam’s thin monolayer film exports.

APH is the first company in Vietnam to successfully produce compostable products, which are exported to more than 20 countries around the world, including fastidious markets such as France, the UK, Japan, the US and Canada.

An Phat Holdings is the parent company of more than 15 member companies operating in packaging; compostable products and compounds; engineering plastics and building materials plastics; raw materials and chemicals for plastics industry; precision engineering and moulding; industrial real estate. APH also directly owns two listed companies, Hanoi Plastics JSC (NHH) and An Phat Bioplastics JSC (AAA), and indirectly owns more than 10 companies through the two listed companies.

On July 28, APH was listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE).

Construction of the 82 million USD plant is expected to start in early 2021 in Hai Phong City. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022 with an annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes. When the project comes into operation in 2022, APH expects to reduce production costs by 20-30 percent for subsidiaries while the parent company still enjoys a gross profit margin of 25-30 percent of this project. APH targets that compostable products will contribute 40-50 percent of the group’s packaging revenue by 2023.

Ministry works 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 Ho Chi Minh City on October 30 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 products a year, in reality it is only around 700,000 tonnes.

Processed produce accounted for 15.2 percent of produce exports last year.

The industry’s contribution to increasing added value is small, and it only processes 10 percent 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 Cooperative, 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.”

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

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./.

Hai Phong targets state budget revenue of 4.2 billion USD in 2020

The State budget revenue of the northern port city of Hai Phong is expected to reach over 98.2 trillion VND (over 4.2 billion USD) in 2020, including 63 trillion VND from export-import activities and over 35.2 trillion VND from domestic collection.

In the first ten months of the year, the city’s State budget collection totaled 62 trillion VND, down 14.3 percent from the same period last year.

The figure included VND39 trillion contributed by export-import activities, down 22.6 percent year-on-year, and over 23 trillion VND of the local budget collection, up 4.7 percent.

According to Director of the municipal Tax Department Ha Van Truong, the agency has actively built plans to minimise budget revenue losses in the fields of land, trade and services, petroleum, transportation, basic construction, and tax management.

Attention has been given to simplifying administrative reforms, supporting enterprises in addressing difficulties and creating favourable conditions for taxpayers, he said./. 

Human resources key to success in digital transformation: Deputy PM

High-quality human resources will play a decisive factor in the success of the country’s digital transformation process, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 30.

“The government has identified digital transformation as one of the most important long-term goals amid the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Minh, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The country aims to form a digital government, economy and society while simultaneously establishing digital businesses that have a global competitive capacity.

In addition to a high-quality workforce, science and technology application as well as innovation are also important to reach these goals, according to Minh.

Digital transformation is affecting all fields, including health, education, transport, finance-banking, tourism, agriculture, logistics, environment and energy.

“To develop the digital economy where no one is left behind”, Vietnam will need to address the lack of highly skilled human resources, he said.

The country lacks at least 400,000 trained staff in the information technology sector, and IT training programmes have not met the demand, he noted.

The government has approved a national digital transformation programme which sets a target of becoming a digital society over the next decade.

The digital economy is projected to make up some 20 percent of Vietnam’s GDP over the next decade. The next five to 10 years will be an important phase of digital transformation, according to Minh.

The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2022 the digital economy will account for 60 percent of the world’s GDP.

The pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain and posed challenges to all sectors, but Vietnam should consider it “an invaluable opportunity for speeding up digital transformation”, Minh said.

Minh spoke highly of the massive contributions made by HCM City to national development, especially in digital transformation.

Dang Minh Khoi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, noted that more than 5.3 million Vietnamese live in 130 countries and territories. The overseas Vietnamese business community includes at least 6,000 people connected to Vietnam via technology and business fields.

Every year, about 500 overseas Vietnamese experts return to Vietnam to invest in many fields, he said. Overseas Vietnamese have invested in 3,000 projects with total registered capital of more than 4 billion USD, creating many jobs.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the city has dual goals of forming a digital government, economy and society, while establishing digital businesses that have a global competitive capacity.

In July, city authorities introduced a scheme based on the national digital transformation programme, he said.

The city aims to become a smart city with e-government, e-enterprises and an electronic society by 2030, he said. By 2030, the city targets offering all public services online provided through multiple means, including mobile devices.

A database will be set up that will assist in the development of an e-government, e-economy, and electronic society by 2030.

The city also wants to seek advice on how to make the most of the overseas remittances sent to the city, worth some $5 billion annually, according to Phong.

Tran Quoc Phuong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said due to the global recession and financial instability amid the pandemic, digital transformation must be considered a top priority.

