The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kien Giang, the country’s largest rice producer, has implemented several advanced extension models for rice cultivation that reduce the quantity of seeds required and use advanced techniques to improve yields and reduce costs.

In the summer - autumn crop this year the province’s Agriculture Extension Centre trialed three advanced farming models on a total of 128ha in Tan Hiep, Hon Dat and Chau Thanh districts and Rach Gia city.

The seeds are sowed using machines, the use of inputs is reduced and advanced farming techniques are used.

The models require 90kg less seeds per hectare than hand-seeding methods, 20kg less nitrogenous fertilisers and two to three times fewer spraying of pesticides per crop.

Their average yield is 7.6 tonnes per hectare, 0.6 tonnes higher than traditional methods while the income is 6.6 million VND (284 USD) higher.

Other models include smart rice farming and large-scale rice fields.

Under the latter, farmers use the "one must and five reductions" method which involves using certified seeds and reducing seedlings, plant protection chemicals, nitrogenous fertilisers, irrigation, and post-harvest losses.

Do Minh Nhut, deputy director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said it has also asked many rice companies to sign contracts with farmers, creating links for rice production, processing and consumption.

“The large-scale rice fields have created rice farming areas with high and steady quality for exports.”

Most of them are in the province’s major rice growing areas and tended by agriculture cooperatives, he said.

The province has 100 such fields with a combined area of 30,670ha, created by pooling together individual farmers’ fields.

They have guaranteed outlets and provide farmers incomes of 3 million VND (130 USD) per hectare per crop higher than through normal farming methods.

Le Thanh Tam, a farmer whose lands are part of a large-scale rice field in Tan Hiep district’s Tan Hiep A commune, said farmers feel secure when participating in this model because they often have bumper harvests.

Participating farmers use quality rice seeds, sowing seeds in a concerted manner to mitigate the damage caused by brown plant hoppers, rice diseases, drought, and other problems, he said.

The province encourages farmers to adopt sustainable farming standards like Vietnamese and global good agricultural practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) and organic farming to improve rice quality and yields.

The province’s Agriculture Extension Centre together with the Cuu Long Rice Research Institute produces certified rice seeds on a total area of 20ha with the participation of 25 members of the Thuan Hoa Agriculture Cooperative in Chau Thanh district’s Mong Tho A commune.

The centre supports 172 farmers, mostly in the districts of Tan Hiep, Giang Thanh, Hon Dat and An Minh, in adopting sustainable rice platform standards on a total area of 520ha.

Nhut said his department has implemented well several projects and programmes to increase the use of certified rice seeds for cultivation.

"It has given farmers training in the ‘one must and five reductions’ method to reduce costs and increase rice value and incomes.”

In the 2020-21 winter – spring rice crop, the province plans to create favourable conditions for co-operatives and rice companies create more large-scale rice fields, especially in its major rice growing areas in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle and west of the Hau River, according to the department.

In the ongoing autumn – winter crop, the third crop of the year, farmers in Kien Giang have sowed 90,123ha, 25 per cent more than the province’s target, it said.

Nhut attributed the increase to the high price of rice and the forecast of lower levels of flooding in the Mekong River this year.

Farmers have so far harvested nearly 57,000ha and achieved an average yield of 5.6 tonnes per hectare.

The province is expected to produce more than 4.54 million tonnes of paddy this year, 5.7 per cent higher than the target, according to the department.

High-quality varieties account for 90 percent of the province’s total rice output this year./.

Vietnamese manufacturing continues recovery in October

The start of the fourth quarter of the year saw the continued recovery of the Vietnamese manufacturing sector, with the country’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posting 51.8 in October.

According to the survey released by Nikkei and IHS Markit on November 2, the index was down marginally from 52.2 in September but still signalling an improvement in the health of the sector. With the pandemic remaining under control in the country, firms recorded solid improvements in new orders and output. Moreover, employment returned to growth following an eight-month sequence of job cuts.

Improving operating conditions were noted in the consumer and intermediate goods sectors. On the other hand, investment goods firms posted a deterioration, amid further falls in both output and new orders.

Anecdotal evidence suggested that success in bringing the COVID-19 outbreak under control in Vietnam had helped lead to a recovery in customer demand. As a result, new orders increased solidly for the second month running, subsequently feeding through to a similarly-paced increase in production to that seen for new business.

Meanwhile, new export orders were unchanged amid some demand weakness in markets where the virus continues to cause problems, notably in Europe. Greater output requirements encouraged manufacturers to take on extra staff in October. Employment increased for the first time since January, though at only a marginal pace amid ongoing signs of spare capacity. Backlogs of work continued to decrease.

