The 1.3-billion-USD LEGO factory is scheduled to start operation in 2024, Preben Elnef, Vice President of the LEGO Group and General Manager of LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam said at his meeting on January 9 with Chairman of Binh Duong province's People’s Committee Vo Van Minh. 

Elnef said that the LEGO project is expected to complete an important phase in 2024, shifting from planning to production. The group has cooperated with partners to ensure 110 kV grid connection and deploy solar power systems for production to achieve the net zero emissions target. This is not just a commitment to efficient production but also a positive contribution to the environment, he said. 

Construction of the LEGO factory started in November 2022 at Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park III in the southern province of Binh Duong. The project is expected to create thousands of jobs once it is put into operation, contributing to the province’s sustainable industrial development.

Chairman Minh underlined the local government's interest in this project. He also praised the progress of the project, pledging to support and resolve all difficulties to ensure that the LEGO Group has the most favourable environment when operating in the locality.

Close cooperation between the Government and businesses not only brings economic benefits but also represents a positive step forward for an increasingly favourable investment environment in Binh Duong, he added./.

Nestlé adds more investment to expand production in Vietnam

Nestlé Vietnam has decided to invest an additional 100 million USD in its Tri An factory in southern Dong Nai province, lifting total investment capital in the establishment to more than 500 million USD, according to its General Director Binu Jacob.

Jacob said the investment aims to double the processing capacity of high-quality coffee products at the factory, towards meeting the increasing demand for coffee, and turning Vietnam into a high-value coffee production and supply centre for the global market.

Coffee products produced at the Tri An factory have been exported to 29 countries around the world. In addition, Nestlé is also the largest buyer of Vietnamese coffee with total annual purchase from Vietnam hitting up to 700 million USD.

Jacob said this additional investment is a testament to Nestlé's long-term investment commitment in Vietnam, adding that the factory's productivity is expected to double, meeting the domestic market's demand and effectively exploiting the export potential.

Sustainable coffee production is one of Nestlé's important directions in Vietnam. Apart from investing in production technology, the group's Tri An factory is a pioneer in sustainable development through using clean energy, biomass energy, and applying circular economy in waste management and water resources conservation.

Each year, the Nestlé Tri An factory can reduce more than 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during its coffee processing. In addition, 100% of post-production coffee grounds are reused as biomass materials. Wastewater is also treated, recycled, and reused in the boiler, helping the factory save over 112,000 cu.m of water per year.

To improve the quality of Vietnamese coffee beans, since 2011, the company has implemented the NESCAFÉ Plan in the Central Highlands region, which provides good solutions to sustainably develop the Vietnamese coffee industry.

So far, the Nestlé Group has invested nearly 830 million USD in Vietnam through Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd with four factories and two distribution centres. In Dong Nai alone, the firm operates three factories, among them Nestlé Tri An is one of the group’s biggest factories in Vietnam.

Association proposes extending resolution on piloting bad debt settlement

The HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) recently sent a written petition to the Prime Minister proposing an extension of a resolution on piloting bad debt settlement until the end of 2024.

Under the petition, the HoREA requests the Government to propose to the National Assembly (NA) an extension of Resolution No. 42/2017/NQ-QH14 on piloting bad debt settlement of credit institutions until December 31, 2024 to create conditions for credit institutions to effectively manage bad debts, including the collaterals of real estate projects.

According to HoREA, the resolution has created conditions for credit institutions to effectively manage bad debts since 2017, especially the collaterals of real estate projects, but it expired on December 31, 2023.

The association said the amended Law on Real Estate Business will take effect from January 1, 2025, so a legal gap will arise in 2024 when the new law has not been applied while Resolution No. 42/2017/NQ-QH14 expired.

"Therefore, HoREA proposes the Government coordinate with the NA Standing Committee to propose the NA consider an extension of Resolution No. 42/2017/NQ-QH14 for another 12 months until December 31, 2024 to create conditions for credit institutions to effectively manage bad debts, including the collaterals of real estate projects," it said in the petition.

2024 expected to be good year for domestic tourism

2024 is expected to be a good year for Vietnam's tourism sector as positive signals have been seen in many destinations such as Phu Quoc, Tay Ninh and Da Nang right from the beginning of the year.

In Phu Quoc, a popular tourist destination in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, recovery signs have been seen since late 2023 with a surge in the number of tourists. According to Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc city, in the period, the pearl island received 2,000-2,500 foreign visitors each day.

Particularly, the launching of Cau Hon (Kiss Bridge) and an entertainment complex at the Sunset Town invested by Sun Group contributed to making the tourism activities bustling in the island.