The country needs to remove difficulties to access credit by people and businesses affected by the pandemic, as well as speed up the disbursement of public investment, especially ODA, he said.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu said that Vietnam should develop plans to become a digital economy and not lag behind the “new normal” state of the world. To do this, businesses need to have better access to capital.

He recommended that the State Bank of Vietnam provide a credit package of up to 300 trillion VND (12.96 billion USD) to support individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic.

Prof. Tran Ngoc Anh, a Vietnamese-American, noted that multinational corporations are diversifying the supply chain to reduce risks, which has opened up new opportunities for Vietnam.

The country should mobilise huge resources from overseas Vietnamese professors, doctors and researchers willing to share their knowledge and insights to build a specific strategy for socio-economic development, he added.

Phan Thanh Son, Director of FPT Group’s Business Strategy Division, emphasised the major role of science, technology and innovation in business development./.

Sabeco sees revenue down, profit up in Q3

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

They reached 8 trillion VND (345.3 million USD) and 1.47 trillion VND (65.45 million USD), respectively. Gross profit margin increased from 24.6 percent to 30.7 percent.

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 20.1 trillion VND (867.58 million USD), after-tax profit reached 3.4 trillion VND, down 29 percent and 20 percent, respectively, compared to the first nine months of 2019.

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

Sabeco plans to achieve 23.8 trillion VND in revenue, 3.25 trillion VND in revenue and post-tax profit this year, down 37 percent and 39 percent compared to results achieved in 2019.

As of September 30 this year, Sabeco’s total assets increased by 2.7 percent to 27.7 trillion VND. Of which, cash and short-term financial investments reached 17.5 trillion VND, accounting for 63.2 percent of total assets.

Fixed assets reached 4.8 trillion VND, accounting for 17.4 percent of total assets. Long-term financial investment reached 2.27 trillion VND, accounting for 8.2 percent of total assets. Inventory totalled 1.7 trillion VND, accounting for 6.2 percent of total assets./.

Malaysia's official reserves near 105 billion USD by end of Sept

Malaysia’s international reserves stood at 104.98 billion USD and remained usable by the end of September, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (IMF SDDS) format.

In a statement released on October 30, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) – the central bank - said other foreign currency assets amounted to 1.17 billion USD in the period.

For the next 12 months, the pre-determined short-term outflows of foreign currency loans, securities and deposits, which include scheduled repayment of external borrowings by the government and the maturity of foreign currency Bank Negara Interbank Bills, amounted to 8.91 billion USD, the bank said.

According to BNM, the projected foreign currency inflows amount to 2.45 billion  USD in the next 12 months, and the only contingent short-term net drain on foreign currency assets are government guarantees of foreign currency debt due within one year, hitting 277.1 million USD./.

LG Electronics begins building R&D centre in Da Nang

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s LG Electronics and Trung Nam Land JSC inked an agreement on October 30 with a vision to transform Da Nang into the centre of technology and R&D in Vietnam, creating a mini 'Silicon Valley'.

The agreement marks LG Electronics' commitment to building its second R&D centre in Vietnam after just one month of preparation.

The Korean giant previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the first R&D centre in the city with Da Nang’s Investment Promotion Agency on October 6.

Following the agreement, LG Electronics will set up the centre at the Da Nang Information Technology Park Tower in Lien Chieu district, creating a space for software research and production to serve electronics manufacturing in Vietnam as well as attracting more subsidiaries of LG from the RoK to Da Nang and Vietnam.

LG Electronics said it would boost co-operation with universities and vocational colleges in Da Nang to train human resources and high-quality manpower for the centre.

Director of LG Vehicle Component Solution Development centre Jung Seung Min said the agreement was the first step in turning Da Nang into a strategic location for LG Electronics and boosting R&D after two decades of investment in Vietnam.

“I am so impressed with the development of Da Nang's leadership vision. It’s the reason we decided to build our second R&D centre in Da Nang after the one we opened in Hanoi four years ago,” Jung Seung Min said.

“We hope to build Da Nang into the biggest R&D centre for LG Electronics in Vietnam, and a centre of advanced technology,” he said.

Nguyen Anh Huy from Trung Nam said the agreement marked the significant co-operation between a local business and Korean partner in turning Da Nang into an attractive destination for global high-tech industries.

He said Trung Nam and LG Electronics would join hands to realise the ‘dream’ of a ‘Silicon Valley’ in central Vietnam.

Last week, Trung Nam began construction of its first surface-mount technology (SMT) factory with a capacity of 6.2 million electronic products per year at the Da Nang Hi-tech Park.