Higher output requirements also led to a second successive monthly increase in purchasing activity, although stocks of purchases decreased as inputs were used to support output growth. Stocks of finished goods were also depleted at the start of the final quarter of the year.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause issues in supply chains during October. Suppliers' delivery times lengthened to a greater extent than in September. Alongside the direct impacts of the pandemic, shortages of materials and poor weather conditions reportedly contributed to delivery delays.

Material shortages led to accelerating cost inflation, with input prices increasing at the fastest pace since August 2018. The passing on of higher input costs to customers resulted in a second consecutive rise in selling prices. That said, the increase was only marginal and little-changed from that seen in the previous month. Restricting the ability of firms to raise output prices were requests for discounts by clients and competitive pressures.

Firms were generally confident that output will increase over the coming year amid optimism that the virus will remain under control. A number of respondents predicted that new order growth would support rises in production. That said, sentiment was slightly lower than in the previous month and weaker than the series average.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Andrew Harker, economics director at IHS Markit, said: “The Vietnamese manufacturing sector started the final quarter of the year on a solid footing, according to the latest PMI data. This should continue as long as COVID-19 remains under control in the country. The most pleasing aspect of the latest survey was a return to growth of employment for the first time since before the pandemic hit as workloads start to justify rising staffing levels."

“A positive end to the year could set the economy up nicely for a strong recovery to kick in during 2021," he said.

Reports from the General Statistics Office also showed Vietnam’s industrial production rose by 5.4 percent year-on-year in October, after a 3.8 percent gain a month earlier.

This was the strongest increase in industrial output since June, amid intensive public health measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, with output expanding much faster for both manufacturing./.

Singapore to stop issuing 1,000 SGD notes

Singapore will stop issuing 1,000 SGD notes from January 1 next year to reduce money laundering and terrorism financing risks, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on November 3.

From now until December, a limited quantity of the notes will be made available each month.

It is a pre-emptive measure to mitigate the higher money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with large denomination notes, MAS said, noting that large denomination notes allow individuals to carry large values of money anonymously.

Existing 1,000 USD notes in circulation will remain legal tender and can continue to be used as a means of payment. Banks can continue to recirculate existing notes that are deposited with them, MAS added.

It added that other denominations will be made available "in sufficient quantities" to meet demand, particularly the 100 SGD note which is the next highest denomination.

Singapore stopped issuing 10,000 SGD notes in 2014, then one of the world's most valuable banknotes./.

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 US$36.7 billion, according to a report by its Department of Industry and Trade.

Agro-forestry-fishery produce accounted for US$3.86, a 2.25 per cent increase, industrial products for US$25.22 billion, an increase of 3.08 per cent, and others for US$2.55 billion, an increase of 12 per cent.

In terms of markets, Asia remained the biggest, buying US$19.8 billion worth of the city’s exports.

China was the largest market, accounting for US$6.23 billion, up 31.9 per cent.

The US was second with US$5.47 billion, almost the same as last year, followed by the EU market with US$4.1 billion and Japan with US$2.5 billion.

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.

Bui Huu Them, deputy secretary general of the HCM City Association of Handicraft and Wood Industry, said Covid-19 had an effect on businesses, but wood products and handicrafts exports by the association’s members still grew by 10 per cent in the first 10 months.

This was a great achievement by them, he added. 

Airport may be costly but in line with regulations

Investment capital for the first phase of the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai was high compared to other international airports, said the State Appraisal Council.

According to the council, the project has an investment rate of more than US$4.66 billion to serve 25 million passengers in phase 1.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said total investment for Viet Nam's largest airport construction project was made in accordance with the provisions of Decree 68 on construction cost management.

Dung said the total investment of the airport had been verified and determined in accordance with regulations, adding the investment rate was evaluated in comparison with airport international investment in the world and ensured not to exceed the total investment directed by the National Assembly (NA).

Previously, NA’s Resolution 94/2015 / QH13 approved the investment policy of Long Thanh international airport with the serving capacity of 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight annually at the investment of VND336.63 trillion (US$14.51 billion) for three phases. In which, phase 1 with a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year will have a total investment of VND114.45 trillion ($4.9 billion).

The council noted that after the project of the first phase is approved by the Prime Minister, the MoT and the investors of the component projects must be responsible for reviewing, updating and determining the specific cost and total cost and to ensure the investment is efficient.

Earlier, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) found the investment rate of about $15 billion per 100 million passengers of Long Thanh airport was equivalent to the investment rate of other major airports across the world.