The provincial Department of Tourism said that in the New Year holiday, Kien Giang served more than 120,000 visitors, including more than 15,000 foreigners, earning 369 billion VND (15.16 million USD).

Meanwhile, the southern province of Tay Ninh made a surprise in 2023 with a record 5 million visitors taking the cable car to Nui Ba (Ba Mountain) in the year.

The inauguration of various works serving Buddhists such as the world largest Maitreya Buddha statue, the highest artificial waterfall in Asia flowing around the statue of Maitreya Buddha, and Uoc (wishing) Bridge, Tay Ninh expects to become a popular destination for Buddhists and visitors in the new year.

Along with Phu Quoc and Tay Ninh, the central city of Da Nang is also a promising destination in 2024 thanks to a rising trend from 2023.

According to the Da Nang Department of Tourism, local accommodations served more than 7.4 million guests in 2023, doubling the number in 2022, including more than 2 million foreigners.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays from December 23, 2023 to January 1, 2024, Da Nang welcomed 261,000 tourists, a surge of 34.7% year on year. In the three-day New Year holiday, the central city received 434 flights, up 10%.

Last year, Vietnam received 12.6 million foreign arrivals, 3.5 times higher than 2022, exceeding the target set at the beginning of the year by 57%. The number of domestic tourists hit 108 million, 5.85 higher than the target, while the sector’s revenue was estimated at 672 trillion VND (27.59 billion USD), surpassing the goal by 3.38% and equivalent to 93% of the figure recorded in 2019.

Dong Nai lures nearly 500 million USD in FDI in first days of 2024

The People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai presented investment certificates to eight foreign-invested projects worth nearly 500 million USD on January 8.

Of these projects, four were newly-registered projects valued at over 155 million USD, and the rest had their capital added.

SLP Park Loc An Binh Son in the Loc An-Binh Son Industrial Park with a total registered capital of more than 120 million USD is the biggest among the new projects.

The four FDI projects that have their capital adjusted are a coffee production project of Nestlé Vietnam Ltd. Co - Tri An Factory, a production project of Kenda Rubber Company in the Giang Dien Industrial Park, Hyosung Dong Nai Ltd. Co project in the Nhon Trach V Industrial Park and Advanced Multitech Vietnam Ltd. Co project in the Nhon Trach III Industrial Park, with total added amount of 217 million USD.

Speaking at the certificate handover event, Nguyen Thi Hoang, vice-chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that the issuance of investment certificates to investors in the first days of the year is a positive signal, bringing a good start to the local economy in 2024.

The province pledged to create favourable conditions for investments and stand ready to support them as well as remove difficulties in the implementation of projects.

Hoang also told the investors to heed environmental protection during their business operations and complete the projects as scheduled.

Dong Nai has so far attracted nearly 1,600 FDI projects worth more than 34 billion USD from 44 countries and territories around the world.

Developing carbon credit market critical to green growth: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on January 8 requested the comprehensive development of a carbon credit market when chairing a meeting on the establishment of the market in Vietnam.

Ha stressed that the market is an opportunity for Vietnam to switch to an appropriate development model in the future.

Therefore, the project needs to contain updates on global policies and agreements as well as strategies and plans that have been issued with the orientations on climate change response, just energy transition, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

This move contributes to the preparation of major global policies on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, allocating emission quotas, exchanging carbon credits, and creating green financial resources for businesses to innovate technology, he stated.

According to a report delivered by Deputy Minister of Finance Le Tan Can, the carbon credit market in Vietnam is built in accordance with the practical conditions and development orientations of the country, commitments to greenhouse gas emission reduction, and the trend of the global market. The market will contribute to making the most of the resources of domestic economic sectors in participating in activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The project aims to ensure that the domestic carbon credit market operates fairly, openly, and effectively, and in accordance with international conditions and practices. It will harmonise the interests of entities in the market, and increase economic development with low carbon emissions and sustainable development.

Commodities in the carbon credit market in Vietnam include greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits certified to be traded in the domestic market by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

PM urges banking sector to maintain 'blood of life' for national economy

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 8 asked the banking sector to maintain its role as the “blood of life” for the national economy, while addressing a conference in Hanoi on January 8.

The conference, held by State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), was connected with the bank’s branches in the 63 cities and provinces nationwide, with the attendance of representatives from different ministries and agencies.

The government leader expressed his delight at the fact that despite a host of difficulties, bank deposits still reached 13.5 quadrillion VND (533.99 billion USD) in 2023, which, he said, demonstrates people’s improved living standards as well as their confidence in the Party, the State, and the banking sector.