Da Nang has been building the 341ha Da Nang IT Park and calling for businesses from Silicon Valley and the US to invest in healthcare, high-tech industries, Artificial Intelligence, education, real estate and automation.

Two Silicon Valley-based businesses – Meritronics AMT Inc and Ai20X Silicon Valley – have already agreed to develop the park.

According to the latest report from the city, Da Nang had drawn 868 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of 3.5 billion USD.

The RoK is one of the top five foreign investors in Da Nang with 232 projects worth 390 million USD.

The Korea Trade and Investment Agency (KOTRA) also opened a representative office in Da Nang to promote investment and connections with Korean investors in 2018.

The Korean Consulate General is scheduled to inaugurate an office in Da Nang on November 6./.

Singapore's business sentiments become less pessimistic: survey

Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) and Department of Statistics (DOS) recently released survey reports about business expectations, showing companies in the country are less pessimistic about business for the six months starting October.

The survey report titled “Business Expectations of the Manufacturing Sector” showed that a weighted 18 percent of manufacturers expect business conditions to improve, while 21 percent foresee a weaker business outlook for the period from October 2020 to March 2021.

Overall, a net weighted balance of 3 percent of manufacturers anticipate a less favorable business for the period from October 2020 to March 2021, compared to the third quarter of this year.

That is an improvement from the previous edition of this survey report, which was released last July and showed a net weighted balance of 7 percent of manufacturers predicted a softer business situation for the second half of 2020, compared to the second quarter this year.

Regarding expectations of the services sector, a weighted 20 percent of firms are optimistic about the business conditions in the six months starting this October, while a weighted 25 percent of such firms foresee slower business.

Overall, a net weighted balance of 5 percent of service firms anticipate less favourable business conditions for the period from October 2020 to March 2021.

The previous edition of this survey report showed a net weighted balance of 31 percent of service firms anticipated less favourable business conditions for the six months ending this December./.

Vietnam determined to remove EC’s IUU fishing warning

Removing the European Commission (EC)’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing “yellow card” is not easy and cannot be done overnight, but the Vietnamese business community and associations are still determined to do, not only to meet EU requirements, but also for the sake of sustainable fishery development.

The message was delivered by leading officials of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) at a workshop evaluating the three-year implementation of the “Vietnam Marine Product Companies Commit to Combat IUU Fishing” programme in Ho Chi Minh City on October 31.

VASEP statistics showed that the “yellow card” has made Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU decrease continuously since 2018. The country’s export turnover of seafood declined by 6 percent in 2018, 15 percent in 2019, and 13 percent in the first nine months of this year.

From the second biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood with a value of 380-480 million USD a year, the EU now ranks fifth, after Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN.

Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, VASEP Vice President and head of its Seafood Committee, said that the EU, however, remains important partner of Vietnam’s fishery sector. Therefore, the association and the seafood business community are exerting every effort to maintain this market.

At present, 82% of fishing vessels are equipped with position monitoring devices, the trace for seafood origins has improved, and the legal framework has gradually completed.

Many delegates attending the workshop emphasised the need to raise fishermen’s awareness of abiding by EC recommendations.

Vietnam is exerting efforts to prevent IUU fishing so as to persuade the EC to remove the “yellow card” warning, which was issued in October 2017 as the country had failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing.

Countries that fail to meet EC standards are given a "yellow card", followed by a "green card" if the problems are resolved, or a "red card" if they are not. A red card can lead to a trade ban on aquatic products./.

US extends GSP status for Indonesia

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on November 1 that the country has retained its status as a beneficiary of the US’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) following a recent visit to Jakarta by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Retno said the extension of the GSP facility for Indonesian exports to the US, the decision of which was made official on October 30 by the US Trade Representative (USTR), was a concrete form of strategic partnership between the two countries.

Indonesia is one of the120 countries that have benefited from the GSP, the oldest and largest US trade preference programme. It eliminates duties on thousands of products to promote economic development among beneficiary countries and territories, the Jakarta Post reported.

The facilities have been given to developing countries in the world since 1974. Indonesia first received GSP benefits from the US in 1980.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump said his administration would review the GSP benefits provided to several developing countries, including Indonesia, with which the US has a trade deficit. Jakarta has since tried to lobby the US in the hopes of retaining its trade privileges. India and Thailand both saw a loss of trade privileges with the US in October last year.

Retno said the extension would bring positive benefits not only to Indonesia but also to US businesses.

She touted the US as Indonesia's second-largest non-oil and gas export destination country after China, with total two-way trade value reaching 27 billion USD in 2019.

Going forward, the two countries agreed to seek a more comprehensive and permanent discussion of the Indonesia-US trade partnership./.

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