The MoT said the first phase of Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China phase 1, which ran since last year, has a total investment of about $11.7 billion for a capacity of 72 million passengers or about $16.26 billion per 100 million passengers per year.

Istanbul Airport in Turkey was built in 2015 with a capacity of 90 million passengers per year with a total investment of about $12 billion or $13.33 billion for 100 million passengers, said the report.

It also said with the inflation rate of 2 per cent per year according to the research of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the investment cost of Istanbul Airport in 2019 was $14.93 billion.

Regarding the progress of the project of the airport, on November 2, MoT Minister Nguyen Van The said: “As of the plan, they will start building the fence of the airport at the end of December 2020 and will start levelling the first quarter of 2021.”

The said they would try to complete phase 1 of the project by 2025 as planned.

Tan Son Nhat international airport in HCM City, the country’s largest, is reported to be overloaded. The ministry said the new airport in Dong Nai near the city should become an aviation hub for Southeast Asia. 

Localities prepare goods for Tet

Provinces and cities are gearing up for the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday to ensure an adequate supply of essential goods with the COVID-19 pandemic still developing globally.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Deputy Director of Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade, said large companies were starting to stockpile goods for Tet and preparing plans to supply the capital city when there was a sudden increase in demand.

Lan said the volume of goods in the warehouses and big companies was large enough to supply the capital city’s market for 60-90 days.

Some big retailers, such as Central Retail Group which runs the BigC supermarket chain, BRG which runs Hapro, Intimex, SEIKA mart and BRG Mart, and Co.opmart have increased their stockpiles of necessary food and foodstuff by 300 per cent to 500 per cent compared to normal days.

Lan said that the capital had set up groups to keep a close watch on the market development and to facilitate the distribution of goods to meet citizens' demand.

The city also provides 2,156 locations for enterprises to open temporary warehouses or mobile points of sale, besides maintaining the operation of the retail system, including 142 supermarkets, 27 shopping centres, 1,700 convenience stores, 455 markets and 11,382 e-commerce websites.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to early implement the price stabilisation programme for essential goods, Lan said.

The city was focusing on promoting the diversification of the distribution system to ensure goods would reach consumers in the fastest and the most convenient way while creating favourable conditions for producers and distributors to access preferential loans for production and business expansion and to stabilise prices.

Goods categories in the price stabilisation programme included food, foodstuff, meat, seafood, egg, processed food, fresh vegetable and fruit, sugar, cooking oil, spice, milk, confectionery and beverage products.

The southern province of Dong Nai was also gearing up the price stabilisation programme for 12 product categories, including rice, noodles, canned processed food, chicken, pork, eggs, sugar, cooking oil, spice, dipping sauce, textbooks and student notebooks.

Supermarkets, shopping centres, producers and distributors in the southern province were also starting to build production plans in line with the anticipated rise in demand around Tet holiday to ensure adequate supply as well as preparing stockpile plans to prevent a shortage of goods or price fever.

Vung Tau also took early preparations to stockpile goods for Tet with the predicted increased domestic tourist arrivals.

The southern city has also focused on tightening management to prevent speculation and trade fraud.

Prices of fruit and vegetables increase sharply

Fruit and vegetable prices in HCM City increased sharply in the last week, especially following the recent storms and floods in the Central region.

Some fruit and vegetable prices doubled compared to other days, according to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

Though the markup has slowed down since October 29, locals said that prices of fruits and vegetables are still relatively high.

While a kilo of runner beans costs VND36,000, bok choy is currently priced at VND30,000/kilo, calabash at VND30,000/kilo, Dutch tomatoes at VND41,000/kilo, water spinach at VND30,000/kilo, and choysum at VND30,000/kilo.

According to a vegetable seller at Tan Phuoc Market in Tan Binh District, the price of vegetables as of October 29 was cooling down, compared to two to three days before when a kilo of runner beans had sold for VND50,000.

Many kinds of vegetables and fruits were transported to Central provinces after the floods, Lan said, adding that frequent rains in the Southern region had affected her stock as well.

Nguyen Ngoc Tham, a vegetable seller in Binh Thoi Market in District 11, said that prices of lettuce of all kinds have increased from VND10,000 to 15,000 per kilo, similar to other vegetables from Da Lat.

Despite the fluctuation in fruit and vegetable prices, the retail price of pork in the market has remained stable.

On early days of November one kilo of pork rib at Ong Dia Market in Tan Binh District was priced at VND180,000, while bacon was VND160,000/kilo and cutlets VND140,000/kilo.

Tuyet Hieu, a vegetable supplier from Da Lat, said that rainy weather in Da Lat had made it difficult to grow sufficient stock for Da Nang, HCM City and Can Tho markets.