He spoke highly of the significant contributions by the central bank and the banking sector in general to national achievements last year, and lauded great efforts and strong resolve displayed by the sector in the year.

The PM also noted some limitations regarding policies, elaborating that some credit mechanisms and policies remain poorly flexible and matching the situation. Besides, he said, ministries and agencies need to tighten their coordination, and inspections and supervisions should be improved.

Highlighting the importance of the year 2024 to the implementation of the 2021-2025 socio-economic development plan, Chinh urged the SBV and the entire sector to join hands with ministries, agencies and localities to fulfill the tasks set for this year.  

The banking sector must help the Government out of a passive position in the rolling out of monetary policies, ensure no corruption, help businesses and people access capital, and serve the rapid, inclusive, sustainable development, he continued.  

He also asked the sector to further keep a close watch on domestic and international situation to take timely policy response, and combine monetary policies with fiscal ones harmoniously, with priorities to spurring economic growth in tandem with stabilising the macro economy, capping inflation at about 4-4.5%, ensuring major economic balances, stabilising monetary and foreign exchange markets, and ensuring the safe operation of credit institutions. 

Credit loans should target priority business areas and major growth engines, the leader said, stressing the need to closely control those in the areas with potential risks, and that loans should not focus on only some big firms and clients.  

He suggested the sector offer more credit incentives, take more measures to cut loan interest rates and unnecessary fees, simplify lending procedures and conditions, and step up the application of information-technology and digital transformation.

The legal framework should be reviewed to facilitate the safe, healthy, smooth and sustainable operation of the sector, he said, touching upon human resources development in the sector.

According to a report presented at the conference, the banking sector has contributed to stabilising the macro economy and controlling inflation at around 3.2-3.4% in 2023.

The central bank reduced operating interest rates four times by 0.5 - 2% percentage points in the context that world interest rates continued to rise and remained at high levels.

The bank has set a credit growth target of 15% this year, up 1 percentage point from last year’s target.

Vietjet adds four aircraft to serve passengers during Lunar New Year

Vietjet has received four wet-leased aircraft to expand its fleet of 103 aircraft, offering more flying opportunities for passengers at affordable prices to serve the traveling demands of people during the peak season.

With the support of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and other authorities, Vietjet has quickly added four aircraft in its fleet ahead of the peak period to operate passengers on domestic and international routes.

Especially, passengers flying with Vietjet during this time will receive attractive benefits with international tickets from VND0 (excluding taxes and fees), on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from now until February 10, 2024, and a special golden week offering with a 20% discount on Business and SkyBoss tickets. Vietjet offers passengers chances to enjoy convenient and cost-saving flights during the Tet holiday season, not only for family reunion but also for travelling across Vietnam and the world.

Flying with Vietjet on the spring flights with full of happiness on modern aircraft, experiencing delicious and hot Vietnamese Tet meals including Chung cake, steamed rice, or Pho Thin, Banh mi, as well as international cuisine served by friendly and professional flight crews.

Ninh Thuan develops agritourism based on typical values

Ninh Thuan’s arid climate and abundant sunlight have given a rise to distinctive agricultural products, providing an advantageous foundation for the south-central province to boost the development of agritourism.

The province boasts over 1,000 hectares of grapevines, supplying the market with 26,000 - 28,000 tonnes annually. At local vineyards, also Ninh Thuan’s most renowned agritourism destination, visitors can take photos, learn about the entire process of grape cultivation, care and harvest, and savour the fresh fruit and derivative products.

Various other models have also become local brands, including apple and grape farms in Ninh Phuoc district, the Lam Son ecological fruit garden in Ninh Son district, sheep farms in Ninh Hai and Bac Ai districts, and the ecological cultural tourism model of lotus ponds and the Cham ethnic culture in Ninh Phuoc district.

In addition to developing tours, routes, and attractions, Ninh Thuan also places a special emphasis on promoting its unique products. Recently, the province held a 2024 New Year's Eve culinary festival, incorporating the promotion of local raw material areas and OCOP products. Meanwhile, decorated flocks of sheep – the province's typical livestock – participated in a parade as part of the event.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Long Bien, agritourism not only brings increased income for the locals and socio-economic benefits for the locality but also contributes to the development of sustainable green agriculture and preservation of the rural areas’ cultural essence.

In its tourism development project for 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, the province has identified high-tech agricultural tourism as one of its four key products – which also include coastal resort tourism, cultural tourism, and eco-tourism associated with the Nui Chua National Park.

Ninh Thuan is actively integrating tourism with distinctive agricultural products through the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, while encouraging and supporting startups in agricultural tourism.

The province is also intensifying promotional activities, connecting tours and travel routes with local destinations, aiming to attract around 3 million tourists this year and earn approximately 2.4 trillion VND (98.42 million USD) from them.

Solutions for Vietnamese economy to overcome headwinds

Extending economic policies, finding fresh directions for exports, and promoting domestic consumption are the solutions that exist for the nation to overcome "headwinds", according to information given by economic experts.

According to Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen Duc Trung, rector of Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking (HUB), to achieve its growth target of 6% to 6.5% for the year, the nation needs to work out overall solutions, such as promoting domestic consumption, maintaining and extending economic policies, and finding new directions for exports.

​Consumption promotion therefore requires intensifying trade promotion activities, replicating livestream sales models like in Ho Chi Minh City, whilst also strengthening online shopping and entertainment festivals.

Furthermore, it remains necessary to maintain and extend the 2% value added tax (VAT) reduction not only for six months. Exports need to be directed more strongly towards positive markets such as India, as opposed to just focusing on Europe, Trung emphasized.

In terms of investment, it can be considered essential to change the public investment model to ensure stability, while striving to increase the disbursement rate of public investment capital to 85% to 90%.

​With Ho Chi Minh City being the country’s leading economy, economic expert Dr. Vo Tri Thanh believes that moving forward there will still be numerous difficulties and challenges moving forward, meaning the southern metropolis needs to make good use of the foundation and growth momentum in 2023 to respond to headwinds.

Ho Chi Minh City's growth momentum will be the adoption of regional planning and national planning whilst competently applying Resolution 98 whilst piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the city’s development. Furthermore, the southern city has the opportunity to transition to a green economy, a digital economy, and promote innovation in order to attract large, high-quality corporations.

“It is imperative to prepare quality human resources for the city and the whole nation. Apart from infrastructure and planning, the crucial role is to ensure quality human resources to meet new requirements, especially according to new investment trends," Dr. Thanh analyzed.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Enterprise Management Innovation Board, said that Ho Chi Minh City requires a breakthrough solution to have shortened mechanisms and policies because currently, investment procedures, whether small projects, also double the implementation time.

According to him, being too cautious causes the capital cycle to run slowly, thereby impacting on development.

Therefore, there needs to be a breakthrough and removal of those obstacles as a way of boosting exports to activate the economy in the coming time, he added.

Vietbank to issue bonds worth over $41 million

Vietnam Thương Tín Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Vietbank - VBB) plans to make a public issue of 100,000 bonds worth VNĐ1trillion (US$41.17 million).

The VNĐ10 million ($411.7) non-convertible bonds will be without warrants or collateral, have a tenor of seven years and offer floating interest rates equal to the reference interest rate plus 2.5 per cent for the first five years and 3.5 per cent subsequently. The interest will be paid annually.

The minimum subscription is for five bonds, equivalent to VNĐ50 million.

The issuance date is March 27, and investors can register to buy at Vietbank's transaction points between January 10 and March 26.

The proceeds will be used to supplement capital, lend for medium- and long-term projects and ensure limits and safety ratios for banking operations.

Bamboo Airways adds new aircraft for peak Tết season

Bamboo Airways announced that it added a new Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet operating, increasing its capacity to serve the peak season of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tết) 2024 festival.

This is one of two aircraft that Bamboo Airways plans to add to its fleet with the remaining aircraft is expected to return in mid-January.

A representative from Bamboo Airways said: “The addition of two aircraft to the fleet for operation from the beginning of 2024 and the increased capacity to serve the Tet peak period are two specific steps affirming Bamboo Airways’ efforts to recover and stabilise its operations, as well as demonstrating the support and trust that domestic and international partners have devoted to the airline.”

The airline has seen fully booked flights on several high-demand routes during the Tet holiday. For instance, routes like HCM City – Thanh Hoá, Vinh, Hải Phòng, Huế and Quy Nhơn with impressive booking rates of 98-100 per cent. Similarly, routes such as Hà Nội – HCM City and Hà Nội – Đà Nẵng have reported booking rates exceeding 80 per cent and are showing a consistent upward trend.

To address the surge in demand, Bamboo Airways planned to expand its fleet to increase its supply capacity by more than 20 per cent during the peak period. The primary focus will be on enhancing frequencies on major routes such as Hà Nội – HCM City and routes between Hà Nội or HCM and Đà Nẵng. In addition, the airline will prioritise local routes with high demand, including HCM City – Hà Nội, Vinh and Đà Nẵng.  

Currently, Bamboo Airways is actively implementing synchronous solutions to improve operational resources, flight safety and service quality from ground to air, and minimise flight delays and cancellations. It has been the most punctual airline in the entire Vietnamese aviation industry since 2019. According to the latest announcement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV), Bamboo Airways ranked first in on-time flights in the 11 months of 2023 with 92.5 per cent of flights taking off on time. 