Her 1ha of garden's usual yield of 30 tonnes of vegetables had declined to just over 10 tonnes, resulting in a sharp increase in price due to limited stock.

“In fact, vegetable supply from the South to Central region was not that high, considering that the vegetable market from the North covered a large amount. It is worth mentioning that our customers in Central provinces tend to refuse to pay high prices for vegetables,” Hieu added, emphasising that it was mostly heavy rains in Da Lat that caused the drop in supply.

Top companies see profit slide in 9 months

Forty of the largest companies by market capitalisation posted a 15 per cent annual decline in total pre-tax profit, which fell to VND162.8 trillion (US$7.02 billion) in January-September.

In the first nine months of 2019, those firms earned a total VND191.3 trillion worth of pre-tax profit.

In the third quarter, the 40 largest market-cap companies recorded VND62.1 trillion worth of pre-tax profit, which was down 9.2 per cent on-year.

The third-quarter’s annual drop of 9.2 per cent in quarterly pre-tax profit was better than the second quarter, cafef.vn reported.

Three companies suffered losses in the nine-month period, which were Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Corporation (BSR).

The two aviation firms Vietnam Airlines (HVN) and Vietjet (VJC) recorded losses of VND10.5 trillion and VND900 billion, respectively, while BSR reported a loss of VND4.1 trillion.

Companies that logged significant declines in pre-tax profit included Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR), the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) and consumer group Masan.

Those companies recorded their pre-tax profits were down between 73 per cent and 96 per cent year on year.

Others such as Sai Gon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage JSC (Sabeco), Phu Nhuan Jewellery JSC (PNJ), Vincom Retail (VRE), PetroVietnam Gas (PV Gas) and PetroVietnam Power (PV Power) logged 20-30 per cent annual reductions in pre-tax profit between January and September this year.

Among the 40 largest market-cap firms were 12 banks that were able to increase their pre-tax profits by a tenth on-year to VND75.7 trillion.

The Viet Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) logged the best annual pre-tax profit growth of 31 per cent to raise the nine-month figure to VND9.4 trillion.

Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), the Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), the HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank), and Tien Phong Joint Stock Commercial Bank (TPBank) posted an annual profit growth rate of minimum 20 per cent each.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade Viet Nam (Vietcombank) remained the top earner. Its pre-tax profit slid 9 per cent on-year to VND16 trillion at September-end.

Other companies posting three-digit profit growth rates included Giang Vo Exhibition Fair Centre JSC, Vinaconex and Novaland, steel producer Hoa Phat and Viettel Global.

Giang Vo Exhibition Fair Centre, Vinaconex and Novaland posted three-digit profit growth rates. Vinaconex made big earnings after it sold its stakes in two affiliates Vinaconex Power and An Khanh JVC. 

Overseas remittances to HCM City could reach US$5.5 billion this year

Remittances sent to Ho Chi Minh City by overseas Vietnamese are anticipated to reach a figure of approximately US$5.5 billion, representing a year-on-year rise of 8%, according to figures released by the State Bank of Vietnam’s city branch. 

The initial 10 months of the year has witnessed total overseas remittances being sent to the southern metropolis reach US$4.7 billion.

This comes after overseas remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City have increased by an average of between 8% and 10% each year. Indeed, remittances rising sharply has served to boost the supply of foreign currencies, therefore stabilising exchange rates in recent times.

However, in contrast to the previous years, the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has seen this year’s source of remittances witness a steep fall.

According to information compiled by the World Bank (WB), 2019 saw total overseas remittances to the nation reach US$16.7 billion, whilst 2018’s figure was roughly US$16 billion. Moving forward, it is predicted that that this year will see remittances continue its strong flow to the nation, although the world faces plenty of changes coupled with the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WB also predicted that this year’s amount of global remittances will endure a drop of some 20% due to COVID-19, of which East Asia and the Pacific region will suffer a 13% fall.

Domestically, in addition to major remittance markets, emerging markets have also been affected by COVID-19 thanks to increased labour exports to locations such as Japan and the Republic of Korea, resulting in shrinking remittances.

Positive outlook ahead as Vietnamese firms look to increase exports via Amazon

Amid the complicated nature of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic globally, the effective use of e-commerce, especially Amazon, is anticipated to help Vietnamese businesses boost their export opportunities, according to industry insiders. 

During her opening speech at a recent seminar held to discuss cross-border e-commerce, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said local businesses have encountered numerous difficulties caused by the delay of export orders, coupled with the slow progress of customs clearance.

Lan added that Hanoi’s export turnover during the opening ten months of the year has witnessed an annual increase of only 0.1% to US$13.194 million, the lowest figure over the past 10 years.

She also underlined the importance of online sales channels as a means of increasing exports for businesses amid this challenging period.

Sharing this point of view, Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, deputy director of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy, pointed that through e-commerce platforms domestic firms are able to gain access to customers based in fastidious markets such as North America, Japan, and Europe in a fast manner. 

Tran Xuan Thuy, director of Amazon in Vietnam, outlined that cross-border e-commerce represents an effective channel for local enterprises, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they export goods to the global market, especially in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Thuy therefore advised local firms to improve their knowledge relating to cross-border e-commerce channels, devise coherent business strategies, whilst simultaneously developing their brands in order to successfully export goods to these demanding markets.

Do Quang Vinh, CEO of T&T Group's branch in the United States, emphasized that enterprises must devise plans based around the actual needs of each export market, their various tax incentives, and the online shopping habits of customers via Amazon to boost exports.

The event attracted roughly 300 businesses that are keen to increase their export of goods via Amazon's online retail channel.

Labour export market faces up to fresh challenges

Despite some labour export markets opening up to receive Vietnamese workers following the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, local labour export enterprises find it difficult to recruit workers. 

Following the COVID-19 containment domestically, Vietnamese labour export firms have begun to recruit workers, with many complaining that recruiting workers is like looking for a  needle in a haystack.

Nguyen Viet Xuan, an executive of Viet Thang Company, stated recent times has seen the firm send only a few dozen employees to markets such as Japan, Taiwan (China), and Romania. Most of them had signed contracts with recipients overseas, but were unable to fly due to COVID-19.

It is now far more difficult for the firm to find new workers for the following year, as Vietnamese workers hesitate to travel abroad for COVID-19 fears, Xuan said.

Nguyen Xuan Hung, director of Laco Labour Cooperation Company Limited, said his company has been unable to send any local workers abroad since February this year, except for only 40 workers I the recent recruitments.

 “The fact that employers could not fly to Vietnam to directly recruit workers due to COVID-19 and prospective employees were tired of time-consuming dossier appraising procedures as well as complicated quarantine measures has slowed down the recruitment process,” Hung confided. 

Meanwhile, a number of co-operation programmes between Vietnam and partners that send local workers abroad have also faced difficulties in recruitment.

According to Tran Thi Van Ha, head of Communications of the Department of Overseas Labour Management, such programmes have not drawn enough attention from those keen to work abroad at present.

“Under a programme, we need to recruit 240 local workers, but due to insufficient interest we have decided to extend the deadline, originally scheduled for October 18, for an additional month,” Ha said.

Facing the difficult situation, a number of firms have been forced to switch their employment drive into an online recruitment advertising as a means of cutting out any fee for middlemen.

Doan Mau Diep, chairman of the Vietnam Labor Export Association, said with winter approaching, the risk of the epidemic looks set to increase in European and Asian markets. He therefore predicted that the export labour market would continue to face challenges until the middle of next year.

Phu Yen looks for contractor to restructure province

Phu Yen People’s Committee will organise an auction to choose contractors to build the planning to restructure the province in 2021-2030 with vision to 2050.

Phu Yen People’s Committee has approved the plan to select contractors to draw up plans to restructure the province in 2021-2030 with vision to 2050.

The province assigned the Department of Planning and Investment to appraise contractors, organising an auction, and related works.

Two auction packages are offered to contractors. The first one is 02TV where the contractor will advise to build files to invite contractors to join the main auction package. The province will directly assign the contractor for this package.

In the main auction package (03TV), the contractor will build the planning for the province, including the strategic environmental impact report. The auction, which is expected to be organised in the fourth quarter this year, will be offered for contractors across the country. The scheme for implementing the contractor package is 15 months.

Previously, in mid-April, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung approved a mission to build the restructuring planning for the province in 2021-2030 with vision to 2050.

The planning will be implemented on 5,023.4 square kilometres of land while the offshore area will be calculated based on the Law of the Sea of Vietnam issued in 2012 and other Vietnamese regulations.

The planning will focus on analysing the factors and features of Phu Yen, evaluating the existing socioeconomic development, building targets, and directions to develop the province. Besides, it will combine with the plan to develop the key sectors of the province.

Demand for motorbikes in Vietnam decreases by 10.9 per cent this year

Vietnamese people's demand for motorbikes dropped 15.9 per cent in the first three quarters of this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These statistics were published by Motorcycles Data, in the second quarter of this year, motorbike sales in Vietnam decreased by 29.5 per cent on-year. In the first two quarters of this year, 1.35 million motorcycles were sold in Vietnam, down 14.8 per cent on-year.

In the second quarter in Indonesia and Thailand sales recovered, however, the Vietnamese market remained bleak. The decrease in August was 15.1 per cent, while in September it was 28.7 per cent.

Throughout the first three quarters 2.07 million motorbikes were sold in Vietnam, down 15.9 per cent on-year despite manufacturers’ efforts to issue promotion and incentive programmes.

With two months left from the year, manufacturers are still changing sales strategies to stimulate demand.

However, Motorcycles Data still forecast that motorbike sales may reach 3.07 units by the end of this year, down 10.9 per cent on-year.

According to statistics published by OKXE.vn, the five most popular motorbike models in the first six months were Honda Air Blade, Honda Wave Alpha, Yamaha Exciter, Honda SH 1501, and Honda Lead.

Phu Yen Province approves VND1.76 trillion wind power project

The south-central coastal province of Phu Yen has approved a project by Song Cau Green Energy Company on the development of a wind farm worth VND1.764 trillion (US$76.1 million) in the first stage.

The wind farm will cover 11.55 hectares in the two communes of Xuan Hai and Xuan Canh in Song Cau Town, with the first-phase capacity of 49.94 megawatts.

The farm will include 11 turbines, with a capacity of 4.54 megawatts each, a substation and a 110kV transmission line to connect with the national grid.

The project is expected to be completed and put into service by no later than June 2021.

With a long coastline of 189 kilometres and average wind speeds of 5-7 metres per second, Phu Yen Province possesses great potential for wind power development.

According to a renewable energy scheme by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Phu Yen’s wind power potential is estimated at 475 kWh per square metre at an altitude of 65 metres.

SSIAM, Daiwa launch US$100 million private equity fund

Vietnam’s SSI Asset Management Co., Ltd., a member of SSI Securities Corporation and its Japanese partner Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Daiwa Securities Group, have successfully completed the initial closing of their third private equity fund, which has a target corpus size of US$100 million.

The DAIWA-SSIAM III fund seeks an investment target of under US$10 million. It invests primarily in private and non-listed companies in Vietnam, with a focus on consumer-related goods and services and export-oriented segments as well as other potential sectors including but not limited to distribution, logistics, healthcare, education and the media. In addition, the fund may also consider potential equitization or divestment opportunities of state-owned enterprises.

The new fund will seek a 10% to 30% stake in each investee company, while SSIAM’s professional investment team will join the Board of Directors and/or the Supervisory Board of the investee companies to optimize business operations and facilitate, connect and create ecosystems within the portfolio, thereby increasing the value of each business and the investment.

The Daiwa Securities Group is a strategic shareholder of SSI and has been cooperating with SSI in many activities. The DAIWA-SSIAM III fund marks the third partnership between the two companies.

Previously, in October 2009, they established the DSCAP-SSIAM Vietnam Investment Growth Fund with a corpus size of around US$28 million.

In July 2015, they continued to launch the DAIWA-SSIAM Vietnam Growth Fund II with a corpus size of some US$40 million. The fund invests in seven investee companies and is currently in the post investment and divestment phase.

The companies’ partnership is expected to support the development of Vietnam's capital market, facilitate capital mobilization opportunities more efficiently and further promote initial public offering and listing opportunities for high-quality private enterprises.

Government reduces taxes on car parts to support domestic automotive industry

The General Department of Vietnam Customs held a seminar on tax policy for automobiles and the role of customs in promoting the automobile industry in Vietnam on November 3 in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Luu Manh Tuong, Deputy Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, to support the domestic automobile industry to replace imported automobiles and step by step head to export, the Government has had preferential policies for automobile manufacturers that meet the conditions on production and assembly. Accordingly, automobile manufacturers will receive a zero-percent import tax on imported car parts that domestic manufacturers cannot produce.

Recently, the Government has continued to issue Decree No.57/2020/ND-CP, which not only brings import tax on auto parts that cannot be produced domestically to zero percent but also requires low output for the first two preference periods. According to Mr. Tuong, this is a key factor that helps many manufacturers to have more opportunities to invest in projects of production and assembly lines, aiming at the strong development of the automobile supporting industry in Vietnam in the upcoming time.

Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that from the beginning of this year to October 15, the country imported 73,685 cars of all kinds with a total turnover of US$1.6 billion, and the import turnover of auto components and spare parts reached $2.86 billion. After the zero-percent tax incentive policy for automobile manufacturing and assembling enterprises was implemented, 13 enterprises received a tax refund of more than VND9.55 trillion from November 16, 2017, to December 31, 2019, and more than VND2.85 trillion from January 1 to the end of June 30 this year.

Visa, NextTech Group sign three-year partnership

Visa and NextTech Group on November 4 signed a three-year partnership to promote the adoption of digital payments among small business owners in Vietnam’s rapidly growing social commerce sector.

The partnership will see Visa and NextTech-group collaborate on a range of initiatives to expand the network of sellers and buyers on social commerce platforms, including creating a convenient and easy-to-use means of making online payments through Internet links.

Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa Country Manager for Vietnam and Laos, said: “By simplifying the payment process, our payment-by-link initiative with NextTech Group will provide consumers and merchants with a faster and more convenient way to pay and to be paid on social networks and other online platforms. This three-year partnership is testament to our long-term commitment to supporting eCommerce in Vietnam.”

By collaborating with NextTech-group, Visa now has another partner with deep roots in e-commerce.

NextTech’s platforms are host to over 120,000 merchants and 6 million users, as well as a wide-range e-commerce enabling ecosystem. This includes NganLuong.vn – an online payment gateway that currently works with almost 40 financial and telecommunications institutions to handle over 100,000 daily transactions, BotBanHang.vn – a chat-bot and social commerce messaging management platform, and PushSale.vn – a mini-ERP platform specially designed for online retailers.

Through this combination, merchants can easily provide buyers with a payment link via Facebook Messenger, SMS or other OTT platforms on any online purchase inquiry. Buyers are then able to complete the payment using their credentials instantly.

Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman of NextTech Group, said: “As an e-commerce pioneer and the leading online payment gateway in Vietnam, we are proud to work with Visa in bringing this new payment initiative to our customers. We expect this three-year partnership to deliver a host of electronic payment-related benefits to both buyers and sellers in eCommerce, one of the fastest expanding pillars of the digital economy.”

In addition to making sure the payment journey is as seamless and convenient as possible, Visa will also work to help manage and make business operations more efficient. This includes a range of support to promote changes to consumer habits and encourage the adoption of digital payments.

E-commerce is currently the fastest growing sector of Vietnam’s digital economy, increasing 35 percent year-on-year. There are also over 46.5 million users of eCommerce platforms in the country, a 15.1 percent increase over 2019.

Responding to this demand, many Vietnamese local merchants have begun to expand their online offerings, with 71 percent of SMEs saying that they’ve adopted new methods of providing products and services to customers since the onset of the pandemic (including eCommerce, curbside pickup, and home delivery)./.

Dong Nai province surpasses annual target in FDI attraction

The southern province of Dong Nai expects to secure 1.18 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the January-November period, which is already higher than the target of 1.1 billion USD set for 2020 as a whole.

According to deputy head of the management board of the province’s industrial parks, Pham Van Cuong, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control, many investors have contacted the board to lease land for their operations, and the number of FDI projects in the locality is expected to increase to the end of the year.

In the first ten months of the year, Dong Nai attracted nearly 160 FDI projects, 98 of which increased their registered capital by a total of more than 700 million USD.

Local departments and sectors joined hands amid the pandemic to create favourable conditions for foreign investors and experts, which helped the province to carry out the dual tasks of controlling COVID-19 and boosting economic development.

The completion of infrastructure at industrial parks and the acceleration of administrative reforms were also prioritised by local authorities.

Dong Nai is striving to attract 5-6 billion USD in FDI during the 2021-2025 period and 6-7 billion USD during 2026-2030./.

HCM City wants to make its industrial parks smart

HCM City is focusing on developing smart industrial parks to attract hi-tech businesses and innovative start-ups.

Tran Thien Long, deputy chairman and general secretary of the HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority Business Association, said building smart industrial parks and processing zones is a global trend, and the city is focusing on it.

Information technology can change production systems when everything is automated, and help the management easily oversee their systems.

In future HCM City will have to compete with other provinces, and so industrial parks need to improve their investment efficiency.

Quang Trung Software City used to be a business that focused on renting land, but it has been using smart technologies to transform itself into a science and technology business that aims to becoming a green and smart urban area, its director, Lam Nguyen Hai Long, said.

HCM City has instructed the Department of Planning and Construction to appraise all industrial parks and processing zones to come up with measures to attract investors.

The department will also help the city build hi-tech industrial parks that meet the demands of tech businesses and innovative start-ups.

According to the Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority, a proposal to build a 390-hectare hi-tech industrial park in Binh Chanh district is being appraised for investment.

There are a number of industrial parks in HCM City but with little linkages between them, it is hard to form sustainable supply chains./.

Covid-19 underlines importance of digitalization: EU Ambassador

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the growing importance of digitalization, Giorgio Aliberti, EU Ambassador to Vietnam, observed while addressing the opening session of a roundtable entitled “Digital Economy, Digital Transformation in Vietnam and the EVFTA" in Hanoi on November 5.

The EU Ambassador added that Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and an attractive market for European Businesses.

“Nowadays, we can transport things, ship goods, buy online and complete procedures quickly thanks to the advancement of digital technology. With these changes, the processes will become less complicated and less time-consuming. EVFTA is a potential platform for sharing common values, not only economic benefits but also a solution for both sides to win,” he said.

Jacques Morisset, lead economist of the World Bank in Vietnam, pointed out three megatrends that will have huge impacts on the economy: (de)globalization, contact-free and value of life. Vietnam is moving toward a contact-free economy and this trend has been accelerated by the pandemic. However, beyond tools, changes in mindset are required if Vietnam wants to create the foundation for future growth in a digitalized world.

A representative of the Authority of Information Technology Application under the Ministry of Information and Communications also discussed strategies and policies to maximize the benefits of international trade agreements such as the EVFTA to promote the digital economy in Vietnam.

In addition, a representative of the State Agency for Technological Innovation under the Ministry of Science and Technology talked about strengthening the science and technology cooperation between Vietnam and the EU so it can contribute even more to the digital economy and digital transformation in Vietnam as well as improve the EU-Vietnam partnership.

The seminar was organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam in coordination with VINASA and Eurocham.

The event attracted over 100 participants from ministries, government agencies, EU member states, associations, academic institutions and businesses in Vietnam. It covered topics such as the current status, opportunities, challenges of Vietnam’s digital economy and digital transformation as well as the EVFTA with its possible contribution to spurring the digital economy and digital transformation in Vietnam.

In recent years, Vietnam’s digital economy has been booming and is the second-fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia. The local digital economy is expected to benefit from the EVFTA, which has recently become effective, and from the impact of Covid-19. In such a context, the roundtable was organized to discuss how Vietnam can benefit the most from digital transformation in the coming years and decades. 

This is the second of three roundtable events to be organized by the Delegation under the framework of the EU-Vietnam Partnership Facility until the end of 2020. The upcoming third roundtable will focus on the business environment for European and Vietnamese Start-ups and SMEs in Vietnam and is scheduled for early December 2020.

Vietnam: Lawmakers propose private sector investment in metro projects

It should be noted that private economic groups, if supported by the Vietnamese government, can build railway much faster and more efficiently than state-owned peers.

Vietnam can call on foreign corporations to invest in national railway or even acquire foreign metro line technology to develop its own a high-value railway industry chain.

National Assembly (NA) deputy Hoang Van Cuong from Hanoi made the recommendation at an NA sitting on November 5.

"It should be noted that private economic groups, if supported by the Vietnamese government, can build the railway much faster and more efficiently than state-owned enterprises," said Mr. Cuong.

He concurred with the appraisal for a VND65 trillion (US$2.8 billion) metro line project linking Van Cao street and the Hoa Lac High-tech Park in Hanoi, whose report has been submitted to the NA.

This is one of the eight metro lines Hanoi plans to build until 2030 to improve its mass transit system and ease traffic congestion. It also helps develop the Hoa Lac satellite urban area and is the foundation to promote Vietnam’s railway industry.

Sharing Mr. Cuong's view, at an NA sitting on November 3, deputy Nguyen Phi Thuong from Hanoi also proposed studying the model of private urban railway like the one of Japan’s Tokyo to lighten the burden for the national budget.

Mr. Thuong said that the progress of billion-USD urban railway projects in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has fallen behind schedule and their costs have been overrun several times, causing public frustration. These projects include Cat Linh - Ha Dong and Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station in Hanoi, and Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien and Ben Thanh - Tham Luong in Ho Chi Minh City.

Therefore, Mr. Thuong suggested that Vietnam should soon request the transfer and command of urban railway construction technology, research the policy model for private sector investment in urban railway so that investors can participate in and benefit from development of urban space and exploitation of land fund.

"It is necessary to evaluate and learn from the experience of using ODA for urban railway construction and be careful with the loan terms. Loans for urban railway construction are only effective when they are disbursed for a whole line, not for a stretch," Mr. Thuong stressed.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two largest cities in Vietnam, each have plans to develop eight urban railway lines. Hanoi has 318 kilometers with a total investment of US$30 billion, while Ho Chi Minh City plans to invest US$25 billion in 220km.

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