The Tet holiday festival will last seven days from February 8 to 14, 2024.

Ministry drafts amendments to increase VAT management

The Ministry of Finance is raising a draft amendment to the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT) for public comment, which aims to remove overlaps and inconsistencies in the VAT legal framework to facilitate its enforcement.

The ministry said that the existing VAT regulations have shown limitations 15 years after being put into force.

First, there are 26 categories of goods and services not subject to VAT, meaning that they are not eligible for input VAT deductions, which results in high production cost and selling prices and affects enterprises in the supply chain.

Second, three VAT rates are existing – zero, five and 10 per cent – which is not appropriate to categories of products and services, nor consistent to the orientation of reforming the tax system towards a common tax rate. As many as 14 categories remain subject to a 5 per cent VAT rate while determining tax rates based on their intended use causes problems for both tax authorities and payers.

The existing VAT regulations on real estate business still cause different translations between tax management authorities and payers.

Regulations on input VAT deductions also need to be tightened to prevent tax fraud, the ministry said.

Specifically, it is necessary to amend the regulation towards facilitating tax refunds. For investment projects, the tax refund regulations would be amended to encourage and facilitate investment, and promote technology innovations which would help improve labour productivity and competitiveness of enterprises.

Notable, in the latest draft, the ministry proposed that individuals and business households with revenues from VNĐ150 million per year will have to pay VAT tax at VNĐ50 million higher than the existing level.

The proposal was raised on the basis that CPI increased significantly since the amended Law on VAT 2013, which replaced the 2008 law, came into force from the beginning of 2014.

The change will not bring any increases in compliance cost and administrative procedures, the ministry said. According to the General Statistics Office, there are about 5.5 million business households who contribute around 30 per cent of GDP every year.

To promote border economic development, under the ministry draft, goods exchanges between residents living along border areas which are not subject to import tax will not be subject to VAT.

In the draft, three groups of products would not be exempt from VAT including: imported-then-exported tobacco, alcohol and beer; petrol, oil and automobiles sold in non-tariff areas; and goods and services not registered in non-tariff areas.

The ministry said that the VAT law will be amended to expand the tax base, ensure transparency and eligibility, increase tax management efficiency, prevent tax avoidance and evasion, and ensure stable revenue to the State budget.

For many years, VAT accounted for more than 20 per cent of budget revenue.

Việt Nam has extended the two per cent VAT reduction policy till the end of June this year in the context of difficult economy.

The VAT reduction policy started from early 2022 as a measure to promote post-pandemic growth. 

SBV Governor to be authorised to issue special loans for restructured banks

The Government has proposed to assign the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) the power to issue special loans with 0 per cent interest rate for banks that are under restructuring.

The proposal was one of conclusions under the Government’s Resolution 05/NQ-CP that was issued after a recent Government meeting on law making.

According to the resolution, the Government basically agreed with contents related to criteria for early intervention, special control and handling of real estate collateral, in the draft amended Law on Credit Institutions proposed by the SBV in Report 166.

However, the Government revised some other contents of the draft law. Specifically, regarding the authority to regulate debt group classification, risk handling and the authority to decide on special loans with interest rates of 0 per cent per year, the Government makes different proposals with the SBV’s.

In the latest draft law, the SBV proposes special loans with 0 per cent interest rate for banks under a restructuring plan to be decided by the Prime Minister. However, the Government believes this authority should be assigned to the SBV’s Governor because this is a specialised issue within the field of the SBV.

For granting credit quota to one customer; and one customer and his/her related person, the Government also proposes amendments to ensure flexibility in credit granting management. The specific roadmap for the amendments should be implemented according to Government regulations.

Previously, in April 2023, SBV Governor Nguyễn Thị Hồng signed Report 166 to send to the National Assembly the draft amended Law on Credit Institution that has many new regulations on risk prevention.

According to the SBV’s draft law, credit institutions will receive the Government’s supports to prevent risks during their restructuring. Under the support measures, credit institutions will not be subject to sanctions for lack of required reserves or non-compliance with the prescribed safety ratio when they suffer mass deposit withdrawal.

Credit institutions which experience mass deposit withdrawals may borrow special loans with the interest rate of 0 per cent per year from the SBV, Vietnam Deposit Insurance, Vietnam Cooperative Bank and other credit institutions, according to the provisions of the Law on Credit Institution. The SBV will decide to temporarily stop transactions at credit institutions that are subject to mass deposit withdrawals. 

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes